Luck and Last Resorts

Sarah Grunder Ruiz

2022 • 337 pages

Ratings5

Average rating3.7

One of PopSugar’s Best New Books of 2022! They have a second chance at love, but there are some rough seas ahead in the new contemporary romance from the acclaimed author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships. Commitment-phobe Nina Lejeune lives by two rules: 1. Always have fun. 2. Don’t rely on anyone but yourself. The first rule is easy; the second, she's only broken once. Ten years after fleeing home, Nina is the chief stewardess on the super yacht Serendipity, single by choice, and perfectly content with how life has turned out. But Nina’s ex-coworker and old flame, Irish chef Ollie Dunne, isn’t so happy with the status quo. One year after leaving yachting, he's returned as the Serendipity’s chef with an ultimatum: if Nina continues to deny she's in love with him by the end of this charter season, he'll go back to Ireland for good. Nina and Ollie's shared secret from their past threatens to shipwreck not only their relationship, but the entire boat. But as their connection grows amidst chaotic guests and crew drama, could there be smooth sailing in their future?

Genre

Fiction

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Series

Featured Series

3 primary books

#2 in Love, Lists & Fancy Ships

Love, Lists & Fancy Ships is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Sarah Grunder Ruiz.

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

In the middle of a book slump. This just couldn't hold my interest.

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Audrey

Nina and Ollie are...complicated. As the cranky Irish yacht chef and sassy ex-gymnast chief stewardess of Serendipity for the past ten years, they have had their ups and downs. To those around them, it's a constant “will they/won't they” situation, infused with thick sexual tension.

To each other, it's a lot more complicated. Nina's commitment-phobe attitude causes Ollie to give her an ultimatum, he will go home to Ireland if she keeps denying their love. She must decide whether she's ready to let go of her anxieties and jump in full force, or lose him forever. Nina revisits their past as she decides whether she's ready to take a chance on love.

I loved both Nina and Ollie in the first installment of this series so I was so glad to see that they were going to be the focus of this novel! And I was not disappointed! It was such a pleasure to see their love story in both the past and the present. I loved reading their banter with one another and seeing their devotion to each other as well.

I also enjoyed seeing Nina overcome her fears and work through such turmoil in her mind. It was so real. And seeing this kind of situation in a female instead of a male is refreshing to read. Usually, the man is considered the commitment-phobe but I liked the spin that Grunder Ruiz took on giving Nina that role.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for the next one to come out. However, it's hard for me to give five stars and this book just wasn't a five-star for me. But I did love it!

March 5, 2023