Five interconnected standalones

The Tidewater Secrets

A dead postmistress. A hidden room. And 243 love letters that were never delivered. Each book follows a different couple in Saltmere, Oregon. Each stands alone with a complete happily ever after. The mystery builds across all five.

Reading order note: Each book is a standalone romance with a complete HEA. Start anywhere -- but maybe start with Book 1.

The Tidewater Secrets

The Letter You Never Got

Rina Philips

Book 1 · Winter

Book 1 · Winter

The Letter You Never Got

A Small-Town Romance

Nora Callahan & Finn Maguire

She came to renovate a cottage. He refused to leave his workshop. They divided the space with masking tape.

Nora Callahan doesn't ask for help. Not since she was nine years old and learned that the only person she could count on was herself. So when she lands her first major solo job -- renovating the Harbormaster's Cottage in Saltmere, Oregon -- she plans to do it alone. There's just one problem: Finn Maguire has been using the back room as his woodshop for three years, and he's not moving. Then Nora discovers a hidden room behind the shared wall -- stacked with 243 undelivered love letters spanning decades, all connected to a fishing boat called the Meridian that sank in 1965.

"Stop fixing," he said. "Just stand here." And I stood there. In the cottage we'd rebuilt together. And I let him hold me. Not because I was broken. But because standing still was the bravest thing I'd ever done.
Forced proximityEnemies-to-loversGrumpy-sunshineHe carves her a shelfDual POVComplete HEA
Pre-order Now — May 1 Read Chapter 1 Free

The Tidewater Secrets

The Words Between Us

Rina Philips

Book 2 · Spring

Book 2 · Spring

The Words Between Us

A Second Chance Romance

Jade Okonkwo & Leo Vasquez

Eight years ago, Leo Vasquez stole Jade Okonkwo's research and published it under his name. Now he's in her town.

Jade doesn't do trust. Not anymore. She's a marine biologist studying tidepool ecosystems in Saltmere, and she has rebuilt her career on a single principle: if you let someone close enough to know your work, they will use it against you. Then Leo Vasquez arrives on a historical research fellowship, and his investigation into Saltmere's maritime smuggling history leads straight to the tidewater caves where Jade has the only access permit. The caves hold more than tide pools -- the navigation markings on the walls tell a story that changes everything.

"I don't forgive you because you deserve it. I forgive you because I deserve it."
Second chanceAcademic rivalsForced partnershipShe's a scientist, he's a historianForgiveness as freedomDual POVComplete HEA
Coming May 22

The Tidewater Secrets

The Story We Told

Rina Philips

Book 3 · Summer

Book 3 · Summer

The Story We Told

A Fake Dating Romance

Margot Reyes & Owen Blackwood

They made six rules for fake dating. He broke rule number six on day three.

Margot Reyes rebuilt herself after a marriage that almost erased her. She owns Compass Rose Books & Coffee -- the kind of bookshop with a woodstove, mismatched armchairs, and Wi-Fi that's deliberately slow. Then her ex-husband shows up in Saltmere. And visiting author Owen Blackwood offers to pretend they're together. Ground rules are established. An index card is written. Rule number six: Either of us can name discomfort without explaining it. It is the moment Margot realizes she's in trouble.

"This is not a thunderbolt. It is better. It is a sunrise."
Fake datingFriends-to-loversHe falls firstBookshop romanceThunderbolt vs. sunriseDual POVComplete HEA
Coming June 12

The Tidewater Secrets

The Promise We Kept

Rina Philips

Book 4 · Autumn

Book 4 · Autumn

The Promise We Kept

A Marriage of Convenience Romance

Delia Whitfield & Sam Kowalski

A twelve-page prenuptial agreement. Separate bedrooms. And a man who cooks like love is a language she's never heard spoken.

The postmistress's will is clear: the community center needs a married couple to run it for one year. Sam Kowalski -- the bartender everyone in Saltmere trusts with their secrets -- proposes at a committee meeting. Delia Whitfield says "On what terms?" instead of no. As autumn turns the headlands gold, the letters reveal the families' deepest secrets -- and the marriage that started as an arrangement becomes the most honest thing either of them has ever done.

"The arrangement is terminated. The marriage is not."
Marriage of convenienceRivals-to-loversPierogi as a love languageA recipe tattooed on his armDual POVComplete HEA
Coming July 3

The Tidewater Secrets

The Truth She Left Behind

Rina Philips

Book 5 · Early Winter

Book 5 · Early Winter

The Truth She Left Behind

A Found Family Romance

Wren Lark & Cass Holloway

She has been keeping the biggest secret in Saltmere for twenty years. He builds bookshelves for people who need a place to put their stories.

Wren Lark is the postmistress's granddaughter. For four books, she has been a quiet presence in the background -- her face going careful and closed whenever someone mentions the hidden room. Because Wren knew. She knew about the letters. And she knows what really happened to the Meridian. Cass Holloway moved next door with a packed duffel bag he's never fully unpacked and the belief that wanting things is the fastest way to lose them. And a seven-year-old named Rosie is about to ask the question that changes everything.

"I wished for you to stay. That was my birthday wish."
Found familySingle parentThe quiet one had the biggest secretProfessor TentaclesSeries finaleDual POVComplete HEA
Coming July 24

The people of Saltmere

Meet the Characters

Five couples. One small town. No spoilers.

1

Nora Callahan

Book 1 · The Letter You Never Got

The contractor who fixes everything for everyone else — except herself. She has a truck, a tool belt, and a policy of not needing anyone. The policy is about to fail.

1

Finn Maguire

Book 1 · The Letter You Never Got

The quiet woodcarver who leaves anonymous animal carvings in mailboxes around Saltmere. His ex-wife called him unreachable. She wasn't entirely wrong.

3

Margot Reyes

Book 3 · The Story We Told

Owner of Compass Rose, the bookshop-café that runs on strong coffee and stronger opinions. She knows everyone's business. The one thing she won't examine is her own heart.

3

Owen Blackwood

Book 3 · The Story We Told

The marine historian who walked into Margot's shop one morning and hasn't left. He draws a terrible fox. It's the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given her.

4

Sam Kowalski

Book 4 · The Promise We Kept

The bartender at the Saltbox who can read a room the way other people read a book. He's been quietly holding Saltmere together for years. It's time someone held him.

Looking for content warnings? View per-book content warnings

Bonus content: Sam's Pierogi Recipe — from the kitchen at the Saltbox

For fans of

Emily Henry · Abby Jimenez · Ali Hazelwood · Talia Hibbert · Christina Lauren

Smart dialogue. Emotionally complex characters. Settings you can feel in your bones. And the kind of love stories where being truly seen by another person is both the scariest and best thing that can happen to you.