I ultimately had to DNF... I just didn't find much chemistry and couldn't bring myself to like Jack after their meeting. I love enemies to lovers, especially bully books, but this was trying to hard to fit that mold and Jack just came off as a jack-donkey...

This is the story of Sophia and Jack. Sophia starts work as a chef on a yacht where Jack is an officer.

They don’t get on at first but then will romance blossom.

It was slow to get started but once I was into it I did enjoy the book.

Sorry dnf just not really my genre. Gave it a go but didn't like it that much not to say it's not good for others.

I am afraid this book didn’t completely work for me.

I liked the set up, it was quite original, but ultimately I felt like the yatch universe made the story got into too many directions where I would have wanted it to focus more on Sofia and Jack. The side characters were too much of a distraction, without their stories adding much to the book.

For a really long time, the relationship didn’t feel like it was naturally growing, it just felt forced. I didn’t like how rude Sofia was to Jack at the beginning - the first scene is warranted and funny, but even after that she keeps being rude to him just because she’s made up her mind without giving him a chance. She despises him from the get go, before even talking to him, based on her own assumptions of him. They have many many discussions where she isn’t really nice. Then there is like one good interaction, and suddenly she’s hot for him…

A very strange thing; the book is in Sofia’s pov, except for 3 chapters in a row in the middle in Jack’s. Getting his pov is where the relationship started to feel more natural to me, which was already very late in the book - too late if you ask me. Unfortunately it was immediately followed by a miscommunication act that was just too obvious and frustrating. I wished there had been more chapters from Jack’s pov, earlier and later on, and I think I would have enjoyed the book more.

Love Overboard follows the story of chef, Sophia, who starts a new job as a live-in chef on a yacht. She meets Jack, the officer on the ship, on her first night when they have an awkward encounter where she spills her drink over him.

The book essentially follows their forced proximity as they spend their days together on the boat. The tension builds throughout the story, forcing them to spend more time together despite not liking each other. It’s a great summer read with a workplace romance and enemies to lovers trope.

If you love the show Below Deck, you will absolutely devour this. You really get a sense for their proximity early on in the book. I’m also a very visual reader and could really picture the little towns along the Amalfi Coast!

I did struggle to get into the book at the start, but enjoyed it once I was about 100-150 pages in. Something that did frustrate me was the miscommunication between the two main characters. Especially when the characters are adults, I just want them to TALK!!!

I’d like to read more books that Ada releases and think that this was a great debut novel 😊

DNFing at 12% After Chapter 5

I was super excited for this but it’s failing to hit the marks for me. I think the FMC acts kinda hypocritically and appears to judge others frequently. I also really don’t like the Love Interest so far and I’m just not interested in continuing further

loved this book, very cute and easy read, would definitely recommend in store and hand sell to romance lovers! thank you so much for letting me read this book early, i really enjoyed it !!

"Love Overboard" by Ada Barumé is a breezy, enjoyable read that takes the classic enemies-to-lovers trope to the high seas. Set on a luxury yacht along the Amalfi Coast, the story follows Sophia, a chef, and Jack, a first officer, as they navigate their rocky start.

From their initial clashes on, Sophia and Jack's interactions are filled with tension and humor. They try to avoid each other, but the close quarters of the yacht ensure they're constantly thrown together. Despite their differences, they begin to find common ground, especially when dealing with demanding guests.

While "Love Overboard" doesn’t break new ground in the romance genre, it’s a light, pleasant read perfect for summer. If you enjoy a good dose of banter, a touch of drama, and a picturesque setting, this book is worth picking up.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was a fanfiction of Below Deck with some really underdeveloped characters. The captains “anti-boatmance” policy seemed extremely random and just a plot point to create tension. This was okay for a fun, quick read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a romance and follows chef Sofia and First Officer Jack as they find themselves working together as part of the crew on a luxury yacht. As a fan of Below Deck I was excited to read a yachtie romance!

This book was easy to read, I flew through it within 24hrs. It felt like binging trashy tv (in a good way). I loved the setting, the below deck style yacht crew was a fun twist on your standard workplace romance.

However, the amount of time passing (or lack of) felt disproportionate to the story. This was a 6 week charter, but for some reason the entire story was squished into the first 2 weeks only? It would have made much more sense for the story to take place over 6 weeks. It was a bit unbelievable how much drama happened in 15 days.

Additionally the story jumped around, we were told how the characters felt rather than being shown through their actions and interactions with each other. The feelings and deep connections between the characters weren’t believable. Furthermore, our fmc was very insecure and always seemed to assume the worst from her interactions and from her friends.

Overall this book was a decent, quick summery read, and I did have fun reading it. Unfortunately the quality of the writing felt somewhat lacklustre.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

What happened half way through this book to make it go from a four star book to a one star book?

The author appeared to throw everything at the last half of the book and it boarded on being ridiculous.

The first half of this book was clever, witty and readable.

Thank you for Avon Books UK and Net Galley for the ARC.

I was pleasantly surprised by Ada Barumé’s Love Overboard. This novel explores English-born Sofia and her decision to use her expertly crafted culinary skills to work aboard a luxury yacht. Her perfectionist tendencies clash with first officer Jack, and start them on a tumultuous will they/wont they story that will keep you reading. This is an easy, pleasant read that will be great for book clubs and romance fans everywhere.

I also liked the surrounding characters just as much as our main characters, and sometimes more than them. However, I am not sold on the switch in perspective as it seemed to just outline the parts of Jack that we already deduced. Although there seems to be some slight editing that needs to be done, it was overall enjoyable.

A big thank you to Avon Books UK and Net Galley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

3⭐️
2🌶️

The first 2/3 of this book were really good! I liked how it felt like a candid look into the crew of a chartered yacht and how messy and real the relationships were. The last 1/3 felt rushed to me and not completely thought out. I felt like it was a little silly for the two main characters to be in love with each other after 15 days, regardless of close quarters or not. Leave it to a man to kiss you once and tell you he’s in love with you 15 days after meeting 🙄

Thank you to NetGalley, Ada Barumè, and Avon UK for the chance to read and enjoy this advanced copy!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A fast, easy read. Set in a dreamy location throughout the Mediterranean in a world I absolutely can't imagine - luxury yachts! This book sparked an interest immediately and had the potential to for me booking flights immediately. While I read this book so quickly, I can't say I was connected to any of the characters too deeply or their storylines. I enjoyed the trouble that Jack and Sofia faced together and it had me giggling at how we have all been there in some way or another! I'm so glad there was a HEA for the different storylines swept into this romantic novel.

Another great read, getting me in the mood for summer adventures already!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher, for providing a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Sofia, deciding she needs a change, leaves her job at a high end restauraunt in to work as a chef on a charter ship. The night before she starts, she crashes in Jack, another member of staff on the ship. What follows is fifteen days of fights, opening up and discovering things about herself and her new friends whilst cooking, swimming, and enjoying all the sights that the Italian Coast has to offer.

I was so excited about this book. I love anything that is forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and I loved the idea of an interracial relationship. Unfortunately, the entire book fell flat. It is unusual that i find it a drag to read a romance novel, but I struggled to finish this. To start with, both charcaters felt like caricatures of their nationalities. Jack is a hyperbolised American who fits into every single stereotype out there. Sofia was written as an mixed African/British, however her British side is hyperbolised and her African heritage is brushed over in a very quick and perfunctuary manner, where the author had an opportunity to really build on Sofia's background and heritage to make her a more well-rounded character.

Let's talk about Sofia. I really struggled with her. Not only was her peprsonality just that tiniest bit too irritating she was also shallow, selfish, assumed everything was about her or a conspiracy against her and made a habit of sleeping with men she worked with once and then assuming with zero communication that she and the man she slept with were exclusive. She prioritizes men over her own career and is as obnoxious as her American counterpart. The worst part of it is that she sees that she is selfish but does absolutely nothing to change her behaviour and become a better person. She also had a huge chip on her shoulder, which, instead of making her quirky or relatable, just made her irritating.

Jack, on the other hand, just comes across as an incredibly shallow man who has severe unresolved mummy issues. This could have worked if there was depth to his character but he slept with almost every woman on the boat, loudly claimed that sleeping with Sofia was a mistake and then got upset when she left the room, allowing another member of staff to mistreat her on his behalf. The fact that he slept with Sofia literally hours after comparing her to HIS MOTHER screams 'another white man who needs therapy' to me.

The rest of the book was incredibly clumisly written, from the bisexual storyline (unresolved) to the SA storyline, which was so badly done that the main character came off as seriously uneducated on all matters to do with SA and consent. The sex scenes felt rushed and just very surface level, probably because there was little to no chemistry between the actual characters. Fighting and arguing constantly does not equal sexual tension, and that was clear in this book. Two of the side characters had more chemistry in the entire book than the main characters did.

All that being said, I do want to give an honourable mention to Milly, who was THE best character of the entire book. She was funny, relatable (despite the intention being that she's unrelatable) and just such a well written character. If she had been the main character of this book, I would have devoured it.

Taking the main characters out of the equation, this book had a beautiful premise. I loved the idea of the forced proximity, and perhaps with a little more time and editing, this book really could have been something special. If you took away the miscommunication, the instant love, and the cringe renencments of British and American culture, this really could have been a good read.

2.5 stars.

Love overboard follows the story of a chef, Sophia, who begins a new job on a yacht as a live-in chef. On her first night before joining her team on the yacht, she meets Jack, who is the first officer on the ships, unbeknown to her at the point at which she throws her drink all over him.
The book follows the two of them as the tension builds on the boat. Issue after issue crops up, forcing the two of them to spend more and more time together despite their dislike for one another. Jack saves Sophia in the kitchen and the ocean, and Sophia saves Jack emotionally. As a lover of the show ‘Below Deck’ and the relationships which happen there too, I could really imagine how the close proximity really increased the tension between the two of them to the point it became unbearable. I enjoyed the imagery used throughout, with the orangeries and different little towns along the Amalfi Coast which really made me want to book a holiday!
I only give the book three stars for a couple of reasons as all in all it was beautifully written, however I just couldn’t really get fully into this book. I repeatedly put it down and returned to it later in the day in another attempt to get into it. I also got frequently frustrated at the miscommunication between the two of the them which really prolonged their suffering with one another.
Thank you to Ada Barume and NetGalley for the ARC.
Publisher: Avon Books
Publishing Date: 20-06-24

This is a cute story and good for fans of any of the Below Deck series. Fun atmosphere, likable characters, and good for the summer.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

This book is impossible to get through when the mmc is a disgusting pig who says things like:

Look around, we're in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and you won't let a nice guy like me buy you a drink?“

“Well, I mean it's not like you need to worry about me trying to get you drunk and take advantage … You're really not out to have a good time, are you?”

“Such a waste when a beautiful woman like you turns out to be so uptight. You need to learn to live a little.“

“Maybe leave it to the brawn. Beauty has its place, Sofia, and it's not lugging crates across the dock.“

It’s just gross, and he was like this from the very first chapter. At first I didn’t even think he was the love interest, I thought he was supposed to be a creep. Terrible writing.

An okay read, the romantic chemistry between the main characters was a little lackluster. A little more character depth could have maybe helped with the romance plot. The secondary characters added a bit of quirky humor.

I tried to give this a chance but I couldn’t relate to the FMC or figure out where this was going. I guess I didn’t realize this was about a chef and I didn’t quite get into the storyline and setting.