Shipped

Henley Evans is a marketing manager for SeaQuest, a Seattle-based cruise line. She’s smart, talented and creative but is stagnating in her job. When an opportunity arises for a promotion where she’s considered the leading candidate, her excitement is dashed when she learns that Graeme Crawford-Collins, the man who manages their social media remotely from Michigan is her chief competition. Henley had a distasteful experience with him in the past and resents that he’s even a contender. Things get even more uncomfortable when as part of the evaluation, they’re both sent on a cruise together to the Galápagos Islands where each is tasked with developing a proposal to increase the profitability of that excursion. I was in the mood for something light and entertaining and thought this sounded like the perfect story. I actually got quite a bit more substance than I bargained for as the issues Henley had to deal with on the job brought back memories of my own. Struggling to be heard in a male-dominated environment, second guessing myself when my ideas were the best being offered and being forced to compete with lesser candidates because of my gender. Henley’s reactions were so authentic and I loved her network of professional women who were not only supportive but gave sound advice. Now to the romance. Graeme was absolutely wonderful, not even close to the man Henley thought him to be (thank goodness). His patience with her was borne from a deep-seated admiration that had grown through their professional interactions. Their developing relationship during the cruise was well crafted, even if she was immature and annoying at times. The supporting characters were substantive and interesting (Nikolai was a riot!), rounding out the story. The ending, though, was the stuff dreams are made of, which satisfied me just fine. I ended up loving the narrator after initially thinking she sounded too young. Her voice for Graeme was superb and she nailed the others, making this an enjoyable listening experience. Lastly, but just as importantly, the descriptions of the Galápagos Islands were expertly researched and set my imagination on fire, easily transporting me to that locale. Some books show up at just the right time and that’s the way this worked for me. (Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)

Angie Hockman...for your first book this was insanely enjoyable and giggle worthy. I absolutely did not want to stop listening to this audiobook. The story of Henley and Graeme was so endearing and you truly routed for them. The other characters in the book were masterfully woven in. I loved the details of the islands laid into the story as well. It also laid out how women do route for one another in the workplace it's not a cat fight as most stories seem to show, so I definitely appreciated that. I adored this book and can't wait for your next one. Maybe the other characters in the book get featured books? Such an enjoyable book. 5 stars!!