Another steamy, age gap, dual POV, body positive celebrity romance that will have you cheering for co-stars Maria and Peter. The story starts off with a literal BANG as Maria and Peter have a hot one night stand and then Maria ghosts him, only to find themselves cast on a new television show that has them working almost exclusively alone on a remote island for years.

Peter is the older actor and is kind of a dick to Swedish Maria in the beginning, holding a grudge against her and not trusting that she'll be able to hold up her end of the show as a mainly theatre actor. Slowly she wins him over as they work together and eventually they do give in to the sizzling chemistry and undeniable attraction.

I really loved how unapologetic Maria was about her body - both its size and hairiness. She refuses to cow to Hollywood beauty ideals and even tries to talk Peter out of a dramatic weight loss just to get a role, citing all the health dangers involved. This was also a great childfree by choice story which we can never get enough of in my opinion.

Great on audio narrated by Kelsey Navarro and highly recommended if you enjoyed the other books in this series. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I squealed with delight when I was approved for Olivia Dade's newest novel, "Ship Wrecked". As expected, she did not disappoint me. Someone enemies to lovers, somewhat second chance, somewhat awkward loner makes friends... Falling in love with someone not because they are societies version of drop dead gorgeous... This book has it all. There is humor, heart warming moments, and a great story.

This novel is a 4.5 to 5 stars for me! I have read all of Olivia Dade’s novel in her Spoiler Alert series thus far, and Ship Wrecked has been my favorite by far. This may be an unpopular opinion, because the first novel was rather beloved, but I was never a fan fic girlie, so that aspect of the first two novels did not do it for me. I also recently moved to Scandinavia, so the heroine being from Sweden was fun to read about. The aspect that has the largest sway on my general opinions on this though are the fact that a chuck takes place or talks about Madison and UW-Madison. The hero and a few of the minor characters went there for undergrad, and I to went there for university. There are a lot of small fun details that really played to my emotions. As the youths say – IYKYK (if you know you know for all of you who still struggle with this acronym).

So back to the novel. It starts out mid-thrust of a one-night stand. An unexpected and fun intro to a book. One would not think it would work, but Dade sells it. Out hero, Peter, has been in Hollywood for a number of years playing smaller roles and is waiting for his leading man moment. Maria is a stage actor in Sweden just starting out in the city. They meet in a sauna and sparks fly, but the next morning Maria is no where to be found. That is until they meet at the studio to do final auditions for characters in the hit series, Gods of the Gates (it gives Game of Throne vibes). Surprise – they both get the roles and spend the next few years with a super small cast on a small Irish island. Plot twist, they decide to keep their relationship completely platonic while filming the show. But will things heat up once filming has wrapped?

I think Dade’s writing has improved greatly, I like the characters she creates and the scene she sets. What I like even more is that unlike her past novels in the series, both the characters are fat rather than one being conventionally attractive and the other being plus size. Here they are both larger people who love themselves, have to overcome some fatphobia in Hollywood, and are trying to overcome other mental health issues not related to their bodies. The side characters also add both humor and heart to the story.

This is kind of a mesh of romance books. It could technically be a second chance romance as they had a one night stand previously, a friends to lovers as they become friends as the novel progresses, or a workplace romance since they meet because of work and a good chunk of the story takes place during the filming of the show. I wouldn’t expect these troupes to work well for me, but I was in it and really enjoyed my time.

Again, I will reiterate, I probably love this more because part of the setting takes place in a location I know and love and I thought Dade did the place justice. I did a little digging and saw she did her master at UW-Madison, so it totally makes sense!

I think if you loved Dade’s past novels in this series you will enjoy this book. If the fan fic aspect is your favorite aspect, this probably won’t be your favorite. But if that was your least favorite part you may have found a favorite in the series. But I think if you have any interest in actors in a large fantasy series romance novel you will have a good time!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

i was so very excited to receive a copy of this from the publisher @avonbooks in exchange for my free and honest review - my first olivia dade book! my main takeaway from this book is how much i adored the two main characters, but also how much i loved the plus size representation in this book. this is one of the first books in recent memory i can remember reading where both the protagonist and love interest are plus size, and it made me so happy. i think i might have enjoyed this one more if i had read her other books in this universe first, but overall a sweet (and very steamy!) book with a fun and readable plot.

I have greatly enjoyed this series so far, and the newest installment is no different!

Maria and Peter are the perfect mix of insta-lust and slow burn, I love a good "one night stand turns into someone you have to work with" trope, and this book handles it super well, with our erstwhile lovers having an explosive night before spending the next six years with small crew, filming their storyline for a very popular series that is largely separate from the rest of the cast.

I loved that in this book we got more of an insight into the actual filming of the show, even if it was for just the one storyline--the first two books in this series pick up at the end of filming for the show, while this book gives us a glimpse of things as both the show and Maria and Peter's relationship progress through the years.

Maria is a fabulous character who I want to be friends with immediately. She is extremely confident and secure in who she is, has no time for the patriarchy, and is never afraid to stand up for her well-being and happiness. Her quips (and Swedish curses and insults) were genuinely laugh-out-loud hilarious, and all of her banter with Peter was great. She was also the type of plus size character I'd been waiting for in a book, where her size is not her defining point and is not a major plot point. She has her vulnerabilities, but happily her appearance is not one of them.

I also loved that we get a male hero who is not a super-ripped model-type. Peter definitely has a ruggedly handsome thing going on, but in a way that better reflects how actual people are and without the ever-present male hero six pack. Like Maria, his size is not a major plot point. More realistic male heroes, please!

I also loved the way that Peter and Maria's relationship progresses throughout the years, to immediate chemistry to animosity to friendship and more. They both had things they needed to work through, and for most of the book all of these things were handled really well. The only real quibble I have with this book was the third-act conflict. It honestly felt kind of forced and like it was a way to force a realization for each character without therapy, which honestly would probably have been the correct way for them to reach the realizations. Given how far each character had come with trust, it didn't seem like they would have reacted the way they did, and that they wouldn't have gotten over it as quickly either. I honestly think it could have been dealt with better, but it is the only problem I have with the book.

Also, we get just enough of past (and hopefully future) characters, with more zany cast chats and meetups to keep fans of the series satisfied. Definitely cannot recommend this book enough!

CW: death of parent(s), abandonment, adoption, grief, anxiety

So I really wanted to love this book. I was so interested in the enigmatic Peter and Maria characters from the first 2 books but this book just fell flat for me. I really enjoyed Maria in the beginning and was all for her body positivity but in the 3rd act of the book I really couldn’t relate to her. I was also hoping for more plot in this book but it was really just Peter and Maria’s relationship from the beginning without really much going on. It was an okay read and will recommend the series for people who want to see curvy FMC representation because that was a great appeal to me but it’s a one and done book for me.

Peter and Maria meet as a one night stand, and the next day they’re cast on the same tv show. Oops.
A solid 3.5, rounded up. A great addition to Dade’s series. There’s a time jump that felt like an easy out. That’s the reason for the lower star rating. Loved seeing the characters from the other two books in this story.

3.5/5

Now, without giving too much away, I’ll say this read very fanfic; that’s not a bad thing.

Maria and Peter first meet in a sauna. Yes, Ms. Dade knew exactly how to set the tone. They have some alone time (*wink, wink*), and she leaves before he wakes. Well, come to find out they’re set to star in a show opposite each other. Forced to look past the ONS, they maintain a professional relationship…for now.

The tension was hot; the steam was great; the banter was good. Not my favorite of the series, but a good read all in all!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon and NetGalley for the review e-copy!

I love Olivia Dade. I was so thrilled when I was able to read this book in advance because I would sell my soul for Olivia. She is magnificent artist who showcases humans of all body types. It's so inclusive. I knew that going in and I expected that. I really loved book 1 and book 2 of this series but this one fell a little flat for me? Was it still spectacular? Absolutely. I think most times I was confused. There was one point where we time jumped 6 years into the future and I had no idea what was happening. But alas, it didn't necessarily detract from the storyline. Each character was well rounded and nuanced and the intricacies of each issue was beautiful to see on paper.

I think there was a lack of depth for each character and that's what's was missing. I still liked Maria and Peter but they were just meh. It seemed to me their defining feature was being fat. And people are so much more than their body type.

I did love how all stories seem to be happening simultaneously and whatever is happening in book 1 and 2 happening while this story was taking place up until the disastrous Comic-Con. I like that. It's an unusual take for books of a series but if I know anything about Dade is that she will break the mold on what's expected of her and it's wonderful.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Olivia Dade for trusting me with your work.

Olivia Dade has created such a brilliant series that revolves around a hit television show but is so varied in its settings. Ship Wrecked works as a stand alone but you would be missing out!!!! Ship Wrecked takes place in the worlds of two of the shows actors. They had an anonymous one night stand to find themselves auditioning together the next day and then spending six years together filming.

I loved the behind the scenes lives in Ship Wrecked and the real lives of actors. I loved the body positivity and loved seeing Maria advocate for herself. The pacing in Ship Wrecked has its slow moments, but hang on...it is all building up to the gorgeous, cannot put the book down moments! I'm so grateful that Olivia Dade is writing heroines that I can see myself reflected in.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced read. All opinions are my own.

I have been loving Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series and the third installment did not disappoint. Once again she kills it not only with a beautiful and body positive fat woman, she paired her with a sexy body positive fat man. Normally I would not use the word fat, but I think Olivia Dade is doing what she can with her novels to get rid of the stigma around that word and uses it to describe her main characters, so I don’t want to take away from what she’s doing by not using it. Maria and Peter were such great MC’s. After having an extremely steamy one night stand that doesn’t end so happily for Peter, the two land the leading roles in a side story of the ongoing tv series,The Gods of the Gates, but unlike the main series, theirs takes place on a remote island in Ireland where they film very closely together for 6 years. I loved this situation because the sexual tension remained for the 6 years that they were acting partners, but also they learned to love and trust each other as best friends before they decide it’s time to give each other a chance and become more than that. Peter and Maria both had a lot of baggage to deal with in and out of a relationship and I really liked the way they worked through it together even if it caused a few road humps, they were clearly meant to be together and always managed to find their way back into each other’s arms. Maria was so vibrant and extremely extroverted, while Peter was extremely introverted, to the point of awkward, but together, they fit so well, and Maria really brought Peter out of his shell. Shipwrecked was the perfect third installment to this series.

I had a complicated time with Ship Wrecked. I read Olivia Dade's first two books in this series, and so I felt like I had some good groundwork for understanding the plotline of this book. And like, I love slice-of-life fanfiction, so this was enjoyable in that sense? I love plus-size characters (and plus-size heroes are especially rare). But what I struggled with was all the miscommunication. The two have been essentially trapped on an island for years, they consider each other best friends, and they still don't know how to communicate with each other? The last 20% of the book was all internal prose, where our couple are essentially convincing themselves they were wrong. Their chemistry was delightful, but it wasn't enough to elevate this from good to amazing for me.

Ship Wrecked is the third book in Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert series. I really liked the first book, Spoiler Alert, and I absolutely adored book two, All the Feels. But this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe it was because I read it immediately after finishing All the Feels, and that book had set the bar so high in my mind that pretty much anything would have been a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, Ship Wrecked is a good book, and definitely fun for catching up with all of the cast members of Gods of the Gates. I just felt that the story was a little uneven and parts of it dragged a little. But Dade continues to rock the body positivity in all her books, which has made me a lifetime fan.

This was a lot like the rest in the series. It was great to have some fat rep. But there were some things that were a little bothersome.

However, I think this was a great start to have two fat main characters in a book. And that's exciting. I am definitely looking forward to more by this author.

Talk about starting a book off with a BANG! Maria and Peter have a one night stand where sparks fly, though Maria sneaks off the next morning leaving Peter wanting more. Only for them both to find out that they will be costaring on a TV show that films on a remote island with a very limited crew. Peter decides to keep their relationship professional and not give in to the palpable chemistry between the two. Throughout the 6 years, Peter and Maria become best friends. However, on their last night of filming, they finally give in to the chemistry and navigate their lives after Gods of the Gate together.

I love Olivia Dade - her fat representation is incredible and this book does not disappoint in that realm - and both main characters are fat, which I feel like we don't often see! Her books are also funny without being corny which can be a difficult balance to achieve.

My main issue with this book was the time jump. I recognize that it had to happen based on the timelines of the other books to sort of wrap everything up, however, it just really didn't work for me. What I love about romances is watching the two love interests get to know each other and how their relationship blossoms throughout time. With the essentially 6 year time jump, you miss a lot of them becoming friends and watching their relationship. The parts that we do get to see in the beginning of their relationship is great and I just wanted more of that! I also really didn't love the 3rd act breakup, but then again, I rarely do like that in contemporaries.

I did love seeing Maria and Peter's relationship and the spice was great, per usual. And seeing the other couples from the other books was also lovely.

I think this was 3.5 stars for me, but I will still read anything Olivia Dade writes. Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Ship Wrecked is the third installment in Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series, which follows couples from the Uber popular fictional TV show, Gods of the Gates. In Ship Wrecked, two burgeoning actors who have a one night stand find themselves essentially marooned on an Irish island for six years after they are cast in leading roles for Gates.

For all that both Peter and Maria annoyed the ever-loving heck out of me, this was by far my favorite Spoiler Alert book so far. I found myself constantly preparing for tropey disappointment, and every single time, I was pleasantly surprised. There were certainly tropes galore, to be sure, but the meat of the plot never once sacrificed its characters’ emotional depth and complexity. I hated, for example, the third act miscommunication, because initially I thought its resolution would be framed as one character being more right than the other. But then when both characters, independent of each other, reflected on their words and actions and realized the ways in which they had gone too far, and the ways in which they could healthily compromise, I was dumbfounded in the best way. It’s not that Dade’s other books have only starred shallow characters, because they too had casts with rich emotional lives and complex backgrounds. But that feels heightened here, where we spend ample time with two deeply broken people who are trying desperately to hold onto love in the only way they know how.

It was also lovely reading a book in which both romantic leads were fat, particularly in a scenario where they received leading roles in a fictional show in which they were not typecast as the pudgy comic relief. Though their weight was a major contributing factor to some plot points, most especially the confrontation in which they are asked to lose weight for their roles, their bodies were treated with love and respect by the author, and it truly felt like authentic and heartfelt representation.

I won’t say this book was a particularly fun or easy read. I went through a large spectrum of emotions, many of which were irritation and annoyance. But I think it is a testament to this book’s commitment to nuanced characters and relationships that I came out the other end immediately ready to read it again.

Synopsis: Ship Wrecked is a sweet and warm romantic comedy about two people that have an incredible one-night stand, the next day they become co-stars. After years of filming together on a remote island they are finally ready to give in to their desires… Maria has a sexy one-night stand with a sexy man that she left without a note or a word, but they run into each other at an audition for the show Gods Of the Gates. They end up becoming co-stars and are about to spend the next six years filming on an Irish island together. The problem is she still wants him but now he wants nothing to do with her. After years of built up tension and never touching off-camera, their restraint explodes and turns into passion.

Thoughts: I love the storyline of them having a steamy night together, then Maria leaves without any type of goodbye and seeing him again when they are casted as co-stars. To then have to film with each other on an isolated island for six seasons! Ugh the tension! Also I love that the two main characters were plus size, I don’t think there are many romances that both the main characters are plus size. I really appreciated that about the book, especially because they were confident in themselves. I enjoyed how character driven the story was and that the two developed into friends and individually throughout the book. Overall this was a solid 4.7 stars for me!

This book includes:
-lovers to coworkers to friends to lovers
-plus size MCs
-pining
-amazing banter
-work place/celebrity romance

4.7/5 stars
2/5 spice

Thank you Olivia Dade, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing an arc for an honest review.

It is my completely honest and unbiased opinion that Olivia Dade can do no wrong. Any character she writes, any story she graces us with, will fill your heart with so much love and humor you won't know what to do with yourself. And after you are done reading, you will be sad and wallow that you can't continue in this world that she has created. That is all.

Well this was wonderful! I love this movement of fat acceptance in media these days. There is so much more to a person than the amount of space they take up!

Maria and Peter were swoon worthy from the very first page. Holy Hannah that opening!

There was a bit too much filler in the middle of the story for me. I feel like it took me an exceptional amount of time to complete this.

Overall, I would recommend this very body positive, steamy read!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy for my honest opinion

Ship Wrecked is the third installment of the Spoiler Alert series, and my new favorite! This book follows Maria and Peter as they navigate having to be costars for a TV show that films on an Irish island. Did I mention, this happens immediately after their intense one night stand? By immediately, I mean the morning after! Peter has not forgiven her for leaving him alone in his hotel room when he was not nearly done with worshiping her plus size body.

Now that they have to spend six years of filming together, his emotions are front and center as he no longer wants nothing to do with her. She on the other hand, still very much wants him. His hostility towards her makes for the best kind of tension until they ultimately decide to take a chance on each other.

This book literally had me on the edge of my seat, ready to throw my kindle at any given moment. However, I loved every single minute of it!

Thank you Olivia Dade, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NETGALLEY for the digital ARC of this book.