This book was really cute. Cozy romance with some fun tropes like brother's best friend and forced proximity.

Wyatt and Josie were so sweet, and the grumpy/sunshine aspect worked really well. They were adorable, and their relationship was fun and teasing and had the right amount of depth.

I loved the sailing bit and seeing Wyatt and Josie heal and learn to communicate. This really felt like the love letter Emma meant it to be to some of her childhood memories. Emma's love for sailing and the locale were obvious in her writing.

As always, I loved Emma's writing, and the story had a lot of promise. Overall, a fun read that I would recommend to those who like closed-door but still sparky with good tension.

There were some things that didn't quite work for me. Going in, I was super excited and had a lot of fun with the intro to the characters and the situations they found themselves in. The further I got in to the story, though, the less I found myself enjoying it. There were a lot of dragging moments that made the story feel slow.

The book was promoted as enemies-to-lovers, but it felt more like miscommunication-to-lovers because it was pretty clear that Wyatt was super into Josie the whole time.

That being said, I did enjoy most of the book, and I think it's definitely worth reading. I'll read anything that Emma puts out. I've reread a lot of her books, and will continue to do so. This one won't be a reread for me, but it was fun to read once.

Notes about the audiobook, I really liked the female narrator, but the male narrator was difficult for me to listen to. A lot of his intonation and emphasis felt out of place, and I had to keep adjusting my volume to accommodate the changes in how loud he would get, which was really frustrating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the complimentary copies. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Notes:
Romance: Kisses only
Violence: None
Language: None
Content/triggers:

I am a boater and love anything that has to do with cruising and sailing so I really enjoyed this sweet romcom. The characters are funny and completely lovable.
Overall, I enjoyed this book enough (plus it has the CUTEST cover) that I ordered a physical copy for my bookshelf.

Wow. The perfected CLEAN slow burn, it's the unicorn that is really hard to find.

Mistaken enemies to "lovers" with lots of laughs and humor. I think I smiled while reading the whole book.

Thank you Net Galley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy of this book!

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction and author Emma St.Clair, for providing me with the eARC of “If all Else Sails”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: August 5th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: July 21st, 2025

3.5 stars!

You may enjoy if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Athlete romance
- Summer romance
- Forced proximity
- Slow burn

This story focuses on Josie and Wyatt.
Josie is a school nurse, whose brother has been tricked into taking care of an injured Hockey player.
The problem, that player turns out to be Wyatt- her brothers’ best friend and her long time enemy.
Josie hates Wyatt, and Wyatt hates her (or so she thinks).
Josie agrees to stay and take care of Wyatt, with the promise of a big payout.
She eventually gets roped into going on an important sailing trip that Wyatt had planned before his injury.
No problem. Just a few weeks stuck on a small boat with the man she can’t stand. Until she starts to realize she may actually want to be stuck with him.

I am somewhat conflicted on how to review this book.
There were some parts that I really liked! Just really cute and wholesome moments.
I will say I had a bit of trouble getting into it though, and I was over the 60% mark when I started to really feel any sort of emotion/attachment to the characters or their stories.

I will start with what I liked about it.
One of those things was how gentle, understanding, and slow that Wyatt was being with Josie- especially after she told her story about why she feels uncomfortable around athletes.
This was such a feel-good moment for me.
Josie making herself vulnerable for the first time, and him meeting her with such care and respect. Bravo.

I also loved Wyatt’s little surprise gifts to Josie.
Everyone loves a person that listens!
Him taking the time to pay attention to her interests, wants and needs, and then providing?
Good. Yes. Thank you.

He has a very “gentle giant” persona, despite being a little grumpy at times. I think that is such a fun trope.

Now, what I didn’t love.
Honestly, it is hard to pinpoint what exactly was keeping me from getting into the story.
It may have been the fact that this is very slow burn.
Like, they do not even kiss until the book is almost over. Perhaps I just needed a little more romance from a romance book.

I also found the characters to be a bit dry at the beginning of the story.
There weren’t a lot of interesting happenings, and I kind of felt like I was reading about someone’s normal day-to-day life.
I think some people might be into this, It just didn’t always hold my attention.

Overall, this is not an unenjoyable book. I found myself much more into it during the second half.
I think that it is a cute, wholesome summer read! There are just a few things that I think could have used some improvement.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy of “If All Else Sails”.

I’ll be 100% honest. At first, I was thinking about not finishing this book. The FMC seemed extremely immature and annoying with the whole “I hate him and I know he hates me” bit, but I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the book.

Tropes:
- Brothers best friend
- Loathe to love
- Forced Proximity
- Only 1 bed
- Professional athlete

Once the story started going and we got to get to know our FMC and MMC more I fell more and more in love with the story. The ending of the last chapter was perfection and had me smiling like a fool.

On to read everything else Emma St. Clair has ever written!!

Thank you Thomas Nelson for the gifted copy #giftedbyuplit

This was my first Emma St. Clair book, and I’m already excited to dive into her backlist! I really enjoyed this one — it’s a sweet, feel-good romance with great characters, solid funny moments, and a tiny dog with an ultra fashionable wardrobe.

I liked the set up — she’s a school nurse, he’s a hockey player, and she’s taking care of him for the summer while he’s nursing an injury. He’s also her brother’s best friend who she’s clashed with for years. Definitely couldn’t be secret pining, no way 😉 They’re friendship (and more) gradually develops over the course of the summer. It’s soft and easy and sweet to watch. I wouldn’t say It’s one that’s going to stay with me forever, but I had a great time reading it (which is just what you need sometimes!).

A note on pacing: the title and cover suggest a sailing-themed story, but they don’t even discuss it until 1/3 of the way through, and don’t get on the boat until after the halfway point. It didn’t bother me b/c I enjoyed the rest of their story, but it is a little “bait and switch”-ish.

What an utterly delightful and sweet book. While the “sailing” aspect of the book didn’t happen until the latter half of the book, I loved this grumpy x sunshine, brothers best friend, second chance, closed door romance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you @netgalley and @thomasnelson for the copy of this novel.

If all else Sails follows Josie and Wyatt as they overcome challenges and animosity since childhood. Wyatt is a grumpy hockey player with a possibly career changing injury; Josie is a school nurse with a pushy brother (Jacob) who pays her to look after Wyatt.

This is a class summer romance read - enemies to lovers in the perfect sense. I love a slow burn romance and this is one of the SLOWEST.

Tropes:
👀 He fell first
😠 Enemies to lovers
🏒 Hockey Romance
❤️‍🔥 Slooooowwwww burn

Absolutely perfect for a summer read and will get you in the feels. (Also sports romances are so hot right now!)

4.25⭐️


Pros:
✅ Hockey Romance
✅ Enemies to lovers
✅ Slow burn to the max - the sexual tension is HOT!

Cons:
⭕️I wasn’t impressed with the epilogue but that’s not the story!

“A quaint little murder cottage…”

What a great page turner this book is! Deliciously summery, packed with humour, love and “hate” and also touching on some very sensitive issues, which made me emotional and prompted self-reflection.
I have enjoyed reading this book from the very start as I have laughed out loud on page one and knew the book will provide the perfect escapism.
Perfect dose of sunshine, animal love, nautical themes, humour, family matters and splendid unraveling of the “hate” to love topic. Very well written and beautifully executed book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley!

This was a sweet, dual POV summer romcom that takes place in South Carolina and has an injured hockey player recovering with help from his agent's elementary school nurse sister who he's happened to have a crush on for years.

Full of laughs and heart and based on the author's family history, this had me smiling and cheering for the two MCs to get their HEA. I especially loved the rescue dog, the free range pigs and the ICW sailing trip. Highly recommend it for fans of books like Float Plan by Trish Doller.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review. This is the author's first trad published book but there were some fun cameos from past Appies Hockey team players so fans of her indie works will delight in those Easter eggs!

This was a clean, slow-burn romance with a sailing backdrop — and while the concept had promise, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

First off: this isn’t really enemies to lovers. It’s more like “I saw you once and misjudged you” to lovers. The tension? It’s there, and some moments were really sweet (plus, Jib is a cinnamon roll 🐾). I loved the lack of forced third-act breakup — that was refreshing.

But the pacing felt… off. The first 25% covered basically one day, and the sailing — which the title and cover promise — barely starts until halfway through. Even then, it’s more background than plot. I went in excited for forced proximity on a boat. That? Didn’t happen.

Josie felt immature for her age, and Wyatt lacked depth. I wish we had seen more of their personal lives — Josie’s family, Wyatt’s backstory. The miscommunication plot (based on a kitchen scene that was nothing) never fully made sense, and some reveals (like Josie’s trauma) came way too late and with little emotional build-up.

By the end, I didn’t feel their connection or growth. Questions about the relationship popped up right before the proposal, then vanished. For a book that dragged, the ending felt rushed and unearned.

If you like clean, low-stakes romance with minimal spice and don't mind a verrry slow burn, you might enjoy this. But for me? It felt flat. Cute moments, but nothing truly memorable.

Thank you so much to #netgalley and #thomasnelsonfiction for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for so many tropes. Literally so many. But a top one for me is ~always~ brother’s best friend. And If All Else Sails with its brother’s best friend and he’s obsessed but she has no idea tropes just HIT.

I loved this book and could not put it down. This was my top read for the month of June (and I read a lot in June).

We are along for the ride as Josie and Wyatt navigate their situation after Josie is set up by her brother to go to Wyatt’s house under the guise of a siblings trip. Josie arrives, her brother is not there (and never had plans to be), and Wyatt ends up calling the police on Josie for trespassing at his murder cottage. Despite their rocky start, Josie and Wyatt partner up for a trip on Wyatt’s sailboat down the intercoastal. Josie knows nothing about sailing, and is super relatable when she is researching, learning, and overbuying for the trip. While the pair is gearing up for the trip, they grow what feels very naturally from unwitting participants in a scheme orchestrated by Josie’s brother/Wyatt’s agent, to friends, to something more. There’s no insta-love, nothing happening so fast you end up looking back later and going HOW? In addition to some super cute summer romance and funny shenanigans, If All Else Sails tactfully covers issues such as dealing with grief/the loss of a loved one.

If All Else Sails had me kicking my feet and giggling the whole time. The longing and pining were 10/10, the romance 11/10. We had unlikely minor antagonists in the form of pigs and a dog that was truly living her best life and definitely has a closet that rivals mine. If you’re looking for a summer read, you’ve found a great one.

Does anyone know where I can sign up to be a nurse/roommate/support system/eventual girlfriend of an injured hockey player? My brother doesn’t love me enough to sneakily set me up with one…

I did receive a review copy of If All Else Sails, and am leaving this review honestly and voluntarily.

IF ALL ELSE SAILS is definitely one of my favorite Emma St. Clair rom-com (and I've read over 15 of them so far!). I love the humor and heart that comes with Wyatt and Josie's relationship, and this book was definitely different from any other Emma St. Clair book I've read, in terms of the SLOW-BURN romance - and I LOVE a good slow-burn romance! Trust me, it's worth the wait as Wyatt and Josie start out as "enemies" that leads to a shy, budding friendship simmering with attraction, which eventually leads up to the MOST AMAAAAAZING kiss ever. And then there ARE plenty more kisses after that!! ;) Wyatt was the perfect grumpy to Josie's sunshine and I also loved the character development that they both went through. Jib was the perfect side character, and I also liked Jacob and I DEFINITELY loved the two cameos from the Appies Romance series! I also learned a lot about sailing, so that was a fun bonus - I love learning new things in any and all books! I definitely am getting my own non-ARC copy and will recommend this to other sweet rom-com lovers! Thank you, Emma St. Clair, NetGalley, and Thomas Nelson for the ARC of IF ALL ELSE SAILS! I am posting this on my Instagram and GoodReads as well, under @heidieafinitelyreads and https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/60646865.

This was such a fun summer romance! Josie’s brother tricks her into “babysitting” Wyatt (an injured hockey player) while on her school nurse summer break. Wyatt refuses PT and is grumpy and Josie isn’t so sure how this is going to work out. As the summer goes on, their relationship turns into a friendship and then… I loved the relation to the Appie’s, that was like an extra nugget of fun!

4.5 stars (rounded up to 5)

Omg this book had me grinning ear to ear. Emma always delivers on humorous and fun romances.

I love Wyatt and Josie, they just kept getting into one mess after another. Their antics absolutely sent me!

Josie, an elementary school nurse, is tricked by her brother into becoming a caregiver for Wyatt after he suffers an injury. Wyatt is grumpy and doesn’t like people in his business. The two end up stuck together in Wyatt’s so-called "murder" cabin. What follows is a chaotic and hilarious series of events, from a misunderstanding arrest to wrangling pigs and emergency hospital visits.

Wyatt has a planned coastal sailing trip, and with his injury, he needs Josie’s help with navigating. With the forced proximity, they draw closer and form a friendship, finally realizing they never really disliked each other.

The banter is top-notch! But they also had the most tender and fun moments from real talks, tickle fights, back scratches, and late-night chats that slowly chipped away at their walls.

I highly recommend this gem! It’s hilarious yet tender, a well-done dislike-to-lovers trope, and gives off perfect summer vibes!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

🔥Heat level: Kissing only. Closed-door romance
🫢Language: None

This book was adorable. It had such great grumpy/sunshine vibes! There were several funny moments that made me laugh out loud. I loved the dog and all of the outfits! Enjoyed the connections and references to Appies. I loved the slow burn and then happily ever after just had me smiling so big in the epilogue!

This is a great summer read! I loved the chemistry between the main characters and that it was a sweet read that also dealt with some more serious topics (family relationships, career pressure, etc). The ending was a bit cliche, but it’s a cute, feel good story!

Jump on board and sail away with this funny, touching, adorable rom-com! Loved this story! Definitely worth the read, This book was provided through NetGalley for me to read. These are my own personal thoughts.

4.5 stars

This book was so cute! I loved the characters and the journey they went on. It was even cuter learning that a lot of this story was inspired by the author and her family's life. The sail journey was lots of fun and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. Fun, easy read!

This was such a fun enemies-to-lovers, grumpy x sunshine, slow- burn romance!! I am a sucker for all of those tropes but the addition of the forced proximity trope made this the perfect blend for me.