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many nights in which they are tested to their limits where the struggles and the emotional turmoil of their lives are superseded by the need to survive.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.

**Thank you to NetGally and publishers Quercus for this ARC in return for an honest review**

I love Beth O'leary's writing. She is incredibly skilled at creating three dimensional, interesting characters that draw you into their troubles. Zeke and Lexi were no different, and I was rooting for them the whole way through. That being said... the setting for Swept Away didn't feel real to me. Believing that these two strangers got swept out of a marina on a somewhat shoddily maintained houseboat and then managed to survive on said boat for 12 days at sea felt like being asked to suspend an awful lot of belief. The book is fast paced and has a ton of drama so it kept me reading, but I struggled to connect with the circumstances that set the stage for the story the whole way through.

Regardless of this, the characters are surprising and gutsy, and there is a new rawness to the emotional vulnerability that O'leary writes about in this book that I look forward to seeing more of in whatever she does next.

Content Warnings: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content

Wow! A forced proximity romance with a twist and what a twist. After a one night stand on a houseboat, Lexi and Zeke wake up to literally find themselves swept out to sea. There’s alternative but to get to know one another. As jeopardy gets closer will they find salvation as well as each other.
I loved this - and I didn’t think anything could top The No-Show but this possibly dies. The characters at times are raw and honest and you can’t help rooting for them.
Absolutely perfect!

This book was incredibly unusual, and yet it had something up there every day at the same time. One night stand that goes quite horrendously wrong as a couple end up travelling. on a rickety houseboat into the wide open sea. Day after day of them getting to know each other, exposing themselves a little more and discovering who they really are.. Pretences and the barriers that they put up are stripped away as they can’t keep it up as they get frightened as the boat starts to leak and as chances of survival fall away. This is a microcosm of life when nothing and yet absolutely everything changes.

I have read most of Beth O'Leary's novels, and have enjoyed all of them. Swept Away was no different. A great concept, well-executed. A bit more jeopardy in this one than in the others, but that just added to the drama. A solid 4* from me. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Zeke and Lexi wake up in a houseboat together that they are both convinced is theirs, the fact that they had a one night stand the evening before seems to be forgotten. Especially when they realise that they aren't bobbing at their mooring, they're out at sea.
This books starts with a bang and I wasn't sure what to expect as I've loved some of Beth O'Leary's books and thought others were fairly average. But I absolutely loved the opening chapter and drama to this novel, so well written and straight away gives you a little information about the pair. Zeke has bought back his dad's houseboat and Lexi is crashing there because the previous owner was her best friend and she decided to up and leave her friend's house after an argument. It's not clear who's in the right, who the boat belongs to and what the hell they're going to do about being in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.

This was one of the loveliest and most heartwarming romances I've read in a long time and I 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.

Zeke and Lexi were both so incredibly likeable and I was rooting for them from like two pages in and the world painted beyond their small boat was also brilliantly done and I felt the longing to get back home with them. The elements of found family in the book were so sweet and Lexi's relationship with her best friend's young daughter was utterly wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eARC.