Thank you so much to NetGalley and Philippa Young for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I had a blast with this one! I loved the setting/workplace and the relationships between the characters. The one thing I was having trouble with would be the miscommunication in this book, but other than that - loved it!

Thank you to Philippa Young and NetGalley for the arc! This one was a very interesting read.

The book follows Eliza who has had enough of not being enough for anyone and has started a new job as an entertainment host on a cruise ship. 6 months on a boat, where after work parties are a thing every week and things tend to get a little spicy. But Eliza has sworn off men completely and has decided only to use the time on the cruise ship to get herself ready for the next round of auditions to the drama school. However, she quickly realises it is easier said than done, as there are two very handsome men on board as well and she can't stop thinking about them.

Sadly, this book featured two things I absolutely hate in books: love triangles and miscommunication. If there also would have been cheating I would have dnfed this so hard but fortunately the rest of the book was quite okay and readable. I knew going in that there would be a love triangle but it didn't make it any better. I hate hate hate, when the FMC plays two boys at the same time, and has a bit of a fling with both of them going and then she ends up choosing only one??? And always having the most bizarre reasons for why she didn’t choose the other one. The chemistry here was almost better with the guy she didn’t end up choosing and I’m so mad at how things turned out.

Eliza had a lot of growth in this book and it was quite enjoyable to read but otherwise, this wasn't my favourite book in any mile. The "spicy" parties seemed more like something a bunch of highschool students would do, rather than full-on adults who know they need to work with each other for a long time. I also didn't like the pov for the male characters and would have enjoyed this book much more if it was written only from the pov of eliza. I also think the book was so focused on romance side of things, that sometimes other things were kind of forgotten. it would have been nice to read more about eliza finding new friends rather than every scene with these new friends focusing on the romantic partners.

Overall i think for someone other than me, this would be a very cute summer vibe romance to read, but sadly for me: it just wasn't it. 2,5 stars, and rounded down because i didn't feel like this deserved 3 stars for my taste.

This was a fun book set on a cruise with a love triangle filled with tension in parts. I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing for a while!

I really think the author missed a trick, because I was waiting for a threesome spicy scene (especially after the never have I ever and reveal of Oscar being a bi MMC), but it never came. I did love the scenes that we got though.

For me the kissed in the dark was a bit obvious going into the rest of the book, but I get why it had to be Oscar. It was clear from about 50% in that they'd end up together.

The FMCs self belief was a bit tedious and she did some childish immature things as we went through the book, however, I understand it's quite real as a person. Tom came across a bit weird towards the end and I agree with her reaction to him trying to win her back as a friend (way too over the top).

Considering it was a long book, we skipped over some weeks and passages really quickly which was quite odd.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the Tom and Oscar's sister sequel!

Thanks for letting me read this ARC.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I'll start off by saying that this was a tough book to rate - I initially thought 3 ⭐️ but bumped it down to 2.5 ⭐️ after reflecting.

When it's done right, I LOVE a love triangle dynamic in a romance, but this one fell flat for me.

Main praises
1) Love to see a bi MMC done well
2) I feel like Eliza picked the right guy in the end
3) I loved the cast of side characters
4) Oscar as a love interest in general
5) The spice was pretty decent

Main critiques
1) This book was WAY. TOO. LONG. There was no reason for it to be 500+ pages, and the amount of length made the relationships and the overall plot feel stretched and padded with a ton of filler. I loved the cruise ship fun and the interactions with side characters, but I felt like it could have been done better at ~250 pages.
2) Eliza as a character felt underdeveloped. She would waffle from seemingly confident and grown-up to being extremely immature and annoying. I relate to a character who feels lost or like an outsider, but she straight-up acted like a kicked puppy most of the time, especially regarding her past and current friendships. (view spoiler)
3) Tom was creepy to me. He was the epitome of the "friend-zoned guy" and in his POV chapters felt like all he was doing was hiding his life from his friends and leering after Eliza.

I was grateful to get an ARC of this book, but I honestly don't know if I would recommend it.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I looooooove the television show Below Deck because of the drama and authenticity of the cast. This felt much clunkier and that too much story was being shoved into the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Summer Stars Publishing for the ARC.

A fun summer guilty pleasure read! I loved the cruise ship crew setting. There was some juicy drama/games and great sexual tension.

That being said, I struggled with the flow of the writing in portions and the FMC’s negative thoughts became a bit grating at times.

Thank you for the review arc!

I love the new cover of this book and the setting is amazing. I love rom-coms, cruising and all things nautical so I was very excited for this book but it just didn’t deliver as expected. There are a lot of British references in the book that, as an American, i just didn’t understand. I could gather by the context they were actors, shows or slang but they didn’t make me laugh or paint a picture like maybe they were intended to.
The category tags and description didn’t give any indication of MM involvement so I wasn’t expecting that. If that’s your jam, you might love this book. For me, I just couldn’t get into it after that.

Ahhhhhhhh words can’t describe how much i love this book
Why is it so good
Devoured it and want to reread

⭐️Star rating: 2.75/5 

Spice:  🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5


I gravitated towards this book because the description and the cover art led me to think it was going to be a “why choose” trope. Even some of the scenarios early on in the book lead you to believe this way so I spent the whole book waiting for the other shoe to drop so-to-speak but it never does.

As the cover suggests, the story is told from 3 POVs, 1 female & 2 male. It is nice to know what everyone is thinking throughout the book, but I found it a bit confusing sometimes to keep up with.

If selfish female main characters with a whoa-is-me complex are a turn-off for you then I suggest staying away from this book. Eliza could’ve been many things since her whole reason for joining this ship is to get a fresh start but her outlook on life and towards others is just so annoying and over the top I know I couldn’t have been friends with her IRL.



Overall, I think this book had a ton of potential but there was just too much packed into it to get to the meat of any of the topics covered. I found myself confused and disappointed. Had the story truly ended in the throuple, I think it could have salvaged the book.



I posted my review to GoodReads on June 2, 2024 (link below)

This book was genuinely so entertaining to read. The setting and everything going on was fun and engaging, the characters were all so interesting, and the storytelling as a whole was very nicely done which made for this book to be so easy to go through. Admittedly, the slow burn was torture...but in the best way possible. The tension and chemistry between the characters made that tortuously slow burn worth it in the end.

I will admit, I'm not always a fan of love triangles but I was surprisingly okay with this one, mainly because "the other guy" wasn't made out to be such a prick and I just like how the entire thing was handled in the end.

Adored this book overall and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and spicy summer read!

• Love Triangle • Workplace Romance • Forced Proximity • Found Family • LGBT+ Representation • Slow burn with some angst • Multi-POV • Cruise ship shenanigans! • Musicals • So many gamessss 😉💦

This was such a wonderful read. Perfect steamy summer romance. Great for readers who love working class romances, love triangles and love triangles.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy of More Than Shipmates in exchange for my honest review.

There are several things about this book that I loved:

⭐️reference to some of my favourite musicals and tv shows (if you love musicals this book is definitely for you)
⭐️ the love triangle
⭐️ the games the crew play together
⭐️this is a beautiful summer time read which fully immersed me in the holiday setting

However I feel like a lot of personal issues the characters had such as problems which they left at home were not focused on enough and they were just dismissed as they found ways to avoid these issues.

I usually like dual povs but i feel like 3 povs was too much, I also feel like it wasn’t structured into the story well as it could have been. I tend to enjoy multiple povs more when the next pov is at the start of a new chapter rather than randomly placed in the middle of a page.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

More Than Shipmates by Philippa Young is such a great summer romcom. Having now finished it I can’t wait to read the follow up, More Than Clickbait.

More Than Shipmates follows Eliza as she begins her journey as a member of the entertainment team on a cruise liner sailing around the Caribbean. She’s trying to escape the life she left behind, and the feeling that she’s never been good enough. She’s determined to embrace the work hard, play hard ethos of cruise life but is going to stay away from romance, fearing the consequences of mixing work and love once again. Things get more complicated, however, when the lines between colleagues and crushes blur and the nightlife puts her in some scandalous situations. Eliza’s efforts to resist temptation are challenged by cheeky American Tom and charming Brit Oscar, who might not be so willing to resist her.

There are so many fun things going on with this one, we’ve got:
🚢 forced proximity romance (on a cruise ship!)
🩷 workplace romance
🚢 love triangle - I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but in this one it works really well
🩷 found family - the cruise ship family Eliza makes is so good, I loved some of the secondary characters
🚢 multi POVs - all 3 members of the triangle
🩷 solid LBGTQ representation
🚢 good humour and banter between the MCs

This was a surprisingly long book for this type of story though it never dragged. I liked how we learnt more about each of the three MCS and how they were written with depth and their own backstories. Each of them were on their own growth journey, whether it was dealing with what they’d left behind or trying to be the version of themselves they most wanted to be. They’re all young and their lives are messy, they’re making mistakes along the way but trying to figure it out too.

I think it’s pretty obvious from early on who Eliza will end up with ultimately, but I loved how each of the two MMCs were, overall, decent guys. You’d be happy for her to be with either, neither was made out to be the baddy to help you easily root for the other. I love that though she ended up with one and was still able to maintain a really solid, and important, friendship with the other. It’s a slow burn in many ways but with some steamy moments peppered throughout,

This was a fun and easy read and I’ll look forward to the next instalment.

This was such a quick easy read! The banter was fun and my first workplace romance book. Loveeed it!

I ADORED this book. I don't know what it was about the book but I just couldn't put it down! Also blown away by the fact that this is a debut novel. The writing was excellent and the banter was so fun. I thought the setting was unique and very interesting, as I've never read a cruise ship romance. Also loved the tension.
The only small critique is that the spicy chapters were very clustered together and it did have many side plots (Tom's family visiting etc.)

I loved the book and I will absolutely read the second one.

This book was so much fun. It’s a steamy but sweet workplace romcom set on a cruise ship. The forced proximity tension, chemistry and banter was perfection. The games and activities they participated in had me laughing out loud and gave me major Below Deck vibes with all of the mischief they got up to with the guests being blissfully unaware.

As soon as I read the dedication in this book, I knew instantly we were in for a wild steamy ride and I LOVED that it had its own playlist! It was just a perfect sexy, fun summer read and I can’t wait for the next one ‘More Than Clickbait’.

There is absolutely no way this is a debut novel. This is fantastic! I am blown away. This was one of the funniest books I’ve read lately, and I love all the silliness, the romance and the banter was great.

I really can’t believe this is a debut though, this is just wow. I will be reading from this author again! Phenomenal!