I ended up DNFing this book at 50% through. I kept trying to get into the rhythm, but unfortunately, found myself bored and noticing the repetitive nature in the writing style.

While I was overall enjoying the characters, I needed more of the main character, Aiden. Where the reader knows quite a bit about the love interest, Finn, Aiden is mainly a mystery minus a few details. Ultimately, I think that's due to the third person perspective the reader gets. Instead of just being in Aiden's head and being able to understand him and his feelings, I felt like whenever we were getting into his head a bit, someone would take him out of his trance.

Being at 50% and still not knowing Aiden's true motivation for running off to Australia was really frustrating. While I knew that something had happened with his boyfriend that lead to them ending their eight-year relationship, it still hadn't been explained. Perhaps it ends up being a main issue for the third act conflict, but considering that by 26% in, Aiden and Finn are in the midst of kissing and more, it felt as though that reasoning could have been explained by the halfway point. Especially with how much Finn had been opening up to Aiden prior to my decision to stop reading.

While I had been enjoying the fun nature of going on a trip to a place you've never been and meeting someone you never expected, my frustration with not knowing much about the main character, the sometimes repetitive writing style, and general needing more to be happening, I ended my holiday in Canlaroy early.

Heartwarming, life-affirming and optimistic - I loved my "holiday" in Canlaroy with Aiden!

Aiden is left reeling when he catches his boyfriend cheating. What hurts more is who he was cheating with! Aiden snaps and decides that being the dutiful son/brother/boyfriend/colleague is over and he goes on holiday (panic planned) to Australia - as far away from his problems as he can physically get.

On arrival, he scares himself when he meets his landlord's brother - Finn. Finn may actually be the definition of grump! But when he and Aiden keep meeting in ascending scenes of panic/hilarity the chemistry between them can't be denied. Neither is ready for a full-on relationship - Finn has his daughter to consider and Aiden is going back to Ireland to sort his life out. But Canlaroy and its quirky inhabitants have a habit of sucking in out of towners!

LGBTQ+ gentle rom-com with a brilliant seam of humour. Aiden's inner fights with himself are brilliant. Aiden and Finn are smexy and sweet at the same time. There are a host of secondary characters who completely seal the deal of Canlaroy as best small town in Oz including Tam and Aide and a certain loud hailer wielding local, lol.

This book is all about finding love, friendship and a place to call home. Sometimes the family you find is better than the one you're born into. Totally charming, fun and feelgood. It is fairly low on the steam side but it didn't lack for that.

First read for me by this author but won't be my last!

🛬Finding unexpected blessings in small-town Queensland🌏

Loved this story! Great small town where everyone knows your name (and that you're a "blow-in" only around temporarily), friendly, supportive and a bit quirky. Sweet attraction between visitor Aiden and single dad Finn with heat but couched in vague non-explicit terms. An eight year-old with a larger than life personality who doesn't tolerate interlopers or plant killers(😄). There's plenty of whimsy in this one, right from Aiden's first arrival and, yes, sometimes kids do say the darndest things.

The arc of Aiden's acceptance of the contrast between his disappointing existence in Ireland and the life he experiences in Australia was really compelling. Terrific couple with a moving connection, a heart-in-your-mouth climax and a truly satisfying ending (especially their surprise overseas visitor at the end!)

Sign me up for this author's next novel!

Thanks to Entangled/Amara and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Actually 3.5 stars, not 3.

I did enjoy this book. I loved the chemistry between Finn and Aiden right off the bat. I loved the small Aussie town aspect, I really am a sucker for small town romances. There were parts that I wasn't particularly a fan of, how Imogen treated Aiden and how Finn reacted without apologizing. But I did love the romance, I loved Tam and Adie so much. I think Finn and Aiden are so so cute. The ending was a little... eh for me. I didn't like how Dan showed up, but I'm glad there was a HEA nonetheless.

Ooh, this book is giving me major It Happened One Summer vibes! A few chapters later… I spoke too soon.

The plot:
Aiden Cole takes a long trip to Australia to escape a complicated situation at home in Ireland; romance ensues.

This book had promise! I feel like with the right revisions and editor, it could have been something. Instead, it just felt overly basic, boring, and forgettable.

The main characters pair off too quickly, with not nearly enough tension. Then, the entire rest of the book drags. Everything after the first third of the book is boring and painful to get through. There’s not nearly enough character development, either. You sort of get to know Aiden, but outside of his neuroses and fumbling awkwardness, where is his actual personality?

The ending was particularly horrible. Cliched, cheesy, and rushed, with the most convenient and petty ending. I can barely give this more than one star.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I wanted to love this book, but it fell a little short for me. The setting was great, and I loved Finn and his circle of friends, but I had trouble cheering for Aiden. I didn’t feel like he grew as a character, and I couldn’t bring myself to root for him. For me, the romantic moments made me swoon for Finn, but didn’t make me feel the chemistry between Finn and Aiden. Also, understanding I read an advanced copy and this could have been edited later, but there were some really abrupt changes during the story. It seemed like it was a new chapter beginning, but the text wasn’t broken up at all, so that caused a bit of whiplash. I’m hopeful that was caught for the final print.

Thank you NetGalley!

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

What a great feel good romance. The development of the characters was amazing and I love a book with characters that have accents. This was a nice change of pace from my normal reads.

Tripwrecked is a light read that I truly enjoyed. I am not much for the typical live story, but this was was just beatifully written.

The characters Aiden and Finn are just a perfect match. Enjoyed reading as their lives story developed.

The Australian setting setting was a perfect setting for this.book.

Recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

Desperately seeking an escape from life, Aiden hops on a plane and flies halfway across the world just to get some peace. What’s supposed to be a little break turns into something life changing!


Tripwrecked was unexpected and so much fun. I loved every minute of Aiden and Finn’s story!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Tripwrecked in exchange for an honest review.

A charming book, Tripwrecked would have been lovely to read on a beach somewhere. Admittedly, neither the story nor characters did not compel me as I wound my through the book at a pace that was glacial compared to my normal speed, but I honestly cannot place exactly why. It had already started slow for me then I realized I had missed a critical part of the description - “single dad” - rendering this book fully not for me. I do not like kids in books, no matter how well they may be done and this continued to prove true for me here.

Altogether this book was not for me, which was sad because I loved the premise. Despite me not personally loving the book, I think it is a solid 4 star read (enjoyable but not noteworthy) and would recommend it to others - just be aware of the tropes going in.

I wanted to love this book so much. It was something that I didn't love unfortunately. It was very well written. I wish it had of had more spice in it. Very well written though. 3 stars I give it.

Thanks to Engtangled and NetGalley for my copy of the book which releases on November 14th. This 4.5 star was so charming, sweet, endearing and so many other words with the same emphasis. So many wonderful characters. Finn the gentle giant. Aiden quirky and cute. Tam without a filter and her wife who was truly delightful. This was a truly well written rom-com which had several laugh out loud moments that I had to reread but also some real heartstring pulling moments that I needed to grab Kleenex for.
Touching in every single way this will please readers who enjoy M/M romances. New to the genre? I think this would be a good place to start and learn about LGBTQ romances between males and females. This book covers it all. A. Poland thank you for a great read and I look forward to reading more from you.

This brought me so much joy. It was written so well, perfect pace, excellent banter and characters that easily make you fall in love with them. I wanted to get into Finn's head a little more, but I just love both POVs in romances. That doesn't take away any of the happiness I had while reading it though.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for this ARC.

Tripwrecked was a fun, grumpy/sunshine romcom with found family. I'm a sucker for holiday romance and this book was such an enjoyable with with very little spice.

Aiden and Finn were such a fun couple, and I loved their whirlwind romance. The author kept the pace going with a lot of great fluff mixed with the real life issue of living in different parts of the world. Often books don't delve into issues involved with long-distance limitations, but I felt it worked well in Tripwrecked. It was just enough of a hurdle to create angst without feeling forced. There were a lot of swoony moments, and I give Tripwrrecked 4/5 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Tripwrecked by A.Poland. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, for this ARC.

4.5/5 stars

I liked Tripwrecked a lot. It is a mixture of romcom and found family that I highly recommend.

The story begins with Aiden, an Irishman who is tired of his monotonous life and takes advantage of the fact that his boyfriend breaks his heart to make a radical change, quit his job, and go to a quiet town in Australia for a month. . There he goes through everything, he meets a lot of people and among those people is Finn, a single father with a rough appearance but with a heart of gold. Aiden will end up creating bonds of friendship and love that will lead him to question if he should return home, or if the place he calls home is his true home.

The main characters are a plus point in the book. Aiden is very giddy, he doesn't take two steps without screwing up and leads to many scenes that have made me laugh a lot. He is still affected by his breakup with his boyfriend and his bad family relationship, but in Australia he will find a family that will give him the love that he has not received from his real family. Finn has been quite a surprise, because he seemed like the typical grump and then he is the opposite. He dotes on his daughter above all else and always puts the welfare of others before his own. That balance between Aiden and Finn has made the story hook me and I wanted to know more and more about them.

The secondary characters are not far behind. Both Tam and Addie, mothers of Dylan, and Marlee, who is like a mother to everyone, make the story better.

I haven't enjoyed a found family story this much since TJ Klune's books. If you liked The House in the Cerulean Sea, I recommend Tripwrecked.

PS: I have not given it 5 stars because the author repeats the word Aiden a lot in the sentences, instead of replacing it with a "he" or changing the sentence for another. At first it was a bit heavy for me, but as I got deeper into the story I almost didn't realize it.

3.5 stars

Type: RomCom, Romantasy, LGBTQ+, slow burn
Ease of read: 5/5
Spice: 1/5
Age range: 18+

Spoiler Free Review:
The story wrapped up nicely though I found at times I wanted things to connect better or speed up.

Quotes:
“Gotta pull your weight on this date.” “You had no problem pulling my—“
“I’d like to keep you…” “I’d let you.”

This was so much fun! Watching Aiden become friends with Milly was so cute. That's always my favorite part of a single parent romance. I really loved this but I do wish that we got a chapter from Finn's pov. Maybe a bonus proposal chapter from his pov?

I received an arc through netgalley.

The plane touched down, hitting the inky black tarmac with a thump. The flight had been tiresome, but seeing the beauty surrounding him outside the tiny window made the entire trip worth it. The sun was shining, the air was warm, and a new place was here to welcome him and hopefully take his mind off of the place he just left behind.

Tripwrecked tells the story of Aiden who has just left his hometown, his job, his family, and his disastrous love life to escape to Australia for a month. Looking to just have time alone to think things through, he would never have thought the community he was vacationing in would welcome him into their arms. Especially a specific set of handsome arms.

This was a cute gay romcom that made me smile. The grumpy/sunshine trope and falling for a stranger was refreshing to read. Plus the Australian setting was perfect! I wasn’t 100% connected with the characters, but overall I enjoyed the story.

If you love grumpy/sunshine with bisexual rep, want an Australian setting, and a close knit small town community… then you’ll probably enjoy this story.

Thank you to A. Poland, Entangled Publishing, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Tripwrecked comes out November 14, 2022!

Tripwrecked is delightful romantic comedy set in a small town in Australia. After his boyfriend of 8 years and his sister betray him in the worst possible way, Aiden decides to drop everything and runaway for alittle bit. This lands him in small coastal town far way from his home country of Ireland. When getting to his Airbnb he finds the very handsome but kind of intimidating brother of the owner and single dad, Finn. While first impressions were rough the two keep running into each other, and each time their chemistry grows and grows. Will Aiden being heading back to Ireland or will he discover that home has a lot more to do with the people then the place.

This book was such a quick, fast-paced, fun read. Aiden is so lost and lonely in the beginning so it is very heartwarming to see the relationships he develops and his own personnel growth. Finn comes off as very gruff and grumpy but you find out that he has such an amazing heart most of the time (we can admit he has his stubborn and grumpy moments). The side characters are supportive and warm. I would have really liked for the book to be dual POV, I feel like I wasn't as attached to Finn because of this. But overall this book was all about finding family in unlikely places and figuring out that where you belong might not be the place you originally thought.