e-ALC, 12:05:58
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Release Date: January 27, 2026
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: January 8, 2026
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio App (I received this ALC free from the publisher and their app. This did nothing to influence my review!)
Content Warning: Grief, Domestic Abuse, Death of a Parent, Car Accident, Injury/Injury Detail
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Sparkly Covers, Adult, Audio, Realistic Fiction, Romance, Second Chance Romance, Most AnticipatedA second chance at love sets sail when a couple on the verge of divorce pretend they’re still together for one last family trip, from the author of Wedding Dashers .
Roslyn and Liam met nine years ago and have been the perfect couple ever since. Through every up and down, every milestone—from Liam’s residency to the publication of Roslyn’s debut romance—they’ve been each other’s rocks. Until now.
Pulled apart by the untimely death of Roslyn’s mom and the undertow of grief, they’re now navigating the final wave in their divorce.
Heartbroken and unsure how to tell her family she’s called it quits with everyone’s favorite son-in-law, Roslyn keeps the impending divorce a secret. But when Roslyn’s grandparents ask if Liam can officiate their vow renewal ceremony aboard a Hawaiian cruise during their annual vacation, Roslyn needs to tell the truth or figure out a way to keep her secret. A week trapped at sea with her ex isn’t ideal, but neither Roslyn nor Liam want to rock the boat, so they concoct a plan—they’ll fake it.
After five years of marriage, they can figure out how to pretend for jungle hikes and mai tais, right? But when reality and make believe starts to blur, and old feelings begin to resurface, Roslyn and Liam have to decide whether it’s sink or swim for their marriage.
*MY THOUGHTS*
This was a lot for me. I usually don’t love second chance romances. I’m usually a firm believer of one and done. But there’s some times when the romance just feels like it should last. And there’s the fact that they’re reconciling in Hawaii lol So yeah, this is one that works for me lol
So the characters…. She made my eye twitch. A LOT. She did so much that I would have been mad at him for doing. Looking at my notes, I have so many where I’m like basically yelling at her. And I want to point out the irony of her saying she was proud and happy for him that he started going to therapy and she never said she had went. Like girl, y’all both need it. And y’all should probably be in couples therapy too. She went that whole book trying to be and wanting everyone else to be her therapist and she refused to go to one. I kind of felt sorry for Liam. And yes I know everything wasn’t her fault and Liam deserved some of the blame too, but he even went and got help without her input. I guess I don’t understand where she got the audacity. (And like Roslyn, how dare you make me agree with a man?!)
This romance book not only showcases a special love between those two, but it also tugs on your heartstrings in so many other ways. From the way they acted when they were “in love” to the way they acted when they were upset with each other, to the way they were starting to fall for each other again, to when they realized they were at their wit’s end before separating. This book really had me all over the place. I don’t know what it is that McBreen put in this freaking book, but I was mad, crying, swooning, and everything else with this book. idk how to feel tbh. And that my friends, is the sign of a good book.
I do wish there was more about the setting in this tho. As someone who’s never been to Hawaii, I was hoping to see more of the different islands. But the things that they did show, like the hiking and the swimming and the boat, I thought it was ok. But I guess I wanted something more.
I was annoyed for most of this book, but I knew that meant that I enjoyed it. When I feel something so deeply, I know that I enjoyed it. And this one is definitely that. It’s so different from The Wedding Dashers, but honestly, I think that was my favorite part.
Overall, I give this
