I ADORED this book. It's fun. It's sexy. It made me laugh out loud and want to go immediately to the Galapagos Islands. This is such a wonderful debut novel. I cant wait to see what she releases in the future.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ARC of this one.

This book didn't live up to the hype for me, though I absolutely adored the Galapagos theme and the workplace drama. The island setting and the quirky and interesting side characters were such a plus!

Shipped more or less tries to be The Hating Game: Cruise Edition. While I did appreciate the tension between the main pairing because of their work and how that influenced the development of their relationship, I didn't like how their issues were so flat when it really came down to it.

The buildup of the actual relationship too, I felt like was lacking. And this is definitely unfair, because I loved The Hating Game so much because of how the slow burn genuinely was so meaningfully written.

But for Shipped, the actual start of the romance between Henley and Graeme was more unfulfilling in the sense that they didn't have much of a relationship at all before meeting in person, so their perceptions of each other were very underwhelming and didn't contribute to their development beyond a shallow way.

For the promotion that's at stake, the core driving force of their work at the Galapagos, I did like how differently their desire to "win" manifested, how it made Henley question her own commitments to her job and digital marketing in general. It added another layer to the entire main conflict.

In general, I definitely enjoyed reading Shipped, but I don't think coming into it with the hopes that it would be as good as The Hating Game was a good move on my part.

I am a giant fan of The Hating Game and when I saw that this was supposed to be a similar read, I was skeptical but hopeful that it could meet my expectations and I was NOT disappointed. This was a perfect summer read, featuring a fantastic cast of characters that you will root for the whole way through. I truly enjoyed this book!!! I received the e-arc from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Shipped is certainly an easy (and generally fun!) read, and you can tell the author put a lot of work into researching the Galapagos so readers could get invested in the setting. Apart from the setting, the story as a whole didn't grip me as much as I'd hoped, especially since I'm a sucker for a good hate-to-love romance. I wish we had seen more of Henley and Graeme's "epic email battles" that "are the stuff of office legend" or how they interacted during the video conferences. I wanted to get more of why Henley hated Graeme. Overall, I didn't think there was enough depth to them and their relationship. Maybe I'm just greedy, but I needed something more.

If you loved The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners you might want to put this one on your radar. I received the e-arc from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Two rivals end up on a company cruise to the Galapagos Islands as they compete for a job. The setting was fun and if you have that location on your travel bucket list you will enjoy greatly. The supporting characters show great potential for sequels. Well done debut novel.

3.5***

Shipped is billed as a hate-to-love romance in the vein of The Hating Game, but it’s much more “rivals who manage to figure it out”. The issues that caused Henley to hate Graeme are settled fairly quickly in the romance. What remains is how to navigate a romance when you’re competing for the same job.
The book is largely set in the Galápagos Islands, and it made me want to immediately book a trip. The different sights and excursions that Henley and Graeme go on are so well-rendered. At one point, I found myself googling the blue footed booby (it’s a bird).
The book also does a good job of printing a vivid picture of Henley’s life and work culture. Because she’s put everything into work, that’s important.
What fell a little flat for me was the actual romance. I wanted more tension between Henley and Graeme, as well as more scenes that show their compatibility. We know they find each other attractive, and we’re told that they like to banter, but the scene at the beginning of the book didn’t really show me that, and I wanted more. I wanted crackling dialogue and it just wasn’t quite there.
Read this book if you like rivals-to-lovers on vacation. Come for the Christina Lauren parallels, stay for the excellent setting and a pleasant romance that acknowledges the importance of work-life balance.

An ARC was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

This book was really fun! I have always wanted to go to the Galapagos Islands so I loved the setting of this book and that fact that it also gave an education on the environment and animals that live there. I was immediately attracted to this story because I love the hate to love trope and am a big fan of The Hating Game and Unhoneymooners. Although Shipped did not live up to its predecessors in my opinion, it was still a fun and light summer read. Graeme and Henley are pitted against each other before even meeting as they are competing for the same promotion and find themselves on the same cruise to draft proposals to win their promotion. I would have liked a little more tension and angst between Henley and Graeme. It felt like they got together a little too easily for me but it was still a fun escape. Henley was really driven in her career but not to a ridiculous point where it overshadowed who she is which I have found in some other novels. She was really likable and Graeme was adorable. You couldn’t not like him and they had good chemistry overall. The romance took center stage in this book but I absolutely loved the sister relationship as well. The cruise ship was a fun backdrop and I really enjoyed the supporting characters. I am excited to have discovered Angie Hockman and would definitely read more from her in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Where is a bucket list location you have been wanting to visit?

For me the Galápagos Islands have been this mythical location I have been wanting to see, but never knew much about. I loved that this book not only took you on an adventure to this location, but also educated you on the environment, animals in their natural habitat, and local vegetation surrounding the islands. It was described so perfectly that I felt like I was there experiencing each excursion along with Graeme and Henley.

This story was fun. This was a fun twist on a close proximity, competing for the same promotion, enemies to more plot. Having this take place on a cruise ship provided an entertaining backdrop with entertaining secondary characters that yielded a lot of humor and heart. I love the way this story unfolded, especially watching the way Graeme and Henley navigated through, finding a balance with their lives, while allowing for new adventures.

Graeme and Henley are both interesting and multidimensional characters that didn’t feel cliche in their personalities. I loved how driven Henley is in her career and how Graeme does everything in his ability to enable her to shine. He was the atypical guy who could handle it if a woman was more successful than him. He encouraged her and always made sure she was given the credit she deserves. Henley was extremely supportive of Graeme through help and encouragement even though they were competing for the same position. She was never petty with her actions and always wanted the best for him.

This book made me want to hop on a cruise ship and experience what the author was describing. The setting made my imagination run wild and the characters kept me from not wanting to put this book down. This was everything you would want from a contemporary romance. Though this is a common trope, I enjoyed the authors unique twist to one of my favorite story plots. Thank you so much for NetGalley and Gallery Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was near perfection. I loved so many different things about it. I loved Henley Evans, because she was so relatable. She was a lot of women. I loved Graeme Crawford-Collins, cause he was funny, smart and sweet.
I loved the enemies to lovers story line ( and how Henley realizes they were never really enemies).

The whole ensemble cast was fresh and fun. A crazy sister, friends who had Henleys' back no matter what.

The plot was fresh and fun. The setting of the cruise ship and the exotic locations made me want to trash more

.I thought it was such a great story that mixed everything together. Romance, family, loyalty, work place drama, I loved Angie Hockman's writing. She has a new fan in me.

Shipped by Angie Hockman follows Henley Evans who learns she is up for a promotion and all she has to do is go on a cruise in the Galápagos apart of her company's cruise line and draft a proposal on how to boost bookings. She is aggravated when she discovers that she has to compete for the promotion against Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence. With the two rivals on one cruise chaos, fun, and love ensue.

This book is pitched as a hate-to-love romance which, is a personal favorite of mine in the romance genre. While it is a hate-to-love romance, I would have loved to see even more tension between the two main characters as to have a more satisfying conclusion when the characters eventually get together. The Galápagos setting was super fun and I absolutely adored the sister relationship in this book. This is a fun read that is perfect for the summertime.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Such a sweet summer read! The characters were all lovable and the banter was great. I appreciated that Henley was so intelligent and hard-working, and all she needed was to learn to let people support her and find her work/life balance in order to get everything she deserved. Graeme was great supportive, feminist partner for her and softened her edges. Her supportive group of colleagues and friends really sweetened the deal with this novel. I loved the focus on the fun of the travel experience and especially during these times, it felt great to take a little mental vacation. All in all it was a fun little escape, but I wish it stood out from the pack a bit more.

Shipped is a sugar coated version of one of my favorite tropes—enemies to lovers, and such a fun little summer read that instantly sucked me in. The characters are genuine, engaging, and hilarious. I cannot tell you how many times the banter between Henley & Graeme made me laugh out loud. I also loved the depth and growth of these characters as well.

Henley is so well written. I loved that she was portrayed as a focused, hardworking, career oriented woman who wasn’t afraid to go after what she wanted, instead of a weak willed pushover. Graeme is a totally sweetheart, and I loved that his character’s honesty and ability to be up front with his feeling and emotions (anxiety, grief, etc). It was refreshing.

So glad that I stumbled across Shipped while perusing Netgalley, and that I got the opportunity to read this!

Shipped was an absolutely hilarious and heartfelt romance novel!
I loved the setting, the characters, the drama and the humor. I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers and this definitely has that trope going for it.
The characters were super engaging and authentic. Henley is hardworking and determined to get a promotion and land the job she's always wanted, while Graeme, her competition for the position, is more emotional and caring throughout the book. Their chemistry was amazing and I was hooked on the two of them from the beginning.
This was a super fun and entertaining read, perfect for a summer read on the beach!
The only downside: it left me craving an island vacation that I won't be able to go on for who knows how long.

This book was fun - light and engaging for a summer read. I love Christina Lauren, so I knew I would the story!
Her characters were fun and the adventure was really descriptive. Things all wrapped up nicely and left me smiling. I will look for more for her books in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of Shipped by Angie Hockman, her debut novel.

i first read the description of Shipped being a combination Unhoneymooners and The Hating Game and I had to read this novel. Henley is a young workaholic who is sent on a business trip with her biggest competition in the upcoming promotion at her company. Once they are sent on this cruise, Henley realizes Graeme isn't so bad after all, and maybe just a little too good.

This fun and witty novel takes you on the ups and downs of a very strong-headed female lead, which is one of the main reasons I loved this book. Henley Evans does not settle for less, and she is always striving to be her best self and I love when authors give their novels a strong female lead.

The one place where this book fell short for me was the romance side, I needed a little but more tension from Henley and Graeme. I felt like in the beginning there wasn't as much romantic flirting as other enemies to lovers books. However overall this did not affect my opinion of the novel.

I recommend this book to any one who likes a enemies to lovers romance, with a little more drama than I had originally expected. I can't wait for this book to hit the selves I think it is going to be a favorite summer escapist vacation novel this winter. If you are a fan of any Christina Lauren books, this is the perfect book for you, maybe just a little less steam.

This review and its contents can be found on my Goodreads.

[3.5]
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review. Shipped had all the remnants of an amazing contemporary romance similar to the Unhoneymooners. Two rivals vying for the same promotion must go on a company cruise with one another in order to come up with a proposal that will grant them the job. Only problem is they get along better than they thought they would.

The first thing that really stood out to me was that the content had clearly been well researched. I was equally intrigued with the Galapagos as I was entertained by Henley and Graemes antics. The romance wasn't really my favorite thing in the world, but that was mostly because there was a lot happening throughout the book that it just couldn't hold my attention. The back and forth nature of their relationship didn’t help either because instead of having one conversation about moving forward there were multiple arguments and aggravated conversations split up over the whole book and that didn’t work for me. I liked the growing connection between the two of them, there were just other things I felt got in the way of that besides the obvious "we're up for the same promotion" issue. Multiple side storylines are definitely the culprit when it comes to this. One example is Walsh, Henley's sister who comes along to gather intel on the guests and the day to day activities of the cruise in an effort to help her sister win the promotion. This didn't work for me because she was just another character we had to think about with everything else going on, like the romance, the promotion, and the characters pasts. Again, that is just one example, but there were quite a few others that distracted me as a reader. I did enjoy where things ended up for our main character. Maybe if this had been a bit longer than each individual storyline could have been handled in a different way. All in all Shipped took me places and I quite enjoyed the journey. Look out for this book in the coming year if it interests you!

Initial Thoughts

So here we are, July 2020 and I am reviewing a January 2021 release. CRAZY. Anyway, this book sounded too good not to read right away. I thought the premise sounded super interesting and I felt a certain connection to a workaholic 28 year old main character, wonder why 🤔 😂

Some Things I Liked

Enemies to lovers. Friends, you know this by now, but it’s my favorite trope. It was really well done here. I hated Graeme in the beginning of the story too only to discover both Henley and I were both very wrong about him.
27 Dresses vibes. I actually kind of liked that this book reminded me of that movie. I think it was Henley’s sister that really did that but I enjoyed the parallels.
Graeme not being intimidated by Henley’s goals. Can we get more of this in literature, please? I loved that he was super supportive and not jealous and I feel like that’s not represented enough.
Modern references. Another favorite feature of mine. I love to know that the characters I’m reading about know and recognize the same things I would in the real world.

Series Value

I don’t really think there is much more to say about Henley and Graeme, however, I’d like a spin-off / sequel about some of the side characters we met, especially Christina.

Final Thoughts

Please be advised, there are themes of abusive relationships in this novel. That being said, I think that portion of the story was handled quite well and I liked the positive message regarding seeking help and support. Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I’d definitely read more of Angie Hockman’s books in the future.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – if you enjoyed the coworkers, enemies to lovers vibes in this story, try this standalone by Sally Thorne.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren – if you liked the idea of enemies to lovers, who were only enemies because of a misunderstanding, who go on vacation together, try this standalone.
The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren – if you liked the workplace drama as well as the enemies to lovers vibes, try this HGTV inspired rom-com.

Hardworking, career-driven Henley is named after a rockstar but feels anything but. Her coworker Graeme with a “voice like a lumberjack dipped in a chocolate fountain”, is incredibly frustrating with his arrogance and terse emails. To their surprise, both are up for a big promotion and will be sent on a cruise of the Galápagos Islands to prepare a pitch for their company. 10 days in close quarters in an exotic locale. Henley quickly finds that Graeme is not as terrible as she’s always thought. I enjoyed this story! It’s a classic enemies-to-lovers trope with plenty of heart. The writing style is very approachable. Henley is incredibly driven, but she doesn’t read as stuffy or boring. She’s feisty and realistic and easy to root for. I loved the chemistry and banter between Henley and Graeme from page one. I also really enjoyed the beautiful imagery of the Galapagos that overflows throughout the story. I’d never considered these small cruises going to remote destinations, but now that I know they exist, it’s on my bucket list!

I really enjoyed the The Unhoneymooners but this book was adorable in its own right. I liked hearing about the Galapagos and I would love to go there someday. I also liked that Graeme lived in Michigan since I do too and I liked the mention. As a woman who's had higher ups/men take credit for my work before, I was cheering Henley along.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an ok read for me, it was funny and entertaining to read but just ok for me. For some reason it just didn't keep my attention. I'm sure a lot of people will like it and it's worth reading just wasn't my top favorite! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!