3.5 stars

Cute story with great characters. Jubilee is the absolute best, and Blake is the stuff of dreams. The way their relationship developed was entertaining and satisfying. Overall it was a solid effort; the writing itself left me a little underwhelmed but the story was very cute.

• The cover is one of the prettiest I have ever seen. Well done, there! It totally made me want to read it AND kinda wish I could frame a print of it and hang it somewhere.
• I love the “Left at the altar and goes on the honeymoon alone” trope. (Is that a trope? Idk but I love it.) It can be really fun and unpredictable.
• For having been born and raised in great wealth and enjoying existence as a perfect physical male specimen, Blake is extremely down to earth and genuinely kind. Love me a good cinnamon roll.
• Jubilee is awesome and impossible not to root for.
• Interracial *and* socioeconomic class-crossing relationship! So here for more diversity and representation. 👏🏼

Writing: C
Story: B+
Characters: A
Stars: 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC

For Vacation Only follows Blake a wealthy groom left at the altar by his fiance. He decides to go on his honeymoon cruise without her. Jubilee works on the cruise as a singer but she has dreams of doing something bigger like performing her own music.

What can I say about this book? I LOVED both Blake and Jubilee. Jubilee is this fun quirky young woman you can't help but root for. I love how she came into her own through the book and how Blake really helps her believe in herself. I also liked how Jubilee's insecurity feeling second best was explored in multiple ways like with her sister, her rival in the show and with Blake's exfiance. Sometimes we really are our worst critics and we sabotage ourselves. On the other hand Blake was such a dreamy hero! I loved his soft Clark Kent slightly awkward self. He was lovable and it was great to see Jubilee bring him out of his shell. These two were opposites but somehow they worked well and brought out strengths in each other.

The descriptions were one of my favorite parts. This was a true travel romance because we see Blake and Jubilee fall in love over the curse of multiple destinations on the cruise. I loved reading about all the different stops and touring they did! I would've loved even more included. Each tour stop you can see how Blake and Jubilee fall for each other a little bit more. I'm not sure anyone can even complain about "insta-love" since this story was clearly about two strangers falling for each other during the duration of a cruise. The premise of the book is that so it seems odd to use insta-love to discredit Jubilee and Blake. I thought their relationship was developed so wonderfully over the course of the book and their feelings felt very authentic.

Can I also just say I want to dye my hair purple now like Jubilee? Ha ha!

For Vacation Only by Mila Nicks follows Blake Mulligan right after he gets left at the altar. Following this betrayal, Blake breaks free of his ‘predictable’ reputation by going on the honeymoon cruise anyway—without his snobby, socialite fiancée. For the next fourteen days he hopes to escape reality and pretend he hasn’t suffered the humiliation of a lifetime. The last thing he expects is to meet beautiful songstress Jubilee Collazo with her honey-sweet voice.

This book was a quick and light read that was perfect for the summertime. I don't think this book is particularly memorable and it felt a little too insta-lovey for me to get too invested in the main romance. Also I feel like the problems keeping the pair apart were wrapped up a little too quickly and easily. Overall, this was a fast read that I read in one sitting and would recommend for the summertime.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted on blog (allinwitha.com), instagram (allinwitha) and on Amazon on 6/12. Already posted on Goodreads.

Rating: 3.5/5

Looking for a fun gateway book? Likes: vacation vibes in the Mediterranean, upstairs/downstairs, slow burn, mildly corn and a strong heroine? This might be the book for you!

I enjoyed seeing Jubilee and Blake’s relationship flourish while getting to explore different parts of their travels. The characters were genuine and a delightful form of quirky. The family issues presented were realistic and not contrived. Insta-love while not my jam for everyday, worked for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC. I never expected to love this book as much as I did but I thoroughly enjoyed it. This cute and romantic travel romance is a book I'll be recommending to people for a while. I loved watching Blake and Jubilee fall in love with each other. This was my first time reading a book by Mila Nicks but I definitely will be back to read more because I love the characters that she creates. I especially loved Blake because he was a complete cinnamon roll love interest. He looked at Jubilee like she hung the moon and stars. Like she was the moon and the stars! I love male love interests that adore the women that they love and it was great to see this in this well-written story.

This was a fun getaway read! I really felt like I was exploring the various European cities with Blake and Jubliee, it was escapism at its finest! While I am not a fan of family issues in books, the ones presented here felt realistic and fitting, so I can’t complain.

Similarly, Jubilee and Blake felt like real people, with genuine responses to the challenges they faced and how they lived life. It was so amazing to watch them grow together and become better people because of it. They are also both genuinely likeable characters on their own, with Jubilee as this quirky, free-spirit who shines so bright and Blake as a true Clark Kent with the good looks and a dash of awkwardness and bashfulness to spare.

Their romance did feel a bit like insta-love, but in a truly well done way that I could still enjoy, especially because they truly did strangers to lovers well. Overall it was a fun summer read and has me thinking about new colors I should dye my hair and places I should add to my travel bucket list!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What an absolutely adorable romance? This class divide romance was absolutely captivating. I was absolutely rooting for the main characters until the last page.