Review posted on Goodreads (Agust 18, 2022)
Review linked.


4/5 stars!

A huge thank you to Avon and NetGalley for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review.

As someone who has loved the past two books in this series, I expected to love this book as well. And let me just say that this was a book I was not sure how I felt about until I finished it. I rarely say that, for some reason I usually know within five pages if I will like a book or not, but wow, did this book take me on an emotional rollercoaster.

This book plays with tropes that I usually hate (Time jump, miscommunication, and finally a massive misunderstanding at the end of the book) and somehow made me still love this book.

My biggest critique about this book is that the time jumps were very confusing and not clear enough for me. I do have an ARC so I’m not sure if that will change before publication. However, I cared enough about these two lovable MCs that I had to keep reading.

This book does a brilliant job of representing to people loving through trauma and how trauma impacts someone’s life and relationships. I think one of the things that I respect most about Olivia Dade’s writing is that she creates characters that you love but are still flawed human beings—and, during the course of each book, you come to love the characters not in spite of their flaws, but because of their flaws. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but that is how I feel haha.

Once again, especially with this book, Dade has created a romance that full on celebrates plus-size bodies, giving a space for celebration and love of each character’s body. I loved the conversations around body-positivity in the film industry and how that impacted each character. This book is truly a book expressing plus-size joy and love.

And, Oh my gods, Maria and Peter. I love these two rough, lovable actors so fucking much. Peter is 100% autism coded (and in this book NOT in a harmful way, which we love). I loved his character so much. And Maria was a breath of fresh air. I love reading about women like her who have such confidence but are still allowed to show moments of softness.


And finally, THIS ENDING. It gave me all of the feels and I loved seeing all of the GODS OF THE GATE cast back together as a family. This book is like a warm hug filled with love, acceptance, and found family.


Thanks for reading!
Caden

I enjoyed this addition to Dade's other God's of the Gates titles. If you're looking for a slow burn this book is for you. Maria and Peter have a one night stand and shocker! wind up being co-stars filming exclusively on a remote island together for six years. I found the scenes on the island to be my favorite- lots of sexual tension and angst. The protagonist/hurdle of this novel really turns out to be Peter himself who has a lot of baggage when it comes to a work/life balance. This was one instance where I felt the stubbornness of the character took me out of the plot. Overall this wasn't my favorite from Dade, but highlighted her quirky body-positive writing that I consistently enjoy.

Ship Wrecked is one of my new favorite romances, and you better believe I will be recommending it to other romance readers. Two people meet and have a one-night-stand, and although they were very passionate and emotionally connected, Maria chooses to leave the hotel room before Peter wakes up. Upon waking, Peter is understandably disappointed, as he felt the night was exceptional and wanted more. However, when he sees her at his audition later that day, he becomes rude beyond belief which is in turn even more of a turn-off for Maria. Of course they get cast to play two roles on a remote island together for the next six years, and entertainment ensues as they navigate their working relationship, and eventually friendship.

Although at times the story felt a little long and drawn out, overall the scenes were necessary towards their character development both singularly and as a couple. Dade does something wonderful with Maria and Peter, as she allows them to explore their traumas individually and as a couple in a way that really gives them the space to make those mistakes and recover from them. I thought Dade really does a beautiful job in not over-emphasizing their struggles, but rather giving them enough weight to show the impact and then providing the characters the chance to move past their insecurities, to be vulnerable together.

Don't worry though, it's not all serious. There is plenty of Dade's humor that we have come to know and love from the first two books in the series sprinkled throughout. This also reads well as a stand alone, so if you haven't read the other two in the series, I would still highly recommend checking this one out.

Overall, it was cute, but not the best I've read. I've tried getting into her other books since I finished Spoiler Alert in under 24 hours back in 2020, but I just can't do it. The story doesn't grab me as much. But if you like forced proximity, enemies to friends to lovers, and witty banter, this book is for you. I also loved how there was plus size male representation.

I was excited to see I was approved to read this from Net Galley b
Since I had just read another book from Olivia Dade. Shipwrecked has laughter, wit, and is full of emotion. I highly recommend.

This one was a DNF for me. I heard such good things and was excited to start this one - I even tried pushing through until I couldn't anymore. This one just didn't capture my interest and the characters were boring.

The characters never truly felt connected to me and it kept going back and forth so much. The time jumps between the scenes and then the text messages were also really confusing to me. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be reading or what the time of the moment was. There was so much random stuff added in that I was frequently lost until I just gave up.

Big thanks for sending me this ARC, sorry I didn't finish it but I couldn't power through this one.

This is my FIRST ever arc review, and I am beyond excited that it was one of my top anticipated releases of the year, the next installment in the Spoiler Alert series!

Olivia Dade does some of the BEST plus size representation in literature I’ve ever seen. Her characters have real - yes fat - unique bodies. The BEST part about Ship Wrecked, is that BOTH MCs are explicitly stated as being plus size/fat, without any judgement.

In this book we follow an extreme slow burn romance between two Hollywood rising stars who need to put aside their burning attraction for each other to focus on filming their scenes for the seasons of Gods of the Gates! The issue: they are quite literally stranded on an island together with a VERY intimate crew.

Maria…ohhh Maria. We love a body posititve Swedish queen. I think I’ve got a crush on her a this point, she is so unapologetically herself that I have no other option than to worship her fictional (lovely) ass. Peter was quite a unique character, blindly devoted to Hollywood and his reputation, he did rub me the wrong way (pun most definitely intended) initially, but I love a good redemption arc. Their chemistry was beyond drool worthy.

Because this is the third book in a steamy Romcom series, we get to see snippets and small appearances from our beloved Spoiler Alert series alumni! But you definitely can just jump straight into this installment if it tickles your fancy (although I HIGHLY recommend this series, it is so much fun).

I really thought I would love this book. I have heard wonderful things about the author and this series, but this book missed its mark for me. I felt like the flow of the book was off. The timeline would jump a few weeks or months and then six years. It had me going back and re-reading to make sure I read it correctly. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters and their relationship. There was no tension or buildup to their relationship even though it was six years in the making. Everything just felt a little off.

With that being said, I do think that a lot of people will connect with Peter and Maria. I loved that they were BOTH plus sized, not just the FMC. I loved Maria’s attitude about work and modern beauty standards. I could relate to Peter a lot with being an introvert. But the writing wasn’t helping me connect and ultimately took me out of the book.

I did not love this one. I will recommend it to friends and family still, but I will not purchase it for myself nor reread it in the future.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I adore the Spoiler Alert series and this book was no exception. The relationship between Maria and Peter is HOT and starting the book right in the sex scene was unexpected and wonderful for how it proceeds. They are so well matched in terms of what they need and learning how to prioritize each other. My favorite part was the epilogue if only to see all of my favorite pairings from the previous novels in one spot along with razzing on the finale episode of God of the Gates the way I hoped the actors of GoT did, at least virtually. Another 5 star one from Olivia Dade and I cannot wait to see what comes out next. More Spoilers for the other actors?!?!

Description:
"After All the Feels and Spoiler Alert, Olivia Dade once again delivers a warm and wonderful romantic comedy about two co-stars who once had an incredible one-night stand—and after years of filming on the same remote island, are finally ready to yield to temptation again…"

This appears to be book 3 in the trilogy and as per usual Ms. Dade did fantastic! There are messages of positive self esteem in regards to body image, She also did a great job of showing individuals recognizing and dealing with baggage so that they can move forward.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Please Note the Blog Post Review will go up the week before release, an instagram post will be up within the week. All other posts are live!

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade is, what seems to be, the final book in a trilogy that follows a cast from an ‘epic fantasy tv show’ that’s totally not Game of Thrones. Ship Wrecked follows Maria and Peter over the course of 6 years as they play the part of two ship wrecked warriors on a small island. It moves through time, from their first hook-up to their brief spat as enemies on set and shows how the two become close friends and co-workers and then eventually come together in the end.
I have to be completely honest in that I really didn’t enjoy aspects of the first book in this series, Spoiler Alert. It just did not weave together for me well and frankly the main heroines unreasonable reaction to the mere mention of exercise was borderline offensive to me. However I loved the representation in All The Feels. I felt like Olivia Dade’s writing and nuance had stepped up and this one really sold that to me. By the end of this I felt the two character’s dynamics. Yes, the third act breakup resolution ‘realization’ that one character went through was a little long, but it felt genuine. I felt Olivia Dade believed the things her characters were saying and felt them deeply. She captured them beautifully. 
Our characters themselves felt familiar. If you’ve read many romances or Mrs. Dade’s you’ll fall right into them. The classic Grumpy/Sunshine dynamic applies here and she does it well. Maria is vibrant and feisty - I loved the jar of herring that repeatedly appears. She was by far my favorite character in the book. Peter felt just a hair flatter than her, a fact I think withholding a lot of his backstory for the later third of the book was to blame for. But I still enjoyed him and enjoyed reading his perspective. 
These two really successfully wrapped up the series overall. I do wish we’d seen some of the other cast members, perhaps Ian’s redemption (I know, possibly controversial there) or the cast’s resident Cat Lady. But overall this felt like a good ending (?) to the series. I’ll definitely continue to pick up more from Olivia Dade in the future.

Okay so I’m going to tell you this book will not be 4/5 stars for everyone. However, if you love this series and you love her other books, then you will love this one.

It’s quirky and cute while dealing with real life serious issues people face everyday while sprinkling in the fun cinematic aspects and the fandoms and fan fiction.

The characters are raw and real and are dealing with issues from childhood as well as coping with being different in an industry that focuses on physical perfection.

Overall 4 star read for me. It slumped in the middle slightly and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It focuses on body positivity and strong female leads but it is also typical spicy romcom (that is a compliment because that’s what I need in my life to cope).

Continue on Olivia Dade!

Pub Date: 11/15/22
CW: sex, mention of dieting, death of a parent, cheating

My deepest thanks to NetGalley and Avon for approving me for an eARC. As always, your generosity is greatly appreciated.

It’s funny that most of the romances I read end up being enemies-to-lovers, which I think says a lot about my choice in books lol.

So.

What can I say? What can I frickin say except holy frickin cow.

Not one, but TWO fat main characters. Two fat characters who actually embrace themselves and don’t try changing themselves. Wonderfully delightful.

I LOVE how Olivia Dade was able to show time passing so seamlessly and how she didn’t bore us with the details of the “betweens”. Thank goodness for that.

For goodness sake, talk about a slow burn. SIX YEARS. They wanted each other for SIX YEARS and waited that long before anything happened. Although I wish their enemies-to-friends-to-lovers pipeline was shown more, I still really loved their relationship, especially once they admitted their feelings for each other.

Maria and Peter were so frickin pure it was great. I don’t usually do romances but this was definitely worth it.

Definitely.

So romance books are a bit predictable for me in the sense I kinda know what’s gonna happen and I guess I have Save the Cat! and just my knowledge of the genre to thank for that, so when the inevitable heartbreak scene came, I KNEW the make up was gonna be fing remarkable and boy was I right.

This book was soooo good, despite the few issues I had with it. Those issues in no way, shape, or form took away from the overall quality or story of the book. Olivia Dade MADE IT WORK.

So do yourself a favor and read the book.

Olivia Dade is on my rom-com Mount Rushmore, so I was absolutely thrilled to receive an ARC of Ship Wrecked. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

Ship Wrecked expands upon the Gods of the Gates universe by telling the story of Peter, the gruff character actor and Maria, a Swedish Hollywood newcomer. This is a one night stand to enemies to friends to lovers with SIX YEARS worth of slow burn (thankfully not entirely depicted on the page because I do not have the patience of our heroes) as they try to figure out how to make their relationship work amid competing priorities and navigating some past family trauma.

I really enjoyed Ship Wrecked. I loved that for the first time in this series, we get a fat hero alongside a fat heroine, and I loved seeing that representation which is so often lacking. Neither Peter nor Maria is depicted as anything less than a complete heartthrob, which was really refreshing. (Now if only the real-life show Gods of the Gates is based on, naming no names, had provided the same positive representation, but I digress). I love a good grumpy/sunshine pairing, and Peter and Maria are the epitome of this dynamic. I think Olivia Dade does a really excellent job of depicting family relationships in a beautiful and nuanced way, and how these dynamics are explored in Ship Wrecked is no exception, and really helps you to see how Peter and Maria's backgrounds influence their relationship.

In terms of where Ship Wrecked fits into the greater context of the Spoiler Alert series, I would say it is my second favorite of the trio, with All the Feels coming in first, simply because Alex and Lauren's story (and Lauren's in particular) resonated with me more strongly. However, I would HIGHLY recommend Ship Wrecked and will always be a massive Olivia Dade fan. Thank you again to NetGalley and the publisher!

Oliva Dade does it again. I love this series and these characters.

Maria and Peter are co-stars on Gods of The Gates who also happened to share an incredible one-night stand before they were cast together. Destined to be filming on a remote location for years, the two become very close friends but, in an effort to remain professional, never more.

After filming is finished, both are ready to explore the possibility of something deeper. But the two must first overcome conflicting opinions about their careers and priorities in order for their relationship to survive.

This book was the perfect blend of smoldering tensions, explosive chemistry, good-natured fun, and honest conversations about how to make a modern relationship work through respect, honesty, and working through traumas from the past.

It was just so good.

Before I get into this review, let me just say that this won't be five stars for everyone. Part of the reason this was five stars for me was that it hit a TON of marks for me and my personal experiences and pain, but from multiple characters. Plus-size blonde woman who wants to play a romantic lead and is body-shamed to conform to a specific image in order to sell it more? Check. Difficulty relating to/interacting with family because the love they showed you wasn't the kind of love you needed? Check. Feeling torn between putting your career first or putting your relationship first? Check!

I haven't yet read Spoiler Alert and All the Feels, but this book felt written for me from the get-go. Peter and Maria have an explosive one-night stand, and they each go their separate ways knowing that this was the end, but knowing that there was something special about their encounter. Little do the two plus-size actors know that they would soon find themselves cast opposite each other as romantic leads in a major television show.

This was fluffy. There were virtually no stakes - only those of two people pining for each other while dealing with their respective pasts and trying to keep their heads afloat in the cutthroat entertainment world. For some, this may make it challenging to care about the characters and the driving conflict throughout (i.e., when will they finally give in to wanting each other? and later, how will they make all of this work when they have fundamentally different priorities and SO much baggage they need to work though?) I related to these characters. I felt my own pain through both of them. I laughed with them and cried with them, and I loved their journeys, both individually and together. This book made me feel seen and confident, and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pleasantly surprised. It was so well written with characters that felt alive—full of history and pain and struggles. I will be the first to admit that the plot structure wasn’t how I initially imagined it, based off the synopsis’ outline. While I really loved this book, I felt like the ending was a bit rushed.

This third in Dade's most recent series is an absolute joy. Hot, funny, and featuring two plus-sized main characters, as well as satisfying appearances by characters from the previous books. Just wonderful.

I wasn’t sure if Peter could be forgiven after how horrible he was to Maria after finding out they were going to be cast mates. But he won me over in the end (actually much before the end)! Two very likable main characters and the angst and tension in this book was great!

I could’ve done without the fanfic chapters tho…

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.