I managed to stick it out but this was a little too chaotic for me. Some many love that! It was very cute but I struggled to get through it at times.

thank you to netgalley and avon books uk for this arc!!!

I had super high hopes for this one, and while I did end up enjoying it, there were many things that fell flat.

I first off want to say that I absolutely LOVE the concept of this plot. The forced proximity that a yachtie crew has makes this the perfect rom-com setting. the most well written part of this book is actually Sophia’s back story and I think that could’ve been a book in and of itself. the found family dynamic is really enjoyable (rather incestuous to refer to it as a family tbh). I was content with the ending, and I think the setting allows for a bit of insta love to slip through without being a major eye roll.

unfortunately, the pace of the book just felt off to me in regards to the relationships. additionally, the enemies to lovers was unconvincing and just borderline uncomfortable. the banter was not bantering. I felt like I was in the middle of two hostile teens who are mean to each other for NO REASON. there was a point in the book when I genuinely was more interested in the relationship between Milly and Brian, the guests.

towards the 60% mark things start to pick up and that was this book’s saving grace honestly. the second the two main characters hooked up they were like actually capable of being tolerable human beings??? I just wish Sophia was portrayed as more level headed honestly. Her character had so much potential, and by the end I did really like her but she was seriously intolerable for the first half of this book. I don’t have much to say about Jack… he was just kinda there.

anyways, I think this book has crazy good potential. I think with more time, this author has the potential to put out some really creative, well thought out rom-coms.

What a beautiful romance story with great storyline and great characters. Really liked the writing style and the cover is beautiful will definitely read more from this author.

This is a good story with lots of waves thrown into the mix, we all know how it is going to end up but the journey there is great fun!

The story was ok. I thought I’d like it more than I did but it all felt a bit disjointed. For such a small location there seemed to be a lot of characters who were all involved. I guess that’s part of yacht life but it felt like everyone was mentioned and no one was focused on.
I didn’t hate the story at all, I just wasn’t excited to pick it up and read

This is a great holiday read and good fun. For those who like Below Deck, a book about the goings on aboard a super yacht will always be fun and the romance and settings just add to this.

One to read in the sun.

As an avid fan of Below Deck (my friends bought me a Captain Lee cameo for my birthday) and the Love, Lists and Fancy Ships series, I was excited to hear about a new yacht crew romance novel. Unfortunately, the writing, plot and character chemistry left a lot to be desired in this one, for me. The development of all the romantic pairings felt rushed and barely fleshed out. The character arcs were also unclear, with all of the resolution happening abruptly in the span of a few lines, which as a reader left me feeling a bit confused and whiplashed, especially given the conclusion was pretty obvious and made most of the plot feel superfluous.

I have absolutely loved this book! Perhaps because of my past as a crew member onboard ship, as soon as I read the description I knew I was going to enjoy this read.. Granted, a yacht is not quite the same as a giant cruise ship, but it's not THAT different after all and I've watched enough Below Deck to be aware of the dynamics that can arise among a smaller boat's crew members!
Sofia is a talented young chef who, in order to escape her high stakes job at a fancy restaurant in London, decides to embark as chef onboard a charter yacht... she's sworn off men and workplace romance, but will she be able to stick to the plan once she meets gorgeous first officer Jack? The rest of the crew and charter guests are a collection of colourful characters, I promise you'll be laughing out loud a lot. The setting is the beautiful Amalfi Coast and the writer's descriptions of the area are so good you'll feel like you're actually seeing what she's describing. Overall a fun, spicy and quick beach read - 10/10 would recommend! :)

𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★☆
𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠🎵: Swimming Pools by Francis Forever
𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭/𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞: 1.5/5
𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: enemies to lovers • workplace romance • forbidden love

"𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮, 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪"

⛱️👙🌞🍊🥥🌸

This was a light-hearted, fun read. I enjoyed both of the characters and the plot was really unique and creative. I don't think I've ever read a romance book that took place on a boat, so this is a first for me! I really liked the below deck and coastal vibes throughout this book and it would make this book a perfect vacation + summer read. The writing was pretty good but I did find myself getting bored at a couple of parts. The tropes were REALLY good, but I'm a sucker for a good "enemies to lovers" theme. The workplace romance on A BOAT was super cool and fun, but the forbidden love part was a little annoying. (That's one of my least favorite tropes, but not in this case.) The banter between Isabella and Jack was really cute and funny. You can feel their chemistry all throughout the book. HOWEVER, there was a short bout of miscommunication towards the end of the story that I DID NOT CARE FOR, but it was resolved somewhat quickly and happily.

I really liked Jack's character. He had an AMAZING character development and became this sweet and caring guy. Jack is definitely a book boyfriend. Isabella was ok. I think it was cool she was a chef, but other than that, she was a pretty average FMC. I also enjoyed the side characters and they helped build the environment/setting of working on a boat.

Isabella is trying something she's never done before- spending her summer working on a boat. After working as a chef at a fancy restaurant in London, she's ready to get her sea legs. But before she hops on the boat that will whisk her away, she runs into a rather rude man at the bar. Thinking she'll never see him again, she forgets the whole ordeal. But when she steps on the boat she will soon realize he was not just any man. He is now her coworker. The two will have to work under the same roof, in the same boat. A somewhat small boat I might add. Soon the two realize there is no way they can avoid each other and will be forced to become allies. Maybe friends? But under the surface of their allied friendship lies a burning attraction that neither can seem to forget. As the summer heat turns up so does this sizzling chemistry.

thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this ARC in exchange for an honest review
~ RELEASES JUNE 20 ~

This was a really sweet romance, perfect for the summer time. The characters were delightful and the plot was fun.

This was an interesting book. The cover and synopsis caught my eye initially as it was something I haven’t yet read in this genre.

In reading the book though I came across a few issues, namely Sofia and Jack. As a romance reader, the most important thing to me is the likability of the main characters and how they interact with each other and the people around them.

This is where I believe the book misses the mark but there is most definitely room for improvement as the author continues in their writing journey.

Major Below Deck vibes which I loved - I haven't read a book in that setting before. I do think there were moments that were a little slow for me and made the overall book less enjoyable so I gave it a 3 star for that reason

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book ahead of its release.

I loved the description of the book and thought it would be one I’d really love.
Unfortunately I really struggled to get through it.

This is of no reflection on the authors talent, I just personally felt I didn’t connect with the book as well as I’d hoped.

The perfect summer will they won’t they romance novel that will be perfect when you are sat by the pool in the sun. I loved the below deck feel of life on this chartered yacht and the streamline crew running the latest charter for two reality tv stars. As the barriers between work colleagues and more than friends blur is love more important than a dream job at sea.

So for such a chaotic book this was quite entertaining and cute, the premises are perfection what can go wrong 🤣. Definitely enjoyed it and such a good summer read

Love Overboard has great banter. Jack and Sophia meet at a bar, which ends with her throwing a drink in his face. She is in Italy to restart her life as a chef on a chartered yacht. And of course it ends out Jack is the first officer. Neither are thrilled when they meet the second time. And they banter but the problem is the might banter a bit too much. Sophia literally trusts no one for more than about ten minutes and Jack has a fair amount of emotional mood swings. I get fighting attraction, but at some point, they have fought too hard for me to buy the true love after two weeks. Which is a shame, I really liked both the characters (and the side characters) it was a fun read, but not a great read. I will keep an eye for other Ada Barume books, I bet she has one that has the burn paced right. I would imagine folks that love below deck reality shows, would enjoy passing the time with this book. I read an ARC.

Sophia joins a luxury yacht as the chef. A senior crewman Jack makes an awkward first impression. They are almost hostile to each other. Will that change? An easy light hearted read

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read Love Overboard. I did read the book in its entirety but this book just simply wasn’t for me. Love Overboard contained lots of my favorite tropes and themes and I was extremely excited to read it but unfortunately I felt as though the tropes and plot were poorly executed. Lots of the conversations between characters were flat and awkward.

I really, really wanted to like this book.

Info dumps, random chapters from the MMC's point of view, awkwardly placed flashbacks... it made every page an unpleasant experience.

Love Overboard follows Sofia who is a chef and Jack who is a first officer on a luxury yacht. They are thrown together as a part of the crew where they sail to the Amalfi Coast. They get into an argument and vow to not interact with each other while on the boat for the rest of the season. There is a disaster with one of their guests which forces them to put aside their rocky starts for the rest of the charter.
Sofia and Jack discover they may have more in common than they first thought.
There are a lot of tropes in this book for sure! Enemies to lovers, forced proximity and work colleagues.

Although I did finish the book, I did find that I was skimming it more often than not. Both of the characters I thought were unlikeable and super judgemental. I sometimes felt like the story was being forced or it stuttered in some places. They were both kinda childish but not willing to change their actions.
There was also a sudden shift to Jack's point of view in the middle of the book which was kinda annoying. I am normally really into a dual POV but normally, it switches between chapters. It sort of stopped the flow of the story and felt choppy.

It was a quick read and did feel like an episode of Below Deck! I think this would be great as a YA book but could use a little editing as the layout is a bit strange. If it went into a bit more depth, there is a lot of promise for this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Views are my own.