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riddlemesphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
🌶 Additional Spiciness Rating 🌶: 0.5 🌶
Since it was a finalist for the Goodread Awards last year, I wanted to like Shipped so much more than I did. The concept is great and there was really a sense of adventure in the Galapagos. The love interest, Graeme, is as bland as his nickname (“Graham Cracker”) and the chemistry was lacklustre at best. Likely due to the fact that the main character Henley is jdeeply unlikable and feels like she was generated by AI. (In the opening scene she bemoans how hard her life is as a 20-something white girl who works in marketing and has student loans while she munches on a quinoa salad and drinks a glass of Pinot Grigio.)
Her work as a marketing director and her competitive hatred for Graeme were really the only facets of her personality. In a scene in which Graeme talks about all the qualities he loves about her, the author is forced to add in anecdotes about her kindness and generosity that happened completely off the page. The family drama subplot is deeply contrived and completely unnecessary as well— I could have done without the sister character altogether.
Since it was a finalist for the Goodread Awards last year, I wanted to like Shipped so much more than I did. The concept is great and there was really a sense of adventure in the Galapagos. The love interest, Graeme, is as bland as his nickname (“Graham Cracker”) and the chemistry was lacklustre at best. Likely due to the fact that the main character Henley is jdeeply unlikable and feels like she was generated by AI. (In the opening scene she bemoans how hard her life is as a 20-something white girl who works in marketing and has student loans while she munches on a quinoa salad and drinks a glass of Pinot Grigio.)
Her work as a marketing director and her competitive hatred for Graeme were really the only facets of her personality. In a scene in which Graeme talks about all the qualities he loves about her, the author is forced to add in anecdotes about her kindness and generosity that happened completely off the page. The family drama subplot is deeply contrived and completely unnecessary as well— I could have done without the sister character altogether.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
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