Review: Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Item: Ship Wrecked
Rating: 5
Author: Lillian

Posted December 1, 2022 by Lillian in Reviews / 1 Comment

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
Series: Spoiler Alert #3
Published by Avon on 2022-11-15
Length: 413 pages
Reviewing Paperback from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2022 New Release Challenge

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…

Maria’s one-night-stand—the thick-thighed, sexy Viking of a man she left without a word or a note—just reappeared. Apparently, Peter’s her surly Gods of the Gates co-star, and they’re about to spend the next six years filming on a desolate Irish island together. She still wants him…but he now wants nothing to do with her.

Peter knows this role could finally transform him from a forgettable character actor into a leading man. He also knows a failed relationship with Maria could poison the set, and he won’t sabotage his career for a woman who’s already walked away from him once. Given time, maybe they can be cooperative colleagues or friends—possibly even best friends—but not lovers again. No matter how much he aches for her.

For years, they don’t touch off-camera. But on their last night of filming, their mutual restraint finally shatters, and all their pent-up desire explodes into renewed passion. Too bad they still don’t have a future together, since Peter’s going back to Hollywood, while Maria’s returning to her native Sweden. She thinks she needs more than he can give her, but he’s determined to change her mind, and he’s spent the last six years waiting. Watching. Wanting.

His shipwrecked Swede doesn’t stand a chance.

I am a sucker for the friends to lovers trope so when Peter and Maria’s romance was teased in the first two books, it just upped my anticipation. Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade is the third book in her standalone romance series about the actors of a popular cable show (think Game of Thrones-ish) and what happens when the show is over. This book takes us back to before the show started, to the day before Peter auditioned for the biggest role of his career and met a beauty in a hotel sauna. That beauty happened to be Maria. Full of angst, heartbreak, and true friendship, Ship Wrecked should be at the top of your wishlist this holiday season.

Peter is a fantastic character to follow. As a fellow awkward introvert, I identified with him on so many levels. Peter struggles with making conversation and initiating small talk with people he doesn’t know. As a result, he is usually on the fringes of his coworkers and only has one or two people he’d count as a close friend. Taking on a role that will leave him on a remote island a majority of the year with only one cast mate and the crew who will be filming them is daunting and lonely for someone like Peter. Then Maria steps in.

Maria is everything Peter is not. She’s bubbly, friendly, talkative, and outgoing. Everyone who meets Maria loves her. She’s one of those people that you can’t help but be drawn too. Unless you are Peter who Maria left with no note and no explanation after a fantastic night in bed 😉 Maria makes it her mission to win over her new coworker and create a family among the crew they will be living with for the foreseeable future.

Taking place over the course of several years, Ship Wrecked succeeds in showing the reader key moments in Maria and Peter’s lives: how the two start off with explosive chemistry, how they became enemies to reluctant coworkers, and how they ultimately became friends. The pining in this book will pull at your heartstrings. Seeing Maria through Peter’s eyes and him through hers it’s not hard to see how the two fell in love. However, the story is more than just that. Dade injects each character with realistic and relatable flaws which for me just made them more endearing. If you are a fan of romance, I highly recommend you grab a copy asap. One of my favorite reads of the year!

About Olivia Dade

Olivia Dade grew up an undeniable nerd, prone to ignoring the world around her as she read any book she could find. Her favorites, though, were always, always romances. As an adult, she earned an M.A. in American history and worked in a variety of jobs that required the donning of actual pants: Colonial Williamsburg interpreter, high school teacher, academic tutor, and (of course) librarian. Now, however, she has finally achieved her lifelong goal of wearing pajamas all day as a hermit-like writer and enthusiastic hag. She currently lives outside Stockholm with her patient Swedish husband, their whip-smart daughter, and the family’s ever-burgeoning collection of books.

Website | Goodreads | Amazon