SHIPPED

SYNOPSIS

Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.

The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.

Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands...together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.

With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?

Title: Shipped

Author: Angie Hockman

Publisher: Gallery Books

Publication date: January 19, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a cute and fun story to listen to! After several thrillers in a row I was in serious need of a lighter read and Shipped proved to be the perfect choice.

Henley and Graeme are co-workers and archenemies (at least on Henley's part) even though they've never met in person. When they both come up for the same promotion at the cruise line where they work they're sent on a cruise to the Galápagos Islands to work on some new marketing ideas worthy of the new position at stake.

Yes, you guessed it! This is an enemies to lovers workplace romance story, with the peculiarity of its gorgeous setting. I've never been a fan of cruises but I would go on that Galápagos Island cruise RIGHT NOW! Well, honestly, right now I would go anywhere just to get out of the house!

Henley and Graeme were both great characters and I warmed up to both from the very beginning, although she had some moments of "really, gurrrl?". They had amazing chemistry and their banter while they are in their enemies phase was so fun. I would have loved some more of the enemies part once they meet in real life.

The cast of supporting characters was really lovable. I would gladly go back to their world to revisit some of their stories.

Although it is a light and fun read it also brings attention to some heavy matters like environmental issues and domestic abuse (although this one came out of left field a little bit).

The audiobook version was really good and the narrator did a fantastic job with the different voices and accents (Nicolai's!).

Sweet little rom-com that will have you packing for the Galápagos in the blink of an eye.