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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
funny
inspiring
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
MORE FAT MAIN CHARACTERS PLEASE!!!! I love that Maria was so adamant on her values and her happiness even if it blinded her in her relationship sometimes, because we don't see that enough!
4.75 ⭐️ Does it come as a surprise – to literally anyone– that I’m five staring an Olivia Dade’s book?
Nope - nor it should. When people ask me what kind of books I like, I often point them to 40-Love, because that’s my taste in books in a nutshell.
I’d read a couple of mixed reviews about this one, and I was admittedly a bit nervous at first, but I should’ve had faith! The thing is, I don’t believe in ‘faith’. I’ve always told people that the place where faith is in everyone else, mine’s either empty or nonexistent… and I’m not kidding. Faith implies blind trust, and that’s just not a thing I possess – and if I ever did, I certainly don’t anymore. My trust is hard heard… and Olivia Dade has it. Full stop.
I’ve read every book of hers that I can get my hands on. I’ve certainty read every book in this series – I own them now forever (or at least as long as eBooks exist) – and every single one of them has manage to overwhelm me in the most beautiful ways. They bring hope and happiness to my very cynical-yet-romantic heart and make me hopeful for beautiful, complex, imperfect, gorgeous people to be just out and about out there in the world. This book was no exception to that rule.
Peter and Maria are an absolute delight to read about. I, personally, feel like a Maria in my heart– or at least a short, brunette, dark eyed version of her who hates the gym. This character spoke to me in ways that not many do; specifically her personality, her outlook on life and what she wants in the future. Her understanding of her needs and the unwillingness to burn down her own boundaries just to please the people around her was such a breath of fresh air, and I loved how empowered she was. Even in her lowest points, she always fought to stay true to herself while protecting others as well. She was never malicious, or sought out to hurt anyone, but she wasn’t willing to let other’s hurt her or who she was. She’s chaotic goodness personified and she’s the impish angel I’ve always aspired to be.
Also, rounding up the storylines for the God of the Gates cast was exactly what I needed this week! Now I want to reread them all, get into Marcus’ story again and watch him fall head over heels in love with April, his perfect Lavinia/cyberfriend, in a crowed restaurant; or watch Alex be completely unhinged around Lauren’s zero-shit attitude, that helped both bringing him down to earth and made him feel safe as he flies away in his AO3 inspired fantasies. Which, by the way, can we talk about that? If an author makes a series based on how much real, successful people love fanfics and AO3… Sorry (not sorry), but it immediately sends said book into the 3.5 / 4 star realm for me.
The reason why I’m reticent to give this book the full 5 stars is because 1) Age gaps where the dude is 10+ years older than the heroine are so much a pet peeve of mine at this point. They are EVERYWHERE! And they kind of creep me out; and 2) The six yearlong blue balls hurt me more than they hurt them. I just wanted a measly crumb of romance, and instead we got tension for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I was personally more than happy to skip and time jump through it, as I’m not the biggest fan of the slow-burn. This was a bit painful, but this level of it I could take.
Overall, this was the perfect ending for an amazingly wonderful series!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
Olivia Dade continues to be the standard by which I measure all other fat representation. I absolutely loved Maria and Peter. Maria in particular is one of the best characters, let alone fat characters, I’ve read. Since the story spans six years, the development of their chemistry, friendship and love was so good - ugh the pining. Each book in this series got better and this was a wonderful and fitting conclusion.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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:
Complicated
I fell for Peter immediately. The moment he said his mother used to call him a “champion grudge holder” I knew I was smitten. He was just so socially awkward and adorbable!
His relationship with Maria is definitely a slow burn, which is impressive since they are in the middle of a one night stand from the very first page. But we get so much character development! Both Peter and Maria were so easy to relate to once we dive into their back stories.
While this book is in a series, it could technically be read as a standalone but I wouldn’t recommend it. The side characters feel so integral to the story and you’ll feel a little lost if you haven’t met them before.
My favorite part of Ship Wrecked? The body positivity. It’s rare that both the hero and the heroine are overweight and I loved that they accepted themselves and each other for who they are.
Ship Wrecked doesn’t beat out Alex as my favorite but was still a wonderful read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the review copy.
His relationship with Maria is definitely a slow burn, which is impressive since they are in the middle of a one night stand from the very first page. But we get so much character development! Both Peter and Maria were so easy to relate to once we dive into their back stories.
While this book is in a series, it could technically be read as a standalone but I wouldn’t recommend it. The side characters feel so integral to the story and you’ll feel a little lost if you haven’t met them before.
My favorite part of Ship Wrecked? The body positivity. It’s rare that both the hero and the heroine are overweight and I loved that they accepted themselves and each other for who they are.
Ship Wrecked doesn’t beat out Alex as my favorite but was still a wonderful read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the review copy.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
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:
No
Maria is hands down my favorite contemporary romance FMC. Throughout this entire book she is a freakin delight. Truly a beacon! This book surprised me, it was def different from the others in the series. The first 40ish? percent of this book I thought I knew where this was going then was completely rocked. I’m not a huge fan of time jumps but I understand why this one was done. Though I do not find it realistic., because honestly Maria is a gem! And I will forever be upset on her behalf about it! Though watching Peter’s growth through this book was frustratingly amazing. I read an ARC of this, there is a slow down in this book but when it picked back up it did it with a vengeance. There were tears people! I love these two so much and ugh they made me cry! It was beyond a pleasure to get to experience their HEA.
Maria is hands down my favorite contemporary romance FMC. Throughout this entire book she is a freakin delight. Truly a beacon! This book surprised me, it was def different from the others in the series. The first 40ish? percent of this book I thought I knew where this was going then was completely rocked. I’m not a huge fan of time jumps but I understand why this one was done. Though I do not find it realistic, because honestly Maria is a gem! And I will forever be upset on her behalf about it! Though watching Peter’s growth through this book was frustratingly amazing. I read an ARC of this, there is a slow down in this book but when it picked back up it did it with a vengeance. There were tears people! I love this two so much and ugh they made me cry! It was beyond a pleasure to get to experience their HEA.
reflective
medium-paced