What a delight! This series and book have brought me joy over the past few years as the body positive love stories have made me feel seen in a way other contemporary romance novels have not done. I truly love the through line of characters from book to book, the mixed media telling, and the fantasy show tie in.
While sometimes overly saccharine, the cross cultural love story between Peter and Maria had deep emotional complexity and the twist on enemy to lovers was enjoyable!

"Ship Wrecked" has several truly wonderful components to the book. Olivia Dade is building off her Gods of Gates cast members from "Spoiler Alert" to "All the Feels". The scenery and world setting are fully established and she has showcased her skills for some truly snarky and hilarious dialogue. On an added level of complexity, Dade has integrated very real stigmas that everyday people encounter and brought them to the forefront of her storyline. My one criticism of "Ship Wrecked" is that the climax took a really long time to show itself.

The immediate dissension in the story is about poorly communicated expectations (okay, almost no communication), during a hookup. It becomes apparent that both Peter and Maria are still interested in each other and have personal issues that caused the miscommunication (again, I'm being generous). However, the readers are only given very vague references to past relationship trauma and an unidentified issues with parental upbringing. Around 65% of the way through the story, we finally learn the important details around Maria and then Peter's hangups. Only to have a (maybe) third(?) obstacle crop up in the last 15% of the book.

Do not get me wrong, this book was an enjoyable read and I will stupefy my friends with vague references to their "blue cupboards" for years to come. However, I kept waiting to understand why there were so many barriers to their relationship and it took a long time to come to a resolution when the underlying emotion of the story was the love between these two fragile and complex human beings.

Special thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

Likeable protagonists, found families, body positivity, wildly strong women, and Dade's signature slow burn to raging inferno romance. Yes, please!

Now this is a slow burn! Even though Peter and Maria's relationship started with a hot one night stand, they quickly cooled things off after they learned they were costars in an upcoming big budget film. I liked that the story takes place over a few years, but at times there's a little lag in the story's development. Ship Wrecked has an awesome cast of characters in this book, and I love how the Olivia Dade writes fat characters. Overall, this is a nice addition to the Spoiler Alert series, and there are cameos from some of the main characters in the other books!

Maria and Peter are actors who had a sexy one-night-stand and end up stuck on an island together filming a new TV series. Maria left the morning after their hook up without a trace, leading the duo to an enemies-to-lovers style relationship. Peter is a brooding Viking, while Maria is a sunshiney, Swedish butterfly. This was a fun read with surprising emotional depth and has a fabulous supporting cast of characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and AvonBooks for the ARC of this title! Ship Wrecked is the first book I've read by Olivia Dade, and it certainly won't be my last. The story follows Peter and Maria, co-stars on a hit TV show that also happen to be each other's best one-night-stand. Part friends-to-lovers, part second-chance-romance, this was an altogether great romcom!

Things I loved about this book...
- Both MC's are plus-size and the body positivity was off the charts! I loved reading a book where size isn't shied away from, but embraced.
- The banter! Maria and Peter's dialogue had me laughing consistently throughout the book. I aspire to be as badass and sassy as Maria one day.
- Heavy topics like childhood and relationship trauma were handled well and (I thought) realistically.
- The steam! This book starts off HOT, cools off for a while, then delivers again. No cringeworthy moments or secondhand embarrassment to be found here.
- The cast of characters was diverse in several aspects. No cookie-cutter characters here!

Things I didn't love...
- The book felt a bit long. It's hard to tell since ARCs don't show a page count, but based on the time estimate my Kindle gave, it was significantly longer than most romcoms I've read.
- I wish jumps in the plot timeline were denoted at the beginning of chapters. Without them, it was hard to tell where we were in time since there were some chapters that seemed to jump ahead several months, sometimes years.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It did take me a while to get through the first 25% or so, but after that I flew through. I don't think it was the book's fault per se, but had more to do with the fact that I had so many other books going and knew this one wasn't "due" for a while. I look forward to reading more of Olivia Dade's backlist!

Four and a Half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade is the third book in her popular Spoiler Alert series but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I love this series, and Ship Wrecked is a wonderful addition.

Story Recap:
Maria has a one-night stand with Peter, both knowing it will be the last time they see each other. However, a bit later, they realize they have both been cast in a television show that will take them to a remote island for six years!

Peter knows that this part will give him much better choice roles when he’s done that will give him the financial stability he’s been looking for. He won’t do anything to ruin his chances, so he decides to stay away from Maria, no matter how strong his attraction is. Can Maria and Peter work together for six years while denying their chemistry?

My Thoughts:
This slow-burn romance was a lot of fun to read. It starts right in the middle of their one-night stand in Los Angeles and then continues on the Island where they film the television show. I thought filming a television show for six years was a bit much, but the author convinced me that this happens. It’s not like they are on the Island the entire six years either, as they have breaks for holidays etc.

I liked this romance very much as there was certainly chemistry, and on the show, they were lovers, so they had to pretend to love each other, while both vowing to keep their hands off each other in real life. This caused quite a push-pull for the romance during the book.

I also enjoyed the appearances of the previous characters in the series as it’s always comforting to see that they are still together and happy. Their correspondence between each other and the new characters in the tv show was hilarious.
Recommendation:
I highly recommend Ship Wrecked to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I couldn’t put “Ship Wrecked” down. Peter and Maria have a beautiful story of being able to see past first impressions and learning to love someone for who they truly are. I loved that their Gods of the Gates characters were isolated, so they were isolated, and we got to dig deeper into their relationship with each other without major outside distractions.

My only gripe that brings this down to a 4 is that sometimes the body positivity talk can have the opposite effect of the seeming intent. Both characters being plus size is excellent, because there should be more plus size representation. However, some of the commentary almost feels like body shaming, even if that’s not the intent of the author. Fat isn’t a four-letter word but in some instances it feels like it’s being wielded that way.

Ultimately I love the universe Dade has created, I love the cameos that the others made in this third book, and I hope that we will get more from it. I just hope that the future books will bring more of a feel of acceptance for someone’s body and not the feel of being “other”.

4 stars

Such a satisfying end to this series! A slow-burn friendship with tension, lots of room for quiet dramas and growth, and a sweet romance at its core.

Characters: ★★★ 1/2
Plot/Pacing: ★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★★

Ship Wrecked comes out on November 15!

Please Note: This book is the third installment in the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade. While this is technically a standalone romantic story between two characters, I highly recommend reading this series in order to get the full context. There are a TON of references to the first two books in this one, and Maria and Peter's story exists in a dense bubble of context references from the other books.

Maria and Peter are both costars on the same TV show, Guardians of the Gates. It's a Game of Thrones-esque show with an international following and a lot of drama and character arcs.

Their characters play two isolated gods who have been stranded on a remote island with just the two of them.

It's just them. And a small production crew. On a very small island. Staying in a limited-space boutique inn.

Why does this matter, you ask?

Because Maria and Peter had an explosive, no-holds-barred sexy one night stand the night before they both landed roles on Guardians of the Gates. After one night of perfect passion, the last thing either of them thought would happen would be to see each other again. And now they're not just seeing each other—they're acting face to face, in a remote location, for several years of filming.

It's not... shall we say... ideal. Especially when their passion still exists, and yet personal hang-ups and a desire to maintain professional boundaries keeps them from ripping each other's clothes off and resuming their hot-HOT chemistry.

Can these two costars make it through the slowest burn of their lives? What will happen once they have the space to make their own decisions?

Ooooooh, oh. Ship Wrecked was fun, y'all. I enjoyed it very much. The tension, the soft drama, the dual points-of-view of two characters and their unique torture of falling in love while being unable to admit it?? Delicious.

This was a very sweet end to a wonderful romance trilogy. I think fans of Spoiler Alert and All the Feels will be quite satisfied. I definitely was! While this one had the most worldbuilding context and the least amount of fanfiction references—the first two books were heavily influenced by fanfiction internet culture—I do think Maria and Peter's story fit the series. And, just as important, Ship Wrecked provided a happily-ever-after ending for all of the people we've grown to love over the series.

Thank you to Avon for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the romance. I liked the setting and romantic situation and I appreciated the characters were plus size and sex positive. However, I found the story stilted and the writing awkward. The way so much time passes without scenes felt wrong. So much so that the HEA didn't feel completely earned.

I love love love love love love love love Olive Dade!!! She somehow created these two characters and made them both such real loveable people, that most times you forgot they were actors. You forgot these 2 were supposed to be super successful actors she made them so relatable. The way she made Maria such a feisty character that just fought for everything she believed in no matter what it cost her, and Peter was a fallible man who towards the end admitted he wasn't perfect didn't deserve her yet would do anything to be with her and loved her with all he had. AHH!! Just loved this book!

What I especially loved about this series is how everything is happening simultaneously throughout all 3 books. I think it might even be harder to write but it makes it such an enjoyable experience for the reader. I've said it before, and I'll say it again I will read anything Oliva Dade writes.

I received an Arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review as always, all words are my own.

TWs: fatphobia (challenged on-page), death of a parent (off-page), cheating (off-page)

Olivia Dade's books are always a good time, and this was no exception. However, it didn't quite measure up to Spoiler Alert, my favorite of hers, in my opinion.

The timeline of this book didn't quite work for me. The first 1/3 or so of the book took place over the six years that Maria and Peter starred in Gods of the Gates, and it felt rushed to me. It's difficult to balance a timeline like that because you don't want to drag it out, but you also want it to be meaningful enough that you can see the relationship develop between these two characters, and we didn't get that, unfortunately.

The ending didn't make a ton of sense to me either. Maria and Peter are both actors and understand the responsibilities that can come with that job, yet that was the source of tension at the end of the book. The reasoning behind it both made sense and didn't, and the resolution wasn't very satisfying. It seemed like one character was getting everything, and the other truly received the short end of the stick.

I did love the body positivity in this book, and Maria was an incredible character in particular. She is such a confident, funny, badass who is unapologetically herself, and I rooted for her so easily.

While this wasn't my favorite book of Dade's, I still think this trilogy is still worth reading and would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3/5. Releases 11/15/2022.

Peter and Maria are the stars of Gods of the Gates, TV's hottest fantasy show--and they happen to play the two most-shipped characters. What fans don't know? Just before they were cast, the two had a one night stand... which has not been repeated in the six years since, despite how much they both want it. But with the series about to end, Maria and Peter have an opportunity to act on the tension that's been simmering for so long--the question is, what will this lead to beyond one evening?

So I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one. I literally don't know how to feel about it. I've been trying to think of clearer ways to express my vibes on books in general--let's try it out here.

What I Liked:
--The sex in this book is really, really good. Dade knows how to write it, she knows how to make sex correspond with the emotional development of the relationship, and I just believe all of it. Shedif also really gets a lot out of the sexual tension of two people who want to bone down so badly but instead have to act out intense sex scenes together. I totally bought it.

--Loved that Peter and Maria are both fat and presented as extremely desirable, not just to each other but the world at large.

--The age difference was perfection and added an element of complexity to the relationship.

--Maria's backstory was really heartbreaking, but not in a sappy, self-pitying kind of way. I really loved it; and honestly, I loved her. Sexy, blunt, confident, a bit damaged and distant but in a manner that came off as human rather than quirky. She's great.

What I Disliked:
--I thought the six year timespan was covered well, but the issue is that not enough happened to them individually. These people are two attractive, sexual adults who choose to not have sex for six years and they don't really have like... hookups, situationships, relationships in that time? I just didn't buy it. Six years is a long time, and they both felt like they were the same people at the beginning of the book and when they finally hooked up again.

--Peter is the type of hero that will work for many people, I'm sure. He did not work for me. He seems great in bed! But his insecurities are TOWERING. He's pissed that she left him without a word after their one night stand and essentially negs her about her acting ability--her work!--as a result. Literally, I would be done wit the man immediately. It was a one night stand bro, you're thirty-six, I don't super care about what damage brought you to this, that is so unattractive. Don't fuck with my work.

I also found that Peter's backstory was just... He has a good one relating to his family, which works as Maria's backstory is also related to family and parental relationships. But then, for some reason, Dade added another backstory which essentially amounts to Peter getting dumped by his ex-fiancee a few months into their engagement for reasons that... Listen, I don't think they were as black and white as the book made them out to be. I'm very wishy-washy on the evil ex thing in general--but this one just left me totally sympathetic to the ex. I got it. She just wasn't a good match for him. By the time he and Maria get together for real, it has been OVER SIX YEARS!!!! since they broke up. It had been a decent amount of time since the breakup when he sleeps with Maria the first time. This man is still sore about it! My God!

I suppose this is also where I can run into issues with contemporaries in general, which isn't Olivia Dade's fault. It's just harder for me to dismiss this type of shit compared to like... a rogue kidnapping a lady, or a vampire biting a woman without asking. Peter's misdeeds are comparatively minor, I guess, but they're so real. And I just know that I would be annoyed as fuck by them. Again, this doesn't mean he won't work for other people. These issues just made him very unattractive to me, which sucks because in the sex scenes he was very! Attractive!

--Let's get back to the fat rep. I do love that Maria and Peter are both hot fat people. As someone who's blogged a good bit about fat rep--I cannot wait until we're at the point where fat people are just characters, and their lives don't revolve around their fatness. It felt extremely unnatural to have Maria just randomly say in conversation to Peter, "amazing that this show is casting us, the resident fats, as characters who weren't fat in the source material". COOL. Maybe one comment would make sense, but this was said several times. There's a whole plotline about them being pressured to lose weight by the show--and while that's realistic, I just didn't want that from my fat rep romance. Maybe some people will like that; for me, it was just a huge bummer, and as the rest of this book wasn't particularly realistic, it didn't feel necessary.

It's mostly the *focus* they both constantly have on it, especially Maria, that got me. These two people get worked up and he suggests taking it to the shower and Maria's response is basically "that shower will not accommodate two people of our size". Okay? Why did we have this scene? Or I don't know, have them go to the bathroom and just naturally figure out how to make it work for sex things, which is what they do anyway? Like people just... do? I mean, if we're going off that book cover and the general descriptions, Peter and Maria are big people, but I don't think either of them are so big that every basic act turns into a TASK.

I don't know, it was just kind of.... not what I wanted in a romance about fat people. I did not find it comforting or validating or reflective of life. It was just awkward.

The Verdict:
Here's the thing. For all that I had big complaints, I did really like Olivia Dade's writing style, and the components I enjoyed I really got a lot out of. I'll definitely give different books by her a try--I just wanted this one to work so badly. It's a disappointment, but again, one that I think will work for other people.

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

Thank you netgalley and Avon for an advanced copy.

I loved the first 2/3 of this book, and devoured it all in one night (but it was a school night so I had to stop). However...the last act nonsense reason why they couldn't be together was such bullshit it ruined everything. It made me hate Maria and all of her quirky personality traits became grating and annoying. I'm going to be honest, I couldn't even get myself to hate-read the last 4 chapters, just skipped right to the epilogue and hated it.

This book followed the typical pace and plot points of most romance and would have been on pace for a 3.5-4 star but it degraded to a 1.5 star rounded up for the steamy scenes and accurate representation of the Midwest.

This BANGS like a drum line with spicy chemistry, body positivity, and plus size rep.
Peter is a cinnamon roll viking character actor making his move into leading man territory.
Our heroine, Maria, is a Swedish stage actress making her big break into TV, but refusing to do it at the price of her dignity. As a 35 year old, plus-sized woman who doesn't want kids I felt SEEN when Peter and Maria had the conversation about kids.
It had all my favorite tropes: forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, return of the one night stand. Is it any wonder I gave it 5 stars?

Olivia Dade does it again. I don't know what magic she has to create another Gods of the Gates subplot that sandwiches in seamlessly with the existing canon, how she crafts relationships with new and old characters that feel so comfortable and fresh, but she does. Honestly, new readers could pick up this book as a stand alone. Of course it is much more rich a reading experience as the end of the two other delicious books in Dade's series.

I absolutely adore the variety of ages Dade gives her characters. The backstories and reactions feel real and not dramatic the way even good romance books can have at times. I am unbelievably grateful to be able to read this book before publication- thank you NetGalley and Avon for an early read in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I have read all of the books in Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series, and this is my new favorite. I loved the main characters, the writing, and romance. I really just loved most everything about this book. Maria and Peter have a one night stand, only to learn that they’re cast as love interests on the very popular God of the Gates television series together, where they’ll be filming on a remote Irish island for years. Can they overcome their awkwardness and lust to find love? It’s rare that I love characters as much as I loved Maria and Peter. Neither character was perfect, but Dade does a great job beautifully portraying two different people that love each other and see each other for who they are. There are a lot of romance tropes in this book, but I think Dade does a great job of making these plot points charming and fresh. Friends to lovers, one-night stands, slow burn pining, steam, angst, and more: it’s all so well written. This book made me cry multiple times with the poignancy of the storylines about these characters overcoming past trauma and heartache, as well as truly knowing what you need to find love. It’s a great blend of soft, sweet, funny, and steamy, and that’s a rare blend and it was a joy to read. I recommend this book for fans of Olivia Dade and this series, fan fiction, positive fat representation, steam, and contemporary romance.

Ship Wrecked is a fun and comical, if somewhat predictable, journey through Peter and Maria's tumultuous and lusty to finding love with each other. After a one night stand that ends in a disappearing act from Maria, Peter finds himself in a position to have to be in close proximity to her for an indeterminable amount of time filming for the big TV series, Gods of the Gates. Peter, a hard nut to crack, with the help of Maria opens up and finds a family with the cast and crew that he never expected. As the years pass, affection and maybe love grows between Maria and Peter and they find themselves needing to make a pact to not act on their bodily needs as well as their emotions. As the end of the show wraps up, six LONG years later, Peter and Maria find themselves able to finally act on their desire that has only built over those years. Their relationship builds quickly and crashes and and burns just as quickly when time and time again, Peter puts his acting career above Maria.

Olivia Dade can do little to no wrong for me. I love the body positivity that comes from her characters. Peter and Maria, if anything, are my favorite couple from this series simply because they are so real. I found both characters extremely relatable as a realistically sized woman who puts work over everything else. I liked the build-up and the awkward back and forth developed from how their relationship first started.

The plot development was a bit weird for me. Between the weird passing of a lot of time in such a short amount of book and the back and forth in time with the text messages left me confused at times. I was really excited how Peter and Maria came together at the end of the book, but it was, again, kind of weird how it all happened so quickly. The book would have benefitted from a slower realization on both Maria and Peter’s part and would have made the ending more realistic and relatable.

A fun read that I will recommend to friends and patrons.

I generally LOVE all Olivia Dade books and have super high expectations of them. Shipwrecked had complex character and the char avatars had wonderful growth and I enjoyed watching the story play out. This was a slower paced story that I found hard to stay fully invested in. Overall it was still a great story, but not one of my favorites.

The day after leaving a one-night stand asleep without a note or even remembering his name, Maria runs into him at an audition, and their chemistry is perfect for the show. Now Maria and Peter will be spending the next six years filming Gods of the Gates together on a desolate Irish island. To avoid awkwardness and to prevent issues with filming and the other crew members on the island, they agree to only be friends. But their feelings only grow, and by the end of the show, they refuse to spend another moment apart. I love the Spoiler Alert series, so I was so excited to read the newest book, and it did not disappoint! The characters in this series are so engaging, and I love each and every one of them! Peter is a brooding introvert, while Maria is very outgoing, but they match each other's energies perfectly. I loved their banter throughout the novel, especially with Maria constantly insulting Peter in Swedish and threatening him with jars of pickled herring. I also loved how this book fits seamlessly within the Spoiler Alert series and incorporated the other main characters, as Alex and Marcus are also cast members of Gods of the Gates. Alex is still my favorite character in the series, so it was fun to have him mentioned and directly involved in this story. He is constantly in their group chat and sends Maria and Peter fan fiction about their characters and fanmade compilation videos of their interviews that make fans think they are dating. Fan fiction played a significant role in the first two books, so I am glad it was at least mentioned in this book, even if it was not central to the plot and mainly used to torment Peter. I loved this book and can't wait to see what Olivia Dade writes next!