Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen

 

Summary (from the publisher): A second chance at love sets sail when a couple on the verge of divorce pretends 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 rock. 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 split to herself. 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.

Review: OOF what a second chance story. These two PAINED me. 

Roslyn and Liam met nine years ago and have had a great marriage. Until now. After Roslyn's mom's death, things fell apart. And now, Roslyn doesn't know how to tell her family that they're getting divorced, so she convinces him to come on a family cruise with her. A week together at sea proves to be the catalyst that forces them to confront their issues or cut ties for good. 

I really liked that Ros is a writer and Liam is a doctor. The cruise setting and subsequent forced proximity was fun. They had such a great meet cute and excellent chemistry. 

On the other hand, their physical intimacy seemed to be their strongest point as a couple. It almost got to be too much the way she was always talking about his body and how good he looked rather than focusing on their issues and communication. 

I really struggled with the miscommunication in this story. I know this is a trope a lot of readers tend to hate but look, it is honest! That is why so many relationships break down in real life. And honestly, these two have valid reasons for this breakdown in some ways. Neither had good examples of healthy relationships in their parents. And Ros is dealing with a lot of grief. But at the same time, these two felt so emotionally incompatible for much of the book. Some of the things Liam did in the past (or failed to do) really felt borderline unforgivable to me. It's hard because I wanted to root for them because they're married and the stakes felt high, but at the same time, he had a LOT of red flags during their marriage, and it felt like little wonder they had ended up where they were. 

This was an example of a book where I was so glad it was dual timeline. I think if I had only gotten their story as a couple chronologically, I may have not been rooting for them to get back together. But seeing the electric scenes of them meeting, interspersed with their tentative efforts to find common ground in the present day, I was a little more open to the idea of them working it out. 

Stars: 3.75