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!!

A slow burn, enemies to lovers, workplace romance read which was just too slow for me. There was minimal tension between the two characters then all of a sudden she was having dreams about him? It didn't make sense and didn't feel right.
I loved the concept of the book, but it didn't tick enough boxes for me. Also, sorry but it really bothered me that there was no safe sex or discuss had about it!

Love Overboard by Ada Barume
Rating: 3/5
Publication Date:20 June 2024
Tropes: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Workplace Romance, Forced Proximity

I had high hopes for this one. I read the blurb (for once) and thought, hey, maybe this will be like a cute “Below Deck” romance kind of vibe. But sadly, it was a bit of a tough and choppy read for me.

I did not find myself relating or enjoying the characters at all and felt that for the most part a lot of the dialogue was a bit pointless.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was really excited for this going into it, and I truly wish I had something positive to say about this, but I just don’t. The plot has a lot of promise but other than that it entirely missed the mark for me.

A lot of the dialogue was stilted and unnatural, and the prose was awkward and somewhat juvenile too, which was surprising considering the book covered topics like alcoholism and sexual assault

The characters were either boring, annoying or unlikable and, because of this, I didn’t feel invested in their lives at all.

Also, the reveal relating to Jack and Patricio felt entirely out of the blue and unnecessary.

It’s in need of editing for grammar, typos and general readability.

Their romance is so endearing because we see what a deep connection they have together and how they really focus on establishing the foundation of their relationship in such a promising way. I so enjoyed reading this one.

Sophia is starting fresh with a new job as a chef on a yacht, drama/romance ensues with the first officer, Jack.

I was interested from the blurb but I just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t feel any tension between Sophie and Jack, Sophie was kind of rude/judgy/irritating most of the time, and all the characters had weird fights. It was nice to have Jack’s perspective but it was randomly in the middle of the book and didn’t come up again. So kind of dual POV but not really. Maybe there would be more tension if we got Jack’s POV throughout but honestly Sophia was still so judgy when she makes extremely poor decisions most of the time.

Received as an ARC in return for my honest review

🛥️ Enemies to lovers
🛥️ Forced proximity
🛥️ Workplace romance
🛥️ Interracial relationship

I was super excited about this one based on the blurb but sadly it just fell short for me. The characters had promise but I really struggled to develop a relationship with them in my mind, which is a shame.

There were some really lovely moments and parts of the book were entertaining but overall it just wasn’t for me I’m afraid.

This is a super cute read that would be the perfect easy-breezy holiday read.
For me, it lacked a little depth. The first part of the book was a bit slow for me and I felt like I was waiting for something to happen, and then the ending felt rushed.
The chemistry between Jack and Sofia didn't really build and I didn't feel the tension between them, which made it a little hard for me to be invested in their relationship.

Thanks to Avon Books and Netgalley for this eARC.

If you’re looking for a fun, light read with enemies to lovers, banter, and a slow burn romance, all happening in the chef’s quarters of a luxury yacht off the Amalfi Coast, then this one is for you!

Ada did a great job of creating fun, memorable moments full of tension-filled romance in a sun-soaked setting, perfect for reading by the pool or on the beach. A must read!

This book was really fun! The cover totally pulled me in. I love the enemies to lovers workplace vibes. The setting was fun and unique to me and the romance was good!

A lovely love story with some funny bits . Sophia was a chef and she goes to work on a super yacht and sparks fly when she meets Jack..Her food sounds fab.The captain was quite strict . Hard to review but it was a jolly good Saturday afternoon read.

This is a good book you’d read by the pool, or sitting in the sun.
I didn’t really connect with the characters - Sofia comes across as judgy and a bit morose at times. Everyone in the story seems to have a falling out/problem with each other throughout.
I enjoyed the setting, and Sofias passion for her job.