Suxh a fun book!!

I havnt read a contemp romance in a while and this just hit allll the feels!!

Loved the scenery and the romance. Was fast paced and and well thought out!

This one started so strong — great setup, great atmosphere, and the tension was chef’s kiss 👌

…Then the middle happened. The pacing dropped off, the plot got muddled, and the tension evaporated. Cue a string of awkward interactions, skim-worthy sex scenes, and some questionable anatomy descriptions (I’m just a little tired of the hulking MMC/dainty FMC dynamic at this point).

But the final act really turned things around. The conflict and resolution were genuinely heartwarming, satisfying, and felt realistic. I also loved the focus on a woman thriving in a STEM field — always a win in my book 💪

The last 10% saved this for me, so it’s a solid 3 stars overall!

Head First follows Andi, her sister Millie (a marine biologist) wants to prove that a certain fish is not yet extinct and is planning on a diving trip to Australia to prove it. However when she receives some bad news Andi goes on this trip for her while also pretending to BE her. The only thing is… Millie’s online nemesis is also on the boat with her.

I LOVED the concept of this book, I love animal science and can’t help but be a bit biased toward women in STEM.

The banter between Andi and Hugh was top notch and I could feel the tension between them the whole way through the book. Even though I loved how Andi was willing to do anything for her sister I was still begging her to tell him who she was the whole time!

Claire did an amazing job describing the underwater reef scenes I could picture them beautifully in my head and she definitely did her research on marine biology!

Overall I really enjoyed reading this. It was funny, emotional, tense and inspirational!

Absolutely loved this book! If you like Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, Carley Fortune, etc. then you will love Claire Kershaw! An author to watch out for - can’t wait to read what else she has in store

Andi meets Hugh when she is pretending to be her sister. Stuck on a boat with him, she needs to pretend to be a marine biologist and to not fall for Hugh, all to help out her sister. A great setting for a book.

I loved the setting of this book—it was so beautifully described and really pulled me in. The chemistry and tension between Andi and Hugh kept me hooked,

I think its hard enough for an author to write multiple fullly fledged characters as it is, but this book was also written in a singular 1st person pov, which did it no favours. Nobody else felt like a full person. The love interest (Hugh) especially, was very simple, and in a romance I really want to know everyone in the relationship, so I was disappointed.

I liked the idea they were going for, and while I understand it's fiction, many things just seem to have plot holes or be unrealistic, coming from a STEM background myself, these inconsistencies really grated at me.

The setting was described beautifully, and while I'm deeply afraid of the ocean, it managed to make me wistful for a vacation in a similar setting. Though I'm not sure how much I trust the charactersl's judgement of the people or the country considering she was in the "country" for 5 days, spent isolated on the ocean in a boat, full of mostly international people, with only a short taxi ride on either side of her trip...

It's a fun read if you know going into it the relationship is built on a lie and don't mind that, and are looking for a fun flirty read for the summer. Just don't expect it to hold much water.

this book had me right there in the sun soaked loveliness of it all. i felt the splash of the waters and the awe as the underwater adventures went on. i could see the colors from the sun dappled decks to the creatures in the sea. i might even have smelt the sun cream and deck boards as the sun filled the sky. this book was just yummy.
i have to admit as it went on i got more and more nervous! because at some point the real identities had to come out right? and i didnt want to have to face the heartbreak moment. i didnt want these two immerging connection to be spoilt. you see how much i loved this book. im treating these characters people i care for, ha.
the book give us two sisters to start with. one is the adventurer. but sadly she needs emergency surgery. and worse she has one of the biggest trips of her career coming up. she needs someone to step in. just for a little thing really. you know, only pretend and go dive amongst the barrier ref. no Biggy. so who does she ask? of course her sister. the things is she will need to pretend she IS her. and this isnt what the other sister does. she is safe and likes it that way. she does not do mistakes grammar or identity or otherwise. but she will do it for her sister.
what Andi didnt predict was the most risk taking of this trip would be who she was on board with. the nemesis of her sister. Hugh. and these two hit it off big style.
but non of it is real is it? he thinks she is Millie and knows all about this water stuff. and he cant like her can he. not when he finds out?
and can Andie start to feel a freedom in these dives. start to find more of herself than she thought possible or that she needed? this could be more adventure than any of our sisters saw coming.
this book was so much better than i thought it was going to be. the writing is top notch.
it could lift you into a warm sunny type of mood wherever you are and whatever the season but is even more perfect for this time of year.
the cover does this book an added bonus. i just look perfect. the colors the scene there some kind of magic going on there because it draws me in and makes me feel happy before and every time i come to this book.

3.5🌟 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘜𝘒, 𝘡𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.

Andi is the safe, predictable sister with impeccable grammar (insult her work at your peril). Millie is the adventurous, outgoing sister with a degree in marine biology and an upcoming research trip of a lifetime to the Great Barrier Reef. When a medical emergency sees Millie unable to travel to Australia, she begs Andi to go in her place... the twist? In order for the research and findings to be valid, Andi must pretend to be Millie. Easy, right? Especially when you're stuck on a small boat with nowhere to escape to, your sister's hot marine biologist internet/social media rival (Hugh Harris) happens to be on the same trip, and you're pretty sure another charter guest overheard someone say your REAL name in the airport. What could possibly go wrong?

Or what could possibly go very very right...

This has got me SO READY for summer. It's suncream and salty skin and tangled hair and freckled noses and swaying hammocks. It's rivals to lovers, mistaken identity, forced proximity. Anyone who has ever spent a few days on a live-onboard boat knows what an incredible pocket dimension it can be - everyone is in your space, food is eaten communally, you struggle to walk straight as soon as you step foot on land, and you can jump off with a snorkel whenever you wish and uncover a hidden world beneath the waves. It's a pure kind of magic that Head First taps into so well. I also loved the scenes of them all scuba-diving. It's such a difficult activity to properly describe to those who have never done it before, but you can feel Andi's wonder and excitement leap straight off the page.

When it comes to the core romance, they're only on the boat for a few days, so there's no slow-burn here. It's as sizzling as the overhead sun (though I did appreciate that the FMC (under the guise of Millie) & MMC had messaged a bit before the trip so the relationship didn't feel too insta-lovey). What happens when an immovable force (Hugh's best practises and marine biology ethics) meets an unstoppable force (Andi will scrap anyone that prevents her from finding the fish her sister sent her there to locate). There's some delicious tension to be found in it all, even though it's completely ridiculous and farcical. Andi is panicking 24/7 while also trying to mitigate her growing feelings for the super-tanned, super-muscled, Australian fish man (Hugh). It's a little repetitive and mis-communication-y (she needs to tell him WHO SHE IS, but also she CANNOT POSSIBLY tell him WHO SHE IS), but still fun.

If I was going to have one main criticism, it's that I wanted more fish facts. What I find worked so well in Ali Hazelwood's STEM romances is that the characters are absolute NERDS and really respect one another's research/brains/enthusiasm. I get that Andi only knew so much (which is fair given she hadn't studied marine biology since college), but Hugh? I wanted to see that man fanboying over sea slime. I wanted to see him LOSE HIS SHIT over a specific coral formation and then regale the boat with highly specific and completely unnecessary anecdotes about said coral formation.

Absolutely one to look out for if you're in the mood for something sun-soaked and transportive. A solid core romance, a fun cast of side characters, a stunning backdrop, an examination of familial relationships (guilt, expectation, growth, jealousy), and what it is to work on yourself and rediscover what you want out of life.

Head First is publishing May 22nd.

This was just the lovely 'summery' romance I needed!!! Set partly in Australia which is definitely the top of my bucket list travel places so it was so fun to read about. This was so cute and I liked how slow paced the romance feels initially even though it's set over the course of a handful of days but the author does a great job in making you think it's been longer.

I do wish Hugh found out a little sooner or she at least told him her real name sooner. However, they were super cute and Hugh is definitely very good book boyfriend material.

I rated this 4 stars.

I loved this book ! The chemistry between the two main characters was everything.

This book had a really good pace which made me finish it in one sitting. Head First had many laugh out loud moments which is rare to find in some books.
I loved the plot of this book and it the marine biologist element of the book was interesting to read. The tropes of this book as well were perfect. I love a rival to lovers trope and forced proximity trope which made me really enjoy this book.

Head First is such a light hearted, laugh out loud read and would be a perfect read for a sunny day. I loved the authors writing style and cant wait to read any more of their books.

*Thank you NetGalley and Bonnier Books Uk for providing me this arc in return for an honest review*

What a fun and engaging book, can’t believe this is her debut too.
I have dreamed of scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef and more than ever I now want to go. I wasn’t a fan of Hugh initially because of the style of messages at the start of the book however the tension between him and Andi won me over.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Claire Kershaw for allowing me to receive this arc, all opinions expressed are my own.

Head First is a fast-paced marine biology-inspired rivals-to-lovers romance. I enjoyed the rivals to lovers aspect with the side of banter and the forced proximity. However, in the second half I was not a fan of the miscommunication and the heavy lean on repeated mini third-act breakups, it just became frustrating.

The marine biology elements add an interesting backdrop, but some of the plot holes surrounding diving, species identification, and the logistics of impersonating a known researcher pulled me out of the story at times. Side characters could have been more developed, as I occasionally found myself struggling to track who was speaking or being referenced.

Whilst this book certainly does not reinvent the wheel as a light-hearted n-between read, it served its purpose perfectly.

I found this well paced with good characterisation of Andi and Hugh and loved the setting in the beautiful Great Barrier Reef! A fun escapist read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing an ARC of this book.
The story picks up pace quickly and we get introduced to our FMC Andi, who studied Marine Biology in college, works a corporate job, and just broke up with her long-term boyfriend. Now, she is unsure what to do with her life, everything seems dull to the point she’s asking herself whether to pick up knitting and I’d say: yes! Go for it, knitting is a great hobby. Some might even say, picking up knitting would have been a better idea than picking up a guy, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
We also meet her sister Millie, who is actively researching as a marine biologist and want to go on a trip to Australia over the holidays to find a fish her rivalling marine biologist believes to be extinct. However, she has to get an emergency surgery and Andi has to go in her stead.
This premise got me thinking “okay, but how is this actually going to work… like, logistically?”
Turns out, quite conveniently, Millie and Andi look alike (almost like twins) and Andi has kept up with Millie’s research (having studies marine biology herself for a bit and being her grammar proof reader on every paper). Since scientific papers are usually a team effort, there’s nothing wrong with having someone proofread your work. It would, however, also imply that other scientists are involved in the making of the paper, so why does Millie think it’s a better idea to send her majorly unqualified sister instead of someone from the lab she works at? We do not know, but Gen Z people say “do it for the plot” and I guess the author did just that.
And Andi did spend a couple days studying corals of the Great Barrier Reef… apparently all 600 of them.
What I liked about the book:
- the diving scenes
- the banter
What I didn’t like about the book:
- Every time Andi is flirting with Hugh, “sweat prickles in the back of [her] knees”… what?!
- rippling abs/muscles… why?
- the couples/side characters were confusing, I honestly couldn’t distinguish them until halfway through the book
- referencing another romance book (Beach Read, by Emily Henry) in the book as a novel the protagonist is reading

This does in no way re-invent the wheel. It’s also not the most emotional or touching romance I’ve ever read. It is light-hearted, the perfect read for in-between or while on vacation if you want to read something for entertainment only without having to use your brain too much (which I do not mean as criticism, all contemporary rom-com books fall under this category for me).

This book was so beautiful. The writing was so descriptive and the whole story was just….it had me hooked from line 1.

I absolutely loved this book, what a GORGEOUS setting! Makes me want to go to Australia! The tension between Hugh and Andi…wow! Great characters and great setting.
Made me laugh out loud!

I thought from the cover that this was a romcom, but it’s actually a romance. As such, the rival to lovers wasn’t as snarky and combative as I usually enjoy, but it suited the light tone of the book.
Head First is well written and warm and I liked the characters. FMC Andi’s motivations for hiding her identity was well established through the sub-plot with her sister’s potential breast cancer, which is all extremely well handled. And I fancied MMC Hugh!
The strongest aspect of this book is all the diving, living on a boat and marine creatures. The story and description really brought all that to life, which I massively enjoyed.
A lot of readers will enjoy Head First as one of their top reads this summer.

4/4.5 🌟

Thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book!

This was such a great read! I loved the setting I loved the characters, and it flowed really well. Of course hearing about diving in the Great Barrier Reef is amazing and such a dream and I loved seeing how much it changed Andi and encouraged her to change her life to what she wanted. I loved the sisterly bond between them and how it only grew better once she returned.

The romance was also great and although Andi frustrated me with not telling Hugh, I did see her side of it and I’m glad that it worked out the way it did in the end - I think if they instantly got together I would’ve found it unbelievable.

Overall a great read if you’re looking for a bit of spice & summer vibes

absolutely loved this book.

I want to travel to the Great Barrier Reef and scuba dive now!

The tension between Hugh and Andi… yes please.

I laughed out loud at the bubbling sting suit!

I can’t wait to read more from Claire Kershaw!