I thoroughly enjoyed Angie Hockman's Shipped. I found the publisher's suggestion that "The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game," to be an extremely apt analogy for this book. While it is not at all derivative, there are similar themes in Shipped to those other, also enjoyable, books. Henley Evans is trying to manage a boss who appears not to appreciate her talent, a sister who depends on her but who seems to make one bad decision after another, and a professional rival who she is not sure she likes. Graeme Crawford-Collins is up for the same promotion that Henley seeks. He seems, at first, aloof, but we learn that he is not at all how he appears in correspondence. When Henley and Graeme must spend a week together on a cruise, they get to one another, and Henley must accept not only is Graeme not at all the person she assumed, but maybe, his observations about Henley's professional and personal life are accurate. After a bad experience with a workplace romance she is not sure she can trust Graeme. Is he attempting to convince her of his sincere interest in her or is he just trying to distract her and get a leg up on the promotion at stake?

Hockman's writing is a joy. Her characters are well-developed, their dialogue is clever, witty, and authentic. Her main characters make relatable choices and their concerns and reservations over a mutual attraction are understandable based on the description Hockman provides of their past experience. I smiled throughout the book and, by the end, was riveted to see which one would get the promotion and how they could possibly remain a couple afterward.

I highly recommend this book. In fact, I cannot wait to read Hockman's next book. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGally for an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was such a fun beach read! It was just the book I needed to pull me out of my reading funk.

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about this book. I really liked Henley. Angie Hockman did a great job of highlighting the pressure that a lot of working women face with trying to struggle achievement (sometimes having to work harder than a male counterpart to get the promotion!) and a personal life. Graeme was an easy-to-like love interest and he had a great softness and depth to him too. He was incredibly respectful and charming. I was definitely rooting for them.

My favorite part of the book was the last quarter. I won't spoil it, but I loved watching a group of women come together and support a friend who was being treated unjustly. The side characters were great and Hockman pulled them all together to create an ending that was fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I just finished reading Shipped by @angie_hockman and really enjoyed this book! Henley is on track for a big promotion for her marketing job at a cruise line conpany. However, Graeme, her least favorite person on the planet, is also being considered for the job. While on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, Henley must come up with a better marketing plan than Graeme to wow the executives and secure the position. This book was hilarious and I absolutely loved the setting as well as the importance placed on the delicate ecosystem of the island. Henley's personality had me cheering her on through the story and the interactions between her and Graeme had me laughing out loud. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves rom-coms! Shipped comes out January 19th and I would like to thank @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the advance copy.

Shipped promises a crossover feel of The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners and it definitely has that feeling but I would say it veers more into like the unhoneymooners.

Now, the story focuses on Henley Rose, she works for SeaQuest, a company that promises adventure and travel but with debt, school and work, so she desperately wants that promotion. The only problem? Her nemesis Graeme (pronounced as Graham) is also up for the job.

Now, this started off good. rivals to lovers for the same promotion but there wasn’t much of banter or rivalry since it was completely one sided? All the issue seemed to be from Henley. Which another thing about this book which was hard for me to like Henley. She hardly has time for anyone, the way she kind of puts down her sister and writes her off as flighty and irresponsible. Now don’t get me wrong, I like that she knows what she wants and she’s not the typical female character that drops it all for a man but the way she treated Walsh was kind of rude. Not everyone has it all together in their 20s or even 30s but I do like that she realises that she was in the wrong and mends her strained relationship with Walsh.

Another thing was, the romance I would consider a slow burn but it really took a back seat in the book, Henley was being taken all sorts of places, dealing with other characters and the way she treated Graeme was another thing. Snooping in his personal life, chewing him out and being rude, mind games of yes and no, constantly comparing him to her previous ex. I just wish he had more of a backbone as well. The male interest was just kind okay with being back and forth with her. Now don’t get me wrong, himself dealt with a lot but for a rom-com, I just didn’t feel the connection.

Now, what I did love about the book was information about ecology and the Galapagos and learning all about the animals and the land. That was really well done and I loved that aspect. I think it was a really cool and it made me google about it and want to know more which I think is a good thing.

Now, I don’t want you to think don’t read this because definitely give it a read. What might work for me, might not work for you and vise versa. So as romance book? Did it work for me? Not as much as I wished but if you want a quick book and learn really cool stuff about animal conservation and travel? The information is very well thought out and accurate

This was one of those perfect romance novels that left me feeling warm and fuzzy at the end. I loved Henley and Graeme’s love story, and I loved watching Henley achieve her dreams. Not to mention I developed just as big of a crush on Graeme as Henley did!

Henley and Graeme both work for a travel company, and when they're both up for the same promotion they end up having to go on a cruise to the Galapagos together. A very sweet, coworkers/enemies-to-lovers romance, Shipped reminded me a LOT of The Hating Game (which is one of my favorite books in recent years). I really appreciated Henley's strength as well as her ability to own up to her shortcomings. Graeme was a fantastic leading man as well, and I fell for him *almost* as hard as Henley did!

Enchanting, hilarious and a perfectly delightful escape! I loved every second of this enemies to lovers romance. Henley & Graeme are relatable, swoony and all-around driven. The backdrop of the islands will have you yearning for sunny skies and sandy beaches.

Wow I absolutely adored this romcom. The protagonist Henley is relatable, a workaholic and loyal. From the first page I was invested and routing for her both in her career and her love life. Grahem is such a developed character that he had me laughing and routing for her as well.

This setting is unlike one I have ever read. I enjoyed learning about the Galápagos Islands and could feel the beauty of nature all around from the authors description.

This book has everything and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light romcom! I give this book five out of five stars. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this advanced read.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! It was so sweet, hilarious, and the perfect enemies to lovers story. I loved the MC Henley from the very start. She is fierce, loyal, and works her butt off! Graeme was so easy to fall in love with once you work out his backstory (which you do waaaaayyyy before Henley does.) I was smiling and laughing out loud throughout this book, just writing about it makes my heart squeeze and have a big smile. Hockman absolutely nails this romcom and bonus, her vivid, fantastic description of the Galápagos Islands had me googling them and wanting to plan a trip there! I highly recommend this book!

I really liked this book. The setting was very unique and as someone who has zero interest on going on a cruise it almost made me want to try one. I loved the main characters and at first I didn’t see the point of having her sister come on the trip, but I came around to her. I enjoyed that the main character wanted to be good and her job, and overall I just really enjoyed this book.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy.

I loved this book so much! Such a cute, romantic story. Henley and Graeme are coworkers who start off their working relationship on a rocky note. When a work trip on a cruise line comes up, they are forced to work together and put their differences behind them. While this was a pretty typical enemies to lovers story, the cruise line storyline made me feel like I was on vacation. I loved learning about the Galapagos! I would highly recommend this book for people who enjoy reading stories by Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren.

I loved this book! Such a fun, light, summer (or any time of year) read!

Henley, the main character, is a hard working girl, waiting for a promotion. When the perfect position comes along, she thinks it's hers right away, but she's up against Graeme, a guy who she's only met remotely, but can't stand for a couple of different reasons. Since they work in the travel business, their boss sends them on one of the company's cruises to prepare a digital marketing plan so that he can decide between the two candidates for the promotion.

I loved reading about the cruise destination, as I've never been to the Galapagos. They were descriptive, very interesting and pulled me in. I also liked all of the characters in the story, the bits of humor thrown in throughout the dialogue, the plot of the story, and the ending of the story.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy.

“A sucker punch people don’t see coming”. This book was such a fun summer read. The description says a mixture of The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners and I 10000% agree. Both main character were so easy to love and I’m all about the Galapagos adventures.

This book has such an even-flow for character development. I get nervous with hate-love stories, because I hold them to such a high standard as they are my favorite trope. But Angie does such a great job of giving you enough angst and slow burn to keep you reading.

Thank you Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Henley, our protagonist, is working her butt off at the expense of all else to meet her goal of being a director of something by age 30 and she's so close she can taste it. She's shortlisted for the promotion that could achieve her goal at the cruise line where she works. Graeme Crawford-Collins is the only other person on the short list, so they are shipped off to experience an under-booked Galapagos cruise with the task of each coming up with a new marketing proposal to boost bookings. The best proposal should get the promotion.

Here's where the publisher's blurb goes a bit over the top. Graeme and Henley aren't arch-nemeses; they've never even met and there are no epic email battles. In fact, one of the issues Henley has with Graeme is that his emails are so laconic. They are office rivals. Totally normal, totally healthy, totally relatable rivals... who are put into a pretty amazing competition. Why does it need to be more than that? I get that the whole hate-love trope, but this still falls in that category without making their relationship something it's not.

I largely enjoyed reading Shipped and with some revision it could be quite good. Hockman really shines when the characters get on the ship. As a merchant marine for 4 years working programs similar to the ones she describes, she is pretty spot on. (The one exception was the bizarrely condescending comment about going where docks don't exist. The presence of docks has everything to do with one's proximity to people who build docks and not the size of the boat you're on). Her descriptions of the activities and locations in the Galapagos really were a highlight for me and I think the story would have been better if this were the focus. The book really dragged for me because there was just so much going on; Henley's little sister shows up out of the blue with a situation of her own (and ends up on the cruise as well), she is repeatedly sexually harassed by one of the cruise customers (who we are supposed to feel sympathy for?), she has a capital T terrible boss, and she's been sidelining her friends so she has no resources from which to draw. Notice, that list did not include the romance that is supposed to be at the center of this story.

I think one of the reasons the romance takes a back seat is because Henley is pulled in so many different directions, she isn't particularly well developed. Despite being written from a single POV (thank you, Angie Hockman!) we don't really get much insight into Henley's motivation except that she hates Graeme and lives to annihilate him. As readers, we don't get key insight into why Graeme's perceived slight left her feeling so strongly until more than half way through the book. Knowing a little more about that stage-setting encounter earlier would help Henley come off less like a whiny, entitled brat (which to some extent, she's supposed to be but not to the degree that she does). So many times I rolled my eyes at her reactions and wanted to be like "This is why you aren't Tory!" I couldn't figure out why a guy as great as Graeme would be into her and when he lists off her selfless features I was actually caught up short because we hadn't seen that behavior from her. Also, there is a lot, like, a TON, of communicating with the chin; it juts, it pushes, it thrusts. Every chin is like a character unto itself. I'd love more explanation and less chin tilting.

What this story lacks is focus. I get the capital T terrible boss story line scores one for us Wellesleys everywhere and highlights Henley's massive shift without any sacrifice, but it overshadowed everything else to me especially because that's the focus of the ending. Again, I enjoyed reading this book and hopefully with another run through of the editorial process and some whittling, I would enthusiastically recommend it.

(Two factual corrections: Kayaks are propelled with paddles, not oars. Laughter comes from the trachea or more specifically the larynx, part of the respiratory system, not the esophagus, part of the digestive system.)

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

This book is pitched as The Hating Game meets the Unhoneymooners. Two books that I absolutely love. I would definitely recommend this book to fellow readers who enjoy those two books.

Things I Loved About This Book-

The Tropes- This book is enemies to lovers as well as a workplace romance. I also enjoyed that the main characters worked for a cruise ship company.

The Setting- The Galapagos Islands. I thought it was unique as far as tropical settings in books go. I really liked reading about the wildlife and the importance of conservation efforts in the region.

The Writing- very easy to follow. This was a quick read. I think this would get anyone out of a reading slump.

The Romance- I liked Henley and Graeme together. I was totally "shipping" them all the way through.

Why This Book Lost a Star-

My least favorite part of any review.
Even though I enjoyed the characters -none of them will be particularly memorable for me. The side characters were also kind of flat. =(

Overall- I liked it and this book was a great escape. Definitely recommend and will read more by this author in the future.

I first want to say thank you thank you thank you to Gallery Books /Headline Eternal for giving me a chance to read an ARC of Shipped! I absolutely loved this story!!

Angie Hockman's debut novel Shipped is advertised as a The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game. That alone had me sold and I knew I needed to get my hands on this book!!

The story follows marketing manager and workaholic, Henley Rose! She is one of my favorite female leads! She was so relatable, a complete badass and as someone who has spent her career working in marketing, I knew all of her feelings far to well! Working for a cruise line company and being up for a promotion, her boss sends her on a trip to the Galapagos Islands to have first-hand experience of one of their excursions, as well as spend some time putting together her promotion proposal.

Sounds like a dream, right?!

Well, she is not going on this cruise alone. She is forced to go with her nemesis, Graeme, the digital marketing specialist who is up for the same promotion as her. When she finds this out, she immediately puts "Beat Graeme Crawford-Collins" at the top of her task list! But once she meets him and gets to know him outside of work, things begin to change. But what about the competition for the promotion? Yikes, this could get complicated!

Hockman's debut novel is witty, heart melting, swoon worthy and filled with some "OMG" and "LOL" moments. It is truly the perfect beach read! So plan ahead for spring break 2021! I cannot wait to get my hands on a hard copy of this book when it comes out on 1/19/2021! Add this to your TBR list now!

I selected this book from Net Galley because I wanted something fun and light to read. I was not disappointed. It was a little disheartening at the beginning, as the main character exhibits some traits that are a little overused and don’t show hard working women in the best light - jumping to conclusions about a coworker, refusing to listen, etc. but she really does grown and change. The sub story, conservation set in the Galapagos was really interesting, and based on the author’s note, backed by research and experience. It added a little something extra to a traditional rom-com story.

Henley works for a small cruiseline and is up for a major promotion. Her opponent and work nemesis- Graeme - is also up for the same digital marketing position.
Her boss’s solution? Both of them go on a cruise together to the Galápagos Islands to experience the cruises, return and give him the best presentation ever.
Once in the ship, Henley and Graeme see their workplace banter may be more than that...

This is a fun and quick read - perfect for the summer! I gobbled this one up in one sitting.

Henley is a hard-working woman who is up for the same promotion as her work nemesis - Graeme. Her boss decides to send them both to the Galapagos to come up with ideas for their company's cruise and compete for the position, and it's all hilarity from there.

I loved reading about the Galapagos as not many books are set there - the description of the islands made me feel like I really was there along for the journey. While this is kind of an enemies to lovers romance, it's just from Henley's perspective as she thought Graeme was out to get her and it turns out he's actually a really nice guy. Henley really goes on a journey herself as she learns to find her voice and speak out for herself, and she really inspires us all to follow your heart and believe in yourself.

I would definitely recommend this if you loved the Unhoneymooners or the Hating Game. They are similar, but this book takes you on a journey to the Galapagos and has some really great supporting characters (Nikolai was hilarious and I loved Walsh) to give it its own flair.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review this advanced reading copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A tropical vacation being exactly what is on my wish list right now, Shipped blurb was right up my alley. The Galápagos Islands did not disappoint and I wished I was there as the author had done a really good job of researching. I also really liked Henley and her work ethics and all. The actual romance however was a little less exciting. The greatest sticking point to the relationship between Henley and Graeme was that it ultimately lacked tension and subsequently felt a bit flat. In a romance novel, the OTP journey is the most important and one should be very invested and sadly I was not in this book.

I will describe it as an average beach read. Nothing bad, but equally nothing that stands out.

2.5 stars