I adored this book. The banter had me grinning and sometimes laughing out loud, the little romantic moments in the leadup had me swooning, and overall I just really, really loved it!

During Wyatt's chapters I kept having to adjust the volume, because the narrator would get loud and quiet (and not always at time that felt like they made sense). I think if there had been an even split between the POVs I might have had to DNF over it, but since Wyatt had way fewer chapters than Josie I was able to get through it—so the audiobook was 4 stars for me because of that but the ebook would have been 5!

This was delightful. Emma’s writing is just so fun and funny and emotional and Josie and Wyatt’s story was such a good time. Their history and tension was delicious and there was just the right amount of hijinks to keep me grinning throughout. I loved seeing some of my favorite Appies again and the sailing setting and premise was unique and immersive. The audio production was a little off and there were some volume issues, but overall a good time.

A frenemies to lovers rom com that just didn't work for me. I wanted to like the characters and honestly the male narrator might be the reason I didn't resonate with that character. Josie as a character and the narrator was ok just not very relatable or interesting for me. There were some funny moments and dialogue but overall I found myself tuning out often when listening to this. I really love the author but this may not have been for me.

Set over the course of an intercoastal boat ride, If All Else Sails is a tender, slow-burn romance packed with emotional depth, sharp wit, and moments of surprising sweetness. Wyatt has always loved Josie—from afar and behind a carefully constructed mask of indifference. Josie, for years, assumed he couldn’t stand her.

Their time together on the boat forces them to confront the truth—about their feelings, their fears, and what they mean to each other. The forced proximity gives space for tension and connection to grow organically, making each moment of vulnerability feel earned.

This book has the perfect balance of emotion and levity. Josie’s sarcastic charm keeps things fun, like when she chooses the middle of a thunderstorm to declare her feelings (as Wyatt tries not to get struck by lightning). The runaway dog they find and adopt adds even more heart to the story—especially with Josie buying the pup cute outfits.

As a closed-door romance, the emotional connection takes center stage, and the chemistry still shines without needing on-page steam.

I listened to the audiobook and thought both narrators did a fantastic job, but the male narrator stood out—his delivery carried so much emotion that it added an extra layer to Wyatt’s character. He made the longing and frustration felt in every word.

Final thoughts: If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt, funny, and emotionally rich romance with slow-burn tension, witty banter, and a well-dressed dog, If All Else Sails is a great pick—especially in audio format.

Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction and Net Galley for the Advanced Audio Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One of my most favorite ARCs read so far! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it will make a GREAT Summer read!
School Nurse Josie gets roped into wrangling her brother's best friend- Hockey player Wyatt Jacobs, for a few weeks during the Summer. Hilarity ensues in the form of wrongful detainment, runaway hogs, a bad case of poison oak, and a cute lil puppy in a tutu.
I love me a good Grumpy Sunshine and forced proximity book. I was rooting for these two from the moment Wyatt crutched after the cop car down the driveway!
A special bonus was the knowledge gained about piloting a sailboat down the East Coast, which came from a personal journey by the Author's Aunt & Uncle.

This book was awesome from the first page! I truly enjoyed the journey of this romance! The connection between the two main characters was a perfect slow burn. I also enjoyed learning about sailing and working things out together! Such a fun story! The narration was perfect!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

Received the audiobook ARC via Netgalley!

Sometimes, you accidentally get arrested and put in the back of a hot cop car like a forgotten child. sometimes you fall in love with an angry, injured hockey player. who knew disc gold could be so dangerous!

Now, I'm not one to typically go for the closed door romance variety, but this was a nice refreshing story with a metric ton of denying their own yearning for one another.

Lots of miscommunication on our lovely MMC's part. Poor thing suffers from chronic foot-in-mouth disease. But to be fair with an FMC this stubborn, it'd be nearly impossible to convince her of anything otherwise.

All I'm saying is if a man refurbished his home for me, I'd be swooning.

my only complaint was with the male narrator for the audiobook, he was almost TOO theatrical with his performance, especially in contrast to the female narrator. But still a very enjoyable listening experience!

Will definitely be recommending this to my friends who enjoy this type of romance!

This was a really beautiful and wholesome book, i so much enjoyed the Witty banter between the two characters and i just didn't want the story to end. The narrators did a very good job and i felt as though I was in the story with them, I had a very good time giggling and laughing out loud. This book was absolutely worth reading and listening to. I love Wyatt calm, patient and grumpy personality. I love the character development and the storyline it was an immaculate experience and I highly recommend this book.

What a cute and light-hearted story! Josie and Wyatt’s banter was hilarious, and I loved reading about how they came together. These two were definitely made for each other. Andi Arndt and Patrick Zeller do a wonderful job, narrating this story.

Tropes in this one:
Sailing
Enemies to lovers
Brother’s BF
Grumpy and sunshine
Hockey
Closed door romance

This book is a great “palate cleanser” style book, which is a book I read to clear away the fog of more heavy books. I enjoyed it and rate it 3.5 stars, rounded up!

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Audio for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐ rounded up. If All Else Sails is a very sweet and easy read, perfect for summer! The characters were likable and the evolution of their relationship was fun to read! Overall, a very fun book.

My only downside goes to the audiobook: I did not really enjoy listening to the chapters from the MMC pov (there are two narrators, a woman for the FMC chapters and an man for the MMC). I felt like the narrator made Wyatt (MMC) constantly angry (which was fine during some parts of the story, but not the whole book) and his feminine voice made the FMC sound whiny instead of witty/banter, which was a huge contrast to the woman character. And I sometimes had difficulties understanding what the narrator said as some parts were a bit mumbled. For these reasons, I prefered to read the MMC chapters. Other than that, I really enjoyed listening and reading the book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for the ARC and ALC.

If you’re in the mood for an easy read that look no further than If All Else Sails.

Josie expects to meet her brother Jacob for a summer trip something they always do, only to find his best friend Wyatt instead.
Wyatt is a total grump not definitely not someone Josie would want to spend time with if she had the option, Wyatt needs someone to help him out after a foot injury from hockey and Jacob (Josie's brother) couldn’t get off work to do it, did I mention Josie is an elementary nurse.
Only problem is Wyatt hates her, but Josie agrees to help out anyway.

One week becomes two, then it becomes sailing trip of challenges. The two end becoming closer with truths they have no option to admit.

It was sweet you can’t help but love it, it was a close door romance so no spice, which I know some people prefer.
Me on the other hand I do like a little something, I feel it makes the characters more relatable and helps fuse the chemistry of characters. This is only my opinion thought I know a bit of spice isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
This didn’t take away from the booked thought and was still enjoyable.


Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for allowing me to review this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Cute Cozy Rom-Com! 4/5⭐️

* Brother’s Best Friend
* Forced Proximity
* Hockey Player MMC and School Nurse MFC
* Enemies to Lovers

I enjoyed this ALC. Narration was great - Andi Arndt and Patrick Zeller did a great job and fit characters well.

The story of an injured Wyatt who is staying at his deceased uncle’s broken down cabin and Josie who was supposed to be on a vacation with her brother but is tricked into taking care of the grumpy hockey player. The story was filled with sweet moments and deep themes while maintaining an overall cozy and easy read. Jib’s outfits were adorable and the supportive but annoying brother were great to see and realistic.

Thank you NetGalley - Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for this great ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was giving me all of the summer feels. I found myself daydreaming of sunshine, ocean waves and sailboats along the coastline. If All Else Sails really is such a sweet, summertime read. It is cozy with some humor woven throughout the story making it the perfect lighthearted, easy romance to fill your TBR during the warmer months.

Wyatt is Josie’s older brother’s best friend and this trope gets me every time. Years before, Wyatt breaks Josie’s teenage heart when she walks downstairs in the middle of the night and stumbling in on him kissing another girl. Now years later and Josie has never really been able to drop her grudge towards Wyatt. Little does she know that Wyatt has loved her all along. Now the two of them find themselves alone in a cottage. The tension is building and Josie finds it harder and harder to hate Wyatt.

This is a slow burn, clean romance which I am always on the lookout for to recommend to all of my non-spice reading buddies.

I loved the narration for this audiobook. Andi Arndt is a favorite of mine.

If All Else Sails is a lighthearted, feel-good romance filled with charm, humor, and sweet moments. Emma St. Clair delivers a clean rom-com with quirky characters and witty banter that keeps the story moving. The narration by Andi Arndt and Patrick Zeller adds warmth and depth, making for an easy and enjoyable listen.

While the plot follows some predictable turns, it’s an overall cute story that’s perfect for a cozy escape. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

#EmmaStClair #IfAllElseSails #NetGalley #ThomasNelson #ZondervanFictionPublishing

If you're after a light and breezy read with some genuinely funny moments, "If All Else Sails" might fit the bill. The beginning certainly delivers on the humour and manages to maintain a fairly light tone throughout. While the "brother's best friend" trope isn't usually my favourite, it was handled adequately in this instance. Overall, the book was enjoyable, but I wouldn’t read it again.

It's worth noting that this reads more as a straightforward contemporary romance with a side of hockey rather than a full-fledged hockey romance. So, if you're expecting a deep dive into the world of pucks and power plays, you might want to adjust your expectations.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ALC.

Talk about a slow burn! The two main characters didn't kiss (yes! Just kissed) until the 95% mark. This was one of the driest romance books I have ever read. The female narrator was excellent, and thankfully, she read most of the book because the male narrator was a pain to listen to.

Josie and Jacob know each other. Jacob has had a crush on Josie for awhile and Josie has a animosity toward him. he has kept his distance from her. Josie is a nurse and her brother sign her up to take care Jacob to recovering. they spend time together and some truths come out about each other.
narrated by Andi Arndt; Patrick Zeller

This was my first book by Emma St. Claire and it was lovely. It was such a cute, grumpy x sunshine, brother’s best friend romance that was really heartwarming. I liked the forced proximity and the slow burn, it really felt like the relationship was able to build naturally.

I will say that it is labeled as enemies to lovers but it’s more hate to love (but only on her part)? Annoyance to love? And it’s closed door romance-which I do read but I really wish publishers would include this in the description so I know not to expect on page spice.

Andi Arndt and Patrick Zeller did a fantastic job with the narration (as usual!).

Read this if you like:
⛵️Brother’s Best Friend
⛵️Closed Door Romance
⛵️Miscommunication
⛵️Sailing
⛵️Taking care of someone
⛵️Slow Burn
⛵️Banter, teasing and tension
⛵️Dogs in outfits

A fun enemies to lovers rom com. A great meet cute to open the novel. I fell in love with JIb! The audio narration for the Wyatt is too quiet compared to Josie.

When elementary school nurse Josie arrives to meet her brother for their not-quite-annual summer trip, instead of finding Jacob, she discovers she has been duped. Jacob can't take off work for a trip and instead is calling in a huge favor from Josie: helping his best friend recover from surgery. Wyatt is the perpetual grump, a famous hockey player Josie has never particularly liked, and a terrible patient. His foot is in bad shape, but nowhere near as bad as his surly attitude.

Begrudgingly, Josie agrees to stay for a week that becomes two. But when she finds out that Wyatt's injury ruined his plans to sail down the east coast on the Intracoastal Waterway, Josie surprises them both by agreeing to be his second set of hands.

Smooth sailing is nowhere to be found, and Wyatt is one cranky captain. With one disaster after another slowing their progress, Josie questions if they'll even be able to make it home without killing--or kissing?--each other. And yet, the longer they share cramped quarters and canned food, the more of Wyatt's layers she peels back until Josie realizes she misunderstood him and perhaps herself as well.

My first Emma St. Clair book. All the cutes you would expect - grumpy, well known athlete, spunky female, enemies to romance. Throw in the cute and plotting brother and you have an adorable story. Quick, light read that will keep you interested to the end.

Wyatt is a professional hockey player who is injured but is refusing to take care of himself. His agent and friend steps in and sends his sister Josie, a school nurse, to take care of him. Neither is aware of this and what unfolds is funny and sweet.

Andi Arndt was spectacular reading as Josie but I did feel that Patrick Zeller might not have been the best pick for Wyatt. If possible he was a bit too dramatic and definitely lost points with me on the audio version

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC audiobook!