Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner

Narrated by Hannah Chiclana and Walker Williams

Contemporary Romance. Stands Alone.

Thank you to Hambright PR for an early copy for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links.

“This? You and me?” His hands cradle my face, forcing me to look at him, and I swear I die and am born again in the depth of his sea-green eyes. “This is the only thing that’s right.”

In all my years of blogging, I’ve met Kandi Steiner, but I’ve never read her books. When I saw the cover of Love Overboard, I thought it would be a more lighthearted Kandi, maybe even a romcom. I was wrong, and I’m not mad about it. It’s an angsty, messy second chance romance with forced proximity and cameras watching their every move.

If you’ve watched Below Deck (I haven’t, but I’m familiar with the show), you’ll really enjoy Love Overboard. The premise is a reality show aboard a luxury charter yacht for a season, following the entire crew. Our FMC, Ember, is finally getting her chance at chief steward. She’s in charge of making the guests’ dreams come true, and she’s hoping that when her father watches the show, he’ll finally understand how hard she works and be proud of her.

But when the rest of the crew boards, she’s in for a shock. The chef is her ex, the man she never got over. His girlfriend is also on the crew, and Ember is her roommate. Because the story is written with “talking head” interviews from the cast, we know something blows up…we just don’t know what. It slowly unfolds throughout the book, which kept me on edge and wanting more.

Ember and Finn were clearly meant to be together. Cameras are on them constantly, and they always wear microphones, so every lingering glance gets caught between the former lovers. The forced proximity of a young, good looking, single crew members had all kinds of toxic, angsty relationships, so if you love angst, this is the book for you.

“We were current and tide—pulled by the same moon, bound to the same rhythm. No one else would fit. No one else would do.”

Likes:

Though this isn’t the first Below Deck–inspired book I’ve read, it still felt fresh and unique.
The mix of personalities among the crew members.
The way the interviews heavily foreshadow the story and make it hard to put down.
The story works on its own, but the reality show adds another level of angst.
I loved Ember and Finn together, even if I didn’t love how it all unfolded.
It shows how easily a reality show can spin a story into something it isn’t.

Dislikes:

The cover feels more like a lighter romance than what this actually is.
While there isn’t technically cheating, it comes a little too close for comfort.

The Narration:

I struggled with this one a bit. Finn has a strong Irish accent, and Walker Williams narrates multiple characters with accents. I had to slow it way down. He also tends to whisper-talk, so I needed it louder and slower for his parts. Since it’s duet narration, I couldn’t just adjust the speed at the start of each chapter, so Hannah Chiclana ends up sounding slower than I’m used to so I can understand Walker. I liked that there were accents, but I don’t listen with headphones, and I sometimes felt like I only caught about 80% of what he said. If you listen the same way I do, I’d recommend reading this one instead, or using earbuds or headphones.

The Down & Dirty:

Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner is an oceanic angst fest. It feels pretty unique, and while the story would work without the reality show angle, having cameras on them at all times adds so much more tension. It was a fun listen, but for me, there was a little too much toxicity and angst for me to totally 5 star it. Even with the almost-cheating vibes, I still rooted for Ember and Finn, and I wouldn’t mind catching another “season” of this reality show world. I think it could make for a good series.