Before the Tide Turns: A Novel

By Lucy Rose Hartwell

Six years ago, Sienna Markham walked away from the man she almost married. Now an unexpected assignment has brought them back to the same windswept island.

Marine biologist Sienna arrives on quiet Seabriar Island, North Carolina, for six months of coastal research after a devastating hurricane. She expects long days studying shifting dunes, tidal marshes, and the fragile shoreline. She does not expect to find Nolan Pryce waiting for her.

Nolan, now a preservation architect, has returned to oversee the restoration of Seabriar's storm-damaged historic lighthouse. Forced to work side by side, Sienna and Nolan discover that time has changed more than the island around them. Old assumptions begin to unravel, familiar attraction returns, and conversations they avoided years ago become impossible to ignore.

But a second chance means more than remembering why they once fell in love. Sienna and Nolan must decide whether two independent lives, demanding careers, and an unfinished history can make room for something new.

Before the Tide Turns is an emotional, clean contemporary romance filled with coastal atmosphere, mature characters, second chances, career-driven love, a charming barrier-island setting, and a slow-burning reunion between two people discovering that sometimes love deserves another season.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HFLGLHCS
• ISBN13: 9798193315018
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 344 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"