I always love when music is involved and incorporated into a love story. Micah and John were best friends as kids, and band mates as teens. When things fell apart musically, so did their friendship. There are so many nostalgic vibes and unrequited feelings. The cruise ship setting put a unique spin on things. The side characters also brought lots of entertainment, I loved them. Overall this was a sweet, fun, easy read, and I enjoyed it!


𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 ⇣
Themed cruise setting
Friends to lovers
Second chance
He falls first
Band reunion
Forced proximity
Third person POV
Spice

Thank you to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the ARC

I had the BEST time reading this one 😭 sweet, tender, and filled with the kind of aching nostalgia that clings to your heart.

🛳️ Forced Prox
🐺 Fandom Cruise
🎸 Bandmates
❤️‍🩹 Friends to Strangers to Lovers
💜Bisexual FMC

Our FMC Micah is a wounded soul who’s struggling to find her place in the world. Meanwhile our MMC John is a total sweetheart who’s been pining for Micah since they were both teens. We have a swooooon worthy moment where John is protective over Mika and she ends up punching the guy for him 😂

And let’s not forget the steam 🥵🔥—the kind that radiated with years of pent-up longing, making every touch feel electric. (The bands called ElectricOh!)

What a fun take on a rockstar romance story!

Micah and John were best friends who connected via music, eventually becoming members of a band that eventually went their separate ways. However, a reunion on a cruise brings them back together, and they have to confront why they hadn't talked the past ten years. Whenever we have this distance from one another in a story, it doesn't always make sense because you can always find a reason to argue about it. In this story, it absolutely makes sense. It's one of the best ways I've seen estranged childhood friends to lovers come and take shape.

Micah's representation of both her working with anxiety and being queer are handled delicately to the point where it is not defining who she is, but just a part of her everyday life, which as someone who is both, makes me feel seen as it doesn't define who I am either. It's just a part of what I deal with. This was masterful in showing everyday people who are just like us, even if they were once in a major band.

John is the epitome of someone who knows what he has is special, in both how he views Micah and how he views the artistic nature of music.

I'm also so glad I recently read To Cold World With Love, as there were easter eggs in that story that were fun to see in this story. It is definitely not necessary to read, but why wouldn't you read that as well?

Thanks so much to Berkley Publishing for this gifted advanced copy through the Berkley Influencer Hub for Underrepresented Voices!

Thank you to PRHAudio for the ALC and Berkley Romance for the eARC. HIGHLY recommend via audio, the narrator is perfection. Alicia is an auto-read for me. Anytime you call her FMCs unlikeable or bratty or annoying just know you are also talking about me lmao cause I relate to her avoidant depressive MCs so much and her books are always so entertaining and healing. I don’t consider this fan fic because of the estrangement BUT if you also love Hayley Williams and Taylor York’s epic (but so gentle) romance of the century this one is for you

Alicia Thompson is the true definition of hit or miss for me - I was meh on Love in the Time of Serial Killers, LOVED With Love From Cold World, and was meh on this one. I was all set for a story full of pining and angst but Never Been Shipped didn't quite deliver. Micah and John's reunion turned physical pretty quickly and I never really felt the emotional connection between them. Oh well, we'll always have a winter wonderland in Florida.

Language: R (36+ swears, 13+ "f"); Mature Content: PG13+; Violence: PG+
I quit reading because it seemed like the sexual content was going to go further than I wanted to read. I liked the plotline, but not enough to keep reading.
The mature content rating is for mentions of drugs and alcohol, innuendo, and nudity. The violence rating is for mentions of child abuse.

Thank you Berkley for the ARC!

ARC Review: Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson
Genre: LGBT+ Romance (Bi FMC!)
Format: Immersive Reading
Narrator: Ellie Gossage
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book # for 2025: #58

I absolutely adored this book! TO ME, it felt sort of fanficy, which I absolutely loved! Micah and John were both so likeable and fun! I had forgotten how much I love when the main characters were childhood best friends. The childhood memories added so much to John and Micah’s love story.

I loved the emphasis on music and how important it is to Micah and John. I really enjoyed the playlist, which has a song that corresponds to each chapter. Smoke Signals corresponds to chapter two!

I also loved so many of the secondary characters - especially John and Micah’s bandmates (not Ryder of course) and John’s roommates.

Rating: 4⭐️ | Spice: 3🌶️ | Audio: 5🎙️
What to Expect:
Childhood Friends
Forced Proximity
Bandmates
LGBTQ Rep

Thank you so much @berkleyromance for the free book @prhaudio for this gifted audiobook!

“You can keep everything small… And then you let fewer people in. But the flip side is that you let fewer people in. And what’s the point of music if you’re not sharing it with other people?”

Review Title & Vibes:
{SHIP IT TO ME BABY} I’m definitely NOT mad that I’ve stumbled into a trend of childhood friends to lovers books lately. John and Micah’s “ship” finally set sail, and I’m so happy I was aboard…. Okay okay - I’ll lower the anchor on my sailing lingo (because I really have no clue).

Estranged childhood friends/bandmates John and Micah jump aboard for a reunion performance on themed cruise. Band drama, airing of past grievances, delicious tension, and toe-curling spice… It’s everything you could want in a forced proximity music-central romance.

Things I Loved:
-JUSTICE! If you’ve ever read my reviews, I adore when a truly bad character gets what’s coming to them - even better when you find out who metes out the punishment.
-JOHN - reserved lover of music and a freak in the bedroom. He is delightfully complex.
-Micah - finally starts to see her worth! I so enjoyed her character growth.
-Musical moments - I wanna hear some of these original songs in real life. But also - the playlist is fantastic.

Audio Notes:
Ellie was amazing! I usually have a harder time listening to 3rd person POV - but that was not the case with this performance. I was plugged in the entire time. I felt every emotion,

Recommended to...  
Lovers of punk music, readers of childhood friends to lovers.

Narrated by @elliegossage
Produced by @prhaudio
Published by @berkleyromance

4.5 rounded up. Thank you to Berkley, Alicia Thompson, and NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

This was another fun read from Alicia Thompson! John and Micah are two hot people doing hot people things and pretending not to be hot for each other. I loved the tangible amounts of pining going on, as well as the way their past and present were woven together. The side characters were also dynamic and thought out, even though they had much smaller roles in the plot. The casual queerness of both the FMC and a side character was also well done!

And you know I loved with quiet John turned into a dominant dirty talker. That’s like my catnip.

While With Love, From Cold World is still my favorite Alicia Thompson book, this is a close second!

POV: dual third person

You can expect: former band mates, forced proximity, childhood friends to lovers, childhood crush, he fell first (a long time ago), band reunion, cruise ship, musician MCs.

Rep: bisexual FMC, non-binary side character, sober MMC.

Spice: 3/5

CW: mentions of past threatened revenge porn, brief misgendering, mentions of past abuse

Alicia Thompson's Never Been Shipped is just *chef's kiss*. Every moment, every interaction, every little detail matters to the story. And oh my god, the pining between Micah and John is top-notch. I've read a lot of second chance romances and this one outdoes them all.

Never Been Shipped tells the story of the reunion of ElectricOh! and two musicians' second chance at love. Micah has a complicated relationship with music after breaking up the band soon after the release of their sophomore album and forging a path for a solo career, which didn't go as planned. John misses the band and does his best to hold onto the feeling while playing in cover bands. John also misses Micah, his best friend until the band broke up. A cruise reunites ElectricOh! and with that reunion, Micah and John have to face the past in order to move on to the future, leading to some very intriguing and emotional moments between the two.

Oh wow. This review could be pages and pages long with all the little details I loved. I loved how John remembers how Micah takes care of her voice before shows, how he remembers that he always had a place with her back in Ohio to escape his family situation, how he's always finding ways to touch her. I loved how Micah fell right back into her friendship with John and then slowly realized that she's loved him all of these years. I loved how Micah eventually stuck it to Ryder, a fellow bandmate and her ex-boyfriend, because if she didn't, I might have screamed. He was toxic and not in a good way (I'm not sure there is a good way tbh). I loved the anxiety representation with Micah and how real it was (can confirm as someone with anxiety). The slow-burn--epically done and I ate it up! It made it worthwhile when Micah and John finally got together (which was pretty steamy). And the flashbacks helped me understand Micah and John better and how their feelings developed for each other before either really knew it. Never Been Shipped is the perfect slow-burn, second-chance romance, friends to lovers story and I'm going to highly suggest you pick up a copy and read it ASAP!

Thank you to Berkley for the e-ARC!

5 Stars ✨

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and Alicia Thompson for this ARC!

Hey, are you kidding!!!!! Every once in a while, you read a book that you just know you will probably think about every single day for the rest of your life. And you also sometimes read a MMC that you just know you will be comparing every one that comes next to. That was this book and John P…

I was locked in from the very first chapter and I loved this group of characters so much! (except you Ryder, hope you rot!!!) Micah was truly one of my favorite FMCs of this year. Her story, although I am not a past successful rockstar who has since had their career fizzle out, felt very relatable. I think so many women will be able to see pieces of themselves in her storyline. John and his curly hair and his yearning and his dirty mouth. I need him. But if I can’t have him, i’m glad Micah can! I loved them together so much and although I wish they hadn’t wasted so much time dancing around one another and being apart, i’m glad they hadn’t wasted that time and those experiences to make them stronger in the future!

I wish ElectricOh! was real (except Ryder, I hate his guts). I loved them all so much and their genuine care for each other after an abrupt end and so much time apart was so fun to read! I also wish Nightshifters was real, need to watch it and join the next cruise!

Man, I loved this one!!!

I loved everything about this! The themed cruise! The friends to strangers to lovers! The yearning and tension! All exceptional!

📣 two estranged besties & bandmates reconnect on the high seas

Thank you, @berkleyromance, for the free copy & Netgalley for the free ARC. #BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #BerkleyBookstagram

Why do I feel like I just watched a Saved by the Bell episode, but with older, more mature leads? I mean that comparison in the best of ways.

In Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson, once besties & bandmates Micah & Johnny are reunited for a cruise performance. Thompson portrays their closeness & now estrangement so well, tinging it all with their bone-deep care of the other. The connection that won’t stop.

Johnny’s patience & kindness are things of beauty, & the band’s rock scenes made me feel like I was watching an actual show. (If I was extrovert enough to do so.)

This contemporary really made me feel nostalgia, like Julie Soto writes in the blurb, & like finally, finally two leads have come together in the way they were meant to.

4.25 ⭐️, out today!

📖 would you rather: watch a live concert or listen to music from home; play an instrument well or sing well; be a lead singer or back-up. I’d rather listen to music at home, sing well, & be a lead singer a la Kelly Clarkson.

[ID: Jess holds the book in front of a black headboard. To the left is a vase of wildflowers.]

This was such a fun, easy read. The pining from John was *chef’s kiss* and I could not put it down because I needed to see how it was going to play out! The obvious sexual tension between him and Micah was so intense and I needed one of them to go ahead cross that line between being friends and being more! And when it happened, wooo, it was hot!! 🥵

I loved the plot of this mini reunion of a band that did not end on the best of terms and it being on a cruise was a fun twist! I’m the ultimate fangirl with a love of music and bands, so this was just up my alley! 🎶🎸🥁🎤

This was my first book by Alicia Thompson, but it will definitely not be my last! I’m about to add all her works to my tbr, I loved this so much!

Micah and John haven’t seen each other in ages and their band hasn’t played together in even longer…but they’re reuniting for a fan cruise to play their biggest hit from a wildly popular television series. The longing is SO good. They’ve loved each other from afar for so long, but Micah has been determined to keep up her walls ever since the band split. They’re confined on a cruise ship. They’re with their bandmates (one of which is an absolute asshat) and emotions are running high. I love everything about this book from the incredibly loving nods to music and fandom to the chemistry between Micah and John. Seeing dear friends Asa and Lauren from With Love, From Cold World was just a wonderful bonus!

I love a good childhood friends to lovers story. Add in the ten years they were practically strangers and you have me hooked. I loved the premise of a band reunion on a cruise ship as part of a fan gathering for a tv show. This is definitely something I would go to in real life for something I was obsessed with. I wanted John’s story since we met him in With Love, from Cold World. It was fun to see the Asa, Lauren, and the housemates again. We get bits and pieces of John and Micah as friends when they were young, but John has always loved Micah. As they get to know each other again after years of not speaking, we get to see them reconnect and fall in love. This book touched on Micah’s anxiety and panic attacks but I think that could have been explored a bit more. I do think then mention of medications and therapy was a good start to show how Micah works on managing her mental health. Overall a great read that really made me want to go on a cruise!

4.5! I loved With Love, From Cold World so I was so excited to get to see more of those characters again.

I loved so many elements of this book! John and Micah were childhood best friends and bandmates. After an abrupt break up of the band, John and Micah don’t stay in touch. Years later the band is asked to come together again to play on a cruise for a fandom, giving John and Micah the chance to reconnect.

Y’all there is so much pining and yearning in this book. Throughout the book you get flashbacks and moments from their years growing up together, adding a wonderful nostalgia and depth to their relationship.

John is steady, patient, and tender. He’s been pining for Micah for all these years. He provides so much love and reassurance. Micah has spent a lot of years harshly criticizing herself and questioning what she deserves, questioning herself and her talents but never questioning that John, her Johnny, was the greatest friend she’d ever had.

As they navigate their way back to friendship, they start to finally give way to something more!

This book is giving adult, emo, lemonade mouth and I was EATING it up!

read for:
Bi Rep
“It’s always been you“
Childhood friends to lovers
Pining/yearning
Childhood best friends/bandmates that are estranged and reunite on a cruise ship
Forced proximity
Musicians

was a bit slow to get through, not sure if it was because it was in 3rd person or if i just had a lot on my plate while i was reading. it started to pick up a lot more in the back half and i did end up enjoying it! i thought that the plot was very interesting- having a whole band reunite after a rocky breakup, including a previous relationship involved, and a relationship that was always meant to be. yeah a lot of dynamics with this one and i really ended up liking how everything ended up !!!

This is a good book about a reunion full of nostalgia and unrequited love.

Micah and John were best friends who stopped talking to each other after their band broke up. It was clear they had a deep connection and were attracted to each other. He had always loved her but never shared. She missed her best friend and started to see him in a different light. While I loved their journey, I felt there were gaps.

The cruise was fun and I like most of the other characters. There was a lot of internal introspection for Micah and John that felt a bit dragged on and boring.

Overall, I did enjoy this story but it did not hit as hard as i expected.

Thanks so much to Berkley Romance for providing the free ARC. This is my honest review!

This is such a fun rockstar romance, with music, nostalgia, and some of my favorite tropes: childhood friends to lovers & second chance. And since they are on a cruise ship, it’s such an original way for some forced proximity!

Micah & John were best friends growing up and then part of a one hit wonder band as teenagers. Micah made a decision that blew up the band & tore up their friendship. Ten years later, the supernatural teen show where their song played a big part is having a themed cruise. And the show wants the band reunite to appear & perform on the ship. Both don’t really want to get on the ship, but they do want to see each other.

And what follows is such an enjoyable story, with some wonderful and relatable characters. I really loved Micah & John, and how their past was so well thought out & led them to where their relationship is now. I can easily see being friends with them or since I’m probably not cool enough, just being a huge fan of their band lol.. There’s also some great LGBTQ+ representation with several of the characters, including Micah. The mental health & anxiety representation was also done well.

I was excited to see in the author’s notes that John is featured in one of her earlier books, so I’m definitely going to read that one soon!