Thank you to Summer Stars Publishing Limited and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a love triangle trope with some hilarious moments, but also some nail biting and heart racing moments... Also quite a bit of spice 🔥

I love that it's written in first person POV, present tense and we get multiple POVs.

Initially, I was concerned about our main female character... But I found that the more I read, the more I connected with Eliza (MFC). I also feel really hard and fast for one of our (MMC) Oscar (aka Harvey)... But was always on the edge about Tom (our other MMC).

The only one thing that I always cringed at was how Oscar called Eliza "S*ut" during their spicy scenes... I get it's a kink for her... But it was a little hard for me to read that word. But I loved when he would say "good girl".... *cue drooling*.

Overall, very happy with how the book ended and I can't wait to see what happens next!

PS... Totally adding this book to my physical library 🥳

I would like to thank Victory Editing NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is the story of Eliza who joins the entertainment crew of a cruise ship for a 6 month Caribbean run after a rough few months back home in England. While on the ship Eliza is determined to focus on the job and NOT the super attractive Tom and Oscar who are both a determined to be the ultimate distractions. Will she succeed at this job or will she fall into old habits and let people convince her she isn't enough?

What I Loved:
- Multiple POV, even this is a story about Eliza both Tom and Oscar have chapters in their POV and I like that perspective
- Cruise ship culture, I have heard stories and I enjoyed seeing some of the actual antics of cruise ship staff "after hours"
- Support, Tom and Oscar are both romantic interests of Eliza but I think most important they are her key source of support and encouragement helping her rebuild her confidence in her ability as a performer and friend
- Spicy, I was pleasantly surprised by the spice throughout this book maybe I shouldn't have been

Overall I really enjoyed this book, I was never part of a cruise staff but I was a camp counselor for many years and there are some similar experiences. If you are looking for a story about someone who is trying to figure their life out with a great group a people and a few men to choose between then you should check this story out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Summer Stars for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Eliza feeling down decides to switch up her life and go on a cruise, there she is caught in a love triangle and some other drama. I think the premise of this book was really cute but it was just so long and there was just so much mundane drama that didn't need to be included to move the story forward. The time skips were a bit jarring and suddenly seemed to change POV during some scenes. I think with some editing and slimming down this could definitely be a new Bookstagram fav.

I completely devoured this book 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 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 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 loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and not 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!! This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I completely devoured this book 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 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 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 loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and not 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!! This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

What a fun journey this was! I feel like I just got back from a months long vacation on a cruise, after reading this. A sweet story of finding your own way, believing in yourself, self love, acceptance, and even a fairy tale ending! Philippa knocked it out of the park with this debut novel, and I cannot wait for the sequel where we get to see Tom find love.

We meet Eliza just as she is boarding a cruise as an events coordinator ready for a big life change. After falling out with friends, getting dumped by hey boyfriend, and not getting into drama school (again) she needs a change of scenery. She arrives on board the ship and immediately makes friends, enjoys the crazy cruise employee partying, and even begins to fall in love. But is the cruise where she will really be happy? What about drama school? And should she really allow herself to fall in love with someone, knowing how her last relationship ended. We get to see so much growth and learning happen with Eliza, that you can’t help but root for her and her happy ending!

And oh the spice is off the charts! If you’re looking for a summer read to completely transport you, this is the one!!

3.5 ⭐️, rounded up to 4!!

loved the angst, tension & forced proximity this book showed!! I also love a work place romance, the only thing that didn’t hit for me is it had love triangle vibe & that’s just not something i’m super into .. but I will give the author credit, because she did make it work even though it just wasn’t really my thing.

the characters brought their own kind of issues & I loved that. I loved watching Eliza find who she is & I loved the tension & secrets that were surrounding Oscar & Tom. having a boat filled with young workers, figuring themselves out is always a good time & I am glad I got a chance to read this one!

this book was also a very good LGBTQ rep & I appreciated Philippa for that. it was well done.

for a debut novel, I did enjoy her writing & the plot of the story for the most part!! it was good, angsty, tension filled with lots of drama. very “below deck” vibes. well done for a debut novel!

I just went on a cruise and obviously considered switching careers (lol) so getting to read this book after just took me right back to the fun! Thanks so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC! This book came out June 1st so you don’t even have to wait to read it!!
 
This was a super cute read about Eliza, an aspiring drama school attendee who starts a 6-month contract working in entertainment on a cruise ship. She meets Tom right away, a fellow new entertainment hire as they board the ship and are immediately thrown together to take part in the crew talent show. On the other hand, Eliza’s buddy Oscar (Harvey) is showing her the ropes- a little awkward after she accidentally got assigned the wrong room and had an awkward encounter with Oscar before they knew they were buddies. Now I am normally not a big fan of love triangles, but I did enjoy this one! Anyways, this book was super cute and an easy (and spicier than I expected) read!!

Eliza starts her new life on a cruise ship with one rule: don't mix work and boys. That proves harder than she expected when she meets a cute fellow member of the entertainment team before even getting on the ship. it feels impossible when she lays eyes on her mentor, the hot man she (un)conveniently flashed because of a room mix up. Her past is good for something though: she is determined not to get mixed up with a coworker. But she's not the only one with a past and attraction isn't something we get to choose...

More Than Shipmates was a sweet summer drama romance that explored self-development, failure and trust with the intriguing backdrop of life as a cruise crew mate. It's definitely a lot of fun. The shenanigans of living in such tight quarters with a bunch of other young adults brings so much humor and spice to the story.
The promised love triangle was refreshing because it wasn't classical and the jealousy was spoken of relatively clearly and dealt with. It was honestly kind of obvious who Eliza would end up with, but I didn't mind because the other storyline wasn't unnecessary, it just had something else to say.
I also really enjoyed the balance in the spice. It was somehow sexy while still being slow-burn which is a hefty balance to strike.
All in all: the perfect summer read.

I picked this up because Below Deck is my Bravo vice and this definitely delivered on those vibes. The drama is petty and immature, and the love triangle definitely love triangle’d. After reading the first few chapters I expected a throuple to emerge and was low-key sad it didn’t.

The writing was clunky at times, but overall I had a fun time.

I have never wanted to be a crew member on a cruise ship. But I do now. Oh to find love on the open seas.

This was such a fun book full of laughter and so much feeling! Love triangles aren’t usually my go to but this one was so well written and satisfying! I cannot wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book!

Eliza decided she is starting over, she needs to get away from England so she signs up to be a part of a cruise ship for the next 6 months. Only she swears off all types of men and sex, but little does she know, there are two after her.

It was pretty good for a debut novel! Liked how steamy it was and that it was deserved. Also loved the forced proximity.



RECEIVED IT THROUGH NETGALLEY AS AN ARC

This book is perfect for fans of Bravo's "Outer Deck!" The writing style reminded me of Tessa Bailey. Steamy, sexy love scenes and characters that you want to vacation with fill this fun summer beach read. Our heroine is not your typical female lead. She is a sassy spitfire that knows what she wants and she isn't afraid to ask for you-if you catch my drift!

“This is my dream job. Please don't fuck
this up. No pressure then.”

"Don't be too hard on yourself.
No one else will be."

"Sometimes we can get caught up in the what-ifs and lose sight of all the great things that have happened because of the choices we made."

“Or maybe she'll always be my "one that got away" even though she's never been my one to begin with.
Right person, wrong time.”

Cruise rom-com with workplace romance, love triangle and a very handsome and mysterious and a bit too good to be true MMC that will have you swooning over him very early on in the book!!!! This book was soooo good !!! I can’t believe what I have just read!!!! It was funny, it was complicated, it was real, and it was spicy … IT WAS REALLY SPICY !!! I loved it !!!! Eliza is set to overcome everything she has been through and her feeling of being only a failure for her family and the ones she loves. Until she meets an amazing crew on a cruise ship that will help her find herself and her worth. And which better way to do so than by having a very spicy love triangle with a handsome but a bit cocky guy, enters Tom, and her mentor, kinda leader of the crew himself, hot, handsome and amazingly caring Oscar.
While trying to get to trust her instincts once again and maybe trusting other people with her feelings, Eliza will go back to living and having fun with her new , but crazy, found family in a cruise holiday that you will not be able to forget. With fun times between friends, sexy games and truth and dares, this book was amazing and it was exactly what I needed to get into the summer vibes !!! Check it out !!!

"Because, Chapman, if I'm going to be intimate with you, I'm going to make sure I can watch you enjoy it."

“He's mine, I'm his, and I'm never letting him go again.”

Never read a cruise ship romance before and it was a lot of fun, great for those who are fans of musicals!

Was slightly disappointed as I really thought this was going to be an endgame ‘throuple’ situation, it was hinted at SO much.

Early twenty-somethings stuck on a ship together for six months, lots of drinking/stripping games so you know what’s going to happen.
Bar the ‘who will she choose’ there isn’t too much solid plot outside of that.

3/5 ⭐️
3/5 🌶️

Thanks NetGalley.

I liked this book so much! It was interesting to read about the life on deck, it was so much fun and sexy. I don’t really like love triangles, but here it was okay. Eliza needed the job and the 6 months to reinvent herself and find her passion. It was great reading about Oscar’s and Tom’s background as well, and having their POVs in the book. Oscar is welcome to join my hall of ultimate book boyfriends. I loved the connection between Eliza and her lover and how their relationship grew and developed. Can’t wait for the next book, even though the focus will not be on them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

I had a pretty hard time getting into this book. I can’t say exactly why (it could honestly have just been my own absent mindedness) and I did consider not finishing it but I’m glad that I did. It ended up being a fairly interesting story with some great spicy scenes. It was pitched as a love triangle but I’m not sure that’s exactly accurate since the FMC ends up choosing one and sticking with them. I think I would’ve liked to have seen a little bit more of a struggle for her in making that decision. Ultimately, I thought it was a fun and entertaining read. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book!

This book is really fun and steamy! I started it on vacation when I didn’t have service and finally finished it. The cruise ship setting was really entertaining, and I loved the relationships between the characters, specifically the friendships. I felt they were well written and natural as well as the fact they made sense. I would definitely recommend this to people who love romcoms, especially summer ones. But beware: there is some miscommunication trope and that was really frustrating sometimes. Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

Ahh, as a fan of the show "Below Deck," I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and I was not disappointed! This gave me the same tension and laughs as the show, but it was even better with the love triangle and the banter between Eliza, Tom, and Oscar or Harvey for safety reasons. It was right up my alley, and I found myself at times rooting for both Tom and Oscar Harvey, but there could only be one in the end! I'm so glad I got to read this debut novel, and I recommend it! Thank you, Philippa Young, NetGalley, and Summer Stars Publishing Limited.