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There’s a lot of pressure riding on your first summer read. Regardless of what your calendar looks like over the next three months, you want seasonal books that simply sweep you away. Obviously, a body of water is a necessity. A gripping plot is completely non-negotiable. And if I’m being greedy, yeah, I want a romance subplot that will have me kicking my feet. Oh, and all of it needs to be wrapped up in a setting that somehow makes even the hot NYC streets feel like a sea breeze is wafting in. That’s a lot of boxes to check, I know, but our Book Club pick, Let’s Not Go Overboard Here, checked them all and then some—not to toot our own horn or anything.
Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is the absolute perfect read to kick off your summer reading list. It has a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end, a gorgeous yacht setting, and it’s basically a love letter to pop culture fanatics and fandoms everywhere. Here’s why it deserves a spot in your summer bag, according to our Book Club.
What is Let’s Not Go Overboard Here about?
In this twisty, uproarious debut, a pop culture obsessive uses her reality TV expertise to investigate a suspicious disappearance aboard a yacht… while falling for a hot deckhand and avoiding confronting her best friend’s untimely passing—perfect for fans of The Wedding People and Traitors.
Pop culture aficionado Melanie Hoffman is great at spouting off random Hollywood fun facts, but not so great at quite a few, arguably more important things: maintaining a healthy work-life balance, sleeping, and being a functioning adult who isn’t completely destroyed by the death of her best friend, Ari. Spiraling, Mel’s company mandates she take a two-week vacation.
Rather than spend that time alone with her thoughts, Mel joins her friend Vish on a yacht trip in Greece chartered by his rich tech company. For reality TV-obsessed Mel, it’s basically the trip of her dreams, complete with a cast of quasi-celebrities and posh rich people. After social media stalking her fellow passengers, Mel immediately typecasts the fabulous yet fragile Freya, her arrogant boyfriend Seb, and the hardworking and humble Ollie. Truly, Mel couldn’t dream up a better distraction from her grief.
Mel’s dream vacation quickly turns sinister when she overhears a conversation in the dead of night that convinces her Freya is in danger. The next morning, Freya turns up missing. With the skill only a rabid true crime fan could possess, Mel immediately clocks what happened: Freya was murdered, and Seb is the prime suspect.
While Mel’s concern for Freya grows into obsession, no one else on board seems to think anything’s fishy. Still, with her time on the yacht dwindling, Mel is determined to save Freya’s life to cope with the fact that she couldn’t save her best friend Ari’s.
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The Everygirl Book Club’s review of Let’s Not Go Overboard Here
What our Book Club may have loved most about Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is the beautiful friendship between Mel and Ari at the center of the novel. We meet Mel in the throes of grief after losing her best friend, and while Ari is never actually alive on the page, we get to experience her through Mel’s loving memories and portrayal. Mel’s journey through grief felt messy and real, even when plotlines were out-of-this-world campy. This kept the story grounded in reality, no matter what shenanigans were unfolding on the yacht. Their friendship was so well-written and deeply felt that it wasn’t hard to believe how extreme Mel’s actions became. The loss was simply too great for her to process in any sort of normal way.
Mel is not a perfectly put-together character; she is a messy millennial with a capital M. And who wouldn’t be after losing the person they’re closest to? While our Book Club had healthy debates about when and where exactly Mel crossed the friendship line in her investigation, we all loved watching a woman truly spiral on the page, even when we were internally screaming at her. Mel’s determination to save Freya after she couldn’t save Ari contextualized just how desperate she was to be right about this crime and solve it, making us root for her despite her very, very frequent missteps.
“If you want a beach read that will have you so glued to the page that you completely forget to reapply sunscreen and are then left bright red, Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is the perfect pick.”
Aside from one very talented Book Club detective (shoutout, Gia), not a single one of us was able to guess the ending. While it seems like we should leave the sleuthing to Mel, we all loved being along for the wild ride, with no clue where it was taking us. In fact, most of us thought Mel was in literal psychosis at some point, if that tells you anything about how crazy this book gets. If you’re tired of guessing the plot twist before the book even hits the halfway mark, definitely pick up Let’s Not Go Overboard Here.
Perhaps the most unique part of Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is the countless pop culture references peppered throughout the novel. We asked the author, Erica Hendry, if she knew exactly how many there were, and even though she hasn’t counted, it’s definitely well into the hundreds. For pop culture fanatics and Bravoholics, these references felt like a secret language shared between the reader, Mel, Ari, and the author.
We all have what Mel and Ari would call a “broken brain”—one wired to care more about DeuxMoi’s latest post than that work email you should really respond to—and because of that, we can understand each other, our interests, and our motivations on a deeper level. It felt like discovering Easter eggs throughout the book that appealed to your unique brand of pop culture fixations. While some of our Book Club members found the references they didn’t get a little distracting, for the most part, we agreed they felt like a fun treat to spot. And even if you didn’t catch every single one, there were plenty of context clues to keep you in on the joke.
So, should you read Let’s Not Go Overboard Here?
If you want a beach read that will have you so glued to the page that you completely forget to reapply sunscreen and are then left bright red, Let’s Not Go Overboard Here is the perfect pick for you. Whether you’re reality TV-obsessed or simply love to support women’s wrongs, this book has something for everyone. It’s the perfect way to get into the summer spirit with a read that will have you laughing out loud on one page and surprisingly emotional on the next.
Let’s Not Go Overboard Here discussion questions
- What were your initial impressions of Mel as a narrator? Did your feelings toward her change over the course of the story?
- Grief is at the heart of this novel. What did you think of its portrayal here? Did it feel authentic to your own experiences or expectations of grief?
- The book often blurs the line between intuition and a bit of obsession. At what point did you decide whether or not you trusted Mel’s perspective? Did your theories shift as you read?
- Mel makes some ethically questionable choices in her search for answers. Did you empathize with her actions, or were there moments when you felt she crossed a line?
- Friendship is one of the novel’s strongest themes. What did you think of Mel and Ari’s relationship, and the impact Ari continued to have on Mel’s life after her death?
- The book incorporates a lot of pop culture and reality TV references. How did that shape your reading experience? Did it add to the story, make the characters feel more relatable, or pull you out of it?
- Were you expecting the twist, or did it catch you off guard? Did the ending ultimately satisfy you?
- What were your thoughts on Mel and Abby’s relationship? How did their romance contribute to Mel’s journey throughout the book?
- Were there any moments, scenes, or quotes that particularly stuck with you after finishing the book?
Everything else you missed at The Everygirl Book Club meeting
Like every good book club, our meetings strike the perfect balance between staying on topic and diving into plenty of bookish tangents. I mean, that’s part of the fun, right? I left with about 10 new books added to my TBR that the girlies were raving about, and of course, I offered plenty of suggestions of my own. And with this read, the recs didn’t stop at just books. I have new reality TV shows on my queue and about 10 pop culture scandals I will be immediately deep diving once I log off for the weekend. It was such a lively book and conversation to kick off summer reading on the best note.
Not only did we get to discuss Let’s Not Go Overboard Here with our members, but we also got to chat with the author herself, Erica Hendry. Erica hopped on our Zoom to answer all of our burning questions, and trust me, we had many. Getting to hear just how much this book means to her was such a special experience, and we’re so grateful she indulged our countless reality TV questions and shared her wonderful book with all of us.
The books we read may change every month, but the one constant in every The Everygirl Book Club meeting is a group of women eager to find community through our shared love of reading. Yes, it’s a place to discuss our monthly pick, but it’s also a space where you can take an hour and a half for yourself. It’s a room where you can truly be yourself, geeking out over your recent reads, and take a much-needed break from the chaos of life outside of our Zoom. If you weren’t able to join for June, let this be your sign to start reading our July pick with us.
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Lauren Blue, Associate Editor & Book Club Co-Host
As an Associate Editor for The Everygirl, Lauren ideates and writes content for every facet of our readers’ lives, from must-read books and behind-the-scenes interviews to beauty products she can’t live without. When she isn’t sitting in an AMC watching the latest buzzy release, she can be found scouring Goodreads for the perfect pick for The Everygirl Book Club. There, she co-hosts discussions with members, debating plotlines, fancasting characters, and, of course, tossing in her own recommendations.
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