*More Than Shipmates* was a really fun and unique read. The book centers around a group of theater-loving adults on a cruise ship, and their interactions are both charming and engaging. The characters are fun, and their fun, spicy games add a playful edge that kept me entertained.

The close quarters on the ship created an atmosphere that intensifies the romance and drama, making every moment feel more immediate and intimate. However, it’s worth noting that the book is a bit on the long side for a romance novel. At times, it did feel a bit drawn out, and I found myself losing concentration when things were moving pretty slow. That being said, I enjoyed learning about the characters backstories so overall I didn't mind the length.

Despite the occasional pacing issue, the strength of the characters and the enjoyable setting kept me hooked. Overall, I’d give *More Than Shipmates* a solid 4 stars. If you appreciate a good character-driven story with a touch of theatrical flair, this book is definitely worth a read.

This is a fun, fast summer read! I didn't know it was a love triangle going in because, like most books, I went in blind. I don't love that trope but I didn't mind it in this book. It's a very un-serious book that is full of spicy ship shenanigans between all the crew. I did find the FMC annoying at times, but she figured at least some of her crap out by the end. This book lacked maturity among any of the characters though, so I think that's where it was disappointing at times.

The story was cute and the characters well flushed out. The boat games were my favorite, the things tom and Oscar did were swoomworthy. I'd read more from this author!

Thank you so much to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book!

This was a super fun summer read! I am quickly finding the the love triangle trope can be the most fun and I actually really enjoy reading them even when I say I don’t like them - the tension gets me every single time 🤣

I loved the nautical vibes of this one as it was unlike anything I have read before, more cruise ship romances please 🙏🏼

As with most romances these days, this one had that typical miscommunication trip that did feel a little frustrating at times, and has become quite predictable to most plot lines.

Overall, I had a fun time with this one and would recommend to anyone who loves a summer rom com!

I have never once thought about being a crew member on a cruise ship, honestly haven't even really thought about them while on a cruise either?? But this now makes me wonder all about the dynamics on every cruise ship between all the crew.
This book was fun and funny and emotional however, I think that was partly due to the love triangle which stressed me out a little but too much for my overall enjoyment. Tom stressed me out as well. I didn't always like his attitude, especially when contrasted with Oscar.
I usually like slow burns but this was a slowww burn in my opinion. I think Philippa could've sped things up just a little and it would've improved the overall experience for me.
Overall, I would recommend for a fun summer read but also can sit it being very hit or miss for some readers.

This is 100% a cute summer romance read, definitely the sort of book that is perfect to read on a holiday or basking in the sun.
I loved all the pop culture references and it is the steamiest cruise ship I have ever read about without a doubt.

However, I did go into this book thinking it was 'why choose' not a love triangle. I can very easily dislike a love triangle and because of that at times I don't think the style of the writing was always my favourite. Though I do like who she ended up with.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Eliza escapes from a life that isn't turning out as she'd hoped to work on a cruise ship in the entertainment department. She finds friendship, love, and purpose, while also having a LOT of fun (those crew party games!). I enjoyed this story though I did find it longer than it needed to be. I will look for book 2 in the series as I liked the characters and want to revisit them.

I liked the idea of this book. I’ve never seen the reality show that I would assume inspired this but it seems a fun concept to read about life aboard the cruise and the fun that could go along with it. Instead, this book ended up feeling a little too ‘insert scene here’ alongside overly predictable tropes. Now, yes, tropes are by its nature predictable but they’re usually woven into the storyline and I did not feel this happened here.

This is a love triangle story and you get the POV of all 3 characters which was not something i enjoyed. It becomes awkward and it is very tricky to make a love triangle an enjoyable adventure. Instead, you’re just waiting awkwardly and when someone gets picked, it just doesn’t have the same HEA feeling that couple or a polyamorous relationship. I thought this could be a threesome because the blurb doesn’t really say that she’s torn between two men, just that two men are interested in her.

This honestly made my heart so happy and sad all at the same time. I related so much to the way the fmc Eliza felt about herself and watching her find someone through all the bumps and hardships was so endearing. The love triangle aspect was done I think really well, it didn’t take too long of the book to know which man she’d end up with but I did enjoy seeing her sort of work out those feeling for the other guy. I also really enjoyed all the banter and fun little jokes, it really made it such a fun read. I thought I might find myself bored or skimming when there was a lot of talk about the different activities and day to day life but I was honestly weirdly captivating by the whole thing. I’m usually one for more spicy books and I think that there could have been more in it then there was but the level it had (being about a 2/5) fit well with the romcom genre of this one. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this on and I’m keen to read the next one cause it sounds just as adorable. I’m saying this one is a 4/5 read, could’ve maybe used some more action and conflict to like spice it up I guess but I definitely enjoyed it and I would recommend it to someone looking for this kind of read.

This was so cute! It reminded me of the show Below Deck which was fun! I've been meaning to start the show but hey, why not read a book with the vibes instead?!

This was not a bad book by any means, it just wasn't anything special. The characters weren't particularly likeable, and I just wanted it to be over.

Cute silly awkward and very hilarious but so relatable. Enjoyable read. Will check out others by this author.

Thank you Netgalley, Summer Stars Publishing and Phillipa Young for giving me this copy of Shipmates.

A creative debut novel from Philippa Young that is a great beach/pool read! This story follows Eliza as she embarks on a new career journey aboard a cruise ship in order to escape her problems at home. The job aboard the cruise provides a great opportunity to reinvent herself! Aboard the cruise, she becomes entangled in a love triangle with two of her very attractive crewmates- the outgoing new hire and the somewhat serious trainer. The story is told from a 3-person POV. While at times a bit hard to follow, overall it was a fun steamy read about cruise ship life! (Also, it would be a great read for fans of a certain yacht based reality TV show!!!)

Rating: 3.5 (rounded to 4)

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and Philippa Young for the e-arc.

First and foremost, thank you to Philippa Young, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Short and Sweet Opinion: 3/5 Stars. I have a love dislike relationship here. There were aspects I loved and aspects I could really have done without. The steam and fun aspects were great, but I felt that there was too much that was "important" and aspects were drug on for too long.

Summary: This is a three POV story following main characters Eliza, Oscar and Tom on their journey through love, lust, and friendship aboard a cruise ship. Eliza is our main MC with the majority of chapters in her POV, and we start (and continue) with her constantly running away from her problems. As one might expect, drama an chaos ensue aboard the ship, with romance sprouting between our MMCs (and a mystery man??)

In Depth Opinion: I have a love / dislike (not quite hate), relationship with this book. There are aspects I LOVE. First off (no spoilers), I love the character Eliza ends up with. I was rooting for him all along, and the other option(s) were never really options for me. I love the premise of romance aboard a cruise ship. And I love that the author tried to add depth to her characters, and honestly was successful with both Tom and Oscar.

Also... I love the steaminess of this book. The shenanigans that the crew gets up to are true high school / college shenanigans. Effectively dorm life, dorm parties with alcohol fueled games and chaos. This fun aspect, along with the spice chemistry between two MCs is what kept me going. These aspects of the book, along with a few others, made parts of it fun to real.

I'm gonna be honest... the dislikes mostly evolve around Eliza. She felt very very childish, and was initially in love with whoever was in front of her at the time. While I understand the premise to her character, and all that she was trying to run away from and overcome, I feel that the "running away from my problems and overreacting" concept drug on for too long. Honestly, that is one of my main qualms with this book is it felt way too long and drawn out. I felt like I was constantly over the hump and would look down and see so much book left. There were so many different plot points that were trying to be important, that almost nothing ended up being important.

Without spoilers, I did very much enjoy the wrap up in the ending, even if I thought there were multiple unnecessary complications. The romance wrap up was adorable, but the "what does the future hold" wrap up felt very disjointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book was sadly ultimately a DNF for me - I loved that it was set on a cruise and the amount of spice involved, but I felt like the voice felt too young for me at the time of reading it - I don't know why, but these kids remind me of college students at their oldest, with not much depth to their individual characters, and that wasn't what I was feeling - though I'll never be one to bash on a light-hearrted rom-com. I think this might be the perfect book to bring on a cruise...or maybe it would just make me uncomfortable think about all the things going on behind the scenes. I think it also ended up bothering me that, as someone who has been on cruises, a lot of the difficult labor and hours that the employees are subjected to often mean that most of the staff isn't white / aren't citizens of a Western country.

3.5/5 ⭐️ (rounded to 4)
4/5 🌶️

Horny cruise ship workers in a love triangle (but in a good way?).

This book was such a fun read. I don’t think I would’ve picked this one up since the love triangle trope isn’t one that I usually like, but this one DELIVERED!

I loved the tension between the characters and the “love triangle” between Eliza (FMC), Oscar Harvey (MMC), and Tom (MMC) was well thought out and important to the story. Peaking into Young’s cruise ship world was a new setting for me and I enjoyed having a different kind of locale! The vibes were light, while still covering heavier topics and addressing those with empathy and intention.

There was some miscommunication and a third act breakup, which are tropes I don’t really enjoy when not done well, which is why the one star is removed. I think it would’ve been better for Eliza’s character to have developed more and spoke with Oscar Harvey to clear up his birthday situation, I would’ve loved that more especially seeing that growth on the page especially since the same situation happened with Tom earlier in the book.

I will most definitely be reading the next book in the series (which the characters are Tom from the love triangle, and Oscar Harvey’s SISTER!) and can’t wait to see what Philippa Young cooks up next!

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐4 stars
🌶️ 3 spice

In More Than Shipmates by Philippa Young, the novel follows Eliza (FMC), who is running from her past and trying to make something of herself. Eliza finds herself working on a cruise ship. On the first day, she meets Tom, the funny, American boy who can brighten anyone's day. She also meets her mentor, Oscar, the charming, reformed British bad boy. As the days go on, her friendships become stronger with both and is conflicted as they both start to show their feelings are stronger than “just friends”. Will Eliza be able to make it through her contract without falling for the charming Brit or the hilarious American?

First, let me just say that I LOVE OSCAR! His character shows a lot of development throughout the novel and I just absolutely fell in love! He was so caring and wanted to put everyone else first. He was a 10/10. Also, I loved the references to musicals (as a musical lover).

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I really liked the multiple POVs for chapters, I just feel like this is the easiest way to really get a feel for emotions. This was my first love triangle book and I was a bit skeptical. The author does a really great job pulling reader’s into the pull Eliza has to the two men. I definitely recommend this quirky and steamy read to romance book readers. I can’t wait for book two, More Than Clickbait, to come out!

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the eARC of More than Shipmates by Philippa Young in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve never read a cruise ship setting before and I’ve not read many love triangles and ones i have read before disappointed me, but this did not disappoint! Philippa had me rooting for both guys at different points, but I’m glad with who Eliza ended up with in the end. I loved seeing all 3 of their POVs it made me connect to them more and we got to delve deeper into each character’s backstory. I liked and enjoyed all 3 of the main characters, which is rare!

For a debut novel, this was really good. The tension was fun and all over the place. And being surrounded by a bunch of young 20-something year old characters brings about its own brand of chaotic angst, passion, and energy. There was always something going on, just like on a cruise ship, and I loved the endless entertainment and buffoonery vibes this book has in it.

However, there was a lot of inner monologue rather than outer dialogue which got monotonous quickly. I wish they told their backstories to each other rather than to the reader. And since it’s on a cruise ship, I was hoping for more details about the locations they went to or what the ship looked like. But that didn’t take away from how cute the story is.

Liked it. It was such a fun read and I enjoyed getting to know the BTS of a cruise ship!

The characters were adorable. I loved Oscar so much oh lord.

te read. Loved the cruise ship working setting. It was a perfect debut novel for Philippa Young. It was clearly written by a brit and I loved her humor. The characters were diverse and easy to love. Overall an enjoyable read!