Out with the Tide by Julie Olivia | Book Review

March 31, 2024 nanafark

Out with the Tide by Julie Olivia
A Small Town Romance

Series: Never Harbor, Book #2
First release date: March 28, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
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My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Spice level: 🌶🌶 (2/5)

📕 | In this book we get to know Cassidy Davies, and meet Marina Starkey. Marina gets fired, loses her apartment in the city and decides to return back her hometown, Never Harbor, for the summer, but she’s unaware that her family rental is currently rented by Cassidy. When she realises there’s no other option, she accepts Cassidy’s offer to move in with him and become roommates and they find themselves in a one-bed only situation…

👍🏼 | This book is cozy like a warm blanket on a winter night. It’s a safe space to be and I’m glad I got lost in it even for a little while.

✍🏼 | Julie Olivia is very talented at creating the best universe to dive in and I’m always enjoying reading whatever she writes. This one in particular is cuteness overload.

💖 | I loved the characters. Like, I truly loved them. Cassidy was the definition of kindness and I couldn’t get enough of him and his chuckles. Marina was so polite and sweet and the interactions between them were just adorable. The mutual pining? Holding hands and waving at each other? Heart-melting! I liked seeing their growth and how they figured out a plan going forward career-wise, how one was there to support the other and as always the family vibes and the strong bond between them. I also liked the serious issue mentioned in the workplace environment and how beautifully is handled. What I loved the most though was probably all the easter eggs for the next book, which is going to be about Milo and Lulu!

👎🏼 | Unfortunately, I felt that the pace wasn’t steady as it progressed. It was great up until one point, with the storyline focused on Cassidy and Marina and with all the rest happening in parallel. And then after their spicy moment, is as if we don’t have much of the romance aspect and more of the story around it. So, I think that in the final chapters, it got more focused on the world around than the main characters and then the romance story was rushed in the epilogue. I feel that I wanted to see more of them after they “got together” and exist as a couple because they’ve been cute like that throughout the whole book.

❝ If you want to board that train and go, that’s fine. I’ll be your roommate anywhere else too. You’re my otter. I’m not gonna let you drift away. ❞

🗣 | Recommended for those who enjoy a golden retriever MMC and sunshine vibes all around small towns.

✨ | Overall, a cute, sweet and funny book that will warm your heart and will leave you with heart eyes once finished 😍😍

tropes + micro tropes :

sunshine & sunshine
one bed + one house
sick caretaking
roommates
skinny dipping
“hey honey”
spicy
himbo hero
coastal small town
peter pan inspired

I hope you liked this review. If you did, consider sharing it with people who might be interested. Also, if you have anything more to add, please write it in the comments section below so everyone can see it. Until next time!

Love,
Christina xx