Well, what do you know, it’s a two star buildup and a five star ending. Yeah, I said it. The ending was five star. And to think I almost DNFed.
A marriage-in-crisis, grief, miscommunication, forced proximity fake dating cruise ship.
Roslyn is a romance writer, her family is all doctors. Her soon to be ex-husband Liam is an oncologist, and naturally they really adore him. Her grandparents are going to renew their vows on a cruise ship going to Hawaii. She has been lying to them for months about the fact that they are about to get divorced, so she gets him to come with her so that they can pretend to be happily married and not disappoint her grandparents. They still have a ton of chemistry and soon they forget the “rules“ and “boundaries“
I spent a good portion of this book being angry at both Liam and Roslyn. I felt like the reasons why they weren’t together. were still very valid and that they weren’t giving each other the benefit of the doubt. It seemed really immature and a bad idea for them to give up on their marriage without therapy or counseling. The setting was lovely, I really enjoyed the cruise ship setting, that her brother and sister had good relationships, and the narrative showed Roselyn growing through grief. Although I spent a long time being angry at the characters, the ending more than made up for it. It’s an incredibly romantic and wonderful journey.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley for the ARC. Book to be published January 27, 2026.
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