[ARC review]
NEVER BEEN SHIPPED by Alicia Thompson is all about the yearning.

I know in the romance genre we normally think of female character as the main character (even in dual POV books, which I find interesting but is presumably because the primary audience is women) but for me this is really John's story. Maybe it's because I already know and love John from With Love, from Cold World, or because he's been yearning for Micah for years and she's not quite as self-aware.

We learn in Cold World that John was in a one hit wonder band, and in NEVER BEEN SHIPPED the band gets back together. For a cruise. Celebrating the CW-esque shapeshifter show that the band played their hit song on during the prom episode (I imagined them as The Oneders, in some little costumes). Lead singer Micah, rhythm guitarist John, jerkface lead guitarist Ryder, chill bassist Frankie, and goofball drummer Steve are back together for the first time in over a decade, with various amounts of enthusiasm. They have unresolved issues over how the band broke up, with Micah bearing the brunt of the owed apologies.

Poor John has been in love with Micah since they were kids, but had to watch her not-so-secretly date Ryder during the few years the band was together, then watch their friendship die after the band broke up. But now they are reunited for five days, and Micah is seeing John in a new light. A sexy light.

There is a lot of really great commentary on art, both the importance of creating something, even just for yourself, but also how you can't control the response to it once you share it. Also about how corporate overlords shape success with how much or little the support an artist. It's as true for music as it is publishing or any other medium where you sell your art, and why you just gotta do it for you and not try to please the consumers or market or critics or anyone but yourself.

I loved it, of course, because I love everything Alicia Thompson writes; it always feels written specifically for me. Probably because someone is also emotionally unavailable for a sad reason, which I'm sure doesn't reflect great on me, but I am what I am.

Instead of my usual selection of highlighted quotes, swipe through for some of my out of context yelling (complimentary).

Whether you were drawn in by the fun cover or the premise, Never Been Shipped will put you in vacation mode in the best way. This story follows ElectricOh! Who are reuniting to do a few performances on a cruise. The cruise is dedicated to a TV series that featured their music, and as you might guess, things aren’t exactly great for the band.

Micah, the lead singer, decided to break the band up and thus has harbored a lot of feelings about that, especially towards John. John is her former best friend and bandmate with whom she started the band. John was also a character featured in With Love, From Cold World, if you remember him. At first, things are a little bit awkward, but it’s clear there is still a lingering friendship between John and Micah.

John and Micah start spending time together again, and it’s clear their feelings go much deeper than friendship. The romance between these two is equal parts sweet and steamy. It’s that classic “It’s Always Been You” trope we all love while also giving us some angst. John and Micah both have feelings about how the band broke up and their interactions afterward. Everything just felt so realistic as emotions were running high, and it made sense.

Never Been Shipped has everything you’re looking for in a romance book. There was yearning, tension, angst, steamy scenes, and a fair amount of drama. Aside from that, Alicia Thompson peels back the layers of Micah and John and sees why they made the decisions they did and why they behave in certain ways.

Aside from that, I’m just really hoping that we get a movie or TV series made out of this book because it felt so cinematic. There were stakes, tension, and so much opportunity to make this into a show about music, friendship, and love. While I don’t think a TV show is planned, I’d absolutely love to see Never Been Shipped play out on the small screen.

A band reunion on a cruise ship, close proximity and unexplored friends to lovers trope, count me in!

Following tumultuous years touring causing the band to dismantle in dramatic fashion, ElectricOh! is invited to play one more time together on a ship. There is something between Micah and John that finally blossoms after years of being best friends.

This book had all the vibes from music to vacation to romance.

Perfect for those who love to holiday on a cruise ship and enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six. Now I am tasked with reading With Love, From Cold War, where John is first mentioned.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an e-ARC of this via Netgalley.

for the most part, i really did enjoy this. i loved the music aspects of this book and the idea of an old band reconnecting to play music together one last time. i really enjoyed how nostalgic this made me feel and all the pop culture references that called back to the early 2000’s. this is definitely a perfect read for fans of anything early 2000’s especially old teen tv shows. i also really loved john a lot and thought he was really sweet and funny, but micah is kind of where this book began to fall flat for me. she felt very underdeveloped as a character and i feel like there was a lot of potential for her to have a lot more growth throughout this story than she did. i also love a second chance romance, literally my number one favorite trope, but this wasn’t done in a way that really grabbed my attention. it felt like john was much more into micah than micah was into john. it felt like she could really do without him and then suddenly she’s dying to hook up with him, which also was a really awkward and forced scene for me. i feel like this book lacked the alicia thompson banter that i normally really enjoy. there was some, but it just didn’t hit. all in all i do think this is still a really fun summer read, especially if you’re gonna be cruising for vacation! and i would recommend this to certain audiences, but it wasn’t my absolute favorite. still very cute though

Second chances, long-buried feelings, and a cruise ship reunion—what more could you want? When a band reunites after 15 years for one last performance at sea, unresolved tension and old emotions resurface. John and Micah, once best friends, must finally confront the feelings and secrets they’ve kept hidden since childhood. This is a medium-paced, character-driven story with a small but well-developed cast, and the emotional payoff is worth the wait. A heartfelt, nostalgic read about love, growth, and what it means to come home to someone. I’ve always loved Alicia (we share a name lol) and her covers are absolutely stunning. Long story short, she’s the girl you’re looking for if you want a read worth your time!

This was a miss for me. I never felt fully invested in the characters or the romance. It didn’t live up to its potential, and left me feeling disappointed. It’s hard for me to review because there’s not anything really bad for me to say. I feel very indifferent to the whole story.

The plot has all the ingredients to work well for me. A former band that got a big hit after being featured in a teen tv show about werewolves is now playing a gig on a cruise ship years after the band broke up. The title is a fun little play on words with ship being the cruise but also two band members being, or not being, shipped by fans. There could’ve been more tension, angst, drama, or anything to make me feel invested in the two band mates and their potential relationship.

So sadly this didn’t work for me. I have now read 3 books by this author, funnily enough not the one that featured a character from this book (With Love, From Cold World). Two I didn’t like and one I absolutely loved. So she’s very hit or miss for me.

2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

John was a strong enough side character in With Love from Cold World that I essentially requested a copy of the ARC on NetGalley within an hour of finishing. He was quiet, a little solemn, but there was a depth to him that had me dying to know more.

John had been in a famous band that had a single hit make it big on a teen show, and this story also felt like a love letter to the music of the early 2000’s. There were a lot of easter eggs for a former emo kid (just kidding, it wasn’t even remotely phase) and I cracked up (out loud) at multiple points. To put it simply, I had a lot of highlights. There were tender moments and heavier topics discussed (check TW), but overall the book was a lot of fun.

Micah and John felt inevitable. Their chemistry was so good. He was the person Micah felt like she could be her truest self with.

Expect a few familiar faces, a little angst, forearms, healing, and a heavy dose of nostalgia.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

First, let me just say - look at that cover! This is possibly my favorite cover art of recent memory. The illustration is absolutely gorgeous, and it perfectly captures these characters, the setting, and the feel of the book. I absolutely love it.

I adored this book. I really connected with both the hero and the heroine, and with their story. The plot and setting were unique, and it was a fresh take on a second chance rockstar romance.

John and Micah were childhood best friends who had a successful band as teenagers. They saw success with multiple albums and tours, even a guest spot on a popular TV show playing their hit song at the characters' prom. Things were great until they weren't, and it all fell apart. Now they're reuniting to play on a cruise themed around that TV show, but they haven't seen each other or spoken in years.

There's nothing I love more than a pining hero, and John has been pining for years. He's been in love with Micah since he was twelve years old, and neither time nor distance have dulled his feelings. I loved that regardless of his feelings, Micah's friendship was always the most important thing to him. He didn't set out on the cruise to seduce her or win her heart, he just wanted his best friend back.

Micah is such an endearing character. I loved her growth over the story, and the way she reclaimed the things she wanted and the person she wanted to be. It was amazing to see her reconnect not only with John, but with her music. I appreciated the way she took ownership of her mistakes and strived to be better.

I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone who loves second chances, those who love artists who inspire each other, and everyone who feels nostalgia for the early 2000s pop punk/emo scene.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 rounded up. This was a cute premise, but for some reason, it just lacked the tension and emotions I expected from this trope. Kinda of a Daisy Jones & the Six without the "feels like you're there" intensity and feelings of being invested in the story. The insta-lust was a bit much and the spice was a bit cringey and didn't fit with the MMC personality.

This book is for anyone that has watched too many recordings of Hayley and Taylor performing The Only Exception.

After a dramatic break up over a decade ago, the ElectricOhs! are reuniting to perform on a themed cruise, for the television show that boosted them into stardom all those years ago. Micah and John, childhood best friends, haven’t seen each other since Micah made her explosive exit from the band, and his life, leaving him with a lot of questions. As John reconnects with the band, and receives answers to those long unanswered questions, he finds how easy it is to fall back into the same old rhythm with Micah, but this time maybe his feelings for her are not so unrequited.

As a huge fan of Thompson’s With Love, From Cold World, I was so excited to find out we were getting a book about John. I’m even more excited to say that this book exceeded my expectations. Micah and John are such beautifully complex and messy characters. Thompson perfectly captures that strange bubble you find on a cruise ship, along with that feeling of reuniting someone who you were once incredibly close with. I also loved all of the early 2000’s emo band nostalgia.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Music is a powerful phenomenon. It can transport us to a place or time, if only in our minds. For Micah and John, it brings them back together after years apart to play music from when they made it big once upon a time on a nostalgic cruise.

Micah and John grew up together, bonded over music, started a band, and eventually made it big. They were as close as close gets until she started dating another one of the band mates, which eventually led to the downfall of the band entirely. Now they're face to face for the first time in years, and John is tired of living without her, but will learning what happened back then change the way he feels?

Overall, this is a cute story with a side of spice. I think most who read romance will enjoy it, but it wasn't ultimately one of my favorites.

I'm not sure how realistic it is for one band member to be able to dissolve a band's record deal, and for literally none of them to communicate about any of it at the time? It eventually gets explained, and it makes sense from a character perspective, but does it make real world sense? For me, that's iffy.

However, we're not reading romance for the logic of it all, are we? We're reading for the longing, the angst, the...well, romance of it all. And Never Been Shipped covers those bases well. This book does the friends-to-lovers trope justice. I believed the past connection between these two characters and I was rooting for them to sort through their issues and commit the whole time. There could have probably been some more talking and mending things than there was, but we get the gist. I just feel like for this to have reached 5-star territory there would have had to been much more opening up and honesty and just...deeper emotion. It wasn't absent entirely, but with backstories like theirs I was kind of left wanting more.

This was my first Alicia Thompson novel. I have another lined up on my Audible TBR already. I'm always on the lookout for great romance writers, and I'll certainly be following Ms. Thompson's bibliography!

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was so thankful to be selected for “Never Been Shipped” as part of the Underrepresented Voices hub.

As a person with an anxiety disorder, I really enjoyed the representation.

It was very easy to root for the MCs in every capacity and I loved the take on old bandmates reuniting.

It made me want to look up Alicia Thompson’s backlist for sure.

Thank you to Berkley Pub for selecting me for this ARC, I enjoyed it.

In this rockstar romance, we have Micah, who is a bisexual thirty something who lives in L.A. She gets contacted about going on a cruise with her ex bandmates from when she was a teenager and jumps at the opportunity simply to resolve everything that went wrong in the past, with John especially but also with the other band members.

The love interest is John, who was her childhood best friend and also in the band at the time. They fell out of touch when Micah blew up the band and left then they were no longer a band.

This is such a 6 star read for me. It was simply better than 5 stars. I loved the romance, the friendships, the setting, the humor, the diversity, and the mental illness representation. Micah has anxiety and gets panic attacks sometimes.

This novel felt so REAL and I absolutely adored all of the characters (except Ryder he can go f himself lol). I liked that the other bandmates, such as Frankie and Steve, got some time in this novel without it being all about them because it was a romance at the end of the day.

The longing and tension that Micah and John had was written so well. The way John was absolutely down bad for her from day one just made me so giddy.

I would just like to say the explicit scenes were SO HOT! Hot with a capital H! Some of the things Micah said had me melting into a puddle on the floor. I need a word stronger than mother for her.

John was gone for her and that just made him so much hotter. He was like her little puppy dog, the way that he would do anything she asked but I also liked that there were times where she would have to beg lol.

The cruise being the setting of all this was so fun! I liked the aspect of them being performers and having to get together and perform their old songs for this specific group of people who were fans. It was just so fun.

I also liked that there were other famous people on the cruise, such as the cast of that popular show. Tatiana was a nice character and I loved her with both John and Micah.

Micah’s initial reaction to her makes me laugh so bad still. But I love where they ended up and their friendship.

The ending with Ryder was SO satisfying. If Micah wouldn’t have done that which prompted the others to do what they did, I probably would’ve reached through the book and done it myself.

This is my first Alicia book but obviously I need to go read Lauren and Asas story in her previous book. I’m obsessed with her writing. It’s so captivating.

I also loved the connected playlist. It felt good to have music go with the book and picture specific moments that went with the songs. 11/10 experience.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC through the Under Represented Voices Program. <3

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts ( a sentence I never thought I’d say!!).

As a Paramore fan first and foremost, forever and always, I was transported back to my time on the Parahoy cruises and missing every single second. Knowing that Alicia is also a Paramore fan forever and always, I felt a kinship throughout the entire book.

(Hayley and Taylor forever……….. oh jk this is a story about Micah and John)

Oh, John and Micah, how I love you both so dearly. My little bisexual heart was thump, thump, thumping for the two of them the entire time I was reading. Messy and a little bit lost, these two found their way back to each other on a cruise ship and I ate every second of it up. Give me childhood friends to strangers to lovers any day of the week and I am SEATED, ready to fall in love with them.

I had a blast reading this one. That’s basically what it comes down to and I am here for vibes at all times.

This is a former best friends to lovers romance and also somewhat of a second chance romance, though our main characters were never really actually dating.
Micah and John were best friends. They also were in a band together but things change and when they end up breaking up instead of releasing a second album together. and Micah, our FMC, goes solo instead. Now years later the band is back together for a 5 day cruise where they are to perform.
While enemies to lovers is a favorite trope of mine I can never say no to a friends, or former friends to lovers trope as well. I really enjoyed Alicia Thompson's pros and though I own the rest of her backlog this is my first time finally reading one I will say I plan on reading the rest expeditiously. I really liked how she goes back and forth and how we, the readers, get the information from the past and how she develops the backstory so we know why Micah made the decisions she did back then. I enjoyed the spicy moments when they came and thought they were just enough and really liked the musical aspect and how it was incorporated into the book. I am interested to reread this again in the future with the audiobook when it releases.
Thank you so much to Berkley for the complementary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This started out so promising, I’m a little bummed.

This is a story about two former friends turned strangers who were a part of a band together and reunite on a cruise ship to preform once again. The band had broken up, leaving some unanswered questions and zero closure.

A lot of this book focused on closure which I appreciated. Lots of feelings between the two MC’s and the three other members of their band. Some positive, some negative, but it all was written well!

The MC’s hit so good in the beginning of this story of unrequited love. As teenagers there was always SOMETHING there (so we are told), but it was never acted on until this cruise.

Now, the burn was not my taste. To fast in my opinion, but I still liked the romance for the most part. A couple of majorly cheesy lines were thrown in, but whatever.

What I really wish this book had were proper flashbacks. We’re being told over and over how these two were so close and there are small tidbits of flashbacks (a couple paragraphs maybe?) but they just didn’t do the story justice.

Lots of telling, now showing which is such a gripe for me. I was told they had this history, but I never got to see it.

I will say I appreciate the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. Anyone who reads this should know they exist, and take care.

This was astoundingly meh to me. Hopefully someone else finds it amazing.

Alicia Thompson has been a consistently enjoyable author for me and I was really excited for Never Been Shipped. We met the main character John in Thompson’s previous book, With Love from Cold World. When John’s band agrees to reunite for a four day cruise, he’s also reunited with his once best friend Micah. John’s been pining after Micah for years but it’s unclear whether those feelings were/are reciprocated. The forced proximity of the cruise brings up lots of old baggage for these two to work through.

I wanted to love this one because Thompson usually packs an emotional punch. However I didn’t really get that from these characters. There wasn’t enough backstory to set them up in a way that justified their actions or motivated their falling in love on a four night cruise. We start to see glimpses toward the end, but by then I wasn’t invested enough to really find the pay off satisfactory. The elements of nostalgia were really fun, and generally the message of the vulnerability of creating and pursuing one’s passion were well done. Overall this was 3.5 stars for me.

I voluntarily read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have never read a book that was simultaneously so boring and so horny. Like, the characters sure were getting action but the plot itself was not and it often dragged. I never quite felt the yearning that Micah and John were supposedly feeling for each other and for me their emotional connection fell flat for lack of development. The side characters are decent and the premise is fun, this just didn't quite achieve liftoff for me.

I LOVE ALICIA THOMPSON I LOVE THIS BOOK I LOVE ROMACE!!!! Okay now that I'm done screaming I might just have to put this at the top of my Alicia Thompson favorites. I will read anything this woman writes. I was swooning, I was crying, I was screaming, I was giggling.

“Never Been Shipped” is “Titanic” (with a happy ending) meets “Daisy Jones and the Six.” Thompson crafts a fun and sexy story with a swoon-worthy, Harry Styles coded, love interest. It’s a second chance romance, which I’m usually not a fan of, but it was really more of a first time romance with someone that you used to have a crush on in the past that you experimented kissing on. I loved the flashbacks and learning what exactly happened between the two of them, and the band they’re in, back in the past. I really loved the main character and her growth throughout the novel. 10/10 smut scenes