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Member Reviews

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

After reading the previous books in the series and loving them I was so excited when I found out about this one being published. This was a stunning read. I adore that you get to see the pairs from the former books and so much of the behind-the-scenes drama taking place in this book were main plot points in the prior books. I enjoy the world and how main characters develop into future side characters.

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I received an eARC from NetGalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. Peter just had an amazing night with a Swedish goddess, but she left without a word or any way to be contacted. Dejected, he shows up for an important audition for 1 half of a shipwrecked duo on Gods of the Gates. Just as he's about to be called back, the buxom blonde walks in the door as one of the auditioners for the other half. And because the universe has jokes, they soon become cast in roles that will have them filming on an island for the foreseeable future. Maria finds herself castmates with the surly Viking from her one-night stand, and while she wants more with him, he is grumpy and obviously angry over her disappearance. While Maria can break through his sullen exterior, he doesn't want to chance a bad breakup making the upcoming years of filming awkward. So friends, they'll be friends. Friends who pine for each other. But what happens when filming finishes? She's going back to Sweden and he heads home to LA. Can they find a way to make their six-years-in-the-making passion work?

This is the third book in the Spoiler Alert series and absolutely lives up to the other two. Peter and Maria are both fat actors, and that plays a large part in the storyline. Maria is a huge advocate for body acceptance at any size and seeing fat representation more often in media. They both have trauma in their pasts that they have to work through (don't we all?). The sexual tension is palpable from the start. Just as in the other books, there are text threads and portions of scripts sprinkled throughout the novel. This is a fantastic addition to the Spoiler Alert series, and I can't wait to have a physical copy of my shelf! I recommend this for fans of pining, fat rep, celebrity romance, and steamy romance.

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I loved this story. I loved the characters. I loved the depth. I think the only reason it took me so long to read it is it’s length. It felt long for a romance. But I was never bored. For a minute there I didn’t actually know how they would get together in the end.

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All the Feels (book 2 in this series) was one of my favorite reads in 2021 so I was beyond excited when I received an advanced copy of Shipwrecked. I love Olivia Dade’s intelligent writing style and the characters she writes about.

In this one, specifically, I absolutely adored Maria as a main character. She was strong and confident and just an absolute queen. It was great to see how a character who had a difficult backstory was able to focus on the present rather than her own hang-ups. This was particularly evident in contrast to Peter (the MMC), who allowed his past to rule almost every aspect of his life.

I found the plot to be engaging — for the most part — but found my mind wandering during some of the extensive interactions with the other cast members. I think that I would probably keep better track of things if I read the entire series back to back (this is book 3). There were some plot points that ran parallel from one book to another and having so much time between reading the two books made it a bit more difficult to recall details.

The level of spice in this one is up there. There was no shortage of steamy scenes throughout!

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I really enjoyed the first two books in this series of stand-alones, but this one missed a few marks for me.

First, it’s a miscommunication trope and just no freaking thank you on that. I hate it when people have a problem and they just refuse to talk about it. When a couple words would eliminate the problem just SAY THE WORDS.

Then the format was not for me. The timeline was jumping all over the place and while I understand the need for it in this case I still wasn’t a fan of the way it was done. It was hard to keep up with (for me anyway) and I just couldn’t get into it.

Now the bones of the story were great. It was predictable like all good HEA romance books are, and I really enjoyed the route to get to the end, I just wish it had been linear. Once the timeline leveled out toward the end I was really happy with it. It’s the middle that was meh for me.

Anyway, it was still a good addition to this series and I appreciate the plus sized representation.

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Incredible. Showstopping. Talented. Gorgeous. Olivia Dade continues to be one of my favorite romance authors. Her chemistry between characters is unmatched, and the cover art reflecting those characters' bodies is beautiful. I usually read a lot of intense and serious books and her romances are perfect palette cleansers. I can't wait until her next release.

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After reading All the Feels, Olivia Dade quickly became one of my favorite authors. She takes the beautiful world of fanfiction and acting and marries them into fantastic storylines. All her characters are instantly loveable and Peter and Maria are no exception. The story starts off with a bang (literally 😏) and keeps getting better after each page. I absolutely love the snippets of texts and stories between the chapters, they provide depth to the characters and insight to the personalities of characters across the stories.

My favorite thing about Dade's characters are that they embrace their bodies and their fat, especially Maria who also lives for who she is unabashedly and doesn't care what anyone says about her size or body hair. It's something I'd never seen from any other character and we need more body hair normalization 👏🏼

Overall, I loved Peter and Maria's relationship storyline, their growth as characters, and the value they place on family of all types.

Tropes: instalove, enemies to lovers, pining, workplace romance.

Watch out for: fatphobia/fat shaming, parental death, adoption

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌈🌈⁠
🌶️🌶️⁠🌶️

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A cute romance from Olivia Date, and this one pulls at our heart strings with a buildup over SIX years - talk about the chemistry and the sexual tension! 🥵

Overall this was a good romance and I enjoyed the characters Maria and Peter as they grew throughout the book. Their friendship was endearing to read and the chemistry was palpable. There were moments of laughing along with them as well, which always makes the book more fun for me. I also enjoyed the aspect of body positivity, something that should be in more books!

The pacing of this one confused me. It started off with a bang (literally) and then as the book went on there were peaks of excitement mixed with lulls, and skips in timeframe that made it confusing to keep up. Mixed with a lot of ancillary characters that were hard to keep straight. I do think part of this isn't the book's fault, but more indicative of me not reading the first two books yet and missing some background/inside jokes.

Would definitely recommend for someone looking for a light hearted rom-com, perfect for a beach read!

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follows the standard girl will freak out over a small thing, will get in fight with dude without letting them explain, just blows up, breaks up, then bam a day goes by and no one will really say they're sorry but everything is all well and now they're more in love than ever. i could be jaded and i know it's a book/work of fiction but real life doesn't work that way and the lack of serious communication in most romance novels just grinds my freaking gears.

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I wanted this couple to connect more than I feel like they actually did. The story opens up mid-thrust with our hero and heroine getting down. After she tries to smash and dash without a word, they end up cast opposite each other on a giant fantasy show. After a few false starts, they decide that they won't be together during shooting.

Basically the minute the show wraps, they get together and while the physical part seems to be great while their communication could use so much work. These two have a history of walking away from each other constantly and it was absolutely infuriating.

I did appreciate that both main characters were unapologetically fat and hated that Maria felt like she had to bring her own food to film on location on the off chance that they would start to limit her food to control her weight. I hated it more that she was right. I liked that there were so many cameos of things that happened in the other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

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Maria and Peter have a one night stand that concludes without them expecting to see each other again. And the next day they find out they will be starring opposite each other in Gods of the Gates. They spend six years filming together.

Despite starting with a bang (literally), this one's a super slow burn. It brings together enemies-to-lovers and super close forced proximity on set for a workplace romance (say those tropes three times fast).

I really loved both Peter and Maria. The amazing emphasis on body positivity that I have come to expect from Olivia Dade was done especially well here. Maria not only owns her size, but she strongly advocates for it beautifully.

This was narrated by the amazing Kelsey Navarro, one of my all time favorite narrators. Her voices, emotion, and timing are impeccable. It was a little long at 12 hours and 27 minutes, but I found I could comfortably listen at a faster speed.

I recommend reading this series in order, as this book does spoil the previous two. The timelines overlap, so it would be really hard for it not to spoil them. But reading in them in order also adds such delightful context. I loved all the cast chats and the parties. Seeing all of the previous characters again was fantastic.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to HarperAudio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

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Unfortunately I really struggled with this book I wanted to love it but I had a difficult time connecting with the characters.

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The 3rd book in the Spoiler Alert series is here! These books follow the love lives of actors on the fictional show Gods of the Gates. The first two are very connected because they follow best friends. This one feels so separate because both characters are actors on the show - but they film in a different location from everyone else!

💖 Forced proximity
💖 Second chance romance
💖 Fat representation (author’s words)

There was a lot I really liked about this book. You know that moment when characters dig into their soul and figure out exactly how they’ve been shooting themselves in the foot and how they can - maybe - if they are brave enough - fix it all? That moment will never get old for me. The ending was super cathartic.

Neither of these characters are super close with the actors that we met in the other books, and neither get into writing fan fiction the way that other characters did. I missed this sub plot - the fan fictions were always so fun! There were a few here and there, but it wasn’t the same. I also missed seeing more of the other side characters.

The ending felt pretty final - I hope there’s more in this series!

I listened to this via audiobook and really liked the narrator.

Thank you to @harperaudio , @harpercollins , & @netgalley for the review copies!

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I’ve had mixed results with this series. I enjoyed the celebrity/fan dynamic in Spoiler Alert, and the series’ loving references to various elements of fandom culture. I am also an absolute sucker for slow burn romances, so I was intrigued by this latest entry in the series, despite not loving the dynamic between the MCs in All the Feels.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. While I love Maria’s charm, I found Peter’s emotional reserve inscrutable, to the point where I couldn’t understand his shifting reactions to Maria. I had trouble understanding their reasonings for why they can’t be together, reducing the will-they-won’t-they slow burn tension to an extended period of communication issues. Their attraction is undeniable, but difficult for me to understand or feel invested in.

I think my confusion is largely tied to the novel’s pacing. The first hundred pages or so cover Maria and Peter’s one night stand, unexpected reunion at a final audition the next morning, and their six years working together as costars. The different scenes that illustrate their growing intimacy as coworkers feel more like a montage than the delicious tension of a slow burn. A lot of that work happens off-page, or is recalled in flashbacks, with the growing emotional connection between the MCs relies on telling rather than showing. While the scenes where they finally get together are decidedly steamy, I didn’t fully believe the payoff, especially with uncommunicated assumptions and insecurities looming over them. Despite making it over halfway through the book, I didn’t feel compelled to finish it, especially knowing those communication issues would almost certainly drive the final third of the plot. This just wasn’t the one for me.

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While this wasn't my favorite of the series, I still really adore Dade's writing. The 3rd act breakup wasn't my favorite thing (I prefer for these things to be due to outside circumstances instead of pigheadedness from the characters), but I adored the characters themselves!

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I am obsessed with Olivia Dade and the Spoiler Alert series. I was hyped to have this one in my hands, and while it was fun (and a great romance), it just didn't quite live up to the bar set by the first two books. The chemistry between the two leads was a little spotty at times - I found them to be a little too hot and cold and I didn't love some of the lack of communication happening. Overall, this one was good, but not quite as fun as the first two.

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Let me preface this review by saying that I love Olivia Dade books....normally. This is the first one that didn't work for me. The book started out strong. I have absolutely adored the first 2 books in this series, but I got positively bored about 1/3 of the way through this story. First, I didn't like the time jump. There was so much that could've happened prior to the time jump. So much potential for more angst. I enjoy the body positivity rep in this series and this book was no exception. I liked the hero and heroine. What didn't I enjoy? The never ending internal dialogue. SO MUCH INTERNAL DIALOGUE. It was so very boring. I just felt like this story was way too long. I felt like I was slogging through and was relieved at the end. The difficulty that they had to work through at the end was just not necessary. It was weak.

Anyhow, I won't give up on Olivia Dade by any means, but unfortunately this was a 2 star read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley , Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced reader's copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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This is a sexy, feel good romance about a Swede and an American who have a one night stand, only to be cast in a show that films over the course of a year on a remote island. This could go all wrong, or really right!

I appreciated the unique plot and size/body positivity! Also it is very sex positive. Ain’t no shame in this character game. :)

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This one is vastly enjoyable and incredibly original. Two actors have what they thought was just a great one-night stand only to discover that they've been cast in a show that will have them living on a remote island for most of the year. Personalities clash and patience gets tested, but only time will tell if their connection will be able to survive all the challenges of fame.

Maria and Peter have very different personalities, but I loved reading how it's those differences that help them see what the other needs even more clearly than they see themselves. I loved how sure Maria is about her choices and Peter's determination not to mess up a dream opportunity for any working actor. I even loved how it was those things that made their relationship so rocky. It's a story about growing as a person in a way that makes you perfect for your relationship instead of changing who you are just to be in a relationship.

I particularly enjoyed how size-positive it is and how both Maria and Peter's size it's not pushed in your face as the defining element of the plot, but more of a thing that they have to put up with just because some people suck.

Don't let the fact that it's the third book in the series keep you from jumping right in. There are mentions of characters from previous books at events where the cast all gets together, but there is nothing that would keep a new reader from being able to enjoy Peter and Maria's story to the fullest.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the fun and sexy read!

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I'll read anything Olivia Dade writes. What a fun, immersive, thoughtful adventure, plus all the side characters we've grown to love in previous books. A joyous romp.

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