A woman who lost a friend in the ocean when they were ten years old is struggling with her life as an adult, wife, mother, and writer. Though she's written a best-selling women's action/mystery/spy novel series, she finds it formulaic and uninspiring, unmotivated to edit her latest novel.
Her marriage has been suffering for years, and now her stay at home dad of a husband is divorcing her. Her kids are addicted to Pokémon and screen time and have already begun pitting their parents against each other. So Jenn has decided to take her kids on an impromptu beach vacation to decide what to do with her mother's old house, and to try to bond with her children. But it's on the same beach where she grew up, and where Timmy disappeared 30 years ago. And has just reappeared. With a mission to save the world, though he's not sure how or from what. Then strange things begin happening, like creatures in the sea, a tsunami hits the carnival, and they find a strange sea creature from the ocean who grows when it's fed candy.

Jenn struggles, insecurities, and complaints as a mother/writer/wife are a bit redundant and excessive, repeated again and again over the first 35% of the book, and comprise most of her inner monologue during this section. Rising action takes a bit of time to finally begin as well. But anyone who has nostalgia for childhoods at the beach or candy on the boardwalk, and is also into a bit of sea monster fantasy, should appreciate this book.

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review from Net Galley. All opinions expressed are solely mine and do not reflect the publisher, author, or affiliates.

This book was an interesting read, it promised to be sea beach and carnival vibes. However, I found that I was largely uninterested in what was going on, the writing style was hard for myself to get into and I ended up not finishing the book, as I was fearful that it was going to put me into a slump.

Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for my early e-arc copy.

What a unique, clever, page-turning, strange, romantic, sci-fi, mystery. I couldn't put this book down and I also wasn't sure I liked any of the characters. Usually liking a character is important to me, but it wasn't in this book. I was fascinated by where the story was going. This is a creative blend of story types -- I'm not sure I've read anything like it? It has a mystery, a mom struggling, a sea monster and more. I'll be thinking about this one for awhile!

"Life was a losing battle, really. Everything else out there in the vast beyond was so lifeless and empty. Mostly, a person had to look away. But there came a moment, or many moments, when a person had to extract their proverbial head from the sand and set aside their screens and remove their headphones and stand witness."

"But life is absurd. We have to revel in the absurdity."

What a heartwarming, life-affirming book!

Did I think I would love a book about sea monsters? Not really, but I loved Emily Jane's previous book about space alien cats and thought this one would appeal as well and I was correct.

Jenn is a best selling romance author and mother of two young children, Evie (10) and Mason (7). She and her husband are separated and heading for divorce. Thirty years ago, as a child, Jenn met a boy named Timmy one summer when he was vacationing on the island where she lived. They rescued a funny sea creature and shortly thereafter, Timmy disappears while they are swimming in the ocean and is presumed drowned. At a crossroads in her life, Jenn packs up the children and takes them to the island in order to clean out her late mother's house. But who should appear in the ocean but Timmy, still ten years old and with some interesting tales to tell.

It's difficult to capture what this book is about in a paragraph. Suffice it to say, it's both magical realism and fantasy. A coming of age novel and a midlife novel. It explores serious topics in a very silly way. You have to be willing to go with the silliness and not take everything too literally or too seriously.

There are a couple of things I thought could have been condensed or eliminated, mainly there are too man excerpts from Jenn's romance novels and from her ex's weird self help books. I didn't think they added much to further the plot along.

Overall, I felt like this book was filled with adventure, humor, and made me think about life and all of its nuances. If you like a bit of wacky science fiction with time traveling sea monsters, you'll definitely delight in this novel.

Come on in. Come on, little humans. The water's fine.

With the deadline for her latest book fast approaching, and her soon-to-be-ex-husband clamoring for custody of the young ‘uns, popular romance author Jenn Lanaro snatches the kiddos and heads for the beach – her childhood home of Pearl Island, to be precise. Though she’s never forgotten that weird incident thirty years ago when her new best friend disappeared beneath the waves, it happened a long time ago, and right now she needs to unwind with her children while dreaming up new scenarios for her fictional heroine. What she doesn’t need is another child . . . a boy who wanders out of the ocean claiming to be her best bud from three decades ago.

And, if that’s not weird enough, strange little morphing, gelatinous creatures keep appearing in the surf. The kids have named them “squidoodles” or “squidnox” and are really hoping to keep one as a pet. The odd critters love nothing more than to dine on gummy candy, and cookies. And, as it turns out, they may just be the key to preventing Tentageddon.

That’s right. I said . . . Tentageddon.

You’re just gonna have to read it to find out.

This is another fantastical tale by Emily Jane. It’s delightful, and not just because junk food saves the day. As in her first book, On Earth as It Is on Television, she peoples her novel with warm, lovable characters, and children I wouldn't want to own, but whose antics I greatly enjoy.

‘Twas a fun, imaginative romp that I hated to see end.

HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE by Emily Jane had so much to recommend it: best-selling writer returns to the beach of her childhood summers only to be immersed in mystery, fantasy, impossibility of a dead childhood friend returning from the sea to save the world. However, somehow, the premise intrigued, the writing drew me in, but the story failed to hold me. It was definitely the genre bender of a story about kids and the adults they become and what happens when you are drawn into saving the world from aliens. It was definitely well-written, particularly the early section about young kids who find the sea creature and rescue it, liking it but not knowing why. The sense of place is solid, bringing me back to my own seaside vacations. However, the preposterous, particularly in the final third of the book, wound up spewing me out of the story. All in all, I'm glad I read it, but not sure I'd recommend it. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This was a fun ride, but did get a bit tedious at times. Jenni is a well-known romance author, famous for her Philipia Bay action-romance series, which is pretty much, as she calls it 'action smut'. The book has its regular plot, interspersed with chapters of her next installment of the series. As you may guess, there are some parallels. Each cover has a Fabio-esque model on the cover in various states of undress. Jenni is having marital issues with her husband Chuck, who has been a stay at home dad to their 2 children. To escape the impending divorce and joint custody bargaining, she takes the kids and escapes to Pearl Island, her childhood home, to clean out the family cottage after her mothers death.

Upon arriving, she runs into her childhood friend, who died 30 years ago, and that's when things get weird. Soon 2 different types of sea monsters are battling it out, and she and the kids befriend a local hot contractor to help save the world.

A fun premise for sure, but the ongoing battle scences took up 1/3 of the book, so I think some serious editing could have occurred. There's great character development here and you are rooting for Jenni and the contractor to make it work and save the world, so there's that. It's campy and fun and would make a hilarious movie.

Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book! Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane was a quirky, interesting read. I enjoyed the characters and some of the sci fi aspects of the story, but overall it felt too long. I wasn’t invested enough in Jenn’s career as an author to read so many excerpts from her books. Overall, the book was fine and I know many readers who will love it!

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions written are completely honest and my own.

Although the story was a fun and odd, if was not for me.

The writing was very detailed and at times mind bending. I think this is a wonderful book for lover of Sci Fi, but not my cup tea. There is a lot going on and my brain zoned out a lot

Jenn, a bestselling author, finds herself in the middle of divorce and wants to get away. She packs up the kids and rents a house in her hometown, Pearl Island. Little did she know that her and her kids would find Timmy, Jenn's childhood best friend that disappeared 30 years ago. While trying to figure out what happened to him, Jenn finds out there is a threat to the island. Jenn tries to figure out how to keep her kids as well as juggling everything else on her plate.

What a unique read! I enjoyed that I didn't know what was going to happen next. There was a mix of sea monsters, squidoodles, candy eating creatures, tidal waves, family of opposums, etc. It kept me on my toes.

My favorite part of the book was Jenn and her character development!

Here Beside the Rising Tide is like nothing I've read before. At the beginning of the book, we get to know Jenni and Timmy who become fast friends when Timmy's family visits the beach town Jenni lives in. Then, Timmy drowns, and we jump ahead 30 years. Jenni now Jenn is a best-selling author who is going through a divorce and struggling to write her next book, so she decides to take her two kids back to the town she grew up. And Timmy reappears along with some odd sea creatures.

The premise of this book is pretty out there, but I enjoyed Emily Jane's writing, the characters, and most of the story. The additions of excerpts from Jenn's book series and the self-help book were a nice element. The book lost me a bit with a very long battle between the good sea creatures and the bad one, but I still had a fun time reading this.

Oh man, I am so bummed about this one! I really wanted to adore HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE, and I did like the first half. Unfortunately, the further I read, the less enchanted I became with the direction the story took.

HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE has a really fun premise: When Jenni was 10 years old, her best friend Timmy disappeared without a trace while wading in the ocean. Jenni is now a successful romance author with two children of her own. Her marriage is ending, she’s unhappy with her career, and she returns to her hometown to clean out her mom’s home when Timmy mysteriously returns from the ocean. He’s still 10 years old and he says he’s there to save the world.

I loved all of this. I enjoyed the humor in Jenni’s ridiculous interactions with her husband and her struggles raising Pokemon-obsessed kids. I found these parts to be Amy Poeppel-ish (a high compliment from me … Poeppel is one of my favorite authors). But then Emily Jane jumped the shark. I just could not get onboard with the rest of the story, which involves a battle between an army of squidoodles (or squidinoxes, once they evolved) and a creature called the Tentageddon.

In addition, I could have done without the excerpts from the Philipia Bay novels, as well as the self-help book. I think these had the potential to be funny, but I just felt that they were a distraction from the story, which was too long at 400 pages.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, but I felt it had much potential. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Hyperion Avenue for an early digital copy of HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE in exchange for my honest opinion.

A bestselling author in a rut, her husband wants a divorce, she's got writer's block, and the only answer is to take her kids and go back to where her life changed, Pearl Island, where her childhood best friend disappeared and she's now stranded on while a giant squad monster invades the island, and did I mention she's met her very hot almost cover book model neighbor who has a crush on her? Talk about an adventure. Jenni Farrow had a best friend when she lived on Pearl Island, Timmy Caruso who had mysteriously disappeared. now 30 years later Jenni is a best selling author of an action-romance series and is desperate to escape her books and her impending divorce from her husband. So what better idea than to take her kids away to the place she had the best summers ever and return to Pearl Island? Yet what she never expects is to find that Timmy has actually emerged from out the sea and is the exact same age he was when he disappeared.... and he is apparently on a mission to save the world and needs Jenni's help. Timmy tells her that there is a creature coming from the water to the island and now it's up to him, Jenny, and her kids to stop it.... and then there is of course Jenni's very sexy contractor who also happened to have almost been the cover model for her books and who has taken an interest in her. Jenni wanted an escape but this adventure is one she was never prepared for, can she save herself, those she loves, and escape this creature from the sea?? This was definitely a unique book and had a nice story about getting out of ruts and finding yourself again. Jenni is learning to find herself again after everything and this book was meant for anyone who has ever felt stuck. The whole monster from the deep aspect of the book was fun too and I do think that this would make a cute movie.

Release Date: January 25,2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Not sure why, but I held off on reading this one for quite a while, but I have to say once I started reading I was instantly hooked. This is a wild blending of genres: part sci-fi/fantasy-ish, romance-ish, adventure-ish, mid-life crisis-ish. If that sounds confusing, I’m sure. I just really don’t know how to categorize the one, maybe grown up fairy tale? I know I’d do a horrible job of trying to explain what this book is about, certainly couldn’t do a better job than the book’s blurb so I’m not even going to try. Yes the book are wondrous and perhaps crazy as the blurb makes it sound, and I mean that in the best possible way. No matter how you describe this one, how you’d categorize it, I have to say I enjoyed it. Enjoyed it so much in fact that it made me pick up a copy of Emily Jane’s first novel: On Earth as It Is on Television. Definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for something unique. I’d like the thank Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Here Beside the Rising Tide.

60/100 or 3.0 stars


This was a fun story with plenty of imagination put into it! Despite the fact that it is an adult story (mostly due to the language), I felt this read like a middle-grade story with an adult protagonist. This isn't a bad thing, but it was a little jarring at times. I liked the messages the author was going for, but the story felt a little too long for my tastes. It got a little boring towards the middle and later thirds of the book. It is interesting enough that I wanted to see how it ended, but I wouldn't be reading it again.
Solid story overall though, but not too memorable, unfortunately.

Squidoodles, weird, strange, quirky and very different book.
This author has a great imagination that was definitely needed to write this quite strange story. I was so confused about what I was reading and if it was happening, in the book that the character was writing or if they were all in some sort of drug/alcohol induced dilutions. This book is sooo different from anything I have ever in my life read.

For people that enjoy sea monsters, sci-fi, fantasy, and divorcee drama give this book a shot. If nothing else you will wonder what the heck you just read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this weird arc.

This book was like a fever dream at times. It was quirky and weird and often delightful.

Jenni is a romance-adventure writer, bored with her career, recently divorced, and feuding with her ex-husband who is becoming more "self-actualized" through some male-empowerment self-help. She decides to take her kids off to the beach for the summer so she can meet the deadline for her next novel and finally clean out her deceased mother's home. But when she's there a young boy claiming to be her childhood best friend (the one whom everyone assumed drowned 30+ years ago) shows up and befriends her children. He sure does look like 10-year-old Timmy, but that can't be, can it? What ensues involves sea monsters, Pokemon-esque battles, and a little romance (this is the primary thing that didn't work too well for me as it just felt a little out of place or underdeveloped).

There were times I really liked this, but there were also some moments when I felt like I had no idea what was happening. It seems like the gist of it is Jenni's life is in transition. She's questioning her purpose and considering her choices and regrets. I related a lot to Jenni as a mother; there were many moments I nodded my head about the impulse to control and then questioning, "Why? Why do I need to be this controlling with my children? Who does it hurt to loosen the reigns a little?"

Through the lens of this fantasy world, grounded in the real one, this novel explored the ways that darkness can come for us all, as can hope. Overall I liked this title and would definitely pick up other work from Emily Jane.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the DRC. All thoughts are my genuine reading reactions and opinions.

This is a creative and interesting midlife crisis, fantasy, romanceish novel. It starts with 10-year-old Jenni, growing up in a NC island beach town, whose best friend Timmy disappears into the ocean one day. Thirty years later, Jenni returns to the island with her children to take stock of her life and go through her recently deceased mother's house. One day, she encounters Timmy on the beach (still 10 years old), so she tries to figure out what's going on. And there are psychic sea monsters. I thought this was cute and entertaining, but also too long. By the time I got to the big scenes at the end, I just wanted it to be over. There was a lot of ruminating and inner monologue, so if that were cut by 50-75 pages, it would be more engaging. Thanks to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for the advance digital copy!

Here Beside the Rising Tide was like nothing I have ever read before.

I was instantly drawn to the description, who doesn't love the beach, a missing 10 year old and apparently sea monsters?

When Jenni was 10 years old, she was galivanting around Pearl Island all by herself, due to her mother working too many shifts and no other adults in her life. She stumbles upon Timmy, a child who is mad that he didn't go to space camp, and has to spend his summer at the beach.

Jenni and Timmy become best friends and are having the best summer of their lives.... until they aren't any more. Timmy is sucked up by a riptide and is never seen again.

So we think......

Jenni flees back to Pearl island 30 years later when she is faced with the death of her mother and news that her husband wants a divorce.
Jennifer is a best selling author and is on a strict deadline from her editor. Her kids ignore her and would rather look at their devices or be with their Dad than socialize with her.

Timmy shows up out of nowhere, and so do the sea monsters.

What a ride. I never read anything sci-fi and it won't be my last. I loved all the twists and turns.

But I mostly loved the scene with her mother. It made me cry.

"The world is a brutal place. And I know how lonely you've felt, I wasn't always there when I wanted to be. But I always wanted to be there."
"I wish I had the answers, I wish I knew the right thing to do, and I've tried, but I've always just had to make it up as I went along. But what I do know now Jenni, is that if anyone can figure it out, if there's anyone strong enough, smart enough, creative enough, it's you."

I rated this book a 3.5 because at times it was hard for me to follow. I also felt as though the main character was having a hard time following the story. What was real life and what was all in her mind? or in her manuscript that she was writing.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hyperion Avenue, and Emily Jane for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Here Beside the Rising Tide will be released January 28.

Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane was a great, lighthearted read with a touch of...sea monsters? This book is about an author, Jenn, who goes home to escape her ex-husband (not soon enough) and comes across a boy, Timmy. Let's just say, you have to read to the book - you won't be disappointed! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.