Safe and Sound

by Noa Noël

She was fighting to return to her sport.
He was afraid to return to love.
Neither expected the other to change everything.

Katy:
I was on the verge of getting everything I'd worked for, heading to the National Volleyball Team after winning the College Selection. But fate had other plans. One collision with my rival captain changed everything, leaving me with a shattered dream. Now he's the one helping me with rehabilitation and the tension in the room isn't just in my muscles. The more time we spend together, the harder it is to remember why we were rivals in the first place.

Nathan:
Letting people in has never been my strong suit. I learned a long time ago that getting close comes with consequences I'm not willing to face again. Feelings were off limits... until her. Somewhere between the routines, the quiet moments, and the way she looks at me like she sees more than I show... something shifted. I tried to live by my own rules, but she is the one person I can't seem to push away, no matter how hard I try.

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

Hi there!

Thank you for stumbling across my book and giving it a chance!

I hope you enjoy the characters and story lines as much as me, maybe even more, because that would mean I did it right!

I can't wait to show you all my next projects <3

Reviews

[Clarissa Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

i cried.

oh my god five stars without the spelling errors that was awesome! holy moly! thank you maam for writing this delightful and heart wrenching book

[Noa Harmsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Safe and Sound

I first came across Noa Noël on TikTok, and something about her immediately made me want to pick up her book, and I’m so glad I did.

Safe and Sound completely pulled me in. I felt such a strong connection to the characters that I ended up finishing it in 24 hours, which almost never happens for me. The emotions in this story feel so genuine, especially when it comes to grief. It’s written in a way that really stays with you, and there were multiple moments that made me tear up.

What I loved most was how real everything felt the relationships, the struggles, the small, soft moments in between. It’s a closed-door romance with just the right amount of spice, and the tension between the characters is written so well. It keeps you hooked without ever feeling overdone

Overall, Safe and Sound is such a heartfelt, emotional read that’s easy to get lost in. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel a lot, in the best possible way, and I’ll definitely be thinking about it for a while.

[Soldera Krauze · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25-4.5 ⭐!

I’ve been waiting to read this book since…well..ever since I found Noa on tiktok. To be completely honest, I was SCARED to read this because what if I didn’t like it? and I am wayyy to brutally honest so Noa would hate me🥲 BUT obviously based on my rating—I really enjoyed this story!

Katy and Nathan are super duper cute and so adorable. The giggles, the tears, the everything..

I am an adult romance fan to my core. YA and NA rarely does IT for me so I already knew that there were going to be some things that wouldn’t do it for me (personally). So this rating and review is both subjective and objective.

I’m not one to publicly criticise a book (that’s a lie, I literally AM one to criticise publicly lol) but as an author myself I know that getting reviews, honest reviews, is one of the most rewarding things ever.

SO we are going to start with the not so positive feedback (not negative!!!!).

As this is a debut book and the author herself isn’t a native English speaker there are some misspellings, typos and grammar mistakes (nothing that impacts the reading experience).

There are also some moments in the book that I felt were rushed or not explained enough. Some parts could’ve been much more impactful if expanded.

And lastly, it was difficult to get into the story at first because of the past/present tense. (I have never actually read a book where both tenses are combined so this isn’t really a critique just a personal preference.) But as I read more I quickly adapted to Noa’s writing style and it didn’t negatively impact my experience!

BACK TO POSITIVES.

One of my favourite things about this story is the way it talks about grief. Nathan’s descriptions of grief and love were absolutely beautiful and one of the things I loved the most. Grief is such a tender subject to write about and Noa has done a spectacular job of it.

I will say that the epilogue had me like 👀.

I was updating Noa throughout me reading it and I DID guess who book 2 was going to be about. HA TAKE THAT! And I am so so so excited for book 2, I am a 100% sure that it’s going to be SO perfect for me as one of the tropes happening there is my favourite trope ever!!

Overall, this book is beautiful and soft. As someone who prefers her books more tension and angst filled I still absolutely enjoyed myself while reading. If you love a cute college romance that explores grief and love and friendships—this could be your next 5 ⭐ read.

Safe and Sound being a debut book is incredible. Noa is an amazing writer and I know that she is going to go far. 🩵

[Daniëlle Tasma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the privilege to beta read this book and OMG let me tell you I was giggling and kicking my feet with every page I read✨
It is one of my favourite books I’ve ever read and I loved the sports, rival, friendship vibe this entire book has.

Noa is also such an amazing friend and an incredible writer and I can’t wait for all her future books!!🫶🏼

[Roos · Rating 5 out of 5]

So proud of you for writing your first book! I was right into the book and also read it within 24 hours! Curious about the second one!

[Eloïse van Deutekom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already so excited to read this book because of the tiktoks I saw about this book. But holy shit, it's even better than I expected. To make it even better, the author of this book is such a sweetheart.

This had me ugly crying at the dinner table. Just like Katy, I didn't have the best relationship with my parents so her story hit close to home. Nathan and Katy are both so unbelievably strong. Nathan just lost his mother not that long ago and is really struggling with that. That's not weird because his dad isn't the same happy person he was before, so he also tries his best to be there for him. I honestly feel kinda bad for Katy's parents, but only because they missed out on so much with their daughter because they were too focused on their son. They did try in their own way but it was not even close to be enough.

Can we just talk about the fact that Nathan was obsessed with Katy from the moment he first saw her? Like, my dude was really obsessed and because of that he did his best to avoid her. Which didn't work out that well for him. Because of that they have had a one-sided rivalry that lasted for years. He really has a thing for making her fall and she has a thing for hating him for it. They honestly just have a thing for each other.

My man Nathan actually sacrificed his future for his girl, his person, the love of his life. He didn't have to think twice about it and I honestly believe that that really sums Nathan up as a person. The moment he cares about you, he will do everything for you.

This is a closed-door romance ,but holy shit the tension between the characters was so freaking good. I could not stop reading, it was written so well that I actually had the feeling that I was with them in that room. I did not expect the spice in the last chapter. I was shocked

Noa you should be really proud of yourself that you've written such a beautiful book with characters that are so emotionally complicated. Not everyone can pull this off as well as you have done. And mind you, this is your freaking debut novel. I'm already so excited for book two!!

My favorite quote: She was so loved, and she didn't even know it.

[Hannah Ma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled over this author’s tiktok through a mutual friend AND IM GLAD I DID.
First of all, I love Katy. I found her such a relatable character with and Nathan especially. Im not usually an emotional person reading books but I was on the verge of tears LIKE LITERALLY.
SECOND OF ALL…
THE CLIFFHANGER/PLOT TWIST OH MY GOODNESS.
I was reading at 1 am in the night, deep in ny bed covers and my mouth DROPPED TO THE FLOOR!

Noa Noël you sure know how to end a book!

I think everyonse should read it and its such a good inspiration for others💖

[Miranda Schamback · Rating 2 out of 5]

Editing Errors

While a cute story. This book needed another 3+ rounds of editing. Misspelled words, words missing, doubles of the same words, sentences that didn’t make sense, etc. With many, many editing passes, this would be really cute. Pacing is a little off, but I get what the author was trying to do.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️
-Gives off campus/ icebreaker vibes but without the spice and with volleyball
-A lot of grammar mistakes and the volleyball terminology could use some work.

[Marinthe De · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have words for how amazing this book is!!
No spice, all the feelings, love it! And it's volleyball instead of always ice hockey or football!!!