*Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for early copy for review*

Both audiobook narrators did a good job at portraying the characters. I really enjoyed hearing Felix's British accent.

This story was okay, but did not hold my interest. I appreciated having a curvy main heroine, but I did not feel the chemistry between the main leads.

I thought this book was well written and entertaining. I received the audiobook from Macmillan Audio as a ARC. I really did enjoy the narriators even though it did take me a little bit to get used to the male characters voice. I thought this book was a cute dual POV travel romance. I enjoyed the banter in the book. I LOVED that this book was based on a cruise, as someone who loves crusing this book was so easy for me to keep wanting to read. If you are looking for a book to bring on your next vaction this is definetly it.

Hey, this was cute. And I think it would be a fun, easy poolside read. But I don't think it was perfect for me.

Things I liked:
🚢The sugar-daddy friend. Like I want HER book tbh
🚢The easy, summer vibes
🚢 The way the audiobook did the cruise announcements

Things that didn't work:
🚢This was my first cruise book and I don't think I like them??? No fault to the author, but I was on team Felix hating the idea of buffets and being stuck on the sea with Elvis impersonators.
🚢I was relieved to have a FMC who wasn't a writer... and then she wanted to be a writer. Like ughhhh
🚢I felt like it was more emotional than I expected a cruise summer book to be? I wanted happier vibes, to feel like I'm escaping, but I felt like we glossed over all the fun parts
🚢I don't know. I can't explain it but something didn't click for me. I listened to it quickly and never once said I didn't like it but something wasn't quite working for me.

I think if you're a big rom-com lover, maybe this is more for you? But it wasn't entirely for me.

⭐ (Story) 4.5
⭐ (Narrator) 4.5
🌶️ 2
🥵 Spicy Chapters: 20, 21, 28, 42
📚 Tropes/Themes: vacation romance, strangers to lovers, snarky banter, chef x publicist, love triangle, come for me
👀 Dual POV 1st person
🎙️ Dual narration (Kelli Tager & Russ Bain)
⏰ Approx 8 hours
💔 Triggers: mentions of alcoholism/drug use, struggles with sobriety and rehab
🛍️ Available: Now

💬 This was SO GOOD.

It's funny and heartwarming and emotional and it made me cry a little bit. TBH I think part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much is I have gone on a similar cruise to similar places like I actually remember being in Nassau and walking the beach with my now husband and... accidentally.... stumbling into the water park at Atlantis (don't worry it was January it was closed 🤣) And then we went to the casino there.

First of all the banter between the characters is just top tier perfection, but specially between Hope and Felix. They're like the kinds of conversations that I have with my husband- all the snark and witty banter. And just the storyline in general is hilarious even if you took out the sarcasm it would still be such a funny book.

I loved the side characters too, Lauren and Felix's sisters/parents were just so entertaining. (Especially Lauren and her quest to find a sugar daddy 🤣) I also really, really loved the whole sobriety plot line. It was so relatable and emotional. I didn't expect it to be such a big part of the book but it was perfect.

I'm trying not to use the same adjectives over and over again but I can't help it 🤣

And I really think the audio made it even better. The narrators did an incredible job, especially Tager. I really liked how at the beginning of each chapter during the lead up to the crisis the intro to the chapter was like an announcement you would hear if you were on a cruise ship. You really don't get the same effect if you were just reading it.

I desperately want to see this turned into a movie too

Thank you so very much to @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for this super fun and perfect for summertime ALC!

Out now, this book has such a fun premise and had me from the get go when I saw it involved a meet cute on a cruise ship! Then you add in a bond over books (which we all love), a MMC with a British accent with an incredible family that makes for some great side characters for your next summer read!

As someone who’s never been on a cruise but wants to this setting was so much fun! I’m not usually one for “insta love” but I could get behind falling for one another when you’re stuck in a ship 24/7 for 6 days . I think too all the cruise activities they did and time with his family definitely brings them closer! I absolutely loved the audio narration for this one, the dual POV and narration was excellent and so fun to listen to! I found myself laughing along at the cruise boat shenanigans and swooning at the busking chemistry, but also enjoying the heart felt moments! All the right elements I need in a good rom com read where here!

I thought too even though the relationship started off quick they have growth and time after they get off the cruise ship that also made it believable! Katelyn does such a great job of writing second chances in this and how sometimes love finds you in the most unexpected time and ways!

Hope is looking for a way to regain footing in her life - 8 months after a difficult breakup, scraping to make ends meet with a job she hates - so when her best friend Lauren, an influencer, gets 2 spots on a luxury cruise, she's excited (albeit skeptical) to take the time off for a floating vacation. She meets Felix, posh son of an English baronet traveling with his family. They have instant chemistry but are both wary of jumping into something too soon - Hope while she's trying to sort out her goals, and Felix while he grapples with sobriety.

For my historical romance readers, Katelyn Doyle is also Scarlett Peckham! Where her historicals lean on kink and pushing boundaries, her contemporary romcom is lighter and more straightforward, but written with an eye to craft. There are amusing tributes to histroms throughout, and it's clear that this subgenre is equally fun for her to write. (For those expecting heat, this is less explicit than her historicals.)

I had a lot of fun listening to the audiobook of Total Dreamboat. One reason I rarely gravitate towards contemporary is that I want things to be either extremely realistic or completely bonkers. This leans on the bonkers, but in a way that feels very real: the reasons each character is on the cruise feel legitimate, and the character motivations are well grounded. The cruise setting allows that liminal vacation space to take us off the rails. Kelli Tager and Russ Bain deliver a fun narration that kept me invested.

I enjoyed the author’s release last summer of Just Some Stupid Love Story, and I jumped at the opportunity to listen to this one before release day - many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for access in exchange for my honest opinion. The narrators were great, and I definitely recommend listening to this book.
Do you have strong feelings pro- or anti- cruises? As the author says, this story is for both sides of the debate! I've only ever been on one cruise, but I have another booked for next summer. And, good news, this book left me pleasantly looking forward to it.
Total Dreamboat tells the story of Hope tagging along on a Caribbean cruise with her influencer friend where she meets Felix, a sober chef on vacation with his family. The forced proximity of the ship, and the immediate attraction between the two, lead to lots of fun… until their plans go just a bit off kilter when they are left stranded at a port without their IDs, phone, and money. I was completely entertained by this dual POV romance with some steamy scenes. And now I'm of course hoping for a romantic connection on my next cruise, without the whole drama of being stranded at port!

In the decades of being an avid reader, it dawns on me that I’ve never read a meet cute cruise romance before. But thanks to Total Dreamboat, now I have!

The first half of the story had me hooked. It was cute, playful, funny, and then sexy. I loved how Hope and Felix interacted, the characters building off each other. The secondary characters had great depth too, each adding their flare to the plot or storyline.

The second half of the story had a more serious tone with very honest emotions and reactions. Unfortunately, because the first half had been so light and flirty, the seriousness felt a bit disjointed. While the third act was tied in reality, I felt it took away from the light-hearted Summer Romance or RomCom feel it started as.

In the end it was cute and I enjoyed the read. If there’s ever follow up stories for any of the characters, I would certainly give it a read.

I was able to enjoy this story via audio thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio. I thought both narrators were fantastic but loved Russ Bain’s British characters the most.

So much fun! I loved the banter between Hope and Felix and felt that the chemistry was good. There were some hilarious moments and some creative license taken to move the story and I enjoyed the time I spend with them, on the ship and off (cruise lines are supposed to leave your passports with the agent at the port if you are left behind; also the pronunciation of conch drove me crazy although that’s how the British pronounce it). This would be a great vacation read.

Hope Lanover is burned out, heartbroken, and reluctantly dragged onto a luxury cruise by her influencer best friend where she meets Felix Segrave, a grumpy, workaholic chef with a complicated past.

The banter was good. While some of the emotional beats felt a bit rushed toward the end, and a few plot twists were predictable, the overall journey was good for a quick summer listen.

Thank you to NetGalley for ARC audio listen.

I've been waiting for this book ever since I finished 'Just Some Stupid Love Story'. So I was super thrilled to get the ARC on this.

I would agree with alot of folks where the first half was the book feel so different on the latter half. The first half was light and fun, you really feel like you're on the cruise with Felix & Hope. You really feel like either the ship is really small, or they really are met to run into each other. As much as both kept telling themselves that this is a summer fling, they both fell, honestly fell for each other.

But of course, miscommunication with insecurities is the perfect formula to break them up. Of course, as much as they were trying to go apart from each other, they both get stranded, together. Thru that traumatic experience, they come together. You think they finally get together, but .... I'll leave that for you to read.

I definitely enjoyed the first book much more than the Dreamboat. But this book has a very positive view on someone that's struggling with sobriety. Also showing you how to protect ones heart, find yourself, then finally ready to welcome the love that's awaits you.

I had the audiobook, and enjoyed narrators: Kelli Tager; Russ Bain. I wish that was a duet instead of a dual, because I can use more Russ' accents. I enjoyed Kelli's work quite a bit, the only part I scratched my head on was the mom's voice, the accent was a bit confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the audioARC

I have loved both of Katelyn Doyle’s books I’ve read now!!! they’re a so much love and growth, humor mixed with real struggles— they are so related to true life it’s so beautiful seeing such realistic experiences get a happy ending :)

Hope and Felix have such a bubbly lovely relationship buildup, I love how they’re so honest and open about their lives and their affection for one another, I was completely hooked right from the start, especially knowing they’ll have some kind of fall out. I felt like the first chapter set up the almost instant attraction really well and made me instantaneously invested in these two!!

I love how they’re able to dig so much deeper than their insta-love and vacation-fling as the angst and conflict build up, because it lets them fully fall in deep love and have such a strong and lasting happily ever after. I just loved it so much!

I loved this audiobook! the narration and production was perfect to me and let me read this book in one sitting.

thank you so much for the alc!

It took me a little longer than I anticipated to get into this and care about the characters like I wanted to -- which surprised me, because I DEVOURED Katelyn Doyle's last book -- but once I got there, I was smitten. This wasn't an instalove situation, and the feelings behind the tension and conflict were realistic and vulnerable. Which was what was needed to balance out the setting and more ridiculous (in a good way) parts. Both the MCs grew so much, and I am sitting here after the fact feeling genuinely happy for both of them.

I received an ARC of the audio from NetGalley. At first, before I got into the characters, the narration was good but wasn't a *must* for me. Once I got into it, though, I found myself listening to the audio almost exclusively because both narrators really did a great job of bringing the characters to life once I got to know them.

Katelyn Doyle makes me feel things and makes me laugh. Definitely recommend!

3.5 star
A grumpy-ish player mmc Felix and a heartbroken fmc, Hope start a no strings attached, friends with benefits type situationship. I wasnt wow-ed by the main characters but I need a book for all of Felix's sisters because they had the best quipy banter.

I wobbled throughout the entire book between 3.5 to 4 stars. I finally settled on 4 stars. I struggled a little bit in the beginning because there was very little conflict for the first part of the book, but the prologue promised major conflict. I knew it was coming. The back and forth between Hope and Felix during the last part of the novel got a bit redundant. I did really enjoy the ending. The writing was solid. There was good character growth. Both characters have past issues that they are fighting to deal with which helps bring the story along. The banter between characters was fun and witty. The plot was equally fun and a little bit different. I loved Hope’s best friend. She was hilarious! I loved the funny mishaps. This would be a great vacation read or listen. The narrators did a great job bringing this book to life! I’m definitely keeping this author on my TBR list for future releases! I received this book from Macmillan audio and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a unique book. I loved the cruise story line and how that changed the setting so dramatically.

I really felt for both characters. Feeling invested and cheering for their success.

Felix was so well written- to not only make mistakes but fully see where he went wrong and feel the regret of them.

The friend kind of drove me nuts- possibly because the southern accent in the audiobook was rough.

***While this is a very open door book- I found it easy to skip ahead of any racey scenes without feeling like I missed relationship growth.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. This was a fun strangers to lovers to enemies on a cruise ship romp. Definitely gave me all the summer vibes - vacation, islands, cruising, buffets, and all that you would expect from a cruise line vacation. Dual POV was a good addition for this storyline in particular - as the two MCs were very different in background and life experience and motivation. It was interesting to see how the two characters ended up with some common ground - but also how their backgrounds led to conflict and misunderstandings.

I enjoyed the travel aspect and the island setting and vibes. Overall, a great summer romance read!

The narration was very well done - I thought the narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life and infusing energy in the storytelling. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ALC.

I can't put my finger it on it but I didn't really love the romance between our MCs. I enjoued them as charavcters and thought the story was fun with some parts that made me laugh out loud. Truly, this is just a sweet summer contemporary rom-com and it meets all of those criteria. I just wish there was some more meat on the bones. Overall a nice solid 3.5

Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Setting: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Themes: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Emotional: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Enjoyment: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨ ARC Audiobook Review: Total Dreamboat by Kathleen Doyle
🎧 Out June 24, 2025

A fun, flirty rom-com set on a luxury cruise—with dual POV, forced proximity, and lots of laugh-out-loud moments. The FMC is a burned-out PR rep and aspiring writer; the MMC is a charming, routine-loving British chef staying sober. Sparks fly fast, but when they end up stranded in the Bahamas (with no ID, phone, or money between them), they have to rely on each other to get home.

There are a few spicy scenes (a little more than I usually prefer), but the flirty banter, emotional depth, and swoony moments more than made up for it. I especially loved that both characters were focused on following their own dreams before diving into a relationship.

🎧 Dual narrators made the audiobook extra enjoyable.

💘 Total Dreamboat is a flirty, fun cruise romance with dual POV, forced proximity, and a swoony Happily Ever Afters 🌴

This book was deep. The first half dealt w8th the usual meet cute situ on acruiseship, but the later half was very very real. Both Hope and Felix has a lot of deep rooted hurt and issues that they are forced to confront and even give up on the possibility of the nascent love developing into something meaningful. I loved the ending, loved how Hope chased after her dreams and gave herself some self care.

The narration was fab.

#netgalley #TotalDreamboat