I can’t believe it’s the last day of September already! Where has the year gone?
Later on today I’ll be posting my monthly wrap up for September but, for now, I thought I’d share a review of the last book I read this month (I nearly didn’t get up for work this morning as I was almost finished!): Shipped by Angie Hockman.
Blurb
Two arch-rivals.
One promotion.
Can they resist falling for one another in paradise?
Marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for her dream promotion, the sacrifices finally seem worth it.
If only Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager/bane of her existence, wasn’t also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.
The task: draft a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos.
The catch? They have to go on a company cruise…together.
But when they meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined – and the line between loathing and liking is thinner than a postcard.
With her career dreams in sight 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?
My Thoughts
We’re not even into next month yet but, this morning, I managed to tick off a book on my October TBR.
Although the cold nights seem to be rolling in, Shipped is an enemies to lovers story that brings the heat and plenty of it.
The book follows Henley Evans, a woman spinning so many plates she might as well be a circus performer. After years of reading books featuring manic pixie dream girls, it’s refreshing to read books about women with big dreams, goals and also realistic problems.
I liked Henley as a protagonist. I assumed she’d annoy me but, aside from a few misunderstandings, the opposite proved to be true. I was rooting for Henley the whole way through.
Behind almost every female romance novel protagonist is an annoying, but attractive man and Graham fits the bill. At first, he’s the stereotypical male character: attractive, a bit menacing and determined to get under the female protagonists skin. Of course, as the narrative unfolds, the reader sees there’s more to Graham than Henley and the reader in turn thought.
I wasn’t initially sure of the two of them but, much like Blue Hawaiian and Red Velvet , the chemistry between them is undeniable and electric. I’m glad there was banter between them first, as a lot of similar books have their romantic leads in bed practically straight away. There was a waiting game for these characters but I think this made things feel more real and the romance was nice to read.
I also have to give a shout out to the fact that Hockman writes about female friendship in a brilliant way. Shipped isn’t just about the romance, it’s also about women supporting each other and just being nice people. I liked that there wasn’t a female love rival, though there was a moment I thought there would be one, and it was just women being there for each other. More of this in contemporary fiction, please!
My only gripe with this book is that I wanted an epilogue. The ending wasn’t lacking but I just thought, after waiting a while for the romance, we deserved to know what happened next..instead of an open ending.
Regardless, Shipped is a well-written enemies to lovers story with substance.
You can follow Angie Hockman on her website, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
You can buy this book here.
Jen Rose Writes🌹 
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