Reviewed by chymerra on
I went into this book thinking that it was going to be about a cruise ship romance that carried over into life after the cruise. And it does but (and stress but) the story is so much more. There is an actual story in this book. It isn’t all about sex after Kristin and Pasha do the dirty and that is what I loved about this book.
I am not one to give spoilers, at all, but in order to give a truthful review, I am going to have to let one slip here. So, stop reading here and skip to the end if you don’t want spoilers.
I loved Kristin’s attitude towards life and in general. She was the most upbeat, positive person that I have ever read in a book. She has Cystic Fibrosis (which there is no cure…click here to read more about it). Even her outlook on Cystic Fibrosis is positive. While she will eventually die from it, she manages it through medications, exercise and a healthy lifestyle. She also believes that she will not find a man who will stick by her, after her HS boyfriend dumped her and basically told her that (and I really wanted to reach through the book and bitch slap that punk).
The only reason she was on that cruise was to please her parents. It was a singles cruise and the man who her parents want her to marry (who seemed to be a bit of a wuss, in my opinion) went on it too. Which didn’t please Kristin too much. To get him off her back, she starts flirting with the first guy she crashes into (literally, she ran into him on the ship’s track) which happens to be Pavel Gribov.
Oh my, let’s talk about Pavel (aka Pasha) for a minute. He is beyond a hot mess. I mean, someone who tries to deliberately screw up his bestie’s relationship has issues. Which he has. He blames himself for the deaths of his mother and abusive father. He drinks too much, has casual sex with too many ladies (manwhore alert!!) and throws himself into hockey. He was only on the ship to accompany his friend….not to meet anyone. But he meets Kristin and his world (and hers) gets turned upside down.
He isn’t honest with her at all, which is a pretty sucky way to start any type of relationship. She knows this (he isn’t even Greek, he’s Russian. Oh and on that note, my mental voice had a Russian accent every time he spoke) but is still surprised when she finds out WHO he is and WHAT he does for a living. Remember the bestie I mentioned above….well, his bestie (well ex bestie I guess) is getting married to Kristin’s bestie. So, yeah, I can see why he wouldn’t mention it to Kristin. And when she finds out, she is understandably beyond upset.
The sex was hot but like I said above, the focus of this book was more on the relationship between Pasha and Kristin. While it started off as InstaLust, it evolved into love (and not within the week…over 3-4 or so months). It was sweet, it was sad…..it was perfect.
The ending was what I thought it would be and the epilogue made me insanely happy for both of them. I think I might have to buy the next book to see if there is any mention of them….lol.
How many stars will I give Unsportsmanlike? 4
Why? It was more than a boy meets girl/has sex/falls in love/finds her outside of the cruise. So much more and I loved it!!!
Will I reread? Yes
Will I recommend to family and friends? Yes
Age range: Adult
Why: Sex and language
**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance copy**
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 26 October, 2016: Finished reading
- 26 October, 2016: Reviewed