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silverjarp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jcurry447's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lovesresqdogs's review against another edition
5.0
Very quick read that keeps you going! I read it in one sitting. Passion and adventure right from the start.
lezreadalot's review against another edition
4.0
“I love your eyes,” Nicole whispered. “They’re like our beach… turquoise and gold where the water meets the sand.”
3.5 stars. This was one of those romances that just got better and better as it went along! At first I was a bit meh on the characters and the trajectory of the plot, but after the 50% mark things really picked up and I really started connecting with the characters.
I picked this up expecting a castaway/stranded story, and it was, but only partially so. About half the story deals with the two women meeting and getting stranded out at sea, and the other half deals with the aftermath. I was a teensy bit disappointed when I realised that was the direction the book was going in, because I haven't read a castaway type story in some time and I was looking forward to the adventure and survival bits. There was some of that, but not as much as I wanted. I was also hoping for a slow burn, and this wasn't that.
But despite those caveats, I'm coming away from this book with just a deep feeling of satisfaction? IDK, I really liked it! It was sweet and steamy and had a lot more emotional depth than I expected it to have in the beginning. Fiona is a super closed-off character, keeps her walls up super high, and it can be sometimes frustrating to read romances with characters like that. But that part of her personality was written so well. I understood her and I was never annoyed, even though I obviously wanted her to open up to Nicole more. This book does some things that others have, but it still felt really meaningful and affecting. And again, the second half where we get to know the characters and their motivations better, and see the path they took to love and the work they needed to do: it was so so good!
Greatly enjoyable overall. Now I want to read even more queer shipwrecked/stranded stories. ;u;
Content warnings:
Spoiler
injuries and some related grossness, past csa.tricia_r's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
misthios_pat's review
5.0
Definitely a favourite now.
Two very likeable MCs with their personal shit to get together, lost in the ocean and stranded in an island. And yet it was very light on the angst, which for me was great. Very very good! Loved every second and every bit of it and my only regret is that it took me so long to read it.
And thank you, Rachel, for the hours I got myself lost on YouTube watching what's like to be inside a lifeboat lol
Two very likeable MCs with their personal shit to get together, lost in the ocean and stranded in an island. And yet it was very light on the angst, which for me was great. Very very good! Loved every second and every bit of it and my only regret is that it took me so long to read it.
And thank you, Rachel, for the hours I got myself lost on YouTube watching what's like to be inside a lifeboat lol
riella_reads's review
medium-paced
2.75
The beginning was hard to read just because I wasn't all that interested, but the second half was really nice and made me like the characters a lot.
jennabeebs79's review against another edition
5.0
Lost in Paradise is one of my favorite books of all time! It has two sexy main characters whose chemistry is off the charts, drama, and a fight for survival. Their adventures are exciting and their romance is swoon-worthy.
On the surface, Fiona appears confident, brave, and calm in the face of danger. She takes the lead as the rescuer on the ship, in the lifeboat, and on the island. Yet as time goes by and she begins to show vulnerability, my heart simply melted for her. As a fellow yogi, I appreciate a main character whose yoga and meditation practices are an integral part of her life. Fiona’s layers are deep, bearing a lot of scars. She’s a survivor on multiple levels who has closed herself off to others for self-preservation and has never really had someone in her corner. As she allows Nicole in, and her walls start to crack, her uncertainties and anxieties skyrocket, and are carefully ordered world is shaken. I could honestly feel her anguish as she questions everything she’s ever known. I have to say that her character arc is a really powerful element in this story.
Nicole doesn’t go through as grand an arc as Fiona but she does come to realize that she’s stronger than she ever imagined possible. Her steady presence, thoughtful reflections, and positive outlook help to level Fiona’s tumultuous emotions.
Nicole and Fiona’s stolen glances and mutual admiration while floating on the Mediterranean in an adrift lifeboat help to accelerate their connection so when they land on the deserted island, they can barely keep their hands off each other. It’s sexy, steamy, and so delicious. Once they’re rescued and they both try to go back to their lives (on separate continents no less), that connection they found on the Mediterranean won’t let either one go. This time is essential to both of their arcs and is as adorable as it is frustrating. These are clear signs of a stellar read!
Audiobook addition:
I’ve read Lost in Paradise countless times since its release in 2019 and when I heard that it was coming to audio, I was downright giddy! Ellie Gossage is a new to me narrator and with the work she’s done with this audio, she has catapulted herself right up there on a pedestal with my beloved narrators! She does an absolutely stellar job bringing Nicole and Fiona’s tale to life. Fiona’s sexy British accent is exactly what I imagined each time I read this story over the years. Nicole’s deeper timbre perfectly encompasses her character perfectly. Both of their voices are carried throughout the course of the story and the emotions Ellie Gossage conveys with smiles in her voice. hitches in her breathing, and sighs of pleasure make this a truly excellent listen.
On the surface, Fiona appears confident, brave, and calm in the face of danger. She takes the lead as the rescuer on the ship, in the lifeboat, and on the island. Yet as time goes by and she begins to show vulnerability, my heart simply melted for her. As a fellow yogi, I appreciate a main character whose yoga and meditation practices are an integral part of her life. Fiona’s layers are deep, bearing a lot of scars. She’s a survivor on multiple levels who has closed herself off to others for self-preservation and has never really had someone in her corner. As she allows Nicole in, and her walls start to crack, her uncertainties and anxieties skyrocket, and are carefully ordered world is shaken. I could honestly feel her anguish as she questions everything she’s ever known. I have to say that her character arc is a really powerful element in this story.
Nicole doesn’t go through as grand an arc as Fiona but she does come to realize that she’s stronger than she ever imagined possible. Her steady presence, thoughtful reflections, and positive outlook help to level Fiona’s tumultuous emotions.
Nicole and Fiona’s stolen glances and mutual admiration while floating on the Mediterranean in an adrift lifeboat help to accelerate their connection so when they land on the deserted island, they can barely keep their hands off each other. It’s sexy, steamy, and so delicious. Once they’re rescued and they both try to go back to their lives (on separate continents no less), that connection they found on the Mediterranean won’t let either one go. This time is essential to both of their arcs and is as adorable as it is frustrating. These are clear signs of a stellar read!
Audiobook addition:
I’ve read Lost in Paradise countless times since its release in 2019 and when I heard that it was coming to audio, I was downright giddy! Ellie Gossage is a new to me narrator and with the work she’s done with this audio, she has catapulted herself right up there on a pedestal with my beloved narrators! She does an absolutely stellar job bringing Nicole and Fiona’s tale to life. Fiona’s sexy British accent is exactly what I imagined each time I read this story over the years. Nicole’s deeper timbre perfectly encompasses her character perfectly. Both of their voices are carried throughout the course of the story and the emotions Ellie Gossage conveys with smiles in her voice. hitches in her breathing, and sighs of pleasure make this a truly excellent listen.
annaavian's review against another edition
4.0
Original plot, well crafted romance and vivid descriptions.
judeinthestars's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Edit: December 14th, 2023, audiobook review
Lost in Paradise is one of the first books I read by Rachel Lacey and my first 5⭐️. I have a signed copy on my bookshelf, of which I’m very proud. It’s a very Rachel Lacey book in that it’s impossible not to fall in love with the MCs. In this one, there aren’t a lot of secondary characters—the one that do exist are very secondary yet important to the story—and for good reason: for a large part of the book, the MCs, Nicole, an American, and Fiona, a British expat living in France, are stranded at sea then on an island. It should be tragic, and at times it is, but it’s also full of hope and instead of being dreadful, it becomes the beginning of something beautiful.
I first read this book during lockdown, after loving Don’t Cry for Me. Then as now, I loved the way the characters’ personalities are unveiled progressively, Fiona appearing as strong and laid-back at first then revealing her vulnerability, and Nicole, freshly divorced, growing from confused and scared at the beginning to self-assured and confident in what she wants. And all along the attraction between the two women keeps the tone rather light. I don’t know anything about cruise ships, pirates, and being lost at sea, but I’m pretty sure the situation Nicole and Fiona find themselves in would be terrifying. The MCs aren’t nonchalant about it, but the author keeps the overall mood uplifting, a Lacey trademark.
A word about the narration: Ellie Gossage is a new to me narrator and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to listen to her work often. The voices fit the characters flawlessly, the pace is right, everything is as should be.
This book isn’t perfect, there are a few bumps here and there but it’s so heart-warming that while I know my original 5⭐️ are probably slightly excessive (I don’t believe in star ratings anyway, they’re never fair), I’ll stick to them for the pure enjoyment it brought me twice.
------------------------------------------------
It seems fitting that in my fourth week of self-isolation / lockdown, I’d read a story about two women stranded on a desert island. I didn’t do it on purpose, I was looking for a book to take my mind off my growing anxiety last night, and since I had enjoyed Don't Cry for Me so much not long ago and my friend Gaby, over at LezReviewBooks, had told me this one was really good too (here’s her review to prove it), it sounded like a good choice. I didn’t read the blurb beforehand, so everything came as a surprise.
When she treated herself to a cruise on the Mediterranean sea after her divorce, Nicole Morella never expected pirates to take over the ship, much less to meet the love of her life and escape with her on a lifeboat. From the moment she got her first glimpse of Fiona Boone at the bar, attraction flared. Nicole has known for a long time that she’s bisexual but she’s never gone any further with a woman than a few kisses with a girlfriend in college. Fiona, a British expat on the French Riviera, was supposed to be spending the cruise with a casual lover but he stood her up. Unlike Nicole, Fiona identifies as gay but finds men more open to no-strings affairs, the only kind of relationship she’s into. She’s no more ready for Nicole than Nicole is for her, but life has a way to not let you decide the timing of such things.
I loved both MCs, loved them more and more as the book progressed and their complexity came to light. In the first pages, Fiona appears as extremely confident, the rescuer when the ship is highjacked, the one who knows how to react in desperate situations. On the lifeboat, then on the island, she shows a much more vulnerable side of herself, a side that comes to the forefront after she and Nicole come back to their “normal” life. She’s a survivor in many ways, not just from what happened on the cruise, and her strategy to survive has been to close herself off. Nicole is less damaged but just as layered and her strength comes out a little more with every plot twist.
There aren’t a lot of secondary characters, since a big part of the novel is about the two women being stranded on a desert Greek island, but the few that pass by – Nicole’s parents, Fiona’s father – feel real enough. I’m not sure how much of the story itself is plausible but it really doesn’t matter.
I think I’ve found another author whose writing simply works for me. This is my second Rachel Lacey book and I am so looking forward to many more. The two I have read evoke the same kind of feelings as one of my favourite authors’ books, Lise Gold. Life isn’t always pretty (duh) but some people, some connections make it worthwhile, and this is what those books are about.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
Lost in Paradise is one of the first books I read by Rachel Lacey and my first 5⭐️. I have a signed copy on my bookshelf, of which I’m very proud. It’s a very Rachel Lacey book in that it’s impossible not to fall in love with the MCs. In this one, there aren’t a lot of secondary characters—the one that do exist are very secondary yet important to the story—and for good reason: for a large part of the book, the MCs, Nicole, an American, and Fiona, a British expat living in France, are stranded at sea then on an island. It should be tragic, and at times it is, but it’s also full of hope and instead of being dreadful, it becomes the beginning of something beautiful.
I first read this book during lockdown, after loving Don’t Cry for Me. Then as now, I loved the way the characters’ personalities are unveiled progressively, Fiona appearing as strong and laid-back at first then revealing her vulnerability, and Nicole, freshly divorced, growing from confused and scared at the beginning to self-assured and confident in what she wants. And all along the attraction between the two women keeps the tone rather light. I don’t know anything about cruise ships, pirates, and being lost at sea, but I’m pretty sure the situation Nicole and Fiona find themselves in would be terrifying. The MCs aren’t nonchalant about it, but the author keeps the overall mood uplifting, a Lacey trademark.
A word about the narration: Ellie Gossage is a new to me narrator and I hope I’ll have the opportunity to listen to her work often. The voices fit the characters flawlessly, the pace is right, everything is as should be.
This book isn’t perfect, there are a few bumps here and there but it’s so heart-warming that while I know my original 5⭐️ are probably slightly excessive (I don’t believe in star ratings anyway, they’re never fair), I’ll stick to them for the pure enjoyment it brought me twice.
------------------------------------------------
It seems fitting that in my fourth week of self-isolation / lockdown, I’d read a story about two women stranded on a desert island. I didn’t do it on purpose, I was looking for a book to take my mind off my growing anxiety last night, and since I had enjoyed Don't Cry for Me so much not long ago and my friend Gaby, over at LezReviewBooks, had told me this one was really good too (here’s her review to prove it), it sounded like a good choice. I didn’t read the blurb beforehand, so everything came as a surprise.
When she treated herself to a cruise on the Mediterranean sea after her divorce, Nicole Morella never expected pirates to take over the ship, much less to meet the love of her life and escape with her on a lifeboat. From the moment she got her first glimpse of Fiona Boone at the bar, attraction flared. Nicole has known for a long time that she’s bisexual but she’s never gone any further with a woman than a few kisses with a girlfriend in college. Fiona, a British expat on the French Riviera, was supposed to be spending the cruise with a casual lover but he stood her up. Unlike Nicole, Fiona identifies as gay but finds men more open to no-strings affairs, the only kind of relationship she’s into. She’s no more ready for Nicole than Nicole is for her, but life has a way to not let you decide the timing of such things.
I loved both MCs, loved them more and more as the book progressed and their complexity came to light. In the first pages, Fiona appears as extremely confident, the rescuer when the ship is highjacked, the one who knows how to react in desperate situations. On the lifeboat, then on the island, she shows a much more vulnerable side of herself, a side that comes to the forefront after she and Nicole come back to their “normal” life. She’s a survivor in many ways, not just from what happened on the cruise, and her strategy to survive has been to close herself off. Nicole is less damaged but just as layered and her strength comes out a little more with every plot twist.
There aren’t a lot of secondary characters, since a big part of the novel is about the two women being stranded on a desert Greek island, but the few that pass by – Nicole’s parents, Fiona’s father – feel real enough. I’m not sure how much of the story itself is plausible but it really doesn’t matter.
I think I’ve found another author whose writing simply works for me. This is my second Rachel Lacey book and I am so looking forward to many more. The two I have read evoke the same kind of feelings as one of my favourite authors’ books, Lise Gold. Life isn’t always pretty (duh) but some people, some connections make it worthwhile, and this is what those books are about.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars