Want to get away for a bit..this is the book. I don't know if I would hop on a cruise right now even a small boat but the Galápagos- yes, please! As a Bio/Anthro it would be sooo cool to see some of the animals you have learned so much about.
This is a super cute workplace enemies to lovers. They hate each other or Henley thinks they does as she does so much hate Graeme who is working remotely so they have never meet in person. Until they are competing for the same position and get sent on a cruise to better understand their company. The banter is wonderful and their chemistry is just right!

Great book to explore from your couch right now.

4 stars
2 steam - closed door

Thanks Gallery Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Compared to The Hating Game & The Unhoneymooners, books I still need to read, Shipped is an enemies to lovers taking place on the Galápagos island. i did enjoy the location of Seattle and Galapagos, I thought that was a fun setting to escape to while reading this in rainy Southern California. I thought Graeme and Henley’s romance was cute but the reason for being enemies fell short for me. They are both in the same position for the same job but she hated him due to a miscommunication of an error in technology. That was so.. disappointing to me and not really worth something to be enemies over. Granted, this is fun for a debut novel. I liked that Henley was very determined in her career and worked hard.

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!

Shipped by Angie Hockman is a fun enemies to lovers, love story that I really enjoyed. Henley Evans has worked very hard to get where she is today. Her only competition is Graeme Crawford-Collins, who works from home, in another state. The boss sends both Henley and Graeme on the same company cruise to the Galapagos Islands, the best person to come up with a the best proposal wins the promotion. Then the cruise starts off Henley wants nothing to do with Graeme, but as time goes on they become friends. I not only liked the banner between the two, but I learned so much about the cruise and Galapagos Island. This is what we all need in this pandemic, stay at home time. If you enjoy romances, I highly recommend this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

I'd give the romance here 3 stars, 4 stars for the setting, and 5 stars for the girl power finish, which I loved. I enjoyed the cruise story with the Galapagos setting. I liked Graeme and Henley together. Henley's sister joined the cruise, and while I was afraid she would be awful (slacker, flirt, self-centered - sort of the wayward sister trope in books), she actually had a nice impact on Henley and on the story. But the book really came together for me after the cruise, when the promotion part of the story plays out in some interesting ways. The ending of this really made the book for me. (Language, LGBTQ+ secondary characters, mostly off-page sex)

In Shipped, Henley is up for a big promotion - she works in marketing at a small cruise line. The issue is that she is up against Graeme, her colleague and nemesis. Their boss decides to send them on a cruise to the Galapagos, and the person who has the better proposal at the end wins the new job. A lot about this book really worked for me - Graeme works remotely, so Henley has never met him in person before. A successful enemies to lovers book requires that the misunderstandings between the two people are valid and make sense; and these two never previously interacting in person really does a lot of that work. I really liked Henley's relationship with her sister, who Henley considers flighty and who is going through some issues of her own. The cruise ship setting was super fun, and I really liked the work place dynamics and intrigue. I also loved Graeme - he was just so great. The only things I didn't like about this book was that it was written in first person present - I keep reading books written this way and it just doesn't work for me. The other thing that got on my nerves was Henley herself - I could relate to a lot of her work issues and I loved how fierce she was and how important her job was to her, but she always expected the worst out of everyone. She started to get on my nerves. Luckily she starts to figure that out herself, and the ending really worked out for me. This one was fun.

This one is hilarious and I loved it. Henley was a great character, one who really needed to learn a few things but she did over the course of the book and I loved the character development there. I also really liked Graeme (though seriously, what's with the weird name spelling?). I found this book to be a really fast fun read that I definitely recommend if you are looking for a light rom-com.

I don't know why I always get it in my head that enemies to lovers is not my exact thing, but I think when it comes to something contemporary — especially a scenario that involves two people competing in the workplace for professional recognition — it just manages to hit that sweet spot for me, and this book in particular was really fun and cute and FUNNY, which isn't always the case for me with books marketed particularly as rom-coms. I really enjoyed the destination location, the close-proximity device of the cruise, and the leads had very engaging chemistry, but I also appreciated that this book was partly about a workaholic heroine who needs to find ways to slow down and take time for herself more often. (Admittedly, I was a little disappointed by the lack of any sex on-page, especially since the build-up to those moments was full of that delicious tension, but that speaks to my own personal preferences and wasn't a detractor from my reading experience overall.)

cw: mention of abusive relationship (not heroine or hero), hero dealing with the death of a parent

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cute quick read for a taste of summer--yes, it's another enemies-to-lovers, competing for the big promotion trope, but then again, how many times do people love to read about the same few dozen dukedoms in Regency era England, where somebody has to get married because of an impropriety in the garden during a debutante's first season? The E-T-L dynamic is a bit wobbly, so it's hard to say exactly how to fix it. Fade-to-Black is kinda of the norm for first-time authors not entirely comfortable with spiciness, not that I was expecting anything raunchy. But not bad for a debut! Will be interesting to see what she writes next.

This book was super cute! It reminded me of The Unhoneymooners! It was a light read with very likable characters and a perfect ending!

Enemies to lovers who have never met in person wind up on a work trip together on a CRUISE SHIP to the GALAPAGOS ISLANDS! How do I get myself a job like this?

♥ The love story between Henley and Graeme (side note: how tf do you pronounce Graeme? I asked a friend and she sent me a clip of her saying it and it sounded sort of like Graham but she is from the south so I don’t know if she’s to be trusted sorry Patricia) is an enemies to lovers production ONLY NOT EXACTLY! It’s more like misunderstood coworkers to lovers, and I am Here For It. Not having to slog through 3/4 of the book before somebody admits their feelings was such a treat.

I know some people had problems with this feeling like insta-love, or happening too fast, but for me the love story was completely believable. Time always moves differently on a vacation, slower and faster all at the same time. But on a cruise, it’s like this vortex where time stops. You’re with the same people the whole time, having dinner together, going on excursions and meeting for karaoke every night. So it is REALLY EASY to connect with someone and feel like you’ve known them forever after just one day.

♥ The setting was a winner for me. The cruise ship itself was excellent, but the armchair travel to the Galapagos Islands was something else. You feel like you’re there on the beach, or in the water, seeing the lizards and of course the famous turtles.

♥ SUCH a satisfying conclusion! Obviously I can’t say anything about how it wraps up, but it’s excellent. And after the book ends, there’s a wonderful letter from the author noting what was fictional. She also gives lots of fun facts about the islands and lists two organizations for anyone who’s inclined to contribute after reading.

I myself was moved to do so, and donated directly to the Galapagos Conservatory, plus two tortoise adoptions in the names of my nephews. They sent the most adorable stuffed tortoises and pictures that I can’t wait to give them!

♥ One *small* thing that bugged me–can we stop villainizing exes all the time? There’s a brief discussion of Graeme’s previous girlfriend and Henley says:

“If she really cared, she would have stuck with you.”

And maybe that’s true. But maybe it’s also not that simple. One person doesn’t have to be a monster for a relationship to end, and it’s always felt like people find it cleaner if you can say this was the bad guy, this was the good guy. And you usually get to throw in a little something like the line above: “if she really cared…” “if he really loved you…“, which is just a way to indicate that the whoever’s speaking would never do that, therefore they are better, and something about it is just a little too “you’re not like other girls” for me.

Final Thoughts: This book was super fun and I definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for a romance. And here’s a tip: make sure you always check out UK versions of book covers. I like the UK version here a LOT more, so I placed my preorder through Book Depository, which is super easy and always has free worldwide delivery (shipping can be slow though, so don’t use them for something you need in a rush).

This was a cute romantic comedy. I loved the fact that a lot of the story line revolves around a cruise in the Galapagos islands. I love turtles and would love to visit there some day. Henley has a lot of relationship issues that haunt her from past experiences. She's not one to stand up for herself so her boss takes advantage of her. So this is not only a romance but a girl coming in to her own type of story.

This is marketed as a mix between The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners which are my two favorite rom coms and I can definitely see elements of both! I laughed at so many parts and loved this one! The characters were well developed and I loved their banter - but did think the enemies part was a bit more one sided. I loved the cruise ship vibes and how atmospheric this book was. Fun fact - The Galapagos have been on my travel list since college and I got this blue footed booby when I learned about them and wanted to go study abroad there! I loved all the eco tourism that was focused on in this story and learning more about the wild life and what people can do to help with conservation efforts there.

I leapt at the chance to get to "travel" via Shipped!

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, Henley and Graeme are vying for the same marketing promotion; they have to draft a proposal on increasing cruise bookings to the Galápagos in order to net the new job (best proposal wins). As part of that, they both go on the same small cruise.

I really liked learning about all the excursions they went on and dreaming of being on them myself. I wasn't quite sold on the romance though - I enjoy enemies-to-lovers most when it comes across as playful banter and aggression disguising deep-seated desire. Instead here it seemed like Henley was threatened by Graeme (after all, they're competing for the same job) and so had her guard up. At times I didn't like the way either of them treated the other (to the extent that I'd have been OK with them NOT getting together).

There were a few comments about weight that didn't sit well with me. I won't quote them as I read an advanced copy and they may change prior to publication, but they felt like borderline fat-shaming. One's weight isn't a marker of one's personality or kindness.

The author's note is not to be missed. I really appreciated that, as well as that aspect of the book (not describing so as not to be spoilery!). While I didn't love the romance between the main characters in Shipped, I'll definitely keep an eye out for whatever Hockman writes next.


Content warning: recollection of an abusive romantic relationship, inappropriate touching from male boss (pats her knee)

Described as "The Hating Game" meetings "The Unhoneymooners" this debut novel featuring a mash-up of a workplace enemies-to-lovers romance and a vacation setting brings joy to my heart. When Henley and her work nemesis, Graeme, are up for the same promotion at work and sent on a free cruise through the Galapagos to better determine a marketing proposal for the trip, heads butt and sparks fly.

This was an excellent debut. The novel has a bit of a rocky start, with the first chapter taking great pains to lay out a lot of backstory in a bit more tell than show manner, but each chapter gets better and better and by halfway you're super invested. I almost wish we could just chop off the beginning and get straight to the guts of the story. I loved learning about the Galapagos islands and am now dying to take one of the small cruises through there! (Post-pandemic, of course.) The ending was tied up a little too nicely (and is pretty far-fetched), but I do love a good HEA, and was pleased with all the characters ended up. Ultimately, this book is perfect for fans of enemies-to-lovers, workplace rivals, and those craving a tropical vacation! Would read again.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

5 stars - 8/10

If you're looking for a feel-good romance that's high on smiles and low on heat, Shipped is perfect for that. The story is a combination of enemies to lovers and workplace romance - of course, what's more romantic than a cruise for a romance? This one is told from Henley's point of view, and this couple is just so darn cute that you can't help but root for them. I love an enemies to lovers romance anytime. They're always great for creating sparks between a couple, and when it's done right, that fine line between love and hate is obliterated. Angie Hockman definitely did it right. Intimacy is fade to black, so it's a clean, fun story with loads of smiles and laughs. And laughs are definitely something we can use more of these days. The whole thing has a charm about it, and Henley and Graeme make for a darling couple that I won't soon forget.

This is one of the rare times that a book blurb referencing two other successful books is spot on. I can't describe this any better than calling it a cross between The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners. And it deserves that high level of comparison praise. The tone of the writing fits right in the groove while still having a unique setup and characters. For those that care and want to know going in, this is a fade to black.

I wanted to like this book so much. The premise of a cruise to the Galapagos sounds fantastic. The reality is a different experience. The story moved slowly and the main character was unlikeable. I didn't find it funny and I ended up not finishing the book. I made it past 40% by forcing myself to keep trying but truly it wasn't keeping my attention and I didn't care enough about the story or characters to keep going.

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥’𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕡𝕠𝕚𝕟𝕥 𝕠𝕗 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖?

That's the question our main character Henley Evans must answer as she becomes a front runner for a big promotion at the cruise line she works for. Henley already barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating.

Enter Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, who is also up for the position. When both Henley and Graeme must join a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands...together, all bets are off. Determined to both draft the winning proposal to earn the promotion, they both end up getting more than they bargained for. 

If you are finding yourself in need of a romantic "getaway," look no further than Shipped. It takes you on a beautiful, descriptive journey of the Galápagos Islands where two people end up meeting for the first time in-person, and this meeting changes everything they thought they knew about each other. Can you really get a second chance at a first impression? 

I really enjoyed the plot line and loved reading about a cruise getaway considering one is not in my future anytime soon. Graeme was incredibly sweet, and I enjoyed reading about a heroine who is learning to stick up for herself in a male-dominated workplace.

This is a perfect read to finish in one sitting!

Shipped is a really adorable office romance with a solid enemies to lovers vibe- and lots of bonuses. Our heroine has to learn how to cope with a really bad boss, a really tough promotion opportunity, and of course a coworker who is everything she hates- until she meets him and realizes she was all wrong about him.

I think overall this was a great story with a really strong focus on bigger issues than just the romance (office challenges to women's autonomy and power, ecology issues in the Galapagos) but sometimes those themes undermined the central romance which really needed to be the key to the plot. I'll allow it, but the waters definitely get a little muddy towards the end. On the other hand, big props to the hero for being right there to lend a hand when it became about more than just the love and about the job.

This was more closed door than I anticipated, so for some that's a bonus- in my case I was hoping for more. But a solid fun romance anyways, and I can see the Hating Game references here for sure! Four cute stars, plus a half for a great kid sister who needs a little helping hand along the way. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.

I read a lot of romance and women's fiction, and the thing that bugs me most is how shallowly the majority of characters are developed--such as that the protagonist has a heart of gold, the antagonists are pure evil, every supporting character is just a combination of stereotypes like sassy minority, horny grandma, intimidating boss, etc. And not to give away too much here, but the characters in this book genuinely progress in surprising directions, or were simply misunderstood by our narrator, whose ambition and focus makes her see the world on her terms.

I also really liked the environmental elements about the Galapagos islands. The author even includes some additional information in an appendix.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.