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.

I really enjoyed my time reading Love Overboard, it felt so wholesome and sweet. The friendships between all of the characters, especially Petra and Sophia, just warmed my little heart.

I was immediately interested in this one as soon as I heard luxury yacht, and sold when I heard enemies to lovers. I would have loved if we got to see a little more of the enemies to lovers troupe though, it almost feels as if they go back and forth with it a little too often for my personal liking.

I would also have loved a few more chapters from Jack’s POV, especially with a look into more of his personal background.

As mentioned before, I loved the friendships created in this book. I can easily imagine all of them sitting around a table, eating and laughing together as a big group. Seeing how they all interacted with each other ended up being my favorite part. I would even love to see a future book about Stuart and Petra, maybe even one about them planning their wedding?

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Net Gallery for giving me the opportunity to read this early.

☆☆.5

Lover Overboard follows Sophia, a rising chef from London who is ready to make a big change in her life. She decides to go from Michelin star restaurant to being a chef on a yacht. During her first season on the boat, she meets first officer Jack and they immediately crash. There is a very thin line between love and hate, causing Sophia to question what she should do when the line becomes blurry even after she finds out the captains “no fraternizing with coworkers” rule.

𝙈𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨:

Love Overboard is Below Deck meets BookTok but I’m not sure it’s in the best way? This book tried very hard to be a forced proximity, enemies to lovers story but it just missed the mark. The characters fell very flat, and the connection just didn’t seem to be that strong. They came across more as a one time hook-up type of relationship instead a happily ever after. Some of the storylines, like Sophia’s relationship with alcohol seemed pointless and did not add to the plot or character building at all.

I did enjoy the side characters quite a bit. I wanted to know about Petra and Stuart as well as Declan and Patricio. There were so many crumbs dropped about Declan and Patricio that the relationship felt unresolved at the end.

I was REALLY hoping I’d love this book, especially since I’m a big Below Deck fan so this was definitely a let down

The Plot: 2/5 The Characters:2/5 The Setting: 3/5 The Writing: 3/5

Thoughts:

Thank you Avon Books UK & NetGalley for this advanced readers copy! 🤗🤗

I was really intrigued by the Below Deck *TV show* vibes this had going on!

This is a story about Sofia, a chef who has travelled from London to the Almalfi Coast to work a season on the yacht called’ Lady Ixchil’ (which means the goddess of love in Mayan). Here, Sophia navigates the friendships and relationships with her new crew members.

The plot isn’t at all plain sailing and I think that some parts were a bit jumbled and rushed. The dynamic between the main characters was confusing most of the time and I feel like the intimate scenes came out of nowhere! Then expect the I love you’s to pop into the scene after a short 15 days 😅

Sofia & Jack did grow on me by the end of the story but it was a shame that the reader isn’t able to delve further into the personalities of the main characters, things stay pretty surface level throughout the book :(

Tropes:

Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Workplace Romance
Miscommunication

Pros & Cons:

Pros: Short chapters! The life on sea setting was fun.

Cons: I wanted so much more from this read! I also think that the 2 random chapters with Jack’s POV could have been made more exciting? There wasn’t much said that we didn’t already know, so this could have been harnessed as an opportunity to switch things up a bit more and provide a deeper insight to the character!

This one just wasn’t for me. I felt the story started off slow and the main character was just a bit too rude for me. But if you like harsh main characters and stories at sea this will probably be a better fit for you!

This book was an enemies to lovers workplace romance between the chef and the first officer of a yacht. I think this was a cute concept and the characters were interesting but the execution had some issues. The biggest was the POV switches. We get three chapters of Jacks pov but thats it. I feel like if you are going to switch pov's you need to commit or else it gets confusing and is disappointing as a reader. the pacing was also a bit chaotic and felt a bit overdramatized.

Sofia is eager to begin her new role as the head chef aboard a luxury yacht. Moreover, she is looking forward to escaping the tolling lifestyle of working as a chef at a Michelin Star restaurant. As the charter gets underway, Jack- the first officer, with whom Sofia had an unfortunate encounter the night before arriving, has to make the best of the situation. As the two are forced to interact, share tight spaces, and put on a professional front for their Instagram-obsessed guests, the two quickly develop feelings for one another.

A cute enemies-to-lovers story set along the Amalfi Coast.

**Thanks to Netgalley for providing the ARC

Such a fun read! Light, quick read with a sweet romance.

Chef Sofia is on her first yacht cruise and determined to make it work. However, conflict with Jack, the first officer and a huge flirt, are sidelining her. They are carrying two realty stars and that was a fun aspect, too. It's a fun setting, the characters are great and it was a sweet enemies to friends trope. Some heavy bits with Jack's family.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the advance reader copy.

The premise of this book sounded like such a fun enemies to lovers boat romance and it was a little like that but the main characters are quite annoying. The plot and story is all over the place and it feels both rushed and slow.

There’s bits that are fun but it doesn’t make the overall book a good one.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a bit conflicted by this book, it seemed like the type of book I would enjoy and I was fully sold on the idea of a book where the characters are working on a luxury yacht, but the whole book felt very messy and chaotic- from the characters to some of the writing.

I enjoyed this book just fine. The plot was a little busy and chaotic at times but a fun, cute story. I wasn’t dying to finish this book and had no problem putting it down for over a week. There were a few grammatical errors that I noticed, but I’m thankful I was able to get this arc from NetGalley and the publishing company!

Mini review DNF: I don’t usually write reviews for books I don’t finish but this was gifted to me though netgally so here we go!

I will say my excitement overtook me seeing a book taking place on a boat (one of my favorite settings), the comparison to Below Deck (a reality show I occasionally enjoy), and a cute cover. However I’m not a big erotic romance reader so as soon as I started I was like why did I do this lol idk why I was surprised because most of the men on the show are jerks, but when the love interest was introduced as basically an American frat boy I was out quick. I’m sure he might be a changed man by the end but I didn’t want to read for hours to get there😅

I’ll include the books description incase the book sounds like more your cup of tea than mine! It has a cool setting and fun enemies to lovers premise.