An easy read , entertaining and I loved it .
The perfect rom-com which had me laughing out loud . Brilliant writing style, funny entertaining characters and an interesting storyline . Pure escapism at its best!
Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Phoebe Macleod for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

I originally requested this ARC because of the cruise setting. I’ve been on a few cruises before but never experienced a cruise when I was single. I thought this would be a great read.

The book started with Ruby and Sam, who have been friends since childhood and now live together as adults. Ruby sworn off men and Sam has bad dates/boyfriend over and over again. They tried a couple ways to meet men, Sam for the most part, and landed on a singles cruise.

Ruby was befriended by this guy, Cameron, who didn’t expect that the single cruise was going to be for dating instead of just meeting new friends. So he decided to buddy-up with Ruby since both weren’t looking to meet anyone. And you’d probably know where the story goes from there.

Overall, it was a pretty solid read and I enjoyed the book. I found Sam, the best friend, mildly annoying and a bit self centered in the beginning. Since the book is mostly set on a cruise, there are a few topics about the activities they do and things they see at the cruise ports. Which could be a bit boring for some people but I do enjoyed it. I can see this book be a great palate cleanser or a book to pick if you’re on a reading slump.

This was such a quick and easy read, I loved the relationships between the characters, Ruby and Cameron. I enjoyed the slow burn as they started as friends first, and it developed into much more. The only issue is that the ending felt rushed. After a slow-burning romance, the ending felt like a disservice to the characters.

I recieved an arc of this book in exchange for an honesr review

Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and the author for the chance to read this book.

Another enjoyable and easy to read book by Phoebe MacLeod.
This story is about Ruby, who is happily single. Her best friend and flatmate Sam is very centred on finding "The One" and that results in some frustrating behaviour and interactions throughout the story. I liked the travel aspect of the story.

This was a cute book!! As a single person, I related to the characters and also had some self discovery with it! I loved the grumpy main character and this book was hilarious!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC copy!

Positives:
A grumpy female main character (Ruby) who has sworn off men
A singles cruise on the Mediterranean
fake dating
exciting adventures big cities along with the cruise
a fun minor character relationship with the flatmate, Sam

Negatives:
The pace. The first 30% of the book has nothing to do with the cruise. It almost felt like 2-3 separate stories.

Overall an easy read but the spark could have been lit a lot earlier.

Thank you Phoebe MacLeod and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this ARC via NetGalley.

Genre: Romance
Vibes: 👯‍♀️🛳️💑🍷😄
Rating: 5.0⭐
Tropes: travel romance / opposites attract / friends-to-lovers

I’m so glad I finished reading before the official publishing date — this is my first official 5 ⭐️ read. I really really could not love a book more. It honestly might just be the stage where I am in life, but now I want to jump on a single’s cruise.

I really felt connected to Ruby in the last couple chapters, as someone who has been single for the better part of five years and has found comfort in being single.

This book was a perfect read as a hopeless/hopeful romantic and as a single person. It had the perfect amount of comedy but also made me reflect on myself towards the end. (I know not everyone will have the same internal reflection, but I just needed to mention how this book affected me.)

I will 💯 be recommending this to my friends to read.

An enjoyable palette cleanser romcom with likeable characters, an easy storyline to get into and an unique setting within a singles group on a cruise ship.

This is a cute story about finding love when you are not looking for it. I enjoyed the cruise ship setting and could relate as I'd gone on a cruise myself (although I went with my husband so I wasn't looking for love). I would definitely recommend this if you are sucker for meddling friends, fake dating and pets that are their own characters.

I tried to get into this one but I just couldn’t. The writing was flat and not engaging. The premise was interesting so I was disappointed.

oh boy - after reading the do over, I ironically wanted to give Phoebe macleod a do over! I hated that book and was going into this open minded. I will say, it's a million miles better than the do over, so I'm very pleased about that, and, if I could give half stars here, I'd give it 2.5 stars to be more exact. However, this still fell VERY short for me. Firstly, I counted and 50% of this book to be exact is spent on Sam, the FMC's best friend, being the worst, most annoying friend and character possible to the point it just overrode all of the plot. Secondly, whilst I really liked Cameron's character, nothing in this book was fleshed out so we don't know anything about him but his job! He has no history, no background mentioned, nothing - I couldn't get attached to him the way I wanted to! Finally, the cherry on top, their sex described as over quickly but satisfactory - I think I'd die if that's how sex was described with me by 'the one'. Then, all of a sudden in the epilogue, they're married. We skip all the lovely bits right to that. The entire book really is two people meeting for the first time and it being awkward rather than a slow burn or falling for each other, which is fine if there's actual romance involved, but there wasn't! I was rooting for them, and for this book, but it unfortunately didn't hit the way I'd wished.

This book was an enjoyable read. I enjoyed Ruby and Cameron, there was definitely some fun moments between, but also serious moments. Ruby was such a determined character, and I enjoyed her connection with Cameron. This book definitely grew on me, and I enjoyed reading it.

Ruby doesn’t date. Her roommate, Sam, is a hopeless romantic who will try literally any type of dating scenario in hopes of finding Mr. Right. When Sam convinces Ruby to go on a cruise with her, she doesn’t realize it’s under the guise of yet another singles event. On the cruise, Ruby meets Cameron who is also uninterested in finding love. They strike up a plan to couple up in order to protect each other from the matchmaking scenarios happening while on board.
This one was a sweet, slow burn with some hilarious moments. I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise setting and the vacation aspects of this romcom. It does have some heavier moments, but overall this was a light, fun book. It does tend to drag in some parts - the cruise, for instance, doesn’t begin until we are well into the book and Cameron doesn’t come along until even later. Overall, I did enjoy it! It would be a good vacation read for the summer!

This story had all the makings of a sweet and fun rom-com but just didn’t build up to what I was looking for. The MCs story really didn’t start until over a third of the way in and by that point it was difficult to buy in due to really missing a lot of time to build their connection. The side line characters and story lines overshadowed the overall story’s between the main characters and left a lot on the table to do. Overall a good, easy read but missed what it’s marketed as for myself as a reader.

In a nutshell:
If summer can’t come soon enough for you, then you and I are in the same boat (pun very much intended). Luckily, this book will transport you straight to the Mediterranean for an adventure-filled cruise and several European destinations. The best part is going along for the ride with the most memorable cast of characters and a super relatable heroine.

Synopsis:
Ruby and Sam are roommates and best friends, but while Sam is looking for love pretty much…everywhere, Ruby has sworn off men, dating and love altogether. So when a girls’ cruise trip turns into the lion’s den, aka a singles group, Sam is in her element, and Ruby is left making the best of it. It's a good thing Cameron isn’t looking for a match amongst the singles either. Passing for a couple while hanging out as friends for the rest of the cruise should be easy then…right?

Tropes:
• Fake dating
• Friends to lovers
• Forced proximity
• One bed

My thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book. If you are as obsessed with Bridget Jones as I am, you must read this. The British humour shines in the dialogue and general writing style to the point where I was laughing out loud whenever picking this book up. Literally on the bus, train, plane…yes, I did read this book while travelling, but that’s besides the point. Guys, when I tell you I was laughing so hard that my husband was like “What are you reading that could possibly be so funny?”, then he read over my shoulder and started laughing too and before we knew it, he read the whole book with me because he was so invested and found it so funny. Literally, do I even need to say more?!

So maybe Bridget Jones and British humour is not your vibe? Fine, okay, then come for the perfectly executed fake dating/friends-to-lovers scenario where the FMC and MMC get to know each other, bring out the best in each other, and communicate in an OPEN AND HEALTHY way! Or come for the friendship, the quirky side characters, or the most handsome cat in England – Samson. You can even come for vacation inspo and planning ideas, because OH MY GOD I want to go on a Mediterranean cruise now! Oh, what’s that? You want trauma? You want to cry? This book also has that, so get comfy in that therapy chair and enjoy the ride!

When I tell you that this book has something for everyone, I mean it. It gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. And it was so fast-paced as well, it played like a movie in my head and I still think about some scenes in this book (Cannes, anyone? 😉) a week after finishing it. Perhaps this fast-paced style isn’t for everyone, and some would like to spend more time following the characters in one location or situation. Sure, that’s nice sometimes. It may give the feeling that there is more depth to the story, but at the end of the day, I just wanted a fun, easy book to distract me from real life and make me feel good, and that’s what I got. And as I said before, this book didn’t shy away from more profound moments either, it gave me just the right dose of heartbreak to balance everything out.

This book hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go anymore. I flew through it and honestly can’t recommend it enough. I will definitely read more from Phoebe MacLeod because her writing style is exactly my cup of tea. <3

Thank you Boldwood Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#HookLineandSingle #NetGalley

In this funny and tropey new romance novel, readers follow Ruby as her flatmate tricks her into going on a single cruise under false pretences. Running into fellow duped passenger Cameron on board, Ruby and Cameron agree to platonically pair off for the duration to keep unwanted attention away from them. However, proximity on a cruise and the beautiful Mediterranean towns might lead to less-than-platonic feelings, so Ruby must keep her heart safe before she’s in too deep to this totally platonic arrangement. Funny, tropey, charming, and entertaining, this new romance novel from Phoebe MacLeod is a great summer or vacation read for readers looking for summer fun and escapism in their next book. The characters are funny and witty with great chemistry, and the cruise and Mediterranean settings really add to the charm and atmosphere of the novel’s events as a fantastic backdrop for Cameron and Ruby’s relationship. The characters are the star of the novel for their great chemistry, banter, and development over the course of the novel, while their individual and shared storylines do a great job developing their relationship and their own growth. Funny, charming, and entertaining, this is a great new summer romance novel that readers of the genre will love.

Ruby is happily single but her roommate Sam is definitely on the hunt for a husband. Ruby agrees to go on a cruise with Sam and once onboard finds out the cruise is set up for single people. Wanting nothing to do with the singles activities she ends up talking to Cameron who is also not interested in hooking up with anyone on the cruise. Since Sam has dumped her in pursuit of a husband Ruby and Cameron start platonically doing the sight seeing together and inevitably get closer the more time they spend together. It was quite a while into the book before they even meet so I think we could have seen more from them earlier. It was fun seeing their sight seeing adventures! I really didn’t like Sam. I found her childish and spoiled and her manipulation of everyone was frustrating. The ending seemed a bit rushed and I would have liked a little bit more there.

this was an interesting romance about a singles cruise and two friends --sam and ruby. I was wondering if this going to be about ruby . Slight romance and finding love and fake dating to falling in love. It took a while for them to get on the boat.

I loved the premise: Being tricked into going a singles cruise and playing a bunch of dating gameshow style games. Hilarious! I think there were a couple places this fell short. The religious plot line, it felt unnecessary. The banter was a little bit weak, but had so much potential. I still enjoyed this book!

This was alright. I enjoyed the main character at first - her strong opinions and independence. When she met Cameron though, I didn’t get the sass the way I wanted, the way she was giving it to others. I loved Ruby’s banter with other characters so it was disappointing the way she just jumped into being open and friends and fake dating with Cameron. There were valid reasons for not legitimately dating, but then it all felt rushed.

The writing style was quick and descriptive, although some parts seemed try hard and cheesy, like it was trying to hard to be funny. The best part was the cruise details - it sounded like so much fun!