I don't think this one was for me. I didn't get any real connection to any of the characters and the romance felt too shallow, despite the immense amounts of "when we were teenagers" that happened. Things moved too slowly and too quickly at the same time. It took a while for the two love interests to talk to one another, but then almost immediately moving on in their relationship. It felt a little predictable and bland.

Thanks to @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for the free published copy and e-ARC and to @prhaudio for the review copy of this audiobook!

Micah and John were best friends as teens. But their friendship fell apart when the band they started broke up. Now, they’re performing a reunion tour on a cruise ship, and it’s bringing up all the feelings.

There was so much raw emotion to this one. Both Micah and John had major trauma they hadn’t dealt with. It actually made me question whether I liked them as characters. At the 35% mark I almost gave up because of how hard they were to like. But I’m so glad I stayed. Walking with them as they did the work to heal and be honest with each other felt redemptive. Their realness made them relatable. And their deep connection to music and each other was palpable. All that passion made for some excellent spicy scenes as well! Super hot.

The setting of providing talent for a cruise gave a perfect combination of forced proximity and luxury. Their bandmates were memorable as well.

I loved Ellie Gossage’s narration. About half way through I forgot it wasn’t a dual narration. Her voices were that good. All her characters were distinct and memorable.

If you love a second chance romance, you will want to pick this one up today.

I really loved the setting of this book the most. Band reunion on a cruise ship for a week, sign me up. This was my first book by this author and it really was a sweet one. Friends to lovers, anxiety rep, bi rep, mutual pining. I was routing for the band (minus one) the entire time.

Oof. I don’t think this author is for me. Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity.

This was so fucking longgggg. It was awkward when it didn’t need to be. The long time friends turned band mates who always apparently loved one another but never told the other for years, meet up years after their band fell apart for a cruise ship gig. Forced proximity & bringing up old feelings has these two falling into some sort of relationship. Witty banter, tender moments, but just so weirdly paced & they hook up randomly without ever discussing their feelings. Great if you’re into books about bands and know anything about music and want some band mate drama. It was just so unbelievable that I couldn’t get into it at all.

"Dude we're getting the band back together!" Vibes.

This book was so good! Huge thank you to Berkley for the ARC, I’d been eagerly waiting to get my hands on this one. This book checked all my boxes, childhood friends turned lovers, an early 2000s TV show cruise vibe, plus LGBTQ+ and mental health representation. Seriously, it was so good and I loved it all!

John and Micah have such an undeniable connection, and the way they’ve carried feelings for each other over the years just had me swooning, from childhood friends to bandmates to lovers. I honestly wish we got to see more of their journey beyond the cruise, I need to see them work toward their HEA! The book was funny, sexy, and emotional. Definitely one of my favorite reads, and I’m already itching for more!

This was my first Alicia Thompson book, and it will not be my last. What a fun premise, sizzling tension between characters and a perfect execution of childhood friends to lovers. This was one of those books I couldn't put down, and found myself up very late reading.

Micah and John had that very special sense of "it's always been you", it just took them a while to figure that out. They were so young when they became famous and when their band broke up, and had such an established and close friendship that it made sense to me why neither wanted to 'rock the boat'. But it's so obvious to them looking back on their time together that they had developed deep seeded feelings that would eventually surface.

The pacing was perfect, I loved the side characters and the quirky premise.

what to expect:
- dual POV
- childhood friends to lovers
- former bandmates
- open door / explicit scenes

Alicia Thompson's "Never Been Shipped" offers a delightful, if occasionally meandering, journey back into the world of a disbanded indie rock group and the rekindled romance between its two leads. This novel truly shines in its exploration of second chances, wrapped up in the unique setting of a cruise ship.

The premise is immediately engaging: Micah and John, former bandmates and childhood best friends from ElectricOh!, are unexpectedly reunited for a cruise performance after one of their old songs goes viral. This setup provides a fantastic backdrop for a slow-burn romance that feels genuinely earned. The history between Micah and John is palpable, and watching their friendship evolve back into something more is a central pleasure of the book. Their dynamic is charming, filled with comfortable banter and a deep understanding that only years of shared history can forge.

The cruise ship setting adds a fresh and fun element, preventing the story from feeling stale. It creates a contained environment that forces our protagonists to confront their past and present feelings, while also offering opportunities for amusing side plots and character interactions. The character growth, particularly for Micah, is well-handled, showing her navigating past insecurities and embracing new possibilities.

While the romance is sweet and the setting enjoyable, there were moments where the plot felt a little drawn out, and some of the internal monologues could be a bit repetitive. However, these minor quibbles don't detract significantly from the overall charm of the story. If you're looking for a heartwarming, friends-to-lovers tale with a unique backdrop and a satisfying slow burn, "Never Been Shipped" is definitely worth picking up. It's a solid read that leaves you rooting for Micah and John until the very end.

A second chance for the band and for childhood friends that never admitted their love for each other, Never Been Shipped is a fun, musical romp! I’m a sucker for second chance so I loved that aspect, especially when the shitty ex and reason they couldn’t work out in the first place gets their due. The band history and dynamic was fun and the musical sexy moments were hot. I appreciated the mental health and bisexual representation, it’s done well and enhances the characters depth. I didn’t love this as much as The Art of Catching Feelings but still would recommend!

I’ve read a couple of books by Alicia and I love how she writes her characters. They are complex and multi dimensional.
This book follows a pair of used to be rockstars whose time in the limelight was cut short. Several years later they are reunited and sparks fly between John and Micah aboard a cruise ship where they have been hired to play their long ago hit songs.

The tension and spice in this book was fantastic. I loved John and his softness, the pining was chef’s kiss. He and Micah both were written beautifully and I really enjoyed reading about their history and how their love story enfolded.

We also got a little peek at characters Asa and Lauren from Alicia’s book With Love, from Cold World, which I loved.

I’m not always a fan of rockstar romance (don’t ask me why, I have no clue😂). But Alicia did it right with this book, it was a great rockstar romance and I look forward to reading more books by her in the future.

If you know me, you know that Alicia Thompson is one of my auto-buy authors. The Art of Catching Feelings is a book o recommend to SO many people. So of course when I saw this, I jumped on it so fast. John was down bad for Micah and I loved it so much. I also enjoyed how the author paired each chapter with a song that matched the vibes of that particular chapter! Such a fun idea! The queer rep, the anxiety rep, the talk of addiction and abuse, and the overall acceptance of everyone and their life journeys was also very refreshing. However, is this my favorite book by her? No. But I still enjoyed every single second of it!

The narrator also did a wonderful job at making each of the characters shine in the book.

Alicia Thompson started this book with "if this book flops i stg" and if I have anything to do with it this book will never flop! My expectations were incredibly high because The Art of Catching Feelings is one of my absolute favorites and this lived up to those expectations easily. I loved John and Micah so much! Their friendship was beautiful and watching them fall in love made me kick and scream. I thought the band, the cruise, and how long they had been apart made for a really fun read. Their chemistry was amazing. I loved the intimate scenes and how funny they were together. This was a big kicking and giggling book for me!

i'm absolutely obsessed with the subgenre of music-related romances. there’s just something about characters creating music (or any kind of art, honestly) for each other that makes their connection automatically feel ten times deeper to me.

NEVER BEEN SHIPPED (ugh. love this title) was a friends to strangers to lovers ~forced proximity~ masterpiece and i devoured it. there’s already so much yearning baked into the friends to lovers trope, but then you add that they haven’t seen each other in years and yeah. the sexual tension was THICK. like you-could-cut-it-with-a-guitar-pick thick (heh, anyways).

this wasn’t quite the slow burn i usually crave, but honestly i didn’t even mind. it worked for the story. fast but not rushed, intense but still warm.

the band dynamic was so good. each member brought a distinct vibe and energy (except ryder, he's the absolute WORST). you could feel how this band used to be everything to them, how those messy, magical teenage years turned them into a found family. i especially adored frankie's character: grounded, unbothered, always knew what to say. they were the best.

micah and john had a couple classic miscommunication moments, but they were short-lived and didn’t drag the plot down, which i appreciated.

just so you know what to expect: this isn’t a super heavy or emotionally deep read. it’s more like a lusty, fun, rekindling of old feelings with music, nostalgia, and a hefty dose of chemistry. a perfect pick if you’re in the mood for something that’s going to make your heart flutter and put you in the mood to make curated playlists for your loved ones.

4.5/5

I really enjoyed reading this. The cruise setting with all of the band/rockstar aspects were done very well. I really enjoyed their friends to lovers story. I think the 3rd POV was weird to read in (I usually don’t have any problems) and there was a lot of rambling. I did skim a lot lol (could be a symptom of my slump). Overall, solid and of course I’ll read more from Alicia Thompson in the future.

I was really excited for this book. A reunion romance set on a cruise ship, with former teen bandmates and lingering feelings? It felt like the perfect setup. And there were definitely things I enjoyed. The setting was fun, the dynamic between Micah and Johnny had some charm, and I liked the layers of nostalgia woven through their story.
But as much as I wanted to fully love it, I never quite connected the way I hoped. The relationship felt more focused on physical attraction than emotional depth, and I found myself wishing for more quiet, intimate moments where I could really feel why these two belonged together. The chemistry was there, but the emotional payoff didn’t land as strongly as I wanted.
The pacing also felt uneven at times. There were scenes that pulled me in, but others that lost momentum and made it harder to stay engaged. I cared about the premise, but the execution left me a little detached.
Still, there were moments that worked. The writing had heart, and there were glimpses of something really special between the characters. It just didn’t fully come together for me.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with a lot of potential!

If you enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six you will like this one. Alicia Thompson writes a second-chance love, band drama, and a cruise ship setting. After a decade-long fallout, former bandmates Micah and John reunite for a televised performance, forcing them to confront unresolved feelings, old betrayals, and buried emotions. Micah, who once walked away from fame and friendships, must face the people she left behind—especially John, her former best friend who never stopped caring for her. Their chemistry is undeniable, but the question remains: can they rebuild what was lost? With heartfelt moments and nostalgic music vibes, this is a compelling story of love, forgiveness, and finding your way back. A solid 4.5-stars. Target audience for fans of band romances and emotional reunions. Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Never Been Shipped.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

This book did not flop, I swear to god. Alicia Thompson's love of music really shone through in this story that gets the band back together in more ways than one. I can't wait to listen to the (quite sizable) playlist! The tension between John and Micah is there from the start, even before they're thrust together on a reunion cruise. And my god, they really just get down to (horny) business. I loved the narration, even though it was a single narrator for a dual PoV book. I do think that it would've benefited from having a male narrator for John, but Ellie Gossage's man voice was no slouch. This audio was perfect to cap off a 3 hour drive and overall a nice summer romance read.

I thought John was such a sweet character and wheeewwwww the mouth he has, I was blushing at all the dirty talk in the story. He was such an interesting character who has really experienced so much hurt and loss in his life and is just trying to navigate a way through things. I really struggled with my feelings towards Micah though, primarily because of how she treats John. While she definitely has her own challenges and struggles I just struggle to see how she could be so blind to his feelings and the impact of how she treats him for over 15 years.

Alicia Thompson sincerely never misses. She just has a way of writing people and romances that feel SO authentic and real, and that makes them so deeply sexy. I loved the nostalgia of the pop punk days of the early 2000s/2010s and the tv show giving serious Teen Wolf/Vampire Diaries vibes. So much fun.

I haven't met an Alicia Thompson hero I didn't adore, and John was no different. I am always hesitant to read friends to lovers books because one of them inevitably has feelings and hurts the other unintentionally, but this one hit the mark for me because of the time lapse.
John and Micah were back together with their band a decade after their split. John has loved Micah since he was 12 and she thought of him as her best friend always. Now is the chance for him to finally get her to see what is right there in front of her and Micah is ready to have John back in her life after missing him for so long.
When your life is full of roadblocks, how can love be so easy?
This book had a lot of heart and it gave me the warm fuzzy feeling I was looking for. It was a little spicier than her other novels and I wasn't mad about that. I also really wished we had more lyrics in this book. I was glad we got the song at the end, but more of the songs would have helped me transport into their love story all the more.

This was a fun childhood best friends to strangers to lovers. I love seeing how characters become friends when they were younger and you get to see them fall in love years later. You not only get to see the strong bonds through love but also the bond that music can bring you. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a musician romance.