"I'm a very patient man." And also slow as molasses. Who likes someone for as long as Wyatt has liked (loved) Josie. I hate that he probably would have continued to love her from afar if he hadn't hurt his foot and then spent weeks wallowing, necessitating Jacob sending Josie to help him. That's why Wyatt is not so smart. Maybe he'd been hit in the head by a puck....hmmmm. I LOVE the whole hospital scene! From the moment Josie works to get Wyatt in his vehicle all the way through to them getting take-out on their way home from the hospital. Every word of that was a true delight! I can't wait to read through that scene again!!!

Very quick and enjoyable reading! I'm in love with sailing so this one was just for me!

Slow burn with it's always been you was very delicious. Almost without the spice but it wasn't spoil the book.
Wyatt is goals!


Will recommend on my blog!

4.5 Boat Shoes 👞

What a delightful slow burn romance. It’s light on the spice factor if that’s what you are looking for but not on the tension.
Wyatt is pretty adorable as a big grumpy hockey player/sailor. Josie is the sunshine to his rain cloud. But as the story progresses she is given more layers and depths that allow for her (positively) flawed character to shine through.

Also Princess JibJabberwocky is clearly an adorable addition and would be welcome, in her many ridiculous outfits, aboard any sailing adventure I’d take.
Also I wouldn’t mind one of Mumma Jacob’s shopping sprees!!

If you like enemies to lovers with a spice level of 0=🌶️ but a realistic love story, than this the book for you.

Delightful romp aboard a boat!

Utterly delightful slow burn romance. Josie gets tricked into helping out her brothers friend slash client. There is no real enemy to lover trope. Instead, he has had feelings for years. Now is the chance to do something about it.

Very sweet story. The writing could use a bit more polish, but I would read this book again. I’ll also read sequels (hint hint). Definitely time well spent in reading this book.

5 stars.

If All Else Sails by Emma St Clair was a combination of some of my favourite tropes - brother's best friend, forced proximity, enemies to lovers. It had a great mix of witty and insightful dialogue and some fun scenes. It mainly centred around school nurse Josie spending her vacation with her brother's best friend - pro hockey player who is recovering from an injury, at his run-down cottage. They work towards his recovery and a sailing trip down the intercoastal waterway.

This was my first read by this author and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more stories in the future.

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced ARC copy.

Loved it! From start to finish this grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers story hooked me in the best way! The grumpy hero was perfection! Honestly, how did his gruff exterior ever mask his—melt me into a puddle— heart of gold? I absolutely loved his fever induced truth telling moments the most! The forced proximity worked wonderfully well in this story and I enjoyed all the little special things that Wyatt did for Josie incognito. I love a romance that builds without unnecessary conflict and this one delivers! This is going on my favorites list for the year! I adored it!

If All Else Sails is a delightful, easy read you can finish in a day, packed with laugh-out-loud moments, a swoon-worthy slow-burn romance, and a quirky dog that steals the show. Emma St. Clair’s signature wit shines through the banter between Wyatt and Josie, whose grumpy-sunshine dynamic and forced proximity create plenty of entertaining tension. While marketed as enemies-to-lovers, their relationship feels more like reluctant acquaintances to lovers. Further development of their "enemy" origin story could have added greater depth to their connection, as the expected tension from the trope doesn’t fully materialize.

The sailboat setting adds a refreshing twist, with the story picking up once they set sail. However, the first half drags with excessive inner monologue and a slow build that makes the eventual romance feel sudden. Readers hoping for a stronger focus on Josie’s nursing role in Wyatt’s recovery may find that aspect underdeveloped. Still, the charming side characters, humorous canine antics, and meaningful character growth from both leads make this a worthwhile read. If you enjoy clean, closed-door romances with forced proximity and plenty of humor, If All Else Sails is a charming addition to your TBR—perfect for a one-sitting read, if you can sail through the slow start. Look for this on shelves August 5!

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for this eARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a standalone, kisses only romcom by Emma St Clair. It features a character that was first introduced in a previous series of hers, but it is absolutely not necessary to have read that series to thoroughly enjoy this book.

Wyatt and Josie have chemistry out the wazoo. The banter between them is humorous. I appreciated the deeper touches of the story as well. There is healing achieved throughout the story for both characters. It was fun to take that journey with them.

One thing that I do want to mention, is that I did not read the blurb and am very glad that I didn't. It contains information that happens over halfway through the story. From the cover and title, some events could be guessed, but I personally hate being spoiled by blurbs. That's why I've stopped reading them, especially for authors I am familiar with their content or for books recommended to my by friends. That is another reason why my reviews are more vague than maybe other's are.

I did receive an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was SO cute. The perfect lift-your-mood rom-com. Thanks @netgalley and @kikimojo for the ARC!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Josie and Wyatt have been enemies for years. He’s her brother’s best friend and has always had a scowl on his face. When Josie is tricked into being his temporary caregiver after an injury, they are stuck living together in a “murder cottage”. Hilarious things ensue and you just need to read it 😜

Once they warm up to each other, Josie agrees to a sailing trip down the East coast with Wyatt. Again, faced with close quarters, the two find their qualms aren’t so real and maybe it was just a cover all along for deeper feelings.

I loved the closed-door hockey romance series written by this author, so I was really excited to read this! It was adorable, just like I hoped. The characters were funny and had great banter, though it was more of a reluctant friends-to-lovers story than enemies-to-lovers. The beginning was a little slow, but once it reached the actual sailing part of the story, it picked up. I really liked that there was no unnecessary drama or third-act break-up. It's the perfect book if you enjoy the brother's best friend trope and want something simple, funny, and sweet.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction, for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a clean, slow burn, romance story with laugh out loud moments and some chemistry.
I had difficulty with this one. I skimmed a lot ( I think there was too much inner thought that broke up the dialogue and that distracts me a lot); the first 50% was very slow and I was getting bored (minus 1 point for that).
The story started picking up speed when they started sailing, and that's only after half the book. Their relationship was very slow, and all of a sudden it was there. I didn't feel their connection (minus 1 point for that).
I was also waiting for the nursing part to kick in and it never did. If she was a nurse I was expecting to see her profession shine when she looked after him, but when we get the recovery part, we don't see how she helped him, how she nursed him back into shape.
Over all, it was okay, I still laughed with some scenes and swooned with others. Wyatt is broody but lovable and Josie has her issues, but trusts Wyatt.

"If All Else Sails" is an adorable closed door enemies to lovers novel. Emma St. Clair does an excellent slow burn, and finished with a great HEA. While closed door romances are not normally my cup of tea, I could not put this down because I needed to know what happened next between Josie & Wyatt. The characters were well developed and the light hearted banter made it a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Emma St. Clair for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did like this book, but it wasn't enemies to lovers. It was more like reluctant friends to lovers, which was still cute! I loved the setting and their travels with a cute litlle dressed up dog. It was a great read if you love slow burn romances as well!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book, expecting more than just a standard rom-com, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. While it was packed with romance and comedy, it never really stood out or offered anything fresh to make it memorable.

The start was fun and promising, with some genuinely funny moments, but the story quickly fell into a repetitive rhythm. Each chapter seemed to play out exactly as the title suggested, which made everything predictable. I would have preferred a more unpredictable flow, where the content of the chapters kept me guessing.

As for the chemistry between Wyatt and Josie, it just didn’t hit the mark for me. There was an attraction, sure, but the relationship lacked that special spark that makes a romance feel real and exciting. Maybe I’m being too picky, but after reading so many rom-coms, I’m used to something more engaging.

The story felt like it would be better suited for a sitcom—perhaps the humor would have worked better in that format. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but it definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. I would still encourage others to give it a try since it might resonate with someone else, but for me, it just didn’t work. That's why it gets 2 ⭐ from me.

Perfect grumpy and sunshine! Josie is conned into taking care of Wyatt as he recovers from an injury and sails down the coast to honor his uncle’s last wishes. As a middle school teacher, the lack of spice in this still-very-sweet romance is perfect and this was such a fun read!

I was very excited to read this book, so when I was approved for an arc, I was very eager to start, however, I felt the characters were very bland, and the story was not very exciting, therefore, I didn't particularly enjoy it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. thank you to NETGALLEY for this arc.

Love this author and love the Appies, so I was so excited when I saw this book.
It has some good moments, a lot of classic tropes. There were some funny scenes (like the pigs and the dr), sweet moments (the dancing and the dog) and a couple protective/jealous and some encouraging ones. Wyatt is the Grumpy to Josie’s sunshine. It has a brothers best friend kinda vibe too, with some grief and trauma to work through together.

He fell first, and I feel like it took her a bit long to work it all out, but a RomCom worth reading. 4⭐️


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was so good! I really loved the characters and how well developed they were! I enjoyed reading their story!

After standing her up for their annual sibling trip, Josie's brother calls in a favor. He convinces her to stay and use her nursing skills on his friend who is recovering from an injury. Wyatt is the stereotypical grump and has no interest in having Josie help him recover from his injury. Well, they strike up a deal where if he works on his recovery, she will sail down the Intercoastal Highway with him before summer is up.

Grumpy/Sunshine
Nurse/Patient
Forced Proximity
Brother's Best Friend

I loved how patient Wyatt was as Josie had to navigate through her misunderstandings about Wyatt. And when she was ready, she poured herself out to him and he just listened. I loved that. The forced proximity trope truly was the star of the show.

Emma St. Clair will continue to be an auto-read author of mine. However, it felt like the plot was following one trope into another without ironing it out. This made a choppy story. The first half felt like a different story compared to the second half. I feel like the second half felt stronger as a story and as a romance. Not only that, but Josie as a nurse vs Josie sailing felt very different. Both of them overcame something (Nurse Josie with her brother's almost death and Sailing Josie with her past relationship experience), but it seemed glossed over a little bit. Brother wise: I don't like that she truly catered to him and he could do no wrong. I wish there was a heart to heart about their relationship instead of her relationship with Wyatt.

Thank you Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the arc in exchange for my review.

I loved this book. So much so that I forced myself to sit it down to prolong how long it took me to read it because I didn’t want to be done with the story and characters.

I was smiling and chuckling from page 1. Emma St. Clair must be incredibly witty in person to have written the witty internal and external monologues and banter in this. I want to be her friend now.

I also happen to LOVE the grumpy male MC trope (maybe because I’m married to one myself 😂) and the chemistry between these two characters was felt immediately while still keeping it clean and closed door.

I also enjoyed each of the secondary characters in this book.

If you like:
💕clean
💕closed door
💕 rom-com
💕 forced proximity
💕 grump + sunshine
💕 animals
💕 athlete MC
💕 wit
Add this to your TBR pronto!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.