Ruiz, Sarah Grunder. Luck and Last Resorts (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships, #2). Berkley, 2022. 336pp. ISBN 978-0593335444 $17.00

***

This is the second marine romance I read in the last year (Float Plan being the first). Nothing says forced proximity like being stuck on a boat together! Nina has just accepted the chief steward position on a yacht that caters to rich people who often behave badly; her ex, smooth-tongued Irish chef Ollie will be the ship’s cook. He’s convinced he can win her over again, and if he can’t, he’ll go back to Ireland, which Nina finds oddly unsettling. She doesn’t want to get back together, but neither does she want him to leave the country for good. They agree to be friends, but true love finds its way.

I haven’t read the first in the series (Love, Lists & Fancy Ships) but didn’t feel I missed out on anything. I really enjoyed the details of professional sailing, a part of the hospitality industry that I have not given a lot of consideration. The tension of whether they would get back together or not was drawn out (and I felt badly for Ollie through most of the novel). The characterizations were real, complex and well-developed.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #LuckAndLastResorts from #NetGalley.