This was not a favorite of mine at all. I wanted to love it but the theater/drama references really made me lose interest. I couldn’t connect with the characters that ended up making it cringe. I had high hopes for this one. It’s also about 200 pages too long.

ARC review — Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity.

This is a great book!! It is really so funny and has making me feel like applying to work on a cruise so…

But I might say I got lost on the story more than once, maybe because sometimes it was hard to “see” the scene. The character building is actually nice and well performed. I think we all agree on which boy was she choosing at the very first half of the book but it was so well done and written, creating an atmosphere where it didn’t feel so strange for the characters to start having feelings for each other. I also might said that from around a 56% to a 85% the book feel heavy. Difficult. It didn’t catch all my attention and that is why it was difficult for me to finish. But anyways, after and before that was a really good story, I promise.

I didn’t know I was in the last chapter when suddenly… “Thank you… if you enjoyed…” Oh my god!! I wasn’t ready to leave this gang!! I couldn’t help but to cry just a little. Feeling I won’t ever hear from these two makes my heart ache.

Hope you like this one!!

Rating: 5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This book is about Eliza, who has never been good enough at anything in her life. She decides to enroll as an entertainment host on a 6-month cruise to see where her life will take her after she completes this part. She is determined to give up on romance and work her butt off and reapply for drama school when she gets back. However, once she gets on the ship, she meets a cute American named Tom and her very sexy trainer named Oscar/Harvey (I won’t explain why he uses two names, just read it and you will understand I promise), they really start to test her resolve to give up romance and relationships. Can she hold on to her plans or will his love triangle knock her off her feet.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I normally don’t like love triangles that much but the way the author wrote this book was more than just a love triangle with spice. It was more about self-discovery, confidence and second chances in life (not just with love but with opportunities in life in general). I liked that this book was set on a Caribbean cruise, but you didn’t feel like there was repetitive information or any boring part of the book. It flowed so smoothly from work-life that you just felt as if you were one of the crew mates just there watching it all happen. I thought the characters were well developed and all three of them had great character development throughout the book. I thought having 3 POV’s would have gotten hard to read but the author made it clear on who’s POV it was changing, and I had no problem following. I really liked getting to understand each character on their own.

The author does write some spice in this book, but for me it was the wondering and trying to figure out what male will be the one that Eliza will choose to be with, and I don’t think she could have picked anyone better. I can’t wait to see what the next book will bring us and to see what new romcom drama will happen with this amazing author.

If you like romcoms with spice, love triangles, cruise boats, workmates, self-discovery, and musical themes you need to pick up this book and read it.

I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you for sharing the first book in the Below Deck series with me. I loved this book, I genuinely couldn't put it down. Eliza and Oscar's relationship was so lovely to read. I loved that Eliza spoke to herself in her head using musical quotes because I also do that constantly. I was so excited to find out that the next book in the series is Tom's book as I loved hearing his point of view in More than Shipmates. Can't wait to start More than Clickbait!

This was such a great story with all the ups and downs you want in a Rom-Com, I loved the chemistry between Oscar and Eliza. I loved how sweet the characters were with each other and how they just all bonded together. This had spice and laughter all throughout it and even had its ups and downs. I loved how we got to see Eliza grow and become a stronger confident person.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Philippa Young for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

I had a blast with this one! I loved the setting/workplace and the relationships between the characters. The one thing I was having trouble with would be the miscommunication in this book, but other than that - loved it!

Thank you to Philippa Young and NetGalley for the arc! This one was a very interesting read.

The book follows Eliza who has had enough of not being enough for anyone and has started a new job as an entertainment host on a cruise ship. 6 months on a boat, where after work parties are a thing every week and things tend to get a little spicy. But Eliza has sworn off men completely and has decided only to use the time on the cruise ship to get herself ready for the next round of auditions to the drama school. However, she quickly realises it is easier said than done, as there are two very handsome men on board as well and she can't stop thinking about them.

Sadly, this book featured two things I absolutely hate in books: love triangles and miscommunication. If there also would have been cheating I would have dnfed this so hard but fortunately the rest of the book was quite okay and readable. I knew going in that there would be a love triangle but it didn't make it any better. I hate hate hate, when the FMC plays two boys at the same time, and has a bit of a fling with both of them going and then she ends up choosing only one??? And always having the most bizarre reasons for why she didn’t choose the other one. The chemistry here was almost better with the guy she didn’t end up choosing and I’m so mad at how things turned out.

Eliza had a lot of growth in this book and it was quite enjoyable to read but otherwise, this wasn't my favourite book in any mile. The "spicy" parties seemed more like something a bunch of highschool students would do, rather than full-on adults who know they need to work with each other for a long time. I also didn't like the pov for the male characters and would have enjoyed this book much more if it was written only from the pov of eliza. I also think the book was so focused on romance side of things, that sometimes other things were kind of forgotten. it would have been nice to read more about eliza finding new friends rather than every scene with these new friends focusing on the romantic partners.

Overall i think for someone other than me, this would be a very cute summer vibe romance to read, but sadly for me: it just wasn't it. 2,5 stars, and rounded down because i didn't feel like this deserved 3 stars for my taste.

This was a fun book set on a cruise with a love triangle filled with tension in parts. I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing for a while!

I really think the author missed a trick, because I was waiting for a threesome spicy scene (especially after the never have I ever and reveal of Oscar being a bi MMC), but it never came. I did love the scenes that we got though.

For me the kissed in the dark was a bit obvious going into the rest of the book, but I get why it had to be Oscar. It was clear from about 50% in that they'd end up together.

The FMCs self belief was a bit tedious and she did some childish immature things as we went through the book, however, I understand it's quite real as a person. Tom came across a bit weird towards the end and I agree with her reaction to him trying to win her back as a friend (way too over the top).

Considering it was a long book, we skipped over some weeks and passages really quickly which was quite odd.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to the Tom and Oscar's sister sequel!

Thanks for letting me read this ARC.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I simply adored this book! I read it in a day, only breaking to eat and drink or when someone absolutely required my attention. I haven’t been this absorbed in a book and able to finish it all in one sitting in a while. I also haven’t read many books featuring a love triangle, and I feel like this could be the start of an unexpected new favourite trope?

I absolutely loved the setting of the cruise ship. The author painted a really vivid and beautiful picture of being on board a ship. It brought back so many good memories of the cruise I’ve been on. I loved all of our main and supporting characters, like I want to work on this ship, be their friend and watch them all succeed.

I especially enjoyed the honesty, respect and communication between them. I really felt the chemistry between Eliza and Tom when they first met. You could tell they had an instant and special connection. Then I absolutely loved Eliza’s first impression of/interaction with Oscar. I only wish he was in fact an Aussie surfer dude, I think that would have added an extra layer of drama.

I loved all of the tension and drama, it felt realistic and never over done. I was dying to know who she kissed in the dark, and I really enjoyed the way the author kept us guessing until the end. I wish it was mentioned a bit more throughout the story, like with some little clues or hints as to who it might have been.

All in all this is one of my favourite books of the year. It really resonated with me as someone who loves to travel, works in the hospitality industry and has at times felt a little lost in life. I already want to read it again and I can’t wait for the next book in the series!! I really loved Tom so I do hope he finds his one.

This was a fantastic debut and I’m so thankful I had the chance to read and review it.

I'll start off by saying that this was a tough book to rate - I initially thought 3 ⭐️ but bumped it down to 2.5 ⭐️ after reflecting.

When it's done right, I LOVE a love triangle dynamic in a romance, but this one fell flat for me.

Main praises
1) Love to see a bi MMC done well
2) I feel like Eliza picked the right guy in the end
3) I loved the cast of side characters
4) Oscar as a love interest in general
5) The spice was pretty decent

Main critiques
1) This book was WAY. TOO. LONG. There was no reason for it to be 500+ pages, and the amount of length made the relationships and the overall plot feel stretched and padded with a ton of filler. I loved the cruise ship fun and the interactions with side characters, but I felt like it could have been done better at ~250 pages.
2) Eliza as a character felt underdeveloped. She would waffle from seemingly confident and grown-up to being extremely immature and annoying. I relate to a character who feels lost or like an outsider, but she straight-up acted like a kicked puppy most of the time, especially regarding her past and current friendships. (view spoiler)
3) Tom was creepy to me. He was the epitome of the "friend-zoned guy" and in his POV chapters felt like all he was doing was hiding his life from his friends and leering after Eliza.

I was grateful to get an ARC of this book, but I honestly don't know if I would recommend it.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I looooooove the television show Below Deck because of the drama and authenticity of the cast. This felt much clunkier and that too much story was being shoved into the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Summer Stars Publishing for the ARC.

A fun summer guilty pleasure read! I loved the cruise ship crew setting. There was some juicy drama/games and great sexual tension.

That being said, I struggled with the flow of the writing in portions and the FMC’s negative thoughts became a bit grating at times.

Thank you for the review arc!

I love the new cover of this book and the setting is amazing. I love rom-coms, cruising and all things nautical so I was very excited for this book but it just didn’t deliver as expected. There are a lot of British references in the book that, as an American, i just didn’t understand. I could gather by the context they were actors, shows or slang but they didn’t make me laugh or paint a picture like maybe they were intended to.
The category tags and description didn’t give any indication of MM involvement so I wasn’t expecting that. If that’s your jam, you might love this book. For me, I just couldn’t get into it after that.

Ahhhhhhhh words can’t describe how much i love this book
Why is it so good
Devoured it and want to reread

⭐️Star rating: 2.75/5 

Spice:  🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5


I gravitated towards this book because the description and the cover art led me to think it was going to be a “why choose” trope. Even some of the scenarios early on in the book lead you to believe this way so I spent the whole book waiting for the other shoe to drop so-to-speak but it never does.

As the cover suggests, the story is told from 3 POVs, 1 female & 2 male. It is nice to know what everyone is thinking throughout the book, but I found it a bit confusing sometimes to keep up with.

If selfish female main characters with a whoa-is-me complex are a turn-off for you then I suggest staying away from this book. Eliza could’ve been many things since her whole reason for joining this ship is to get a fresh start but her outlook on life and towards others is just so annoying and over the top I know I couldn’t have been friends with her IRL.



Overall, I think this book had a ton of potential but there was just too much packed into it to get to the meat of any of the topics covered. I found myself confused and disappointed. Had the story truly ended in the throuple, I think it could have salvaged the book.



I posted my review to GoodReads on June 2, 2024 (link below)

This book was genuinely so entertaining to read. The setting and everything going on was fun and engaging, the characters were all so interesting, and the storytelling as a whole was very nicely done which made for this book to be so easy to go through. Admittedly, the slow burn was torture...but in the best way possible. The tension and chemistry between the characters made that tortuously slow burn worth it in the end.

I will admit, I'm not always a fan of love triangles but I was surprisingly okay with this one, mainly because "the other guy" wasn't made out to be such a prick and I just like how the entire thing was handled in the end.

Adored this book overall and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun and spicy summer read!

• Love Triangle • Workplace Romance • Forced Proximity • Found Family • LGBT+ Representation • Slow burn with some angst • Multi-POV • Cruise ship shenanigans! • Musicals • So many gamessss 😉💦

This was such a wonderful read. Perfect steamy summer romance. Great for readers who love working class romances, love triangles and love triangles.

Thank you to NetGalley for this copy of More Than Shipmates in exchange for my honest review.

There are several things about this book that I loved:

⭐️reference to some of my favourite musicals and tv shows (if you love musicals this book is definitely for you)
⭐️ the love triangle
⭐️ the games the crew play together
⭐️this is a beautiful summer time read which fully immersed me in the holiday setting

However I feel like a lot of personal issues the characters had such as problems which they left at home were not focused on enough and they were just dismissed as they found ways to avoid these issues.

I usually like dual povs but i feel like 3 povs was too much, I also feel like it wasn’t structured into the story well as it could have been. I tend to enjoy multiple povs more when the next pov is at the start of a new chapter rather than randomly placed in the middle of a page.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️