I've really enjoyed the world Dade created in this series and all of the GoT subtext throughout. For me, I feel like I've enjoyed each book less and less though. For "Ship Wrecked" it was enjoyable enough, but ultimately felt it was just okay. I never got very invested in our main characters as a couple or as individuals because I feel like we never got to know them very well.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARCh in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars

Ok, I usually love this author and her feel-good romantic stories. This series has been a wild ride for me. It started strong, took a hard left into mostly nope, but then we are ending (right? it felt like the end!) on a mostly better note.. which I'm happy about.

I'll admit, though, this started off rough. But not literally. Chapter one? Hoo boy hot. Chapter two? My reaction to the Peter's behavior was the buzziest of buzzkills. Eventually we get the reasons why but his defrosting was tough. Meanwhile Maria was delightful always. My only real issue was her quick pivot on her feelings for Peter out of nowhere offpage.

Naturally I hated the third act conflict but that's mostly because it felt a miscommunication-adjacent and I hate that trope.

I'm definitely here (again, always!) for all the positive rep. But the highlight, as always, was the snarky commentary around this not-GoT but definitely GoT show at the centre of the plot. It's incredibly satisfying. It's also a little fanfic-y in of itself for all the people who were real-life shipping two characters who were mostly, sorta, embodied by Peter and Maria. Basically all the homages to everything around the show and actors were (chefs kiss) the best.

Having said that, once again, I'm hear to warn you away from playing drinking games; this time the keywords had to go with goats, herring, and other over-used bits used for increasingly lackluster and tired banter the longer it all went on.

But when the romance was in the transition from pining to confessions and then actually together? Delightful. The pre and post bits? I could leave them. The group chat threads? Hysterical. So, yes, equal parts fun and not fun. All that to say, I will definitely make an effort to dive into Dade's backlist and continue to pick up whatever she does next.

There has not been an Olivia Dade book that I haven't loved and this one is no exception. Every single one of Olivia's books keeps me so engrossed in the story and falling in love with the characters and their story. She is truly a phenomenal writer!
I would highly recommend any of her books, and of course, would recommend this one!!

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I give this book 2.5 - 3 stars.

Based off of the cover and the synopsis, I realllyy wanted to like this book, however, once I started reading it I found it difficult to finish. The first scene hits you in the face and then it kind of grinds to a halt. The time jumps were confusing at times, and it took me a little to realize they had taken place.

I also wasn't able to connect to the characters throughout the book and didn't find myself rooting for them as a couple.

The body representation in this book definitely sets it apart from other books, in my opinion and Maria's confidence was a highlight for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for this advanced copy.

Ship Wrecked can be read as a standalone novel from the Spoiler Alert series, but I believe I enjoyed it a lot more having read the first and second books in the series, prior to reading this one. There were a lot of characters and a lot of scenes referenced from other storylines that a new reader (to this universe) would not pick up on.

Out of the three books, this one is my favorite. I love that both the lead female and lead male characters were both plus size. I love the confidence the MFC exhibited. I felt like she had a lot of independence already and didn’t require as much growth as the other MFC’s in this universe. And I especially loved how the trope went from lovers to enemies to friends and back to lovers.

The only thing I didn’t love about the main characters’ relationship was how unwilling they were to admit and discuss their feelings for each other. They spent so many years pining for each other that could’ve been spent together, but then they might not have ended up such good friends.

Although I am done with this series, I have plenty more to read by Olivia Dade. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next.

Fun from start to finish. Lots of spice and had an interesting story line not typical of most romances.

I really loved reading this book. I am yet to read a book by Olivia Dade that I don’t love. The romance between Maria and Peter was hinted at in the previous installments of the series and it did not disappoint. I loved seeing their relationship go from a steamy one night stand, to not quite enemies, to friends and to lovers. I loved that both characters were plus size. The representation was spot on. I can’t wait for the next read from an auto-buy author for me.

Oh this book. This beautiful, wonderful, delightful, fat romance. I loved it. "I waited for you" is one of my favourite tropes ever, and no one does it quite like Peter. Maria and Peter were such a sweet story and made me swoon. Dade truly knocks it out of the park.

I had high hopes for this one but it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t love the characters and felt it was hard to get through.

I adored this addition to Dade's series. Dade added even more wonderful representation to her cast of loveable characters. I look forward to whatever is next.

Oh how I loved this novel. I hate that I have put off reading this so long. I guess I didn't want to not have an Olivia Dade that I could read.
The adorable joking and nicknames of these two was wonderful. I also love that so much time was there for their friendship. Having a partner who needed time to trust me before sharing their past and truth with me, I related to this one a lot.
The grumpy/sunshine dynamic is perfection. They are truly the perfect balance, and there is more to her sunshine than you would think. Loved the taste of the Swedish culture as well. My heart had a lovely time with this one. I did this as a blended read with the audio and ebook, and I don't regret it. It's a great book and the audio narration was great.

Lovers to friends to lovers, unapologetically fat lead characters, continuation of a series, celebrities, found family, and I love how this book continues the thinly veiled skewering of the GoT TV series

Another delightful romp of a novel by Olivia Dade. This one is sure to please readers of her previous novels (although might not capture as many new readers as her other novels). All and all we love to see the representation in the rom-com space! A solid read.

No man is an island, but Peter Reedton wishes he were. He’s put most of his energy into his acting career, honing his considerable talent on small background parts. Now he’s landed a meaty romantic role in “Gods of the Gates,” and filming will send him to a tiny piece of rock off the Irish coast for several years.

Unfortunately, he won’t be alone. His co-star is a Swedish bombshell — and Peter’s most memorable one-night stand.

Maria Ivarsson is built like a Valkyrie and has the same take-no-prisoners approach to life. She’s determined to make their chilly Irish island into a home for as long as they’re there. Although close-up angles and close quarters only stoke the heat between Peter and Maria, they know falling back into bed would be career suicide.

We all love a found family and this book has that — but it also has a tight focus on our two leads’ inner journeys that the current wave of trope-forward contemporaries don’t always deliver. Part of that is the long time span: “Ship Wrecked” is concurrent with both the prior ones in the series, and Dade takes full advantage of having literal years of time to play with. It’s not as epic as, say, Aster Glenn Gray’s spy romance “Honeytrap,” but it’s pleasing to see a final series book that spans the whole “Gods of the Gates” production schedule. A banger of a finish, and an absolute joy.

This was fun and light and the characters were lovable. The premise was exciting but the overall book was about 200 pages too long. Edited up a bit and I think it could be much better!

This book cracked me up. The main characters were so relatable and I LOVED the positive body representation! There are not a lot of books with so much body positivity and standing up for yourself. I love how Maria chooses her mental, physical, and emotional health over everything else. It’s something that everyone should be doing.

Olivia Dade knocks all her books out of the park and this one was right in line with the others. I will be reading everything Dade publishes.

I enjoyed this book, but enjoyed the prior two books in the series more. I loved the plus-size representation, especially how Maria wasn't ashamed of her body and shape in any way. Peter and Maria's vastly different family circumstances was an interesting and engaging way to highlight their differences on their trips to their hometowns.

My issue with this book was that I felt like it was trying to cover too much time for one book. It took forever to get them together, so once they're together, I felt like that should be the end of the book. They live happily ever after. I understood the need for the falling out they had in the last 100-ish pages, but it just felt too long at that point. It would've made more sense to be a different book or something. The pacing was all messed up at that point. The first 100 pages took me forever to get through, then the middle 200 I devoured and then it slowed down again for the final fourth.

I was provided an arc for review; all thoughts are my own. I have purchased my own copy of the novel as well.

Olivia Dada knows how to deliver, and of course, she delivered with Shipped Wrecked. This novel starts off with spice and everything we love about a one-night stand. I love Olivia for this, and it really started the book off with me wanting more. The banter, pinning, and angst made this book what it is, and I loved every second of it; I loved both Peter and Maria and can't wait to see what Olivia has up her sleeve next.

- Workplace Romance
- One-Night Stand
- Friends to Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Spicy

Steam 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕💕

Enjoyable but not gripping for me. Full disclosure, I haven't read the first two books in this series so as a standalone, it was fine but I feel like I might be missing some of the things I should know about some of the characters and back stories.