Beyond the Tides (Prince Edward Island Shores, Book 1)

 LIZ JOHNSON

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2021.

How acquired: Revell Reads Blogger Program.

First lines: Morning had a terrible habit of arriving too early, at least as far as Meg Whitaker was concerned.

(For Goodreads synopsis, scroll down.)

My thoughts: My first time reading Liz Johnson, and I’m so glad I “discovered” her! I love the enemies to lovers trope, and forced proximity. This is from Revell, a Christian publishing house, so there’s not actually any lovemaking, other than some kissing (which actually got a little steamy), but it still qualifies.

Meg is a schoolteacher, but when her father announces he’s selling his lobster-fishing business to Oliver, she basically has a little fit and tells her father she wants the business. Even though she’s never had any interest in the business before. But Oliver is her sworn enemy, ever since he destroyed her science fair project back when they were in high school, ruining her chance at a scholarship. She insists the business is her legacy and should stay in the family, but more than that, she doesn’t want Oliver to have it. So dad’s idea – they can work the business together while he takes the season off to care for Meg’s ailing mother, and then at the end of the season he’ll decide who gets it.

I can honestly tell you that if I were in Meg’s place, I think I would gladly let Oliver have the business rather than try to work it myself. But she is determined, no matter how hard it is, how early she has to get up, or how exhausted and sore she is at the end of the day. Despite not being able to relate to Meg and her drive to keep Oliver from buying the business, I really liked her. She’s strong, resilient, not to mention good at holding a grudge! And I loved Oliver. He’s worked so hard to overcome his absent father’s reputation as a thief, which some of the other lobstermen are quick to remind him of. Despite his actions as a teen and Meg’s subsequent hatred of him, Meg’s parents were always good to him, and Whitaker, as he calls her father, pretty much took Oliver under his wing, teaching him the lobster business.

Emotions and tempers run high as Meg and Oliver squabble, and learn to work together, and slowly, reluctantly, come to respect each other and form the beginnings of friendship. Oliver is more responsible for that than Meg, making the greater effort in his desire to make her forgive him and like him.

Meanwhile, Meg and her father are also dealing with her mother’s declining health, as they desperately search for a diagnosis and the hope of a cure. And here is one of the places where Oliver shone. He’s fond of Meg’s mother, and becomes instrumental in helping Meg cope, and helping her see the path she needs to take with her mother. While Meg and Oliver struggle to keep the business going on their own (with help from Kyle, the deckhand, who’d I like to know more about), they deal with some sabotage, such as lines being cut and traps lost. The resolution to that plotline, the culprit, was quite a surprise, that actually made me laugh when they finally figured it out.

The author’s descriptions of the boat and being on the water and toiling long days with the traps and the lobsters were vivid. I learned more about lobster fishing than I ever thought I’d want to know. I actually got curious about the traps and had to google lobster traps to see what they look like and learn more about how they work.

All in all, this is a delightful story about perseverance, forgiveness, family and friendship, and of course, lobsters.

Goodreads synopsis: When Meg Whitaker's father decides to sell the family's lobster-fishing business to her high school nemesis, she sets out to prove she should inherit it instead. Though she's never had any interest in running the small fleet--or even getting on a boat due to her persistent seasickness--she can't stand to see Oliver Ross take over. Not when he ruined her dreams for a science scholarship and an Ivy League education ten years ago.

Oliver isn't proud of what he did back then. Angry and broken by his father walking out on his family, he lashed out at Meg--an innocent bystander. But owning a respected fishing fleet on Prince Edward Island is the opportunity of a lifetime, and he's not about to walk away just because Meg wants him to.

Meg's father has the perfect solution: Oliver and Meg must work the business together, and at the end of the season, he'll decide who gets it. Along the way, they may discover that their stories are more similar than they thought . . . and their dreams aren't what they expected.