As is evident by my list of books read, if there's a story set on a cruise ship or yacht - or even with one just on the cover - there's a good chance I've read it or have it on my kindle to read it soon. It's one of my top favorite settings to read about. So when I saw this cover of Love Overboard by Ada Barumé, I knew I had to pick it up!

I absolutely loved the setting of the luxury yacht as we followed the characters who worked aboard. If you're a fan of the TV show Below Deck, there's a good chance you'll find something in this story that appeals to you. It very much reads like an episode of Below Deck. It's also slightly chaotic and messy, just like the TV show.

My biggest issue with this story was the characters. I didn't care for them and I think that really impacted my reading of this book. I think if the characters were different, or even if these characters were developed more, I think this could have been a solid four or even maybe a five star read. There was a lot I did enjoy. It's just unfortunate that I didn't care for the characters because they're a huge part of the story.

I do love that one of the main characters we follow is the chef on board - I love reading books about chefs = and the descriptions of the food being served was making my mouth water the whole time I was reading. That was a absolutely a strong point of this story! And let's take a minute for the cover! It's so good!! Major props to the designer of this cover!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing the ARC.

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't like the main characters or their storyline at all.

Sofia and Jack were dry and uninteresting as characters. They both felt very flat, and in some cases, just flat out mean and spiteful for no reason. I didn't feel like the author spent enough time developing them or their relationship to truly be enriching. There was a lot of undeserved contempt on both sides that really just turned me off to their coupling as a whole. And when the shift into the lovers side of this trope started to happen, it felt completely disingenuous.

Overall, not a bad book, just needs a bit more character development for me to really enjoy it.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed reading this book.

Sofia is a chef, and this is her first cruise, which she wants to go well. But, her arguments with officer Jack are making it difficult for her to succeed.

The cruise also has some stars on it which make the story fun. But it also had some parts that were serious, mainly with the family of Jack.

I recommend this book.

Sophia has arrived in Italy to take up a role as chef on a charter yacht. In a bar the night before she joins the crew she encounters an entitled American. To her horror the next morning he is first officer on the yacht. Can she navigate around this or is it going to be stormy waters the whole way. Entertaining and easy to read.

Great enemies to lovers book! It was the perfect holiday read for me. I loved the relationship between Sophia and jack, their banter was great! This book really reminded me of below deck, the reality show. If you’re looking for a fun, enemies to lovers book, I recommend you read Love Overboard.

1.45!

I wasn't even going to review this book because I didn't find many things to like but since I got an arc I have to review it.

I was initially supposed to read this book in may, I made it past 20% but it was not grabbing my attention so I just blamed it on my exams and said I'll read when I'm free and now when I got free and did read.....I wish had just stopped at 20% because it just deteriorated further. The writing didn't really stick out to me it was just words on a paper for me, I felt nothing towards it. Literally, nothing. I was intrigued when I read the first 20% but after that I just wanted it to end because there are so many other books that I could read than this.

The characters and the romance were soooo disappointing!!!!!! I was so excited to read it ebcause of that but it disappointed me so much! like I felt nothing towards the characters, they felt like strangers who you could not relate too and drama between Jacks and Sophia was just so damn boring and cliche, like we almost always get these type of conflicts and it was just something that'd cause a vein to pop up on your forehead and when the romance begin it was so mid because one, I already had no connection with the characters and when the romance happened with all the conflict it just made me roll my eyes. There were so many unnecessary things that the author tried to add for character development but unfortunately failed.

Think enemies to lovers set on a yacht. Sofia, a successful chef in London, takes a seasonal job on a luxury yacht and clashes with Jack, the first officer. The predictable yet enjoyable plot follows their evolving relationship. While Sofia's harshness is initially off-putting, understanding her background makes her more relatable. The side characters needed more development, and the middle chapters from Jack’s perspective felt unnecessary. Fans of the show Below Deck will enjoy this book’s drama and setting. Despite some flaws in character development and plot, it’s a binge-worthy, fun read.

Love overboard was charming and witty. Perfect beach read for my vacation on the Caribbean even though our book is set in the Amalfi coast. I was drawn to read this book because I love below deck and I got all the vibes I needed in Love Overboard. The characters were relatable and the banter was cute.

I thought this was a fun read and I loved the setting of it. I enjoyed the banter between Sofia and Jack in the first part of the book and how that kind of continued throughout.

I did however find that the characters were a little flat throughout, there wasn’t a huge amount of character development and it was difficult to be fully invested in the story as a result. The miscommunication for a lot of the last quarter was more frustrating than anything else and the resolution of it was very rushed.

I also don’t quite know what the point of the Simon aspect of the story was, it was only really mentioned once and never really went any deeper into the events of the present and so could maybe have been left out (or at least come with some kind of content warning)

Thank you to Ada Baruné, Avon, and NetGalley for the eARC. I am so grateful to have received it.

I enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the different aspects of working on a yacht and the behind the scenes feeling. The writing of the characters was interesting and not my favorite. However, it still didn’t deter me from enjoying and rooting for everyone’s happiness.
The relationship of some characters didn’t seem well developed and was surprising, but that could be because our main character didn’t have the background knowledge and context.

I wish we had developed Patricio and Jacks relationship a bit more. I think it would have been helpful and potentially brought more drama.


The surprise of Jacks chapters was random and I felt unnecessary. I think that we should have had his thoughts throughout the book instead of in just that one moment. I don’t feel like we revealed anything we didn’t already suspect.

A great beach read for this summer!

Think low stakes, enemies to lovers set on a yacht. I call it low stakes because I found it predictable, but predictable in this case is not a bad thing. It’s like any romcom - you may know the ending but getting there is the fun part.

After achieving success in an upscale restaurant in London (and some workplace drama), Sofia decides that she needs a change. This comes in the form of taking a seasonal contract on a luxury yacht. There she meets Jack, the first officer who somehow always rubs Sofia the wrong way. To be honest, I thought Sofia could be too harsh at times, very good at letting any little thing get into her head even after Jack does double that to show that maybe he isn’t the bad guy. Once I knew more about her background though, it was easier to be a bit more forgiving.

The side characters could use a little more fleshing out, and I wouldn’t mind reading more about them. I thought the three chapters in the middle from Jack’s perspective wasn’t entirely necessary. We could’ve reached the same point without this seemingly random glimpse into his mind. It did lower the stakes though because the miscommunication was there for the characters but not for the reader.

Overall, a fun book, likeable characters, and beautiful setting. 3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4

Thanks NetGalley & Ada Barumé for this ARC!

Before I begin, I'd like to thank @netgalley and @aid_are_bar_room_may for the e-arc prior to release. I loved this book and can't wait to gush about it for months lol<33

Love Overboard follows Sophia, a rising chef, as she decides to take her life in a new direction cheffing aboard a luxury yacht. This all seems easy but, with a non-fraternization policy and a handsome (and very infuriating) first officer aboard, can things stay professional or will things take a turn?

If there is one thing that can be said about me it's that I love an enemies to lovers story. Another less well-known thing about me, to the booksta community at least, is that I love food. Therefore, is it really a surprise that I adored this book? The descriptions of the food Sophia was making sounded truly delightful, and the tension was something special.

Another plus of this book has got to be the side characters. Petra especially won my heart; we love girlies supporting girlies over here. And Patricio? Such a babe. Honestly, they were all so well-written, I felt like I truly knew them all.

Overall, I loved this book and recommend you grab yourself a copy for release in June; it's currently 99p to pre-order so what are you waiting for?

The perfect summer will they won’t they romance novel that will be perfect when you are sat by the pool in the sun. I loved the below deck feel of life on this chartered yacht and the streamline crew running the latest charter for two reality tv stars. As the barriers between work colleagues and more than friends blur is love more important than a dream job at sea

A lovely light read aboard a luxury yacht with lovable characters and a few funny moments between Sophia a chef and Jack the first officer makes this a great summer book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Overall thoughts:
3.75/4⭐️
2 🌶️

‘Welcome to the yachtie life - always unpredictable, never dull.’

Tropes: Banter, Forced Proximity, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Forbidden Romance, Dual POV, Miscommunication.

Sofia decides it’s time for a change, so swaps cooking in a kitchen for a galley! But like most episodes of Below Deck.. there is drama on board!!

I think if you like the show Below Deck, I think you’ll love this book! It plays out like an episode or two of the show! In fact, as a fan of the show I could guess some parts of the plot (this isn’t a negative though). Captain Mary, is giving Captain Sandy 🫡

The writing style makes for easy reading, the type of romance novel that can be binged. I also liked that the love interest wasn’t immediately obvious, it was a different take.

However there were some things that I wasn’t a fan of. I really wished they’d used the word galley instead of kitchen.
I also wasn’t a fan of the spice in this one, I just didn’t vibe with the way it was described on page.

Overall an enjoyable beach read ☀️😎

Thank you to Ada Barumé & Net Galley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so much potential, but it just wasn't there.

Sophia is joining her first sailing season as the crews chef. Sophia meets her love interest Jack the night before and automatically hates him because she thinks that he is an annoying, ignorant American. Sophia goes through almost the book reminding herself that she doesn't like Jack because he is just another annoying American. This book is enemies to lover so during the book Sophia does change her mind and falls for Jack.

3/5 stars for this book, I felt like the plot was off, the romance was off and even the story. I felt like everything was kind of all over the place and the ending was rushed. While it was an easy read and it was somewhat easy to get in, I struggled to finish due to how poor the character development and plot was.

Thank you Ada Barumé, NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall 3 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK, and Ada Barumé for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't absolutely love it. I think the premise of the book sounded great but the execution wasn't fully there. The enemies to lovers plot line wasn't really enemies. It was more that Sofia disliked Jack based on the persona he gave off but that was the extent of it. Then they almost instant fell in love after about 2 weeks.

Additionally, there is mention of sexual trauma and drugging which I feel should be disclosed with trigger warnings in the beginning of the book. I know some people who would be upset to not have those warnings and read the book only to have their own traumas brought back up. Just a suggestion to all authors who mention SA or drugging to have a trigger warning added.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but it could be better. I would recommend it to some of my friends but unfortunately not all of them.

I really wanted to like this book - life at sea working on a private cruise with an enemies to lovers trope sounded amazing. However, this book was slow to get into and the characters didn't feel 3 dimensional. Honestly, the book felt more about growing up than romance.

The main characters, Jack and Sofia, run hot and cold all through the book -- without a rational reason, but at the end of the book, they are in love after 15-ish days. They aren't really enemies at the beginning; Sofia just seems to dislike Jack for his appearance of being an white American playboy.

For anyone with triggers, a possible sexual assault/rape/drugging of Sofia and her former coworker happens on page but in the past. I understand that this situation is the reasoning behind her dislike of Jack; however, I disliked that Sofia didn't recognize that a partner not getting your consent (because you are drugged, drunk, or whatever - and let's face it from the description in the book she was unable to consent) is not consent and is not okay -- even if you wanted to sleep with the partner.

This books just tries to do too much - enemies to lovers, past sexual trauma, a possible other crew couple, crew drama, family drama.

I was sold purely based on the fact that the setting was a luxury yacht on the Amalfi Coast! Like hello, that's the prettiest setting for a romance book! But what really hooked me was the characters- fiesty chef Sophia and reserved officer Jack- were the cutest match! The banter and humor made this book and the shenanigans of a rocky sail reeled me in! While the plot was a bit far-fetched and some aspects of the characters could be deeper explored, this was a fun light beach read! Perfect for the summer and fans of Emily Henry's romcoms!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced reader copy! I ate this book UP. I absolutely loved this as a big fan of the reality show Below Deck. I would have liked a little more spice and the main trope thats used isn't my favorite. But I would definitely recommend this book, read more by this author and read more yachtie romances in the future! I gave it 4.5 stars.