REVIEW: Lovewrecked by Karina Halle

In Lovewrecked by Karina Halle, Daisy Lewis is in need of a pick-me-up. Big time. And traveling from California to be in her sister Lacey’s wedding in New Zealand will hopefully kick start some good things in her life. Because after getting laid off, breaking up with her boyfriend, and realizing she’s just been going through the motions of her life, Daisy is at rock bottom. Then she meets insanely gorgeous but grumpy Tai Wakefield–the best man in the wedding–and the bickering begins. He just has to pick at everything she does or says, teasing her until she’s not sure if he hates her or has the hots for her. Or both. And considering Daisy is about to unexpectedly embark on a sailing trip with the newlyweds and Tai captaining the boat, she sees rough waters ahead for them all.

“Gingersnap,” he says, pressing his forehead against mine. “I’ll go wherever you go. All I know is that I’m going to be with you. I told you that. One sunrise at a time, with me by your side.”

Tai doesn’t have time to entertain or be distracted by his best mates new sister-in-law. Daisy might be easy on the eyes and at times excruciatingly pleasant, but he can tell there’s more to her than she shows on the surface. And that spells danger. Because Tai can feel that spark of attraction that could definitely lead to more between them. And he’s not going down that road again. But forced on a sailboat with Daisy as they take the newly marrieds to Fiji, Tai can tell his resolve is slipping. Until disaster strikes and a storm forces them to capsize near a string of islands. Then his goal is to get them home safe and sound–without losing his heart to his beautiful, inside and out, Daisy. But first they need to figure out where the heck they are and whether they are truly alone on the island. Or if there are more occupants than a crazy-eyed goat who appears at oddest of times.

‘Kissing her was probably the highlight of my year, if I’m being honest. I can’t remember the last time I felt so ravenous for someone, not just physically, but emotionally.’

Lovewrecked is definitely a keeper. Leave it to Karina Halle to take a shipwrecked-on-a-deserted-island trope, turn it on its ear and have me laughing and smiling so hard that my face actually hurt. Not to mention the simmering sexual tension she created between our hero and heroine that will have readers gasping and fanning their faces.

‘We’re all in this together, which I guess is another term for making each other miserable.’

I’m such a fan of Karina Halle’s lovely writing voice. You never quite know from one book to the next how lighthearted or how serious the storyline will be. But there is always emotional depth. Yes, even in a book filled with laugh-out-loud moments, a crazy goat, and a story that at times was the equivalent of a modern day Gilligan’s Island meets Lost. There was a lot of soul searching going on and past hurts to sort through for nearly all the characters.

I adored getting to know Daisy and Tai, as well as the newlyweds: Daisy’s sister Lacey and Tai’s friend Richard. Quite an interesting mix. Daisy was down on her luck having lost her job and her boyfriend right before traveling to New Zealand. But she still tried to keep her positive attitude–something I have to give Daisy kudos for. Even if her family tended to put her down for how bubbly and smiley she was, treating her like she never had a problem in her life. I loved that Tai saw through it all. He knew Daisy was hiding her hurt feelings over her family’s treatment of her and how she really felt about her recent bout of bad luck.

Tai was one of my favorite types of heroes. He was broody, a bit naughty, definitely an alpha, loved to tease those he cared about, and was very much a decent human being overall. He took a lot of responsibility onto himself, particularly as captain of the doomed sailboat. But Tai really stepped up when the foursome ended up on the island and he took charge of keeping everyone as safe as possible. There were some blunders along the way. Funny, funny predicaments that will have you almost howling with laughter. But I think it will be Tai opening up to Daisy about his past and their protectiveness of each other that will wow readers.

Lovewrecked is the literary distraction romance fans need right now. A rom-com that was an epic adventure on the high seas but that will also give you *all* the feels, I hated to say goodbye to this offbeat cast who stole my heart and then sailed off into the sunset.

Book Info:

Publication: Published April 25th 2020 | Karina Halle |

A standalone sexy romantic comedy about being stuck on a desert island with a man you hate to love and love to hate

Daisy Lewis is experiencing a relentless string of bad luck.

Fortunately, Daisy has her sister’s destination wedding coming up. A week of sand, sea, and sun in the South Pacific as the maid-of-honor is exactly what Daisy needs to forget her upturned life and focus on the positive.

That is until Daisy meets the best man.

If you take tall, dark, and handsome, and add a dash of rugged, a pinch of brooding, and a whole lot of sexy, you’ve got Tai Wakefield. Unfortunately he’s also a major grump, total alpha, and seemingly out to antagonize Daisy at every turn.

As if being part of the wedding party with Tai wasn’t bad enough, Daisy’s bad luck soon resurfaces when she ends up on a cramped sailboat with Tai and the newlyweds.

Which then shipwrecks on a deserted island near Fiji.

Okay, so they aren’t completely alone. There’s an oddball research scientist who has been isolated for far too long, they have rundown bungalows as shelter, stores of water and canned food, plus a feral goat named Wilson.

It’s Lost…without the smoke monster.

But with rescue weeks away, Tai and Daisy realize the only way they’re going to get through this mess is to stop fighting and start working together.
And with their guards down, they get closer.

A lot closer.

Soon, Daisy realizes that the only thing worse than being stuck on a deserted island, is being stuck on a deserted island with a man she hates to love and loves to hate.

A man that can break her heart.