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stardustandrockets's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Body shaming, Grief, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Sexism, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
ladythana's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Abandonment
Moderate: Fatphobia and Body shaming
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Bullying, and Mental illness
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
“Dieting? No fucking way. Taunting the Grim Reaper? No problem!”
➽ Olivia Dade does it again and delivers a swoonworthy romance!! Ship Wrecked is about Gods of the Gates co-stars Maria and Peter who are set to film their parts over the course of 6 years. After an awkward ONS, being together in close proximity might be difficult, but they are nothing if not professionals. I loved Maria so much, she's an aspiring Swedish actress who is hoping for her big break in mainstream media, so being part of Gods of the Gates is her chance. She's super outspoken, caring and brave! There is still a lot of fatphobia in the media industry and I admired how Maria took it head on, never letting others belittle her body or decide to force her into dieting! Peter is a bit more timid when it comes to upsetting anyone on set, as he knows Gods of the Gates is his chance at a career. Nevertheless, he adores Maria and wouldn't want to see her hurt! I loved their banter and the great chemistry they had 💗
➽ Olivia Dade does it again and delivers a swoonworthy romance!! Ship Wrecked is about Gods of the Gates co-stars Maria and Peter who are set to film their parts over the course of 6 years. After an awkward ONS, being together in close proximity might be difficult, but they are nothing if not professionals. I loved Maria so much, she's an aspiring Swedish actress who is hoping for her big break in mainstream media, so being part of Gods of the Gates is her chance. She's super outspoken, caring and brave! There is still a lot of fatphobia in the media industry and I admired how Maria took it head on, never letting others belittle her body or decide to force her into dieting! Peter is a bit more timid when it comes to upsetting anyone on set, as he knows Gods of the Gates is his chance at a career. Nevertheless, he adores Maria and wouldn't want to see her hurt! I loved their banter and the great chemistry they had 💗
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual content, and Body shaming
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
ashleyvharris's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Despite bringing much-needed fat representation to the spicy romance genre, Ship Wrecked feels more like a sinking ship without life jackets.
Dade’s third book following actors from the (unfortunately) fictional “Gods of the Gates” television series, Ship Wrecked was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. So I was surprised and disappointed by the lack of coherent plot and unlikable characters.
If you like character-driven stories, this might be for you. I much prefer when my romance stories have plot beyond the romance itself. We see small conflicts pop up throughout the book, but all find resolution—if unsatisfying—fairly fast. We see a huge gap in time, but only receive short generic mentions of what our main characters got up to during that time and how they’ve each changed and grown.
There’s little in the way of ongoing conflict; the author focuses mainly on the characters internal conflicts, doubts, and past pains. I think those internal conflicts are valid and well-written, but fail to provide interesting forward movement to the story.
I might have enjoyed the character-driven story more if I had been able to connect and relate to Peter or Maria. Unfortunately, I found both to be immature and hard-headed; they also lacked chemistry on the page. At times it felt like we were expected to like them as a couple because of their similarity in size.
Peter came off as cold, cruel, and immature from the beginning. While we learn some reasoning for why this might be and we see him grow out of those traits a bit, it never feels like he fully shakes that.
Maria came off as stubborn, overbearing, and selfish. Unlike Peter, she doesn’t seem to change much. From her constant coddling of Peter to encourage him to be social (he’s a grown man) to her demanding that he give up career opportunities to be with to her all the time, Maria was not an appealing character for me. If there was any shred of hope, it was lost with her hypocrisy at wanting a job that would take her out of LA for months when she left Peter for that reason .
While I didn’t enjoy this book overall, Olivia still brought her charming writing style and messaging of inclusion, fat-positivity, and self-love to the page. Plus, the Alex Woodroe cameos alone are absolutely worth it. Here’s hoping Dade returns to form in her next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Infidelity
literarylocd's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Would i recommend: No
TLDR at the end
What i liked:
- fat mcs being horny and finding love
- Maria MF Ivarsson. my queen, my wife, my one true love. what an icon. a legend. thee moment. i love that she doesn’t compromise her wants for the sake of others. and she’s not afraid of losing her job to uphold her values and beliefs.
- “It’s a job, Peter. Only a job. Not worth my happiness.”
What i didn’t like:
- the mmc is super immature and just not sexy. he’s a massive ****.
like okay you’ve got a dead mommy and your dad doesn’t understand you. get a therapist lad. He’s also a manipulative arsehole who thinks Maria should follow him until the ends of the earth because ‘if she loved him she wouldn’t leave him’. have a day off - this story takes place over 6 years but we don’t get to see much of them in between. we see them get to know each other and then we see them again being super familiar. it felt kinda strange
- maria’s only personality traits are that she’s genuinely a nice person, super sexy and swedish. and peter’s is being insufferable.
- “She was about to turn thirty, and it showed.” first of all, ew. second of all, i hated this so much with every fibre of my being. especially when the man saying this is about 9/10 years older than her.
- This book has A LOT of cameos (from the previous books) which started out cool but ended super convoluted. It was just a bunch of exposition on the page that the reader just didn’t need. The story would have worked the same way without all the unnecessary explanations.
TLDR; immature MMC, FMC deserves more. a bunch of corny Swedish jokes. Olivia Dade has better books. Read one of those instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Death of parent
Moderate: Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness
katbookish's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Fatphobia and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent and Body shaming
dearbookboyfriend's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
thesmutsister_emma's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
What in the Love of Herring?
I have read all of these books and have enjoyed every one that I have read. With that being said, I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I honestly expected more from it, but most of the book felt like they spent it not enjoying each other. The end and their relationship made up for the first half of the book, but for a long time I had trouble getting through this book.
The Characters
Maria: Bless Maria's heart. I honestly wish I was more like Maria. I wish I had the courage to stand up for myself no matter what and to walk away when things get bad. Maria and her fierce love for her family and others around her gives me hope that there are more people out there like me.
Peter: Sweet, sweet Peter. I always have such a soft spot for the quiet, grumpy ones. They truly are always the ones I want and adore when it comes to books. If Peter, Alex, and Marcus were all to materialize in front of me, I would be picking his grumpy ass in a heartbeat.
Things I Loved
I truly enjoyed Maria standing up for herself. I was a little confused alongside Peter when it first happened and struggled as well to understand what her reasoning, but once she went more in depth about it, it made more sense to me. I honestly am glad that Maria stood her ground with Peter, but I'm also glad she apologized. I loved the cameos in the book as well.
Things I Didn't Love
I honestly felt like the first half of the book was really slow. It was hard for me to get into the book well enough to read it well. This is more of a slow burn and I was not expecting it to be as much of a slow burn as it was. I was also expecting there to be more emphasis on the found family trope within the book than there was.
The Final Verdict
If you are a fan of Olivia Dade and are familiar with this series, I feel like it would be a good fit for you. If you are are wanting to get into the series because of this book, make sure you read about the others in the series before starting this series because they are very different from this one.
I have read all of these books and have enjoyed every one that I have read. With that being said, I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I honestly expected more from it, but most of the book felt like they spent it not enjoying each other. The end and their relationship made up for the first half of the book, but for a long time I had trouble getting through this book.
The Characters
Maria: Bless Maria's heart. I honestly wish I was more like Maria. I wish I had the courage to stand up for myself no matter what and to walk away when things get bad. Maria and her fierce love for her family and others around her gives me hope that there are more people out there like me.
Peter: Sweet, sweet Peter. I always have such a soft spot for the quiet, grumpy ones. They truly are always the ones I want and adore when it comes to books. If Peter, Alex, and Marcus were all to materialize in front of me, I would be picking his grumpy ass in a heartbeat.
Things I Loved
I truly enjoyed Maria standing up for herself. I was a little confused alongside Peter when it first happened and struggled as well to understand what her reasoning, but once she went more in depth about it, it made more sense to me. I honestly am glad that Maria stood her ground with Peter, but I'm also glad she apologized. I loved the cameos in the book as well.
Things I Didn't Love
I honestly felt like the first half of the book was really slow. It was hard for me to get into the book well enough to read it well. This is more of a slow burn and I was not expecting it to be as much of a slow burn as it was. I was also expecting there to be more emphasis on the found family trope within the book than there was.
The Final Verdict
If you are a fan of Olivia Dade and are familiar with this series, I feel like it would be a good fit for you. If you are are wanting to get into the series because of this book, make sure you read about the others in the series before starting this series because they are very different from this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, and Death of parent
lermaline's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Spoiler free: I think I read this book at the perfect time of the year for me to enjoy it. The end of december weather and a frequent commute allowed me to connect with the characters and the numerous places set throughout the book. I don’t know that I would re-read it, but still I put it down knowing that I would think about a few themes or issues for some time. It’s a common occurence for me when I finish Olivia Dade’s books. We know the romance is going to end well, that there will be spicy times and character growth. I would recommand this book to people who love an end of the year atmosphere, a story happening on a filming set, and cameos from heros and heroines from previous books. Keep in mind it also deals with heavy themes like being disconnected with your family, grief, feeling out of place, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming
krisalexcole's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Fatphobia