"Love Overboard" by Ada Barumé

 







 

 

 

 

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.

* For more info about the book: "Love Overboard" by Ada Barumé