I love Olivia Dade's world, and this book marks a satisfying edition to it. I cannot remember any other romance novel that begins with an orgasm but is still a slow-burn. The two characters here have such realistic journeys toward themselves and each other that I had to slow down to savor it, and the family relationships? A+. Spoiler Alert was a book that spoiled me for other romance novels for a while, and I'm happy to say this one will be mentally next to it in my love for it.

Olivia Dade captured my heart with Spoiler Alert. She had me by the neck in All the Feels.

Ship Wrecked, however, completely destroyed me (in the best way). The fat representation is something I know is done with tender, loving, care and isn’t used as a crutch or a plot device, or a “character must lose weight to love themselves”. While I love April and Lauren, Olivia made me feel seen and heard with Maria.

As a tall woman, who is also fat, I grew up being told from nearly all sides that I wasn’t feminine enough. That I wasn’t beautiful. That I was ‘pretty for a fat girl’. That the only beautiful tall women were delicate, waifish supermodels—two things I would never be.

Maria is tall. She is fat. She is PROUD. She LOVES her body, and she suffers zero fools.

I think the other thing that made Ship Wrecked hit me so hard was Peter. Peter, a tall and fat man wasn’t without issues of his own. He loves Maria not because of her size, or despite her size, but because of HER. Of who she is. Of how she makes him feel.

Maria and Peter are rich, dynamic characters that had me smiling and crying with them in equal measure.

I cannot thank Olivia Dade enough for this book. In fact, the words “thank you” do not come close to expressing how I feel about this book. Now, excuse me while I go buy 5 copies.

did you like spoiler alert and all the feels? you’ll like ship wrecked.

olivia dade has done it again. she combines fun “inside” fandom references (i see your Sound of Music reference olivia dade, and i love it), witty dialogue, and main characters that seem, well, incredibly real.

i told myself i would savor this book, and not read it all in a few hours like i did with the others. and then i read it all in a few hours like i did the others, because how could i not? the characters pull you in right from the opening scene (and the spice starts there as well!).

maria, while she might the least relatable to me physically, she’s the most relatable to me personally. or the version of myself i wish i was all the time. maria embodies the fiery strength and feminist attitude that i think a lot of wish we could be- especially in front of the general public where being yourself can be a whole lot harder. she even goes up against ron and rj, which fans of the series will know is not always the easiest thing to do.

and peter, sweet peter, where do i start with him? he gets his fair share of brilliant love declaring speeches, but for the most part of this book he’s a looker. he looks at maria, and sees her. it might take him a while to truly understand her, but from their first days on set he’s always been able to see her. it makes him an interesting character to read about, since his internal monologue is so based on others.

the banter is amazing, the spice is the exact brand of deliciousness i’ve come to expect from olivia dade. peter is a giant hunk of a midwestern man, my exact dream. if you want something to tug on your heartstrings, but not too hard and gives you a balm right after? this book is for you.

I have not read the first two book in this series and loved that it didn't feel like I needed to, to enjoy this book! Of course now I probably will go back and read the others.

Absolutely loved that both the lead characters Maria and Peter were fat and especially Maria being unapologetically so.

Now onto the story and romance...
I read a lot of romance books and the relationship usually happen rather quickly, so I really enjoyed how this one it took our leads 6 YEARS to finally give into being in a relationship with each other. Thank goodness for that initial sauna hookup because damn it would have been the slow burn of all slow burns otherwise.

Also the plot of found family was quite sweet throughout this story. Like the added fun elements in the book as well, like the texts with the group chat, private chats, email from Alex to Peter about his fanfic ratings, the fanfic story.

Will say a couple of the time jumps were very harsh and wish the chapter heading stated 2 years later, 6 years later. Also wish knew more as to why Ian was so hated by the end seemed kinda glossed over.

All and all wonderful read and would recommend,

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute romance novel and it was a fun read.

This is the delightful conclusion to the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade. All three of the covers deserve recognition for accurately portraying the leading characters. In this book both MCs are plus sized and actors on a Games of Thrones type tv show. Maria is Swedish and wants everyone to feel welcome like family. She is quick to laugh, wickedly funny and her Swedish words are always worth google translating. (Usually the meaning is given in the book.) Peter is more introverted but equally talented in his acting skills.

The two meet and have a passionate evening before the tryouts for a new tv show. Both are hired but their characters do not film with the rest of the show as they are supposed to be ship wrecked. They spend the next six years with a small crew filming in Ireland and only get to know other cast mates via a chat texting thread. After a bumpy start Maria and Peter develop a real friendship. They are afraid to take it further because if things don’t work it will impact the work.

As their filming ends and they begin promotional work for the series finale the obstacle is gone. They get to visit her family in Sweden and his father in Wisconsin. And steamy times can begin again. I love the body positivity as Dade writes about the rounded curves of both of the MCs. They are fully sexy and delight in one another. Maria especially will not be bullied about her size and knows worth as an actress. She does have insecurities relating to her childhood. Peter insecurities are different but impact him as well. It is up to the two to figure out if they can continue on together.

There is so much humor in Dade’’s writing. I want to give bonus stars for coming up with a name for a dolphin, Maria’s love of all things Abba and Peter’s fear of cows. The breaks between chapters include fan fiction summaries, cast group chats and more. This book can stand on it’s own for the romance but to understand the humor of the cast chats and to really enjoy the final group gathering you must read all three books. This story overlaps the timeframe of the other two novels. Even as it ended my first thought was I need to re-read the whole series as I knew the main couples but couldn’t remember many of the important side characters. I heartily recommend if you enjoy positive, funny, contemporary romances.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Olivia Dade’s romances joyfully blend realistic bodies with simmering sexual tension, and “Ship Wrecked” expands the charming romances among the casts of the fictional TV series “The Gods of the Gates.” Maria, in particular, has a great deal of charm — Dade has a gift for heroines who stand up for themselves with humor and strength. In this book, Peter — Maria’s co-star, friend and one-time one-night partner — is the one who struggles to stand up for himself, and the couple’s very real, entirely believable perspectives offer both friction and opportunities to grow together to a satisfying HEA. Fans of Dade’s previous Gods books will enjoy cameos from Marcus, Alex and the rest of the cast (including, of course, Ian’s miasma of fish). Highly recommended, highly rereadable.

Positives first, I generally liked the writing, the heat level and the mix of characters. The tension between Maria and Peter was really good. However I felt the falling for each other part was a bit rushed because of the time jumps between the chapters. I wish the author had spent more time on the 6 years where the friendship between our two leads was developing. There was also way too much time , imo, spent on boring details like what scenes were being shot, filming process etc and not enough on developing the nuances of the relationship between Maria and Peter. The final conflict between them felt a bit unecessary even knowing their respective histories (communicate better people!). Overall an okay read but not my favourite from this author. (2.75 ⭐️)

**Thank you to the publisher and author for sending me a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review**

This was my first book from Olivia Dade which definitely had hints of character personality, but I felt it skipped around on the development, especially for the side characters.

The book very much gave me Game of Thrones actors vibes where they are close with a large following. However, I wished for a more consistent story line. There were definitely subplots around body acceptability in Hollywood but didn’t quite strike the right cord to deliver a strong message.

The third book in the Spoiler Alert series gives us one night stand, forced proximity, repressed longing, chemistry for days, and fat MCs. Dade's characters are vivid and their emotions are all over the page. She's doing interesting things with timing in the way the three books of the series overlap, and this book literally gives us a "Six Years Later" at one point.

My favorite parts are when they were filming on a remote island, and the situations that arose from that (maybe because they're still a bit in enemies territory then, too, what with all the sniping at each other). But some of the conflict came from a failure to communicate clearly, which is relatable (like Peter, I am also from Wisconsin and get it), but also frustrating. Despite that, this book and series are top-tier. The whole series deserves a re-read now to see how the stories have overlapped and intersected throughout.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My second galley and first steamy book review!

This book is Game of Thrones adjacent (as the actors act in a similar show), has the perfect amount of steam, and is led by two fat characters. The characters self-identify as such and I’ve got to say it added a refreshing take.

It’s the ‘will they, won’t they’ co-stars steamy pull between a Swede and a Wisconsinite that you don’t want to miss.

This light rom-com is out next month on November 15th and it’ll definitely keep you warm

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, and Net Galley for this early copy!

This ROMCOM is wonderful for body positivity and realistic confidence and how hollywood treats people differently based on size and looks. Both main characters are absolutely loveable and you root for them from beginning to end. You follow their journey from a one night stand to ending up working together on a movie set. I don't know much about making movies so it was fun to read the process in the book. The character development we get from the male main character is so satisfying. The woman stays head strong and confident the entire book, which I totally love. This book has so much growth. I would say this ROMCOM is an easy go lucky book with no huge demise and heart-wrenching climax, which I highly appreciate. .

This is my first Olivia Dade Novel and I’m not disappointed. Olivia is a great storyteller and I enjoyed the descriptions and her ability to get me lost in a story.

Thank you to Avon books and netgalley for this spicy and sweet number from Olivia Dade. It's a great palette cleanser book for people that enjoy spicy romance books. Not a heavy read and likeable characters.

What if your one-night stand ended up being your coworker for the next several years? The premise of Ship Wrecked. I enjoyed the main characters chemistry and how the author built the slow burn until they actually get together.



Thank you NetGalley, Harper and Voyager for the ARC

When I say that Maria and Peter reminded me of Nina and Matthias from Six of Crows, I literally cannot give a bigger compliment than that. Maria is snarky and self-assured like Nina is and I love her so much. And Peter is, at first, kind of an antisocial–but lovable–oaf and he only gets more lovable as the story goes on. I can't wait to read more of Olivia Dade's work. I'm hoping for a book about Carah or Summer next. But not Ian. Frick that guy.

Reviews Posted: October 5, 2022
Storygraph
Goodreads

I am not really one for insta love, but I actually thought this was super cute. I thought the romance was fun, and I genuinely cared about both of them together but also separately.

This book is the definition of capturing my attention from the first line. Like wow, I want all my romance books to start the way this one did. The romance, while instant, did take the whole book to build fully. I thought the spice was well done throughout the book and the chemistry between the characters was great.

I enjoyed that we learned about the past of each character throughout the book, and it wasn’t all dumped in one moment, and each character really had their own time to shine.

I do think the pacing was off at times, and overall I felt that the book was too long for what was included. I usually love super long romance books, but because the character's feelings for each other were so instant I just didn’t see a need for a lot of the book.

Overall I had a really fun time reading this book and as one of my most anticipated reads of the year, it did not disappoint.

Super cute! I love the Author and her books so not disappoint ever. I use these as a good palette cleanser for a heavy book, I will be buying this

Thank you Avon Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely a hard review to write because this might be my least favorite Olivia Dade book. That being said almost all her other books have been 5 star reads for me so it does have to be approached with that perspective in mind.

Ship Wrecked follows Maria and Peter after what they thought would be a one night stand together, thinking they would never see each other again. The very next day they meet again at an audition that results in them spending the next years filming together on a desolate island in Ireland where they have to deal their undeniable sexual tension and professional challenges.

There was a lot I did love about this book like the discussion around fatphobia in the entertainment industry, Maria's earnestness, Peter's determination, and the overall plot.

Unfortunately so much of that was overshadowed by the fact that nothing felt grounded. The dialogue did so much over explaining that it was repetitive at times. All the characters felt one dimensional and almost like caricature of themselves. Maria was so exceedingly quirky that she didn't feel real and Peter was grumpy to the point where it was hard to understand what Maria saw in him, especially when they spent so much of the book miscommunicating to the absolute extreme. Even the characters from the past books, especially Alex, were reduced to their most surface levels of themselves. I also just couldn't get past so many of the inaccuracies in the filming process.

All of this being said so many of my issues with the book come from my high expectations when reading a book from Olivia Dade. As mentioned earlier I did absolutely love the whole discussion around fatphobia in the film industry and how differently it affects men and women. I loved to see how certain insecurities manifested so differently in both Maria and Peter and how they had to deal with them if they wanted any chance to be together. And there was a really lovely chosen family aspect to the story as well.

Despite it not being my favorite, Ship Wrecked was still an overall enjoyable read filled with lots of spice and a slow burn romance.

I feel like giving this a 3 is mean because it’s more like a 3.5 but in comparison the the other Spoiler Alert books I felt this was my least favorite. The pacing was a little hard since there are huge time jumps and I would have liked to see Peter and Maria’s friendship become what it was. I didn’t mind the instant connection they had I just felt there was a space to really dive into that a little more. I really enjoyed how everyone came together though at the end and it made me wonder if we will have more in this series (like Carrah!).

If you like Olivia Dade’s writing, she for sure doesn’t disappoint and you can expect the same steaminess and climax/conflict break up scene. So still very well done and I want more! Just not my fav of all of them.