Rating: 3.75/5 - Spice: 2.25/5 - Book #3 of Spoiler Alert series.

So this wasn't my favorite of the series, but was still enjoyable. I loved Maria's strong personality and strength when it came to her body and standing up for herself as a plus-sized female actress - Peter...not so much (sorry, not sorry, I just couldn't vibe with his character, even with his history). The book felt a bit longer than necessary, and it felt like for a rom-com the relationship had too many petty conflicts (IMO) but it was a nice book that added to the characters for the entire Spoiler Alert universe.

Brief Plot: Peter and MAria ad a one night stand, and she left him high and dry, and incredibly bitter. When they learn they are both working together on a secluded island for this tv show, they must establish more of a friendship than an enemie-ship. But as the years pass, their friendship slowly grows. Until the show is over, and both are ready t re-explore the romantic sides of their friendship. But as two actors, can they find a balance in their work and relationship?

Thank you NetGalley and Avon andHarper Voyager Publishing, for an ARC copy of Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade. This is my honest review!

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) I love Olivia Dade's writing, and this cast of characters, but I struggled with the pace of this one somewhat. Years pass throughout the novel, but we only see small snippets of our two leads interacting during that time. Since they're stuck on an island together, I would have loved to have some more build up/pining. I did love both of their back stories, but I also struggled with the dreaded 3rd act break up because it just frustrated me (maybe this was more personal frustration because it does make sense within the context of the book). Even with my qualms, I definitely recommend this one!

After reading the first two books in the series, I was very much looking forward to this one.

Maria, a Swedish stage actress, has a glorious one night stand with a Viking-like God who leaves her before the next morning with no note or message. Little does she know, that this will end up being her castmate, Peter, on Gods of the Gates for the next six years. Her attraction to him never wanes, nor his for her, but over time they become friends, and eventually, the show must come to end. And then what happens?

So firstly, Dade does fantastic at creating very distinctive voices for both of her leads. I LOVED Maria. Between the bluntness, vulnerability, and the fact that she stood up for herself and her body. Like, knocked it out of the park. Peter was... interesting and difficult to reconcile at times. I think Dade showed that there is definitely (though she didn't show this as openly?) a bias towards the male body in show business as well. I wish Peter had talked about that at some point. He was just so focused on, "I must not lose my job", that that never truly got addressed. And yet, that was very much part of what was going on. Like every actor's body gets objectified and shamed at some point. I think the fact that Maria is the only one that was really fighting it is the maybe the reason Dade addressed it the way she did?

The slow burn of this about killed me though. Like I know the book starts the way it does and cool. But oh my gosh. Six years. Six YEARS. That is a long game, yo. And I applaud Peter for his fortitude. And I love the fact that by the time they got together, it was like everything goes. Because, I was like, yes, please. Thank you.

I also really appreciated that Dade had Maria truly approach her past relationship issues and made the couple work through it. Like, we're not just gonna gloss over this and pretend like Maria is crazy. No, Peter needs to do the work and understand why this might be a problem. I think Maria did make it a bit harder by not just being up front and saying, hey this is why it upsets me. But, sometimes, that's how we operate as humans?

Overall, I really enjoyed this. I honestly, because I'm a jerk, took a star off for the slow burn/pacing. It was a bit much for me. Sorry! But it's true.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

Thank you for the book, Netgalley. It was very good. I loved the characters, they were all incredibly distinct and unique. Olivia Dade is especially talented in her ability to write an engaging scene within the Hollywood background. Of course, the main draw of this book is the diversity in having the main characters be plus-sized which is not common enough in publishing nowadays. Overall, this book was three out of five stars.

Olivia Dade's fat-positive rom coms are simply addictive to me. I've actually read this book TWICE since receiving this ARC - once on my kindle with the ARC eCopy, and once physically with the copy I bought myself. I love her characters and the way they live their lives. It's inspiring, and gives me hope for the romance genre in general.

5-star romances from me are always a combination of swoony and serious. This fit the bill. There was sexy, wonderful, heart-pounding romance, but there were also serious things going on in the lives of these characters, which made me feel for them on a deeply level and connect to them as people beyond the page.

As always, Olivia Dade scored big time.

I really like this series!! I was super excited for this new one to come out and it did not disappoint. There was definite chemistry between Maria and Peter and it was fun to have some of the characters from previous installments return as part of the story. I felt like some parts of the second half of the book lost a bit of the plot after a really strong start, but I would still recommend this as a solid read.

I DNF’d at like 80%. I love the body positivity, but I just didn’t care enough about the characters. I think it’s a “me” problem rather than poor writing, though. Yay reading slumps.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia Dade can do no wrong, I am convinced. First, we had a fan and a famous person, then we had a coworkers to lovers one-bed situation, and now we have the long game friends to lovers that was so tender, so lovely, I cried. More than once.

I think that I got a little muddled with Maria's unmovable reasoning for what she wanted out of Peter, but I do think that they came together in the end in a satisfying way. I love love!

4 stars.

My full review will be withheld until HarperCollins Publishers reaches an agreement with the HarperCollins Union. At that time my review will be updated with all my thoughts included.

This was one of Olivia's best books! The characters grow in all the best ways and I loved the found family aspect. Sometimes it took the main characters so long to get to the point and I always feel like they could just TALK more instead of always being so assuming with each other - but that makes for realism and conflict resolution that I love! If you loved the other books in the series like I did, then you will love this!

Thank you to the publisher and to Olivia Dade for a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I previously really enjoyed the first two books in the Spoiler Alert series, although I enjoyed All the Feels far more than Spoiler Alert. Ship Wrecked follows Maria and Peter who are both plus sized cast members in the fictional Gods of the Gates show and had a previous one night stand before becoming coworkers. The first half of the book was a little slow for me but it really picks up after the time jump. I enjoyed getting to experience events from the previous two books but from an alternate point of view. The romance here is steamy but also thoughtful, much like the previous two installments. It deals with feelings of abandonment, adoption, death of parents, and financial stability. Tackling so many issues at once seems like a recipe for disaster but Dade handles it well. My only complaint would be the pacing of the book where the beginning feels a little too long and the third act feels a little rushed.

This book is the third in this series by Olivia Dade, a follow up to Spoiler Alert and All the Feels, following Maria and Peter, both of whom work on the show “Gods of the Gates,” which has been heavily featured in each book of the series.

Let me just say that I love these books. I love the fandom elements. I actually even love that it is decently obvious that the show in the books has a lot of similarities to “Game of Thrones,” including the final season train wrecks of plot and characterization, but that is a discussion/rant for some other day.

I loved how confident and secure in herself Maria seemed to be. She knew she was a bigger curvier woman, and she knew what she deserved and what they could or could not make her do regarding her size. I don’t know. Maybe as someone who is technically classified as obese, I relate to characters who also aren’t pencil thin. Like, sure, I know I could be healthier, and losing a bit of weight would be better for me, but I also am still decently healthy. It’s just kind of nice to see healthier body positivity in stories.

Not that Peter and Maria didn’t have to deal with some plot issues focused on their size, because they did, but I feel like it was handled in a real way. Sure, yes, Peter was ready to begrudgingly cave under the expectations of role and contract and all that, but Maria fought for herself, fought for both of them, standing up against the unreasonable desires of the showrunners.

Honestly, I also enjoy that each book in this series deals with interpersonal relationships and anxieties and disabilities and representation. Peter is socially awkward. It takes him a while to feel comfortable around a crowd of people and to open up. Maria basically pulls him along into spending time with cast and crew, and you get to see him becoming a part of the group, which is cool.

I just like that there is so much diversity and acceptance and differences in characters and family groups and just all of it.

And while neither Maria or Peter write fanfiction, as was a bigger part of the plots in the first two books, they are sent a number of fics to read during the course of this book, and they do read and discuss them, which I still find to be really fun.

I don’t know if there’s going to be any more in this series. I don’t know how that would work, considering that books two and three dealt with wrapping up filming and then doing the convention and press for the final season of “Gods of the Gates.” It was the connecting thread of the series. Sure, I guess technically we could keep following the cast members as they start new roles and such, but I don’t know.

But these books are fun and geeky and romantic and dramatic and because of some of the elements of the show the characters work on there’s some fantasy in it too. I just love reading them, and I do kinda hope that there’s more coming.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

This follow up to Spoiler Alert and All the Feels, while still containing charming characters, did not live up to its predecessors. The pacing and the time it was set felt off. This book begins several years before the others, but then there is a time jump that is not fully clear which takes it to the same time as the others. I wish this has been clarified a bit more as you are reading as I found it distracting.

In addition, the framing narrative which these books are set, the show Gods of the Gates, somewhat falls apart in my opinion. While other characters fill at least somewhat recognizable roles in which you can infer what is going on with them especially if you have knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology or the plot of the show is not that important, the couple in this book, Maria and Peter, are both acting in the show as the book progresses and I found it very distracting that I had no idea what these characters were or what was going on until several chapters in. This is clarified by a news blast which Dade incorporated into many of her books, and I believe this one or one announcing the casting call for their characters should have opened the book to set the scene. Opening with the scene she did is fine on its own and throws you into the story immediately which I normally do not mind, but it does not fully work in the instance.

While the characters were likeable and many jokes they made were funny, they fell flat compared to the other couples in this series. And their third act breakup seemed silly and not realistic compared to the ones in the other books.

I have to say I was disappointed in this read compared to the others but I did not dislike it enough to rate it too low.

I think this was a cute romcom! Definitely loved the style and the writing. Totally worth checking out!

I have relatively recently become a huge fan of Olivia Dade, namely when I was approved for All the Feels, the second book of this same series. I quickly had to add Spoiler Alert to my library and absolutely devoured it. I wasn’t sure I would love this one to the same level I loved the others, but I was very wrong. As an extra extra luscious lady myself, there aren’t too many books written about people with our body type but Olivia Dade has been an amazing and very much welcome addition to the contemporary romance scene.
Shipwrecked follows the story of Peter and Maria, two plus sized stars of the series that brought us the heroes in the first two books of the series. It starts with a one night stand that turns into a series of somewhat hilarious events that lands them both on an island off the coast of Ireland as romantic costars in a highly rated fantasy show. Maria and Peter, who still secretly have the hots for one another, must navigate the ins and outs of a working relationship that includes body shaming by producers, a dolphin with a penchant toward violence, and salty licorice.
What I loved about this was that Maria was totally okay with being a luscious Swedish bombshell, while Peter had the true struggles with accepting his robust body. Regardless, I am a lover of large men and loved that Dade decided to bring these costars to my ereader screen. The struggles they faced as lovers later (Spoiler Alert?—this is a joke. If I’m spoiling this for you do you even read romance?) are all regarding how they will maintain their romance and coming to terms with compromise and self-acceptance, respectively. All things that everyone in all their bodies tend to struggle with.
As much as I say that I love this as a luscious person, I think those who are leaner would also enjoy it very much. The struggles that fat people face are often the same that skinny people tend to face. Self-acceptance, compromise, belief in our abilities as humans, how to navigate potentially long distance situations, how to be in a relationship. That’s what I loved most about this installment. It really explores those issues in a cogent and important way that is universal. So if you aren’t sure of yourself, or you’re lean, or you’re luscious or you just want a fun romp filled with broody heroes and herring-wielding ladies of the gorgeous type, pick this up. Dade gets you.
Thank you so very much to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Olivia Dade for the advanced copy in exchange for this review. It was a fun couple of days and I can’t wait for the next!

Withholding my review in solidarity with the HarperCollins Union workers and their strike for a fair contract.

I absolutely love Olivia Dade's work, and Ship Wrecked was by no means an exception. It was exactly what I wanted -- just steamy enough, and with characters I couldn't resist myself.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars out of 5.
This is the 3rd book in Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert series. You do not need to read the books in order they can all be read individually. I haven't read the previous two books by Dade so this was my first time being introduced to all of these characters. I enjoyed the plot for the most part but there were times where I felt like the book kept dragging/ could've been cut short. The characters to me were just all right nothing super wowing for me. I liked the relationship between the two characters and how they grew together. I will still read the first and second book in the series to see how they compare to this one. Overall, I think you would enjoy this book if you liked her previous two/ the characters in those books or just looking for a slow burn friendship to lovers relationship I suggest checking this book out.

2.5 stars. This wasn’t great. I will say I didn’t feel totally lost having not read books 1 & 2–I did try though. However, the epilogue was totally ridiculous in that respect. I loved Peter; such a hottie! And I loved Maria in all her larger than life confidence. Except the body hair. Didn’t love the bashing of America and how socialism is superior to capitalism. Boring attempt at wokeness/progressivism along with many, many other things in this. Also, this is book is too long. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

I want to thank the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ebook arc.

This took me a long time to finish at no fault to the book. My life has just been crazy and this book has been a great escape for me.

Peter and Maria are by far my favorite couple in this series. This series does follow all plus size female characters and while I love that the first two had typical sized male leads I loved that Peter was also plus size. The size of the characters wasn’t a huge plot point in the book either. It was bought up a comfortable amount of times.

I also loved the setting of this book. This book is set overseas where they are filming and I just found that so fun. I wish there was a little more description of the scenery but I also know that this author doesn’t typically focus on that.

I felt like some of the monologues were a little drawn out but for the most part I felt like the pace of this book was perfect. It was a little bit of a slow burn, and the 3rd act conflict was resolved really quickly. I also felt like it was pretty realistic of an issue and I’m happy with the resolution.

Over all I would highly recommend this book to a romance reader that likes plus size main characters with some smut.