I love the enemies-to-lovers trope and adore stories set on ships, so this book seems like a win-win. Unfortunately, the execution was a bit choppy (pun intended) and could use some refinement. "Love Overboard" by Ada Barumé is a sweet romance that incorporates several tropes besides enemies-to-lovers, such as forced proximity, work colleagues, slow-burn, and emotional scars.

English Chef Sophia quits her successful job to accept a position as Chef aboard Captain Mary's luxury yacht. Her co-workers include Petra - the head steward, Patricio - the steward, Declan - the deckhand, Stuart - the chief engineer, and Jack - an American and the first officer. She doesn't get off to a great start, thanks to altercations with Jack the evening before. A fight over strawberries escalates hostility between the two, leading to the decision to go their separate ways: she stays below deck, and he above to avoid conflict. Things go downhill from there as they continue to bicker over nonsense. As fate keeps throwing them together, and they go on two trips with the guests, Sophia starts to wonder if there is more to Jack than meets the eye.

Overall, it was a quick and fun read. The book is written in the third person from Sophia's perspective, interspersed with sudden flashbacks to her past. Toward the middle of the book, there are a couple of chapters written in the third person from Jack's perspective. While I enjoyed reading Jack's inner thoughts, it did disrupt the flow of the story. Additionally, the jumps between times were not smoothly done.

In terms of characters, I found the heroine to be childish, quick to make assumptions, judgmental, and prone to overreacting or acting foolishly at times. Throwing a glass of wine on a complete stranger just because she didn't like his approach was a bit too much. She knew she couldn't handle alcohol, yet she drank anyway. Some of the side characters also behaved oddly, alternating between giving hot and cold shoulder with silly reasons and just being rude overall. Not that Jack was holier-than-thou; sometimes, he was portrayed as grumpy and overbearing.

Moreover, there were some stereotypes present, such as Jack being initially depicted as a rich and entitled white guy, while the brown skin color of the heroine was emphasized too much. Also, it was pointed out a few times that the heroine felt connected to another colored guy because they shared the same skin color, which I found jarring. I don't choose my friends based on their color and I wondered if her first reaction to Jack would have been different were he the same color as her. I don't think it was done intentionally, but it did make one wonder.

While I enjoyed some of the banter and loved the ending, some dialogue was juvenile. There were also a couple of erotic scenes (including a dream) that didn't contribute to the story much. However, I did appreciate the developed relationship between the two women aboard, as well as the exploration of themes such as alcoholism, loss, discrimination of women in the workplace, and sexual assault. The setting, including the yachting aspect of it, was well done. I found the Captain's rules one-sided and odd. Additionally, I liked the two trips to the ports and the background stories of the characters, which added depth to the story.

The book could have used tighter editing for minor typos, misspellings, and errors such as a lack of space between words and a sentence repeating itself. Overall, it was a good solid read, one I enjoyed despite its flaws. Therefore, I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to fans of steamy romance.

* Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc. All opinions are my own.

This was a fun and quick read! If you’re a fan of below deck and some slightly questionable characters then this is for you!
I did struggle a bit with some of the dialogue and I didn’t really connect to the characters but that’s just me
I think the idea has real premise and it’s worth a go but overall I wish it had a bit more depth and the characters were more fleshed out

A light, frothy romantic read with echoes of Below Deck. I wanted me from the story than the flimsy narrative I was given. Other younger readers will enjoy it but it was not for me.

Let’s jump right in shall we with my likes & dislikes.

Likes:
• Below Deck vibes (not something I have read previously so was definitely different for the plots sake)
• the author explains the boat lingo for the reader
• quick chapters
• pretty steady pace
• the FMC being a chef, and us having knowledge of her prior employment and baggage
• the deepest relationship on the ship was between Petra and Sofia which we love healthy positive non-romantic girlfriends
•HEA for all

Dislikes:
• Below Deck vibes (felt like I was reading the transcript of a few episodes, maybe this wouldn’t be an issue for someone who hasn’t seen the show)
• the two trips off the boat are essentially the same outcome with different characters so felt redundant.
• the random 2 chapters in Jacks POV after the 50% mark. I actually had to go search through the book to see if I had missed prior Jack POVs and when I realized I hadn’t I felt even more confused. It was nice to know how he was feeling but the fact it was just 2 back to back random chapters was infuriating.
• the politics of what was happening on this boat behind closed doors is an HR departments worst nightmare — whilst the characters didn’t do anything to warrant being in “trouble”. It felt conflicting.


Typos/Errors Found:
18% Mark, 619 out of 3472 - it says
“Only two years ago they had been relatively normal. She, a paralegal from Swansea, and he a mid tier footballer a paralegal from Swansea, and he, a mid tier foot yacht as a private chef and deckhand laid out …… etc”

23% Mark, 812 of 3472 — it says
“That you very much, Chef Harlow.”
Should be thank you I believe.

For fans of Below Deck and enemies to lovers, close proximity tropes. Sofia and Jack are thrown together working on a luxury yacht and get off on the wrong foot. The more time they spend in close quarters, the more their attraction goes. A perfect beach read.

First of all thank you to Avon books for letting me review such a wonderful read

well i am a sucker for a romance read , and this book had it all for me and enemies to lovers with all the spice ,slow burn what else could a romance reader as for .
It is such a fun read it gave me all the romantic butterflies I love that feeling when a romance book can do that ,it had plenty of banter and laugh out loud moments to enjoy . the plot i thought was lots of fun and slap your head .What are they doing moments to .

The characters Sophia i thought she was witty yet stubborn she a women who knows what she wants end of , she dose start to chill not to much tho .and jack oh jack we love you he charming ,trust me you wont care if your stuck at sea with him wink wink .

Overall a wonderful summer feeling easy read ,i thought it was thoroughly enjoyable ,i will be buying a cope for me and my romance friends .

i giving this book a slow burning 5 stars

Love Overboard, by Ada Barume is a cute enemies-to-lovers novel with witty banter, fun characters, and primarily set on a chartered luxury yacht on the Amalfi Coast. Will the relationships survive?
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the characters and I felt like the writing is really wonderful. The plot is very interesting and well thought out!

the premise of this sounded fun but this book just wasn’t for me and truthfully it was more of a skim read. both characters were unlikeable and judgmental. the switch to his pov was unexpected, the whole book was a bit chaotic and I was just bored for the majority of it.

thank you NetGalley for the arc.

tropes:
-workplace romance
-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-slight love triangle
-interracial relationship

The book starts off strong, we immediately are introduced to Sophia who is our FMC, who’s a really great chef. After running from a previous mistake, she takes a job as a chef on a charter yacht. The night before her first day, she runs into this arrogant man at a bar. Turns out this dude is her “boss”!!! Captain Jack instantly annoys her, but is it really annoyance or could it be love?

There are a couple things I didn’t like about the book. The POVs feel inconsistent, we mainly read from our FMC’s in the third person but then have 3ish chapters with our MMC’s POV?? It’s very odd. Like put more Jack in the book, doing dives into his persona like with Sofia (he’s got an interesting background!!!) or cut those chapters where we are strictly reading Sophia’s POV. This makes the book feel semi incomplete.
Second, there could be more substance to the story. Like I get that this is supposed to be a short love story but I felt like I was reading the cliff notes version of background info, love stories, etc.
All in all, I really liked the book and might buy the published version for my bookshelf.

I just cannot get over how silly both the main characters are. The worst thing is that Sophia has some modicum of self awareness, she knows full well she's acting childish but just doesn't fix it?!?! Jack is not likable, he is the type of guy I would actively avoid in real life. The tagline saying that this book is for fans of Emily Henry is incredibly misleading. Both main characters do not have a lick of chemistry between them.

This is a real treat of a book. Seven people, with the captain, all trapped in staff small quarters, working on a summer boat cruise. The life below decks is detailed and I could smell the salt, feel the cut finger and the waves rocking the boat at night. Love against the backdrop of a no fraternisation contract is tricky and whilst you would think the close working and sharing bunks would mean lots of honest chats, it clearly didn’t! The book is a great read and a relaxing, happy one at that.

Thank you @netgalley and @avonsbooks for the eARC of Love Overboard by Ada Barumé in exchange for an honest review.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Sofia is living out my yachtie dream. Yes, I look forward to Below Deck every week and was excited to see a book about yachting in the med come my way! Chef Sofia needs an escape from her life and so she answers an ad aboard to work on a yacht off the Amalfi Coast. The book reads like a journal entry onboard the yacht so the reader gets a really solid sense of what this alternative work and lifestyle looks like. The author takes a unique approach in building the story from Sofia’s perspective as she builds relationships, especially with Jack, and then introduces his point of view. Love Overboard is a wild adventure on the seas!

Love Overboard sets sail with Sophia, a talented chef, as she embarks on her new job aboard a luxury yacht along the picturesque Amalfi Coast. However, the tranquil waters quickly become turbulent when she crosses paths with Jack, the yacht's first officer. What ensues is a tempestuous journey filled with sparks of attraction, but also clashes of personality in the confined space of the vessel.

While the premise of the book held promise, the execution left much to be desired for me. Unfortunately the awkward and stilted dialogue, felt forced and unnatural, and disrupted the flow of the story.

In particular I found the sudden shift to Jack's point of view midway through the book proves jarring. It interrupts the narrative flow and added little of substance to the overall plot. Whether opting for a full dual POV or sticking with a single perspective would have been preferable, this reductive hybrid approach adopted by the author only serves to detract from the story's coherence.

Characterisation also falls short, particularly in the case of supporting characters like Patricio and Declan whose motivations and actions come across as shallow and inconsistent. Particularly in the case of Patricio “flouncing” out of rooms.

Overall, to me Love Overboard feels like a promising young adult novel in need of a few tweaks for it to work for me.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for the Arc of Love Overboard in exchange for an honest and independent review.

I cannot lie, there were times reading this book where I loved it and couldn’t stop reading and other times where it literally put me to sleep. It really was black or white, no grey area. However, everyone loves a good enemies to lovers trope, and Love Overboard is no exception.

Ready to escape big city culinary life, Sophia accepts a head chef position on a yacht that sails VIPs along the coast of Europe. Looking for a do over, Sophia jumps at the opportunity to leave the drama of her old life behind in search of some self discovery. What she doesn’t immediately realize is that being sequestered on a yacht in the middle of the sea with the same small group of people makes for its own interesting level of drama. Add in a frustratingly good looking and ill tempered crew mate with an anti-fraternization policy to boot, and you’ve got yourself a great plot line set on the Italian coast and loads of shenanigans to spare!

There were many parts that were laugh out loud funny in this one. There were also parts that were downright dull and brutal to get through. But all in all, I really loved the ending, which is why I landed with a 3.5 star (rounding up) review. While I did like the main character’s perspective, it was rather chaotic when she would shift back to telling a story from years past without any warning. And then, mid book, the author decides to switch the perspective to Jack, the grumpy love interest in question. Why you ask? I have absolutely no freaking idea. While I really enjoyed Jack’s chapters, I ended up wishing there had been more like that. Maybe a missed opportunity? At the end of it all, it was an enjoyable read with just the right amount of humor and a touch of spice to keep things interesting. Excuse me while I go Google prices of European yachting vacations because girl can dream, can’t she?

when enemies to lovers meet workplace romance
it screams perfection
love this and the whole book
thank you netgalley and Ada Barume for the e-arc

Set sail..,,,With thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion
Having read other books by this author I knew it would be a delightful tale which it was I throughly enjoyed the characters and the premise and can highly recommend this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really looking forward to reading this, but sadly it didn't work for me

I disliked the FMC, just couldn't connect with her and her story.

I also didn't understand why we switched to the MMC halfway through the book but only for a few chapters. It didn't make sense to me. A dual POV would have made more sense.

This book wasn't for me.

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, Workplace Romance, Forced Proximity, Slow burn, Interracial Couple, Witty Banter

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’m not a fan of Below Deck as I have only seen a few episodes. However, Love Overboard is a low stakes romance between the chef (Sofia) and first Officer (Jack) of a luxury yacht crew. Ever since reading Knives, Seasoning and Dash of Love by Katrina Kwan, I’ve had my eye out for a chef/kitchen/restaurant like romance and this fit the bill. All while having a unique location to really mix things up. The way the FMC relates to the ocean is so calming and really resonated with me as it's nice to see the indescribable way I feel about the ocean on paper. This slow burn, low stakes romance will be a great summer read. I cannot wait to see what Ada Barume' puts out next!

wow, okay, so... i was really hoping this one would be good!! the premise was so unique and had such a promising plot, but unfortunately, it just fell flat for me. the characters were a bit unlikeable, especially the fmc. i couldn't relate to her at all and i thought she was a bit judgmental for no reason. i enjoyed the first half of the book, but the later half was so unnecessarily dramatic and dragged on. wish it was better!!