"If All Else Sails" by Emma St. Clair was the fun rom com I needed after reading some heavier books. The opening lines had me going because "murder cottage" and rom com don't usually go hand-in-hand, but keep reading folks because this grumpy/sunshine and brother's best friend trope book is just wonderful.

Wyatt, a famous but "grouchie" hockey player and sunny school nurse Josie are opposites in so many ways. Their banter is so fun, exasperating and witty at the same time. Add Josie's meddling brother, an arrest and a sailing trip along the Intercoastal Waterway that sounds so amazing along with two of my favorite tropes....you have the recipe for a wonderful rom com book! There are some side characters that add interest to the story and help these two along on their way to a HEA.

I highlighted so many quotes when reading this book because they are definitely ones to revisit. I love it when a book gives you food for thought and this one definitely had several quotes I wanted to keep track of. This one is definitely a 5 star read for me!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’m a fan of Emma St. Clair and am excited that she’s entering into the world of publishing along with her indie books! She has a great sense of humor in her writing (and I love the funny animal stories she always manages to include in every book). This was also fun for anyone who’s a fan of her Appies Hockey series as the main character is a former Appie (and there are a few cameos from her other books as well!). This one hooked me from the beginning with the silly misunderstanding and scenarios the characters found themselves in and I stayed up way too late because I just wanted one more chapter. This wasn’t my favorite due to the pace of the book at the end and the fact that their hang ups for why they can’t be together were pretty flimsy in my opinion. There also seemed to be some key details left out (where does Wyatt end up playing hockey for example, and when did Josie tell her parents and brother about the sailing trip?) it seemed like some things were just missed, however they weren’t huge details and didn’t affect the story. Overall it was still a fun and cute read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, this book was so delightful! I think I may have a new favorite Emma St. Clair novel now. I loved the way these two had known each other for years, seeing each other every once in a while, as Josie’s brother and Wyatt were best friends. Yet Josie’s perception of Wyatt from a situation that happened at their first meeting set the stage for her disliking him and believing that he disliked her. What a misconception that was!

But as these two ended up spending all of their time together on Wyatt’s boat, Josie began to see Wyatt in a new light and I loved the way they developed a friendship that began to lead to something more.

There were some really sweet moments in this story when Wyatt was so perceptive and so supportive of Josie as she dealt with anxiety that held her back sometimes. He showed what a kind and caring person he truly was in the way he treated Josie.

This story just made my heart so happy! The romance that grew between Josie and Wyatt was so beautifully written and felt very natural in the way it progressed. There were also plenty of fun and silly moments that added to the romcom feel of the book.

I listened to the audio version and struggled a bit to understand the male narrator in some of the early chapters of the story when he spoke quietly. However, that was only for a very small portion of the book and not a problem for the majority of the audio. I actually ended up really enjoying the audio narration overall for this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of this book, however I also purchased my own print copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a sweet, closed-door romance that was fun and enjoyable. Not only do you get a slow burn but it's paired with travel (sailing) and a hockey player which I feel like is really trending right now. Given the maturity level of the FMC, I feel like I would put this as YA - I'm finding myself having less patience for that the older I get but that's just a me thing. It's a cute read and you should check it out :)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️½ (rounded up to 3)

This is the first book I’ve read by Emma St Clair —it didn’t quite hit the sweet spot for me. It’s an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance featuring Josie, an elementary school nurse, and Wyatt Jacobs, an NHL hockey player recovering from a foot injury and some emotional scars.

🧳 The Setup

Josie and Wyatt don’t get along. They’ve had years of unpleasant encounters (thanks in part to Josie’s brother, Jacob who is Wyatt's 'best friend'), and now she’s been guilt-tripped into helping Wyatt recover at his fixer-upper cottage in Virginia. Cue the tension.

Wyatt’s more than just injured—he’s grieving the loss of his uncle, the man who left him the cottage. And as Josie nurses him back to health, both physically and emotionally, she starts to realise she may have misjudged him.

💘 The Romance

There’s chemistry —but I didn’t quite feel the emotional depth I wanted. The sailing trip to Georgia is a lovely turning point, with both characters slowly peeling back their protective layers (Wyatt more than Josie), and by the end they see each other clearly. The romance is cute, the ending is satisfying, and Jib the dog definitely wins best supporting character.

🤔 My Take

Look, this book is highly rated, but it wasn’t fully my cup of tea.

Josie felt very changeable—even though her past explains it, I couldn’t connect with her.

Jacob (her brother)? Selfish, manipulative, and honestly not redeemed enough for my liking.

Wyatt and the dog Jib? MVPs. They’re the reason I’m rounding up to 3 stars.

The writing is clean, uncomplicated, and easy to read, though the last third dragged a little. Still, if you like cosy, small-town, healing-through-love tropes with grumpy-sunshine dynamics and low heat, you might enjoy this one more than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you, Partner, @bookedwiththeemilys @kikimojo @thomasnelson

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: If All Else Sails
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Emma St. Clair
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: August 5, 2025
5⭐️

⛵️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 ⛵️
I love this sweet, slow burn summer romance story, that features previous Appies Hockey Player Wyatt, and his best friend’s sister Josie. Wyatt is nursing an injury at his uncles cabin and not taking care of himself and his best friend/agent Jacob is growing concerned. He convinces his reluctant sister/nurse Josie to assist in the care of Wyatt!

Josie is reluctant because she thinks Wyatt doesn’t like her. Josie discovers Wyatt planned on taking a sailing journey down the coast to honor his recently passed uncle this summer, and his injury has prevented him from doing so, and she offers to go with him.

I love that the misconceptions that Josie had about Wyatt in the past, slowly start to fade as she gets to know him personally. Wyatt isn’t what she thought, and her reluctance to be around him changes as she does some self-discovery.

This story has a lot of sweet, chemistry charged moments as Josie and Wyatt figure out their footing around each other. You can feel the tension and the pull between them. Emma writes tension-filled moments beautifully in a closed door setting, where it’s so very sweet and caring.

I loved the cameos from Eli and Van as well! I’m an Appies hockey fan and love when these guys show up for one another! I appreciated learning about Wyatt’s past with his family and uncle, which guided him to his love for hockey and sailing!

I liked seeing Josie’s self-confidence grow, and Wyatt’s thoughtfulness in making Josie comfortable around him. Wyatt gives Josie room to move at her own pace and I love his sweet patience!!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
⛵️ Enemies to Lovers
🌊 Brother’s Best Friend
🏒 Hockey Player/Nurse
⚓️ Sailing Adventures
🐕 Closed Door Romance

💜Instagram post on July 30!

Y’all enemies to lovers has never looked so good! @kiki, I looooved this audio!! Narrator Andi Arndt was perfect for Josie! I couldn’t stop listening - or laughing!

𝙄𝙛 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙀𝙡𝙨𝙚 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨 by Emma St. Clair is the perfect summer rom-com:
⛵️ Forced proximity
⛵️ Grumpy x sunshine
⛵️ Enemies to first mates to lovers
⛵️ Closed door swoon

Add this to your summer reading list! You’ll be hooked by chapter one!

The authors note gave me alll the feels too!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction/Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for supplying me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love a good enemies to lovers story. Pair that with some close proximity and you have the makings of the perfect chemistry that builds to a true love story. Emma St. Clair managed this flawlessly. This was my first book by this author but it certainly won't be my last.
Josie finds herself in a pickle. Her brother lied to her and told her they were going on a sibling vacation. But what he was really doing was inserting her into Wyatt's life to try get his best friend to heal and get back to hockey. Josie and Wyatt have spent their lives hating each other, or at least that's what Josie thinks. But as the two spend more and more time together, they both learn about the miscommunication that has happened during their course of knowing each other, and their chemistry blooms into something undeniable.
I will say, I was expecting spice with this story. I have not read St. Clair before so I'm not sure if clean romance is her norm but there was zero spice. And, while that's the level I'm used to reading when I read romance, not having it did not detract in any way from the story for me. If anything, it made the chemistry even more steamy. I loved the slow burn connection Josie and Wyatt experienced. I'm not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, and there were so many times during this story the two could have fully disclosed everything and gotten on with their lives. But then there would not have been a story.
The plot takes a turn when the two go off on a sailing trip together. I loved this portion of the book more than any other part. Their experiences during the trip were really great and helped build their relationship. Clair did well with the sailing language, as well. I was impressed with the level that was used. Perhaps because I have a sailboat and understand the words. But it was great to watch Josie eagerly learn what she needed to in order to be helpful for their trip.
I did not realize Wyatt has appeared in St. Clair's other books and now I'm anxious to read the other stories of the Appies players! I've now added all her titles to my TBR and I cannot wait to read them!
St. Clair infused witty banter with a good amount of emotional turmoil and growth. The characters were well fleshed out and developed. The author made me fall in love with them almost immediately. If you're looking for a clean romance read with tons of chemistry, wit, and emotional growth, pick this one up and give it a try!

Thank you to @bookedwiththeemilys, the author, and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the #gifted copies.

Josie and Wyatt are both in holding patterns in their lives - Josie is doing her best as a school nurse, while Wyatt is homebound recovering from an injury. They’ve revolved around each other for years but have always been at odds with each other. So when they’re forced together by Josie’s brother (and Wyatt’s best friend/agent), there’s a whole lot of learning and unlearning that happens in order for them to tolerate each other – and eventually, become friendly enough to take a weeks-long sail down the Atlantic coast.

This story has so many of my favorite tropes: brother’s best friend, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, only one bed, caretaking, hockey romance. There were some seriously hilarious moments, and other times when my heart felt tender for both Josie and Wyatt.

A wonderful new book from Emma St Clair! I love Wyatt and Josie. Wyatt is another grump that just needs the perfect girl to pull it out of him. And I love that even though this is a brother’s best friend romance, there’s no fights with the brother. No third act breakup. Perfect. Just pure happiness while I read.

Oh Emma you’ve done it again another great book that I can’t get nothing done until I’ve finished this book !! LOL
This was such an awesome book Wyatt and Josie’s chemistry kept leaping off the pages on my kindle . Josie as a school teacher nurse and Wyatt as a hockey player who is also her brothers’ best friend . I loved the Appies appearance in this book too !
When they sail together and find the dog named Jib oh so cute !
Thank you so much for the publishers and net galley for the ARC !

Oh Josie and Wyatt, you two were such a delight. I really enjoyed this story. This author is one of my favorites and this story was no exception. This is a slow burn but I loved learning about the characters and the growth they experienced throughout.

If you’ve read any of the Appies books then you’ve met Wyatt before and he is finally getting his story. I am so happy that Josie was the other half to this story.

Josie was a complex character. We didn’t really know why she so vehemently opposed certain aspects of relationships or with certain people until close to the end but I loved the relationship that built before this point. I also really enjoyed her brother Jacob and I hope he gets his story too. Their sibling bond was pretty sweet and I loved how different they were but that they still loved each other.

Alright, Jib, she was a favorite in this book for sure. I loved her fun addition.

The sailing part of this story was really unique. I feel like this was new to me and I’ve not read a book with sailing in it before this.

Thank you to the author and to netgalley for allowing me to read this. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Minor spoilers with content warning*
CW: closed door (kisses only), mention of attempted assault in past, neglectful father/brother in past, anxiety in character.

Refreshing rom-com that was fun and cute and great chemistry without the annoying trope of misunderstanding/overreaction that is so common in rom-coms and/or romances. I loved all the little bits of character, loved the nod to the author’s Appies series. It was just overall a fun, quick read.
I did feel like the sailing bit came a little late in the story considering it was the title and cover, but that’s just my personal opinion and nitpicky on the pacing, nothing that overrides the enjoyment of the book!
**thank you to Netgalley and TNZ publishing for a review copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair
5 Stars

Let's start this review out with....I LAUGHED SO MUCH IN THIS BOOK! I read this with my friends Oceana and Lindsay and we both really enjoyed it! So many laughs and just an overall great rom-com!

This is Emma's first traditionally published book with Thomas Nelson and I HIGHLY recommend! I have loved all of Emma's books I've read, she just has such a way with writing funny, clean rom-coms and this did not disappoint!

Tied to the Appies Hockey series, we have Wyatt, Josie's brother's best friend and Hockey Player, who spend the summer together. What happens when the "enemies" spend a summer together including sailing, forced proximity situations and a sweet dog accompanies them? FEELINGS!

Our characters spend time together, feelings come to the forefront....their walls come down as they get to know each other more deeply and we really get to know them. Emma always tells stories that are filled with depth and I love that because they are REAL people with REAL issues - more than just your average rom-com.

I loved seeing Josie open up to Wyatt about what she had been through and how much Wyatt grew from his grumpy self in the beginning to the end.

Another great read from Emma I highly recommend for a clean romance!
*content warning for mention of attempted sexual assault recounted. no spice, kisses only, no language

Thank you to Emma, Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for complimentary copies of the ebook and audiobook to read and review. All thoughts are my own.

This is such a fun book! I loved the chapter titles, the Appies link, the dog fashion, and the characters love story! Emma did a great job at writing the tension of characters trying not to like each other while making sure it didn’t cross over into making you think they actually hated each other. So much good stuff in this book!

First I need to thank Emma St. Clair and everyone who made it possible for me to read this book before its release date. It was a gift. I read a lot of ARCs and honestly, there is another one I should be reading which is to be released at the same time as this one. I have had it longer, so I started with that one. I just couldn’t get into it, so I decided to read some of this one before going back to the other. That was literally about 2 am this morning. It is now 8:57 am and I just finished the book. I should have known better than to start it with the thought that I was only going to read a chapter and then go to bed. I WAS HOOKED IMMEDIATELY and I laughed and swooned through the whole thing. Emma St. Clair is so good at writing the banter and making me feel like I am really watching two people fall in love. I love all of her characters and I always think that she won’t be able to make me like the next ones as much as the last ones and yet every time, she makes me love them more. I am obsessed with Wyatt and I love that the Appies got pulled into this book. I should have been wearing my Appies t-shirt when I read it because they are one of my two favorite hockey teams. (The other is the D.C. Eagles.). I love that Emma can make me feel all the feels and there is never any sex in her books at all and sex isn’t even hinted at until the couples are married. Don’t get me wrong. I read smut and some of my other favorite authors can write things in that realm that I definitely enjoy reading, but to me a romance isn’t worth reading if I don’t feel the connection between the main characters and if there isn’t an actual plot. Emma is a master at it without the steamy scenes and I will continue to read whatever she write. I just hope I am lucky enough to read her next ARC. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now I think I need a nap. :)

Well this was the cutest! Josie, an elementary school nurse, gets tricked into leaving her comfort zone and taking care of her brother’s friend- famous hockey player Wyatt Jacobs. He’s injured, a total grump and they have a history, a history that makes Josie certain the next month will be terrible…

Loved it! So sweet and fun. Wyatt is 😍 and while I wanted to shake Josie and yell “just kiss him already!” I loved her too.

While I am absolutely terrified of sailing down the east coast, If All Else Sails is so charming and delightful it makes me (almost) amenable to such a trip…but only if I have an adorable dog-loving softie hiding beneath the exterior of a grumpy hockey brute whose favorite word is “no.”

Josie Rowland and Wyatt Jacobs are the dream of my favorite tropes…brother’s best friend, professional athlete, forced proximity, he falls first, and a matchmaking brother/best friend/sports agent. Oh, and there is a dog named Jib with wardrobe changes (including matching outfits) AND a cameo from some of Wyatt’s former teammates. It can be read as a standalone, but be prepared to dive into the Appies world!

Dual POV

This slow burn had a semi enemies to lovers feel to it that was charming to see play out. Josie and Wyatt may not have gotten off on the best foot but with a little nudge are finding their way to each other. Which brings me to one of my favorite parts of the book- the little twist to brother’s best friend trope.

Plus I am a sucker for lovable pup sidekicks and Jib was an absolute winner!

This was my first by Emma St Claire and I found it very cute. I’m going to have to check out her backlist.

Read if you love:
☀️ Grumpy / sunshine
⛵️ Sailing
🏠 Forced proximity

Thank you Harper Muse, Uplit and Netgalley for my review copies!

I’ve been a fan of Emma‘s indie books for years! This story is full of her Hallmark signatures, storytelling in a way that only Emma can! It’s the perfect combination of romance, comedy, and tension. I love the depth to her stories, but the fact that they still stay on the lighter side of things. She also does a great job incorporating side characters from previous books and new ones! If All Else Sails is a fantastic first traditionally published and the perfect summer read!