Let me tell you, this book is like a tropical vacation for your soul! I could imagine myself chilling on a sunny beach, waves crashing in the distance, with "Caribbean Crush" by R.S. Grey in hand.

First up, we've got Casey Hughes, a kickass travel journalist on a mission. She's all about snagging that exclusive interview with the oh-so-elusive Phillip Woodmont. But here's the twist: they've got history, and not the good kind. We're talking enemies-turned-lovers vibes here, and as this is one of my favorite tropes I absolutely loved it!

But wait, it's not just about romance. Casey's friendship with Sienna? Total #FriendshipGoals! These two are like the dynamic duo of the high seas, and their banter had me laughing out loud. Their bond added such a heartwarming layer to the story, making it feel like a true summer escape.

Oh, and the tension between Casey and Phillip Woodmont! Talk about enemies-to-lovers done right! Their history crackled with intensity, and watching them navigate their complicated past and their feelings had me flipping pages so fast! Their relationship might feel a little rushed in the beginning, but hey, who can resist a little steam in paradise?

R.S. Grey has created a romcom that's equal parts sweet and spicy. It's like a summer fling in book form—short, fun, and totally addictive. So if you're in the mood for a beach read that'll have you swooning one minute and laughing the next, "Caribbean Crush" is your go-to.

“I lied to my boss and now I’m on a cruise so I can interview the ship’s CEO, and yesI used to know him in school and it did not go well.”

💕 Childhood friends
🌶 Spicy
🐚 Journalist
🍂 He falls first
🌶 “Just this once”
🛳 Cruise

I don’t know why I love books about cruises so much ? I haven’t read a lot (yet), but I enjoyed (and even loved) all of them ! Maybe it’s the holiday and exotic vibe. Or maybe it’s the “what happened on the cruise couldn’t have happen in real life before the salt air is making people do crazing things” ?

It’s my second book by RS Grey, but the first one was back in 2018, and I can’t remember very well. I really like her writing in this book. Simple, effective with a touch of humor. I didn’t see that time pass while I was reading !

I have nothing bad to say about the plot. I love how Casey had a really cringey and embarrassing behavior but I did not cringe once. It was more funny than anything else ! I loved Casey, she was very real and relatable. She’s also had a lot of character development in my opinion. Just like Philip ! And actually his name bothered me (it’s my dad’s name so weird) but he has a lot of ‘book boyfriends’ potential !

The plot wasn’t that original but it works so well. I liked the whole ‘boy from my past’ and thor banter and obvious attraction at the very beginning. I really hope there will be a book about Sienna because she was one of the best secondary characters I’ve read about lately !

Rating: 4/5
Spice Level: 3/5

Casey is a travel journalist. Well technically she’s currently a fact checker but she just got her big break! She is on the press trip of the brand new eco-friendly cruise ship! It would seem like everything is going well for Casey except she only got this assignment because she claimed she knew the heir apparent of the cruise line, Philip Woodmont and promised she could get a personal interview with him something he's avoided his whole life.

Technically, she does know Philip. They met back in eighth grade when they competed in a quiz bowl tournament. They were even becoming friends until Casey cheated to win. But surely Philip's forgotten all about that one week back in eighth grade.

Spoiler: he hasn't and he's still pissed at her! And thus begins the 10 day long cruise! Casey's career depends on this interview and she's not willing to back down even if Philip is almost as rude as he is attractive…

I loved this book! I loved the cute petty incident that started the feud! I loved how because Philip already hated her to start Casey was free to act in ways she normally wouldn't in professional settings! I loved Sienna, the best friend Casey found onboard! Their friendship was so uplifting and supportive! I liked how Philip learned how relationships aren’t supposed to be easy and love is supposed to be messy! I loved her gran's encouraging bold voice in her head! And I love the ending!

This book is a fun and exciting vacation romance with a cute enemies (dislike) to lovers start! Both Casey and Philip realize what’s holding them back and learn to change. I read it in one day! There was a little insert from another book of the author’s, Enemies Abroad and I’ll definitely be checking it out next!

Note: I got this book for free from NetGalley, but this review is my own and left voluntarily

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I had been wanting to read R.S. Grey’s book, Their Last Resort, but alas it continues to languish on my wish list, so I was excited that Caribbean Crush came up with an equally compelling premise. The dark side of that good luck? Now I want even more to read Their Last Resort because Caribbean Crush was light, fun, and a whole lot steamy.

The premise was so much fun, with Casey trying so hard to be a travel journalist that she slightly embellished her familiarity with the guy who helps run the company behind a cruise that comes up. Since her boss is eager for an exclusive interview Casey is on her way to the cruise with the knowledge that her main run in with Phillip, the heir, was through some sweet lunches and sabotage during their middle school quiz bowl competitions. So… not a great start. But Casey and Phillip are both fun characters and quickly form a relationship while getting it on all over.

Love the breezy characters and how this book transported me for a little bit to their cruise! It’s definitely a very light rom com and doesn’t go very deep, but I think that’s appeals to many readers who want to be able to have some fun in their reading while being able to step away and come back without missing a beat.

First of all, this cover!! I wish RS Grey would do covers like this for her indie releases. Not necessarily the cartoons, but something different than what she has been doing her whole career. I think it would be a welcome change.

Anyway… this was adorable. The perfect holiday escape, making me wish I was on an island too.

Dreamy setting, loved every detail about the ship and all of the tropical locations along the way. Perfect beach read!

You need to shelve this book for your next beach/cruise vacation. It is the perfect book to read beach side with a pina colada in hand.

Tropes: friends to enemies to lovers, forced proximity, sort of workplace, and grumpy/sunshine.

This book shines for a few reasons. I loved that Phillip and Casey met as kids and were rivals but also friends. I wish we could've dug deeper into that relationship and that bonding, but it was a great starting point for our to MCs. The banter between Phillip and Casey is so much fun; Casey decides she's got nothing to lose so she gives Phillip so much sass, it's awesome.

My favorite thing is how R.S. Grey used friendship in this book. Casey immediately meets Siena day 1 on the boat and their fast paced friendship was a great addition. Then there's the childhood friendship that was between Casey and Phillip (see above), and we see Phillip's friendship with Tyson. I feel like friends are often overlooked in romance books (our MCs sometimes feel like they are in a bubble with no contact with the outside world), so it's refreshing when a book uses friendship as part of the plot and character growth.

I love R.S. Grey's books. I will read every one she writes because they are a guaranteed good time. She crafts a perfect balance between laughter and detailed character growth. Her characters feel relatable and like people I would actually want to be friends with.

*I received an e-arc copy from NetGalley, Montlake Publishing, and the author in exchange for an honest review.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

3 stars

The book start off well like all of Grey’s books. I love the rom com vibes and the banter between the characters but halfway through and towards the end it felt like it fell a little flat to me. I can’t put my finger on specifically why but compared to some of her other books where I’d consider rereading, I don’t think I would for this book.

This was sexy, intense and had quite an angst-filled romance. Definitely one of the best love stories out there.

A fab Rom Com- super fun an a read it in one sitting because it had me hooked kind of read. This would be a perfect beach read! Great banter and a sassy lead. Definitely recommend

This was cute!! I binged the first half in one night because I was loving the banter between Casey and Phillip 😍 enemies to lovers over something silly in their past and I loved the way Casey was calling Phillip out on it. Dual pov is always a plus! I’ve never read anything by this author before and the writing style was a little different for me. I wished there was a little more tension and build up before the first hook up but it kinda worked for the characters and their situation. I wanted the relationship to get a little deeper too. I loved the friendship between Casey and sienna though! And the cruise ship vibes were so fun!

Caribbean Crush was sooo good. The chemistry between Casey and Phillip was amazing, let alone the banter. Thank you for this book, R.S. Grey. I enjoyed it immensely!

R.S. Grey is one of my favorite romance authors, as she knows how to include fun banter, chemistry, and compelling characters. "Caribbean Crush" is centered around former high school rivals Casey and Phillip who run into each other years later. Casey is now an aspiring travel blogger and Phillip is a cruise ship owner/CEO. When they first meet again, Phillip wants nothing to do with Casey and refuses to even speak to her. However, the sparks between the two of them can't be denied, and they agree to give in to the sparks between the two of them just for one night. But the chemistry between them only encourages further time together. And the more time they spend together, the more strongly they feel for each other.

I was surprised that Casey and Phillip never discussed what happened between them as teenagers, as I think that would have made a difference. And I thought the two of them jumped into a physical relationship much too quickly. However, the ending was really cute and that caused me to give it an extra star in my rating. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Once again R.S Grey delivers.Perfect summer read .I loved this and throughly enjoyed it.my all those favourite tropes enemies to lovers ,second chance and forced proximity executed perfectly . She is an auto buy author for me and I will never not recommend her books . if you are in for a great writing , with humour and fun and quick read this is a book for you!

This was such a fun story, I loved how entertaining the backstory was between Casey and Philip... We really understand his character straight away with why he's holding a grudge from something that happened when they were 12. Admittedly why he was so mad did make me laugh a lot!

Sienna is an awesome character, I wish she had her own book because I would happily read that book as well - living her crazy life and leaving a trail of broken hearts around the globe.

The cruise ship idea was fun because it made me desperately want to be on holiday with everyone and also means there's not many places to escape the other characters. I even loved the references to the boat that shall not be named.

The spice scenes were fairly naturally flowing and added to the story, their fire and passion definitely let as great foreplay I'm sure. Casey's arc with work was strong and didn't take away from the romance element, I also liked the way they resisted the idea of a future for so long and tried to be rational. The epilogue didn't really give much of a glimpse into the future for either of them, but you hope there might be a bonus chapter that does flash forward one day!

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read this fun book!

R.S Grey never disappoints on her summer romcoms, and Caribbean Crush is no different!

I completely fell for Casey and Phillip, their banter, which started off at them being at each others throats to slowly understanding eachothers quirks and personalities, becoming more vulnerable with eachother was so thrilling to watch unfold.

I loved the cruise ship setting, watching the main characters navigate not just each other but other side characters and funny moments, this book was so charming and the perfect beach read. For fans of RS Grey, this is another classic fun romcom full of hilarious banter! 🩷

Thank you so much to netgally, the publishers and R.S Grey for my arc in exchange for an honest review!

I love RS Gray and this story definitely had a lot of great qualities. I did find it hard to believe that a grown man was still harboring a grudge from middle school. I felt the two main characters were really only connected physically. I wish we had more from the story but I’ll continue to read from this author.

This book was clever entertaining! Casey and Phillip's relationship was so cute and spicy. I could not put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity! That being said I did not love this one. This is not my first R.S Grey book. I liked the others I have read. But honestly I was bored through this one. It felt like I was re-reading No Words by Meg Cabot. Casey, the female lead, sabotaged Phillip, the male lead, in grade school quiz bowl and he never got over it. Fast forward to now and Casey needs to interview him as part of an assignment and he still holds this grudge and is not giving in. The book does have some good quips, but overall I felt like I was reliving an experience I have already had.

This was such a cute, summer time read :) it may be springtime but it don't matter! I enjoyed the rom-com, the spice, the drama! Was a lot of fun to read and go on Philip & Casey's journey! I highly recommend this book 📖 👌 😍