‘Swept Away’ by Beth O’Leary follows a unique love story as a one-night stand are stranded together in the middle of the North Sea on a houseboat. I have never read such an interesting plot for a romance novel. Another completely new and unique close-proximity novel from O’Leary that is unlike anything I have read before.

She says herself that the locational confinements of the novel didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room (paraphrased) but I completely disagree the sea proved to be full of narrative plot twists. The whole thing was bizarre and seemed totally fantastical, but I loved that for the plot and romance, it really made me fall for two characters that I wasn’t sure I would actually like together.

In fact, my only complaint with the novel is that I wasn’t a massive fan of the events that happened towards the end. I thought it took away from the intimacy of the pairing and transformed their characters from people I thought I knew to almost strangers. It was a plot twist that made me gasp though which I was surprised would happen after such an intense narrative.

I would recommend to any one who is interested in romance as it is a guaranteed good read.
4.5

I’ve been dying to read this book since I first heard the brilliant premise and it did not disappoint. Truly thrilling, deeply romantic, genuinely sexy - I absolutely loved it.

Another great book by Beth O'Leary. Very original in it's setting much like The Flat Share. The author has a way of creating characters that you can relate to and warm to. The situation that the main characters found themselves in was probably quite unlikely, but who knows. This book is worth a read, but be prepared to not be able to put it down! I read it in a day.

Another fantastic story from Beth O'Leary. Zeke and Lexi meet in a pub and hit it off, spending the night together on a houseboat. In the morning, whilst disagreeing about who it belongs to, they discover the mooring failed and they are now drifting out at sea with no way of getting help.
Thrust together in the strangest of circumstances, the story is told from each viewpoint as they form an unbreakable bond.
I was hooked on this, such depth to the characters and a fantastic story
5 stars

Beth O'Leary said she wanted to write this book for a long time, but she wasn't sure if it was too complicated. I'm so glad we finally got a chance to share it with her.
Swept out into the sea after a one night stand on a houseboat, Lexi and Zeke are trapped together. The endless horizon, their dwindling food supply, and the arrival of an injured bird, makes for a complicated morning after.
Written with O'Leary's trademarked wit and heart, this was the perfect isolated story of two people finding solace in each other during troubled times, and understanding what is most important in life.

**Thank you to NetGally and publishers Quercus for this ARC in return for an honest review**

I love Beth O'leary's writing. She is incredibly skilled at creating three dimensional, interesting characters that draw you into their troubles. Zeke and Lexi were no different, and I was rooting for them the whole way through. That being said... the setting for Swept Away didn't feel real to me. Believing that these two strangers got swept out of a marina on a somewhat shoddily maintained houseboat and then managed to survive on said boat for 12 days at sea felt like being asked to suspend an awful lot of belief. The book is fast paced and has a ton of drama so it kept me reading, but I struggled to connect with the circumstances that set the stage for the story the whole way through.

Regardless of this, the characters are surprising and gutsy, and there is a new rawness to the emotional vulnerability that O'leary writes about in this book that I look forward to seeing more of in whatever she does next.

Content Warnings: Blood, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content

Wow! A forced proximity romance with a twist and what a twist. After a one night stand on a houseboat, Lexi and Zeke wake up to literally find themselves swept out to sea. There’s alternative but to get to know one another. As jeopardy gets closer will they find salvation as well as each other.
I loved this - and I didn’t think anything could top The No-Show but this possibly dies. The characters at times are raw and honest and you can’t help rooting for them.
Absolutely perfect!

This book was incredibly unusual, and yet it had something up there every day at the same time. One night stand that goes quite horrendously wrong as a couple end up travelling. on a rickety houseboat into the wide open sea. Day after day of them getting to know each other, exposing themselves a little more and discovering who they really are.. Pretences and the barriers that they put up are stripped away as they can’t keep it up as they get frightened as the boat starts to leak and as chances of survival fall away. This is a microcosm of life when nothing and yet absolutely everything changes.

I have read most of Beth O'Leary's novels, and have enjoyed all of them. Swept Away was no different. A great concept, well-executed. A bit more jeopardy in this one than in the others, but that just added to the drama. A solid 4* from me. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Zeke and Lexi wake up in a houseboat together that they are both convinced is theirs, the fact that they had a one night stand the evening before seems to be forgotten. Especially when they realise that they aren't bobbing at their mooring, they're out at sea.
This books starts with a bang and I wasn't sure what to expect as I've loved some of Beth O'Leary's books and thought others were fairly average. But I absolutely loved the opening chapter and drama to this novel, so well written and straight away gives you a little information about the pair. Zeke has bought back his dad's houseboat and Lexi is crashing there because the previous owner was her best friend and she decided to up and leave her friend's house after an argument. It's not clear who's in the right, who the boat belongs to and what the hell they're going to do about being in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight.

This was one of the loveliest and most heartwarming romances I've read in a long time and I highly recommend it. It had just the right amount of danger and excitement whilst also just being about two people thrown together on a boat in the middle of the sea.

Zeke and Lexi were both so incredibly likeable and I was rooting for them from like two pages in and the world painted beyond their small boat was also brilliantly done and I felt the longing to get back home with them. The elements of found family in the book were so sweet and Lexi's relationship with her best friend's young daughter was utterly wonderful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the eARC.

Beth O’Leary is one of my top favourite authors. I will always read her books no matter what. With her latest title, she delivered again.

I thought she couldn’t get any better after reading The No-Show, but I was proved wrong. This book completely stands out from the rest of her writing. It’s original, romantic and thoughtful. All of which are a constant in O’Leary’s books, but this time it was different.

The characters gelled together in their insular world on the boat as they were ‘swept away’. I haven’t read a romance title like this before.

I was absolutely delighted to be approved to read Swept Away - I’ve read and loved all of Beth’s previous books so started this one straight away!

When Lexi and Zeke meet and have a one night stand on Zeke’s houseboat/lexi’s family houseboat, neither could predict they would wake up the following morning and be swept away to sea….with no sight of land or boats or any other kind of help. They are forced to get to know each other - Lexi talks about her sister Penny, who has a daughter Mae, whilst Zeke reveals that he feels the houseboat holds the answers to his questions about his dad.

There was one part of the book when disaster strikes in the boat and I really struggled to read it as I am really squeamish, so look away if you are like me!

This is a book that I couldn’t predict the resolution of and I feel it will stand up to repeated rereadings. Will be highly recommending.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

Lexi and Zeke wake up after a wild one-night stand on a houseboat only to find that they have drifted out into the North Sea. The boat has no power and there is no signal on their phones.
Beth O’Leary has taken a unique twist on the proximity trope and created the perfect blend of romance and suspense as Lexi and Zeke battle to survive with limited supplies, limited skills and only the vastness of the sea for company. Having no distractions they are both forced into some introspection as well as having to spend a lot more time with their one-night stand than expected!
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC

This is my absolute favourite Beth O’Leary book ever. And I never thought I’d find something I loved as much as The Flatshare.

book review: Swept Away by Beth O’Leary
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much @quercusbooks @netgalley for an advanced copy of @betholearyauthor’s next novel.

I will buy and eat up absolutely anything Beth writes so when I spotted my Netgalley approval email I dropped everything. The Flatshare was one of the books I read when I was getting back into reading after a really, unbelievably long slump. It was the book that made me fall in love with reading and with romance. So I’ve always felt like coming home when I return to Beth’s writing.

In Swept Away, we follow Lexi and Zeke after they go home from the pub with each other to a houseboat with the understanding they would have a night of fun and then go their separate ways. Only, the next morning they wake up to find their houseboat has been swept out in the North Sea. Imagine. Being stuck on a HOUSE BOAT with your one-night stand. Talk about the forced proximity!!

This book took me on a journey of emotions. I felt everything these characters were feeling. The descriptions made me feel like I was right there with them. I found it a little anxiety inducing because the descriptions were GOOD and I am TERRIFIED of the sea. It felt like living one of those terrifying North Sea TikToks with the yoooooo hooooo sound. You know the one I mean. I just couldn’t put it down - I had to see what happened next with the boat and the actual being swept away.

But also what kept me turning the pages was wanting to see what was happening with our two main characters. The romance. I loved these characters with everything in me. It’s a book about love and survival, and living each day in the technicolour you would if it were your last day. I sobbed multiple time, happiness, fear, sadness. These characters were all I could think about while I was reading this book. I would’ve read a 1,500 page version of this.

This one is out 10th April 2025, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it so I can discuss. I’ll definitely be re-reading next year!

Beth O'Leary has done it again! I do love a good forced proximity trope and this is the first one I've read where it's based at sea?! One of the things I love the most about O'Leary's stories is how she creates such down to earth and relatable characters.

So the book starts of with Lexi and Zeke waking up after a one night stand to see that they are both stranded on a boat that has been swept out to sea. It's hard to say anything more without giving too much of the plot away, but let's just say, it's very entertaining how they navigate this scary/unusual experience.

I think my favourite part was how they rescued a seagull and then adopted it as the boat pet haha.

The only critique I will say is that I think the start of the story is a bit disjointed. It might've flowed better to start off with what happens before they end up stranded on the boat, and then follow the timeline. Rather than starting off the story with both characters straight into it! Other than that, it was a great read. Full of laughs, tears and really makes you think yourself about what would YOU do if you were in this situation? I know I'd lose my mind, and end up drinking all the alcohol within a week haha.

Picture this: you wake up after a wild one-night stand with a guy you barely know.

You’ve got a hangover the size of a houseboat (literally), and just when you’re about to throw him overboard (metaphorically), you realise that you’re already adrift in the North Sea. Yep. Welcome to Swept Away by Beth O’Leary, where “no-strings-attached” takes on a whole new meaning, and your one-night stand becomes your survival partner. Talk about awkward morning afters!

Lexi and Zeke, our disaster prone duo, are polar opposites. Lexi wants a fun, no commitment fling; Zeke wants The One. Sparks fly when they meet at a pub, and one kiss later, they’re waking up on a houseboat that’s mysteriously drifted out to sea. It’s Titanic vibes meets Survivor: Love Edition, minus the luxury cruise and with way more "Oh no, we’re gonna die" moments.

As the days tick by and their food and water start to run low, it turns out surviving on a drifting boat isn’t as romantic as it sounds. Forget candlelit dinners, try rationing your last tin of baked beans while you’re wearing yesterday’s clothes.

But here’s where Beth O’Leary works her magic: even with the waves crashing around them, the real storm is the one brewing between Lexi and Zeke. With nowhere to run (literally), they’re forced to open up about their pasts, their fears, and—gasp!—their feelings.

Lexi’s a mess of commitment issues, Zeke’s all-in on love, and together, they’re like oil and water. But being stuck at sea has a funny way of bringing people closer, and soon, they’re sharing more than just survival tips. (Did I mention there’s plenty of sexual tension? You’ll be screaming "Just kiss already!" while they’re fighting over whose turn it is to watch the horizon for rescue boats.)

The best part? This isn’t just a fluffy rom-com. It’s sharp, witty, and packed with those laugh-out-loud O’Leary moments we’ve come to love. But it also sneaks in some real emotional depth—because surviving the North Sea is tough, but learning to trust someone else? That’s the real challenge.

So, will they make it back to dry land? Will they fall in love or push each other overboard first? You’ll have to read to find out—but trust me, you’ll be swept away by this charming, funny, and heart-pounding adventure of love, survival, and second chances.

What would happen if you wake up from a one night stand, stuck with them in the middle of the ocean with no way back to land?

This book was a different style for Beth O'Leary, a bit more survivalist with a hint of romance.

Lexi and Zeke have a one night stand on a houseboat and wake up stranded in the middle of the ocean. They have to survive the perils of a limited pantry, limited resources and no way to get back to land, all while dealing with the mixed emotions of being stuck with a "walk of shame" that lasts multiple days.

I think there wasnt enough of either 'genre' to really grab me. There wasn't enough romance in between the adventure, and the adventure wasn't evenly paced enough for me.

Beth O’Leary never fails to sweep me away and this new novel lives up to its name indeed. A sprawling romance that pulls you in as fast as the ocean and drowns you in the beauty of love like only O’Leary can do. Another phenomenal read and I know so many readers will be clamoring for this one! Thank you for the early copy!

I absolutely raced through this, what a fantastic read! I think Beth comes up with some of the best most original concepts in the genre and the added peril of being at sea added a fantastic dimension to the classic will they/won’t they plot.
Loved the little twist (no spoilers but didn’t see that coming) and absolutely fell in love with both main characters.

In Swept Away, the romance isn’t just a subplot; it’s the very essence of the story. It’s a tale of two souls finding each other amidst chaos, and the heart-stopping moments that turn a single night into a life-changing connection. If you crave a romance that’s not only steamy but also packed with emotional depth and intensity, this novel will sweep you off your feet.