Hard to believe this is Linny Mack's debut novel. This story of survival and starting over was absolutely beautiful. I loved it from the first to the very last page. Sophie and Liam were perfect for each other and their emotional rollercoaster ride had me all in my feelings. I truly enjoyed this story.

This book is very predictable but very heart warming. It covers many real life issues such as divorce, infertility and loss but covers them in a realistic way. The characters are easy to relate to and easy to fall in love with. This is a fantastic debut novel and I think I have just found another author that I’ll be following.

Fantastic debut
Sooooooooo emotional. Like my heart was constantly being torn out before being mended.
Sophie and Liam were a great couple, and I loved seeing their story play out

A beautiful and promising debut novel.

This story follows Sophie and Liam..strangers to enemies to friends to lovers. Both are suffering their own trauma, but act like idiots as they try to figure themselves and their relationship put.

I loved the setting, the cast of characters and the premise. I was not the biggest fan of the constant back-and-forth between the MMC and FMC. I couldn't keep up with their issues and ended up not rooting for them.

The epilogue was slightly frustrating for me, as I found it rushed and wrapped too much up in a neat and not totally plausible bow .

Many thanks to Page &Vine and NetGalley for the ARC opportunity.

Oh my gosh! This was the cutest book ever! I loved Sophie and Liam. I loved that the characters were in their 30s. I could relate to Sophie. I loved the banter that they had and that through their friendship/relationship, they found a way to love again and heal each other. The epilogue was amazing! I laughed, I cried, and I adored this book! What a debut novel! I can't wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and Page & Vine for allowing me an ARC of this book!

From heartache/grief and loss to hope, healing, and love, you are taken through an emotional roller coaster that you don't want to get off of. Changing Tides is the perfect balance of all of these things and then some. It's a slow burn romance that will leave you on the edge of your seat, wondering what will come next with the character's Sophie and Liam. Will there be a happily ever after or will they have to go their own separate ways? There's only one way to find out!

This book was amazing. The slow burn was agonizingly good lol. The tension and the build up between Sophie and Liam was perfection. And the way Linny incorporated Lucy into the book really made the book special! I truly loved the way the whole book rounded out! I loved Ellie's character too! She was the perfect side character too! I hope someday she gets her own book, because she deserves her own happily ever after!

4.5 ⭐️.
A beautiful debut romance novel from Linny Mack, thank you to NetGally, the author and publishers for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A picturesque romance set in a homey beach town, following Liam and Sophie- the two main characters who have faced heartbreak and bring baggage to future relationships that I think any reader can relate to in one way or another. You find yourself falling in love with the characters, rooting for a happy ending and laughing at the banter.

I’m a strong believer everyone needs a neighborhood Grandma like Ellie in their lives.

Overall Mack’s debut novel leaves readers swooning over a love like Liam and Sophie’s. Changing tides is available to readers on May 6th 2025, and as a cherry on top, the sequel will also be available to readers in September 2025, I’ve already added it to my TBR.

I loved the concept & plot idea to this book. It’s always refreshing to have main characters that are not 18 and newly in love. As someone who grew up in eastern PA I loved the Cape May setting and the familiarity of the areas in the story, especially since I would also collect Cape May diamonds from Sunset Beach!

For a debut novel this was a good, sweet, summer read. While it did have some tougher themes I can’t say I felt overly emotional about them.

My main issue of this book was really just the pacing. The first half of the book was slower, I felt like a slow burn was maybe the goal for the main characters but once they started to like each other it felt more like a flip of the switch. The last few chapters were a rush of adding info and a happy ending that I wish were layered in a little more. The plot point of the photo of Sophie could have definitely been a really interesting addition not so far to the end.

All and all it was a decent read. I think this author has a lot of potential and I definitely would still read her next novel. I’m looking forward to seeing how her writing grows!

Where do I even start? First off, I want to thank Page and Vine Books and Linny Mack for the opportunity to read this advance copy. All of these thoughts are my own in good faith.
What a well written story that showed how life doesn’t always go the way you want it to and how finding your person makes coming out of the darkest places easier than going at it alone. We meet Sophie who after 13 years find herself in the midst of a divorce she never thought would happen. She is a marriage counselor and never thought she would be on the side of what she helps walk her patients through. She decides to up and leave to Cape May to work on finding herself and ends up finding so much more. Liam, oh my sweet, sweet gorgeous, Liam, he was man with his own fears and struggles after 2 very traumatic events happen in his life. He is a single uncle caring for his niece after a tragedy. His learning to forgive himself was just beautiful and I felt like I was walking in his shoes as he worked through things and seeing him gain confidence in himself with his niece was just so sweet. Sophie and Liam just gave me the warm and fuzzies as they came together and helped each other grow and work through their tragedies. Sophie was just who Liam needed and Liam was exactly who Sophie needed. The group of friends and found family made me feel like I was a part of their family. I loved this book and this story will be with for a long time ( no notes)

This book was amazing from start to finish! The characters sucked me in from the very beginning and I could not stop reading it!

Not only was this story a romance, it had so much personal growth for the characters through their own issues that felt so genuine and real.

5 stars! I can’t wait for the next book by this author!

Changing Tides by Linny Mack is a cozy, heartfelt read that starts with heartbreak and ends with healing. After Sophie’s messy breakup, she finds comfort and calm in Cape May, renting a guest cottage from a warm and wise landlord, Ellie. The setting immediately gives off a nostalgic, peaceful vibe that I loved.

Sophie, a family counselor who can’t quite get her own life together, crosses paths with Liam, a grieving, grumpy woodworker who suddenly finds himself raising his baby niece. Their journeys are tender and real, and iI enjoyed watching them grow and heal.

That said, the writing felt a bit clunky at times, with a lot of info packed in early on that could’ve been spread out more naturally. The pacing drags a little, but overall, it’s a heartfelt story with all of the emotions.

Changing Tides is a heartfelt story about starting over, healing, and finding love in the most unexpected ways. I really connected with Liam and Sophie - both carrying heavy pasts but so easy to root for. The Cape May setting gave the whole book a warm, nostalgic vibe. Despite dealing with some tough topics like infertility, PTSD and grief, everything was handled with so much care and compassion. It felt honest without ever being too heavy.

thank you net galley for this arc!! i wanted to read this because i absolutely love cape may and love going back every summer. i really wasn’t expecting to love this as much as i did, but it was so amazing. i typically am not the biggest fan of when there are children involved in the main plot of the book, but i think everything was written so well that it didn’t bother me at all. the little surprise ending had me tearing up there!! i’m excited to see more from this author and get more from this series!

Thanks to Linny Mack for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story was such a heartwarming read. Both MCs are struggling with loss and finding themselves, and watching them uplift each other and the people around them brought me a lot of joy. The story is a lot more focused on character journeys and growth than a lot of romances and it creates a beautiful story that I want to read again.

Pros: Sophie is such a relatable character. She’s not 22 years just starting her life. She’s live and had a planned future that no longer exists. Her attraction to Liam and subsequent realization that he might not have everything figured out either is so real. I absolutely LOVED Ellie - even though I’m happily married, I kind of want to move to Cape May and find my own Ellie and Liam.

Cons: my only real issue with this story was the epilogue - for very personal reasons, I always struggle with books that end this way. It doesn’t diminish the beautiful story or writing for me, especially because I started mentally preparing myself for it pretty early on.

So excited for Linny, and can’t wait to read more of her work!!

So grateful for the opportunity to receive this as an ARC. Changing Tides was wonderfully written. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next.

Changing Tides follows Sophie, who’s fresh out of a divorce and trying to piece her life back together. Feeling lost, Sophie heads to Cape May hoping for a reset. What she finds instead is a journey of healing—and Liam, a slightly broken single dad who’s got his own baggage but also this quiet, grounding presence that totally wins you over.

There’s found family, emotional growth, and a really sweet, romance that doesn’t rush things. It’s about love after heartbreak, but more than that, it’s about finding yourself again. I adored the setting, the characters, and how real everything felt. If you love stories that are equal parts tender and hopeful, this one’s for you.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book! The setting was amazing and even nostalgic for me having wonderful memories in New Jersey as well. There was so much character growth throughout the book, especially with Liam. He worked hard and was truly able to recognize he deserved to be happy. I enjoyed the characters being in their late 30’s because you really understood how their life shaped them to be who they are. This book truly is inspiring and shows how amazing second chances and found families can be!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Changing Tides by Linny Mack!

Thank you Linny, netgalley, and Page & Vine for this beautiful ARC!

“Sometimes, good things fall apart, so better things can fall together.”

This book is absolutely heartwarming. Two broken people finding each other. It truly gave me ALL the feels! It’s set in beautiful Cape May, and has a beautifully cozy vibe to it. It gives off virgin River vibes, in a way! It covers really hard topics of infertility, infidelity, grief, heartache in such a beautiful way. This book truly focused on mental health in the best way, and made me feel so amazing after it. It was a quick, easy read, which I literally finished in one day!

The ending had me choked up. Definitely recommend!

You’ll like this book if you like:
Found family
Small town
Single “dad”

Thank you again for giving me the honor of reading!

I posted a review to Goodreads (link below) and I plan to post more when the book releases on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

WOW, I think I just found my new favorite author. This was a wonderful book to read with amazing characters, their backstories broke my heart and watching them heal together brought me so much joy. I felt like I was falling in love right alongside them with every turn of the page.

Sophie Bennett has been married for thirteen years to James. They have been experiencing infertile problems the last seven years. On Sophie's 38th birthday she goes home and finds James in bed with another younger woman. When she decides to forgive James and try to make the marriage work, he announces the other woman is pregnant. Sophie is so traumatized she decides to go to Cape May when she was happy as a child. She rents a cottage for two weeks. Liam Harper lives next door and is raising his niece after his sister dies. Elle babysits for Liam and is Sophie's landlord. This is a wonderful story of Liam who also suffered from tragedy and Sophie to find their way out of the darkness and find love and happiness.
Great 1st book Linny Mack.