Luck and Last Resorts was so much fun to read. That's what I kept thinking as I read it, "This is so fun!"

Nina and Ollie have a ten-year relationship that revolves around their work on a yacht. Ollie has decided that this is the summer that they'll either choose one another or be over forever. I found Nina's backstory and reason for her reticence to be super obnoxious, but Ollie was so endearing that it nearly worked.

Overall, any second chance romance on a yacht gets me.

I felt like this was very unique, and much better than the first book in the series! A very well written second chance romance.

Below Deck is one of my favorite shows so I loved that Nina was a chief stew and Ollie was a chef on a charter yacht.

This book is the sequel to Love, Lists and Fancy Ships but can be read as a standalone. It was a fun second chance romance between Nina and Ollie who both who appeared in the first book. Nina is an independent woman – she just wants to have fun but she’s dealing with her own issues from the past. Ollie is Irish and he’s dealing with his own issues from back home as well. I loved seeing the two of them come together and their relationship evolve. There also was a surprising secret that I wasn’t expecting which made the romance a little more interesting. I really enjoyed it!

A huge thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an advanced cpy in exchange for my honest review.

Nina likes her life exactly as it is. She and her best friend Jo spend most of the year on a ship surrounded by sea and sunshine. She can’t wait for charter season to start again, to be back in the middle of the hum and zing of her job. And then Jo informs her that she will be on her own this time, That Jo is staying on dry land. Jo has been Nina’s anchor in more ways than one, and the news both disappoints and devastates her.

She doesn’t think the world could possibly throw more curveballs ion her direction. And then she finds out that her ex, Ollie, will be the chef for the season. Ollie is handsome and glib, the very essence of easy, winking Irish charm. And he is the closest thing to a soul mate she’ll ever have. But Nina doesn’t want to be tied down. And he’s also a player with a breezy attitude and at least a dozen women on his booty call list. Somehow, they always drift back to each other during the off season. So when things change between them, Nina doesn’t know what to do. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about Ollie’s life. Secrets he hasn’t told her, memories he hasn’t shared.

Ollie is at a crossroads in his life. He’s always loved Nina, but knew she wouldn’t welcome that devotion. Now he has to convince her to be his, or go back to Ireland and settle into the yoke of the family duty and responsibility he left behind.

I loved watching Nina and Ollie spar, and revolve around each other like two comets hurtling toward the atmosphere, reckless and desperate and full of yearning. In order to finally admit how they feel, they have to move past the casual comfort that’s fallen between them. In order to move forward and embrace the inherent rightness of their relationship, they have to let go of their fear and allow themselves to finally fall into each other’s eternal gravity.

This is the perfect summer escape rom com read! It’s full of snark , laughter, banter, insight and tenderness.
A huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 stars

Luck and Last Resorts is a contemporary romance. It can be read as a standalone. However the characters from the first book are in this book. I would definitely recommend reading the books in order.

The narrator is 32 year old Nina (1st person POV). She is Jo's best friend from Love, Lists & Fancy Ships.

Nina is an intriguing character. She was a world class gymnast. But has a difficult relationship with her family. And she is very secretive (her big secret blew me away).

The book is Nina and Ollie's story. We get them in the present. But we also see glimpses of the past starting 9 years ago when they met (and moving forward year by year). I thought that was a very good way to tell their story.

Nina is the chief stewardess on the super yacht Serendipity. And we get to see a lot of life on the yacht, which I enjoyed. Nina does not do relationships, which was a bit frustrating. I just wanted to shake her and tell her that she was being ridiculous.

Ollie was a fun love interest. He is an Irish chef working in the US. He also has issues from when he left home. Together these two made an interesting couple.

The last part of the book was definitely the best. And I really enjoyed seeing Jo and having her story continue in this book. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

TW: anxiety, ptsd from a sports injury, sexual harassment, colourism (small reference to the yachting industry being very “white”), mental health
Mentions of: gambling addiction, identity theft, abusive parents (past), among others I may have missed

This was so cute. An excellent follow up to book one, I found myself enjoying this one way more than the first.

Told in a series of flashbacks, we follow the story of Nina and Ollie’s entire relationship. From hating each other at their first meeting to slowly developing a friendship, adding in a marriage of convenience, before finally admitting to more.

There were so many obstacles to their happy ever after - the main one being Nina herself. She had so many reservations pursing anything further with Ollie, despite the fact that they were already married and he’d been pining over her for years.

The characters were so likeable (I mean, Ollie’s Irish accent), and the scenery changes were great (hello Ireland), I thought this really captured what it’s like to be afraid of putting your trust in someone wholeheartedly and being in love with them.

Super cute, PG, friends-to-marriage of convenience-to-benefits-to-soulmates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jove Books / Berkeley Pub for this ARC; I am voluntarily leaving this review.

4.5 stars rounded up!

Very rarely do I want to read a book because of the cover alone, but Luck & Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz, was one of those occasions. When I was invited to read her sophomore novel, I immediately wanted to accept, falling in love with the charming cover. But I quickly realized Luck & Last Resorts is the second novel in her romance series following the popular Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships, which I have not read yet. After reading some early reviews from fellow bloggers, I felt reassured that it wasn’t necessary to read the previous novel, and I accepted that invitation.

Let me assure you, my fellow bloggers were not wrong, and I adored this romance about the staff on the Serendipity, a super yacht, sending Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships sailing up my TBR.

In Luck & Last Resorts, we follow Nina, Jo’s best friend from Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships. I was very impressed with Ruiz’ ability to make Luck & Last Resorts not feel like a follow-up. Typically when I read a subsequent book within a series without reading the first book, there will be a few holes within the plot that have me feeling like I missed something, but not with Luck & Last Resorts. It felt like a wholly complete book on its own, that happened to feature side characters I’d like to know more about.

Now about the story… Luck & Last Resorts frustrated me in the best angsty way. I didn’t want to set this one down, reading into the wee hours of the night to finish. Despite it only being from Nina’s point of view, I fell hard for Ollie, Nina’s on-again-off-again-best-friend-with-benefits love interest. Ruiz’ talent for perfectly capturing a character only viewed through another character’s point of view, reminded me so much of Emily Henry’s style. I felt like I knew Ollie, the Serendipity’s sometimes grumpy chef, in the end only wanting what was best for him, even if that meant it wasn’t Nina.

Nina’s self-destructive behavior when it came to their relationship was hard to read at times, but very rewarding in the end. These are two characters with broken pasts, who find solace within each other, and it was refreshing reading another book where the male lead is the one with confidence in the relationship. (I just finished Bend Toward the Sun which had the same theme, and I highly recommend it, as well.)

Lastly, the setting on a super yacht was so very unique and fun. And I liked how the author spent very little time focused on the guests of the ship. The story was about the crew, and that’s where the heart of the story remained.

I sped through Luck & Last Resorts quickly. It’s a shorter book, coming in at under 350 pages. It seemed like the perfect length. No long, drawn out chapters, every sentence packed full of meaning. I highly recommend this one, especially if you’re a fan of second chance romances.

Read/Listen If You Like:
❤️ Second Chance Romances
❤️ Guarded MC’s
❤️ Closed Door Romances
❤️ Irish Men

Book Review:
Ugh, this one was so well done! It had my heart feeling the little strings pulling it throughout the book as I read Nina’s story! I will definitely be reading more from this author as this one was so well done.

Nina is a very guarded character due to struggles stemming from her family and the difficulties they put her through leading to her fear of living outside of a box she found that worked for her but kept herself stagnant while life moved around her.

Nina met Ollie back when she was trying to get on her feet 10 years ago and since then they have been in each other’s orbit. This story is really about Nina and Ollie, but in a lot of cases I feel like it is also about Nina’s growth and learning to let go of the past and slowing yourself to move forward.

If you are looking for a heartwarming romance with a hunky Irish man, I can wholeheartedly say this one is one you should pick up!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Pub for the ARC of this book! I am so grateful to obtain a copy to read in advance of its release in exchange for my honest feedback!

Love, Lists & Fancy Ships by Sarah Grunder Ruiz was one of my favorite romance reads from last year. Set aboard a luxury yacht, that book was sweet, witty, and just such a wonderful read. When I read it, I fell head over heels for the “found family” vibe of the yacht’s hilarious crew, particularly Nina and Ollie, two veteran crew members who bicker like an old married couple and just stole every scene they were in. Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I realized that there was going to be a sequel, Luck & Last Resorts, and that it features Nina and Ollie.

The relationship between Nina and Ollie had a big “are they or aren’t they a couple?” vibe in the first book so I was thrilled that the author really explored it in depth in Luck & Last Resorts. I was so thrilled when the novel opens with a grand gesture from Ollie. He declares his love for Nina and wants her to commit to being with him. He’s completely devoted to her, miserable when he isn’t around her, and has decided it’s time to wear his heart on his sleeve. Unfortunately, Nina isn’t so convinced. Yes, of course, she loves Ollie, but she’s a commitment-phobe at heart, has been hurt in the past, and only knows how to rely on herself. Letting someone, even Ollie, all the way in is just too hard for her to even think about.

Nina’s scenes with Ollie still have all the sexiness and fun, and of course the hilarious banter from the first book. However, there’s an angsty undertone throughout because Ollie has decided that if Nina isn’t ready to commit to him after all these years, he can’t do it anymore and he’s moving back to Ireland. I wanted to shake Nina but understood that she clearly needed to work through some things and figure out what and who she wanted in her life. Nina’s journey really drives a lot of the story and I was completely invested in it.

I also loved that the author used a dual timeline in this story. One timeline follows Nina and Ollie in the present as they work through their feelings for one another, while the other timeline takes us back to when they first met years ago and delivers a huge and unexpected plot twist that just made me love them even more.

I know I’m just rambling now, but I just love this series and all the characters so much. If you’re in the mood for a beautifully written romance novel that is both fun and flirty, but also emotional and angsty, and that will leave you with a full heart and a smile on your face, I highly recommend both books in this series.

I am *always* here for a good, complex second-chance romance, esp when it also expertly mixes in a number of my favorite tropes & literary devices without it ever feeling like too much.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲…. Workplace romances; enemies-to-friends-to-lovers-to-????; the “sliding doors” chapters between past & present; and unique, layered characters with flaws & traits that, while sometimes frustrating, are still very much grounded & relatable.

Luck and Last Resorts featured a lush yacht setting that was so fun to read about, and honestly really added a lot to the story. This is a second chance at love romance between two compelling and interesting characters. I felt they fit together well and would love to read more of their story in the future. This is an easy romance to get lost in.

I thought this was a really well written book! This novel had a great romance, with a lot of emotional parts to the book as well. And I love the cover of it! Overall, I would definitely recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I read this in a single day, and I loved this even more than Love, Lists and Fancy Ships! Nina and Ollie are 🔥🔥🔥

The audiobook is fantastic

This was really fun. I enjoyed the boat setting of everything as well as the second chance commit or move on situation.

This second-chance romance filled my heart with happiness – Sarah is an incredible author who’s second book was even better than her first.

Readers first meet Nina in Sarah’s debut Love, Lists & Fancy Ships, which was a favourite read of mine in 2021. While there is character continuation and story lines that grow in Luck and Last Resorts from the first book, it can also be read as a stand alone. However I highly recommend you read it. Now, Nina is a character. She’s multi-faceted and difficult. She’s outspoken and lives by her own rules. After having some damaging experiences as an ex-Olympic level gymnast and some heartbreaking family issues, she’s prickly and doesn’t let people close. She’s also totally genuine and hearty achingly raw and vulnerable. She was one of my favourite characters in Sarah’s debut and I was ecstatic when I found out she was getting her own story. Listen, Nina isn’t always a nice person, and I read some tweets where Sarah mentioned she was worried that people wouldn’t connect with Nina. Here’s a secret I’m going to let everyone in on: we all have a little Nina in us: we’re afraid of making choices and changing life; we’ve been hurt; sometimes we get jealous when the people we love most live their lives. Nina is so real that it hurts. I adore Nina and will petition hard for everyone to read her – because she’s amazing. While life has made her hard, it hasn’t turned her to stone. And, while there is a fabulous second-chance love story here, love isn’t what softens her and opens her up to her life, rather Nina, through a lot of hard work, opens her own damn life up.

I’ve devoured both of Sarah’s books in big greedy gulps. Her world building and secondary character story arcs are so poignant and detailed. Her writing is vivid and jumps off of the page. I cried while reading about Nina and Ollie’s story because it felt like reading about my friend’s life instead of some characters on the page. This book may not be one to read in public – Sarah’s writing is filled with emotion and hits you in the solar plexus in the best way possible.

And one of the areas that hits you hard is the love story between Nina, head stewardess on the yacht called Serendipity and Ollie, head chef. They have a second chance love, and Sarah alternates chapters between them now, in the present, and a decade ago when they first met. Readers get to fill in the spots between then and now and learn how they are in the situation that they are in. They are friends first, and their friendship is so delightful: they have the kind of banter that made me tear up with laughter (read it to understand why dick hernias and tea balls are so funny) and also the kind of partnership that I hope to one day have with someone. They have to work for every win in their relationship. They have to fight to be together and they both have to grow and better themselves in order for it to work. There is no quick and easy ending, which I adored. Sarah makes Nina and Ollie work for the HEA, and even though I knew one had to happen in the book, I was holding my breath the last few chapters.

I could keep gushing about this book. It’s funny and emotional contemporary romance at its best. It asks readers to think about love, friendship, fate and the work we have to do to overcome traumas to allow us to live our best lives.

Thank you Berkeley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Sarah’s first book (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships) but I ADORED this one.

First off, the yacht setting is just so fresh and fun to read about, especially if you’re a Below Deck fan like me! But this story could have easily taken place on land and still stolen a bit of my heart 💜

This is a second chance romance for two people who know they should be together but can’t quite figure it out. There’s no ridiculous miscommunication or outside forces keeping them apart - just life and fear and insecurities that are so relatable and real.

I loved Nina and Ollie and just adored their whole journey. I could easily read another 300 pages about them.

This book has definitely cemented Sarah as an auto-buy author for me. Her witty writing and swoony characters are easily on par with Emily Henry and Christina Lauren.

Loved, loved, loved this second-chance romance by Sarah Grunder Ruiz! Read it as a standalone, which worked just fine, but realize I must go back and read Love, Lists & Fancy Ships, the first in the series, because I adore this author. And Book Three is coming too. Hurrah! Highly recommended.

<i>" I’m becoming the person I want to be. It just so happens that becoming the person I want to be means hopefully becoming someone who can truly love Ollie and be loved by him in return. But with or without him, I am moving on. No matter what happens, I’ll be okay."</i>
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My Rating : 4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟
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I read Love, Lists and Fancy Ships earlier this year and I was really looking forward to the chaotic best friend's story. Ollie and Nina are chaotic at their best, and to read about their decade long friendship/acquaintance was hilarious as well as heartbreaking. This is the kind of enemies -> friends -> fake married -> friends with benefits -> friends with feelings -> lovers I didn't know I needed.
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<i>"I knew right then if I spent too much time around you, I’d fall in love, he said. I tried to laugh it off, but Ollie said only, You still scare me, Neen. I’m terrified all the time."</i>
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Omg, Ollie was a sweetheart and had a TON OF PATIENCE! I especially loved the fact that Nina just didn't become perfect and accept her flaws and fears in a day, and I loved Ollie for giving her the time to figure her fears out and get a different perspective. We get to read about Nina's fear and Ollie's frustration and as a reader I just wanted to smack them both. But the ending was worth it and I really liked how the author wrapped everything up. It had great friendships, amazing banter, a bit of miscommunication, an epic cross-country confession and a flawed main character you can't help but love and hate. Really looking forward to reading more from the author!!
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Thank you Berkley Romance & PRH International for the gifted Arc copy!

Nina and Ollie's story frustrated me endlessly, but I genuinely enjoyed it.

I really liked Nina, even when she made me want to through my e-reader at the wall. I understood her, even when I did not understand reluctance to commit to the cinnamon roll that was Ollie.

Luck and Last Resorts was a fantastic slow burn, second chance love story because although the rode to their HEA was rough, the ending was so sweet that it made it worth the angst.- and I am always here for emotional growth and therapy.

Now, I need to go back and read Jo's story ASAP.

I absolutely loved reading Love, Lists and Fancy Ships so I was really looking forward to the 2nd book in the series! Man, Sarah Grunder Ruiz doesn't disappoint. Nina and Ollie's story was everything I needed and more. I cannot stop thinking about them 😭😭😭

I already knew how fun and quirky Nina was from LLaFS, but Ollie was a mystery to me. But wow oh wow. I enjoyed getting to know Ollie, Mr. Grumpy Chef (who is actually a softie) so, so much. Nina and Ollie were so perfect together. :')

The story follows a dual timeline (not a consecutive back and forth though), and I really liked that the author chose to present Ollie and Nina's story that way. Getting to see their past and present moments made me appreciate their relationship on a deeper level. Their chemistry was off the charts! The emotional connection they had totally melted my heart. I just couldn't get enough of them 🥺 Also, I love it when the couple in a romance are incredible friends too. Nina and Ollie supported each other whenever needed. :')

Luck and Last Resorts is definitely one of my favorite romances of the year now. Cannot wait for more from the author. 😭❤️