Secret billionaire on a cruise ship!

Widowed billionaire shipping heir Ari Callisthenes was being forced by his family to take his first vacation in three years so he decided to use the time to find out why his family’s cruise ship Hellenic Spirit was losing money by sailing as Ari George. But he never expected to be brought back to life by Australian bartender Kelsey Armitage.

Kelsey was working on the Hellenic Spirit to save up the money to be able to take of her mother and avoiding the guests on the ship because they were only there for a short time but there was something about Ari George that made her change her mind about opening her heart to a possible future if he can grovel enough!

Yes, there is plenty of groveling at the end of the story because Are finally realizes how much he messed up!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wham bam and just what I needed! If a Billionaire book ever goes wrong in my experience I have to question what the author was on.

Was this fast paced? Usually I’d be like no, gimme more but this hit the spot from beginning to end.

It did what it needed to do. Characters were straight to the point, predictable but again it was just what I needed. I tried to be annoyed at how quick they seemed to be in love but I couldn’t find it in me.

This was surprisingly less spacey than I expected, which left a decent amount of space for a plot!

Review posted on March 14 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

While I’ve never been on a cruise myself, Amy Andrews’ writing made me feel as though I had. Her prose is beautiful, and I enjoyed seeing both Kelsey and Ari’s points of view as they navigated real-life challenges—such as future family responsibilities and the endless cycles of grief after losing a loved one.

That said, while I appreciated the writing, I can’t say the same for the plot. Ari’s guilt seemed to revolve more around forgetting his late wife rather than the fact that he was actively lying to Kelsey. It wasn’t until much later in the story that he truly acknowledged the weight of his deception. When he finally confesses, Kelsey rightfully breaks up with him—but instead of respecting her decision, he essentially stalks her for months until she gives in and admits she loves him. The ending didn’t make much sense to me, and the random Cinderella comparisons felt out of place.

Overall, while Amy Andrews’ writing is undeniably strong, the story itself felt incomplete and rushed toward the end.

As expected from a billionaire romance. This is a quick, steamy read that is enjoyable. Liked the dynamics and chemistry between the FMC and MMC.

Undercover Billionaire is a good read for a cruise. Kelsey's and Aris story is perfect a a short holiday fling.

This was a delightful sexy quick read. Thoroughly enjoyed. Amy Andrews can certainly write a sexy novel. What a wonderful way to pass some time. It was like a modern Cinderella story with Kelsey getting the prince. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The title basically gives away all of the plot. Ari is a billionaire undercover on a cruise ship, where he meets this girl that turns his world upside down. For me it was missing the depth of their conversations, but in this type of genre I wouldn’t expect anything else from the book. It is a light and easy one day read, spicy and romantic.

*Dual POV third person

Ari Callisthenes, a grieving man who has been mourning the loss of his wife for three years, embarks on an undercover mission aboard one of his family’s cruise ships. His brother believes that this adventure might help him move on. On his first day on the cruise, Ari meets Kelsey Armitage, an Australian bartender with a guarded heart. Kelsey has been hurt by love before and is hesitant to commit to anything serious. However, when she returns his wallet to his cabin, they are instantly drawn to each other.

Ari and Kelsey are both likable characters who are struggling to overcome their past losses. They must learn to trust each other and open up to the possibility of a deeper connection. If you enjoy fast-paced, steamy romance novels with a strong emphasis on instant attraction, this book is sure to captivate you.

I received an arc of this book for my honest review

I enjoyed this entertaining undercover boss romance with its added boss-employee, forbidden workplace romance, hidden identity and grumpy-sunshine tropes, the cruise ship setting and steamy love scenes. The characters were likable and I instantly fell for the sweet, sexy yet broken cinnamon roll hero Ari, however I grew quite annoyed with Kelsey‘s stubbornness and her bitterness. The immediate attraction and sizzling chemistry between the two were palpable from the beginning and it was heartwarming to see Ari open up to life and love again.

Widowed Aristotle Callisthenes aka Ari George, a member of a wealthy ship-owning family who has led a reclusive life since the death of his wife, is assigned to go undercover on one of their ships that makes losses and investigate the deficiencies. When Ari meets bartender Kelsey, he is immediately attracted to her.
Kelsey Armitage has been working on the cruise ship for years to earn enough money to fulfil her and her mother's dream of owning their own cottage. After the painful experience with her fraudulent ex, she no longer lets men get close to her, but she finds herself irresistibly drawn to the passenger Ari of all people. Although she never breaks the rules, she embarks on a forbidden fling with him...

I recommend this lighthearted, quick to read book to anyone who likes hidden identity, grumpy-sunshine romance novels with secrets and plenty of spice and am already looking forward to the story of Ari's playboy brother Theo.

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Cinderella story. It was fun that the backdrop was on a ship. I loved that Kelsey didn't know Ari's true identity even though it caused friction later. I'm convinced they wouldn't have given each other a chance otherwise. And most importantly, I loved how Ari woo'ed Kelsey once she did find out his identity. I would have loved to have gotten more of them once they were together for real. Fun book!

Omg this book!!! Read in 9 hours. I was unable to put this book down. It was too addictive. If your going to read make sure you have time to read it in one sitting because you'll need to. It's too good not to. Kelsey and ari's story is written with the perfect amount of story and spice to keep a smut book interesting. I'm hoping there's a follow on for theo and Tiffany now as I would love to hear about their story.

Not my usual sort of read but having received an advanced copy from the publisher it would have been rude not to read it . It’s a nice enough story , not too long , but I did feel that the actual characters could have been developed more ,less focus on the sex . I found the lengthy detailed descriptions of their liaisons boring after a while and skipped through them, personally I would have preferred more ‘story’ . It was a quick read and for that I was grateful, nice ending but predictable.

Really enjoyable secret billionaire romance.

"Nobody had ever kissed her like this. So...needy. Greedy, desperate kisses. Suffocating her with their urgency."

When Aristotle Callisthenes goes undercover on his family cruise ship as Ari George, he didn't count on being drawn to bubbly cocktail waitress, Kelsey Armitage. As a widower, he never thought he'd find another great love but Kelsey knocks him sideways. Kelsey has been badly burnt in love. She's knows that fraternising with the guests is forbidden but there's something about Ari that is irresistible. When she finds out his secret, she can't help feeling that she's been burnt again.

"He wanted this woman. Forbidden or not. Morally ambiguous or not. Risky or not. It made no sense. It just was."

This story was full of sunshine, spice and escapism. I enjoyed the clandestine nature of Kelsey and Ari's relationship and how their connection was much more than a cruise fling. Kelsey breathed new life and hope into Ari's life. His grand gesture made the romantic in me swoon! Fab little read.

Undercover Billionaire is a spicy billionaire romance about forbidden love, sudden love and a strong longing for another person.

It is a short, quick read. I liked the storyline - cute and for most part a fantastic openness between the two MC - the strong independent MMF and a smoking hot billionaire MMC. Besides that, the book is filled with steamy moments.

The book is written in third person which is not my favourite, but it doesn’t take away from the sweet story.


Tropes: Greek, billionaire MMC, secret identity, forbidden relationship, cruise ship life,

This is a fun, entertaining, spicy, quick read. Ari and Kelsey are interesting, relatable, intriguing, wounded, complicated, strong, caring, tough exterior, complex, entertaining characters. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this book. It was humourous and witty, sweet and sexy and so deeply real when it comes to the experiences that happened to each character. This had me laughing out loud and I consumed this book. The writing was excellent and I'd definitely read more by this author!!

I love this kind of story. A hot, wounded hero and an intelligent, hard-working heroine and an impossible situation all end up on the same cruise ship. Nothing would have happened if it hadn't been for all of that overwhelming chemistry. Kelsey and Ari just can't stay away from one another even though they know it is going to get them in trouble. I could feel the magnetic pull on every page, and it was delicious.
But sexual tension and hot sex scenes (of which there are several excellent ones) only get a book so far. The characters matter, too. I really liked Kelsey and Ari. They are good people trying to do the right thing at every turn. I was definitely pulling for them as I read. I also liked Kelsey's mother and Tiffany, side characters who support Kelsey when she needs them.
I enjoyed the settings in the book, too. There is the cruise ship, obviously, but we also get peeks at Mykonos and Venice. The descriptions were wonderful and made me want to go.
The last couple of chapters did not play out exactly the way I expected. They were far better. I can't say why because of spoilers, but I really enjoyed the twists. I was definitely cheering at the end. I will definitely reread this one!

This romance follows Ari Calliisthenes, the heir to a wealthy shipping empire, who goes undercover on one of his family’s cruise ships to investigate some internal issues. He never expects to fall for Kelsey Armitage, an Australian staff member with dreams of buying a seaside home for her and her mother.

Their fiery chemistry leads to a passionate one-night stand, but neither can ignore the deeper emotions that surface. As Ari fights to win Kelsey’s heart, their Cinderella-like love story unfolds, filled with desire, emotion, and an irresistible billionaire hero determined to make his perfect match his forever love.

The story follows Ari who goes undercover to investigate his family's failing cruise ship and Kelsey, an employee of said cruise ship who has written off relationships and whose sole focus is saving up enough money to leave the industry and take care of her mom.

I really enjoyed Ari's character. I appreciated how he wasn't some arrogant and rude billionaire that a lot of these types of romance books typically have. Ari seems like a genuine good guy and his actions throughout really proved that. I struggled to form some sort of attachment to Kelsey though. As a whole, she's not an unlikeable character but just some choices made seemed to me a bit childish and frustrating. Them together as a couple I also didn't really understand. I felt as though their relationship was mostly fueled by sex. Their initial connection was promising but then the majority of their actions were just sexual. It just made it seem as though their relationship with just physical.

The trope for forbidden romance didn't really stick with me as well, if anything it is a very loose Cinderella style forbidden romance. Ari is extremely rich, yes and Kelsey is not but it also wasn't as if they couldn't be really be together. For the most part, him being the CFO he can do whatever and his family is of no consequence so I didn't really get the forbidden love feeling.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I think though that it would have really benefited from being longer. If Kelsey and Ari got more time to really get to know each other and have moments outside of sex, it would have been a lot stronger.

This is a short fast paced romance that is fun to suspend your belief and go along with. Kelsy and Ari have a lil meet-cute and basically cinderella moment that blossoms into a love story. It's always interesting to change up what you read from diverse perspectives, This one has characters that are from a different country than I am and reading it is cool to explore what the character's POV is in different places. While the author tries to give the characters some difficulties to overcome (and they do!) it is still a bit flat to where I didn't get invested in the characters like I know I can when reading. That being said the difficulties they do have to overcome are unique in a way that I haven't seen them in the same novel before. An all around solid stand alone read to enjoy pool side or while traveling.