Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw

“Shea Ernshaw is the queen of storytelling that is as haunting and dreamlike as it is intimate and grounded.” —Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author

Some stories feel like the tide. They pull you in slowly, then all at once. This is one of them.

The second adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw begins with a storm. The night Clay Lockhart’s wife dies, a violent tempest tears their farmhouse—and the very land beneath it—away from the Scottish coast, setting it adrift into the Atlantic.

Thirty years later, twelve-year-old Ellie Mills stumbles upon the fabled floating island off the coast of Nova Scotia. And there, in the weatherworn house on the highest hill, she finds Clay. Still living. Still waiting.

Then the island vanishes overnight.

Decades pass. When it resurfaces, Ellie returns—now in her thirties, determined to uncover the truth. What she finds is stranger than any memory: Clay hasn’t aged a single day. Now she must choose between the life she’s built and a love that defies the laws of time and nature.

Spanning centuries and coastlines, Habits of the Sea is a haunting, romantic journey through time, memory, and the invisible tides that pull us home. Perfect for readers of magical realism who love a story that lingers.

We can think of no better place to lose yourself in a tale about floating islands and salt-worn love than here, steps from our own cove. Pull up a chair. The sea air will do the rest.

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