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New Release Review! SHIP HAPPENS by Kate Stacy (Love at Sea)

Ship Happens out now graphic

Tate

Macy Carmichael has been my friend with mind-blowing benefits for a long time now. But, I’ve been craving more from her. More than she’s ready to give.

When my siblings book me on an all-inclusive cruise, I jump at the idea of a free vacation and a chance to get away for a while. Unfortunately, my meddling older sister left out a few important details—like the name of the cruise. Love at Sea. Is she for real?

If that’s not bad enough, she signed me up for a variety of activities and makes me promise that I’ll take part in every single one. She also failed to mention that she convinced Macy to book the same cruise.

Imagine my surprise when she sits down across the table from me during the speed dating event I didn’t even want to attend. All bets are off. I’ll be damned if some other man is getting close to what’s mine.

Macy

Desperate for a vacation and break from everyday life, I take the suggestion of one aclose friends and book myself a week-long cruise. I even go along with her recommendation.

The Love at Sea cruise aboard the Heart of the Deep. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea, even if the whole cruise is based around the finding and celebrating love.

But when my best friend with toe-curling benefits, Tate Thorne, shows up during the speed dating event, I know I’m in trouble. No matter what I do, it always comes back to him.

Maybe away from the hustle and bustle of our small town, we can finally explore something more. That is, if I can finally let go of all the “rules” of our previous arrangement.

Ship Happens is a friends to lovers romance, part of the Love at Sea multi-author series. Get ready to set sail through the Caribbean on Festival Cruises’ most alluring voyage with eight of your favorite authors – happily ever after guaranteed!

Experience everything the Love at Sea series has to offer. From speed dating to masquerades, guests are sure to enjoy the hot days and steamy nights. Explore hidden waterfalls, swim with dolphins, and watch as eight couples find their forever on the open ocean.

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Ship Happens cover

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Review:

Macy and Tate’s friends-to-lovers story, but make it on a Love Boat but better-style cruise ship was a lot of fun! FTL is one of my favorite tropes anyway; add in an excess of sea turtles and a hero that’s a better dancer than the heroine (and not afraid to flaunt it!), and I am so there!

Though I’m not the biggest fan of using a lack of communication as a reason to delay an HEA, a friends-to-lovers story can often get away with it since longime friends are often hesitant to “ruin the friendship” by having the talk, so it worked here. Since poor Tate was bamboozled into a love-themed cruise in the first place and Macy was also tricked into going by one of Tate’s sisters (who also made sure neither knew that the other would also be on the cruise) there was an extra layer of fun added when Tate kept thinking he saw Macy on the ship before realizing that yes, it was indeed Macy he was seeing on the ship.

When they finally realized what had happened, then the fun really begins… 😉

Since this is the first book in a multi-author series, there are some secondary characters and events happening on the edges of this story that clearly will play a bigger role in other books, and they definitely might tempt you to check those out as well. It also seemed that Tate’s siblings might have had their own books, since he mentions them all having found their significant others…still, since we only hear from one of those siblings on the phone, this worked just fine as a standalone. Though it did pique my curiousity 😉

This was my first book from this author, but it probably won’t be my last!

Rating: 4 stars / A-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Kate Stacy author photo

About the author:

Author of emotionally-gripping, contemporary romance, Kate Stacy’s novels feature sassy heroines, swoony heroes, life, love, friendship, and all the angst. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family and friends in small-town North Carolina, Kate can most likely be found nose deep in her Kindle. She stays up too late, swears too much, and loves too hard.

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Love at Sea series graphic

About The Love at Sea Series:

Get ready to set sail through the Caribbean on Festival Cruises’ most alluring voyage with eight of your favorite authors – happily ever after guaranteed!

Experience everything the Love at Sea series has to offer. From speed dating to masquerades, guests are sure to enjoy the hot days and steamy nights. Explore hidden waterfalls, swim with dolphins, and watch as eight couples find their forever on the open ocean.

Each story features a brand new couple and a fun trope from our amazing line up of authors including: Kate Stacy, HM Thomas, Mari Sol, S.A. Clayton, T.L. Anderson, Karigan Hale, Susan Renee, and A.M. Williams.

This promotional event is brought to you by The Indie Pen PR

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