This is such a crazy story in the best possible way!

Zeke and Lexi have the most insane one night stand — because it doesn’t end.

It can’t, because they’ve been swept away… literally.

In a comedy of errors, the house boat they tumbled into wasn’t secured at the marina.

Meaning when the sun rises, these two are out at sea with no way to call for rescue.

What ensues is pure love that’s completely forged by fire.

Their adventures out at sea are built from romance, humor — including a seagull named Eugene— and suspense.

I am here for it!

If you want a reverse grumpy/sunshine, reverse age-gap lost at sea tale filled with twists and turns and tons of hope— pick this up!

I love this author, and this story is such a refreshing addition to her incredible list.

Read this as a perfect spring and summer read!

“I’m glad it was you,” he says, so softly I almost don’t hear him over the wind. “On this adventure with me.” ⛴️⚓️🌊

To cut to the chase, this was not the book for me. SWEPT AWAY by Beth O’Leary is just so wildly unbelievable and fanciful that it had me cringing most of my reading experience. {But thank you to @berkleyromance for the #gifted eARC to read and review!}

Two strangers go back to a houseboat for a one-night stand - and wake up the next morning stranded in the ocean…also arguing about who owns this houseboat? From there you get a wild story where our characters are physically and emotionally battered - but still have plenty of physical and mental energy to ogle one another? Even the setbacks they endured while floating out to sea seemed so forced and unrealistic; anything that could go wrong, did go wrong - it felt a stretch too far.

And finally, the plot twist that leads to the infamous third act breakup? It was so heavily foreshadowed that it came at little surprise; the big reveal had zero impact - other than making me dislike the characters just that much more.

At the end of the day, I don’t think survival or action romances are my cup of tea. They all read slightly absurd to me and I think I need slightly more grounding in my romances - unless I am intentionally reading fantasy or a genre where unrealistic is the name of the game.

This was such a different romance book, and I really appreciate it when an author takes a chance, but I'm not entirely sure that as a whole this worked for me.

First off, this entire book takes place with two people stranded at sea after a one-night stand. I LOVED this concept, because I love romances that bud as people are trying to survive some impossible situation (think Six Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford and Anne Heche). I think where this book deviated from my expectations was that the characters felt really lost in their situation, and while they did make efforts (especially later in the book), for a large chunk of the book it felt like they were just waiting it out and I started to get quite frustrated with them.

The other thing is the romance. These two people felt really odd, and I didn't quite buy them together at all. I feel like their entire backstory was written to make the twist make sense, but while you are reading it feels a bit random and weird.

The MMC is described as wearing velvet trousers, a vest with no shirt, and three silver chains. And because he is stranded on a boat, he is wearing this outfit for almost the entire book.

Guys, I was picturing McLovin.

Also, the FMC is 31 to his 23, and she keeps referring to him as boyish, young, disarmed, and youthful. I just couldn't get behind this age gap, especially when the MMC reveals (SPOILER) that his first relationship was with a 28-year-old woman when he was 16. The fact that this is statutory rape is NOT mentioned, and the whole thing seems to be there to show that he is into older women, rather than that he was groomed by one.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 /5 rounded up to 4 stars.

What a wild ride!

A typical lost at sea story but the last 25% is where it really got good. The plot twist and the conflict really made the story different and more interesting to be honest.

I think the writing was great and the plot was pretty good. It felt like reading a comfort story. However , the pacing was way off. When they were lost at sea, it felt like it dragged on. And they when the got rescued (minor spoiler) everything went so fast. Maybe if it was a bit shorter, I would have enjoyed this more.

Overall I enjoyed this arc. Go check this out, out now!

Thanks to Berkeley and NetGalley for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the copy of this book.
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Read if you like: lost at sea, forced proximity.
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Zeke and Lexi find themselves lost at sea after their one night stand after they don’t properly secure the house boat, and they must work together in order to survive.
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I loved how Lexi and Zeke’s initial attraction for each other developed as they were forced to spend so much time with each other, and how they realized they were more themselves with each other than they had been with anyone else. I loved the development of their relationship and overall this story sucked me in!

This was such an intriguing premise, but it fell way flat. For a book where you accidentally end up lost at sea with your one night stand, the stakes felt relatively low for most of it. The third act was also incredibly frustrating and made me excited for the book to be over. Honestly, I think my favorite character was the seagull they named Eugene.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is categorized as a contemporary romance. And that’s because there’s no category for “survivalist love story with family trauma and a seagull.” This is not a cute and cozy book, no matter what the cover may lead you to believe. We follow 31-year-old Lexi and 23-year-old Zeke on an accidental sea voyage, lost in a barely sea-worthy houseboat. There’s storms, lack of food, injuries, boredom, and a lot of sexual tension.
Despite my dramatic warnings, this book really grabbed my attention. I was so invested in Zeke and Lexi’s safe return that I was running through the pages at top speed. I learned more about survival tactics and houseboat pros and cons than I anticipated, and got a little obsessed with a seagull. The story was fresh and funny, despite the serious plot, and I really enjoyed reading a romantic suspense storyline that didn’t include a detective hunting a serial killer.
If you’re looking for a book with a strong romance plot but a more complex storyline, this would be a great pick for you. If you’re looking for a book that would put you at ease and help you wind down, this is NOT the book for you. This is the kind of book that makes you keep 3 granola bars and 2 extra books in your bag, just in case you also get stranded at sea!
Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 stars - I had no clue what to expect when I started reading this book. I've seen some very mixed reviews, but I'd enjoyed other Beth O'Leary books in the past so I was optimistic. In general, I thought this was truly so sweet. There is no doubt that Zeke and Lexi bonded over some pretty traumatic things, but I also thought like their relationship felt realistic despite the implausible circumstances.

What I liked: Both of the main characters - I love how they looked after each other and grew to care for one another. I liked Lexi a lot, the way she moved though life and how she gave so much of herself to other. Zeke was so sweet - he seems like such a good guy and I loved how we got to see more of his personality and insecurities and eventual growth throughout the book. I love how positively he spoke of therapy and that he was intentionally working towards the life he wanted. I also really enjoyed how quickly I was able to read this book. I was never bored, it didn't get repetitive even though they were on that boat for 12 days, and I just wanted to keep reading.

What I didn't like: Penny and part of the third act. Penny hovered over this book so much despite not actually being on the page that much and I just thought she was so selfish. The way Lexi reacted to Penny's news at the end (vague, but trying to keep this spoiler free) made me so angry and annoyed. Also, Zeke's family - while I think they might have been trying to be better at the end - didn't seem that great.

Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book. It was sweet and really different from any other book I've read recently. Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the free book! All opinions are my own!

Unfortunately this one did not keep my interest and I did not finish. I tried both reading the physical book as well as finishing by audiobook, but I found the storyline dragging out and not really going anywhere.

I've read and enjoyed Beth O'Leary's work in the past, but I couldn't get into this one unfortunately. The romance didn't seem genuine to me.

This one was slow to pick up speed. It took me a while to get through it. I’ve read every book by this author, Flatshare hands down is my favorite, as well as the Switch. This one was just kind of boring and slow.

The premise of this book hooked me immediately and I really enjoyed it! It had the perfect blend of romance and adventure that just had you craving the next page.

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

This was the perfect mix of romance and adventure. Guaranteed to keep you reading late into the night!

I don't understand why the rating for this book isn't higher. I really enjoyed it. If you like forced proximity, stranded together, he falls first, age gap romances then you are going to love this. I've heard some reviews stating that it was boring but I never found that to be the case for me. I was hooked from the beginning and finished this in a day. We follow two strangers who think that they are hooking up for a drunken one night stand, but when they fail to tie the boat to the dock they wake up floating in the middle of the ocean. Beautiful cover. Beautiful story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I think I am perennially chasing after that high that The Flatshare gave me. This was okay. I found the premise unique, and it was interesting to see how the two leads would cope after being swept off to sea. Didn't really care for the additional drama at the end and it had a bit of "insta-love" feel to it which I really didn't care for.

Perfect for those that love:Forced Proximity (to the MAX)
Grumpy-Sunshine
Age Gap

2.75 stars! To preface I LOVE a forced proximity romance and a survivalist thriller. So a combination of the two genres? Right up my alley. Unfortunately Swept Away didn't meet my expectations. It wasn't a bad book by any means, I just didn't think the execution was great.

Obviously, since it's a romance, the survivalist aspect isn't going to be at the forefront, but I wish it was more "realistic." Some of the plot points/incidents were way too convenient for the sake of moving the story forward. I also didn't love either main character. The FMC had such a complex about being older than the MMC, which got super repetitive. They're both adults, and she really wasn't that much older than him. They didn't have the best chemistry and simultaneously, it felt very insta love. Though on a positive note, while it started a little bit slower, the pacing was solid throughout!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for sending me a copy of Swept Away. As always, my reviews are one hundred percent voluntary and all opinions are my own :)

It’s an age gap romance story — WHERE OUR FEMALE LEAD IS OLDER — reverse age gap 🤝 me

This is all I ever really need in a romance for it to absolutely make me feral for the story.

From the start, “Swept Away” was a wild story. Between knowing each other for ONE NIGHT and attempting to survive being stranded at sea, Lexi and Zeke have such wild circumstances and yet, the more I read, the more they went through, the more I absolutely loved everything about O’Leary’s newest book.

Obviously, we get a huge dose of forced proximity with these characters yet the way they respected each other, cared for one another, and worked together to survive provided such a unique story for the couple. As someone who is constantly reading, I found the plot of this book to be interesting and kept me wanting to read, responsibilities be damned.

I didn’t love something that pops up during the last, say 20% of the book, and for me, that cost this book a star. I won’t say much because it’s a huge spoiler. But if you are looking for a novel full of adventure, this book is it.

What an emotional read oh my goodness! This was much heavier than I expected. I liked it but it wasn’t a love.

A survival story with a romance... or is a romance with a fight for survival? No matter how you look at it, Swept Away is an engaging, compelling story about two strangers forced to rely on each other, who find the deepest of connections while struggling to stay alive while lost at sea. The story has humor and sweetness, but also scary situations and a lot of suspense. It's a great read by a talented author!