The Shippers by Katherine Center: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

One of the hottest, fastest-rising rom-com stars delivers her latest swoon-worthy novel about a destination wedding on a cruise ship.

After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly-divorced wedding guest ), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and it’s agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.

Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.

No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. THE SHIPPERS will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.

The Author

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of over half a dozen books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down―and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many more. Bestselling author Emily Henry calls her summer 2022 book, The Bodyguard, “a shot of pure joy.” The movie adaptation of Katherine’s novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is now a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Book Review

I have heard a lot of great things about Katherine Center's books over the last several years, but somehow, I'd never actually had the chance to read one of her books, so I was excited to finally do so with this one. And I have to say, I do understand the hype... this was really cute! JoJo and Cooper had such a fun dynamic. We're introduced to them at the start with JoJo about to marry the wrong man, and her childhood best friend Cooper showing up just in time to help her out of it... convincing JoJo she's bad at love and deciding to pursue her first crush/kiss during her sister's cruise wedding... with Cooper's help. The more time they spend together, the more evident their chemistry becomes... and when secrets are revealed it has JoJo questioning everything she thought she knew. This was a fun summer romance and one perfect for fans of friends-to-love. This may have been my first Katherine Center book, but I could definitely see myself reading more from her in the future. 

The Shippers is a closed-door romance with implied intimacy and heavier innuendo, mentions of hooking up, etc. There is also some language throughout, to include one f-word. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4dWABE2