Final Rating = 3.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I have not read the other standalones in this series leading up to this book, and I half-expected this book to lean more heavily into the romance with the murder mystery portion taking a bit of a back seat, but it was just the opposite.

THE STORYLINE + MURDER MYSTERY PLOT 📖

We’re following our FMC celebrity musician and actress Poppy who is being stalked by a murderous unsub while simultaneously investigated for murder herself by the detective she’s hired as her bodyguard for her upcoming cruise vacation.

Through a series of plot twists and turns and never knowing who we can fully trust, The Situation Ship really kept me on my toes the whole book to solve the murders/crimes that happened throughout.

My one qualm that held back a higher star rating would have been that the big reveal (while well executed) didn’t feel superbly original BUT I had such a great time getting to it nonetheless.

THE CHARACTERS 👤

Poppy’s lowkey unhinged killer instinct made her immensely more likeable that I thought she would be. Originally, I thought she was going to be more of an Alexis Schitts Creek type of character but again my expectations were exceeded when she was actually giving more dark femme fatale energy with a side of sass.

Isaiah Rivers our love interest MMC was super fun to get to know too. Although, perhaps less complex and layered than Poppy, Rivers did have that grumpy sunshine back and forth with our FMC quite a few times that added to his charm.

THE ROMANCE ♥️

While I did enjoy the flirty banter and relationship between Rivers and Poppy once we got over the will they won’t they routine, it did feel a bit off in terms of the pacing before getting there, and felt like we did a bit of a 0 to 100 pretty quickly in terms of their arc from “rivals” or butting heads to being physically intimate. More on my Goodreads so I don’t spoil anything here!

THE SETTING 🚢

Callaghan does a brilliant job at making the cruise ship opulent and feeling big enough to keep the setting from getting stale since 90% of this book takes place on the ship.

With secret passageways and huge suites and rooms that give mansion on the sea, Callaghan made it so that we never felt like we were running in circles on this ship. It felt like Glass Onion/ Knives Out in the way the setting was illustrated to us, and that made for a really fun world to jump into everytime you picked up the book.

EDITING ✏️

I only spotted 1 typo while reading the book and felt like the length was comparable for how much we had to cover in the story - so overall, the book felt well-edited and finely tuned while reading.

OVERALL 🫶

I had SUCH a fun time with this one and would definetly recommend picking it up for a twisty turny summer murder mystery with a tasty side dish of romance!
🚢🔪💕🌊✨

I really enjoyed watching the relationship between Poppy and Isaiah develop naturally alongside the suspenseful plot. The pacing was solid, with enough twists and red herrings to keep me engaged throughout. The cruise ship setting added an extra layer of tension and claustrophobia that worked perfectly for the story.
Overall, this book had everything I look for in a romantic thriller: fast-paced mystery, believable character dynamics, and a touch of steam. I’m excited for its release and think it’ll be a hit with fans of locked-room mysteries and romance on the edge.

Who knew I needed a murder mystery romance that takes place on a cruise ship in my life!
I enjoyed Poppy’s strong character and Isaiah’s depth which both added to the narrative. This book is great as a closed door murder mystery with some slow burn romance thrown in.

The Situation Ship follows a pop princess haunted by a string of suspicious deaths, and a skeptical detective who goes undercover as her bodyguard to uncover the truth, all set aboard a glamorous luxury cruise. It's part murder mystery, part rom-com, with a sprinkle of glitzy drama.

While the concept was interesting, I found it hard to stay fully immersed due to frequent inconsistencies and contradictions in the plot and character development. The writing skewed more YA, while the content leaned more mature, which was occasionally confusing. The pacing was a bit off and failed to keep me engrossed. The romance felt somewhat forced and lacked the chemistry I was hoping for. This was advertised as a romance, but it’s mainly a whodunnit type murder mystery with some romance sprinkled in.

That said, readers looking for a quick, quirky, murder mystery with a touch of romance, set on the high-seas, might enjoy this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Kate Callaghan for giving me an ARC of this book, definitely a fun read and something a little different to the pop-star genre. This was a good blend of thriller, murder mystery and then the romance aspect, and it all works surprisingly well. I think this is a strong debut novel from Kate Callaghan, and I’ll be curious to follow her for more books. I enjoyed her writing, the banter and interactions with Poppy and Isaiah are so well executed.

Gifted from NetGalley and Kate Callaghan, thank you so much!

This is a fun, easy read. It starts off really good, but fizzles out a little bit towards the end but overall it doesn't take away from the story and I can imagine this will be huge in the book community. The suspense and the tension between the main characters is spot on, but also hilarious at times too. Definitely the perfect mixture of romance which had me kicking my feet and mystery / suspense which had me at the end of my seat.

I really enjoyed the main characters and suspense of the plot thickening throughout, whilst throwing in good bits of banter and the occasional spice. This is one of them books that you can fly through and have a good time with :)

Whilst saying it fizzles out towards the end a tad, the plot is still strong and definitely worth a read, but kind of wished it ended a little differently but that's just a minor thing overall. As the author got us so hooked from the beginning with characters dotted throughout, I really enjoyed their roles within the book, so it would have been fun to expand upon them more.

I would 100% recommend this fun, summer / holiday read on.

⭐3.5 - The book follows Poppy, a pop star, who finds herself trapped in a cruise that was meant to be a relaxing holiday after a sudden family loss, but ends up being a hunt for a killer and the murders that lead back to Poppy. Detective Isaiah Rivers, who's been hired to protect Poppy on this cruise, did not expect to get so caught up in the dangers that are lurking on this cruise, nor to be so determined to be protecting Poppy no matter what.
The beginning chapter/letter from Poppy was such a cool way to open the book. The writing style was captivating and kept me interested the whole way through. It was super easy to follow and the events were fast paced. Poppy was such a strong and fierce fmc, and hers and Isaiah's friendship/relationship was endearing.
I wish we had a bit more of a build up to see their connection grow and their feelings blossom during the crazy situation they were in. It felt a bit too sudden, but with the nature/plot of the book, it made sense.
I kind of guessed the twist at the end, but that didn't spoil the reading experience too much for me. Overall, I had a great time reading this book and kept turning the pages (on my phone 😂), wanting to keep reading. Definitely realised that I enjoy the romantic suspense thriller type of stories a lot. Excited to read more from this author.

𐙚₊˚⊹ ARC review from netgalley! 3.5 stars (rounded)

⤷ “Princess of Pop” Poppy Roe hopes to escapes the death of her aunt on a luxury cruise to grieve her death in peace. When a string of people close to her turn up dead, detective Isaiah Rivers sets out to find if she’s in danger or rather if she’s a suspect by becoming her body guard. Poppy’s past seems to follow them aboard when more people are found dead. Isaiah and Poppy must work together to find out why before anyone else can get hurt.
⤷ Overall this was a great book and I look forward to reading more from this author. The plot and characters were great and I love how Poppy and Isaiah were opposites as characters but still drawn to each other. However I wish Poppy and Isaiah had a little more romance or more of a lead up to it. The ending left me with a few unanswered questions that feel like those sub-plots might have been forgotten about. In addition I was expecting some dramatic plot twist to come but never did. The ending was slightly predictable but nevertheless the book still exceeded my expectations and was great.

This was a fun read. It was equal parts mystery and romance. I really appreciate the author's note indicating where the spice is located in the story if you want to skip. Really enjoyed Poppy as a character. A lot of times with pop star type characters you get someone pretty one dimensional and that wasn't the case with Poppy. I love a mystery set on a cruise ship. Overall a little predictable but still a really run read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book started off so well for me but it lost something along the way. When I started I genuinely thought that this book would be so popular when it is published and I do think the concept will appeal to a lot of people, however, by about halfway through, it loses it.

I found the ending to be quite convoluted and like we’d run out of people to finish up the story so we randomly threw in two newbies (phoebe and axel). This is where I contradict myself a bit because even though the end was just all over the place, the epilogue needed more. It fizzles.

Book Review: The Situationship by Kate Callaghan
Rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️

This book was such a wild ride—and honestly, I had a great time with it. What really stood out to me was how much I liked the characters. They felt very real and messy in the way actual people are, and it made the story feel grounded even when the drama got intense (and oh, it did get intense).

One thing I really appreciated was that I couldn’t guess the ending at all. I had my little theories along the way, but the reveal still caught me by surprise—which is always a win. And what made it even better? The story didn’t just drop the mic and end right after the big “whoa” moment. Everything actually got followed through. The truth came out, the characters talked it out, and the plot wrapped up in a way that felt complete. No loose ends just… dangling. I love when authors take the time to resolve things properly.

There was one moment that threw me off a bit—I’m still not sure if it was a small plot hole or just a little mistake, but it pulled me out of the story for a second. That said, it wasn’t enough to ruin the vibe or take away from the overall experience.

If you’re into stories that mix real, emotional messiness with satisfying plot resolution—and keep you guessing along the way—The Situationship is definitely worth picking up. It’s sharp, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt.

Absolutely loved this. I didn’t see the ending coming. I loved poppy’s and Isaiah’s bickering banter. I loved that it was mostly mystery with a small bit of romance. It was perfect. Hands down I would recommend.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the arc of this. Just what I needed for a summer mystery

I am forever OBSESSED with Poppy and Isaiah. It’s a pretty hard concept to write a book that is both a thriller and a romance, but this book blended the two perfectly. The twists and turns that I never saw coming had me guessing the whole way through, but the love story had me swooning. On top of it all, there was a whole other story line of friendship and finding your people to help survive the chaos of life together. Kate Callaghan got it all right with this book.

Poppy, a famous singer, boarded an exclusive cruise after living a pretty traumatic life and losing her aunt. Due to recent events, a detective on leave, Isaiah, joins her as her bodyguard. Nothing could have prepared anyone for what that dream vacation would truly entail though. You’ll spend the whole book guessing who did what and what the motive was. A definite must read.

thank you to Net Galley and Kate Callaghan for an e-book and exchange for an honest review!

rating four out of five stars

this was a really fun romantic murder mystery. it did take me a bit to get through but overall it was really fun and a different type of book. I do like this authors writing as well!

Love love love
This is a new genre for me. I picked it up solely based on the cover! I was like cruise, I like cruises. I am normally a hockey romance reader. I normally avoid anything with high intensity, but this book was amazing. I was screaming at the pages. I could not put it down. Likeable characters and a great plot. Probably a 2/5 on the spice scale.

🇮🇹
Innanzitutto, devo ringraziare NetGalley per avermi concesso l’ARC di questo libro!

Tropes:
Cruise Ship Romance
Murder Mystery
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity
Detective X Pop Star
Shared Cabin
Morally Gray Characters

Immaginate di essere una superstar del pop perseguitata dalla sfortuna: prima perdete vostra madre, poi vostra zia, e ora vi ritrovate intrappolata su una nave da crociera di lusso con qualcuno che vuole la vostra pelle. Questa è la situazione di Poppy Roe, che dopo aver scoperto un complotto orchestrato dal suo ex fidanzato e manager per eliminarla, decide di assumere nuovi collaboratori fidati. Tra questi c’è Isaiah Rivers, un detective che dovrebbe essere in vacanza ma che in realtà è convinto che Poppy sia coinvolta nelle misteriose morti che la circondano e vuole indagare su di lei dall’interno, spacciandosi per la sua guardia del corpo. Ma quando la nave Midas salpa e una scia di omicidi inizia a seguire ogni movimento di Poppy, i due si rendono conto che dovranno mettere da parte i sospetti reciproci e collaborare per scoprire chi è il vero assassino prima che sia troppo tardi.

Poppy Roe è una donna determinata e combattiva, con una personalità tagliente che nasconde un passato complicato. Nonostante la sua vita dorata in apparenza, si trova ad affrontare una realtà molto più dura, cresciuta da una zia distaccata dopo aver perso i genitori e ora alla ricerca disperata di qualcosa di autentico nella sua vita. Ho ammirato la sua capacità di non farsi piegare dalle avversità, ma quello che la rende davvero interessante è il fatto che non è la classica eroina immacolata ma ha le sue zone d’ombra, i suoi segreti e una nonchalance verso certe situazioni che può risultare spiazzante. È riservata ma non fredda e vederla abbassare gradualmente le sue difese è uno degli aspetti più belli del personaggio.

Isaiah Rivers è l’incarnazione perfetta dell’anti-eroe. È un detective talmente dedito al lavoro da non riuscire a staccare nemmeno in vacanza. Cupo e misterioso, riservato e cauto, abituato a fidarsi solo del proprio istinto investigativo, ma che si ritrova a dover rimettere in discussione tutte le sue certezze.

La chimica tra Poppy e Isaiah è innegabile, alimentata dalla tensione costante tra attrazione e diffidenza. Il loro rapporto nasce dalla necessità di collaborare per sopravvivere ma non mancano battibecchi divertenti.
Devo ammettere che la loro storia si sviluppa abbastanza rapidamente e questo mi ha fatto un po’ storcere il naso.

La narrazione è in terza persona e sinceramente non mi è dispiaciuta.

Lo consiglio? Perché no.

🇬🇧
First off, big thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book!

Tropes:
Cruise Ship Romance
Murder Mystery
Slow Burn
Forced Proximity
Detective x Pop Star
Shared Cabin
Morally Gray Characters

Picture this: you’re a pop superstar with the worst luck ever. First you lose your mom, then your aunt and now you’re stuck on a luxury cruise with someone out to kill you. That’s exactly what happens to Poppy Roe. After discovering a plot cooked up by her ex-boyfriend and manager to get rid of her, she brings in some new people she can actually trust. One of them is Isaiah Rivers, a detective who’s supposed to be on vacation but he suspects Poppy might be connected to the mysterious deaths surrounding her and signs on as her bodyguard to investigate from the inside.
But once the Midas sets sail and bodies start piling up, the two realize they’ll have to set aside their doubts and team up to catch the killer before it’s too late.

Poppy Roe is a determined, fierce woman with a sharp personality that hides a complicated past. Despite her seemingly golden life, she’s dealing with a much harsher reality, raised by a distant aunt after losing her parents and now desperately searching for something authentic in her life. I admired her ability to not let adversity break her but what makes her truly interesting is that she’s not your typical flawless heroine. She has her dark sides, her secrets and a nonchalance toward certain situations that can be quite disarming. She’s guarded but not cold and watching her gradually lower her defenses is one of the most beautiful aspects of her character.

Isaiah is the classic anti-hero. A detective so committed to his job he can’t even take a proper break. He’s quiet, broody, and extremely intuitive, always relying on his gut. But being around Poppy starts making him question everything, including himself.

The chemistry between Poppy and Isaiah is undeniable, fueled by the constant tension between attraction and mistrust. Their relationship stems from the necessity of working together to survive, but there’s no shortage of entertaining banter. Sure, their connection grows a bit fast at times, I did raise an eyebrow here and there, but I was still hooked.

The book’s written in third person and honestly, I didn’t mind it.

Would I recommend it? Yeah, why not.

Thank you NetGalley, CallaghanWriter, and Kate Callaghan for the ARC Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3/5 ⭐️ - The Situation Ship

To start, I was really intrigued by the cover of the book and the blurb caught my attention, Ms. Poppy Roe a famous pop star just lost her mother and is now trapped on a cruise ship with a murderer.

In the story we follow along between Poppy the princess of pop and Isaiah the detective that is too invested in his worked and forced to go on vacation but has other motivates, find out more about Poppy’s involvement with recent deaths of people close to her.

Can they solve who is behind the murders before it’s too late?

I really enjoyed Poppy’s character, very fierce and strong willed, trying to go forward making decisions for herself. I also liked Isaiah’s character, but had a bunch of questions of how good of a detective he could really be since de decided to turn a blind eye to Poppy admitting to multiple murders. Their romance felt very rushed and forced, really playing into the forced proximity aspect of the book.

I definitely struggled getting through this book as it was difficult to grab my attention, I found the pacing to be a bit weird and jumping around. At other points I was fully engrossed with the book and unable to put it down.

Overall, the book was just okay. Would recommend for people who want a closed door mystery/romance book.
Thank you again NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for this ARC read.

The Situation Ship releases on July 27th!

⚓️ARC review⚓️

The situation ship by @katecallaghanwriter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️
What’s a little murder when you are finding true love. This seriously kept me on my toes the entire time. I had no idea what to expect but the ending was definitely not it. SHOCKED is what I was but also very sad that this book came to an end. I wanted more and now I will be going to see what else you have written so I can start those too 💥

The Situation Ship sets out to be a romantic thriller, but struggles to fully commit to either genre. The premise: Poppy, a world famous pop star, boards a luxury cruise ship only to be followed by a string of murders shortly after the ship sets sail. It sounds like the perfect setup for a gripping, emotional ride, but unfortunately, the execution doesn’t live up to the potential.

The romance falls flat and the mystery feels like it's checking off plot points to get to the whodunnit.

Big plot reveals felt underdeveloped and the dialogue didn't add any emotional depth to these moments.

While the over-the-top luxury cruise could have added a really cool setting for the story, it wasn't enough.

I think with tighter plotting and stronger character development this book could really shine. As it stands, it’s a decent beach read but if you were hoping for a book you can't put down with twists you won't see coming, this one might leave you disappointed.

3/5 stars

I will keep admitting is, but the cover drove me to request this book on Netgalley. I am a sucker for fun and unique covers and this one definitely caught my eye. Next to that I also found the title interesting and amusing.

Poppy Roe's aunt dies at the beginning of this story. She's not entirely innocent, but she tries to keep up appearances. After the funeral, she boards a cruise named Midas, together with her new personal assistant Mina and her new bodyguard, Isaiah, who is a detective with a special interest in Poppy because of the people dying around her. When people start dying on the ship however, Poppy and Isaiah need to work together to find out who the murderer is. Will they catch the culprit?

This book is told from Poppy and Isaiah's point of view. I also loved that the author indicates in advance which chapters are spicy, so you can choose to skip the scenes. I have to say that even though there was some spice in it, it didn't command your attention like is sometimes the case in books with a romantic plot. Next to that the prologue was interesting and a good introduction to the story and Poppy as a character. The headers above the chapters were a beautiful detail as well.

Even though it started interesting, the story didn't really compel me to keep reading. Hence the three star rating. The story in itself was definitely okay and a fun read, but it lacked some pizzazz for me to keep reading. The plot twist didn't twist enough for me either. I definitely had my eyes on this person for a while.

All in all this was a good story, but it wasn't that little extra that I usually like. I thank Netgalley and Kate Callaghan for the eARC of this book. I wrote this review voluntarily and it's my own opinion as always. I hope this book can entertain more readers in the future!