Not that Sea-Rious

book notes

title: Not that Sea-rious
author: Victoria Jayne
published: 8.15.2025
publisher: self-published
genre(s): romance
pages: 280
format: manuscript
buy/shelve it: Amazon | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:

the blurb

What happens on the ship, stays on the ship... until it doesn’t!

One cruise.
One weekend.
One date.

Endless possibilities.

Boarding the boat for a bachelorette weekend, Marissa planned to celebrate her friend’s last days of being a single. All her focus was on the bride-to-be. Until they played roulette with the sexy ginger.

Unexpectedly cruising alone, Beau anticipated spending several days blackout drunk mourning the loss of his engagement. A vivacious bridal party had other plans. Captivated by Marissa, he forgot to be sad and had a wild weekend of love, lust, and liberation!

Their electric connection sparks a desire neither were prepared for, but their whirlwind romance is supposed to end when they reach the shore. Vacation flings can’t last forever.

Right?

a few notes

POV: 3rd person; dual
setting: Florida
keywords/phrases: cruise, friends, wedding, betrayal, infidelity
tropes: happy ending, forced proximity, incapable of love
spice: 5/5 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
language: 3/5 🤬🤬🤬

mood reading: in the mood for a fun, vacation-themed romance with a lot of humor and a few twists
bonus points: a plus-size FMC

my review

The setting of this book was wonderfully lush and atmospheric. The majority of it was set on a cruise ship, and the author did a great job of bringing it to life. It was the perfect backdrop for a bachelorette getaway, full of fun in the sun and drinks in the dark. But it was also the perfect backdrop to nurse a bruised ego, if not a broken heart. It also makes for an interesting dynamic between Marissa and Beau, with its built-in end date for a vacay fling, as their relationship develops. It gave them the opportunity to let it all hang out, with the fair assumption that they’d never see each other again.

I adored the characterizations in this story. Marissa and her friends were such an eclectic group of women who loved and supported each other through everything. That was beautiful. Their dynamic was fun to read, a great mix of depth and humor. There was a kindness to that dynamic that was inspiring, seen especially in the way they immediately brought Beau into their fold, right from the very beginning. And Beau himself was a wonderful character, a cinnamon roll that somehow avoiding being too sweet. He started the cruise with one goal… to drink his despair away. But Marissa and her friends wouldn’t allow that to happen, and as the sadness melted away, his kindness, support, and sweet nature emerged. But I hate a character that is all sweet, all the time. I loved that Beau, while a clear cinnamon roll, also had an edge. I also loved that he was full in touch with his masculinity, with none of the dreaded toxicity.

And the plus-size representation was on point. I love the way Marissa fully embraced her body, showing a goddess-level of self-confidence. That was wholly inspiring in a world that is often less accepting. Sometimes, when an FMC is plus size, there is so much focus on it that it starts to feel like the body size is the majority of her personality/identity. But Jayne doesn’t do that. She lets Marissa be what she is without making it all that she is. I love that so much. I also loved the way Beau felt about her body, just loving it for what it was, finding it perfect and beautiful.

Finally, I loved the balance between romance and real life. Sometimes book characters can be a little too romance-forward, making choices without any pragmaticism. That can be fun, if not terribly realistic. But I love even more a character that feels real. That was Marissa. She let her guard down during vacation, leading her to the fling with Beau. But when things began to have back-to-real-life possibilities, her head and heart were at odds with one another. I enjoyed that her character didn’t act in a romance-forward way but in a realistic way. She saw Beau’s situation as potentially problematic. She had the wisdom to be realistic. I enjoyed seeing that side of a FMC.

All in all, a fun read with an engaging cast of characters!

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