This is my first Katelyn Doyle book and I got to experience it via audiobook. My first thoughts while listening to this was I was I could be on a cruise or heck a beach. Total Dreamboat is a fun, quick summer read.

I really enjoyed that the audiobook was duel narrated. Both narrators brought a perfect amount of charm and personality to Hope & Felix. They also did a great job bringing the romance between these characters to life. Their storytelling flowed flawlessly and made Hope & Felix feel real and relatable.

The plot was a fast paced quirky romance. I can definitely see some struggling with this because the instalove between Felix & Hope was strong. However, I didn’t have an issue with their whirlwind summer romance. My small issue comes from the not one, but two third act breakups. Now don’t get me wrong one of them was 100% justified and it needed to happen. The other one just felt unnecessary and only added to bring drama to the story.

Overall, even with the breakup shenanigans it still weirdly fits the dynamic between Hope & Felix. Their fast and furious romance was still a lot of fun and will leave readers feeling warm and bubbly inside. I had a fun time reading this and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a fun quick summer read.
Lastly Big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Hope Lanover is heartbroken due to her recent breakup. Her best friend, Lauren is a social media influencer and took Hope with her on a sponsored cruise. Hope meets Felix Segrave from England and they hit off and start a week-long cruise romance but her ex-boyfriend shows up on the same cruise and things get complicated.

The narrators Kelli Tager and Russ Bain did an excellent job portraying the essence of Hope and Felix. Listening to the audiobook got me feeling giddy, emotional and had me laughing out loud. The banter was great and entertaining!

Tropes: Forced proximity, Fake dating, Roommates, miscommunication, he falls first, alcohol addiction

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listener copy all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I love cruises and when I read the premise for this I knew I needed to consume it! Hope is our FMC and she works very hard. Not only that she is just getting out of a relationship. Enter in her bestie who secures them a spot on a ten day cruise. This is where Hope meets our MMC, Felix. Felix is on the cruise with his family celebrating his parents 4th anniversary…which is the exact opposite of what is also happening in Hope’s life.
I do feel that there was character growth throughout the book. I really liked the aspect of the cruise and how the couple met. But the third act breakup I thought was done really well. (SPOILERS DONT READ THIS LINE) Especially when the scenario changed and they are no longer on the cruise ship and have to work together. (YOU ARE SAFE AFTER THIS).
Kelli Tager and Russ Bain are both new to me. I see that they are both on other audios that I am interested in listening to and I really liked how they did this audiobook so I am definitely going to be checking out their other performances! I think they really brought the extra something special I needed to this book to help me connect with it just a little bit more.
While this is my first Katelyn Doyle book this will not be my last!

Hope and Felix were a fun couple to read about and to root for. They each have their personal struggles that make them feel inferior, and this seems to hold them back from being able to fully trust each other. In fact, it's the impetus for the miscommunication trope that takes over about halfway through the book.

I loved the dual POV structure of this book, especially because I listened on audio and it's fun to have two different narrators voicing and emoting for the characters.

If you’re looking for a swoony forced proximity romance that takes place on a cruise ship look no further. I mean that’s pretty specific but this book really is perfect for sunny weather and beach days.

This one started off in present day with some conflict before flashing back to how we got to this predicament. I liked that but I felt like the past was starting to get a little too long without knowing why they were fighting at the beginning. It was hard to fully believe in this romance as you already knew something big was happening.

Once we did get there the conflict was resolved way too quickly and the ending as a whole wrapped suddenly.

Overall, it was cute, easy, and fun but nothing overly memorable

DNF at 20% here’s why:

What I liked:
-The concept
-Summary seemed fun
-Audiobook format
-Colors in cover caught my eye
-Location on a cruise ship
-Male and female narrators instead of the female doing a male voice

What caused a DNF for me:
-I am extremely picky with romance books, and this one just did not do it for me. Why? Instead of wanting to laugh and relating to the character, I felt thrown off and was oddly insulted and confused. It’s clear this book is just not for me, as the humor does not connect for me.
-The attempt at the accents for the people at the airports was just odd. I don’t know that those scenes needed to exist. I wish she had just been sitting eating waiting to board. I get that it’s meant to be humorous and show off her character but I did not get this from it. I began to find the characters a bit insufferable which made me sad. The man chews nicotine gum and the woman seems to look down on chain Mexican restaurants.
-I just was not enjoying this read unfortunately, I wasn’t laughing, and it was just not connecting.

Who do I think will love this read?
-Fans of insta love romances
-Fans of cruise ship romances
-Fans of characters who utilize self-deprecation a lot for humor and are a bit of a mess
-Readers wanting a fun book to take to the beach

While this wasn’t the book for me, I think romance readers will enjoy this one!
Thank you for the audiobook arc approval! I am leaving this honest feedback voluntarily.

This was such a cute and fun romance! The chemistry was great between Hope and Felix. The book takes place on a cruise ship which was a fun setting, definitely made me long for a tropical vacation!
There were several nods to British literature which was nice if you are a reader. I really enjoyed the story, but I wish we got to see more of their life together at the end of the story. Overall, super sweet and definitely worth the read!

A perfect beach read! Hope and Felix's story is a light and funny and romance set onboard a cruise. There is a bit of insta love in this book, which is not my favorite thing to read in a romance, but the story is still very cute and funny.

I was fortunate to have a chance to listen to the audiobook for this book which was fanatastic. Both narrators bring the story to life and are perfect narrators!

This was cute! I would say it’s a bit insta love — which I know many do not enjoy. It has promise with the beginning starting at an interesting point then going back in time. I enjoyed the characters and concept. Meeting on a boat was fun. I liked the MMC’s family as people, however it seemed like the writer was working hard to get us to like rich people — which wasn’t the best tactic especially in today’s economy. I would say this is an average romance book. Definitely try it out if you’re interested!

The audio was well done. I liked the narrators who did a nice job with bringing the characters to life. I gave an extra star for this reason. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

Totally Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle is a cute summer romcom beach read. It’s a delightful diversion. I enjoyed the tropical cruise ship setting and vacation feel. The audiobook narrators are excellent. I did not enjoy that there were two breakups and that Felix is mean to Hope both times. If she were my friend, I’d be very concerned. I don’t think he was appealing enough as a character for me to be interested in forgiving him. Content warning: This book heavily features a subplot of sobriety and recovery from alcohol addiction

Fun summer read! This book follows Felix and Hope as they meet on a cruise ship and fall in in love / only to have things slightly derailed. Starts in the middle of the action, then goes back in time to fill the reader in.

Nice audiobook with two excellent narrators!

EEEEK I’ve been waiting to read this since November and it absolutely did not disappoint! Huge thanks to Flatiron and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy

There’s so much I loved about this story, but what it really boils down to is the author doing an incredible job establishing who these characters are early on, and then the characters consistently behaving in ways that feel true to who they are (even when I didn’t like their choices). This made the story feel so real — I was completely hooked and binged it in two days.

Highlights for me:
* A+ Olympic-level banter
* Felix and Hope’s chemistry — even their whirlwind romance felt totally earned. I also loved how much they both grow as individuals, paving the way for a real and lasting HEA
* The portrayal of Felix’s sobriety — his “why,” the realities of maintaining it, and how he handled setbacks
* The vacation/cruise ship setting and all the travel chaos (it gave Wedding Dashers vibes in the best way!)

I know we as readers joke about rating books based on the “vibes” — but what that means to me is just accepting that we always bring something of ourselves into the books we read — our mood, what we’ve just read, life circumstances, past relationships, etc. With this in mind, let me say that the vibes here were immaculate. This book scratched an itch I didn’t even realize I had. It was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it. I already know I’ll be rereading it soon.

Audio:
The dual POV narration is performed by Kelli Tiger and Russ Bain. Kelli’s performance is great, but Russ’s didn’t quite work for me. It’s not BAD, he just sounds a lot older than I pictured Felix, which made it harder to connect with him as a character (so I switched to my physical copy). If you’re sensitive to narration style/voice, I’d recommend listening to a sample before going with the audiobook.

This one was super cute—prime beach read material. Hope is a normal-sized woman, and Doyle handles it perfectly. No heavy-handed messaging, no making her body the whole plot—just a well-written, confident character who feels real. More of that, please.

The banter? Top tier. Hope and Felix had amazing chemistry and gave me all the feels. The narrators brought it all to life beautifully, making this not just a great read, but a great listen too. Definitely one to pack in your summer rotation.

What a fun book to read as the weather warms up. I was dreaming of being on a cruise with them. The story and narrator easily captured and kept my attention. The characters had depth and delighted.

I had high hopes for this as I did enjoy Katelyn's last novel. I felt this was a little flat. The chemistry between the two just didn't do it for me. There was nothing wrong overall with the plot but it just didn't hook me.

Audiobook Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I had the chance to listen to Total Dreamboat while on vacation… on a cruise, no less, and I have to say, the timing could not have been better. When I read the description, I grabbed it right away, hoping it would boost the vacation vibes. Guess what? It totally delivered.

This audiobook was narrated by Kelli Tager and Russ Bain, and they brought just the right amount of charm and personality to the story. I’m a big fan of dual narration for romance audiobooks and this one worked especially well. It added a nice back-and-forth rhythm that made Hope and Felix feel all the more real.

The story itself is light, a little quirky, and absolutely made for vacation reading. Sure, the romance moves fast, but sometimes you just have to go along for the ride. I let myself enjoy the breezy, romantic chaos of it all and it made for a fun escape.

If I had one small complaint, it would be that some of the language in the spicier scenes pulled me out of the moment. There are definitely more creative ways to talk about female parts, but that could just be a personal preference.

Overall, this was a fun little Caribbean romp that fit perfectly with my vacation theme of feel-good romance. It was kitschy in the best way, just like cruises tend to be, and that’s exactly why we love them. Because really, what’s better than listening to a cruise romance on a cruise?

Big thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fast and cute read. Except for the opener, this is told chronologically, so you get to see the couple fall for each other, have their conflict. and then fall for each other again. Personally though, I am all about the conflict, so I really enjoyed their bickering post-conflict and their enemies-to-lovers vibes. Other people are going to adore their initial relationship when they're two people working through some issues and being vulnerable with each other. There were a few points, particularly related to the MMC's past, that were really thoughtfully well done.

The narrators were great, and that cover is fantastic. My one nit is that I don't think the FMC on the cover matches how she's described in the book (which was voluptuous, '50s pin up, curvy, etc.).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC. This is my second Katelyn Doyle ALC and I really enjoyed both of them.

Romcom

Dual narration- Kelli Tager & Russ Bain
Really liked their voices and the accents were done very well.

Sweet and spicy romantic comedy. Full of yearning, tension, and 100% swoony. I loved these characters.
My first book by this author and I guarantee it will not be my last by her.

Writing style and plot development was perfect. Super enjoyable. Would highly recommend.

This was my first time reading a Katelyn Doyle and now I’m officially hooked. Any author who can have me laughing straight out the gate is gonna be a favorite of mine. This was such a sweet, summer romance that had me giggling the whole way through.

Hope and Felix are on vacation where they meet on a cruise ship. At first I was nervous with the insta-love but it wasn’t long after that a misunderstood throws them off course quickly turning them from lovers to two people desperately trying to avoid one another.

Hope is an adult still relying on others to fill her lonely void. She falls too easily for men and when she’s not in a relationship she is co-dependent on her best friend, Lauren.

Felix is a recovering alcoholic, going strong on a two year sobriety. He has spent the majority of his life relying on substances and avoiding relationships.

I appreciated that the author took the time to develop both characters so well. Both are flawed people and instead of being throw into a quick happily ever after, the reader got to experience the characters going through their own transformations and becoming complete individuals on their own. I really loved this book, I felt like it was more complex than just a silly, mindless rom-com.

I received an advanced listening copy of the audiobook and I enjoyed every moment of it. The summer beachy vibes of the tropical islands and cruise ship setting made this a perfect audio for working in my garden today. Both narrators did a great job!

Thank you, NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Katelyn Doyle for an ARC of Total Dreamboat. I enjoyed every moment soaking up this story.