Member Reviews
Super cute! Really liked this one--partially took place in one of my favorite countries, the FMC was from a place I'd never been and don't know much about, both characters were comfortable in their own skin... mostly. I felt like I should've maybe read the other books in the series again before this one so that I would have remembered more of the other cast members better, but I still enjoyed it anyway.
4.25 stars!
Olivia Dade's "Ship Wrecked" has two fat main characters named Maria and Peter (LOVE LOVE LOVE, PLEASE MORE OF THIS!). After having a one-night hook-up in Los Angeles that saw Maria sneaking out before Peter woke up, they both get cast in a television show that they could be filming for nearly a decade. Peter was burned by Maria's quick exit, so he copped a bad attitude once they were both cast. For the sake of the shoot, he apologizes to Maria, and the two of them become really good friends. They have both secretly been harboring feelings for each other for more than six years. Once their show stops filming, Peter intends to tell Maria how he feels about her, hopeful that he can find an opportunity to woo her.
This is my first foray into books penned by Olivia Dade, and I have to say, I am hooked! I CANNOT WAIT to read her back catalog. While "Ship Wrecked" is part of a series, it can easily be read independently. To my understanding, some much-beloved characters from the series make an appearance here. My gods, does Dade know how to write banter! UGH, I LOVED how Maria and Peter pinned for one another over the course of their time filming "Gods of the Gates." This is a slow-burn romance for sure. I loved the high stakes for them and found myself rooting for them to get together the entire novel. The story is full of cheekiness, fat acceptance and body positivity, extremely detailed Viking sexiness and Swedish goddess-ness, steammmmm, and women advocating for themselves in the face of chauvinistic male overlords in the workplace. It also has quite a bit to say about both Maria and Peter's past relationship traumas and how those pains impact their current romantic entanglement. When Peter winds up staying with Maria while on a press tour in Sweden, they stay with her family, and all of her cards are laid bare. Her heartwrenching past also details who she is in the present. Peter's own past with his father also becomes relevant to their situation as well, and I thought these details were handled with grace and superbly written. I just loved this book. Olivia Dade is now an auto-buy author for me for sure!
Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Dade, Avon, and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.
First of all, I am obsessed with this cover. OBSESSED.
- Friendship
- Angst
- Heartbreak
a true friends-to-lovers goodie!
It does have a third act breakup, so if you're not into that maybe pass.
all in all, I recommend!
I’ll start by saying, I’ve loved each of the books in this series and this one is no different.
Ship Wrecked follows Peter after having a one night stand with a stunning Swedish woman only to discover she’s his new costar. And now, they are stuck together on and island for YEARS filming, while refusing to give into the electric sexual tension between them. What could possibly happen here?
I really enjoyed how this book worked through their years of filming and all the little moments between Peter and Maria. You really got a great feel for how their relationship when from one night stand to enemies to friends to lovers over the course of six years. It was a slow burn romantically with hella good spice payoff.
I absolutely love Maria and her “devil may care” attitude. She takes what she wants and has no regrets. It’s very refreshing to see her have such incredible confidence about herself and even taking up for introvert Peter. She might be my favorite FMC in this series. And the BANTER. She gives Peter so much hell for everything and I loved it.
As a plus sized woman, I always love books with great plus sized rep. The fact that it’s in both MC’s in this book speaks volumes. I adore Olivia Dade’s work and how she portrays her fat characters. Peter and Maria’s journey is not a quick one, but it was very spicy and involved a host of emotions for both of them.
Was not able to read the entirety of the book and cannot give an accurate or overall rating/review . As a librarian for a big library system, we most likely have a copy of this item. I will look forward to reading it in future since I am sure I will.
Maria and Peter were both just awesome. I love another body inclusive romance that brought the steam and tension. Just the rest of the story was a little MEH for me.
Ok, I hate that I'm even writing a review that isn't positive! I have LOVED this series up to this point. I could not become interested in this book. I read about 30% and could not finish. It was cute writing and I really liked the characters, but it couldn't hold my interest! Maybe I need to retry when I'm more in the mood for a romance.
This whole series is just such a fun ride. I loved every couple, and this one is no exceptions. Love a little lovers, to enemies, to friends, to lovers moment! The spice was perfect, I am in love with the female lead, and the plot was well paced. Such a great romance! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Sighs.
2023 has become a very lackluster reading year for me and after selecting “Ship Wrecked” among the numerous ARCs I failed to complete this year (a story for another time), I was really hoping for a win. Ha! Why do I always get my hopes up to only watch it crash and burn?
All in all, I didn’t like “Ship Wrecked” as much as I thought I would. The body positivity and plus size representation, yes. Everything else, no. The first few chapters were barely decent but it slowly started spiraling before I’ve even reached the 10-20% mark. The only chapter that is worth the read is chapter one. That’s all folks!
One of the noticeable issues of the book I had was the pacing. It was horrendous. As a reader, it's a vital part of any story and it was pretty much non-existent. One moment we’re with the main characters, Peter and Maria’s, one night stand scene then the next we’re transported a number of years later where their relationship betters for the worse all within the same sentences. Half the time I didn’t know where I was at with the out-of-whack jumps throughout and essentially found myself less and less enthused in finishing this read.
Additionally, readers were left out the loop on Peter’s and Maria’s relationship building and development, and it felt like we just had to trust the author’s word on it. Ugh no. That is typically my favorite aspect of a romance novel. Seeing how the characters interact and grow after pinning and finally getting together.
Despite the author being new to me—the likelihood of me reading from Olivia Dade is zero to none. Don’t waste your time in picking this up. You’re welcome.
An enjoyable book and a great (what I believe this is) ending to this series. But as with the other two books before this one, it seemed longer than what the plot itself demanded. There was a giant time skip a bit into the story that has the reader missing the moments that turned them from enemies to friends. That would've been nice to see on page.
Compared to Marcus and Alex, I think Peter is my least favorite of the three actors. He didn't seem as fleshed out to me, but I liked Maria and her dedication to her family. The three Spoiler Alert books also seemed to follow a similar pattern - they meet each other, fall in love hard, and then break up before getting back together. This is fine by itself, but I read two of these books back-to-back, and it was a bit too similar for my tastes. If I had spaced out my reading a little, maybe that wouldn't have bothered me too much.
I did like the chemistry between Peter and Maria and seeing this different side of the Gods of the Gates cast and show. This novel was cute like all the others, and still an overall enjoyable read.
I made it through 63% of this book and decided to call it quits. It felt like the whole book could have ended after the making of their series and them deciding to be together. It was starting to really drag on for me with going to meet her family. Even the making of the series felt weird since it flew through years rather quickly, but was the building of their relationship. It came across as two separate books thrown together. A book about their years doing the series and then a book surrounding their time afterwards and navigating trying to be a couple. Unfortunately I just didn't care for Peter from early on and that set the tone for my dislike of him, which made me not really care what happened between their relationship because I didn't think he deserved her with the way he spoke to her.
I loved Olivia Dade's other novels, so I will continue to read her future books and give her another go. This one just wasn't for me. Thank you for the arc in exchange for my honest review! I won't be sharing this to my platforms online.
Ship Wrecked is the first book I've read by Olivia Dade, and it has made me excited to read her other books. I started reading the ebook ARC but finished with the audiobook, and I really liked the narrator Kelsey Navarro.
Ship Wrecked opens on a one-night stand between Peter and Maria, who end up being cast together on a new TV show called Gods of the Gates (clearly an allusion to Game of Thrones). Peter and Maria become friends and spend six years filming on a remote island together. As far as romance tropes, it definitely has some grumpy/sunshine vibes and I think it fits the friends-to-lovers trope, although technically it's lovers-to-friends-to-lovers. Interspersed between the chapters are fun interludes showing text conversations and even an example of Gods of the Gates fan fiction, all revealing the development of Peter and Maria's relationship. It's worth mentioning that both leads are overweight, and I thought Dade handled fat issues in a thought-provoking way. Overall, I found Dade's writing to be insightful and the issues the characters faced felt authentic. I give it 4.5 stars.
DNF. I just couldn't get into this one. I did however love the representation of characters who aren't model thin.
This was so good! I think the second book is still my favorite, but I had a great time.
The slow burn? Yes.
The friend to lovers? Yes.
The fact that they were CO-STARS??? Yes!
Shipwrecked by Olivia Dade (Spoiler Alert #3) 4 stars
I confess that I haven’t read the other two books in this series, but I found this one to be engaging and funny. I kind of got a “Game of Thrones” vibe about the so called series that the actors were working on. I love a HEA and this one did not disappoint (Maria and Peter rule) I will have to catch up and read the other two books in this series.
Thank you Netgalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for this ARC.
Spoilers:
In "Shipwrecked", the third installment from Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert series, we find ourselves back on the set of Gods of the Gates. While "Spoiler Alert" and "All the Feels" both feature plus sized heroines, we finally get a plus sized leading man to star along our equally curvy leading lady. After Maria and Peter's one night stand, the two suddenly realize they are going to be cast opposite each other in the roles that might make or break their careers. We follow the two as they fight their attraction to each other for the next 6 years of Gods of the Gates filming and catch up to where the other 2 books end: the final season. With the show now complete, the two finally have nothing standing in their way.
I honestly, enjoyed "Shipwrecked" but the spark was not as strong as Dade's other two couples. Peter and Maria's eventual relationship felt obvious and the crisis they have to overcome is the reality of working Hollywood couples. I did love that we finally had a large dude that was described as large for more than just his muscles. Overall, I finished the book feeling like the couple had a nice happily ever after and have hopes of another book in the series.
In Ship Wrecked we meet Peter--an almost Viking like actor--waiting for his big break. He hopes filming this movie with co-star, Maria, will be just what he needs.
As they film on a remote island they get tangled up in situations not in the script.
Does the light hearted connection have enough to make it on the mainland.....or is Maria a really good actor?
And, yes, this is a curvy-girl romance, but I don't think that needs to be said as other romances don't need labels. Yes, I love seeing myself represented but I also think if we say 'plus size heroine' then we should also say descriptors like "too thin female lead" or "male character with unreal 6-pak" . Just saying.
Maria and Peter have a one night stand...and then become co-stars on the legendary Gods of the Gates franchise. They're required to spend years filming on a small island with a tiny crew - and all of that time they keep their hands to themselves. But on the last night of filming, they finally give in. Peter, though, is headed back to Hollywood, and Maria is headed back to Sweden. Can these two star-crossed lovers figure things out?
I liked Maria a lot - she's a strong character who decisively knows who she is and what she wants from life. I did not care much for Peter, as he spends a lot of time just ruthlessly devoted to his career and making money. The other books in this series are stronger than this one is, although this is still enjoyable.
This book was so close to perfection. I have really enjoyed this series and I might be the odd person who adored Spoiler Alert. In any case, I was thrilled to get an ARC of Shipwrecked but a new job and various life situations meant I am reviewing it a month after release. I have really enjoyed the representation in this series and it continues in Shipwrecked. I adored Peter and Maria. If you have read my reviews, you know that I adore character growth. Both Peter and Maria have emotional baggage related to their childhood. It interferes with their relationship and they both go through character growth.
The story starts off scorching hot. I loved the beginning. I adored the scenes on the Irish island involving filming the show. I really loved both Peter and Maria were fat characters but that was really secondary to the book. I struggled with pacing after filming ended even though that is where the character growth occurred. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I am hopeful that the author has plans to tell the stories of other cast members and am thinking I know whose book is next.
I enjoyed this book but it didn’t blow me away.
I’m not a fan of overlapping timelines and the timelines of this book overlapped with the time lines of the books in the other series.
I am sad this series is over and I loved that this book featured 2 plus size characters.