This was not your standard meet-cute romance novel. It started with a one-night stand and quickly progressed into a forced-proximity survival story; however, it also included several interactions that led to a greater emotional connection and personal growth for the protagonists. I truly enjoyed the unique circumstances of their ‘adventure’ and some of the twists & turns in the plot (with only one caveat, but I won’t spoil it for anyone else).

Cynical 31-year-old bartender, Lexi, is drawn to the enigmatic stranger checking her out from across the pub. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Zeke is captivated by the beautiful yet standoffish woman behind the bar. With a push from her coworker, they connect over drinks and ultimately end up back at Zeke’s houseboat for an amazing night together.

But when they wake up the next morning, they quickly realize they are no longer moored at the dock. Instead, all around them is a wide expanse of sea. No cell phone signal, no power, limited food and beverage options, and no way to get back to land (or to know for sure in which direction to travel). Together, they deal with adverse weather, false hope of rescue, injuries and dehydration. They also rescue an injured baby seagull just as lost as they are.

Throughout their 11 days lost at sea, they come to appreciate each other in ways that help them each see themselves in a different light. When they are finally rescued (because it is, at heart, a romance novel with a positive ending), their love feels like a bond that will never break. However, even though they are back on dry land, the struggle is not over, and they must push through one final challenge in order to achieve their much-deserved happily ever after.

I wanna say it's a case of me and not the book, but I don't think Beth O'Leary is the author for me and that makes me sad.

I will give this one another shot closer to pub date!!

I really enjoyed the first quarter of the book but then I got a bit bored half way through. The boat portion felt a bit repetitive. You have to suspend quite a bit of reality to make this story work, it seemed a bit unrealistic. The twist in the last quarter of the book felt really unnecessary and I did not like that part at all. I enjoyed Zeke’s POV more than Lexi’s. The writing flows nice and the dialogue was good. Overall a cute romance with a bit of nautical survival suspense to keep you reading.

Beth O'Leary knows how to write emotionally intense novels, and this one is definitely emotional and intense! Some of the boat stuff got SCARY. At certain points, I got a bit lost in all the action, but the emotional and romantic threads are strong. Proceed with caution if you are scared of the ocean!

Beth O'Leary's Swept Away is a unique blend of sweet romance and edge-of-your-seat tension. The concept of being lost at sea and exploring an abandoned oil rig creates an almost post-apocalyptic or dystopian atmosphere that really added an unexpected twist to the romance genre. I really thought that was so fun!

The high-stakes setting really kept me turning the pages, as I was constantly wondering what would happen next and whether they’d be rescued. Despite the tense situation, the romance shines through, offering heartwarming moments amidst the survival struggle.

The ending twist was not my favourite part. It felt a bit forced, like we needed the "they lose each other" plot twist. I could have done without, or a different type of twist.

But overall, I really liked it and thought it was quite different! A romantic comedy with a (not quite) dystopian twist!

I've read all of Beth O'Leary's books and this is somewhat of a departure from her other books. This book isn't cozy and charming; it's suspenseful and propulsive. Thankfully, we still get the rich character development and deep dive into the characters' emotions and inner monologue that I've come to love about O'Leary. This is my favority Beth O'Leary book yet, and I hope to see more like it!

I absolutely adore Beth O’Leary‘s writing! This is no exception. The atmosphere in this book was just perfect. I honestly felt like I was there with the characters. The story was so sweet and it capture my heart in the very beginning. A must read for the new year.

'Zeke and Lexi agree to one single night together.. Somehow it turns into more than that when they realize they've been swept out to sea. Now stuck together on a small boat with limited supplies, they're forced to work together in hopes of surviving until being rescued.'
Both Zeke and Lexi are feeling a bit lost in their lives, have unresolved grief and unrealized career potential, as well as a yearning for something more in their relationships and charting out a future. Could it be true that being lost at sea helps them find the future they always wanted.... Well, yes being a survival rom-com, all is well in the end. This is certainly a beach read- survival- damaged character(s) redemption story. Enjoyable, slow starting, at times pretty scary circumstances, unrealistic, and yet I really needed to know how they were rescued. Overall, enjoyable and would recommend.

This is a book that I was SO excited for. I have loved most of Beth O'Leary's books and the premise of this sounded great and the cover is drop dead gorgeous! I'm usually a huge fan of the one night stand trope too. In reality, this ended up being a book that was incredibly "not for me" and trust me, no one is more bummed than I am.

This book required the suspending of all of my disbelief and I just could never get there. Every single decision the characters made while they were lost at sea made me want to scream (and in one case literally resulted in that). Both characters were pretty unbearable and I didn't think they had any chemistry whatsoever. The pacing was really strange too and the reveal at the end (which I did predict) just annoyed me. UGH the miscommunication after everything else just annoyed me so much.

A sex scene when characters are sweaty, dirty, and haven't showered in days will literally never work for me and then add in that he has an infected injury??? and all they can think about is how hot the other one is??? Nah, man. just no.

Low key the best character was the injured seagull who they then LOSE.

This whole book felt like it was supposed to be funny but instead ended up taking itself way too seriously.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for and honest review. This book was way different than I expected in the best way. Honestly, I don’t think I have ever read a book quite like it. It was romantic, suspenseful, and emotional. It really made me think about what skills and knowledge I have in the case of a survival scenario. I really liked the relationship development as well as the individual characters’ growth. And ugghh Penny!

Swept Away has a lot of heart! The story follows Lexi and Zeke, a couple who went from a casual one-night stand to stranded at sea together. O'Leary crafted a story where you're rooting for these characters to not only survive, but that their love story would prevail. I really enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and their growth throughout the story.

I rated Swept Away 3.75 stars due to a trope that I don't particularly enjoy.

Overall, a fun book to read poolside!!

Many thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the eARC - all thoughts are my own!

I've never heard of a romance with a plot like Swept Away's and it was an immediate must-read for me because of that. (Also the cover?! Adorable!) It had a lot of promise, but I had to suspend my disbelief quite a few times. The way the characters became lost at sea and then some of their choices while out there...mmkay.

However, there was a twisty element later in the book that reeled me back in and helped the book finish strong. It was a fun read and truly like no romance I've ever read before!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book for review.

After reading The Flatshare years ago, I haven't tried any of the author's other books since that book left me a sour taste. The synopsis for this book made me expect something different, but it was equally sad and tragic, if not more. I admit I'm not into sad reads so it took me a while to finish this book. I can see why other people will enjoy, though, so I'll recommend it!

ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 2.5 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 - ℝ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕠 3 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

We follow our FMC Lexi and our MMC Zeke as they meet one night by chance at a bar, go back to his house boat for a one-night stand. In a miscommunication, the boat isn't tied to the dock and the two wake up drifted out and lost at sea.

I want to start by saying, this isn't really my type of romance... Sigh. I should know this by now, but please understand that these covers get me all the time lol.

I think that this would be a good beach read or pool side book. Meaning there's not a ton of substance, most of the events that happen wouldn't really happen. I mean, sure you could get lost at sea, but I don't think if you or I got lost at sea that we'd be concerned with 'saving a seagull' who is literally in their element at sea. Or say, getting drunk and dehydrated af when you have limited supplies and again... Are lost at sea!

I am all about drinking while in despair lol but this is a life-or-death type situation and it was treated like oh he he haha. I know, I know that this is a romcom of sorts and it's totally fictional but it just makes it hard to relate to the characters when they're in a situation and doing all kinds of things I would personally never do.

This is an age gap romance and I felt uncomfortable with how much Lexi would ogle him while going "but he's basically a child!" And his first sexual experience / "relationship" was with an adult while he was 16? And Lexi just ignores that this is...abuse? and thinks he's just into older women? Like maybe we should unpack that trauma instead of thinking it funny. He feels too young and childlike in comparison to her, and power difference of age made me uncomfortable.

I run into this often when authors do a reverse age gap, I find that the 'older woman' can sometimes come across kinda predatory depending on the way the character is written and I wouldn't say that Lexi necessarily came across as a predator to me in this book lol bc she didn't but she did give me a bit of the ick.

There's plenty of lines and scenes throughout the book that I know were intended to be laugh out loud moments, but I read the entire book with a straight face. Take from that what you will.

All in all, I do think if you're looking for something to read while at the beach for the afternoon and you don't want anything too serious (even though they're stranded at sea, it's not really high stakes vibes) it's worth a read.

Expected Release Date - 04/01/25

╰⪼ 💜Forced Proximity (to the MAX)
╰⪼ ☀️Grumpy ✘ Sunshine
╰⪼ ⚓Age Gap
╰⪼ 🌊Fish Out Of Water
╰⪼ 💖Lost at Sea

⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the advanced digital copy - all thoughts are my own.

Imagine seeing a hot guy, having a bunch of drinks, and then waking up with an awful hangover, and only to find out that you're stranded at sea in a houseboat. Unrealistic but I can roll with it.
🛥 reverse age gap
🌊 forced proximity
🛥 grumpy x sunshine
🌊 man falls first
🛥 total romance book


The premise sounded amazing. I wasn’t expecting the against all odds and survival story even if it was a bit unrealistic. This was a cute book of you're looking for that feel good read. I really enjoyed the Flatshare and this one, too. From now on out, I will be buying whatever Beth O'Leary writes. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Expected release date April 10, 2025

"Well, it's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility . . ."

Did you just recently find yourself housebound in the middle of a blizzard with more snow in the forecast? Me too! If you too have spent the week being bored in the house in the house bored and fear you might kill your better half if you have to spend one more second interacting with each other, then perhaps something like a Beth O’Leary book is just what you need.

The story here is what was supposed to be a little May/December one-nighter where Lexi is going to attempt to get a bit of her groove back with Zeke. Things take a drastic turn, however, when the two discover the houseboat they’ve been shakin’ (alllll night lonnnnnnng) has become unmoored and they are now adrift at sea.

Loved it. Don’t care if you don’t I loved it enough for several of us. And look at that cover!!!! Oh. My. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

I love reading survival stories and romance and this book mashes them up to perfection. The ocean adventure for Lexi and Zeke is packed with danger and so many unknowns and while survival is the ultimate goal, both Lexi and Zeke also develop a genuine deep friendship and open up to each other, showing the most vulnerable pieces of themselves. The respect and trust each has for the other was my favorite part and made me cheer for them to succeed even more--not getting back to their lives on land together was too heartbreaking for me to even consider.

There are lighter moments too, when Zeke and Lexi enjoyed being together despite the life-threatening situation. The plot twist put this novel on a whole other level for me, adding another challenge for all characters involved.

I already know I want to read more by this author; this is my first book I've read by this author thanks to Netgalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

In this unique runaway boat survival story, a couple awakens after their one-night stand to discover the boat they dallied on was not properly tied up and they’ve been washed out to sea without a working radio, working engine, or more than a rudimentary knowledge of sailing. And, each thinks they own the vessel. Zack and Lexi now need to move past blame to find a way back home, or get rescued. Food and water becomes scarce, one of them gets injured, and they don’t always get along; conflict escalates with fear and trauma. There is also some beauty to be found in the journey and in getting to know one another.

O’Leary deftly balances dramatic plot elements and complex back stories (Lexi’s assitance with her best friend’s daughter, since the dad is a deadbeat; Zach’s complex relationship with his own father) with character growth, and Zach and Lexi bring their real flawed selves to their predicament. I appreciated the conclusion, which I had not anticipated; I’m a naive reader, and didn’t see it coming. There was a squicky element with Zack’s confession that his first sexual experience was as a teen with an adult woman, that is not categorized as rape or assualt, and IMHO should be.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #SweptAway via #NetGalley courtesy of #Berkley.

This is pretty sweet. There's an age-gap romance (or "reverse age-gap" but I'm going to believe a woman can do anything a man can, and that, in this case, includes dating a younger partner), a true one-bed scenario, and maximum forced-proximity. I've been a sucker for any shipwreck or desert-island story pretty much my whole life, so this plot is kind of custom made to reel my in.

Both characters are authentically flawed but self-aware enough to know their faults and weaknesses. They respond realistically to their crisis-- in a normal-people way, not always a perfect-hero way.

Suggest to readers of contemporary romance. eARC from NetGalley.

This one just wasn't for me.
I found that the pace was slow, and the writing just didn't resonate with me (maybe a bit too... informal?)
I'm sure many will enjoy the characters & the love story here, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.