Thank you to NetGalley, Page & Vine, and Linny Mack for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a heartwarming debut by Linny Mack. It will truly give you all the feels and the setting alone just brings up all the warmth of childhood summers and how they should be.

Sophie and Liam both have their own trauma, and Lucy is a ham that just delivers so many sweet moments to ease the heartache. Ellie is also such an important and beautiful character - everyone needs a mama bear!

The mental health discussions and the therapy representation is very well done, and everything felt rich and vibrant. The pacing was perfect with this intense slow-burn energy and all of the characters are so fleshed out that it's just wonderful to read. I was left wanting more and that is always a great sign!

This is book 1 in the Cape May series and I picked it to read as soon as I saw the location. After living and working many years in Cape May I was anxious to see how Ms. Mack portrayed the area. She did a great job. It is certainly a tourist mecca. After her husband confronts her with divorce papers and the news his co worker is carrying his child, Sophia returns to Cape May where she spent her childhood with her Grandparents. As she starts to heal, she begins baby sitting for her next door neighbor and falls in love with Liam and has 1 year old niece.

thank you netgalley for letting me read this early! changing tides is out now!

i adore the idea of books set at the jersey shore as someone who grew up here. linny mack embodied the feeling of growing up here, having beach friends, and finding precious moments in the sand. the plot fell a little short for me. the romance felt forced and sped up. i wished we saw more of the characters healing together and leaning on their beach town family to heal. overall i thought it was a cute beach read and i am so happy i was given the opportunity to read this early!

CHANGING TIDES 🌊
@linnymackwrites
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I adored this sweet beach read about Sophie starting over where she has her fondest childhood memories. After years of struggling with infertility, and over 10 years of marriage, Sophies husband takes solace in another woman and worst of all, shes pregnant. Sophie goes to her favorite place to find herself again, quickly making friends and a tentative love interest, Liam, who has newly acquired custody of his niece, due to the loss of his sister. While finding her next steps, Sophie learns just what she needs, and that fate has alot to say in the matter as well.
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC of this title! #beachromance #postdivorcelove #HunkleLiam #ChangingTides

What I loved so much about this book was the writing style. It was emotional and I had a big connection with the characters. The ending was perfect, and this book has the found family trope which is one of my tropes. Loved it so much.

4.5* Rounded up.

Just what i needed to get me out of a reading slump.
Heartwarming , cozy and well written, Feels like a big, bold glass of red wine by the fire place.
Both Sophie and Liam complement and work together so perfectly. One of he few romances I have read recently, where I whole heartedly believe they would still be together in 30 years.

Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for A copy of this book, in exchange for a honest review.

Love this book! One of my favorite tropes is Small Town Romance and this was done very well. It was heart wrenching and relatable. A second chance at love, real love. I loved the FMC and MMC.

Did not get to read - have way too many books on the shelf. Need to clear some out. Hope to get to this one in the future though.

This romance novel is about Sophie, fresh off her divorce from her cheating husband, and her move to Cape May to stay with Ellie and try to figure out her next steps. While there, she befriends their neighbor, Liam and babysits his niece Lucy. Liam has lots of trauma of his own that he is also dealing with. This cute, slow burn romance is tied up neatly at the end and it shows that healing and growth is not linear, but also that our trauma does not have to define us.

3.5

Loved that the book was set in my home state, however there were parts I struggled to get through because the pacing was a bit slow. Looking forward to what the author puts out in the future, as I love supporting authors close to home.

I really loved this book. It was set in an adorable beach town, with two main characters that have been through their fair share of heartbreak. I fell so far in love with these characters and found myself laughing at their banter and swooning over the love.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing Coop/Page and Vine for this ARC! I really enjoyed Sophie and Liam’s emotional and heartwarming story. I could totally relate to these characters. They were both struggling with challenges, such as grief starting over and coming together, experiencing love when you least expect it.!
I thought the way that the mental health representation of grief was handled so well it was true, authentic and I could definitely feel for these characters and wanted them both to find love . I loved the small town Cape May setting! I’m originally in New Jersey girl, and I loved the beachy vibe throughout this book. I would highly recommend this book and I will definitely continue to read more from this author.!

Changing tides is the first book in the Cape May series and it's Sophie and Liam's story. It's an emotional, heartwarming tale about finding love after divorce/grief and when you least expect it.

The story is set in Cape May, a lovely oceanside town and I easily fell in love with it's characters.
We get a great mix of heartbreak, loss, healing, hope, friendship, love and so much more.

Sophie and Liam both had heartbreaking backstories which caused them to be closed off, but there was a undeniable spark between them from the moment they met and I was glued to the pages to see how it would all play out.

I loved that both characters were older with life experiences as it made the story feel more authentic and that they were surrounded by supportive secondary characters who added so much to the novel.

I loved that the author focused on mental health, showing us the struggles the characters faced and the emotional journey they took towards healing.

This was an enjoyable tale and I look forward to reading more in the series. I would recommend this novel to romance lovers.

Linny Mack did a phenomenal job at blending light playful moments with heartbreak and healing and a twist I didn’t see coming that added even more emotional depth to this amazing book.
The prologue alone hooked me. I was immediately drawn in. I loved the small coastal town setting and the charming side characters, especially Ellie! One of my favorite scenes is the yoga class they take together. I laughed so hard! This book was such a sweet, comfy, quick read and perfect for summer.
The dynamic between Sophie and Liam really stood out. At first, Liam comes off as gruff and distant, and Sophie understandably thinks he's a total arse. Liams grumpiness stems from exhaustion and grief after losing his sister in an accident, suddenly becoming a single dad to his niece, and still carrying the weight of past trauma that’s left him struggling with communication and commitment.
Meanwhile, Sophie is recovering from a painful marriage marked by infertility and infidelity, ultimately leading her to seek a new start.
Something about Sophie makes Liam think he could open up and be committed, and Sophie starts to see through that gruff exterior of Liams, and sparks begin to fly.
Both characters have a lot to work through, which made their journey feel authentic and a little messy in the best way.
Overall, Changing Tides is a heartwarming small-town romance with grumpy x sunshine vibes and a fresh start theme. I knocked off one star because something that happened near the end felt a bit rushed considering Sophie’s recent divorce and her ongoing personal uncertainty. But that’s just my opinion, and it doesn’t take away from how good this book is.

A beautiful story about how love can find you at the most unexpected time. Even if you believe you don't deserve it will show up for you. Our two main characters are both dealing with tragedies though in different forms. Together they learn to overcome it and learn to lean on each other.

Thank you to Page & Vine Books for the eARC!

Sophie has had a rough go at life recently. After going through fertility treatments and never getting pregnant, it has to be hard to find out her husband and his mistress not only slept together in her bed, but she’s also pregnant. Needing a fresh start, Sophie moves and she meets Liam. He’s her new next door neighbor with a sweet little girl. After getting to know him a little she agrees to watch his niece who he I s raising as his own daughter. For her, this explains some things about him. She goes from watching his niece while he’s on a date (that’s what she believes) to then becoming more. This is a sweet story about second chances and new beginnings.

***That photograph scene was amazing!!!

Honestly, I didn’t expect this book to hit me the way it did.

It wasn’t just a cute romance (though the slow burn was so satisfying, by the way). What really stuck with me was how it handled grief — not in a dramatic or overdone way, but in those quiet, everyday moments that feel all too familiar. The kind where you're just trying to get through the day, where even making coffee feels like a win.

There’s this gentle unraveling of what it means to lose the version of your life you thought you'd have, and the awkward, painful, hopeful process of figuring out what comes next. It felt honest. No quick fixes, no magical turnarounds — just a woman learning how to live again, step by step.

Also, shoutout to the small-town vibe and the group of people who slowly become her people. The warmth, the awkward friendships-turned-family, the way love sneaks in when she least expects it — all of it worked.

I came for a cozy read. I stayed because it quietly wrecked me in the best way. Now I'm officially entering my romance era.

Such a perfect beach read!
I loved this! Real life problems dealt with in real life ways. This took you through handling grief and coming to terms with a life that no longer existed while trying to figure out how to move forward. Such a great found family and cute small town tied it all in a bow.

Sophie and Liam are both broken people with Sophie moving to Cape May after divorcing her husband for cheating. They find each other (first as neighbours) and develop this relationship like no other. Yes there are plenty of up and downs, cute moments and cold shoulders but it's for the right reasons. Liam is such a gentleman and all he cares about is making sure Sophie is ok when he also needed to focus on himself and letting himself forgive himself that terrible day from all those years ago. But seeing them together is so stinking cute and they really were a perfect pair to help heal each other's trauma and brokenness. The story was beautifully written and has convinced me to find some more romances to get stuck into.
Small warning though, their is one open door scene.
Thankfully it's not too bad but just a little heads up.
All together, this is such a cute romance book and I'm so happy I could give it at read. Highly recommend for anyone wanting a cute romance to wind down to bed with or even just to read wherever.

This is so heartwarming and definitely a comfy beach read. A story set in a beautiful town by the ocean with probably the best place for a romance. Sophie and Liam have been through it, the emotional rollercoaster they took each other on and then took us on was definitely calling for a drink. The slow burn was definitely chef kiss. This would be a movie I watch on my couch with a comfy blanket. Great debut novel.