3.5 ⭐️ Childhood friends to lovers set on a cruise ship. The main characters had some sweet chemistry, and their shared love of music created a nice thread through the plot.
That said, it did take about 25% before I felt interested in the storyline. At the same time it seemed to drag in a lot of places and probably would’ve worked better as a short story or novella.
The side characters were pretty one dimensional and didn’t really add much. I couldn’t help but feel like if you took music out of the equation, the mc’s wouldn’t have much to connect over. Their relationship lacked the emotional depth I wanted to see develop beyond their shared interest in music and their band.
Overall it’s a cute idea with some nice moments but wasn’t really for me.

3.75 stars - This was a lot of fun! I had a blast while reading this and it was a quick delightful read.

What I liked: The cruise ship setting felt new and I loved the moments of forced proximity. I felt the palpable tension between our two main characters, Micah and John, and was itching for them to finally get together for real. I liked the music parts of the story and I loved when they were performing together.

What I didn't like as much: some parts of the slow burn aspects drug on a bit long and it was a bit surface level at times, but it didn't truly bother me.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC - all opinions are my own!

This really checked all my boxes and it held up to my expectations. I loved this friends to lovers romance. It was so cute to be reading and say "Wait! Is this connected to From Cold World?! ASA! LAUREN!" So cute, I loved the tension. I loved the release. Just go good.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free book and to PRH Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

This is such a fascinating premise. Michah and John grew up as best friends and started a band together. It broke apart years ago, and Micah took much of the blame for the split. Now there's a reunion show on a cruise that brings the whole band back together. From all of this, it sounds like a second chance romance. But it's not really, Instead, Micah's earlier romance had been with a different band mate.

The band dynamics were fascinating. I truly felt that I got to know the whole band well and could predict how each of them would respond in various situations. They felt so real to me. I also always appreciate the queer representation in Thompson's books.

This is a lovely story of what if and the road not taken. And it questions how our dreams change as we grow. I found the romance and other aspects of the plot so compelling. And I would love to read more books set in this same story world with other characters we met here. Notably, John was a character we met in With Love, from Cold World, but this novel can stand alone.

Ellie Gossage narrated the entire story well. She managed the transitions from different characters to different emotions and even the feel of the songs quite well.

4.5 stars rounded up

Never Been Shipped is a fun friends to lovers romcom. It centers around a band that was popular in their teens, before separating over a decade earlier. Now coming back together for a reunion cruise, the two main characters find their friendship again, and finally explore the spark between them.

This romance was definitely spicy, and well written. There were many layers and many things the characters needed to reveal to the audience and each other.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for this advanced readers copy.

i swear if this band was real i would’ve been at every concert, and i would’ve a run an update and fan account that lasted even after they broke up. alicia thompson you have a fan in me!!

i loved this book so much and i’m begging in my hands and knees for a sequel bc i need more of john and micah! god this was so hot. i absolutely ate this book up it has the most desperate, silent, pathetic pining that spanned over like 2 decades? first of all take a look at that cover please john and micah are so hot i actually can’t.

this book had a bit of a slow start for me but by a couple of chapters i was so invested. this reminds me that i love friends to lovers so much. john and micah have known each other since they were like 12 and after years of no contact they’re getting the band back together (phineas and ferb voice) and they reconnect on a cruise! dear god the thoughts this man had. he was absolutely pathetically in love with micah and i ate it up and said thank you very much! micah is so closed off to people and super self contained bc she’s been scorned by the music industry and she’s lost her love for making music but then we see her come out of her shell and with the help of john and the band she finds herself and her passion for music again. i loved that in the present and the past we see that micah and john’s friendship really helps them to find a safe place to land, that was so special 😭

we get a couple of flashbacks from their past friendship and i truly believed their connection and love for each other. this isn’t a second chance romance so much as a i’ve silently loved you the entire time and never thought i stood a chance but now we’re here and i’m not letting this chance pass by. their sexual chemistry was through the roof and their scenes together had me sweating. john knows what he’s doing! i felt very *insert kermit bending over meme* for john and micah they’re so sexy!!!

this book was so hot and funny and the characters felt so real. i also love that in alicia’s books (or the ones i’ve read) her characters are queer and it’s not a big deal. it’s just fact and accepted i love how it’s normalized.

this book ate and made me want to get back on tumblr and ship members of my favorite band (i shipped narry so not the same as this but whatever) and also made me wish i could get on a cruise ship with my ex bandmate that’s been in love with me for like 20 years. i need to somehow make that happen.

anyway this book was so fun and a quick read! if my library gets the audio im def listening to it!

thanks to berkley for the free book in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book was really interesting- a band that broke up, is back together for one special performance on a cruise, and the conflicts that broke them up haven’t been resolved. There’s also a budding romance amongst two members, which is the romance of the book. I loved watching this develop while unfolding and resolving the past problems that led to present day. The cruise ship was such a good setting for this story to take place and was utilized really well to drive the character interactions. Definitely a recommended read from me!

Thank you to Berkeley for this early copy!

Thank you Netgalley @berkleypub @berkleyromance @acebookspub for the free e-book! My opinions are being left voluntarily. I enjoy Alicia's writing style and really enjoyed this one. I started the e-book then moved on to te audio which only adds to the whole experience. I think this is her best book. Full of all the tropes I love.

Suggest giving it a try.

4.5/5☆

#BerkleyPartner #AceBooksPartner

DNF Details:

How far did I get? I tried both the ebook and the audiobook, did some reading, did some skimming - this one just wasn’t for me.

Why did I stop? To be fair, I knew the tropes weren’t a perfect fit for me before I dove in, but I’ve seriously enjoyed Thompson’s work in the past and that cover is just SO GORGEOUS, so I was hoping the characters would win me over. That simply wasn’t the case. I loved that the hero has been smitten and pining, but the heroine was difficult for me to empathize with. She seemed to be a bit of a horndog and simply saw him as an easy hookup, ignoring the fact that it might mean more to him. That rubbed me the wrong way, and the focus on their physical connection didn’t endear the couple to me further. I also struggle more with third person POV - if a book is good, I can usually ignore it, but if a book isn’t working, then it makes me even more disconnected. And that was the case here.

Was I enjoying it initially? Yes and no. I went in with some excitement, loving that cover and having enjoyed Thompson’s work in the past. She’s definitely a talented writer, so there was some good stuff going on. I do think that readers who enjoy friends to lovers and second chances will have an easier time diving in, but some of the setups were off-putting either way. It didn’t take me long to realize it wasn’t working me, and I found it easy to set aside.

Would I finish this? I would not. I gave it a good try, checking out multiple formats over multiple sittings, and it still didn’t work for me.

Who would I recommend this to? Fans of “it’s always been you” romances where it hasn’t always been only you. Anyone who doesn’t mind some miscommunication and a spice-focused relationship.

A band reunion, a chance at romance, and mending all the rifts in their relationship. Micah has always had a complicated relationship with music, her band took off when she was a teen but their sophomore album barely made it... and then she left the group to make her own music but her career never went anywhere. Now more than a decade has passed and the band is reuniting for one more performance on a themed cruise. Micah hasn't talked to any of her former band mates ever since she went solo... especially not her best friend John. John is a guitarist who doesn't exactly miss his band but he misses Micah. He's been in love with her ever since they were kids but she began dating the drummer in the band and ignored his texts and visits when he tried to see her after the band was over... but now years later... they are seeing each other trapped on a cruise for five days.... and now both Micah and John will have to face everything that went unsaid between them and all the feelings that they have. This was such a fantastic read!! I adored the romance between Micah and John so much. John just loves her so so much and seeing them go from friends to lovers and Micah getting the chance to reconnect with her friends was so sweet. I love the buildup in the story and the characters have so much chemistry! Seriously what a rockstar romance!!

Release Date: June 10, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Never Been Shipped is clever. This book will have you in an emotional chokehold until you flip through the last page. Alice Thompson has it down when it comes to complex feelings by and for complex people. We have get to see brilliant intersection of four members of the the "one hit wonder" band ElectricOh! after their lives have diverted into four distinct paths. The band reunites for a celebratory cruise for the TV show their hit song had been on.

Micah the former lead singer and self proclaimed reason for the bands infamous breakup doesn't want to be there, in fact she takes every turn to avoid running into her former bandmates, or a bandmate in particular, her childhood best friend John. Of course there are others to avoid, like her former ex, or even just the remainder of the band who all know it was her fault.

This story was delightful in every way. I think the complexity of both Micah and John's characters made this story so much deeper than just the internal drama of a past its time band. It's something real. It makes you feel.

I've really enjoyed previous books by this author, but this one was more of a miss for me. I didn't buy into the backstory of the band and never truly connected to the main characters and their supposed chemistry. The cruise ship and fandom setting added some fun, but overall, this was just an okay read.

I really appreciated and loved the nostalgia this book gave me when I think of pop punk bands from the 2000s. The playlist brought back so many memories for me too and was a nice touch. I liked John overall but Micah was not my favorite FMC. I was also not a huge fan of this book being in third person and it took me a while to finish it. I can see how some readers would enjoy the nostalgia of this book and the complexities that might come with being in a band.

Dude, we’re getting the band back together! Overall, this was a good read and the tension and yearning and history between Micah and John was there, but I also found myself losing interest a few times while reading. I don't know if the timeline was different, I would’ve enjoyed it more or believed in the rekindling connection, but it didn’t quite deliver for most of it.

Thank you Berkley for the arc!

Everyone knows friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, add in the “getting the band back together vibe” and a lovely cover and I’m all yours. Never Been Shipped is a friends to lovers, has been rockstar romance. It started out slow, which is probably why it took a little longer for me to make it all the way through to the end.

ElectricOh! is a band that broke up years before when the lead singer, and one of the band founders, Micah, bought out the remainder of the band’s contract and set out for a solo career. There hasn’t been any real contact between the band members since then, just anger and confusion over why Micah did what she did. John is the lead guitarist and the other founding member of the band; he and Micah were childhood besties who bonded over music. Their relationship never got past the friend stage even though John has been harboring feelings for Micah for years.

When the band is offered a contract to reunite for a remembrance cruise with the cast members of a teenage show they performed on years ago, they reluctantly accept. Steve, Ryder, and Frankie round out the band. This story is told from Micah and John’s POVs and neither have really moved on in a major way since the band (and friendship) breakup. John lives with a group of roommates and plays in cover bands and after Micah’s solo career divebombed, she basically lives off royalties and hides in her condo.

The animosity between Ryder (the other guitarist) and the rest of the band is pretty apparent from the get-go. He’s rude and abrasive and there are hints that “something” happened between he and Micah all those years ago that led to her decision to exit the band. As I said before, this book started out kind of slow for me. The getting to know all of the band members and understanding the dynamics between each of them took some time. The backdrop of the cruise and the laid-back situation led to a slower pace. Yes, there was a nice build-up between John and Micah and once they decided to actually give in to the connection between them, I became a little more engaged. There were sweet moments, several very sexy scenes, and two friends reconnecting and realizing they’ve always been meant for each other.

I do enjoy this author’s romances. Never Been Shipped was a slow start for me, but I really enjoyed the way the relationship between the main protagonists played out. And as always, I was thankful for the epilogue.

Ok - let me start by saying that John is the sweetest cinnamon roll of a MMC, and must be protected al all costs. This is a childhood friends to lovers, reconnecting after a few years of in between drama. I really enjoyed the cruise aspect and the band getting back together after all those years. There were some parts that felt repetitive to me, and it somewhat lagged in the middle. It left me wanting a bit more. I loved the cameos of characters from With Love, From Cold World.

Overall, it was an enjoyable fun summer read. Definitely spicier than Alicia’s previous work (and I loved that.) I will love the cover forever!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Never Been Shipped was a nice breezy read and perfect for summer. I love the friends-to-lovers trope and this 100% fits the bill. It was sweet, low angst, and an easy read. Would I want to read this book if I was looking for actual emotional growth in my characters? Nope. But it worked for the mood I was in. I give Never Been Shipped 4/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson. All opinions are my own

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this free copy of "Never Been Shipped."

A reunion concert for a teenage band that had one big hit and then split up? And a friends-to-lovers romance trope? Definitely had to read it!

Micah, the lead singer, was best friends with guitarist John and formed the band in high school. So when Micah bought out the band's contract to pursue a solo career (we find out later why), they all went their separate ways and John missed his best friend.

So now it's 13 years later. Will they rekindle the connection, friendship, and music they shared?

Micah used to be in a band when she was a teenager. They became pretty popular after being featured on a well known tv show, but broke up shortly after. It has been over a decade since the band played together when they get an invite to perform on a themed cruise. John was the guitarist for the band and is excited to get back to playing music with his friends and crush, Micah. But, there is some unspoken drama between bandmates which comes bubbling to the surface shortly after the ship sets sail. John never told Micah how he felt about her, will this be his chance?
Review:
3.5 stars
I loved the band aspects and cruise setting of this one! I thought it was a fun idea that I could picture easily while reading. I do think that the romance between John and Micah was a little fast paced especially given the time that they were apart. It went from 0 to 1000 really quickly! I would have liked a little more banter and build up (my personal preference). Overall, this was a cute little romance with some extra spicy scenes. I don't think it will be very memorable, but I did enjoy my time while reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Alicia Thompson, and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC of Never Been Shipped in exchange for an honest review!

First off, huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I was so excited to get my hands on this one — I’d never read anything by Alicia Thompson before, but I’d heard nothing but great things, and that cover? Instant heart-eyes.

Now, onto my actual thoughts: I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. The premise was everything I want in a romance — band reunion, past feelings, forced proximity on a cruise — and I love a "pathetically down bad" male lead, which John absolutely delivered on. But despite all that, I found myself struggling to stay engaged.

Around the 70% mark, I seriously considered DNFing (full disclosure: I’ve been in a depressive episode, so that probably didn’t help). Still, I pushed through, only to find myself skimming the final 10% because I’d just lost interest. The chemistry was there in moments, and the spice? Top tier. But emotionally, the story didn’t land for me.

I think part of the disconnect was the third-person POV. It left me feeling like I was being told the story rather than experiencing it, and that made it hard for me to fully connect with the characters or their relationship arc.

That said, I can definitely see this book hitting home for a lot of readers. If you’re a fan of second chances, musicians pining, and a bit of angsty tension on the high seas, there’s still a lot here to enjoy — it just didn’t quite strike the right chord for me