This was a sweet, super cute romance. Lowe is a self-made successful business woman who goes to visit her parents/sister who live on a cruise ship. They are rich and snobby and she is not like them. Lowe meets Faith who works on the ship and they are instantly attracted to each other and sparks fly. Lowe and Faith slowly get to know each other to the back drop of beautiful Australia and New Zeland countryside and oceans while sightseeing and taking day trips. Faith does not want to fall for Lowe because it is against ship rules. Lowe keeps trying to spend more time with Faith and eventually Faith gives in. The culture and scenery are amazing but the story needs more development and to be long! I wanted more than where the book ended. Faith is unsure and Lowe knows exactly what she wants...slow romance and a rushed ending. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!!

Lowe’s best friend was Charlotte . She gave Lowe a handful of Valium saying Lowe was going to need them. Lowe was flying to the other side of the world to spend the next three weeks with her sister Victoria and parents cruising the high sea. It was time for Lowe to once again show her respect, pay her dues and not have her mother's non-stop guilt for the rest if her life if she didn’t go. First she hated how her sister was. Victoria was manipulating, obnoxious, pretentious- a S-N-O-B! Victoria is shallow, she has her therapist, and yoga instructor on speed dial and never been called anything other but Victoria in her life. She is five years younger than Lowe. Victoria is married to Everette who is everything she ever wanted in a mate- position. prestigious, and money. Victoria and their mother are two peas in a pod. Her father isn’t quite as bad as her mother but he doesn’t socialize outside his circle. Lowe’s job as the firstborn in a long family legacy is to carry on the obligatory family name- Lowe carter. Lowe prefers to play with the boys but her mother would not allow it. Lowe has her own business, she also volunteers at several homeless shelters. Lowe drives a twenty year old Toyota 4 Runner because she loves it. Driving a new car isn’t what lowe is about. She about common sense, living on what she earns, honesty, and respect. She lives in a normal size house in a modest subdivision. Lowe is the opposite of everyone in her family. Her parents live on a ship-the Escape.It is the largest residence on the water, a very upscale community with shopping, restaurants, pools, Starbucks and Peet’s coffee shops a full size tennis court, a large patio and a cushioned running track.Lowe loves her sister and parents but can only tolerate them in short bursts. They don’t have much to talk about and they stay away from controversial topics, which are most of them. Lowe is gay. Faith works on the ship Lowe’s parents live on. Her job included room and board. Faith has called the Escape home for eight years. Faith had a mysterious woman keeping her subconscious company for months. Dating residents was strictly forbidden. Dating other workers was frowned upon. This situation didn’t leave many opportunities to meet others or relieve pent up sexual tensions, other than with locals in ports they docked at. Faith had been waiting tables in Tampa when she lucked into a job when the Escape was in port. Faith passed the psychological testing, on site interview, and background check. They typically signed on for ten to twelve month assignments. Once they put in their time, they either remain or go home. Faith resigned every time. The job was good as Faith got to see places and meet people she would never have known otherwise. They work about fifty hours a week with two days off. They weren’t paid much and faith sent most of her pay home and would pick up extra hours when she could. She worked at The club.
I didn’t realize this book was about two gay women guess the name lowe for a girl didn’t register to me. I hate to rate this book as I can’t give it a fair rating as I don’t care to read gay romances. So I gave this a two my fault - sorry.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbias review.

This is the first book from Julie Cannon I have read and I found that I really like her style. Her character development in this book between Lowe and Faith is wonderful, with the story bouncing back and forth from each character's point of view. The overall story was well done and I enjoyed the couple dealing with their feelings and the tension building until they were finally together.

One minor gripe is the constant complaining about Lowe's parents, how they are so snooty and above everyone else. It seemed that the beginning few chapters hammered this home again and again and again until it became tiresome. I also wanted more out of the ending of the story. It was an abrupt ending. I don't know if there will be a follow-up novel, but it would be good to know where there go with the couple, how they were able to work things out and spend forever together. It left me wanting more at the end.

3.5 stars

This story was nice. However for the life of me I could not picture Lowe as that attractive. I don't know how to say it without offending anyone. the description did not do much for me. that ruined a lot of things and my connection to a certain part of the book. Having said that Faith is quite lovely. Overall the writing is good. it's enjoyable story

Lowe comes from a very wealthy family and has flown to half way around the world to dutifully spend a few weeks with her obnoxious, rude family on a cruise ship. Faith is a waitress on the ship and has been for 8 years....living in such a confined space, missing her family, with seemingly no career progression for 8 years....come on Faith, get a life! Also Lowe seems to have no bounds in her pursuit of Faith.
This book was written in the first person which was different and it's fair to say initially I didn't find the characters believable or likeable but they started to grow on me as I read through the book.
The storyline had potential but for me it missed its mark.

I enjoyed this book! I loved both main characters and especially the fact that Lowe stood up to her parents. I always find it amusing when a butch character shows up in a tux and no one thinks it's odd - maybe I go to the wrong places. So when Lowe's sister said "You look like a man!" I loved it. I love the rich girl/poor girl trope ... who among us hasn't fantasized about being whisked away to a life of luxury? My only complaint is that the book just ended. I would've loved a couple of chapters explaining what happened next. Did Faith move to Phoenix? Did they both move to Florida to be near Faith's family? I thought this was a great way to spend 4 hours.

I like the occasional romance, and what I look for in them - what I thought I was getting in this book - is something fun and flirty and light hearted. Steam is always welcome, but I can take it or leave it, depending on the story built around it.

This book was more like a travel guide with a little splash of romance embedded into it. Don’t get me wrong, it was educational, and being Australian and having visited NZ several times, I always enjoy the international perspective of my home and familiarity of places I’ve been.

However, this book took too long to get anywhere, figuratively that is, as the ship itself had docked in at least 3 harbours before the main characters got their respective stuff together. As slow burns go, the first 60-odd percent of this one was longer than a wet week. The remaining part of the book was alright.

I didn’t really warm to the main characters, and without any title or heading, it was confusing as to whose POV chapter is was. I’ve heard great things about the author’s other works, and is definitely consider reading them, perhaps this one and me just didn’t gel.

Thank you to Julie Cannon, Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Always a reliable author for a good story, Shut Up and Kiss Me at first begins as a blatant cliche of insta-love with a rich and suave butch player chasing after the unsuspecting and innocent femme. Though as the story progresses, we find that Lowe is actually a really nice person and a caring human being. Faith is also far from innocent and very wise to not allow herself to become romantically entangled with a passenger. The push and pull of their romance is not what I expected and that became the hook that had me glued to the pages. A very enjoyable book to bring on your own cruise or to simply be immersed in the warmth of their surroundings and romance.

This is a cute story about Faith and Lowe who meet on a cruise sheep. Faith was a very grounded character and had a strong work ethic. Lowe, on the other hand, is struggling with her family while visiting. Their relationship starts slowly and you can see it evolving the more time they spend together. The setting of the cruise really lent it well to have surprise run-ins and cute dates. The build-up was well worth it.
The side characters felt one-dimensional at times.
I also personally feel that Lowe made some very stupid choices for being so aware of her privilege.


My biggest problem was the writing style. It seems unpolished. There are quite a few statements that don't add anything to the story, even put more distance between my involvement and the characters. There was a more telling than showing.
Since the book is written in first person and a dual POV we spend time with both of the main characters. Sadly I found it very difficult to differentiate between the two and had to go back several times to figure it out; neither had a strong individual voice.
Almost every scene was very exposition-heavy, no matter how far into the story I was (I do not care about the numbers of the ship or the history of Hobart). And then halfway through the book, the random flashback started. I did not understand why those segments were not simply included in the normal timeline.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This isn’t one of Cannon’s best. It features MCs Faith, who is working on an exclusive residents cruise ship and Lowe, whose parents live on the ship and who is taking a yearly holiday with them.

They POV switches between both MCs, so unlike pure first person, this does help with understanding both MCs perspectives. Both characters are nice enough, but I felt they lacked chemistry. While the do spend a fair bit of time together, they’ve still only known each for other less than a month before achieving their HEA, which I found hard to swallow.

There’s also a lot of ‘we shouldn’t do this’ and family disapproval, and that got old. All in all, I just didn’t buy into the relationship and found Lowe’s family and any scene that involved them trying. The resolution is also very rushed. Cannon has better books, I suggest trying one of them instead.

A decent story that paced along nicely, but overall the plot lacked depth because the secondary characters were just sketched in. Both the sister and the mother could have been more villainous. I know they were deliberately bland to show the inanity of their lives, but something more than just the romance was needed. I liked the adventure off cruise bits the best as these were evocative scenes, but they weren’t enough to elevate the story.

I love the way that Julie Cannon builds up a romance in her novels. This one was no exception, with most of this book centering on the flirtation and build up between MCs with no quick payoff. Personally, I love the buildup, but this one struck me as a bit odd in places. Let me try to explain...

First off, novels in first person bother me unless they're perfectly done. I hate it when the characters don't have such different voices that it's obvious who's head we're in. This one left me flipping backwards in a few spots to figure out who was speaking. It's not too bad, but just a small irk for me.

I liked both MCs, with Lowe as the rich girl, never worried about money, entitled, but doesn't act like it, and Faith, who's a servant. I enjoyed their interactions, but it felt like it was all in their heads instead of out in the open as dialogue. For example, they would feel the chemistry internally, and since we're in first person, we're aware of their feelings, but neither of them really talked to the other very much in the novel. It was all internal monologue and neither one of them really communicated with the other for the majority of the novel. The big sex scene is really the only time that honest communication seemed to have occurred, and we really only heard about it after the fact.

All of that to say that it left me a bit bewildered why they would want to run off and end up together in the end. I'm still not all that sure they even really know each other!

This is an easy read with a good dramatic factor thrown in, but wasn't super deep. I read it in one sitting in just a few hours, and while it was good, there wasn't much in here to make it exceptional. If you're a fan of flirty build-up or a fan of cruise ships / travel themed romances, I think you'll like this one. 3.5 stars.

**Many thanks to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

Ms. Cannon has always been one of my favorite authors and this book is another hit for her. The environment was a bit unique (floating apartments), but I liked it.

As usually, she has written very strong characters that stick with you even after the book is done, and a believable story line (as much as taking a trip on floating apartments can be :-)). I really got into the internal feelings for one of the characters and her parents and sister (what tools), it made for a good sub story on their relationships (I am glad the Dad did come through at the end though).

I really enjoyed the writing, she has a way of really bringing out the details of their surroundings, I got a good feel for their excursions and life on a floating apartment bldg (heck if I had the money I might even try to find one myself :-)).

All in all, the book was a solid 4, I would have given it a 5 but the very ending, though happy as it was, just ended way to abrupt for me - I am a sucker for more of a detail epilogue of life after about 6 months and the fairy-tale vacation was done-just my opinion

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-Enjoyable

I really enjoyed reading my first Julie Cannon book. I loved the characters of Lowe and Faith, found the writing to be good, and enjoyed the descriptions of the locations where the characters visited and the activities that they participated in during the shore excursions. The chemistry that the author created between Lowe and Faith was smoldering. Lowe's mother and sister where a bit stereotypical, but they made good plot point villains.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a rich girl/poor girl romance. Lowe Carter's family is loaded and uppity and pretentious. Lowe travels to Sidney to spend 3 weeks on board the Escape with mother, father and sister. Her parent's own one of the best apartments on the small luxury ship. Lowe is unlike her family. She is down to earth and treats everyone with respect. Faith Williams works on the Escape and doesn't come from money. She sends most of her money she earns home to her mother and sister. When Lowe and Faith bump into each other on the first day, sparks fly. The only problem is Faith could get fired for having a fling with a resident.

This one was just OK. I thought it was a tad slow and boring. Faith and Lowe had chemistry for days! It just wasn't enough to make the book interesting. I think it had a lot to do with the writing style. I think this is what's considered to be written in first person. I could be wrong but I am not a big fan of it.

I would have to rate this one 2.5 stars.

The struggle was real to get through this one. I had to force myself not to DNF, and at 67% I was really contemplating it and I almost wish I had cause it just didn’t get any better. Curiosity usually gets me on books I’m not enjoying, but I just had no interest in discovering the conclusion to this story.

I didn’t love any of the characters. Lowe’s family was your typical rich, stuck up, judgemental bunch - even towards their own daughter which just REALLY irritated me. The fact that she still visits them every year “because they are family” I find foolish. Family or not, you shouldn’t put up with toxic people for any reason. There was absolutely nothing good about their visit and she hated every second of it.

Faith was ok, but when it came to Lowe things were just really weird. She would up and run away without a moments notice and for no reason. She was extremely confusing, to me, to Lowe and probably herself too.

Now Lowe. She was something else. At first she was ok and I appreciated how she stood up to her family and didn’t act like a rich snob, but when it came to Faith, things were awkward. She was so obnoxiously annoying almost to the point of creepy. She pretty much acted like a horny teenager the entire time. Faith would say “no, it’s not going to happen” and Lowe would be like, “I will not be deterred”. I just wanted to yell “SHE SAID NO!!”

This was a hot-and-cold romance that was more like annoying, sporadic mood swings. It was a slow-burn with no burn. I am all for the chase, but this was just a whole lot of awkward and boring. It was not hot and steamy, it was dare I saw cringeworthy at times. At one point, Lowe kissed Faith’s hand one she could feel her tongue….. Eww! And orgasms without even touching each other….

And it was ALL lust, from their first bumping into each other. There was zero feeling or anything involved which just made it really boring. Like, just have sex then, which Faith obviously wants, but doesn’t want (I’m not sure if she wants to or doesn’t want to more) and then get on with yourselves. BU then at the end they both suddenly decided they were madly in love with each other, while admitting that they knew nothing about one another.

No. Just, no.

I also must add, the alternating POV’s were very confusing as it never said whose POV it was and you basically had read to find out who it was and then reread so it made sense, especially when the POV would change mid chapter.

I liked the way that this book started and liked both MC. Unfortunately my feelings started to change about halfway through. Lowe's mom and sister were a bit stereotypical and super annoying.

It didn't feel like Lowe and Faith actually spent much time alone getting to know each other. They were mostly with other guests. Eyeing each other over dinner doesn't count.

The changes in whose POV we were reading was confusing. There were times I was a half page in and just figured out who I was reading.

The ending was disappointing. I just assumed that there would be an epilogue. In this story I think it's important to see how they end up working out all of the difficulties of being together. There's no discussion of how they're going to deal with the fact that they live in two very different locations.

This book was ok, but not a favorite of mine by the author.

(A copy was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley)

Shut Up and Kiss Me is a slow burn contemporary romance by Julie Cannon. It involves two characters from opposite social standings as well as wealth status who meet on a ship, the world’s largest private residence on the water. Faith works on the ship and Lowe is visiting her parents who own one of the larger residences on the ship. The story is mainly about the two of them meeting and slowing coming together.

I’m afraid I had a hard time with this book. The story is written in the first person, but the POV changes between the two characters often, sometimes in the middle of a chapter. It became rather confusing sometimes trying to keep up with who was talking. I never connected with the characters, and actually did not like Lowe very much at all. While I occasionally felt some sparks between the two main characters, it was rather sporadic throughout the story. I also did not like the ending of the story. It was too abrupt. We needed to see more at the end.

There is a lot of witty, and sometimes rather snarky, humor, especially in the dialogue and thoughts of the characters that I found amusing. The different settings the characters visited were also well described. This is an OK read for those who like stories that have a truly slow burn and change settings often.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections:
https://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

I really enjoyed the style and the characters. It was a slow burn romance that takes you alone for a great vacation. There were times that it had me laughing out loud and then waiting to see what would happen next. It was an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more from this author

I received an arc from netgalley for an honest review

I enjoyed reading this book very much. The setting, the characters, the storyline all kept my interest from start to finish. Thank you, Bold Strokes and Netgalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!