Sarah Grunder Ruiz

I really liked the premise of this book. Jo is a yacht stewardess just about to turn 30. She's trying to finish a list of thirty things she wants to do before her birthday. I'd never read about anyone who works on a yacht and I found that really interesting. Especially when they talk about charter season when they live on the boat full time. I really love reading about people trying to complete bucket lists as well. Her life gets turned upside down when her two nieces turn up unexpectedly to spend the summer with her. They decide to help her complete the list. When her nieces show up she has to cancel a trip to Europe and so some of the things on the list have to be modified but some of them are done in interesting ways which was cool. Some things I felt though that she just gave up on and she could have accomplished which I was disappointed about.
She's dealing with the loss of her nephew and there is a lot of grief in this book. The author did a good job of balancing it with lighter parts but I did feel that overall the book was fairly heavy. Mostly though my low rating was because of all the strong language. There is a lot of language in this book with lots of F-bombs and I really felt that it was unnecessary. Interestingly though, there wasn't a ton of blasphemy.
Overall an interesting premise that fell a little short for me.… (plus d'informations)

Luck and Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz is a 2022 Berkley publication.

Nina Lejeune is in love with Ollie Dunne, but doesn’t want to admit it. She doesn’t do commitment and that is non-negotiable. She just wants their relationship to remain at status quo…

But Oliver has thrown down the gauntlet. He’s tired of spinning his wheels with Nina- it’s time to get serious or move on. Oliver ups the pressure by taking back his old chef job on board the ‘Serendipity” yacht, where the couple also happen to be bunkmates, much to Nina’s chagrin.

Can Oliver convince Nina to go all in or will they finally go their separate ways?

I loved Nina in “Love, List’s and Fancy Ships”. She was sarcastic and provided some comic relief when the storyline got a bit heavy. In this book, she takes center stage. But her quips are perhaps too much of a good thing. She was a little off-putting at first- way too mean- her remarks too cutting, and her banter with Ollie felt a little immature- which kept me from finding a groove with this book for a little while.

Ollie, on the other hand, had my sympathy all the way through. But as the book progressed, and more information is added to the couple’s backstory, I found myself highly invested in Ollie and Nina’s saga. Obviously, some of Nina’s outbursts are a result of her absolute misery. I was able to relax and give her the benefit of the doubt. By the end of the book the author had me eating out of her hand!! I was soaking the whole thing up like a sponge!

I really liked this story- a lot! It occurred to me as we headed down the home stretch that Ruiz has done something amazing… and long overdue… by turning the tables on traditional romantic roles- it was a like a ‘role-reversal’ in some ways- and it was SO refreshing! I LOVED it!

Overall, Ruiz impressed me with her first book, and despite the slightly bumpy start, she solidified her reputation for me with this sophomore effort. I hope she’s working furiously on her next book because I can’t wait to read it!! Well done!… (plus d'informations)