Never Been Shipped

By: Alicia Thompson

Narrated by: Ellie Gossage

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

A band reunion may be enough to change two musicians' tune on love in this electric romance from USA Today bestselling author Alicia Thompson.

Micah's relationship to music is complicated. As teenagers, her band took off after being featured on a popular TV show, but the group barely released their sophomore album before breaking up. Now, over a decade later, the band is reuniting for one more performance on a themed cruise, and Micah is determined to learn from her past mistakes -- no losing herself in the music, and no losing her heart along the way.

John misses playing in a band, and mostly he misses Micah, who'd been his best friend until the music stopped. Back then, he didn't take the lead, either in his guitar parts or while he sat back and watched her date another bandmate. John's never been one to rock the boat, but he's faced with another chance now that this cruise has brought music -- and Micah -- back in his life.

Onboard, Micah can't help but see John with brand new eyes, and John's feelings only intensify as the discordant band's tension grows to a breaking point. With five days at sea, there's a ticking clock on anything that might develop between them, and they'll have to decide if their relationship is destined to be more than a one-hit wonder.

For the elder emos

If you love the lore behind Paramore, this book will give you the warm, angry fuzzies. Imagine the band Paramore sets sail on a fan cruise for The Vampire Diaries. I’m leaving it at that because that’s truly the only summary you need. This was such a fun read for me. The miscommunication trope had me grinding my teeth. The pining had me pining for these characters to get together. It was funny. It was spicy. Give me more books like this. 😅

Fun premise, disappointing story

Had a hard time connecting with this one! One of the things I like most about Alicia Thompson's writing is her characters: she has a knack for writing realistically flawed characters and showcases their vulnerabilities and fears in a way that advances the relationship. Unfortunately, I found John and Micah to be surface level here and their interactions were very repetitive.

That said, the premise and setting were both fantastic and her writing was excellent as always. I would still recommend this, but it's not my favorite of hers by a long shot.

Too woke

I do not enjoy books that are too woke. It takes me out of the story and I read to escape.