This is my first Beth O'Leary book but I'm convinced!
Loved the family dynamics (with a broad definition of family here) and how they grew to like each other. I want me a Zeke!

Thanks for this arc!!

Miss Beth O’Leary did it again. Thank you Netgalley for the digital ARC of Swept Away. I loved it.

This is so unlike any other romance I have ever read. It was new, a breath of fresh air in the romance genre. I loved the love these characters had for each other and they’ve truly made me crave for my own person. The chemistry, the love, the ending… phenomenal!

It starts off a bit slow, their boat gets swept away, but they (and we) don’t really understand the gravity of the situation until some light stabbing turns everything around. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The dangers of the sea are becoming more clear the further you get into the story and it made me a bit… anxious. But these two people taking care of each other the entire time and falling in love, it made me hopeful. I cannot imagine not shaving, washing, putting on new clothes for more than a week and still being called beautiful. It must be nice.

Near the end there was this huge plottwist that had me scared, I’m not going to lie. I was scared with how O’Leary was going to “fix” that one, but I learned that you can always trust Beth O’Leary to give us the most loving and satisfying ending there is. I will never doubt you again.

In short, I loved this so much. April can’t come soon enough!

Beth O'Leary has done it again… she just had her way of pulling you into her compelling books.

The characters are very strong and able to connect with, I loved this fast paced novel.

Zeke and Lexi meet at a bar and really like each other. They spend the night on a boat. In the morning, they argue about who owns the boat and realize it's floating away! They're stuck at sea with no way to call for help.

The story is told from both Zeke and Lexi's point of view. They become close friends while they're stuck together.

I really liked this book because the characters are interesting and the story is exciting.

Beth O’Leary never disappoints! She was the author that got me into reading and I haven’t stopped reading her books since. Swept Away was definitely a bit of a different style for Beth. It felt more survivalist with romance on the side, but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Zeke and Lexi agree to one single night together… We all know how much I love a one night stand in a book, seeing the character’s chemistry from the very start always makes me feel more engrossed and that’s exactly what happened with this! Now they’re stuck together on a small boat with limited supplies, forced to work together in hopes of surviving until being rescued.

What a unique and fun concept!

This was one of the most swoon worthy and heartwarming romances I've read in a long time and I would highly recommend it. It had just the right amount of danger and excitement whilst also just being about two people thrown together on a boat in the middle of the sea. You would think that it would be tricky to create a story where the two characters are basically in one place for the entire book, but Beth did it so well!

Both Zeke and Lexi were both so incredibly likeable and I was rooting for them from the very first encounter. I absolutely loved the found family elements in the book were so sweet, and I thought that Lexi's relationship with her best friend's young daughter was such a good edition to the story. Would 100% recommend!

Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for a review copy of this novel. I have read and enjoyed all of Beth O’Leary’s novels and I know that when I start one I am going to have an enjoyable experience. This novel is another to add to those enjoyable experiences, even though the premise may come off as a bit outrageous – but she pulls it off. Though you may look for tropes, O’Leary fills them out so successfully you forget you’re reading a trope and just go along with it.

Through a series of miscommunications and emotional upheavals Lexi and Zeke end up adrift on a boathouse on the North Sea after sleeping together there one night. It was supposed to be a one night stand but it turned out to be many nights in which they are tested to their limits where the struggles and the emotional turmoil of their lives are superseded by the need to survive. Well for the most part. The differences of not only age, but experiences rear up under the tension and force them to confront painful pasts and thoughts. The dialogue and pacing make the novel an absorbing read and O’Leary’s ability to make their struggles relatable contribute strongly to the depth and compelling nature of the novel.

Lost at sea with your one-night stand…now THAT is a story I haven’t read before. This book surprised me so much; I expected a romcom but ended up loving the action, raw emotion, and intense chemistry Zeke and Lexi have between them. I can’t imagine this book was easy to write, but Beth has done an incredible job. I knocked a star as I wasn’t fully gripped at the start, ready to get off the boat with them both. The 2nd half picks up the pace and is full of suspense and depth. It’s definitely one of my favourite Beth O’Leary books!

Thank you to NetGalley, Quercus Books and Beth O’Leary for this ARC.

I have read every Beth O'Leary book since The Flat Share was first released - I made all my coworkers read it because I loved it so much !! The premise of this book is very fun and forces the characters to get to know each other in a way that is refreshing but feels emotionally honest. I was impressed by how long they managed to survive on the boat, and how O'Leary kept it feeling fresh and not repetitive.

I really enjoyed Swept Away, moreso than any of the authors previous books I think. Some of this resonated with me (obviously not the being stranded on a boat bit!) in terms of emotions and feelings etc which is quite rare to come upon. Would definitely recommend this one, it was brilliant!

If you are a fan of Beth O’Leary like myself, you will utterly adore her latest romance, this time set at sea. Lost at sea with the man you just had a one-night stand with? Of course it was going to be amazing!

This had so many tropes which will have romance-readers hooked; forced proximity, grumpy meets sunshine, boy falls first, reverse age-gap. What I wasn’t expecting was a story of survival and hope against the odds- but I should know by now Beth’s books always have a unique twist to them!

Oh, and of course Eugene the seagull deserved 5 stars as star of the show!

Loved, loved, loved, loved, loved this book. Original, well written, completely enjoyable. I loved it.!!!

I’m sat here 1.30am writing notes on this review as I COULD NOT put this book down.

Stunning, absolutely blown away. The storyline was brilliant, so many twists and turns, I was gripped, I swooned, I fell in love, had my heart broken and mended again.

Zeke, I think he just made the best book boyfriend ever. This guy is the biggest green flag. Stop it!! Stop it now!! So considerate of women’s feelings (ok ok maybe not the past Zeke but he’s learned from his mistakes). The need for Lexi’s consent, to make sure he keeps boundaries and makes her feel comfortable. God love him!

Lexi - her need to keep everyone happy at her own expense, she really does deserve to be cherished. Her moments of badass bravery, bloody legend! And the whitty banter the whole way through.

I mean I’ve read a couple of Beth O’Learys books and loved every minute, but this one just went to another level.

It’s got instant bestseller ALL over it, Im so grateful to be given the opportunity to read this, can’t wait for this to be released.


The tea ☕️

1️⃣ - one night stand to lovers
💕 - age gap
🔒 - forced proximity
⚓️ - plot twists
🌶️ - 1.5/5 spice

I love how Beth O’Leary writes characters, they’re flawed and multi-faceted and I totally believed they were falling in love, I liked the parental relationships and I could feel that the author was examining those relationships and I definitely laughed aloud a few times.
But I found it difficult to believe the circumstances which were the main thrust of the plot - them being swept out to sea and surviving there for 12 days and everything that occurred out there.
Especially on the oil rig, her accidentally stabbing him etc, I know it was done to add jeopardy and stakes but it just didn’t fully work for me. But overall a great comforting read when sick.

Our romance Queen. Beth O’Leary shines again in her latest outing, emotional, considered and beautifully done. Beth O’Leary smashes it again.

I couldn’t put this down! A story of love and courage and a life changing connection.
Thank you so much @quercusbooks @netgalley and @betholearyauthor for an advanced copy of this book.

‘Swept Away’ by Beth O’Leary follows a unique love story as a one-night stand are stranded together in the middle of the North Sea on a houseboat. I have never read such an interesting plot for a romance novel. Another completely new and unique close-proximity novel from O’Leary that is unlike anything I have read before.

She says herself that the locational confinements of the novel didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room (paraphrased) but I completely disagree the sea proved to be full of narrative plot twists. The whole thing was bizarre and seemed totally fantastical, but I loved that for the plot and romance, it really made me fall for two characters that I wasn’t sure I would actually like together.

In fact, my only complaint with the novel is that I wasn’t a massive fan of the events that happened towards the end. I thought it took away from the intimacy of the pairing and transformed their characters from people I thought I knew to almost strangers. It was a plot twist that made me gasp though which I was surprised would happen after such an intense narrative.

I would recommend to any one who is interested in romance as it is a guaranteed good read.
4.5

I’ve been dying to read this book since I first heard the brilliant premise and it did not disappoint. Truly thrilling, deeply romantic, genuinely sexy - I absolutely loved it.

Another great book by Beth O'Leary. Very original in it's setting much like The Flat Share. The author has a way of creating characters that you can relate to and warm to. The situation that the main characters found themselves in was probably quite unlikely, but who knows. This book is worth a read, but be prepared to not be able to put it down! I read it in a day.

Another fantastic story from Beth O'Leary. Zeke and Lexi meet in a pub and hit it off, spending the night together on a houseboat. In the morning, whilst disagreeing about who it belongs to, they discover the mooring failed and they are now drifting out at sea with no way of getting help.
Thrust together in the strangest of circumstances, the story is told from each viewpoint as they form an unbreakable bond.
I was hooked on this, such depth to the characters and a fantastic story
5 stars

Beth O'Leary said she wanted to write this book for a long time, but she wasn't sure if it was too complicated. I'm so glad we finally got a chance to share it with her.
Swept out into the sea after a one night stand on a houseboat, Lexi and Zeke are trapped together. The endless horizon, their dwindling food supply, and the arrival of an injured bird, makes for a complicated morning after.
Written with O'Leary's trademarked wit and heart, this was the perfect isolated story of two people finding solace in each other during troubled times, and understanding what is most important in life.