Title: Swept Away
Author: Beth O’Leary
Year Published: 2025
Genre: Romance/Adventure
Setting: The UK/North Sea
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Swept Away: A Blurb
Between taking care of her best friend’s daughter and working at a seaside pub, Lexi is a busy woman. Zeke is only in town for a few days to buy back his father’s houseboat. When their paths collide, they know that it will only be for one night.
However, when they wake up the next morning and find themselves stranded at sea, their lives descend into chaos and they’re forced to work together to survive. During their harrowing adventure, it’s not only their problem solving capabilities that grow, but their feelings as well.
Told from both characters’ perspectives, this 312 page novel is a quick read and good for action and romance fans.
My Thoughts
I found myself a bit mixed on this one, and ultimately gave it four stars because I couldn’t detract points for not being an action fan. After all, I was the one who picked the book up.
With that being said, the writing was fantastic. My only pet peeve was that the author loved the form of “he’s not” instead of “he hasn’t.” Obviously this is a difference in British English versus American English, so again, I can’t say much. It just came up quite often throughout the story. However, if that’s my biggest (very personal) critique writing-wise, you know that you have a great writer! In fact, when I was debating what to rate Swept Away, that’s what swayed me toward four stars and not three.
The story flowed well, and the characters were strong
The book read so smoothly, and I finished it in two days. The characterization was pretty good, albeit repetitive at times, but I think that’s to be expected in such a contained setting. Both Lexi and Zeke felt very real, and their reaction to such a terrifying situation also felt realistic–oscillating between absurdity, panic, and determination. Their romance was overall enjoyable, mostly because of how fleshed out they each were in their own rights.
Now, the action/adventure part was the part I didn’t love. Again, this is totally on me and nothing against the author. In fact, I’d say that she wrote it well, considering it was very gripping and the ending was incredibly satisfying. However, my personal preference rarely veers toward these kinds of survival stories. At times, it definitely leaned more survival story than romance, although that made sense. I skimmed through the more action-y parts to focus on the relationship building. If you like survival/man vs nature stories and romance, this is the perfect book for you.
Hang on for the ending!
My favorite part, given that I prefer soapier, dramatic, romantic stories, was the last quarter of the book. There is a twist there that made everything worth reading, and the ending was truly perfect. Kudos to the author for building everything up and pacing it so well. Even if the story followed the typical romance plotline, it felt unique. Within the romance genre, this is something that I usually find lacking, so I was impressed.
Final Thoughts
If you like survival stories (think Castaway), contained setting stories, the forced proximity trope, or characters who are self-aware and set on improving themselves, Swept Away is the book for you. I just wouldn’t read it if you’re sleeping on a boat anytime soon, because it does illustrate how terrifying it would be to get stuck at sea. Other than that, it’s a great summer/weekend read.
Have you read this book? Let me know your thoughts!
