Thank you Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book started out super strong, I loved the style and the questions and themes it was posing in the beginning. The characters felt real and they were fun to read about. Love the sci-fi/fantasy elements it started with.

However, as the book went on, everything just seemed to fall pretty flat. The stuff I was interested in didn't have enough focus and the stuff I wasn't interested in drug. This book seemed just a little too long and it's decent and intriguing subplots got a little too lost in the main plot.

I think a lot of people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't for me. Loved the first 25% though.

This book was unlike any book I've read in a very long time. I absolutely loved the setting and the characters of this story. So well done!

Loved this book so much! Blends Jane’s style and sci-fi sensibilities from On Earth as it is on Television with a dash of horror and romance! Fast paced and at times action packed but with a heart and soul and plenty of humor. Lots to love here! Will particularly appeal to fans of Jane’s debut as well as those who enjoy jam bands, Pokémon, kaiju, and romance. I know it’s a lot to unpack, but if you enjoy it half as much as I did you won’t regret it!

There is a lot of great stuff here. There is also a LOT of stuff here - and that's where I found it to be a somewhat challenging read... Honestly, 400 pages was probably a solid 100-150 more than were needed to capture the magic of this tale and relate it in a way that would have broader appeal. There is a lot of repetitive consideration of Jenn's bad marriage. There is a lot of her second-guessing herself and her choices. There is also a LOT of Pokemon detail. I had multiple children go through the Pokemon phase, so was generally familiar, and still found it to be a lot of Pokemon - so if you have not had the joy of collectible cards I don't know how you'd follow any of that. I also don't know why it was necessary...

At it's heart, this is a story about friendship and being true to yourself and possibilities - as well as their flipsides, in dysfunctional relationships, hiding what you want/who you are, and regrets/missed opportunities. That story would resonate more strongly without as much filler I think. When the story opened, Jane had me hooked. That feeling continued for quite a while - then started drifting on the eponymous tides, and that's where it started losing me. The feeling of connection would come back, only to recede again, lost in a wash of details that didn't add to the story so much as pull me out of it. It's an enjoyable read, but a meandering one - and it meandered a bit more than my personal taste enjoyed...

Just wasn’t for me! I adored Jane’s first novel, but this one was a little harder to follow and maybe I just like aliens better than sea monsters! Has a super strong start though.

I read the premise of the book and immediately asked to be an early reviewer. Im so glad I was given the chance to experience this book.

A little bit of horror and good chunk of romance and mix it with what I love about being a geek (Hello Pokemon cards!) made this book quite memorable. Trying to explain coherently the plot of this book is quite a challenge, as it is something completely different from everything else I have read, but completely in a great way!

I already know friends and followers that will enjoy this book as much as I did.

I found this story to be extremely interesting. I absolutely love the cover art and was drawn to the book because it seemed like something new and exciting. I am not at all against this book. If anything, it breaded my scope in genres. I have read Dune which would be considered to be sci-fi, and this also is very sci-fi / fantasy... however, it just did not resonate with me.

I loved that Timmy, the mysterious boy who disappeared and reappears 3o years later on Pearl Island, has the essence of Peter Pan. Timmy reminds me a lot of Peter Pan and The Lost Boys. The wonder of his character and the fact he just lives so carefree. He also struggles with the concept of adults and getting older (especially when it comes to seeing Jenni grown up with children of her own).

Overall the story was interesting! There were lots of pokemon references which sadly I did not understand any of it due to not knowing anything about pokemon. I liked the theme of evolving and changing that was evident in this story. It was strange and captivating at the same time. I was so intrigued in where the heck this story was going!

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue, NetGalley, and the author, Emily Jane, for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Publishes January 28th, 2025!

Here Beside the Rising Tide
Emily Jane
I love this book. I was not familiar with the author Emily Jane until I read Here Beside the Rising Tide. Her name will stick with me. This is a unique read, funny, bizarre, tender. In this tale we meet Jenni Farrow. The ten-year-old lived on Pearl Island. She and Timmy Caruso spend the summer together, swimming, visiting the carnival, riding the rides, and sharing in the celebration by watching the fireworks. They had fun and their friendship was important and then Timmy disappeared.
It’s been thirty years since Jenni Farrow aka Jenn Lanaro stepped foot on Pearl Island. Her book Philipia Bay, a romance action series is on the Best Seller list. She is exhausted from the pressure of her career and the emotional fatigue from dealing with her soon to be ex-husband. She rents a house for the summer, packs up her children and heads to Pearl Island. Shortly after they arrived, she sees a ten-year-old boy, he comes out of the sea at night. He says his name is Timmy Caruso and he is there to perform an important quest; he must save the world. Impossible Timmy Caruso if he was alive would be forty years old.
Life goes on as Jenn attempts to meet her writing deadlines, care for her children, deal with the odd boy from the sea and spend time with the sexy contractor that has caught her interest. Suddenly things begin to happen, “sharks are attacking, tidal waves, increase of sugar-addicted sea creatures, and a terror in the deeper water.” Could the young boy from the sea be right? Was he really there to save the world?
OMG what a book. I know the plot sounds strange to say the least but take my word for it, you want, need and must read this book. We all try to hold on to the puzzle pieces of our life. But there are monsters trying to steal the puzzle pieces. We want to hold on to the past, the precious memories of our childhood, of running through the sand, chasing the waves as they rush to shore, feeding the sea gulls, catching your first fish, playing with your new puppy and any of the other memories that make you smile. Suddenly, when you least expect it, it smacks you up the side of the face and you realize that it’s all in the past, its gone,
Thank you, Emily Jane, for writing this book. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a review copy.

Emily Jane's HERE BESIDE THE RISING TIDE is the delightfully weird, funny, touching story of a highly successful writer on the verge of losing her marriage, who attempts to escape for one last summer with her kids. She's very late on a book deadline for a bestselling series she's lost the passion for writing years ago, so of course she decides to whisk her kids to the island where she grew up, so she can theoretically deal with her mold- and opossum-infested childhood house. And then a boy appears out of the ocean, claiming to be her long lost childhood friend on a mission to save the world.

It's a story about trying to hold onto all the pieces of your life, past and present, without losing everything to sea monsters. It's the soft heat of late summer nostalgia on a popsicle stick and the mayhem of trying to keep your sand castle life intact when the waves are rushing in. It will poke you right in the heart while you're still in the middle of stuffing your face with gummy bears. You haven't read anything like this in a long time, I promise you.

Thank you to the publisher for the very early ARC!

Also - someone seems to have copied my review here from Goodreads. Please know that this one is the original!

It's a story about trying to hold onto all the pieces of your life, past and present, without losing everything to sea monsters. It's the soft heat of late summer nostalgia on a popsicle stick and the mayhem of trying to keep your sand castle life intact when the waves are rushing in. It will poke you right in the heart while you're still in the middle of stuffing your face with gummy bears. You haven't read anything like this in a long time, I promise you. Thank you to the publisher for the very early ARC!

I personally had never read anything from this author before but the cover intrigued me. Once I read the bio and saw the mix of fun things the book/plot entailed I knew I had to check it out! Loved the different ideas behind the story and also enjoyed the love story with sea monsters. Thanks so much tor letting me ARC!

Wow, the beach, a mysterious boy, and sea monsters! Here Beside the Rising Tide is a wild read! Pick this one up!