First of all, thank you NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction for this ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Omg. How I LOVED this book. I knew i was gonna really enjoy it with all the -best friend's brother, enemies to lovers (kind of), forced proximity trope-. For me it was a slow burn soft romance book, i loved the characters and the whole misunderstood guy who Josie thought hated her and turns out it's completely the opposite (had me giggling)! I absolutely loved the scene on the boat in the middle of caos and rain 10/10💘

5 well deserved ⭐️

This book wasn’t completely what I expected based off the cover & description but in my opinion it was much better!!

Josie is a down to earth elementary school nurse who is tricked into spending her summer with her supposed nemesis by her match making brother who also happens to be his best friend.

Wyatt is a grumpy hockey star who is recovering from an injury & the loss of his beloved uncle who taught him many things one of them being how to sail. Josie ends up helping him recover & accompanying him on his sailing trip/ farewell to his uncle.

Josie struggles to connect with others as she tends to keep them at arms length for fear of getting hurt, while Wyatt has only ever wanted her but has spent years saying all the wrong things & thus building her defenses against him.

There is definitely a grumpy/ sunshine vibe as well as my personal favorite enemies to lovers trope. I also loved this book as Emma St. Clair kept it completely closed door & to me this speaks volumes about the love story being able to stand on its own. Loved this! Thank you NetGalley & Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC :)

If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair is a delightful enemies-to-lovers romance that swept me off my feet. The story follows school nurse Josie, who, expecting a summer trip with her brother, instead finds herself caring for his best friend, grumpy hockey player Wyatt, at a quaint—albeit rundown—cottage. Their forced proximity leads to a sailing adventure down the East Coast, filled with witty banter, heartfelt moments, and personal growth. St. Clair masterfully peels back the layers of her characters, revealing vulnerabilities and building a slow-burn romance that feels both authentic and deeply satisfying. The vivid descriptions of their journey and the evolving dynamics between Josie and Wyatt kept me hooked from start to finish. It’s a perfect summer read!

What a delightful and lighthearted story! Main characters Josie and Wyatt had my vote from the beginning and I’ve never read a story with a plot like this one. Very fun. Great beach read.

📖 If All Else Sails – Emma St. Clair
⛵ Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the early copy!

Enemies. A rundown cottage. A sailing adventure neither of them planned for. If All Else Sails is a delightful, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance with forced proximity, undeniable chemistry, and a grumpy hockey player hiding more depth than anyone—especially Josie—expects. Emma St. Clair delivers another charming, laugh-out-loud romance with heart, humor, and plenty of swoon-worthy moments.

⛵ THE STORY:
Josie thought she was heading to a fun-filled Super Summer Sibling Extravaganza. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a "quaint little murder cottage" with Wyatt Jacobs—hockey player, her brother’s best friend, and her sworn enemy. Even worse? Her brother wants her to help Wyatt recover from an injury.

Wrangling grumpy athletes isn’t exactly in Josie’s wheelhouse as a school nurse, but the payout is too good to refuse. And while she’s determined to keep things strictly professional, the more time she spends with Wyatt, the more she starts to see the man underneath the broody exterior.

When Josie learns that Wyatt was supposed to sail the Intracoastal Waterway to Savannah, scattering his uncle’s ashes along the way, she makes an impulsive decision: she’ll be his first mate. But as they share tight quarters, canned food, and more than a few mishaps, their mutual irritation starts to shift into something else entirely.

The question is: Will they make it back without killing—or kissing—each other?

🔥 TROPES:
✔ Enemies to Lovers – Josie and Wyatt have a history, and it’s deliciously antagonistic.
✔ Forced Proximity – A secluded cottage AND a boat? Nowhere to hide from those growing feelings.
✔ Grumpy x Sunshine – Wyatt is the ultimate broody, injured hockey player; Josie is pure chaotic energy.
✔ Brother’s Best Friend – Josie’s brother definitely didn’t intend for this to happen.
✔ Slow Burn – The tension builds beautifully, making every moment count.

✨ WHAT I LOVED:
⛵ A Unique Setting – A sailing adventure down the coast? Yes, please! The close quarters and unpredictable environment only heighten the tension.
😂 Sharp, Witty Banter – Josie and Wyatt’s verbal sparring is top-tier and absolutely entertaining.
🏒 Layers Upon Layers – Wyatt isn’t just a grumpy hockey player; he’s dealing with loss, expectations, and uncertainty about his future. Watching Josie unravel his walls is so satisfying.
💖 Heartfelt Growth – Josie comes into her own in unexpected ways, making this not just a romance but also a journey of self-discovery.

💙 FINAL THOUGHTS:
Emma St. Clair has crafted another heartfelt, hilarious, and deeply romantic story that will have you grinning, swooning, and maybe even tearing up a little. If All Else Sails is perfect for fans of forced proximity hijinks, slow-burn romance, and grumpy/sunshine perfection.

Thank you for giving me this arc!
This story was super fun to read! You had me from the words hokey romance, and then to go on to be. The brothers best friend trope! Emma st.clair the chokehold you have on me! This book was a super wholesome and cute slow burn romance which I adored! It’s just the kind of book I love to pick up after a stressful day and get absorbed in. And ofc this wouldn’t be my review without mentioning the cover art! The cover art is super cute with beautiful colours and character art which I hope never dies out.

What a sweet no-spice romance! This grumpy sunshine story features an injured hockey player and an elementary school nurse, and the dialogue is hysterical. Their interactions, their friends involvement, and the adventure their relationship takes makes for a quick sweet beach read.

More 4 1/2 🌟
This was a cute wholesome brother’s best friend hockey romance. There really wasn’t a lot of hockey in there as the MMC is injured. There was plenty of wit and banter and I adore the way Emma writes. Josie and Wyatt reunite in an unexpected way thanks to Josie’s brother. Josie is full of sass especially with some of the opening scenes in this book and Wyatt was the perfect grump and the way he gets nervous around Josie was endearing. This is a slow burn mainly due to Josie’s struggles and is totally understandable. It was a really cute read.

If All Else Sails is a well written romance. I throughly enjoyed the plot and the character dynamics. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.

In this book, we follow Josie and Wyatt as they learn to navigate close proximity, first in Wyatt's cottage, and then in his boat, as they sail down the East Coast.

Both their characters were amazing to read about, their personalities and their backgrounds.

Although it's not really an enemies-to-lovers as advertised, it is instead a slow burn, forced proximity romance. Josie and Wyatt form such a connection and have so much intimacy between them - which I loved reading about!

It really is an easy, perfect, summer read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you know me you know I cannot stand a miscommunication trope and that I’m wary of the booktokification of romances that lean heavily on trope salads; but I’m delighted to announce that I’ve found a contemporary romance that didn’t have me gagging and rolling my eyes. Emma St. Clair I was not familiar with your game.

Wyatt king of yearning. Josie my precious overthinking whimsical angel. Their chemistry was so good that when I realised I was 53% of the way into a book called “If All Else Sails” and we hadn’t even set foot on the boat yet I didn’t even mind. I was thoroughly just along for the ride.

My only critique is that I feel like there was more to say regarding Josie’s family dynamic and her brother Jacob being the centre of all of their universes (that whole family needs therapy like Yesterday); and the epilogue which is set 2 years in the future depicts Josie’s mom and Wyatt’s mom being besties when Josie’s mom is largely inaccessible to her throughout basically the entire story and we get an insight into how that affects her mentally felt a bit rug-sweepy compared to the resolution we got for Wyatt and his family woes. Honestly though, this was just a lighthearted romcom so maybe unpacking all that didn’t fit without drastically changing the vibe and that’s fine! I still found it really enjoyable for what it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

This book had good moments that I thought were cute but I found it to be too much inner monologue. I don’t know Eid it was just this book or the writing style but I just didn’t care for it.

DNF at 68% I enjoyed the start of this book but at around the 50% mark it started getting slow and I really didn’t see the chemistry between the two main characters, I thought they seemed better as friends.Though I did enjoy the sail boat plot.

I discovered Emma St. Clair through the Appies series, which has become one of my favorite book series. I loved that Wyatt, our MMC in this book, was a former Appies player. There were a lot of tropes in this book to love—forced proximity, brothers best friend, hockey. Josie is a school nurse on summer vacation and ends up helping Wyatt recover from an injury. Part of their journey took place on this sailing trip to honor Wyatt’s uncle who’d passed away & had been like a dad to him.

I loved both of these characters, but struggled to feel their connection at times. That said, this book also put a smile on my face and was a fun read. I especially loved when we got some character crossovers from the Appies series towards the end of the book.

This book reads like a Hallmark movie—a slow build with an HEA to finish it off.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to be released in August 2025.

such a cozy romance between brother’s best friend who needs medical help and a sister who accidentally studies nursing 👀

i really like the storyline but for some reasons this book felt so long. the places and background characters were changing so much that it was hard to follow all of them. following characters, neither of main characters had a development throughout the book, which is not bad for a romance, since it is rarely seen nowadays. i enjoyed the tension and banter! especially closer to the end! definitely would classify as a slow burn.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the copy of the book. I received a complimentary copy, and all pinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

When I read the premise of this book I thought it sounded funny and endearing. It was, it really was. I really liked Josie at the beginning and then she slightly started to annoy me a little in the middle, but redeemed herself at the end. I also liked Wyatt even though he was grumpy from the beginning. It was nice to learn more about him throughout the story and see how what you think might not be true. I liked the storyline and how the characters grew through a sailing adventure. This book is a little slower then I would have liked. I feel like a few chapters could have been skipped and it would have been fine. Overall a nice and pretty clean romance novel. I'd read more about them in another book.

This book was okay. It had enjoyable moments and if you are into the tropes of FORCED PROXIMITY, BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND & HOCKEY PLAYER, then you should enjoy the book. However, I am an action person and the book was too much telling than showing for me. The chemistry between the main characters was lacking. Very very slow burn.

I wish I had more of the MMC POV and more interaction with his father & brother. The entire book felt repetitive for me.

With that being said, it was a light read which can be perfect for a cozy evening. This is my first read from the author and even though the plot did not live up to my expectations, the writing style was superb and I look forward to checking out more of her work.

Thank you Thomas Nelson for the complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

One of my favorite Emma St Clair books yet! I found myself laughing multiples times.
The sailboat aspect was unique, and I enjoyed both characters. A great summer read!

Well this was absolutely adorable! I couldn’t put this book down and I fell in love with both Josie, Wyatt, and JIB!!

This book has some of my favourite tropes and they were executed perfectly, with just the right amount of uniqueness.

- brother’s best friend
- enemies to lovers (although I’d say more dislike to lovers)
- forced proximity
- grumpy/sunshine
- one bed 👀

It’s just so wholesome and honestly put a smile on my face 🥰 I loved having dual POV, the discussions around anxiety that were relevant (but didn’t feel too heavy), the banter, the tension, and I appreciated that it has no spice! I’m all for spice, but sometimes it’s refreshing to read something without and honestly this book didn’t need it.

I thought the pacing was great, although it did lag a little near the end, and overall I had a wonderful time reading this and the characters a so so lovable! My only issue is that it felt like a lot of telling and not showing while on the boat. The first half at the “murder cabin” had a lot of moments that showed us their interest and the second half on the boat felt like it we went back a step. Maybe this is because Josie was starting to panic in her head more, so we had a lot of inner monologues when I would have loved for more discussions to have happened between Wyatt and Josie.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

“If All Else Sails” is a heart-warming story that combines all the best parts of romance novels. Josie is a school nurse who gets tricked into taking care of her brother’s best friend. A best friend who just happens to be a famous hockey player and is also in love with her.

Between the forced proximity, grumpy sunshine and one-bed tropes, this books will have you kicking your feet and giggling the whole way through!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC.