I loved this book!!!! If All Else Sails, is the perfect combination of cozy and humor. I fell in love with the main characters as they navigate their way through what was, while trying to make sense of all that they are feeling now. Because of the playful dialog and beautiful setting, I really think this would make a great movie, too!
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced copy. All reviews are my own.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC.

I love Emma St Claire’s writing so much. Also a sweet romcom with no spice and her books always bring a nice break from other books. If you like slow burn, brother best friend and wanna laugh…this is your book! It’s an adorable summer read too!

Josie is set up by her manipulative brother to help his client/best friend, hockey player Wyatt, recover from an injury. Only he doesn't realize who showed up on his lawn and nearly has her arrested. The two have a tumultuous relationship, mixing like oil and vinegar from the first time they met. Only as they are forced to spend time together, Josie realizes her first (and second and third) impressions of Wyatt might not have been accurate. Josie agrees to help Wyatt with his planned sailing trip on the condition that he get the physical therapy he needs to recover from his injury. And on that trip, the truth comes out and Josie has to figure out what to do with it. It was a sweet, fun, romcom with a fun glance of life on the Intracostal Waterway from VA to GA.

3.75 ⭐️ A brother’s best friend, closed door romance between an NHL player and an elementary school nurse. After Josie is tricked by her brother, she ends up at Wyatt’s rundown beach cottage instead of a place for their annual sibling trip. Her brother believes that she can help Wyatt get back on track to rehabbing his injury.

Wyatt and Josie have a rocky past, but Josie is determined to help Wyatt while he is stuck in a pit of depression. As Josie spends more time with him she sees that he may be different than she thought. When she finds out Wyatt needs someone to join him in order to do a sailing trip to Georgia, she agrees to go with him if he starts rehabbing his injury.

This was a cute, fun summer romance! Wyatt and Josie had a fun dynamic between each other! Lots of mishaps being in close proximity and I thought the sailing trip plot line was extremely unique! It was a slow burn romance which I loved, however it was closed door which I was unaware of going in. Overall it was an enjoyable read I’d recommend! Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC!

This was a fun, breezy (pun intended), fast read Rom Com that I think anyone can enjoy. It's a closed door romance with some sweet enemy to lovers tension where he really fell first. Definitely a good summer read. Personally I think it needs a cuter cover but I do love that Jib and her Bikini made it on!

Aah so good, thankyou for allowing me to read this ARC I love the ties to the appies series! I was desperately waiting for josie to rock her grouch sleep shirt but alas I just imagined it anyway 😍
I really loved the forced proximtry and the matchmaking efforts by Jacob. I love the sail boat giving the story a completely fresh feeling but feeling safe and cozy like my favourite hockey series. Definitely recommend, definitely cannot wait for audio so I can listen and fall in love all over again.

Formatting a little hard to follow on my kindle, but I am a sucker for a hockey trope. As well as all the other ones thrown into this book. This was a cute read. This was my first read from this author and I enjoyed it.

Emma knows how to do grumpy/sunshine/enemies to lovers. I always get nervous when I see a grumpy MMC because a lot of authors write them flat out rude, not grumpy. But not Miss Emma, she made Wyatt the perfect amount of grumpy. And Josie’s banter with him was PERFECTION. I loved the forced proximity on a sailboat (I’ve never read anything that takes place on a sailboat before!) and the dog was just the cherry on top of the story! This is the perfect summer read and literally everyone needs to pick it up!

content ratings:
- no explicit language
- closed door/kisses only

This is the first book I have read from this author. I thought the writing was good and even the story. The author developed the characters well and the dialogue was believable. But after 75% of the book the author lost me once the characters came together as a couple. I thought the writing got gratuitous in description of how their relationship finally came together.

Excellent book! When I figured out the MMC was Wyatt, formerly of the Appies, I may have squealed a bit :) Right from the very beginning, I was all in! When Wyatt is injured and Josie steps up to help, I knew it was going to be a great story. I was not wrong. Wyatt definitely did not like giving up control and Josie was very reluctant to take hold of that control. The fever scene was great! The cameo of Van and Eli was the chef's kiss. The trip down the Intracoastal Waterway to scatter his uncle's ashes gave a good emotional touch to the story. Highly recommend!

A very cute story with a lot of the popular tropes: forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, she falls first, hockey romance, brother's best friend. I think the pacing could've been better, especially during the second half, but I enjoyed the characters and the story.

#IfAllElseSails #NetGalley

Josie is looking forward to her annual trip with her brother but finds his best friend Wyatt at the cabin instead. Wyatt is a pro hockey player with an injury, and Josie is a nurse. Josie's brother hires her to oversee Wyatt's care. A brother's best friend to romance.

Emma St. Clair is quickly becoming a must-read for me. IF ALL ELSE SAILS is her latest tour de force and it’s yet another unputdownable romance.

I’m calling it now: St. Clair is this year’s author to watch!

A great closed door romance with the perfect amount of slow burn and chemistry!

This was such a cute romcom! Josie is a extremely relatable character and I loved the banter between her and Wyatt. Right from the beginning you could tell Wyatt is a cinnamon roll hiding under his grumpy exterior. There were times I was laughing out loud and then swooning. I love how even though this is a romcom the author touched on deeper themes with ease and in a very relatable way. There was great character growth while their love story was growing simultaneously as well.

If your a fan of any of the the following tropes I would highly recommend….Enemies to lovers, Hockey Player, Brothers Best Friend, Grumpy Sunshine, he fell first and harder & forced proximity. Or If your looking for a swoony, cozy uplifting romance you will love this book!

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

** Thank you to Thomas Nelson Publishing for giving me an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!**

I really enjoyed this book! I was hooked from the beginning. While the writing was slightly repetitive, it didn't bother me. And the banter! The banter was amazing. I was laughing out loud for probably half the book.

The romance was super sweet, and the story was so fun to read about. I will say the characters seemed to have perfect recall of every time they've ever been around each other, which is far-fetched in my opinion, but it was still super cute. It's also really clean, which I appreciate! I would definitely recommend this for a fun, clean summer read.

Emma St Clair knocks it out of the park again! Picking a favourite book of hers would be like picking a favourite child!! 😉

If you enjoy:
🚤 Opposites attract
🚤 Brothers best friend
🚤 He falls first
🚤 Slow burn romance
🚤 Sailing adventure
🚤 Character growth
🚤 HEA
AND…all the quirkiness, banter & random animals all fans of Emma St Clair have come to expect, this book will be perfect for you.

I loved the sailing part of this book. I have never been sailing & honestly have no desire to (fear of open water/not seeing land) but I thoroughly enjoyed Josie & Wyatt’s adventure.

Josie & Wyatt are endearing, flawed, hurting characters, who experience growth, healing & love.

If All Else Fails comes out AUGUST 5, 2025 & it will be a perfect summer read.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction & Emma St Clair for the opportunity to review this book.

I love this book so much! It was such an easy read and a book that I wanted to keep coming back to because of how interesting the plot was. I especially love Josie and Wyatt!This book got me out of my longest reading slump! I highly recommend it! Both characters had amazing growth in themselves but also in their relationship! I never wanted to put this book down and was constantly picking it up every time I saw my kindle.

Emma St. Clair has provided a delightful story that is deep in scope yet entirely uplifting. It features themes of loyalty in the face of misunderstanding, the importance of self introspection and happiness in family relations that sustain us. There is humor and tenderness that I really loved. I highly, highly recommend this book and feel like there might be more that I might look forward to with some of the other characters.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

LOVED LOVED LOVED this. Romantic, intriguing. First time reading this author and will be searching out more of her work. Twists and turns that kept me interested, was in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me out of it.

If All Else Sails is a stand-alone novel by Emma St. Clair that will be released in August. Based on the side characters, it does have the potential to become a series.

"That's the thing with family-they're like a bunch of stubborn splinters. Really difficult to remove, even if you sometimes want to."

Josie and Wyatt are the perfect example of opposites attract. It is obvious that Wyatt cares for Josie from the very beginning, but she thinks he hates her. They don't do well with communicating at first, but it is fun to watch their relationship develop. There is plenty of witty banter, St. Clair's renowned animal adventures, and depth to the story.

Read for:

⛵brother's best friend

⛵sailing adventure

⛵Jib and her outfits

⛵He falls first

⛵forced proximity

⛵witty banter

⛵slow-burn romance

⛵the pigs

⛵Josie's sassiness

Thank you to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read this book. I was not required to provide a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.