I received this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a fun, easy listen. The narrators did a good job- who doesn’t enjoy listening to a British male MMC? It was definitely easy to follow along and keep track of who was speaking. I really enjoy dual narration and this fit the bill. The story was sweet and made me want to go on a cruise! Despite being from different socioeconomic backgrounds Hope and Felix had a lot in common, including the need to learn to make a leap sometimes and living for themselves- going after their dreams. They were on a similar journey and when their lives intersected again they were more ready emotionally. This will make a great summer read!

Total Dreamboat is a total dreamboat of a novel! Hope goes on a free cruise with her influencer friend. She’s been struggling with relationships and jobs, and is happy to relax and have fun with her best friend. Of course, she meets a cute English boy, who is also struggling with his new sobriety. Hope and Felix get stranded off the boat and must learn how to deal with miscommunication issues. I love Hope and Felix. They are real characters who are very likeable I really enjoyed this book and it’s a perfect summer read!.

I listened to the audio of this and loved it! The narrators brought the characters to life and did a great job of multiple voices for secondary characters. I'm so glad I got to listen to this!

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

I was so excited to see Total Dreamboat by Katelyn Doyle on Netgalley! I loved her debut novel so I couldn’t wait to get into this one!

Total Dreamboat was so good! It was the perfect summer rom-com and had so many of my favorites:
-Great banter
-Forced Proximity
-Meddling friends/family
-Realistic conflict
-Likable characters

I really enjoyed listening to this one! It was dual narrated and dual narrated WELL! Once I started this one I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t like it as much as her other book, but I still really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a fun summer read.

4⭐️

I absolutely loved this. The storyline was so great. I loved Hope and Felix’s love story and all of its twists and turns. I also found Lauren to be an absolutely great written best friend. However, this absolutely highlights my cruise fears, haha: seasickness and missing the boat! I love that we start dropped into the middle and then are brought up to date. I will say the narrators voices kept making me think they were in their late 50s.

Such a cute summer romance. There were some slow parts but just when I started to feel bored it picked up and kept me interested. I listened to the audio version and enjoyed the multi-cast narration. This book is light and although a romance, it’s clean with not a lot of spice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC.

Total Dreamboat was a great summer/vacation read. The author did a fantastic job keeping the story sweet and lighthearted while allowing it to feel deep and real. I loved the timeline jump and how we immediately get immersed in the story. The pacing was really enjoyable and I didn’t want to stop listening. Definitely read on your next vacation. Although, I’m not sure if I’d recommend it for a cruise, because now I have deep fear of being left behind!!

Audiobook notes: Overall, I loved the performance. Both narrators had warm and inviting voices. The only thing that bugged me was the American accent for Hope. I thought the male narrator had such an amazing voice for the MMC and the rest of the characters, but when he was Hope it sounded a bit too masculine and the accent was a little forced.

🎧Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC🎧

4 ⭐️- A classic summer-setting romantic comedy that delivers fun banter and flirting, alongside a healthy dose of self growth.

Total Dreamboat is about two characters meeting, having an instant connection on a cruise, in which 7 days in they end up stranded behind in the Bahamas together. They navigate their ever-changing relationship until they can go their separate ways.

Tropes:
-vacation fling
-british mmc
-sobriety rep
-class divide
-strangers to lovers, to enemies, to lovers

The story starts off right in the middle of the action - with their cruise ship taking off without them. You then go back and read about the progression of how we get to that catalyst moment. Both Hope and Felix have that insta-love connection, which felt appropriate for the setting. Insta-love is often not my favorite but I think it was done super well here! I enjoyed their banter and watching them get to know each other in a short amount of time.

I do think the ending was a touch expected, but that’s not necessarily bad. That’s the joy in a rom-com and I have little issue with that. What stood out to me - I enjoyed the representation regarding sobriety as well as the impacts of class differences in relationships. And that there was the general theme of self growth and understanding a relationship won’t fix all your problems. It’s nice to have that balance in a generally flirty, fun, and light-hearted romance. I want characters with layers and depth and I feel that this story captures that for the most part.

Audiobook specific notes:
-Narration style: dual
-Narrated by: Kelli Tager and Russ Bain
-Perspective: dual POV, first person

Both these narrators were new to me and I thoroughly enjoyed both of their performances! Kelli was a stand out for me with her accents for various characters, it felt so effortless! Russ, with a swoony British accent, complemented Kelli’s nicely. I had a bit of a tough time with the American accents, but that is a small thing I tend to notice a lot with dual narration and different accented MCs. That being said, I am definitely interested in hearing more from these narrators!!

Overall, production was great and the pacing was excellent. There was a comfortable flow to the audio - despite the POV changing quite regularly with shorter chapters. I think that’s a testament to great audio when it didn’t feel choppy!

2.5 rounded up!

This was an enjoyable, fun, fast-paced audiobook listen. The narrators were lovely to listen to, especially Felix with his British accent.

I've watched enough Below Deck to know that boat-mances happen QUICK, so the insta-love didn't completely bother me with these strangers meeting on a cruise, but it was fast to acknowledge some big declarations of love.

The last 25% of the book wrapped everything up way too nicely and way too sequentially -- so much so that I was distracted by the seemingly checked boxes for everyone's HEA that it felt unnatural. Regardless, it was still a good, light-hearted listen!

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for providing me with this advance reader’s audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Total Dreamboat” is a hilarious and sweet rom com that explores themes of finding yourself and how relationships fit into that. Felix and Hope meet on a cruise and quickly fall for each other through ups and downs with hilarious antics along the way. Told from both points of view with separate narrators this is a great summer read/listen.

Ok this was fun and cute. I said i liked the set up on the cruise. The meet cute is adorable , shrimps involved 🤣. I like how they get to know each other and their trust and easiness with each other grows. The adventures are extremely well done too. I would said the miss adventures too. I like how it falls a lot into a realistic setting of a relationship, instead of being and they lived happily ever after right away. Definitely cute and a great summer read.
Now the Audio was marvelous, loved both of the voices. They did a great job with this book and i could feel the emotions of each character, very well done .

This was such a fun vacation romance! This made me want to hop right on a cruise ship and sail away into the Caribbean! Predictable but still lovely, exactly what one might look for in a cozy beach read. I loved it on audiobook, especially the male narrator with an accent!

I enjoyed the beginning and the very end of the book a lot. It gave the most fun vacation vibes, and I wanted to go on a cruise myself! Hope and Felix had the cutest start with the raw food buffet line, and a pretty spicy middle, but the conflict upon conflict that started to happen was upsetting. The on and off after their initial issue made me want to put it down at times. In the end we got our HEA but the road to get there was bumpier than I would have liked.

I did enjoy the characters (Gabe excluded, the little rat) and I loved the premise. As an audiobook, I enjoyed the narrators a lot but I felt iffy when they would change their voices too much for the other characters, I would've preferred just hearing the other narrator when their respective character would speak. But they were still amazing with their respective characters.

I enjoyed this cruise ship vacation romance so much!! I especially loved that Felix, the MMC is working on himself and is at the start of his sobriety journey when he meets Hope, a newly single aspiring writer looking to let loose with her influencer friend. In spite of a (imo) unnecessary third act break up, this had a lot of emotional depth, some spice and lots of great bookish conversations between the main characters. Highly recommended for fans of books like 32 days in May or For vacation only. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy of this dual POV sophomore contemporary romance.

Steam level: some open door scenes

This one was straight up fun to listen to.

Felix and Hope were adorable, with just the right amount of dry humor and baggage to keep me invested. The way all the characters spoke to each other is very in line with how my friends interact, so I felt right at home.

The front half of the story was pretty standard cute-summer-fare, exploring the start of Felix and Hope's relationship while they go about cruise activities. The back half, while still on the cute side, got a lot more real than I was expecting. The last hour or so lost me a little bit because it almost felt TOO real for a summer vacation story.

I was a big fan of both narrators and found them both very easy to listen to.

Overall, this was a fun and relaxing read that touches on relationship insecurities and growth.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ALC.

This book had me laughing out loud within the first few chapters—so many hilarious moments right off the bat that instantly pulled me in. I also loved the little cruise ship nuances, especially the daily updates from the announcer, which added such charm and made the setting feel vivid and real.

The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life. Their performance made the emotional highs and lows hit even harder. The author took us on a true roller coaster—from fast and furious love, to heartbreak, to friendship, back to romance, a painful break, and ultimately finding each other again in a kismet, full-circle kind of way.

What I appreciated most was the realism woven throughout the story. Themes like alcoholism, self-trust, and the journey of figuring out who you truly are and what you want in life were handled with honesty and care. It made the characters and their growth feel authentic and relatable.

This was such a fun summer read. I’m usually allergic to insta-love, but in this very close / forced proximity cruise ship setting it just worked. The banter between the FMC and the MMC and also the MMC and his sisters had me cackling. I love smart asses, and everyone here was very into putting their people down with cutting remarks. Lovingly, of course. The audiobook narrators were fantastic too. Overall giving this one a solid 4 stars. Had a great time.

This was really cute and endearing! I loved how it took the reader along on a cruise and did a great job detailing the experience very well! I think in this is a perfect beach read or a vacation read as it’s fast paced and engaging.

I listened to the audiobook and for the most part I loved the narration of both Kelli Tager and Russ Bain in this duel POV book. They spoke at a good pace for the 1x speed and was easy to understand. However, I will mention that Ms Tager struggles A LOT with her accents. Thankfully with a brief exception early on, the FMCs parents are only at the end on the book for a short time because if the characters were more prevalent in the book I would not have been able to listen to the vocals for any length of time. I’m still not sure what accent the narrator was trying to do because one was a “Boston” (but a caricature and not one at all) that slid in and out of a thick NYC accent. Then for the mother of the FMC it reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors if Audrey was doing a bad inner city Rhode Island or Boston accent. (Audrey does a NY accent but I mean the other effects she has beyond the geographic location).

Anyway, I’m sorry to focus on that with it being such a short part of the book but it was at the end so it had a big impact on my experience. On the other hand I loved the British accented vocals of Mr Bain and he handled the American accent with ease.

This book comes out June 24th 2025 making it a great summer read!

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillian Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Hope Lanover is recovering from a bad breakup, trying to find herself and in need of a vacation. Of course her influencer and high energy friend has the answer - an all expenses paid luxury cruise. Enter Felix and his family as well as a love interest for Hope. It was cute, it was funny but for me it dragged a little and could have wrapped up a bit better.



Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book about flawed people who know that they need to work to make themselves worthy of themselves before they can love and be loved. I am not usually a fan of a third act break up but it was needed in this case to force the couple to be worthy of themselves and each other and their relationship. This was so well written and developed and was an absolute gem of a book.
The narrators were great, they had great pacing, voice acting, and the voices fit the characters perfectly.

Romance and Laughs on the High Seas

If you’re a fan of witty banter, heart-warming romance, and relatable characters navigating real-world struggles, Total Dreamboat is a must-read. This sweet romantic comedy, set against the glamorous backdrop of a luxury cruise, delivers a perfect blend of humor, heart, and human connection that will leave you smiling.

Hope Lanover gets the chance to join her influencer best friend, Lauren, on a Caribbean cruise. While Lauren is on the hunt for a wealthy husband, Hope is simply looking for a break—from a recent breakup, her soul-crushing NYC-based job, and financial chaos. Enter Felix Seagrave: a charmingly handsome, sober, and single British chef, who never planned on this cruise—until his parents gifted him and his sister tickets, setting him on a path he never expected to cross with Hope. Sparks fly after a hilarious mishap at a restaurant, and just like that, it’s insta-love...well, until it’s not. After a heart-shattering revelation, Hope and Felix find themselves marooned together in Paradise. Will being stuck in this high-pressure situation—where trust and reliance are their only options—be the key to healing the rift that’s grown between them?

The cruise setting—sun-drenched decks, exotic destinations, and decadent meals—creates a dreamy backdrop that enhances the romance without stealing the spotlight from the characters’ growth. What truly sets this story apart is the rich character development. Hope and Felix's raw vulnerability is refreshingly real, as they face relatable struggles like career stress, addiction, sobriety, and the scars of past heartbreak. It makes their journey not just compelling, but deeply rewarding.

The dialogue is quick-witted and hilariously funny, with banter that flows effortlessly and keeps you hooked. As the romance blossoms, the story strikes a perfect balance between swoon-worthy moments and emotional depth. The supporting characters—like Hope’s influencer bestie, Lauren, and Felix’s spirited, lovable sisters—bring plenty of charm and humor, all while never overshadowing the main romance.

As an audiobook, this story truly comes alive. The narrators deliver vibrant performances that capture both the wit and the emotion in every scene. Their pacing and undeniable chemistry make each moment—from playful banter to emotional confessions—feel incredibly immersive. I loved every minute of it, and the narration took an already fantastic story to a whole new level.

In short, Total Dreamboat is a refreshing, feel-good romantic comedy that delivers laughs, love, and characters you’ll root for. Perfect for anyone craving a heartfelt escape with a side of sparkling wit. Highly recommend! Let’s just say, the book cover hits differently now. IYKYK!

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Katelyn Doyle for granting me access to this ALC in exchange for my honest review.