Shipped

         

Title: Shipped

Author: Angie Hockman

Publisher: Gallery Books, January 19, 2021

Pages: 335

Genre: Contemporary Rom-Com

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?

I want to go on this cruise. I don't want to pay for this cruise. Are you kidding me? But it sounds awesome! Kayaking and hiking and snorkeling around the Galapagos?! Sign me the heck up for the raffle or the grand prize please! 

So. This is a workplace enemies to lovers book set on a cruise. Henley is doing the most. When you first meet her she tells you how much she loves her job and her career. She's going to school and just nose to the grindstone to accomplish her goals. I'm glad she figured it out in the end because I was not convinced that this was her dream job, that's for sure.

But then there's Graeme. What a pain in her neck. And now they're up for the same promotion. To get that promotion, they have to go on a cruise, together, and come up with a proposal to increase their sales in the Galapagos region. And, man, I DID believe that she wanted to beat Graeme for this promotion specifically!

But then she actually meets Graeme in person. And everything she expects from him seems to be based on the fact that he's been working remotely the entire time. So his terse responses are due to him setting boundaries and prioritizing his time. The reason she's hated him the entire time they've worked together boils down to a miscommunication of course. He keeps exceeding her expectations and is actually really hot, of course.

This book was great. I would 1000% watch a movie based on this book. It would be hilarious. Shockingly, I feel like this would be a better movie, which feels slightly sacrilegious. The imagery was spectacular, and I would love to see that movie. Full disclosure, there are discussions of parent death and grief, be gentle with yourselves.

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 1/5