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A review by churrosmom
Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a Netgalley eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book was good but I didn't love it. The premise is the two main characters meet and hook up right from the first page, then Maria ghosts Peter the next morning. Later in the day it turns on they are auditioning to play love interests in a very Game of Thrones-esque TV show. They're both cast and will be filming on location in a small island village in Ireland. The book has a lot of elements of fan fiction, fandom, and similar complaints about the showrunners as in Game of Thrones. There is a lot of pining and slow burn.
I really loved the fat rep and all of the scenes involving Maria's Swedish family and the family she creates with their coworkers during their on location shoots. I loved that there was a big emphasis on the importance of other family/relationships outside of a romantic relationship. However, I felt like the pacing was off. At one point there is a huge time jump and I almost missed the cue of the time jump and was hella confused for a bit. Once the main characters got together it felt like the story felt really distant and not as warm as before. The 180 from Peter during the conflict also didn't make that much sense to me and felt out of nowhere. I also felt quite a lot of distance from the main characters, and didn't connect with them that much. I noticed sometimes it felt like a lot of telling rather than showing.
This book was good but I didn't love it. The premise is the two main characters meet and hook up right from the first page, then Maria ghosts Peter the next morning. Later in the day it turns on they are auditioning to play love interests in a very Game of Thrones-esque TV show. They're both cast and will be filming on location in a small island village in Ireland. The book has a lot of elements of fan fiction, fandom, and similar complaints about the showrunners as in Game of Thrones. There is a lot of pining and slow burn.
I really loved the fat rep and all of the scenes involving Maria's Swedish family and the family she creates with their coworkers during their on location shoots. I loved that there was a big emphasis on the importance of other family/relationships outside of a romantic relationship. However, I felt like the pacing was off. At one point there is a huge time jump and I almost missed the cue of the time jump and was hella confused for a bit. Once the main characters got together it felt like the story felt really distant and not as warm as before. The 180 from Peter during the conflict also didn't make that much sense to me and felt out of nowhere. I also felt quite a lot of distance from the main characters, and didn't connect with them that much. I noticed sometimes it felt like a lot of telling rather than showing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexism, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol