Swept Away by Beth O’Leary review: The best perilous romance you’ll read this year

Swept Away by Beth O’Leary: The review

I might be a thriller girl these days, but there’s always space in my life for a new Beth O’Leary book — a book that was, in fact, one of my most anticipated reads of 2025. Beth’s done it again with another five-star read I just could not put down. The Flat Share will always be my favourite of her books, but Swept Away comes very close to taking that top spot.

Swept Away is the story of Lexi and Zeke, a pair of singletons who wind up in bed together after a whirlwind one night stand. Or, at least, it was supposed to be a one night stand. They spend the night on Zeke’s dad’s old canal boat — or at least, that’s what Zeke thinks. Lexi thinks he’s spending the night with her, on her sister’s boat. But it seems their wires got crossed, and with crossed wires came a very poor job of mooring the boat before getting down and dirty. As a result, they wake up the next morning floating out at sea.

Now, I don’t know how much you know about canal boats, but the word canal should probably be some indication that these vessels are not designed to be at sea. And so upon realising their predicament, Zeke and Lexi realise they’re in… a bad way, shall we say. It’s made worse by the fact that their barge has no power and, being so far out at sea, they have no signal on their mobile phones. Their only choice? Keep calm and wait for rescue. Or at least try to.

What follows through the course of Swept Away is a journey that teeters between tender and fraught. Lexi and Zeke not only get to know each other but also vye for survival in what is, at times, a genuinely life-threatening situation to be in. I won’t spoil things too much, but Beth O’Leary does an incredible job of upping the tension just the right amount. Swept Away never feels too frightening — she knows her audience, after all — but the level of peril here will genuinely keep you on the edge of your seat.

O’Leary masterfully blends genuine moments of tension with traditional rom-com tropes, and whether you’re stressing over a leak in the boat or swooning over the protagonists’ blossoming romance, this is a story that keeps you hooked. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever read a 400+ page book so fast, and I really didn’t want this to end.

The romance itself is genuinely lovely too — I quickly found myself rooting for both Lexi and Zeke, and while their wider character arc was perhaps a bit too unlikely for my liking, it worked in the context of a novel. I’m willing to suspend disbelief when it comes to a good ol’ love story.

Ultimately, Swept Away is the tale of a gorgeous romance, but it’s equally a fantastic adventure with some truly original ideas and genuine thrilling moments. It comes highly, highly recommended — even from me, a girl who’d usually prefer to read about murder and crime and stuff. But I can’t resist a Beth O’Leary, and this one is just wonderful.