Shipped by Angie Hockman
Contemporary Romance
January 19, 2021 by Gallery

As soon as I saw this book compared to both The Unhoneymooners and The Hating Game I knew I had to read. I can see the comparisons. Shipped is a mix of enemies to lovers and forced proximity trope. It wasn’t quite as funny as The Unhoneymooners and not quite as angsty as The Hating Game, but for a debut author it’s very good and I really enjoyed my time spent reading.

The heroine of Shipped is Henley Evans and she has set her sights on a promotion that will make all her hard work as the marketing manager for a small cruise line and time spent on her MBA worth it. There is just one person in her way, Graeme Crawford- Collins. When they are forced onto a cruise by their boss with directions to come up with a new marketing campaign, the competition is on. Or is it?

The good news is for an enemy to lover trope, the enemy is rather lovely and there isn’t a whole lot of rancor and fighting. This is more like a misunderstanding to lovers with two very likable and relatable characters who had a nice amount of chemistry. The build-up of their relationship was well done and believable. I wish there had been at least one open door love scene, but I guess you can’t have everything.

The secondary and support characters were awesome and I really hope readers get to see them again. Lots of women supporting women and sisters loving each other. I also liked seeing this author deal with the workplace sexism and bias Henley faced.

Shipped is a fun, romantic read and I really enjoyed.

Final grade- B

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Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler
Moose Springs, Alaska #2
Contemporary Romance
October 6, 2020 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Having read the first book in the Moose Springs, Alaska series, The Tourist Attraction, and really enjoyed, I jumped at the chance to read the follow-up.

This book started out slow for me. Maybe I wasn’t as invested in the main protagonists as I was with the first book, or maybe the pacing felt slower… I’m not absolutely sure, but I did put this book down for awhile before I decided to pick it back up again to get caught up and ready for book three.

When I picked it back up I still struggled to keep my attention on reading, and ultimately skimmed some of the relationship-building to get to the end. This is Lana and Rick’s story and just like the first book features a whole lot of local politics and the town not wanting to the tourism industry. This is a problem since Lana’s real estate company owns so much of the town and wants to bring even more tourists to the area. Rick is a local small business owner and all-around nice guy who falls for her.

Lana and Rick are sweet together. Their chemistry falls more into the soft, gentle side category rather the hot and heavy with lust, but it worked for this couple. They become friends and then slowly move on to more. There is a power dynamic that kind of complicates things since Lana is from a big family-owned corporate company that owns so much of the town, including Rick’s pool hall, and Rick barely has two nickels to rub together and is behind on his rent. I was wondering how this relationship would even work, but the author does an okay job of crafting their HEA.

In the end, I’m glad I went back and finished this book. I believe this series is better read in order rather than as stand-alones and now I’m ready to dive into Easton’s book.

Final grade- C-

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Enjoy the View by Sarah Morgenthaler
Moose Springs, Alaska #3
Contemporary Romance
January 19, 2021 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t the book I’ve been anticipating the most in the Moose Springs, Alaska series. To me, Easton was THE character that I couldn’t wait to see get their HEA. Big, bearded, gruff, loyal Easton.

Turns out his HEA shows up in Moose Springs looking to film a documentary for the Tourism Board and hoping to revive her career. She and Easton meet when she is walking down the side of the road trying to film and he pulls up offering her a ride. River Lane is an outsider and as readers have seen over the course of this series, the one thing Moose Springs residents don’t care for is tourists and outsiders. Even if they do keep falling in love with them.

I enjoyed River and Easton’s romance. They had this chemistry that just jumped off the page right from the beginning. Their back and forth sass and witty banter was so fun and kept me turning pages. They just seemed so right for each other. Then they went up a mountain to film and their love story just bloomed. *happy sigh*

There were times I wanted to yell at River for her obviously stupid decisions. So many stupid, dangerous decisions while up on that mountain, but I will say I will remember the scene where she and Easton summitted for a good long while. And I really liked the shape their HEA took. It worked for both of them and for me as a reader.

I just read on the author’s website that there will be a fourth book in the series featuring Easton’s sister, Ashtyn, and this makes me so happy. (And I think she is being paired with Killian, which makes me just about ecstatic.)

Enjoy the View is my favorite of the series so far and I happily recommend.

Final Grade- B-

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