As an avid cruiser, I jump at the opportunity to read any book set at sea. As soon as I saw this cover, I knew it was one I would be reading. I absolutely loved the cruise ship setting and seeing the characters in the various ports of call. However, a lot of the story fell flat for me past the setting.

We meet Natalie when she finds her boyfriend cheating on her, and her mother offers her spot on a ultra luxury cruise ship. Dominic has been moving up the ranks at work and is on the same cruise as a reward for his work. The two meet and instantly connect. Things between Natalie and Dominic seemed to move a little fast for my liking. This story is full of swoon, with no spice. If you love to cruise, this would be a good one to read!

A hilarious romcom that is a feel good romance full of found family, love and awkward bets. I found J Addison to have. full story that kept me reading. I enjoyed the characters and the growth in the book.

It was a good book and I liked it.
Natalie had just been through heartbreak and meeting Dominic makes her believe that maybe things aren't so bad. He was there for her, he was sweet, he was really good to her. At the end, things happened and she broke things off with him but she realized that letting him go would be biggest mistake she would ever make.
Dominic really liked her and she made him realize what's more important in life. He wanted her and still held hope she would forgive him, which she did.
The last two chapters were a bit abrupt but I liked the book overall nonethless

A Bet Made at Sea is a love story at sea. Follow Natalie on her cruise of recovery while making new friends and maybe finding new love.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of A Bet Made at Sea by J Addison

A Bet Made at Sea by J Addison is a fun light tale that follows English teacher Natalie and finance bro Dominic as fate and a bet bring them together on a tropical cruise. This was a nice easy read than can be finished in a single sitting. As I did read the whole novel at once I did feel the writing could be a bit repetitive and sometime the pace felt a bit off, however, if you spread the story out over multiple sittings I don’t think this would be as much of an issues. Overall, a nice story to spend a few hours absorbed in! Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC!

This review will be posted on Goodreads and Amazon Australia as soon a possible.

Review to Come

Love the cover ❤️
Description intrigued me…
Author is new to me.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC

Dual POV

Forced proximity

Natalie Jones' world turns upside down when she uncovers her fiancé's infidelity. Seeking solace, she retreats to her mother's home, where a serendipitous decision is made. Natalie will embark on the cruise initially planned for her mother. Coincidentally, Dominic Blackwell and his finance team are rewarded with the same cruise for their exemplary performance. This unexpected encounter sets the stage for a captivating narrative, as the cruise presents a fresh backdrop filled with potential and excitement—a sweet twist of fate that I found particularly delightful.

This was a really cute book! The setting is perfect for summer time or a cruise! The romance was so cute and swoony with no spice!

I love a beach/vacation/cruise setting for romances. There’s something so fun and lighthearted about it, and I love stepping into that world in book form, so of course I was interested in reading this new romance.

There was so much potential for fun with the setting of this book, but the story and characters fell flat. I didn’t particularly enjoy any moment of reading this book. It felt like the story was only thought through halfway, as if I were reading an outline or draft that had been published before the author had taken the time to fully explore the main characters and their relationship.

In many instances, rather than including dialogue between the FMC and MMC, the author wrote “They talked about X, Y, and Z” before moving on. This was particularly frustrating during moments that seemed to be pivotal to their relationship. I’m not sure why an author would choose to omit dialogue during times like this, but it may help readers feel more invested in the main characters if these conversations were written out. If you don’t know what the characters are like when they communicate with each other, how are you supposed to feel invested in their relationship?

Overall I wouldn’t recommend this book to any adult romance readers, although young adults or high schoolers may find it entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Cute romance story set on a cruise ship. Nice to hear about the different travels. The romance between the 2 main characters is slow and not steamy.

When Dominic Blackwell and Natalie Jones meet, she has recently discovered that her fiancé has been cheating on her. When she returns home to her mother, it is decided that Natalie should go on the cruise, her mother had planned. Dominic’s company has organised for him and his finance team to go on the same cruise, for the great work.
Together, the cruise setting was a new setting for me, so I enjoyed that component. The dual POV helped with understanding the perspective of each character but I did find their actual dialogue could have more engaging. A sweet read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As someone that LOVES cruising, the book cover caught my eye and I jumped at the chance to read A Bet Made at Sea. Many thanks to NetGalley, J. Addison, and the publisher for allowing me to read this e-ARC in exchange for a review.

The story kicked off strong with Natalie unfortunately walking in on her fiancé cheating on her. She leaves him to temporarily move back into her mother’s home and her mother decides that Natalie should take her place to go on a luxury cruise.

Dominic is a rising star at his company and receives an opportunity to move his team to New York, but he’s hesitant to accept. His boss gifts Dominic and his team the luxury cruise for a job well done and a way to entice Dominic into accepting.

I absolutely loved the cruise ship setting, but unfortunately most of the story line and conversation style fell a little flat for me. The main characters are in their 30’s, but this read more like a Young Adult book to me. This is a Sweet book so don’t expect spice, but do expect some swoony moments.

This book is about Natalie and Dominic. Natalie is a primary school teacher and Dominic works in finance.
Natalie has just found out that her boyfriend has been cheating on her and is now heartbroken. Her mom offers her her spot on a cruise.
As for Dominic, it’s the company he works for that offered his team to go on the same cruise as Natalie.

I quite enjoyed the dual point of view. It is written in the 3rd person narrative. It was nice to know what they were thinking and feeling. It was also rather well balanced. I think they probably had the same number of chapters with their voice.

The setting was quite new for me as I had never read a romance set on a cruise like this(I think).

The beginning started quite strong with Natalie finding out she’s been cheated on, but it felt good to start in medias res.

Overall, it was a light and easy read that I would recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

What a great cruise romcom!! I enjoyed Natalie and Dominic’s love story! Dual POV. This book was the perfect summer read.

Dual POV
Forced proximity

Dominic and Natalie find themselves on a cruise together and sparks fly.

This wasn’t my favourite read. I couldn’t get into the characters and it feel too cliched for what I wanted.

I absolutely loved A Bet Made at Sea. Dominic and Natalie had such a great chemistry. I could relate to Natalie’s issues with her father as well. It was so enjoyable reading and watching their relationship progress throughout the course of the novel. I enjoyed living vicariously through the cruise as well. J Addison will definitely be added to my authors to lookout for list.