It was only meant to be a stop-gap until I figured out what I wanted to do, so how have I ended up crossing the line not only with my boss but the captain as well...
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Presley joins the super yacht, Poseidon, for its Italian season, only being third stew doesn't turn out to be the simplest job when you have an evil chief stew and find yourself falling not only for the Yacht Owner but the Captain as well.
Em Solstice is a romance author from the UK. As well as procrastinating writing fast-paced novellas with a spicy twist, she enjoys snuggling her cat and drinking Starbucks... and waiting for her own love story to begin.
It's my own book so I'm a little bias, but writing this made me fall in love with writing again after a tough couple of years. I didn't want to pressure myself writing a massive novel and I followed my heart on this one. The main thing was I had fun writing it.
And I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
When you're in a book slump novellas are perfect for a quick read. I really enjoyed Overboard despite being short the plot worked really well. May and Jameson were my favourite side characters, I'd love to see more of them.
This book was so easy and enjoyable to read. I only wished there was a little more, but I could not fault it really. I’m excited for the next as I love this writers style of writing and I couldn’t put it down.
I have had the book in pre-order, and as soon as it was released, I could not put it down. There is so much going in but in such an organised and well written way. Such a captivating and enjoyable read.
Overboard by Em Solstice was such a fun, fast-paced read—I devoured it in just 2.5 hours! The writing style is super easy to get into, making it perfect for when you want something engaging without a huge time commitment. The characters are really lovable (well, except one... but don’t worry, she gets what’s coming to her), and the chemistry between the leads is sizzling. The smut is top tier—shut-the-book-and-blush level—and there’s never a dull moment. If you’re after something entertaining, spicy, and fast, this one definitely delivers
Em... I don't know what you put in this book, but damn girl!
This is a fun, light-hearted, easy read that's perfect for getting you out of a reading slump, and the spice is spot on and gives you plenty of ideas for possibly spicing up your own bedroom life. It's definitely worth the read, and you can have it read in a day, less even if you don't tend to have a lot of free time to spend reading.
"Those pretty doe eyes had me from the moment I was sent your resume.” I nodded in reply. “Little miss perfect and I knew I wanted to ruin you. Ruin you for any other man you’d meet on this boat. Because I own you now, Presley.”
For a Novella, this book had me in a sweet & spicy chokehold.
When Presley boards the yaught Xavier captains as the new Stew, the last thing she expects is to find herself fraternising with the boss.
But which one?
Off on the wrong foot with her Chief Stew just for existing the bullying from her is very quickly flagged up the pole and boundaries are put in place.
With staff nights out, difficult guests, and a sexy man or two, Presley soon finds herself in the middle of two men.
⭐️ 5/5 stars – Fast, filthy, and unhinged in the best way. The power dynamics, the yacht drama, the scene—you’ll know the one. I’d absolutely go overboard for this crew again.
🌶️ 4/5 Spice Rating – This book builds tension like it’s foreplay and then delivers. Commanding whispers, dangerous glances, and scenes that bring the steam and have you crawling on your knees for more.
🖤 2/5 Darkness Rating – There’s a little dub-con spice, some murky power dynamics, and moments where things toe the line—but nothing overwhelmingly heavy. It’s more “emotional whirlpool with abs” than full-blown trauma deep dive.
⸻ What I Loved:
The tension. The yacht drama. The power dynamics that had me side-eying the page like ma’am, are you okay? (She’s not—and that’s the fun of it.) Presley isn’t just floating through chaos—she’s holding her own, even when things get messy. And that captain/owner energy? Unhinged. Delicious. Can’t look away.
Also—for a novella, the pacing was spot-on. Em Solstice somehow packed in the steam, the plot, and the drama without it ever feeling rushed. It’s fast-paced but not chaotic, and the writing nails that balance between flirty fun and emotional stakes. Basically, it’s giving tight storytelling with a side of spice.
⸻ The Story (No Spoilers!):
Presley thought signing up to work on a luxury yacht would be the perfect escape. But from the second she steps aboard, it’s clear this isn’t going to be your average “making towel origami and sipping cocktails on the clock” kind of job. The chief stew is out for blood, and Presley finds herself smack in the middle of a slow-burn storm between two very off-limits men.
On one side: the captain—full command, piercing eyes, and a voice that makes you want to say “oh Captain, my Captain” for reasons that have nothing to do with maritime safety. On the other: the yacht’s billionaire owner, looking at Presley like he’s already decided she’s his next luxury.
⸻ Final thoughts:
Overboard gave me everything I wanted—drama, heat, and just enough chaos to make me question my morals (again). It’s fast-paced without feeling rushed, spicy without losing the story, and yeah… I’m gonna need more from this crew. There’s too much tension below deck, too many secrets, and honestly? With the way that one scene went down—if we’re not getting a sequel called Fisting the First Mate, I’m filing a complaint.
This was such a fun novella, especially as a break from reading more serious academic books - in-person teaching at uni ended last week for me, and I enjoyed this over the weekend while suffering from a terrible cold and generally feeling sorry for myself. Thank you, Em, for letting me read this - I'm very excited to check out your future books!
'Overboard' follows Presley, who gets a job working on a yacht for its Italian season, as she tries to figure out exactly what she wants to do with herself. We see her fall first for its owner, and secondly for the captain... and in a surprise twist, we start to wonder if maybe it's possible for her to have them both. I'll let you see for yourself how things end up!
Because it was a novella, I found myself asking more about the characters and found them slightly underdeveloped - but I think that's also why it was so easy and quick to read! A few more details would have been nice, especially to develop Presley, but I'd honestly love to read more from this world - maybe even novellas following May and Jameson, and their love lives on the ship. There's so much potential for a series or a set of standalone novellas in the same universe to spring from this.
One thing that really threw me and knocked off a star was the lack of consent present during the spicier scenes, verging on sexual assault, and the general misogyny from both males - especially in their language and treatment of Presley. I think the book could potentially be triggering to anyone who has trauma surrounding these issues, so I wanted to highlight this in the review. I know these things are common in contemporary spicy romances, but I don't necessarily think they should be normalised - or expected!
Em's writing style is the thing which kept me most engaged, however - it was simple and flowed beautifully, and really worked for this genre. Congratulations on a brilliant debut!
I absolutely love this. I have been in a reading slump for a bit and this is just what I needed.
Pres follows in her aunts footsteps and gets a job on board a luxury ship and realises just how hot her captain and owner of the boat is.
I love that she's not afraid to show these men that she wants them both. She's definitely stunned when they both want her.
Eve is super jealous of Pres because she wants the hot captain for herself which is laughable because she's been working with the captain for 5 years and he's not interested. Eve causes a bit of drama but nothing pres can't handle.
I love the happy ending :) this was a super sweet, spicy read. Just what I needed.
Although short, this story was thoroughly enjoyable, and boy the spice!! 🥵 Presley is about to start a 10 week job on the Super Yacht 'Poseidon' as a Third Steward and so she just wants to get on with it, make friends, definitely not make any enemies, and know that her love life will probably be none existent, that is until she meets Killian and Xavier, who are both incredibly hot - but there is one slight problem...Killian is her Boss and Xavier is the Captain of the Yacht. Soon sparks start to fly between not one but both of these men and they start to take an interest in her, in more ways than one. So who should she choose, or does she when she could potentially have both 😏 Killian and Xavier are a delight and were so considerate towards Presley throughout this story. Such an easy read at 152 pages, and it was consumed in only a few hours.
This book reminded me of watching below deck but spicier.
Presley is the new stew on board the private luxury yacht, but she didn’t have, falling for 2 men, written on her list.
This story was fast paced and spicy as f*ck Em doesn’t hold back on getting to the spicy scenes. Although trying to cram a lot of information into a short novella you kinda have to just cut straight to the point.
The plot twist at the end I did not expect. But it just made the story even better
I will read anything that Em brings out and I am so looking forward to diving into another world that she has created!!
What a sizzling hot, spicy little ride this took me on! This was just 🥵 I don’t know what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t this, I was pleasantly surprised!
The chemistry and tension between the FMC and her love interest was immediate but then along came the SECOND love interest and I was hooked! Two possessive male love interests because why the hell choose!? I love a ‘why choose’ scenario!
The spice in this was pure perfection. Possessive men, hand necklaces and a fair amount of good girl. 🫠
If you love to watch below Deck then you have to check out this novella based in the yachting world! I devoured this in about an hour and a half because I couldn’t put it down.
Wow! What a story. I loved the twists and drama. Em is a new author to me, which made Overboard even more thrilling because I had no idea where it would go next.
The spice jumped off the page and stayed with me. There were also sweet moments because romance is at the heart of this book. The plethora of boat characters and the “villain” made this more than a spicy romance. Overboard was an excellent read and something I can’t stop chatting about. I’ll be dreaming about many men for some time.
I bought this book at the SugarPages Bristol Book Fair (8th Nov) and I was excited to jump into this spicy why choose romance novel.
I was not disappointed! I read this in one day! It was a nice and easy read with romantic suspense and drama to keep you hooked with each page. The relationship development with the FMC and her two love interests were hot! 🔥
I wished I’d bought more of Em Solice’s books at the event… so I have now added them to my Amazon Wishlist!
Highly recommend for those who love why choose, MFM, forbidden romance, falls for boss tropes.
I really enjoyed the plot of this and how unique it was. There were a couple of things that let it down though. There were words repeated in sentences on multiple occasions, leaving certain scenes feeling unpolished.
The main character constantly slut shaming herself was uncomfortable. It feels unnecessary especially in a poly romance. There’s enough stigma surrounding polyamorous people being promiscuous without authors of poly romances adding to it. Xavier’s need for every orgasm to be on the count of three made me cringe so hard. So many questions about that.
Whilst the blurb makes it clear that our girl Presley falls for two guys, I anticipated this to be a cutesy ‘who will I choose romance’ but boy was I wrong! This was fast paced, steamy & yet still oh so cute! I would highly recommend this to my smut loving girlies who enjoy a good plot alongside. We have two dishy MMCs, some kink & some, not very typical, extra curriculars! Thank you Em, this one definitely left me feeling a little hot & bothered in the best way!
Love the idea of this ‘Below Deck’ inspired book. Why choose when to get to have the captain AND the owner of the yacht?! These men 🥵 Also the dynamic of Presley and Jameson, I live for it! Another short but spicy read which I wished was longer (because I’m greedy) but there was plenty of action, plenty of banter and you can’t moan at that!
Do I wish this book was slightly longer….1000% I want more of Pres, Killian n Xavier. I want their futures, their babies and also I want a James story, ohhh and May and Phoenix, I wanna watch chessa blossom in her new position, I want Eve to be eaten by a shark.
This was such a cute short read. I enjoyed it but felt it needed a little more to the story. An epilogue would have been great. I also think it needed an extra review. Lots if little grammer and spellings edits but overall, really good read.