“How much damage can we do in a week?”

Thank goodness for romance novels honestly. This was overall an easy breezy listen (with a small side of angst) that I consumed in one day. It’s a perfect summery read even for those of us who, like FMC Hope, would only set foot on a cruise if it was free.

Highlights included:
- Lauren, the southern belle bestie and influencer, pretending to be out to catch a sugar daddy.
- The P sisters, which is Pear and which is Pru? Doesn’t even matter!
- Hope and Felix being stranded in the Bahamas. Absolute perfection. (Seriously, how did we manage travel before smart phones?)
- Canadian lesbians helping Felix pull his head out of his ass.
- The sobriety rep.  
- Hope and Felix’s personal growth in the final act, making their HEA believable. 

I read the audio, narrated by Kelli Tager and Russ Bain. I appreciated all the character voices they created, and how they made the story come alive.

First book I’ve read, rather listened to by this author and I truly enjoyed it. The characters were well defined and well written. The narrators did an awesome job. I’ll now be looking for them when shopping for other audiobooks. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. 4.5 ⭐️

This book was cute! Definitely worth listening to the audiobook for the British accent. The relationship was as up and down as the high seas and it was an enjoyable listen!

OMG I loved listening to this audiobook so much! I was laughing out loud to myself a lot. I'm sure people thought I was crazy in public. Hope goes on a luxury cruise with her best friend - an influencer of course. She needs this vacation to relax and destress from her breakup 8 months ago. Felix is on the same cruise with his family to celebrate his parents' anniversary. The flirty nature of their relationship is so smooth and cute. They decide to have some fun while on vacation but after a fight leaves them stranded on an island, they have to work together to get back on the boat. Will this break them or make them? I love the audiobook from start to finish. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for allowing early access to this audiobook!

This was a great summer listen! I just have to talk about that this was one of the best narrations I have listened too. We have dual narrators. Each narrator made the different characters come to life! I didn't confused and absolutely loved it! I also enjoyed the snippets of the daily itinerary for that day's cruise activities.

Now for the story it was great! You get all the summer vibes from the locations and food described. I thought our main characters were great. They each had a stand out personality. Hope is trying to find herself again after a crappy break up and not so great job. Felix is a recovering addict trying to have a great trip with his family. They both find each other enjoyable and turn into a fling. However, once Hope's ex shows up on the ship they encounter some bumpy waters.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook!

Would definitely recommend it if you're looking for an easy beach read this summer!!

Overall, 3.5 stars, definitely a cute summer beach/cruise read! Hope was a very relatable and easy to like character. Hope and Felix's relationship developed as organically as possible while stuck on a cruise ship. I loved seeing both Hope and Felix be vulnerable with each other since they had a finite amount of time on the cruise so they could really be themselves. The story was just really sweet, the friendship between Hope and Lauren, the quips between Felix and his sisters, Hope and Felix's struggles, and how both Hope and Felix really found themselves.

Format: audiobook - it was good for the most part, but I really didn't like that the narrator gave certain people like Hope's parents and boss English accents. They're from NY and VT, not England.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook!

Fun and flirty summer romance DONE RIGHT!
This was the perfect start to summer reading and I cannot recommend this more for a perfect beach or pool read!

“𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗲ñ𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗴’𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁. 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴.”

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 6/24/25

*Thank you @NetGalley and @Macmillan.Audio for sending this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Hope sets out on a cruise she doesn’t want to be on to play wingwoman to her best friend… and maybe to get over her own broken heart. She runs into Felix, a British bad boy who ends up making sure she has a vacation she will never forget!

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
🛳️ Tropical setting
🌊 Forced proximity
🛳️ One bed
🌊 Wealthy meets middle class
🛳️ Dual POV/ MF Narrators

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
I liked the setting of a cruise ship and the Bahamas, I’ve been to Atlantis so I was able to see the places in my mind when listening to this story. The banter was cute, and there were some giggle out loud moments. The narrators did an excellent job of using accents and it was easy to know who was talking in a conversation. The overall connection between Hope and Felix felt bland to me, but I still found it enjoyable. Definitely recommend this one for the summer! ☀️🕶️

TW: Addiction-recovery

#TotalDreamboat

Hope Lanover joins her bestfriend Lauren, who is an influeancer on a luxury curise. It is mostly singles on this 10 day Caribbean cruise. Felix Segrave is on the same cruise with his parents , who are celebrating their wedding anniversary along with his twin sisters. Hope notices Felix during check in and then at dinner when the crab she was cracking flew out of her hand and landed in his hair. This starts their friendship and later sparks fly, until they fizzle out due to a misunderstanding. Now both Hope and Felix have missed the boat while on their excursions and without a passports and in Felix's case an ID and credit cards they are stranded in the Bahama's together. This was a really humorous and steamy audiobook to listen to. I loved the banter between Flex and his sisters and parents . Also the bantor between Hpoe and Felix. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for an ALC of Total Dreamboat.
3.5 stars

Total Dreamboat as a very fun light read that is perfect for summer. It start with a snippet of the middle act of the story that gives enemies vibes that ended up setting the mood for what was coming afterwards.
Both our main characters were dragged to a crusie for older people by friends and family. The meet cute was straight out of a 90s romcom and the whole vibe of the story was quite light in the second act.

However, as we go through the cruise activities we also learn about the struggles each of our characters are facing, which gave them a lot of depth. The secondary characters were also great and I loved them so much.

My main issue with this book is that I didn't feel much chemistry between the FMC and MMC, maybe because it lacked some yearning/longing. They kind of got together fairly quickly in my opinion.

This was such an emotional read, one minute you are laughing and then the next your heart may be wrecked and you feel a tear roll down your cheek, but it is a Rom- Com and it is funny.

Main characters Felix and Hope meet on a cruise, she is there with her best friend who is an influencer, and he is there with his family. These two have a hot whirlwind of a romance, and neither of them want anything other than a cruise hip fling, but you know, if you read romances, that never happens.

I enjoyed both Hope and Felix, they were both very likable and cute together. I am to a fan of insta- love in romances, but I guess when you are on a 7 or 5 day cruise on a ship that has tight spaces, it could happen. After all, neither want love. I did enjoy watching their relationship grow, despite their protests of it being strictly NOT love. They enjoyed each others company, they had wonderful banter, and Felix's dry British humor resonated with me.

The secondary characters also add plenty to make the book enjoyable. Felix and his sisters give each other many cutting remarks that had me giggling, their back and forth with each other was classic.

Hope is there with her best friend, who as I mentioned earlier is a Tik Tok or Instagram Influencer, and that is the very reason her and Hope are on the cruise. Her entire spill on her Socials are how to snag a rich husband or sugar daddy. I enjoyed her big over the top Texas personality, but I will say I am sure she could easily get on many peoples nerves.

I listened to the audiobook ( Thank you MacMillan Audio ) and it was narrated in dual voices by Kelli Tager and Russ Bain. I enjoy the dual narration when it comes to female/ male characters over having a female reading the male parts. Both Tager and Bain really brought the story to life. Bain had the perfect soft almost shy like British accent for Felix, and Tiger's voice for Hope's best friend was a hysterical, almost text book over the top version of a twangy Texas accent. I loved it, but then again one half of my family is from East Texas. The two of them also gave the book a nice touch with just the right amount of banter bouncing off Hope and Felix, it felt very natural.

For the most part Total Dreamboat is a classic Rom-Com, it is light and fun, especially during the first part of the book, but later on there are some moments people could find heavy, the hurt that Hope and Felix feel, will feel real to most. It was sad.

Total Dreamboat takes place on Hope and Felix's vacations, so of course I think this is the perfect book to take on yours. It is enjoyable, easy to read, quick going, and entertaining. The perfect summer read to have with you when you need a break from all the fun.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC. The premise of Total Dreamboat sounded right up my alley, but unfortunately I was not a fan.

DNF at about 20%. I was just not interested in it. Had no incentive to read it.
Narration was nice.

While I loved the premise of the book, there were some plot holes that took me out of the story. The sobriety story line is one I wished would have been developed more. We know he struggled and had some redemption, but we never knew how deep it was or why it ended his engagement. For Hope’s story, there was a lot of chaos surrounding her job, but then it was just an afterthought. The spicy scenes were either too short or the author skipped right over them. Those were not consistent or developed enough. However, I loved how the characters were flawed and they knew it. Each was working on themselves in a way that felt realistic. I also loved Lauren and Felix’s sisters!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Katelyn Doyle for providing me and eaudio arc of this to review. The following will be my honest thoughts.
Total Dreamboat was seriously laugh-out-loud funny! Katelyn Doyle gives us such a fun, cinematic premise: two people stuck on a cruise ship together, only to miss the ship at a port and end up stranded. Oh and the opening scene is them discovering they both missed the book all the while giving enemies vibes. Then in goes back in time to the start of the cruise when they meet! That was a fun introduction and if ever watched Holiday in the Sun with Mary-Kate and Ashley, you’ll appreciate the reference!
The cruise setting was a perfect playground for some real drama—The MMC’s family is on board (love two sisters) and adds an extra layer of fun as they navigate the sparks flying between them. And can we talk about her bestie, the influencer? And her antics to snag a rich sugar daddy. All these moving parts made it feel like I was watching a movie, in the best way.
The main conflict later in the book didn’t feel cheap or forced, either. It seems inconceivable when they’re falling for each other but trust.
A few qualms, though… The whole “it’s casual” lie they keep telling themselves got a bit tedious after a while. Like, come on—BSFFR. And there’s a karaoke scene that I could have done without (I am firmly anti-serenade in books). Very much giving Ryan Gosling in the Barbie Movie.
The biggest issue for me was the MMC, which is a bummer because he had so much going for him: a chef, British accent, reading Brontë and Dickinson—yes, please! But his whole posh “I’m not looking for anything serious” vibe was a turnoff. Maybe it’s just me being burned out on 39-year-old men on Hinge who are “not sure what they want,” but it didn’t work. Plus, his character felt a bit inconsistent—sweet and gentlemanly one moment, then weirdly jealous or distant the next.
Still, the banter was top-notch, and the chemistry between the leads was undeniable. Even if I didn’t fall head over heels for the MMC, I definitely rooted for them to find their happily-ever-after. Total Dreamboat? Maybe not for me personally, but absolutely a fun escape for anyone who wants to be swept away by a rom-com at sea.

Thank you to netgalley and Macmillan audio for the early audio arc.
I enjoyed this book it's a great summer rom-com. I love it mostly set on a cruise great for vacation.It has a lot of laughable moments and dual pov. The narrators did a good job with the story that it keeps you engaged.

I don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much as I did without the audiobook 🥹 Felix and Hope were so cute. I needed a fun / cute summer read to cleanse my book pallet. I really loved the part of the book where they did all the cruise activities. The banter between them and as well as their friends was everything. Made me laugh at so many different parts of the book. Truly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

Hope is in the dumps. The man she thought she'd marry has discarded her and left her in financial distress. Her best friend, who is an online influencer, has snagged a Caribbean cruise for two so off they go.

Hope is not looking for a romance, but almost immediately meets a man, Felix, who is on vacation with his parents and sisters. Their attraction is immediate and they start a relationship, although they know it will end when the cruise ends. And it escalates rapidly until it comes to a screeching halt.

But that's not the end of the story. They ultimately each need the other to survive a very tricky situation.

Great story with angst filled events. I thought it was a very interesting story. I had the audio book and the narrators were wonderful.

*~* Most Delicious Male Narrator *~*

When Hope's shrimp shell lands in Felix's hair, neither of them know just how much their lives will change during this senior's cruise.
That's right. You read that sentence correctly. This book was outrageous in the best way. The banter, the quirky characters, the misadventures, the friendships, the journey of self-discovery and old love finding its way back - it all came together to make the perfect summer read.

Thank you to Net Galley, Macmillan audio, and Katelyn Doyle for an ALC of this story.

This was a fun and light read, perfect for summer! After a tough breakup, Hope joins her influencer best friend on a free cruise. She keeps running into Felix, who’s on board celebrating his parents’ anniversary. Their connection is sweet and flirty, and it starts to feel like more than just a vacation fling.

Things get complicated when Hope’s ex shows up unexpectedly. There’s some drama, misunderstandings, and tension—especially when Felix gets pulled into the influencer world without meaning to.

I really enjoyed the cruise setting and the mix of romance and real emotions. It’s a great pick if you want something easy to enjoy with a bit of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.