Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Shipped

AUTHOR: S Rodman

PUBLISHER: Dark Angst Publishing

LENGTH: 5184 kb

RELEASE DATE: January 14, 2023

BLURB:

Is fake dating your enemy, a price worth paying for fame and fortune?

Kit Rivers has finally hit the big time. Not only has he been cast in a leading role in a TV show, it unexpectedly becomes a huge hit. Screaming fans, stalkers the whole thing. Kit is loving it. It is everything he
has ever dreamed of and worked hard for.

He doesn’t mind that there are pages and pages of online fanfic shipping his character with his male co-star.

Gorgeous Mackenzie Jones is Hollywood royalty. Someone who was handed fame and fortune on a plate. He rarely deigns to talk to anyone on set. He is cold, aloof and rude. Doing his scenes and fleeing as soon as
possible. Kit can’t stand him.

He knows former child stars are usually troubled, but he doesn’t think Mackenzie’s prickly nature hides dark and shocking secrets.

The man is just infuriating. Criminally stunning. Outrageously talented and able to haunt Kit’s every thought.

When the producers decide to write the ship into the show, Kit is not excited, he is resigned. He can see the sense of it. He wants his career to continue to bloom. Kissing scenes and more with the awful Mackenzie
are a price he is willing to pay.

But then the producers come up with a plan to drive the fans really wild.

Pretend to fall in love for real.

Tell the world he is dating Mackenzie.

Even though Kit is straight.

Dinners and romantic retreats, all while making sure the paparazzi get juicy shots.

Kit can’t imagine anything worse, but it’s not like a bit of fake dating ever led to anything, is it?

Shipped contains; fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, bi-awakening and hurt/comfort.

REVIEW:

Hollywood Royalty and the rising star are thrown together on set. Regardless of their initial positions on the Kinsey Scale, and the off-screen coldness, their chemistry in front of the camera is undeniable. When the studio researchers suggest that Kit and Mackenzie have a fake off-screen relationship, more than their sexuality is exposed.

Initially, this story read as your standard Hollywood actors-to-lovers scenario, but then it took a twist that elevated it into a tale to remember.

The story is told in the first person primarily from Kit’s viewpoint. Mackenzie’s voice begins around the 40% mark. Until that point, he remains the aloof talented star with masks, which all adds to the worldbuilding that was suitable to my tastes. Technically, autonomous body parts are somewhat borderline, as I can understand their use (e.g., my mind expects XYZ), but the wording could have been better.

Because actors primarily live for the world of fantasy and the adoration it brings, it is difficult to determine when a person’s affections are real or fake. This aspect of the story comes over clearly, alongside self-doubt issues, adding logical confusion and mixed signals between Kit and Mackenzie.

The cast list was minimal, with the focus on Kit and Mackenzie – kudos to the author for not getting sidetracked. Kit and Mackenzie entered Hollywood in very different ways. Hence, Mackenzie has an ingrained knowledge of its mechanics, well-formed masks, and a path set by others, while Kit has a naïve freedom that allows him to forge his own future. Kit soon learns that life behind gilded walls can be so different from the public perception.

The story comes with warnings that should be heeded. Although their inclusion is not visually explicit, they form the basis of what makes Shipped an engaging different tale to read, giving the heartstrings something to cry and cheer over.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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