Graeme is patient, thoughtful, and gentle – the perfect balance to Henley, who says “I haven’t met a problem yet that I couldn’t solve with single-minded determination and a whole hell of a lot of effort” and desperately needs some respite.
Graeme’s interest in Henley is endearingly obvious and their little striptease when they’re required to pick out wetsuits for snorkeling is adorable. Their initial enemies relationship is based more on crossed wires (in this case almost literally) than inborn animosity. Henley and Graeme’s chemistry does more than enough heavy lifting to get this a recommending grade I’d classify it (the chemistry) as among the best in the books I’ve reviewed in the last year. Walsh, by some miracle, manages to keep from third-wheeling both Henley and the book. On shore, Henley comes across as stereotypical for a romance heroine she imagines a fantasy boyfriend appearing “holding a dozen tacos and chocolate cake”, and her female relationships – with her coworker friends and her sister – consist of mostly booze and admonishments to “show him what a badass boss bitch you are.” Once on the high seas, however, Shipped becomes an engaging enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity romance. Despite the efforts of her sister and a Russian chiropractor on a break-up trip, Henley finds herself intensely taken with Graeme. Tragically, Henley also brings along her little (relatively-she’s an adult, but younger than Henley) sister, Walsh, who is, it initially seems, eternally unmoored from responsibilities. The company ships them out on a cruise to the Galapagos Islands for active inspiration.
Henley learns she and Graeme are competing for a promotion and that the person who clinches it will be whoever comes up with the best new marketing proposal. She fills her days with work, MBA classes, and a feud with her WFH coworker Graeme Crawford-Collins, who she believes to have deliberately taken credit for a well-received project of hers. Henley Rose Evans works in marketing for a small-scale international cruising company, Seaquest Adventures. Angie Hockman’s Shipped is a diverting novel that suffers from an unfortunate case of whiplash as it hops between genres without warning.
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