Jo is stuck- she's about to turn 30, but hasn't completed the 30 by 30 list she started after her 29th birthday. The reason? Her beloved nephew died in an accident. When her two nieces show up unexpectedly, they decide to help her complete the list.

I'm not going to lie- this was a hard book for me. I've been dealing with grief myself this year and I wasn't prepared for that part of the story, although it is handled well. However, I loved the characters- especially Alex and his daughter. I really enjoy the friends to lovers trope when it's done well and Ruiz nailed it.

I will definitely read the rest of this series!

I enjoyed this contemporary romance and I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was a debut. The characters are well-developed and you could feel the chemistry between them. The writing flowed and created a wonderful love story that also dealt with some serious topics. I also enjoyed learning more about working on a yacht and the experiences gained in such a unique environment.

I loved this one so much. I loved the relationship between Jo and her nieces. I loved Grayson. I loved this.

This one fell flat for me and failed to pull me in. I can't quite put my finger on why it didn't work for me but I decided to DNF this one and move on to something else on my TBR that excited me more.

This book was perfect in my below deck loving eyes. I think that the author did an amazing job at balancing the emotions of the book so it was just the right amount of everything. Overall I loved this story, the characters and everything in between. This will definitely be an auto buy author for me.

I loved the setting for this book and the character development. It was such a fresh book to read.

The premise of a bucket list of things to do before the age of 30 was fun and I loved the encouragement she had from her family.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Jo and Alex. I liked the dichotomy of their personalities. This was a fast and fun read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I picked it up expecting it to have more romantic element it had but it was actually more a mix of something deeper. It still had humor and was fun to read. I loved that there was growth and healing from everyone in the story all the while still making parts fun.

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This quirky and delightful read should be on your TBR. While this is marketed as a romance, this is definitely a women's fiction book with romance vibes. This debut showed the complexity of grief and how much your family is part of your identity. As someone who is close to small children, I really identified with this story is the depths of your love for those tiny humans. All this to say, it was difficult to read because of the grief aspect of this book. I really did love the book but would suggest you take care of yourself while reading this book.

Disclosure: The author and I are mutuals on social media.

This book was an absolute DELIGHT. It was romantic but not sappy, emotional but heartwarming, and funny! A happy ending that's just perfect. I highly, highly recommend reading it.

Thank you so much to my friend (and AUTHOR) Sarah for allowing me to read an e-ARC copy!

Love, Lists, and FancyShips is refreshing, entertaining and touching ChickLit that revolves around Jo Walker’s journey to finish her bucket list before her 30th birthday and healing from the loss. The story is about family, friendship, love, dealing with loss, grief, and guilt, and letting others in.

Writing is entertaining, gripping, and emotive with first person narrative from Jo’s perspective. Plot is interesting. It is divided in three parts with three months of the summer.

It was easy to root Jo. It was touching to read her struggle as teen after her father’s death and how her elder sister supported her, and now dealing with her nephew’s death. She has gone through a lot in life. It was great to know her more during the story and how summer with her nieces and Alex helped her not only with bucket list but also dealing with grief, loss and getting over fear of being left behind.

Both main characters with their own issue, the involvement of three teenagers and emotions ensued deep and thoughtful conversations and I loved how author has written all the important conversations with so much feeling and love.

Romance is slow burning with Alex’s confusing signals but I loved the banter, sparkling sexual tension, and those cooking scenes that felt sexy without involving sex.

why 4 star- There wasn’t anything wrong with this, it’s just I picked this book at wrong time and so didn’t feel wow.

Overall, this is refreshing, fun, commendable #debutnovel with equal parts of family, friendship, romance, entertainment, and sentiments.

Thanks for the gifted copy @berkleypub! Swipe for synopsis.

I read this book last December so I’m way overdue for a review but better late than never, am I right? 😅 Gotta squeeze in the summer covers on the feed before pivoting to the fall vibes.

Y’all, I absolutely adored this one! While the cover indicates a lighter read, which it was at times, it also touches on some heavier subject matter and was a good mix. It does have a romantic storyline, and a well done one at that, but also touches on grief, complicated family dynamics, and personal exploration/growth.

Although I know the show Below Deck is all the rage, I’ve never actually watched it so I liked learning more about life as an employee on a yacht and all the ins & outs of that lifestyle. I found Jo to be such a relatable character who was easy to root for, which is always enjoyable in a protagonist. The secondary characters were equally enjoyable.

Love, Lists and Fancy Ships is one of the perfect summer reads! A romantic comedy type of book and it delivers good vibe, challenges, adventures and love. Aside from its beautiful book cover, the story is ravishing and joyful.

Reading this book is such a great opportunity. The characters have this very enchanting vibe that you will want to read and never stops knowing each other’s side story. The plot is something that you will instantly love also, the setting is in a yacht most of the time, how cool is that? It’s not every day you’ll find a book in this kind of setting. The whole story of the book focuses on achieving ones bucket list and falling in love to a stranger or more likely a co-worker. Jo and Alex’s meeting started in a dare and who knows that dare would turn into something “more”. At the very start, these two characters are so matched to the point that I can’t stop reading at all. Every thing is so straightforward and as a reader, you won’t get lost in their story. Despite the beautiful story line, both characters have their differences, will they get a happy ending? It’s for you readers to find out.

In this post, I’d also like to thank the opportunity to thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a chance to review this amazing book. At the end of my reading session, I only felt happy and excited for the next book to come. I can’t wait to explore this.

Fantastic setting and full of life characters. The author manages to balance quick humor and emotional beats flawlessly. An entertaining and satisfying romance.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my gifted copy of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz.

This was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021! I have been following Sarah on social media and just love her as a person, so naturally I wanted to see what brilliant story her mind came up with. And I was not disappointed at all! LL&FS is full of characters that I was immediately invested in. I wanted to be a part of their little world and do all the fun things on Jo's bucket list with them... especially the Efron marathon! The story is heavier with the grief mixed in, but also a hopefulness and healing to it. Sarah turned that grief around into this heartwarming story that I am so glad that I got to experience. I will say that the story has a romance in it, but that part was more of the side story for me.

I am so excited to see what comes next for Nina and Ollie in Luck and Last Resorts!

I went into this book blind and I’m kinda glad I did. I had no idea this book would be so heavy! That’s not a bad thing at all, I just assumed this would be a light summer read.

Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships is my first book written by Sarah Grunder Ruiz and I'm certain it will not be the last. A story about grief, family, love and how to overcome tragedy.

I absolutely loved the story and the characters. Jo is a wonderful protagonist, I found myself rooting for her from the start.

I loved every thing about this book. I honestly have no negative things to say about it. It’s my kind of book. Sadness with some romance mixed in, yes please.

Highly recommend it!

What a heartwarming story of grief and second chances at finding love! I

I was drawn to the synopsis right away because one of my favorite tv shows to watch when I crave mindless TV, is Below Deck on Bravo, a show about a yacht crew and the love stories and shenanigans they get into. That was my first thought reading the synopsis about Josephine Walker who works as a yacht stewardess.

Josephine has an adventurous spirit, and has a plan to complete her bucket list on a European tour. As she hangs out with friends one night, they challenge her to kiss a stranger, one of the next items in her Bucket List, and she rises to the challenge, kissing a man who she later learns is Alex.

This was such a feel good story, and I can’t wait to read more by author Sarah Grunder Ruiz

*many thanks to Berkley/Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

There was a lot I liked about Love, Lists & Fancy Ships, but it missed the mark for me on a few things.

I enjoyed how close Jo was to her nieces and the dynamics of her friend group. But reading about Jo and her family's loss was tough for me. I wasn't anticipating such a heavy story, and I don't think I was in the right mindset for it.

I don't mind a good slow-burn in terms of a romantic storyline, but I found this one dragged. I ended up skimming the last half of the book and eventually switched to audio where I ramped it up to 2x the speed.

I think the writing was good, the story just wasn't there for me. I'll likely still give this author another try.

Was it OMG amazing, can't put it down, best book of the year? No. But it was perfectly pleasant and a good read between commitment books.

3.5*
All aboard! 🛥

Jo is a yacht stewardess catering to the wealthy, ensuring their experience is top-notch all the way. Rapidly approaching her 30th birthday she pulls out her 30 by 30 bucket list that she’d set aside after the recent death of her nephew.

Perhaps it’s time to get back to the list?🤷🏻‍♀️. Maybe start with an easy one first…kiss a stranger. And well hello, there standing at the bar is one fine looking guy! Okay, he’ll fit the bill!😜.

But when he turns up as the new chef on board their yacht AND happens to be living in her quaint little condo complex Jo realizes she wants more than that one little kiss.

I enjoyed the romance (not too spicy). But there were a lot of heavy themes that just weighed it down a bit. Grief, being front and center.

Though I had the book version on my kindle I opted to listen to the audio. How could I not! It was Karissa Vacker narrating! And yes, she made the read!

I was on the fence on picking up book two Luck and Last Resorts which will be released Aug 8 2022. Perhaps I’ll wait for the audio once again….and of course Ms. Vacker will be narrating!🤩

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing.