I loved the title and cover of this book. I saw many great things from others about the storyline. For me personally, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I tried many times to keep reading it but ended up dnf at 8%. I think others should still give it a chance as it looks like it has a lot of spicy scenes.

Thank you netgalley, the author and publishing for allowing me to receive this arc.

I've seen a lot of people raving about this book so I was really looking forward to reading it but unfortunately it just wasn't working for me. I couldn't connect with the characters at all and couldn't get into the storyline either so ended up DNF'ing at 14%

I would like to extend a big thank you to Summer Stars publishing for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my gosh there is so much to say about this book. This is the first cruise ship romance I have ever read which I think was so creative and interesting, I'm already wanting to book a cruise vacation. This is the author's debut and I can assure you that I will be reading more of her books.

This book has a slight love triangle and to be honest for most of the book I was rooting for both guys. Normally I am not a huge love triangle fan, but it was so perfectly written.

The playlist created for this book was top tier because I LOVE musicals, and if you love musicals as well you need to read this. The main character is very into musical theatre and I have never seen that in a book before.

I think this book and so many funny parts like the lip sync battle in drag, but it also had the right amount of angst to keep me engaged. This author also does a fantastic job at keeping the book modern and using slang in the correct context (I know we all hate book where it is so cheesy).

I highly recommend this book if you are a romcom fan, and can I say once again that the cruise ship romance is such a fantastic idea.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for letting me read this arc! I really enjoyed Eliza as a character and watching her grow. I've never read anything with the setting being on a cruise ship and found this very enjoyable. After being left to feel like a failure Eliza uses her new job to find herself, confidence, and gaining new important friends. I love dynamic was good too. Easy to read and enjoyable. Perfect for the summer!

I was expecting from the cover and the erotica designation for this to be a MFM threesome story, but it's a love triangle set on a cruise ship. Eliza is a newbie program host with acting aspirations who finds herself running bingo games and participating in talent shows. Although she's decided love/sex/relationships are off limits, she's attracted to two different men and at 20% through, is stringing both along. I put this down after a terrible strip poker truth or dare scene; if it's truly erotica, there would have been steamy sex much earlier in the book. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters, nor was I routing for one dude over the other. The writing isn't terrible, but there's a reason people self-publish; the cream in an editor's slush pile rises to the top. DNF.

W o w. This book is so beautiful and well-written. Although there are so many elements in this that I would traditionally hate, but Philippa Young executes everything in such a stunning way I can't help but being obsessed with this book. Very much a love triangle romance, More Than Shipmates is an undeniably H O T story of a young woman who is trying to discover who she is and what she wants, all while starting a new job as a cruise ship entertainer surrounded by attractive people. So let's get into all the parts of this book I usually hate but why it worked so well for this narrative:

1. The Love Triangle: I don't enjoy when main characters are indecisive and string along two people, and these usually end in either a compete character assassination or someone you grow to love being incredibly hurt. And while this book didn't end in my favorite love triangle resolution, it still satisfied all my emotional needs. While you can kind of tell who Eliza's leaning towards throughout the entire book, the second male lead does make a good run of it, and the resolution of his arc is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. It's incredibly fitting for who they are as people and reflects how their relationship has evolved across the span of the book.

2. The POV/Tense: Being written in first person present tense, there were parts of this book that really did annoy me. I tend to find books written in this format to be more telling rather than showing, however Philippa Young does a really good job of SHOWING the emotions and the stakes. My one qualm is that a lot of times the characters would think about some Big Scary thing, but never actually explain what the thing is. But when you're thinking in real life, you don't censor your thoughts and be like 'oh yeah Trauma' but rather think about what the actual event is, so it's an annoying way to withhold information. Also partway through the book the POV suddenly changes and starts this very random rotation between the three characters. It's helpful in expanding the narrative and in highlighting Eliza/the other characters biases but the head jumping was just so unexpected.

3. Miscommunication: The heroine has clear trust issues and you see this manifest in the 3/4 breakup. It is a bit annoying, and some of her actions are very self-pitying, but Philippa does such a good job of setting up her arc that as a reader you totally understand where she's coming from and why she's reacting this way. Also the MMCs are both so understanding and amazing and I absolutely adorable so they easily make up for Eliza's little stumble.

A beautifully written romance, this book is so spicy in all the right ways. More Than Shipmates is a prime example of how bad tropes in the hand of a good author renders a fantastic book that you just can't put down. I can't believe this is Philippa Young's debut novel, and I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel!

I was so, so excited to read this once I read the dedication page, but I was honestly a bit disappointed. I'd consider this book to have a lot more tension than actual spice. With a dedication that pointed out so many chapters the author wanted to steer family away from reading (which honestly made me bust a gut laughing) I was just expecting so much more.

I think the book was trying too many things at once and would have benefitted from removing a character or two. There's just so much going on and I got confused about what was even happening several times. We were given partial character arcs for people that ultimately didn't matter to the plot and instead it took away from the love story I really wanted to focus on. The cruise aspect was so different and interesting, but I was just so lost along the way.

This was such a fun read! I absolutely enjoyed the setting and premise if this book. It taking place on a cruise ship was something really different and I loved how that effected the relationships of all the characters. And omg I freaking loved Oskar! What a tier on book boyfriend. The only thing I was missing towards the end was friendship. aspect of the book. I felt like that fell a bit short and wasn't really resolved. But I can't wait for the next book and will absolutely read it as soon as I can get my hands on it!

Dnf at 10% . There really wasn’t a plot and it just seemed all over the place. Couldn’t get into the love interest either

Being confined on a cruise ship brings out forced proximity, workplace romance, and a whole lot of fun! Set in a beautiful atmosphere, this LGBTQ+ friendly story gets a little steamy in all the best ways.

Eliza drops everything to set sail working in the entertainment branch of a cruise ship. Why? Because there’s nothing left for her at home. And here she can reinvent herself to be whoever she wants to be. There’s only one problem - she doesn’t know who that is.

“You’re not a child anymore. I’m not going to save you this time.”

Her family doesn’t believe in her. The people she thought were friends have abandoned her. And she’s sworn off all men… or so she vowed. At least until Oscar and Tom come along and neither one wants to share. But can they hold their own secrets in the past long enough to make her see them for them? Or will they be ripped open and left raw and wanting?

“The gay community called me a fraud. The straight community didn’t trust me not to stray. I was good enough for a night or two, but nothing more.”

For a debut novel, this was really good. The tension was fun and all over the place. And being surrounded by a bunch of young 20-something year old characters brings about its own brand of chaotic angst, passion, and energy. There was always something going on, just like on a cruise ship, and I loved the endless entertainment and buffoonery vibes this book has in it.

However, there was a lot of inner monologue rather than outer dialogue which got monotonous quickly. I wish they told their backstories to each other rather than to the reader. And since it’s on a cruise ship, I was hoping for more details about the locations they went to or what the ship looked like. But that didn’t take away from how cute the story is.

This has a slight love triangle feel to it, but not really enough push and pull between the characters to make me consider it as a full fledged drama. And considering the illustrated cover, the spice was a welcome surprise! Definitely an enjoyable summer romcom!

“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.”

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, but it’s not for me. It was way steamier than I expected and I am just not a fan. I know others loved it, so I do recommend checking their thoughts on it. I ended up DNFing at 40%.

This was the perfect summer read.
The foreword from the author about the spicy chapters was really funny and definitely made me excited to reach each one that was listed.
A six-month Caribbean cruise job as an entertainment host? it was a super interesting setting
Two hot guys falling for our mc? Yes please!
I'm ususally not a big fan of love triangles but this is definitely going on my exception list.
All the fun and naughty activities the staff plans after the end of their shift? that scavenger hunt is burned into my mind
Eliza, Oscar and Tom were such great characters, it was easy to love all of them from the start.
I can't wait to read the next book.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book.

This is a fun, spicy read where our main character learns to love herself and, along the way, falls in love. Eliza wants to be an actor, but she’s been denied entry to drama school… multiple times. She can only be told she can’t hack it so many times before it impacts her self esteem and self-worth. After floundering for a while, she takes a job on a cruise ship, hoping she’ll get some direction.

The spicy tension builds and builds and feels like it’s never going to peak… But my goodness does it ever. 🥵 I thought this was going to be a “why choose” book (Oscar and Tom), but Eliza ended up making some tough decisions Will it be fellow Brit and musical lover Oscar? Or hilarious and insightful American Tom? You’ll have to read to find out!

Thanks so much to Phillips Young and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This was such a fun palette cleanser read for me, and as someone who’s about to go on a cruise, it had me cackling about how I’m going to be looking at the staff now😂

Eliza is such a real character and I she was such a fun character to read; her problems aren’t superficial and her indecisiveness is such a realistic thing, which I think is why I loved her so much.

Oscar is also a man that needs to be placed on a pedestal cause holy hell is he the definition of perfection. He has the right amount of wit, cuteness, and dominating bits, added with the accent and his build…. And you have a God 😇

I was hoping that this would turn into a why choose book, I really thought it was going that route because of the cover and the dual POVS; I think it would have had that little bit of extra love and spice I was looking for, especially because I love Tom and do think that the three of them could have been an amazing couple!! I am happy to hear that Tom is getting his own book though, he’s my favourite character so happy to know I’ll be reading more of him💗

I really enjoyed More Than Shipmates. I loved that this was set on a cruise ship. And the games the employees played after hours…wow!! I can’t wait to read more from this author. And I’m super excited for Toms upcoming story.

This ship is a ship of spice 😂🔥 A good fun read, I really enjoyed the self growth that happened to the main characters and the importance of reaching out when needed and communication. But also all the sassy banter and shenanigans just made this very enjoyable 😁

So so good, I still can't believe this is a debut/isn't a story about my friends.

Love triangle, sexual tension, coming of age & self discovery, found family, close proximity.

I loved this. Devoured it in two days. Legit thought we addicted to it! After finishing this I immediately looked to see what else I could get into from this author. The only source of disappointment was when I finished and discovered there was nothing else to dig into. But. The silver lining is that it looks like there’s more coming down the pike and I cannot wait for Tom’s story next!

Set on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, More Than Shipmates takes us through Eliza and her two hot coworkers' journey of self discovery, navigating complicated relationships, and unpacking trauma, as they work hard and play even harder. Oscar and Tom are absolute dreamboats (pun intended), but like Eliza have a lot of emotional baggage to sort through. I really enjoyed the character dynamics, bi-sexual representation, and alllll the drama the setting provided. I did feel like it could have been a little shorter, as it felt drawn out towards the end. I was also hoping something would happen that never did (ugh, fine, no spoilers). Overall, it was a super fun summer read, and made me want to quit my job, pack up my bags and go cause chaos on a boat.

This is the first book I've read with a cruise ship setting and I loved it. The story line was good and the main characters Eliza, Tom & Oscar were great. It's a love triangle that you find yourself picturing her with either of the two guys but definitely love who and why she ends up with the one she does.
This book had some steamy scenes but it's not as spicy as other smut books.

Thank you Philippa Young, Summer Stars Publishing Limited & Netgalley for this ARC!