OBSESSED

if this flops i stg!!!!!

this is my second book of alicia’s and ive been really hoping for John’s book after meeting him in with love from cold world, i was high key obsessed with him and his little cameos and my god his story did not disappoint 🤭

i was hooked on this book from the moment i started it till i finished, i actually had to force myself to stop reading it at 9:30 last night because i knew that if i didnt stop then id stay up and binge read the thing in one go 😂

john and micah had off the charts chemistry so much so that it made me feel like i wanted to explode from the second these two were finally in the same room as one another after a decade of being not talking or seeing each other. i really enjoyed that they didnt beat around the bush in getting together, there were the obvious few little hiccups that come with a second chance but nothing major and it was such a nice change of pace from what i feel im used to in other books.

(also these two are just fucking hot as hell ok, the smut had me foaming at the mouth)

i saw another reviewer say that alicia writes romances for the anxious girlies and i wholeheartedly agree, there was something just so comforting about reading this the entire time, it was like even though i KNOW theres high stakes involved here i also knew that everything was gonna be totally fine.

im seriously looking forward to when i can get my hands on the audiobook of this bc hearing john & micah come to life?!?! itll be such an insane experience 🤭

I really enjoyed this book! The story was engaging, the characters were well-developed, and the writing kept me hooked. It was a great read from start to finish, and I’d definitely recommend it to others!

This is my first Alicia Thompson novel, and she is officially on my auto-read author list! I absolutely loved this book!

Contrary to the title, I was shipping Micah and John HARD. John won my heart fairly quickly; there's something so endearing about a man pining after his best friend for years. It was understandable that John didn't want to risk his friendship with Micah, and her relationship with another band member added more concrete evidence for why he held his feelings back. Micah's free-spirited personality was charming, and her character arc drew me in as a reader. She grew as a person and singer, and I was rooting for her the whole time. John's patience with Micah was also attractive.

The spice?! Alicia had me SWEATING, it was SO hot! I am still thinking about their first hook-up... and the stage hook-up... and the alcove make-out. Be right back, need to go fan myself.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group, for my e-ARC! Per your guidelines, I plan to publish my full review on Goodreads ( review linked below) a week before the release date on June 10. I have rated the book five stars on Goodreads and let my audience know the full review is coming. Please feel free to email me at karentalksbooks@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7228846955

It's so middle of the road I don't even know how to talk about it. No stand outs. None. So, I guess I'll settle for being satisfied with the fact of nothing standing out for unpleasant reasons either.

To me...This one was just alright. I was pretty excited about the idea of a cruise and while certain aspects of it really lived up for me, others totally missed the mark. Cute story overall!

3.5/5.0

thank you berkley publishing & netgalley for a copy of this arc <3

2/5 ⭐️

i had such high hopes for this one ): i hate to say it but i don’t think i cared for these characters at all. it was hard to stay invested in their story given that i wasn’t really rooting for them to begin with. i feel like a past & present pov would’ve taken the storyline to a whole other level. i was 53% of the way through and still didn’t understand the history of what had happened between the band and them. like it was being hinted at but i thought the fall out was going to be more dramatic?? am i the problem?? their connection felt more lust than love and i think that’s my main issue. it felt like a whole lot of filler and not a lot of plot.

again thank you to berkley & netgalley for this arc!

This was friends to lovers, dual POV, former bandmates, second chance, forced proximity perfection, featuring John and Micah who find themselves on a reunion anniversary tour cruise for five days. Tensions run hot, the mutual pining was ELECTRIC and I just couldn't get enough!! There was some cameos from With love, from Cold world that I enjoyed SO MUCH and the found family, rockstar vibes were the absolute BEST!!! HIGHLY recommended for fans of books like Luck and last resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz or For one night only by Jessica James. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!!!!!

Never Been Shipped was the band reunion book of my dreams! I had such high hopes for this book, and boy did Alicia Thompson deliver.

If you asked Micah Presley, former lead singer of ElectricOh! where she sees herself, it definitely wasn’t on a cruise in the middle of the ocean with her estranged bandmates. But that’s where she finds herself when an opportunity arises to get the band back together for a special cruise. The band didn’t leave on the best of terms, but the most heartbreaking part was losing her childhood best friend and the band’s guitar player, John Populin. Fulfilling the obligations required of the band keeps thrusting everyone together, drudging up emotions and reopening old wounds. But it also has Micah looking at John in a new way, or perhaps how she’s always seen him but never wanted to admit to herself. Is this cruise a chance to explore their feelings, or has that ship sailed?

What a book! I am a big fan of Alicia Thompson, but she truly outdid herself with Never Been Shipped. In fact, I loved the story so much, I’ve already marked my calendar for when it comes out so I can snag a physical copy for my bookshelf.

The angst and tension between Micah and John were off the charts! I loved that this book had the “he falls first trope” (which is highly underrated in my opinion) and featured a very unique take on forced proximity with the cruise ship. I also really enjoyed the little cameos from all my favorite With Love, From Cold World characters! I have a feeling, this is going to be THE book to read this summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC!

DNF @35%

Romance in the third person should be illegal. This is so shallow. I don't even care to know anything about the characters.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚𝕻𝖗𝖊-𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

I've heard so many good reviews about this author let's hope I love it. Received the eARC from Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group 🫶🏻

🌊 All aboard the nostalgia cruise! This electric romance takes us back to the world of band breakups, second chances, and five days at sea where anything can happen.

🎶 Micah’s rules:
1️ Don’t lose herself in the music again.
2️ Don’t fall for anyone, especially not John.

…..But the thing about old flames? They tend to reignite when you least expect it.

🎸 John’s dilemma:
He’s never been one to steal the spotlight—on stage or in love. But now that Micah is back, his heart is strumming a different tune.

✨ What to Expect:
• Band reunion drama 🎵
• Long-overdue confessions 💬
• Heart-pounding chemistry ❤️‍🔥
• Tension-packed rehearsals 🎤
• Gorgeous ocean views 🌅

💔 Can they turn their reunion into a love story that lasts, or is this just a one-hit wonder?

📖 For fans of:
• Second-chance romance
• Slow-burn relationships 🔥
• Music-themed love stories 🎼
• Cruises with a side of drama 🌊

#NeverBeenShipped #AliciaThompson #SecondChanceRomance #BandReunionLove #CruiseRomance #SlowBurn #MusicAndLove #OneHitWonderOrForever #RomComReads #BerkleyPublishing #NetGalley

oh this was so much fun to read! the characters were amazing to follow on with and the story had me hooked from the beginning. one thing about me is that i'll always be a sucker for a good romcom with a musician!

Alicia Thompson writes delightful romance novels that I absolutely love! Her latest book, “Never Been Shipped,” revolves around estranged best friends and bandmates who haven't seen each other in years since their band fell apart. Micah and John find themselves reuniting when their band agrees to perform on a themed cruise. Although Micah feels apprehensive about getting the band back together, she is grateful to see her childhood best friend, John. They have always shared a deep friendship, but could there be the potential for something more?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish! The chemistry between John and Micah was palpable, and I appreciated their organic journey together. As someone who is drawn to music-based romances, I found their story particularly captivating. Alicia did a fantastic job with this 5-star gem! I look forward to reading anything and everything Alicia Thompson publishes in the future!

This was hands down one of my favorite reads I’ve had the pleasure of reading in months. When I go into a book the best things to look for are a compelling story, captivating writing and characters I can stand behind and see the layers they have. And this book not only had that all but completely knocked it out of the park for me. I felt the plot was one of the most unique I have read in awhile. A reunion on a cruise ship with the tension and gag of an exhorted, an ex best friend and what years of regret can do to you. Each character is this story was so complex and I found myself completely falling for them each time one layer got pulled back and I got know more about them. The story that somehow had you living in both the past and the present along side the characters without getting side tracked in the history is hard to do but I found myself wanting 200 more pages of just them. I love the diversity in this book and how every character had a backstory you couldn’t help but adore. Micah was such a beautiful character who has been dealt a hard hand in life that she sunk into a less version of herself and how in discovering and opening up about the past helps her grow again in the future. John has such a beautifully quiet personality but when you spoke you hung onto every word he said because you knew he spoke with such feelings. The tension and easy banter between these two had me rooting for them to get it together and info their way back to each other but I love how easily they made sure their friendship was their first foundation to their relationship. Absolutely wonderful book. This is my first read by this author and now I need to go back and read all their work.

Could this book be described as Daisy Jones & The Six meets Titanic? Wait, scratch that! At least the ship doesn’t hit an iceberg, and Jack—pardon me, John—doesn’t freeze to death because his partner is too selfish to share her space. Okay, let’s stop comparing this book to other works and let me tell you how it made me feel.

I wanted to wrap John in a cocoon and protect him. From the beginning, I was firmly on his team. Micah, on the other hand, made some significant mistakes. She felt like the Yoko Ono of the group, tearing them apart a decade ago when they were rising stars at 17. She cut ties with everyone, released a solo album, and then disappeared from the music industry entirely. For years, she focused on living in Silver Lake (my personal opinion about that neighborhood aside) and helping her sister’s beauty salon while resting on her music industry fame.

Now, Micah’s father—also her manager—pushes her to accept a reunion gig, which involves performing on a cruise ship as part of a big TV show panel featuring their hit song. This means she must face her old bandmates, some of whom still hold grudges over the group’s breakup. Among them is Ryder, her ex-boyfriend, with whom she had a messy breakup. But the silver lining? She also gets to reunite with John, her former best friend, whom she hasn’t heard from in nearly a decade. Is John angry at her for ghosting him?

From John’s perspective, he’s been struggling to make a name for himself in the music industry. He shares a house with a large group of roommates who have become his makeshift family. John has quietly harbored feelings for Micah since they were kids. When she started dating Ryder, he kept those feelings bottled up and acted like nothing was wrong. Now, seeing Micah again and playing alongside her on the cruise reignites those old emotions. Can they still be friends after ten years of silence and exclusion? Or could they start over? The chemistry and tension between them are undeniable—so strong it feels like they might tear each other’s clothes off. But is this just chemistry, or is there something deeper that could change their futures forever? Should they take a chance on love again, even if it means risking everything?

Overall: I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 for my love of band romances and second-chance romances! The cruise ship setting adds a fun and fresh dynamic. Once again, Alicia Thompson didn’t disappoint!

A very big thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for providing this lovely romance’s digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for a copy of this book.

Never Been Shipped by Alicia Thompson was a good read. I haven’t read any of her stories before but I did enjoy this one.

John and Micah’s story has been coming for years. These two were best friends until everything exploded and now they are all on a cruise together. The whole band. We follow along as this group is put together to play some of their songs. It’s a bit awkward at first until some things are brought to light. I enjoyed the back stories and really enjoyed when these two started to talk things out. And in the end…love wins.

A great enjoyable read.

Never Been Shipped was a fun read, if a little underdeveloped plot-wise. The FMC and MMC were charming and easy to root for. I enjoyed the unique situation (band reunion on a themed cruise), and the yearning on John's part was top-notch.

alicia has done it again!!! this book was absolutely amazing and i loved it very much

micah and john were such wonderful characters (,: their love for one another was so tender and soft and just gave me the most homey vibes ever. i loved how much their friendship mattered to eachother.

the early 2000s show vibes were truly everything. the whole plot was actually so genius and amazing.

i also really loved the representation in this book. getting a bisexual fmc is so rare but does not go under appreciated!!! and i loved the non binary rep with frankie.

overall i really loved this book and would definitely recommend to everyone. thank you netgalley and berkley for the arc in exchange for an honest review !!

I loved loved loved this book! The vibes were so perfect!

First, childhood best friends to lovers is definitely the BEST way to do friends to lovers. There is this level of pining there that just hits different, and this book really did that well. Plus.. he falls first!? Yes please! Sign me up!! John was the sweetest most steadfast presence in this book, but daannngggg the bedroom mouth on this man! 5 stars all around! I love him, your honor!

I found the band drama to be a really good way to add drama to this story without the author needing to go out of their way to invent a lot of extra drama that usually really irritates me in books. The drama felt genuine to the story and served to push the band dynamics forward, which I really appreciated and thought was well done. Plus the band was made up of fun side characters I (mostly) enjoyed.

I also feel that this story dredged up my own sense of nostalgia from the cruise itself, because I watched the types of shows they were talking about when I was a teen. It was fun to think of my own teen days as a throwback while reading.

Overall VERY fun read! I really loved it! Huge thank you to Alicia Thompson and Berkley for the ARC of this wonderful book!

I feel like I should put a disclaimer before I go any further with this review. No you don’t have to worry about spoilers. But I wanted to be upfront about my back and fourth attitudes with Alicia Thompson books. For example I loved “The Art of Catching Feelings” by her but I absolutely hated “With Love, From Cold World”. It’s been a constant tug of war with her books. So going into “Never Been Shipped” I was nervous. The concept sounded right up my alley. Former band members reuniting for a reunion cruise with the possibility of rekindling a friend’s to lovers relationship. All tropes that are immediately up my alley. Like seriously where can we go wrong. Well sadly there were some parts that went wrong, were meh but also still weirdly enjoyed. If that isn’t the most confusing sentence I’ve ever type I don’t know what is.

But I digress let’s get this review going. First, the pacing. Oh good lord the pacing dragged. There were moments where I seriously contemplated DNFing but decided against it because I really liked John and I really wanted him to have a happily ever after. So I pushed on and finally about 43% through I was actually starting to really enjoy and get invested in these characters. But that first 42% dear lord it was boring. And often left me screaming at Micah that she needs to go to therapy.

Next up, the romance. This one I have a love/hate relationship with. Again I love John I want the world for this man. However,at times I felt like he could do so much better than Micah. Thankfully Micah gained more emotional depth as the story progressed. And overall I did enjoy watching the two of them come together. Plus the “smut” scenes I got give it to Alicia. Those were some fabulous scenes ;)

Overall, this isn’t my favorite book by Alicia. But I’d still highly recommend it especially for my friends for lovers girlies.

Lastly big thank you to netgalley and berkley publishing for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

If I could, I would live in this book and how it made me feel forever. Alicia Thompson writes romances for the anxious girls- she notices and writes such intricate details about her characters and their interactions, and it makes for such a lovely and immersive reading experience. She understands how trauma can inform everything you do- like of course John takes pristine care of his instruments. With a second chance romance, you want yearning and let me tell you- there is so much longing and angst and little moments of Micah wanting John and John wanting Micah that really make the relationship feel earned. This book (not surprisingly) is all about music, and there's so much to dig into- what it means to put yourself into music, how playing songs over and over again change their meaning, etc. While we definitely had to wait awhile for any song lyrics, they were genuinely perfect- especially the ones at the end. I really liked the third act conflict, it felt realistic but also gave me just enough emotional turmoil. This was my most anticipated of the year and it was everything and then some!