This story is full of adventure! Two strangers wake up after a night of fun on a houseboat to find they’ve been swept out to sea! It started off a little slow, but it wasn’t long before things got exciting and I didn’t want to put it down.

Lexi first sees Zeke in the pub where she works. He’s sitting by a window, reading a book and when her boss notices her watching him, she encourages Lexi to talk to him. Lexi hasn’t been on a date in four years! Her best friend, Penny, just asked her to move out so Penny’s boyfriend could move in with her and her four-year-old daughter, Mei, and Lexi is really missing Mei. Lexi practically helped raise her and now that they don’t need her, she’s trying to figure out what to do with herself.

Zeke is in town to buy back his father’s houseboat–he sold it five years ago after his father died. He has been seeing a therapist since his roommate, Brady, noticed he’s been sad since his dad passed away. He’s been sleeping around and feels somewhat lost. He’s been thinking a lot about his family and how he doesn’t seem to fit in, no matter how hard he tries. He is a chef and more of a creative and artistic soul than his brother and sister, and he has begun to wonder if he might have a different father. Their father used to write in journals that he kept hidden in the houseboat and Zeke thinks if he finds them, they might hold the secret to his real identity.

Zeke and Lexi end up flirting with each other in the pub and she tells him she wants ‘one night of stupid, reckless fun’. He tells her he can give her that, and he does! They head out to his houseboat and the fun begins. He thinks she’s beautiful and that this is the best night he’s ever had. And… the next morning they look outside and realize the houseboat has floated out to sea! (It wasn’t tied up properly.)

The beginning part of the story was a little slow for me, but I hung in there, and am glad I did. Once Lexi and Zeke woke up from their steamy night together on the boat, and saw they had drifted out to sea, the story took off. The boat motor wouldn’t work, the battery was dead, their cell phones didn’t have signals and they couldn’t see land. To make things worse, there was an accident with one of Zeke’s sharp chef knives and he had a cut on his stomach. But Zeke was able to whip up delicious meals with the little food they had and there was witty banter even while they worried if they would be rescued. Lexi was also worried about being older than Zeke – she’s thirty-one – eight years older than him). Zeke doesn’t feel young in the story to me and I enjoyed how unique he was – he wore velvet pants when they first met – plus he thinks Lexi is brave, strong and warm and he feels like he has been looking for her his whole life. She thinks he’s a beautiful, gentle and extraordinary man. Their love scenes are full of passion, especially when they think their boat is sinking!

My main quibble was the story got off to a slow start, but happily it got exciting as the story went on and I didn’t want to put it down. Plus, there’s an unexpected twist at the end I didn’t see coming. Gotta love that!

O’Leary has woven a romance full of adventure. She’s created a story that had me laughing and crying and then she tied it all up with a satisfying and happy ending. While it wasn’t quite a DIK, I thought it was a sweet and romantic adventure.