More Than Shipmates by Philippa Young is a light-hearted cruise ship romance that sets sail with promise but encounters some choppy waters.

— 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚜:

Opposites attract
Forced proximity
Steamy encounters

The banter between the main characters is cute, and the concept of finding love on a cruise is delightful. However, I found the back-and-forth between the steamy scenes and emotional moments felt disjointed, lacking the smooth flow I was hoping for. While the chemistry is there, it often slips into cliché territory, and the characters could have used more depth.

TL;DR: A fun, breezy read with charming moments, but the disconnect between the erotic and emotional scenes made it feel uneven. Perfect for fans of light rom-coms, though it left me wanting more substance.

I had really high hopes for this one when I first Requested it but my reading preferences have changed since I requested and it wasn’t my cup of tea. However, I do think that there is an audience for this book and they would really enjoy it!

This book was generously provided to me by NetGalley!

Oh there’s smut in here!🥵

I loved everything about this book! Even the love triangle turned out to be so fun. Like she can make it work!! Read this book, I will force you otherwise.

A fun steamy romance. Giving me reality tv vibes. It was an easy ready and thoroughly enjoyable but I have read a lot in this genre and it didn’t quite make the top stars for me. That being said it is a debut and a good fun one at that.

Such a fun rom com! I loved this spicy, summery romance, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

This is such a fun entertaining book. I loved every minute of reading it. The main character is so relatable and I couldn't wait too see what happens next. The book setting is on a cruise where our main characters work. It follows them in their daily routine and after hours. These characters are in their twenties which makes this read like a new adult novel in the best way. We get to know all the characters in a deep and meaningful way. I highly recommend reading this book if you want a fun summer read with steaming romance.

More Than Shipmates is the debut novel by Philippe Young. I was interested in this book after reading the synopsis. Unfortunately I had difficulties connecting to this characters after 30%. Sometimes a love triangle works but this one did not hold my interest. Perhaps other people will enjoy this book. I will not be reviewing this book on my social media accounts.

Who doesn't love a good love triangle. The characters were fun and whitty, yet still had depth, and the writing kept me interested. Solid 3 star debut for me!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Ella Chapman has been dealt a crappy deal. She did not get into drama school, her boyfriend has been cheating on her, and her best friend has replaced her with someone else. And now, she wants a change.

Ella signed a six-month contact on a cruise line to be an entertainment talent on the ship. She vows to start anew, no dating, no hooking up, no nothing. But, once on the ship, there are things out of her control and she finds herself caught between two men.

While this is a fictional piece, part of me hopes that the castmates have this much fun on their off time!

Dive into the delightful blend of adventure and romance! Eliza Chapman's journey from setbacks to success is captivating, with unexpected twists and a spicy love triangle that keeps you hooked.

A must-read romcom that sails through character growth and unexpected love encounters.

"More Than Shipmates" by Philippa Young follows the story of Eliza Chapman, who has always felt like she's fallen short in various aspects of her life. From failing to get into drama school to struggling to maintain relationships, Eliza's self-esteem has taken a hit. However, when she lands a job as an entertainment host on a Caribbean cruise, she sees it as an opportunity for a fresh start.

Determined to focus solely on her career and avoid any romantic entanglements, Eliza pledges to stay away from men during her time on the cruise. But her resolve is put to the test when she finds herself drawn to two intriguing colleagues: the cheeky American Tom and the charming Brit Oscar. As the lines between professionalism and personal feelings blur, Eliza must navigate the challenges of romance in the midst of her new job.

"More Than Shipmates" promises to deliver a tension-fueled, steamy romantic comedy with multiple points of view, offering readers a story of fresh starts, self-discovery, and learning to open oneself up to love.

This was everything I didn't know I needed in a book! I loved the writing style, it felt fun, easy to read and definitely kept me hooked. Characters and storyline were brilliantly written, with some real laugh out loud moment and some great spice too. Brilliant summer read.

I’m an idiot for not reading this sooner. It was brilliant. I absolutely loved the style of writing. It kept me engaged the whole time, and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it.

The character growth from all was written so well. I loved how they all helped each other grow.

My only complaint is the constant self doubt from the main characters. After finishing I understand and appreciate the need for it but at the time I found it a little annoying.

Everything else was fab, and I can’t wait for the next instalment!!!

3.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this E-ARC. I could not handle the build up in this book. I was here just screaming just do it with someone already I dont care who. All that sexual tension just made me feel like a teenager again and I was not mad at it. I loved all the characters I enjoyed seeing the growth in them and cant wait for the next book

This book was light hearted and fun. It was funny and had some great parts. However, there was something about the writing style that I found it hard to connect with, which made it hard to get through. I would recommend this book to whoever loves quick, light hearted spicy rom coms.

"...whatever you pick, you need to make sure it's the right decision for you and your future, not his."

Thank you to NetGalley and Summer Stars Publishing Limited for sending me an advanced reader's copy of More than Shipmates by Philippa Young. All thoughts that follow are my own.

More than Shipmates is about a woman named Elizabeth who is currently reeling after being rejected from her top three choices for drama school, betrayed by her friends, and cheated on by her boyfriend and looking for a fresh start by accepting a job on a cruise ship as an entertainment host.

This book was very weird in several ways. The characters seemed very immature for their age in terms of how they handled problems within their relationships. I also felt as if the romances between the characters were developed way too quickly. Eliza and Tom didn't have much interaction for the first bit of the story but then the reader gets to the first chapter of Tom's POV and he is almost creepily in love with her. Oscar and Eliza grew a bit more organically and didn't feel as forced but Eliza needed to grow up a little bit and learn how to let things go. The author tried to tackle a lot of serious issues in this book and I don't think she succeeded because they all felt the same, from something as simple as feeling betrayed by your friends to grieving a death within a family. It was also hard to keep up with the pacing of this book. It just felt like everything was moving from day to day and then suddenly it was Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The pacing just felt way off. When I read that the book was set on a cruise ship, I was so excited because I was hoping for descriptive scenes of being on a ship as well as the excursions but the excursions were rushed over and the only areas the reader saw were the crew bar and the crew cabins. Everything else was very lackluster. One of the things that bothered me the most was that by the end of a book that was way too long for a romance novel, everything was finally looking up for Eliza and she was willing to give up everything she wanted for a guy.

I also expected this book to be a little less explicit. I've read steamy books previously but none to this extent. The games they were playing in their spare time and the sex scenes between the characters made me blush at some points but that's just my own personal opinion.

Overall, I would recommend this book to people who like the Below Deck show and super steamy romance novels. 2/5 stars overall.

Love triangle, on a cruise, forced proximity, AND spicy??? The perfect combination of tropes. This book follows Eliza after several failures in London. She decides to get on a cruise and work as entertainment staff. There she meets two handsome coworkers creating a tense and hot love triangle.
This book was so fun and the best time to read. This debut novel leaves you wanting more and I am so invested I cannot wait for the next book. 4 stars for me!!

My first cruise ship setting was everything I didn’t know I wanted! Eliza feels like she’s out of career options and with “nothing left at home”, she signs up to be on the entertainment team of a cruise ship. She meets new friends onboard the ship, including Tom and Oscar. It doesn’t take long for the closeness on the ship to take effect and spark a little love triangle!

I absolutely devoured this book! I’m a sucker for a cruise (I even booked one halfway through reading this 🫠) and it was the perfect summer read. The multiple POVs was so fun and written really well, giving you a more in depth understanding of all the characters and their true feelings. And the spice?! Chef’s kiss 💋🌶️ check in with me when you get to the truth-or-dare scene cause that had me in a chokehold! All in all, I clearly loved this book and think everyone should read it!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏼

Such an enjoyable read!! I really liked this book and was so happy I was given the opportunity to read it here at netgalley. Made me laugh out loud multiple times.

I was initially given this as an ARC by @netgalley (TYSM 🫶🏼) but for some reason, I just never got round to reading it. Then I recently saw Philippa announced the second book in the series so I knew it was time and I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner!

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.

➡️ Swipe to read the dedication in this book which I knew instantly meant 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’.