Book Review - Love Ahoy! by Jo Lyons

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Title: Love Ahoy! 

Author: Jo Lyons

Format reviewed: Ebook 

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Publication Date: 14th February 2026

Rating: 5 Stars

Maddie Summers has never been the impulsive type. So taking a new job as a holiday rep in Turkey is way out of her comfort zone. Will embarking on a boat trip with a host of demanding passengers see her all at sea - literally?

But then there’s Jackson, the sexy Australian rep who she’s falling for, hook, line and sinker. Though any chance of romance is complicated by Maddie’s gift for chaos, the powerful family onboard ship (including their light-fingered five-year-old), and a supervisor with secrets he’ll do anything to keep hidden.

Amid the rough waves of jealous crewmates, missing jewellery and even a potential man overboard, Maddie must be brave and throw logic to the wind. Can she take a risk and set a course for love?

This funny, hot, spicy rom-com is perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Portia MacIntosh and Abby Jimenez.

Jo Lyons is fast becoming one of my favourite authors, especially after reading Love Ahoy! which was totally and utterly entertaining. 

Set in the mid 90's so before the internet was widely available, let alone smart tech etc.. but as package holidays were going from strength to strength, this was a wonderfully nostalgic book for me. 

Not just for the 90s, but also because I spent a few seasons as a children's rep for TUI and thus could relate to Maddie a lot, especially in not overly feeling like she belongs.  Although in my case it's because I'm not a huge drinker and was generally a bit older than the rest of the reps.  Whereas Maddie believes she has been hired to work in accounts at head office in Bodrum, but in fact is made to be a rep with the not overly professional Bodrum South team, and to spend a week on a Gulet, hosting a rather rich and powerful family. 

Maddie has never flown before, and so her opening chapters, leaving for the airport, her mother's worry, and then the reminder that back in the 90s you could smoke on planes and that airport security wasn't like it is now.  I even enjoyed that she was flying on a Thomson plane (who would of course years later in real life become TUI).   

Maddie's first encounter with the LoveIt Holidays reps is in the coach park of the airport, when she implies she can do their job better than they can, and it leads to a nightmare of a situation.  Having had to deal with airport transfers myself in Mallorca, I could picture everything so so clearly 

Her encounters with Jackson and her first night in resort, were surreal, and totally in line with the sorts of antics you would potentially expect.  

And the boat trip itself, well the rest of the team are iffy, some more so than others, and add in a kleptomaniac 5 year old boy who is utterly adorable and incredibly smart and observant, and the lot of horny young people, getting up to stuff in any semi private space possible and you have the ingredients for a hilarious book 

This whole story just felt so familiar to me (Ok maybe not one of the latter storylines, I definitely didn't experience the bits I can't spoil for anyone), and I devoured it over the course of an afternoon (when I possibly should have been working, but didn't want to leave the book).

Loved every single word of this.  Bring on the next book from this author! 

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.