Superb character development, elegant world building, and compelling plotting. Romance for the win.

This book was super fun!!! It made me miss traveling and while I have never had any desires to be on a cruise, this book was definitely a fun cruise substitute. I loved all the adventures they had while on the trip and definitely would love to travel to the Galapagos.

Henley and Graeme have a super fun, fight-y banter that I absolutely adored. I also really liked the competition aspect of this book. They both super deserve the job even though in the beginning you kind of believe that Graeme doesn't deserve it at all. I loved watching Graeme be so nice while Henley had all these wrong ideas about who he was.

The last section of this book was absolutely everything for me, I loved watching Henley form a team and really go after what she wants, not just because she wants a promotion, but because she truly believes in the work she is doing. Her team rallying around her to make this happen was absolutely everything.

Overall, this book gave me everything I wanted, fun banter, a tropical getaway and an amazing team of coworkers.

Shipped was a fun and rompy read, perfect for a beach day. All my favorite trope, and a romance you’ve got to love. Things felt a little predictable at times (even for a rom com), and I wish there’d been a bit more to the characters, but ultimately a fun read!

Absolutely loved this book and could not put it down! It was the perfect antidote for those missing traveling and are stuck in wintry locations. The banter between Graeme and Henley was so much fun. I love a hate to love trope. But my favorite part was Graeme was really just a sweet, cinnamon roll hero underneathe! Highly recommend read. Perfect for the winter doldrums.

Henley and Graeme Cracker were too cute. I usually enjoy enemies-to-lovers, and this was no exception. The situation with their jobs and the cruise actually seemed somewhat realistic, and this was a fun vacation-y romance.

What a fun book! I’ve seen this book described many times as THE HATING GAME meets THE UNHONEYMOONERS and I’d have to say that is a very accurate description. A delightful enemies to lovers tale set on the high seas. Henley works for a cruise line in the marketing department. She is a diligent worker and is convinced that an upcoming promotion is hers, after all who has worked harder for this than her? When Henley‘s boss brings up the promotion she is surprised to find out someone else is in the running, and she is furious to find out it is her cocky enemy Graham. To make matters worse now Henley has to go on a cruise with her foe Graham. The thing is as Henley begins to get to know Graham better she realizes he’s nothing like she thought he was. He’s actually kind of a good guy and he’s not too bad to look at either. What’s Henley to do? Follow her heart or her ambition?

A large portion of the story takes place in the gorgeous Galápagos Islands. Loved the part the natural beauty and habitat of this region was featured in the book. I also really appreciated the nod to environmental issues throughout the story. Both Henley and Graham were great characters. But I have to admit it took longer to warm up to Henley than it did Graham. The banter between these two was fabulous and the chemistry was off the charts. There were so many wonderful secondary characters in the story including Henley‘s sister, who I would love to see a future book about. The perfect romcom escape!

This book in emojis 🛳 📹 🦭 🦎 🦩 ☀️

*** Big thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

I had the hugest smile on my face when I finished Shipped – I was looking for a romance novel that would make me laugh, forget about being sick (again), and of course, I wanted a very satisfying romance. Shipped is all this and more.

Shipped opens with us readers learning that the heroine, Henley, is in line for a promotion at work. Henley loves her job as a marketing manager, is absolutely career driven, and it’s almost a no brainer that she will get the promotion… that is until we learn that her nemesis (and also the hero) Graeme is a candidate for the same promotion. Henley is annoyed because Graeme, the company’s social media manager, has only been working for their company for a year, and she feels that he isn’t qualified to be a director. Now comes the clincher – their boss decides that before he decides who gets the promotion, both Henley and Graeme must go on one of their company’s cruises to the Galápagos Island, and then prepare presentations based on their experiences. Henley is understandably not thrilled to spend so much time with Graeme, and as soon as they both board the ship, the competition is on.

Early on, it was obvious to me that there’s more than meets the eye about Henley and Graeme’s rivalry. We learn what Graeme did that made Henley detest him, but that same behavior isn’t present during their interactions aboard the cruise ship. Graeme looked out for Henley when she got sea sick, and he’s always inviting her to explore the island together. Sure, Graeme is clearly interested and working hard to get the promotion, but he doesn’t do anything to sabotage Henley and her preparations. Henley sees a different Graeme than what she’s used to from their email and phone conversations, and she’s unsure what to do about it. It’s also obvious that Graeme feels… something for Henley, but she’s not aware, and is instead focused on trying to hate him. A running theme of Shipped is how first impressions aren’t always accurate, and like Henley, I enjoyed being wrong about my first impression. Henley decided that she hated Graeme based on her first impression, but she slowly learns that the way she feels about Graeme is slowly evolving.

Henley is a very relatable character, and during my early to mid twenties, I was exactly just like her. Work was my life, I was obsessed to get promoted, and everything else didn’t matter. Everything else, even her relationship with her sister, Walsh, was a far away second place. When Walsh showed up at Henley’s workplace out of the blue, Henley doesn’t stop and pause to figure out what’s wrong. Instead, she focuses on how much of a distraction Walsh is. Henley is also so laser-focused on her career, that she doesn’t notice how her boss treats her. I enjoyed seeing Henley start to notice everything else around her, and her realizing that her world doesn’t have to revolve around her work all the time.

It was also a lot of fun to see Henley and Graeme’s relationship progress to something romantic. Henley starts with always assuming the worst of Graeme, and Graeme, ever so patient, just continues to do whatever he can for Henley. Graeme was intentionally written as a mysterious character in the beginning, and it was so satisfying to see his layers peeled off, as he starts to open up to Henley. Graeme is always so supportive of Henley and her career – even if Henley succeeding means that he won’t get the promotion, he doesn’t care. He’s always there for her. The relationship though, very realistically, flows at different speed for both characters, and I understand why it’s so hard of Henley to let go of her preconceived notions, and wanting to get ahead on her career. Even when they butt heads, I love that Graeme is always ready to step and up and help Henley no matter what.

All in all, Shipped is such a fun and enjoyable read. Reading about Galápagos Island made me miss traveling so much, and I loved how Henley and Graeme’s many excursions were written. I really felt like I was vacationing with our main characters. I also loved every scene that featured Henley and her girlfriends and her sister banding together to achieve a common goal, and of course, Henley and Graeme’s fun banter. I definitely can’t wait to check out Angie Hockman’s next books!

Do you need an escape to a warm and tropical destination right about now?!

I know, me too!

As we are approaching almost a year of living in a worldwide pandemic and being homebodies, I am getting the travel bug. I guess I will stick with books that allow me to escape to exotic destinations. Shipped is an amazing debut full of romance and adventure.

Henley Evans has her eyes on the prize. Henley is the marketing manager for an adventure cruise line and she is up for a promotion. Unfortunately for Henley, her arch-nemesis is also up for the promotion. Henley has never met Graeme Crawford-Collins in person since he works remotely as the social media manager, but his standoffish personality and questionable morals is enough to make Henley loathe him. To win the promotion, Henley and Graeme are sent on the cruise line’s Galapagos Islands cruise to prepare a proposal to increase bookings. Competition and sparks start to fly!

Shipped is being marketed as The Unhoneymooners meets The Hating Game. I haven’t read The Hating Game, but I definitely got The Unhoneymooners vibes! I adored the enemies-to-lovers and workplace romance and both are done really well. An exotic destination and adventurous excursions makes for the perfect back drop for an enemies-to-lovers storyline. There are so many laugh-out-loud moments and I had a smile on my face the entire time. In addition to the romance, I loved the additional ecotourism storyline. I learned so much about the Galapagos Islands and could picture it alongside Henley and Graeme.

Shipped is out now so romance lovers make sure you pick this one up!

4/5 stars!
Thank you so much Netgalley and Gallery for the gifted eARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was ADORABLE. I was shocked to find out it was a debut! It was so well written and plotted. I felt the pace and timing were spot on. Henley and Graeme have incredible chemistry. I fell in love with them from the very start. Their banter had me glued to the page and I just wanted more more more!! I can't wait for more from this author in the future!

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. The humor was more silly than funny and there was too much overtelling. I also found the secondary characters to be written as caricatures, not believable people. This one was just not for me.

Thank yo,u NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I absolutely loved everything about this book! It was the perfect enemies turned lovers story and I could not get enough! I loved how Henley was so driven in her career and being a woman in business, I can understand the difficulties of working with a man who does not respect you or take you seriously. Graemes character was the perfect mix of sarcasm and with and genuine kindness that no one could resist. I loved the banter between the two and they had me chuckling numerous times.

I really loved the location of the story as well. As a Marine Science student in college, EVERYONE studied abroad in the Galapagos (except me) so I always heard stories and saw pictures of the sea lions and blue footed boobies roaming around so it was so much fun reading about it. This book definitely made me want to make a trip down there and do one of these fun cruises! It sounded like an amazing experience overall.

This is a solid 3.75 stars read for me.
When this book is described to you as a cross between The Hating Game and UnHoneymooners ... they hit it right on the head.
This story is a super cute and funny read that gives us readers a little more than the standard romcom feels. Dare I say it almost gives a scooby-doo mystery vibe twist at the end. This is book is one I will be recommending for other romcom readers to pick up this year.

*funny banter
*story line hooks you
*enemies to lovers trope
*single pov
*great supporting characters
*just the right amount of steam

I absolutely loved this book! Yes it was that good. I was timid at first because of the description of the book. But I was pulled in right away. Henley and Graeme were up for the same position in the company. Their boss, who was really slimy, decided to make them go on the company cruise to Galapagos and present to him afterwards how to change the low numbers on their cruises by digital marketing. By the way Galapagos sounded amazing and I need/want to go on this spectacular cruise.
Henley disliked Graeme for many reasons and Graeme didn’t understand the reasons behind it. Graeme was a great guy that she discovered from being around him on the cruise. During the cruise they find love and friendship. Along the way, Henley went through her own self journey about her job, love, family, and friends. She also found her own voice to speak out and to fight for her own rights. I also liked that her sister and friends supported her the whole time. That was beautiful to read. Overall, it was a beautiful book that made me smile the whole time. Thank you Ms. Hockman, I needed this so much!!

I received this Arc from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

I had high hopes for this one considering it was billed as an enemies to lovers romantic comedy in the vein of Sally Thorne but there was a bit too much "enemy" for me to fall in love with this book. I found myself not liking any of the characters in this book nor rooting for their romance. The secondary characters were also just awful and one-dimensional. The one redeeming factor of this book for me was the travel and setting of the Galapagos Island but it wasn't enough to pull up the rest of the story and make this an enjoyable read. Hope you have better luck!

Shipped came out earlier this month on January 19, 2021, and you can purchase HERE.

First off, a big well done to the author for delivering the cutest debut novel!!

Calling this book a mashup of The Honeymooners and The Hating Game is spot on, only with the added Galápogos scenery *swoooooon* .. there is NO other way to accurately describe this book without giving away too much. Also not having taken a vacation in over a year and being stuck at home, this book was a major treat to read! Would’ve made for a nice summer vacay read!

Full disclosure- I am a sucker for stories that are set on ships so immediately knew I had to read this and was going to enjoy it. Henley and Graeme were such a relatable characters and their love-hate chemistry was tastefully described rather than coming off as overly desperate. The supporting characters also played well into the storyline. The writing was brilliant and witty with lots of LOL moments ((how cute were the emojis!!!)) Love how Henley was portrayed as the epitome of a 2021 woman - managing her career, working on her MBA all while managing her relationships!! Sure she had her moments but I loved how strong willed she was until the end.

Add this one to your list for the perfect beach read of 2021!

A huge thank you to Netgalley for the free ARC of this book! I listened to a sample of the audibook now that it’s released, and I feel like it would lend itself so well to audio, too!

I really enjoyed this book. It reminds me of The Unhoneymooners in that two people who are sworn enemies are in close proximity on a cruise, while also giving me Dating You/Hating You vibes of two people vying for the same job. It wasn’t as funny as either of those, but it definitely was just as sweet.

I love how strong the MC becomes as the book goes on, especially when it comes to her chauvinist boss. I also loved the side characters’ influence as she finds her way back to having more of a social life and not being consumed by a job she doesn’t really love.

You’ll love this one if you love close proximity tropes, enemy to lovers tropes, and stories about tropical locations.

Oh how I adored this book! It was charming and witty and so, so cute. So romantic! I was instantly a fan of our main character, Henley, and her work ethic. She gets things DONE and she puts in the effort and I admired her a lot. Things she mentioned about the workplace—about the inequity of it—resonated and that made me feel all the more connected with this book.
And, of course, I loved the romance. Totally a given. The comps to SHIPPED were spot on! The banter between Henley and Graeme was hilarious and I loooooved at how they constantly called each other different names. They had amazing chemistry and such a genuine, sensual build up, and I loved every bit of it.
Valentines Day is right around the corner! I highly recommend this one if you're looking for a fun romance!

This was cute but just okay. I loved The Unhoneymooners which was one of the comps and I see where the similarities were but it just wasn't as strong as The Unhoneymooners. I do think the writing was strong but the characters just didn't have a whole lot of life in them.

* 3.75 stars?

Ok yes, this one may have its faults, but I actually enjoyed it and don’t you take that away from me!!

I loved this cast of characters and especially loved getting to know Henley and see her grow successfully — as she should! Also really loved her relationship with her sister and obviously wanted more of it! While I wasn’t entirely convinced of her evolving relationship with Graham (it felt like it came out of nowhere), I was still pretty invested and are you kidding me with those almost kisses???!

I’d recommend this one to my sweet and closed-door romance loving friends and will share the vacation FOMO with you all *sobs*


*T/CW: grief, death of a parent (ALS), domestic abuse

Visiting the Galápagos islands has been a lifelong dream of mine, so when I spotted this book about the islands by an author who had been there, I jumped at the chance to read it. And it was such a rewarding experience. Hockman has done a fabulous job with Shipped. The book provides the reader a front row seat in experiencing the magic and wonder of the Galápagos as the protagonists explore the islands. And even as they discover the beauty, the beauty has an effect on them and their relationship. In some books, the setting is a backdrop; in this book, the setting is as much a character as the protagonists.

The book is from Henley’s point of view, so we get a picture of Graeme filtered through her perceptions of him, his conversation with her, and how he acts around her. We are not privy to his thoughts. And yet, Hockman is able to convey a whole complex person. I marveled at how well Hockman was able to paint a picture of two protagonists through the viewpoint of one. It is a rare author who can do that. Most single POV books shortchange the non-POV character, as if character is revealed only through thoughts, not dialogue and action.

Full review: https://frolic.media/book-of-the-week-shipped-by-angie-hockman/