Nina loves her job as chief stewardess on the Serendipity yacht. It gives her the unanchored life that she wants while providing routine and fun in her life. When Nina arrives to begin the charter season, she is surprised that her friend Ollie has renewed his position as chef on the crew after taking a season off to work in a restaurant. Nina and Ollie have been a thing but also not-in-a-relationship for nearly a decade. Ollie wants Nina to finally commit to a relationship and although Nina's first instinct is to run away, they have a complicated past that she can't just walk away from.

This was an enjoyable second chance/friends-to-lovers romance. I loved the first book in this standalone series and I was excited to see what was behind Nina and Ollie's story. I liked that it alternated between the present time and the development of their relationship from their first interaction.

After finishing this novel, the first thought that came to my mind was "I loved that HEA!". It was really cute and more than I could have hoped for in Nina and Ollie's story. I ended up stopping and re-reading a few of the lines when I realized what was happening and I wanted to soak it all in.

The second thought that came to my mind after I finished the book was how nuanced and layered Nina and Ollie's characters were. Nina was feisty and a little ridiculous. She had her reasons for why she wanted to just have fun all the time. She had been burned by someone she loved and trusted and she didn't think she could ever endure that pain ever again. Nina didn't want to give her heart fully to Ollie for fear that the would break it even though Ollie never did anything to make her feel like he would. Ollie was also layered, with his secretive past from Ireland and deep dark secrets about why he never wanted to go back. He had also been hurt by people he loved and he thought it was just easier to avoid his homeland altogether. These two lost souls found each other and Ollie wanted to start a new life with Nina. Unfortunately, Nina couldn't see that she wanted the same thing with him (until very late in the book).

What a beautiful journey Sarah Grunder Ruiz takes us on in this book. Ollie had to accept that he couldn't keep doing this to himself by pursuing Nina and that was a difficult pill to swallow. Nina's journey was even more impressive because she had to prove that she was willing and wanting to change to find the happy life that she wanted with Ollie. I'm not going to lie, I was annoyed by Nina at the beginning of this book, but by the end, I was cheering her on.

This was a wonderful second book in this series and I highly recommend it!

Steam level: 🔥🔥
⚠️: anxiety, gambling addiction

I loved this cover and found it really dynamic. I've read so many contemporary romances this year that this one didn't blow me away, but I still enjoyed it.

A fun summer escapist read! A little slow in some parts but overall loved the dynamic between the characters and their personal development throughout the story. This was a great companion read to Below Deck! I could easily imagine Nina as Kate. :)

Commitment-phobe Nina Lejeune is chief stewardess on a cruise ship who is determined to always have fun and never rely on anyone. 

When her old flame Ollie Dunne returns as the Serendipity’s chef, he has an ultimatum: if Nina continues to deny she's in love with him by the end of this charter season, he'll go back to Ireland for good.


I found Nina’s “I’m the fun-loving one” attitude a defense mechanism that was self-destructive, and I struggled to connect with her. There’s keeping your guard up because you’ve been hurt by your parents, then there’s sabotaging yourself by choosing to be unhappy. Even in the way she spoke to her friends she often came across as caustic or selfish.

As soon as we got to the twist, I hated Nina even more. It took her self-sabotage to a whole new level. Ollie has given her ten years off and on and sometimes I wondered why he tried so hard. I never saw in Nina what he saw.

I enjoyed the writing and the characters are all fully developed. I’d probably like another book by this author but with a more sympathetic main character with depth. I just struggled to connect with Nina.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

I am a massive fan of Sarah Grunder-Ruiz's debut novel, and was very excited to read this sequel about Nina and Ollie. Ollie was incredibly charming, like Alex in Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships, but in his own unique way. I loved the chemistry between Ollie and Nina. I think fans of People We Meet on Vacation will like this novel, with the friends to lovers storyline and alternating timelines. This book didn't quite live up to the first book for me (a high standard to beat!) but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. My only qualm with the book was that Nina was quite stubborn and often in denial - I understood for the most part why she felt and acted the way she did, but I definitely had many moments of "just give in already, you know you love him and want to be with him"!

This is the perfect summer romance! I loved getting to spend time with more of the characters from Ruiz's first novel, and the luxury yacht setting is delightfully unique and well-realized. I loved these characters and was rooting from them from page one.

We're back with the Yacht romance and its better than ever.

Nina Legeune has always been in love with Ollie Dunne. It's a fact known to anyone and everyone who's boarded the yacht, the Serendipity, she's been stewarding at for the last ten years. The problem is Nina can't tell Ollie. Here's the other catch, Ollie's set to leave for Ireland, for good, if she doesn't give in to his ultimatum to actually be in a full-fledged relationship. He's tired of the games of playing hot and cold and wants Nina always and forever. Will Nina give into her love for Ollie or will her fear of committing get in her way?

I've always loved Nina. She was a great character in Love, Lists and Fancy Ships. She's just the right kind of bubbly that makes everyone love her. In this book she's no different, but you see a side to her and Ollie you couldn't have imagined. Their love is sweet and kind and argumentative. Ruiz's second novel aboard the Serendipity soars just as her first. Thank you to Berkley, Sarah Grunder Ruiz and NetGalley for the early read.

Thank you to @berkleyromance for my NetGalley ARC of Luck and Last Resorts! Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships captured my heart earlier this year - and the second book in the series did not disappoint! Plus this cover is sending me - I need a purple maxi dress ASAP. 

Pub date: 8/9/22
Genre: romance (second chance)
Series: Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships, book 2
Do I need to read book 1 first? Since this one's not out until August, I think you need to grab LLFS for your beach bag! You can enjoy this book as a standalone...but it's more fun getting Nina's BFF Jo's story first!
In one sentence: Chief stewardess Nina is the definition of emotionally unavailable - but her old flame chef Ollie is giving her one last chance before he throws in the towel.

This book was just a pleasure to read from start to finish! I love second chance romance because you get a chance to get the backstories of the characters - we get plenty of flashbacks to Ollie and Nina's romance, and we also get to watch Nina fall in love with yachting. Both characters have traumatic pasts, and I rooted for their healing SO HARD. This may be one of the most realistic romances I've read (despite it taking place on a superyacht) in that it makes the point that no one can change another person - you have to want to change yourself for it to really happen. 

Amid the emotional content, there's also plenty of lightness - don't worry. The ship version of the only one bed trope (Nina and Ollie sharing a bunk bed), Nina teaching Ollie how to do a cartwheel, and post-charter drunken escapades kept me laughing. I think readers new to romance and those who love the genre will enjoy this one!

PS - If you like pizza rolls, make sure you have some in the freezer before starting this book. Otherwise, you will end up like I was last night - emotional, super hungry, and very jealous of Nina eating Ollie's homemade pizza rolls.

Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram 6/12/22.

4.5⭐️ I have never been so excited to read an ARC and finished this in one day!!

In Luck and Last Resorts Sarah Grunder Ruiz takes us back to the yachting world we grew to love. This story follows Nina, a closed-off and stubborn yacht stewardess, and Ollie a big-hearted and honest chef, who have spent the past 10 years (minus a year apart) working together on The Serendipity. While never official, their relationship has always been a little more than "just friends" and everyone who works with them knows it. At the start of this yachting season, Ollie gives Nina a chance to make their relationship official or be done for good. Can Nina finally admit what she wants despite her fears or will she hide from her emotions like she has been the past decade?

There was a lot of emotional depth to this story, which made it so much more than a typical contemporary romance read. I grew to adore Nina and her individual growth. While at times I wanted to yell "he won't leave you" and "tell him how you really feel," I had to remember that everyone heals differently. Ollie is officially my new book boyfriend. I loved how he was incredibly patient with Nina. He was adamant about what he wanted for their future and fought for her, even when she could not articulate what she wanted or needed. The "frenemies" banter was perfect and had me laughing in so many parts. With a lot of back and forth and angst, the HEA was well worth it and gave me all the feels. I loved the theme the story stressed: loving yourself before you can open up and truly let someone love you.

While this could 100% be read as a standalone, I recommend reading Love, Lists and Fancy Ships first since we are introduced to Nina and Ollie there and the MCs in that book, Jo and Alex, play a big role in this story.

Read if you like:
-It's always been you
-Frenemies to lovers
-Workplace romance
-Forced proximity (one cabin)
-Reverse grumpy/sunshine
-Past and present timelines
-Yacht setting

Thank you Berkeley Pub for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: 8/9/22

Nina and Oliver have had the most up and down relationship EVER. They have been back and forth for nearly ten years and now it's time to either make it official or they need to be done for good. Oliver is back on the ship this year for one last try. He puts his heart on the line for Nina, letting her know that he wants to be with her, begging for her to speak her truths.
Nina is scared. She doesn't want to be lied to again. She has Daddy issues, but when people have so many bigger issues, hers seem small in comparison. She just lives her life and doesn't think about what comes next. She is in her cycle and fears change and next steps. With Oliver back and invading her space, will she finally admit he's what she wants or will she continue to stay on her path of least resistance?
This book shocked me, broke my heart and then sewed it right back up. Oliver knew exactly what he wanted and his love for Nina had me swooning all over the place. Nina, on the other hand, frustrated me but I could understand her issues. I wanted to shake her so many times, but I just wanted her to get better and see how amazing her life could be. What I appreciated about this book was that Sarah didn't gloss over the issues that each character faced. It wasn't a "love fixes everything" book. It was real life. We have to put in the work to get where we need to be. The love of someone else isn't enough to fix us, we have to want to put in the work to change. I love Oliver and Nina so much. Their chance at love was a struggle, but relationships are work and they are both willing to fight.
Thank you to Sarah Grunder Ruiz, Berkeley and Netgalley for an early copy.

Unfortunately, I struggled with this novel despite loving the author's debut book immensely. It was hard to be invested in Ollie and Nina's romance where it just felt like they wasted 10 years of their lives miscommunicating and making poor decisions. This felt incredibly frustrating as a reader.

Things I did enjoy: the sharp and witty humor, the past and present timelines, the cameos from the first book's characters, the overall growth the characters experienced at the end

Sarah Grunder Ruiz is a talented writer and I will definitely check out her future books. I wish I could have loved this one but it was just not for me.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for my copy.

Being challenged and evolving is something as humans we tend to push back on. This story shows the power of moments and how we move with in them. How are choices in those moments define us. This book also has some great chemistry, witty humor and some of the best sarcastic banter.
Nina is a character who lives in the moment. She is the fun person who is never thing more than one or two steps ahead. Commitments is nothing something she does. Her lack of making connection is self-preservation. She uses her words and sarcasm as a defense. There is a struggle in this story for the reader to connect with Nina because of how well written her walls are. As a reader I need to be able to see past those to become fully invest in her story. Her self-deprecating attitude and belief that she does not deserve good in her life was overdone. Keeping everyone at arm’s length and never allowing love in her life while understandable it was so consuming that it did make progress in the book hard. I was angry with her and so mad. Nina’s unhappiness and lack of joy was there the whole book even in what was supposed to be the light and fun moments. I did not understand her mistrust with even her closest friends.
Ollie is tired and done playing games. He knows what he wants. He wants to be with Nina. Ollie, I give him props for trying but I think that Nina in all her damage made me hate him a little bit. I wanted him to move on. That he had given her 10 yrs on and off and honestly, I am not sure how she could whole heartly move past all her hang ups and Ollie deserved better.
The way the story is written with the timelines I did struggle to stay invested in this story. I read in chucks for that reason… When the time line would flip back in forth it took a very concentrated effort to stay with the book.
Overall, it is very well written and is a good story. The Nina’s character missed more the mark for me. This very much a romance story as Nina and Ollie’s relationship was 100% the focus. The story is very character driven, mostly by Nina. I just think I needed a stronger character arc or redemption in a way for her.

I picked up Grunder Ruiz’s last book on a whim and loved it. However, I agree with many of the other reviewers in saying that while this book was enjoyable it wasn’t as good as it’s predecessor. Nina and Ollie’s connection was a little frustrating. I wanted to root for the characters, but unfortunately at times the best I felt towards them was indifference. Nina’s character is one I enjoy more as a side character rather than a main one, and I believe that is due to some of her he uti fixations and actions not being elaborated upon more. This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy this book. However, in comparison to the first novel, this fell a little flat.

Luck and Last Resorts is a typical romantic comedy book with some interesting locations and some adorable characters. The actual love story between Ollie and Nina was disappointing to me. The whole thing felt less like a love story spanning 10 years than a exercise is bad decisions between two people who wasted 10 years not telling each other who they were and who they wanted to be to each other. They spent 10 years not being healed and not trying to be better or do more. This story might be realistisc (cause don't we all know those people), but I didn't enjoy reading about Ollie and Nina hashing and rehashing what they felt and how they were meant for each other.

I really enjoyed Luck and Last Resorts. I had not read the first book in the series, but that was okay. It wasn't really required. Nina and Ollie have a complicated relationship, but I still felt like it was realistic. I liked the chemistry between the characters and it was interesting having the characters working on a yacht., I've never really read a book with that particular setting before. I'm looking forward to reading the first book in the series and excited for the next book in the series. Would recommend.

Luck and Last Resorts is the second book in Sarah Grunder Ruiz's world of fancy ships and life on a private yacht--as support staff. Ruiz artfully blends the line between women's fiction and romance. I was thrilled to see these characters come back and get their own love story. And don't get me STARTED about chapter four!!

Thank you Penguin Random House International for the e-ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Nina and Ollie’s relationship is so complicated. They both loved each other but Nina keeps denying it. She just wants to be her, just Nina only. And for Ollie if Nina still deny her love by the end of this charter season, Ollie will go back to Ireland for good.

Nina had a hardest life. She’s retired in being gymnast because of her injured, her dad stole her identity and now she has a lot of depth because of her father. She can’t even rent an apartment because of her financial status. But in the end she still can’t turn over his dad even though they’ve ruined her life.

In my opinion, I still loved Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships more than this book, but was fine too.

This book follows Nina and Ollie reunite after a year apart as they try to rekindle a complicated relationship that's spanned over ten years.

Personally, I feel a lot of indifference towards this book as I didn't feel fully invested in any of the characters. I found myself frustrated at the constant back and forth which didn't feel justified enough to me, and I wish Nina's commitment issues were elaborated on more. There were lots of cute moments in the book, but a lot of times that I was losing interest. This wasn't my cup of tea, but I can see why others may enjoy this one.

Parental abuse (emotional, physical, financial), gambling addiction
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I’m not sure how to review this one. It took me awhile to get through it, but I think that’s just because this wasn’t the kind of story I was in the mood for at the moment. Now that I’ve finished it I just feel… indifferent? The writing was fine, the characters were okay… I just wasn’t into it.
I did struggle a bit with the different timelines, because as soon as I was invested in one plot line we were switching to the next and I’d struggle to get interested again.
Nina has a lot of trust issues after dealing with her parents betrayal, which I totally understand, but I feel like there wasn’t a reason for me to root for the couple. Honestly, as soon as Ollie made the comparison of their relationship to his parents I just completely lost interest in whether or not they’d work it out. I think I wanted him to move on.
I don’t know. The writing was good. I just didn’t feel any connection to the characters or the story.
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2.75 stars? 3 stars?
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Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to review an eARC. LUCK AND LAST RESORTS is available August 9!

3.5 rounded up to 4

Honestly I’m over commitment phobic main characters. Nina here takes the cake on that. She’s married to the most perfect male specimen and yet she doesn’t want to be with him. Ok. The book goes back and forth on the timeline of their fake relationship. The whole time you’re just reading to get to the point that she comes to her senses.