This book destroyed me, but like, in a good way. The romance, the danger, the plot twists, the heartbreak, it all felt palpable in a way that I won't soon forget.

The premise of this book really had me intrigued and I was interested to see what the author would do with it. Overall, I really enjoyed the parts where they met, found themselves lost at sea needing to survive. What I didn’t love as much was the twist at the end with Zeke. I thought the book could stand without that added level of drama.

I reviewed O’Leary’s The Wake-Up Call as meh, didn’t love, didn’t hate, didn’t think about it much after I finished it. But I had a different reaction to Swept Away. What I can say is that O’Leary writes interesting twists to the genre. That being said, I’m not sure she’s interested in writing romance, not in any classic sense anyway. The trappings are present, Regis wouldn’t disagree, but what O’Leary’s doing skirts women’s fic maybe? O’Leary is in the same “grey” romance area I would put Clayborn’s latests in. As for my reaction to Swept Away, let’s go to the publisher’s blurb for the mundane details before I blather on:

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend’s daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.

For Swept Away‘s first three-quarters, I was in awe. I thought Lexi and Zeke’s lost-at-sea journey was wildly original, nail-bitingly suspenseful, and emotionally rich. Then I entered the last quarter and thought the narrative went to hell in a basket. Not to worry the romance readers, our beloved HEA is there to fulfil all, BUT the narrative veer was not good. It might be good for some readers, but I thought it a let down. I can’t quite tell if I’m let down because of the magnificence I’d been reading till then, or because it’s truly disappointing. Not in a romance sense, but in a narrative-novel-sense…if I’m even making any sense at this point.

Let’s start with the magnificence. Whence? It’s a combination of the North-Sea-adrift setting, the fragile houseboat, and Lexi and Zeke caught on them. The setting is wild, dangerous, and their situation so precarious, I’ve never read any romance like it. And what’s quite impressive? Not much happens, not much needs to happen, because O’Leary captures the vast isolation, the mystery and the human vulnerability of drifting atop depths. She then does a clever thing and gives Lexi and Zeke another setting, still adrift, still vulnerable, still perilous. To sustain an engrossing, believable, bizarre-as-it-is, I can only call it a courtship in this setting is a feat.

Another feat: how witty-funny Lexie and Zeke are, not in a clever-banter-way, but with a deep humour. Being stuck together, having to survive, though their food supply is good and the sea is calm, these are finite things and the reader knows it; hence, suspense. O’Leary cleverly doesn’t make the narrative about Zeke and Lexi sharing about their lives, though there’s some of that, it’s the actual surviving, the actions they have to take and decisions they have to make that allow us to get to know them. Zeke and Lexi are vulnerable, funny, affectionate, and of a generous spirit: truly compatible and the setting, with its wild beauty and all-shades-of-orange-and-violent sunsets and -rises, their perfect backdrop. I’m not going to spoil, but Lexi and Zeke make it to another setting, and it isn’t a desert isle, because hey-North-Sea, it’s, well, let’s say creepy-industrial and this only adds to O’Leary’s originality and inventiveness.

Then, in the last quarter, badness sets in and the narrative turns trite. Because O’Leary didn’t quite know what to do, but pull Zeke and Lexi asunder before bringing them back together. I simply didn’t like it: it was contrived. Readers may be okay with it, but I wasn’t and it left me disappointed, even though Zeke and Lexi, wonderful, soft Zeke and Lexi, do get the HEA they deserve. It’s not perfect, but you shouldn’t miss reading it. It’s an original, O’Leary’s Swept Away. Miss Austen would get a kick out of Swept Away and she and I agree, it’s got “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Beth O’Leary’s Swept Away is published by Berkley and released on April 1st. I received an e-galley, from Berkley, via Netgalley. The above is my honest, not-an-iota-of-AI-generated opinion.

2.5 Stars

While overall I enjoyed this book, I did struggle with it a little as well. I just didn’t connect to the story or characters like I have with other O’Leary books.

Swept Away by Beth O'Leary

Ok look. This cover, combined with the fact that it's a survival at sea romance had me salivating. This kind of story is my kryptonite, but goodness me this was soooooo messy. By the end of this review, you will be wondering why I didn't DNF and my answer is simply that I couldn't bring myself to look away because I had to know how it all worked out.

The entire book felt like a fever dream. You've got a one-night stand between Lexi and Zeke that occurs on a houseboat that drifts out to sea because communication? Who needs it? So they're just bobbing out there in the North Sea on a boat that's barely floating and can't run that they both think is theirs. I was beginning to struggle at this point because I had a hard time believing this could realistically happen, but I hung in there. And then all the things start happening. If something could go wrong, it went wrong. And if something could conveniently happen to move the story along, it did. You've got an accidental gaping, festering wound and a concussion between these two people. This boat is covered in sweat and vomit due to the concussion... or maybe food poisoning... sea sickness? All of the above? Probably. They're living off spoiled food that somehow Zeke is able to whip up into a hot meal even though there's no running water or electricity on this boat and they're rationing crackers with old sweaty cheese and cookies the rest of the time. They're plugging holes with cotton t-shirts and tape and catching rain water in a tarp and bowls that sometimes slide right off the deck into the sea. There's an outlandish oil rig situation and an injured seagull who they rescue from the water and feed their very meager rations to. Because if the seagull doesn't survive this, we don't want to either! And honestly, that would probably be me too so I can't fault them for that, I guess!

There's a lot of info dumping and repetition about their individual past struggles (some of which are disturbing... like Zeke's first love who was well into adulthood while he was only 16 years old... ick). Both of them also have very intense family/found family situations and spend their time discussing them ad nauseam (either out loud or in their heads) when they're not in the process of potentially succumbing to their individual injuries. And honestly, the dialogue had me cringing at times. Lexi is older than Zeke and will never let anyone forget it. She's only 31, but you'd think this woman was 75 for how old she keeps telling Zeke she is. I got so tired of her making some self-deprecating comment about her age or her aged body (again, she is THIRTY ONE), just so he would come back and reassure her that age is just a number and she's beautiful no matter what. He's known her for less than two weeks and can't stop thinking about what a beautiful puker she is. Meanwhile, his gaping wound is seeping pus from infection and they really just wish they were making out right now. I'm absolutely sure that no real humans would be lusting after and craving sex from one other under these dire circumstances. I struggled to believe the romance so much because they clearly only bonded over a shared traumatic experience. The chemistry between the two of them was lacking, and I had a hard time picturing them ever falling in love in the real world. They just don't match, and my mind was never changed on that. These people needed medical attention and therapy, not romance. And then there's a twist that made me throw the book across the room. Seriously?? What in the Days of Our Lives drama is this? Everyone in this book needs to take a very big step back and do some reassessing.

All in all, I was super intrigued when I read the synopsis. What a unique and interesting sounding story! But there was too much going on here. I enjoyed the parts of the story where survival instincts and ingenuity took over for a little while. It was interesting reading about what they did to try make life easier for themselves and find help, and if this had been just a survival story I think I would have liked it a lot more (especially if it were more believable). But there was a lot of drama layered on top of that surrounding them and their families as well as their individual pasts. I wish the romance aspect hadn't been there at all and that this was a story about two strangers (or even friends) trying to make it out alive. The romance, family drama, and the comedy of errors throughout their journey to survival was too much for me and I had a hard time suspending the amount of disbelief necessary to fully immerse myself in this story.

A one-night stand and being lost at sea. They are contrary circumstances, to be sure. Zeke and Lexi discover that the rendezvous on the houseboat they were on took quite a different turn. The houseboat has drifted out to the middle of the ocean. They are stranded. They are alone. They have no idea how the pair of them would find safety.

Close proximity to be sure. Feelings are definitely being caught between Lexi and Zeke after spending several days together out at sea. Romance aside, how will they get back to land? Will they find a way on their own, or will they somehow be rescued?

Survival is critical for Lexi and Zeke, so finding a way home is paramount. Although they are working on finding their way home, they just may have found a way to one another, and hopefully once on land their story might have a happy ending. What a lovely multilayered story by Beth O’Leary.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

After a drunken miscommunication in the dark, two strangers find themselves lost at sea on a houseboat after having a one-night stand. I really enjoyed this one! The survival aspect of the story was a surprise but I thought it made it much more interesting and added to the depth of the story as a whole. I found Zeke and Lexi to be likeable characters, each with their own baggage, and I was definitely rooting for them to find love and get rescued. The character development was excellent and I loved that they really got to know each other on a deeper level via forced proximity. I also appreciated the reverse age gap aspect, which is not commonly seen in romcoms. The twist toward the end definitely caught me by surprise but I did not love the drama it caused and felt it was unnecessary and an overreaction on Lexi’s part after all they had been through together. Overall, this was a unique cozy feel-good story of survival and romance and I would definitely recommend it to others! Thank you to NetGalley, Beth O’Leary, and Berkley Publishing Group for the gifted ARC. This is a voluntary and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this e-ARC of Swept Away in exchange for an honest review. I'm going to be completely honest, I was on the fence because of the age gap. I'm normally okay with an okay-ish age gap, I don't think the characters need to be the exact same age or anything. Lexi is in her early 30s and Zeke is in his early 20s, and I just really couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to convince myself that fundamentally that these two characters had anything in common enough to form an emotional and romantic connection. I know that Beth O'Leary would inevitably make this a much more emotional read than what it originally looked like on the surface. I ended up really liking the backstory with Zeke, and I think the romance overall was a nice diversion from the usual "guy is older, woman is much younger" trope. I don't think I'll remember this in a few days, but it was really good while I read it!

This book was pretty cute, and the romance was solid. Unfortunately, there were moments where the plot became a bit convoluted and pulled me out of the story that kind of made it hard for me to really enjoy the story.

This was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint, I loved it! I was hooked from the very beginning and couldn’t put it down. The concept felt so fresh and unique, and as always, I’m a huge fan of Beth O’Leary’s writing. The age gap didn’t bother me at all, but I wasn’t a fan of Lexi’s best friend Penny. Still, a super engaging and memorable read!

This book was pretty cute with the romance. I did think the setting of a house boat was pretty unique and intrigued me. However, I did find myself getting a bit confused at times of where we were at and it did take me out of the story a bit.

I have to admit that this one took me a minute to get into. I wasn’t pulled in with the initial meet-cute and I wasn’t feeling confident an entire story could be written about two people lost at sea. But at some point, this book sucked me in and I couldn’t get enough. Swept Away is part romance, part adventure story and the genre blend totally worked here!

For me, the 2nd half of the book was just fabulous, and there were many happy tears shed in the final few chapters. What I initially thought would be a tedious and potentially boring story, turned into a lovely book about opening yourself up to love, dealing with the past, and letting go of fears so you can truly live a joyful life.

Swept Away is the story of a one night stand turned more after our main characters, Lexi and Zeke, end up out to sea on a houseboat after a steamy night together. What they lack in survival skills, they make up for in determination and a will to make it home alive (while possibly falling in love in the process). This clever premise was super entertaining and fun to read! I haven’t read a romance like this and its uniqueness was refreshing. I could have used a little bit more depth to our characters, but overall I really enjoyed this!

If you’re looking for an engaging summer romance filled with mishaps and forced proximity, look no further!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

A one-night stand turns into 12 days of forced proximity when 31 year old Lexi and 23 year old Zeke end up stranded on a houseboat. What starts as a steamy setup turns into a surprisingly heartfelt story. Zeke is incredibly sweet, determined to prove himself and Lexi is holding some heavier things on her heart, making their pairing such a tender and emotional combo! There’s emotional depth, strong character growth, a mischievous seagull named Eugene, and I loved the epilogue! While there’s frustrating miscommunication (my least favorite!!), this book offers more substance than expected. I'd read from this author again - great book for summer!

While I feel like I could get swept away any minute with all the storms, tornados, and flooding we have had since Wednesday, what I really got swept away with was this entertaining book, Swept Away by Beth O’Leary.
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While I have enjoyed her previous books, none had captured me and made me smile like The Flatshare. This one did. I am so happy I got to read it and tell you all about it. Thanks so much @BerkleyPub for my advanced copy.
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Lots of people get carried away on a one night stand. Most people don’t actually get carried away by the sea, swept away as it is. That is what happened to Lexi and Zeke after their one night stand on a houseboat is unintentionally extended by just a bit. Talk about an uncomfortable morning after! What follows is their tale of survival and their tale of getting to know each other and themselves.
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I loved this relationship, whether it was depending on each other for survival or for a shoulder to cry on when missing real life.
We really get to know these characters and what makes them tick. I was as frightened as they were in some parts of their story.
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I enjoyed the age gap, she is older. Honestly, Zeke is an old soul and definitely acted older than he was. It is a very close proximity trope set on a small houseboat so they absolutely couldn’t avoid each other. I don’t think I would have wanted to avoid Zeke!

Lexi has put her personal life on hold so that she be there to support her best friend Penny and her daughter and she has never regretted that decision. When she is convinced to approach a sexy younger man at the bar where she works she expects to have one enjoyable night with him, and they would go their separate ways not be stranded with him for nearly two weeks.

Zeke is single and intends to stay that way. The reasons that brought him to town are taking an emotional toll so the opportunity to forget in the arms of a beautiful woman seems like the perfect solution. The next morning brings a surprise that neither saw coming when they find themselves stranded in the middle of the ocean and must work together to find a way back.

Even though their experience together at times was tumultuous and at times humorous I enjoyed seeing these two strangers let each other into their hearts as they found a love that neither was prepared for along with some surprises along the way.

I liked this!! Literally my nightmare: one night stand turns into accidental adventure partner when you get swept out to sea?? No thank you😳 But a very fun concept to read in a romance book and not horror.

I didn’t love the characters to start. I wasn’t really vibing with either of them and was kind of disappointed in how unwilling they were to work together. And then it felt very insta-lovey with the change to not hating each other. Both Lexi and Zeke grew on me as the book went on, but I still wasn’t super invested. Also I’m all for suspending some parts of reality, but I couldn’t get over some of the things they did, especially with the oil rig?? There were several moments that pulled me out of the story.

Overall a fun read, especially if you’re up for suspending reality quite a bit in a tense situation. Her other books are definitely a step up from this one imo!

✔️ One Night Stand
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Black Cat / Golden Retriever
✔️ Family Drama
✔️ Danger Banging
✔️ Family & Found Family

It was supposed to be just one night, but the one hot night on a houseboat led to Lexi and Zeke adrift at sea with no way to get back home or contact help. Neither of them have strong survival skills but they're both plucky and determined to make it out alive (and why not fall in love in the process).

The plot was entertainingly stressful, particularly because these two felt very real. They weren't experienced sailors and they weren't totally goofing it up in a madcap way. They were regular people trying to do their best and hold it together in an awful situation. This made for fascinating character building/character reveals.

I love a black cat / golden retriever combo and it worked well here because at the end of the day, both Zeke and Lexi are natural caretakers and they both stepped up when needed. You can't help but like them and root for them.

I think this is the steamiest of Beth O'Leary's books and I am here for it! I think I would have been disappointed if it was fade to black after all that work! 😆

Overall, a really great adventure romance and a perfect beachy read (provided you're not on a scary boat ride).

Steam 🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕

I really enjoyed The Flatshare, this is my second Beth O'Leary book since, and I think she may have been a one-hit wonder for myself. I'm not a huge romance reader so I wouldn't say this was bad by any means, just not quite engaging enough for an occasional reader of the genre.

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⚓️🚢💙💕
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beth O’Leary delivers her most engaging novel yet with Swept Away - a captivating, heartfelt story that begins with a bang and never loses momentum. This is, without a doubt, my favorite O’Leary book so far.

The premise is refreshingly original: two strangers, Lexi and Zeke, find themselves stranded together after what was supposed to be a fleeting one-night encounter. What follows is a tender, emotionally layered exploration of connection, vulnerability, and the families we’re born into versus the ones we choose.

Rather than front-loading character exposition, O’Leary lets Lexi and Zeke reveal themselves gradually, deepening their arcs as the story unfolds. Their emotional growth feels authentic, and their bond is both believable and deeply moving. I particularly appreciated that the narrative didn’t shy away from emotional expression - the “I love you” moment arrives without delay, and it feels earned.

And then there’s the twist - brilliantly executed and completely unexpected. I was floored. It’s the kind of reveal that pulls the rug out from under you in the best way - not for shock value, but in service of deeper thematic resonance.

This isn’t a trauma-heavy survival story, but rather a beautifully balanced romance with just the right amount of tension, vulnerability, and warmth. Swept Away proves that even in the most uncertain circumstances, love has a way of anchoring us.