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The Shippers
She wants him to help her woo someone else.
Genius. Foolproof. Can't go wrong.
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. Armed with 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). Determined to woo him for closure, she ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, as her wingman. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but showed up anyway. Cooper: who moved to London without a word four years ago. Cooper: who broke her heart.
Shipboard antics abound in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, as JoJo and Cooper team up, fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, get jealous, answer long-held questions, and finally, at last, discover truths about each other that will change everything.
Genius. Foolproof. Can't go wrong.
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. Armed with 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). Determined to woo him for closure, she ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, as her wingman. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but showed up anyway. Cooper: who moved to London without a word four years ago. Cooper: who broke her heart.
Shipboard antics abound in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance, as JoJo and Cooper team up, fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, get jealous, answer long-held questions, and finally, at last, discover truths about each other that will change everything.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published May 19, 2026
About the author
Katherine Center
20 books34.5k followershttps://katherinecenter.com/about/
https://www.instagram.com/katherinece...
BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, Things You Save in a Fire, and her summer 2024 book, The Rom-Commers. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books: bittersweet romantic comedies 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.” The Netflix movie adaptation of her novel Happiness for Beginners—starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes—just hit the Global Top Ten in 81 countries, and the movie of her novel The Lost Husband was a surprise Netflix sensation in 2020, hitting number one and landing in their top 25 movies for the year. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists—at Audible, BookBub, and Book of the Month, as well as Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and Amazon's yearly Top 100 books. Emily Henry calls The Bodyguard “my perfect 10 of a book,” and Jodi Picoult says of Things You Save in a Fire, “Just read it, and thank me later.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two almost-grown teenagers, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.
https://www.instagram.com/katherinece...
BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, Things You Save in a Fire, and her summer 2024 book, The Rom-Commers. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books: bittersweet romantic comedies 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.” The Netflix movie adaptation of her novel Happiness for Beginners—starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes—just hit the Global Top Ten in 81 countries, and the movie of her novel The Lost Husband was a surprise Netflix sensation in 2020, hitting number one and landing in their top 25 movies for the year. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists—at Audible, BookBub, and Book of the Month, as well as Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and Amazon's yearly Top 100 books. Emily Henry calls The Bodyguard “my perfect 10 of a book,” and Jodi Picoult says of Things You Save in a Fire, “Just read it, and thank me later.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two almost-grown teenagers, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 8,954 reviews
June 10, 2026
Hmm… I have to admit my expectations were much higher for this book, especially considering it’s written by one of my auto-approved, favorite romance authors. The opening alone had me hooked: an entertaining, chaotic wedding ceremony where the MCs escape in a modern The Graduate–style moment. Add in friends-to-lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, and a wedding cruise as the setting? I was fully prepared to give this five stars.
There’s a lot to love here. The comedy level is noticeably higher than in some of Katherine Center’s previous books, and many moments genuinely made me laugh out loud. But—and this is a big but—the reason I didn’t fully love this story comes down to the heroine.
Yes. Jojo.
Jojo is written as a brilliant woman: a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in mathematics, an Einstein-level IQ, a knot theory thesis, and a math teacher shaping young minds. And yet, from the very beginning, she behaves with a level of immaturity that completely undermined her character for me. Not in a charming, flawed-but-relatable way—but in a way that felt wildly inconsistent with how intelligent she’s supposed to be.
She stays engaged to a man for four years, and on her wedding day, her biggest concern seems to be that she’s stuck wearing an itchy wedding gown borrowed from her mother-in-law—one she broke the zipper on—rather than the fact that she clearly does not want to marry this man. If her estranged best friend doesn’t suddenly show up at the last minute in a hobo-meets-lumberjack outfit, she might actually say “yes” and walk straight into an unhappy marriage. Six weeks later, she changes direction entirely, setting her sights on someone just as irritating as her hot ex-fiancé—jumping headfirst into yet another emotional entanglement. And through all of this, Jojo insists none of it is her fault. She’s not indecisive or emotionally reckless—she’s cursed.
Oh girl. Please. Grow up.
Thankfully, the hero completely saved this book for me. Cooper is a full-on cinnamon roll. Supportive, handsome, blue-eyed, Disney-prince energy, and emotionally available in ways romance heroes rarely are. Honestly, there were moments where I wanted to shout at him to jump off the ship, swim back to England, and forget Jojo entirely—especially every time she made yet another impulsive decision that hurt someone around her. Ironically, he is the one who should have unresolved daddy issues, not the other way around, yet he’s the most grounded person in the story.
From the start, Jojo and Cooper’s chemistry is intense and undeniable. This book could have been significantly shorter if Jojo had truly been as smart as the narrative insists she is—and if she simply acknowledged what was plainly in front of her instead of planning increasingly unrealistic emotional maneuvers. The final third was particularly frustrating, as she makes yet another impulsive choice that erased any remaining goodwill I was starting to build toward her. I really wanted to soften on her flaws, but in the end, I just wished she were less obnoxious.
That said, if it weren’t for the strong comedy and the compelling subplot involving Jojo’s parents and their crumbling marriage—along with the festive cruise atmosphere—I would have rated this a solid three stars. I actually enjoyed the humor more than the romance itself. Still, it is a feel-good rom-com with a predictable but comforting resolution, and I read it in one sitting.
As a devoted rom-com supporter, I rounded my 3.5 stars up to 4, purely out of love for Cooper and his impeccable collection of gabardine vests.
While this wasn’t my favorite book by the author, it’s still a positive, lighthearted rom-com—exactly the kind we need to lift our spirits when darker, heavier stories dominate. It may not have completely won me over, but it was still an enjoyable escape.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this feel-good rom-com’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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There’s a lot to love here. The comedy level is noticeably higher than in some of Katherine Center’s previous books, and many moments genuinely made me laugh out loud. But—and this is a big but—the reason I didn’t fully love this story comes down to the heroine.
Yes. Jojo.
Jojo is written as a brilliant woman: a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in mathematics, an Einstein-level IQ, a knot theory thesis, and a math teacher shaping young minds. And yet, from the very beginning, she behaves with a level of immaturity that completely undermined her character for me. Not in a charming, flawed-but-relatable way—but in a way that felt wildly inconsistent with how intelligent she’s supposed to be.
She stays engaged to a man for four years, and on her wedding day, her biggest concern seems to be that she’s stuck wearing an itchy wedding gown borrowed from her mother-in-law—one she broke the zipper on—rather than the fact that she clearly does not want to marry this man. If her estranged best friend doesn’t suddenly show up at the last minute in a hobo-meets-lumberjack outfit, she might actually say “yes” and walk straight into an unhappy marriage. Six weeks later, she changes direction entirely, setting her sights on someone just as irritating as her hot ex-fiancé—jumping headfirst into yet another emotional entanglement. And through all of this, Jojo insists none of it is her fault. She’s not indecisive or emotionally reckless—she’s cursed.
Oh girl. Please. Grow up.
Thankfully, the hero completely saved this book for me. Cooper is a full-on cinnamon roll. Supportive, handsome, blue-eyed, Disney-prince energy, and emotionally available in ways romance heroes rarely are. Honestly, there were moments where I wanted to shout at him to jump off the ship, swim back to England, and forget Jojo entirely—especially every time she made yet another impulsive decision that hurt someone around her. Ironically, he is the one who should have unresolved daddy issues, not the other way around, yet he’s the most grounded person in the story.
From the start, Jojo and Cooper’s chemistry is intense and undeniable. This book could have been significantly shorter if Jojo had truly been as smart as the narrative insists she is—and if she simply acknowledged what was plainly in front of her instead of planning increasingly unrealistic emotional maneuvers. The final third was particularly frustrating, as she makes yet another impulsive choice that erased any remaining goodwill I was starting to build toward her. I really wanted to soften on her flaws, but in the end, I just wished she were less obnoxious.
That said, if it weren’t for the strong comedy and the compelling subplot involving Jojo’s parents and their crumbling marriage—along with the festive cruise atmosphere—I would have rated this a solid three stars. I actually enjoyed the humor more than the romance itself. Still, it is a feel-good rom-com with a predictable but comforting resolution, and I read it in one sitting.
As a devoted rom-com supporter, I rounded my 3.5 stars up to 4, purely out of love for Cooper and his impeccable collection of gabardine vests.
While this wasn’t my favorite book by the author, it’s still a positive, lighthearted rom-com—exactly the kind we need to lift our spirits when darker, heavier stories dominate. It may not have completely won me over, but it was still an enjoyable escape.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this feel-good rom-com’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
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May 23, 2026
HAPPY PUB DAY TO THIS AMAZING BOOK 🥺🥳💖
Thank you so much to author Katherine Center, NetGalley, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 💞 This book releases in just a few days on May 19th, 2026!
To quote Noah Kahan in his song “Orbiter”:
🌙✨ “I’m an astronaut, you’re the Moon
I stare at you, I sing to you
I circle you” ✨🌙
That song fit JoJo and Cooper PERFECTLY and I genuinely could not stop thinking about it while reading this book. This had such a cute premise, and I absolutely loved it. This was a 4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for me ✨❤️
Perfect for readers who love:
❤️ he falls first
❤️ he falls WAY harder
❤️ invisible string vibes
❤️ friends → strangers → friends → lovers
Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic, but I know I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time 🥺 Did it have the miscommunication trope, which I usually despise? Yes. But honestly, both JoJo and Cooper were being complete dummies, and somehow I forgave them for it 😂 The “plot twists” weren’t really twists to me because most were pretty predictable, except for one small thing near the end involving Cooper and his secret plan 👀 But honestly? Even being predictable didn’t take away from how sweet and emotional this story was.
There’s also zero spice, so much humor, so much love, rekindled love in multiple relationships, and a surprising amount of emotional depth 💖
Okay, now for the reason I probably connected with this book so deeply: JoJo felt so relatable to me. That feeling of being overwhelmed by life, feeling like a burden sometimes, mentally exhausted, and then having someone come into your life who makes you feel safe and grounded? Yeah… that’s exactly how my relationship with my husband feels. Cooper calming JoJo down and understanding her in ways no one else could honestly hit me right in the heart.
The final chapter and epilogue especially had me emotional. JoJo’s descriptions of love were so tender and heartfelt that I was genuinely close to sobbing 🥺
To me, love is when I’m mentally drained and my husband grabs me a drink or food because I don’t have the energy to. It’s having one person in the world who knows exactly how to comfort you and understands you to your core. It’s someone loving your broken parts and helping you heal a little more every day. Okay, now I’m getting sappy 😭 but this book just captured those feelings so beautifully.
This was such a cute, heartfelt, realistic romance, and I connected to it so much because of that emotional core.
So I guess this is also a little shoutout to my husband for being the moon to my astronaut for the last 8 years 💕 And of course, shoutout to Katherine Center for writing such a beautiful romance that reminds readers that love is full of wonder, comfort, exhaustion, healing, and magic all at the same time ✨💞
____________________________________________
preread: I GOT THE ARC!?!?! 😭💖 I love Katherine Center’s books sm
Thank you so much to author Katherine Center, NetGalley, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 💞 This book releases in just a few days on May 19th, 2026!
To quote Noah Kahan in his song “Orbiter”:
🌙✨ “I’m an astronaut, you’re the Moon
I stare at you, I sing to you
I circle you” ✨🌙
That song fit JoJo and Cooper PERFECTLY and I genuinely could not stop thinking about it while reading this book. This had such a cute premise, and I absolutely loved it. This was a 4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5 for me ✨❤️
Perfect for readers who love:
❤️ he falls first
❤️ he falls WAY harder
❤️ invisible string vibes
❤️ friends → strangers → friends → lovers
Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic, but I know I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time 🥺 Did it have the miscommunication trope, which I usually despise? Yes. But honestly, both JoJo and Cooper were being complete dummies, and somehow I forgave them for it 😂 The “plot twists” weren’t really twists to me because most were pretty predictable, except for one small thing near the end involving Cooper and his secret plan 👀 But honestly? Even being predictable didn’t take away from how sweet and emotional this story was.
There’s also zero spice, so much humor, so much love, rekindled love in multiple relationships, and a surprising amount of emotional depth 💖
Okay, now for the reason I probably connected with this book so deeply: JoJo felt so relatable to me. That feeling of being overwhelmed by life, feeling like a burden sometimes, mentally exhausted, and then having someone come into your life who makes you feel safe and grounded? Yeah… that’s exactly how my relationship with my husband feels. Cooper calming JoJo down and understanding her in ways no one else could honestly hit me right in the heart.
The final chapter and epilogue especially had me emotional. JoJo’s descriptions of love were so tender and heartfelt that I was genuinely close to sobbing 🥺
To me, love is when I’m mentally drained and my husband grabs me a drink or food because I don’t have the energy to. It’s having one person in the world who knows exactly how to comfort you and understands you to your core. It’s someone loving your broken parts and helping you heal a little more every day. Okay, now I’m getting sappy 😭 but this book just captured those feelings so beautifully.
This was such a cute, heartfelt, realistic romance, and I connected to it so much because of that emotional core.
So I guess this is also a little shoutout to my husband for being the moon to my astronaut for the last 8 years 💕 And of course, shoutout to Katherine Center for writing such a beautiful romance that reminds readers that love is full of wonder, comfort, exhaustion, healing, and magic all at the same time ✨💞
____________________________________________
preread: I GOT THE ARC!?!?! 😭💖 I love Katherine Center’s books sm
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Shippers written by Katherine Center was beautiful, emotional, honest, pure, heart breaking, raw, real, heart warming, relatable, heart tugging, and inspiring. Katherine Center is the Queen of feel good and happy romances, and The Shippers is no exception, but this book had my emotions literally all over the place, one minute I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air, the next minute I was screaming in anger, another minute I had tears streaming down my face, and so forth on. Katherine writes some of the most relatable characters, so I just want to take a minute and thank her for writing our female main character who I related to so much it was unreal. When I saw that Mrs. Center had a new book coming out, the scream of joy that I screamed was so feral I'm sure I woke up people a thousand miles away. If you're looking for theeeee most perfect childhood friends to lovers romance, then y'all better mark your calendars for May 19th, 2026 because you won't want to miss out on this lovely story that had me smiling non-stop but then crying the next. The Shippers will be the book of the summer this year- mark my words right now. With this book, Katherine helps readers open up their battle scarred hearts and let love in a little more freely. After reading and loving this beautiful book, I can proudly say that my cheeks hurt from smiling like an idiot.
THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!
𝄞ᥫ᭡ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Bad At Love by Halsey𝄞ᥫ᭡
0:43 ───|──────3:02
❤️🥰The Shippers is for anyone who could really use a hug right now❤️🥰.
Katherine Center said it best. "💖👑Love is the best thing humans have ever invented. It's our crowning achievement as species💖👑".
"💓🌱Love is the best kind of therapy💓🌱".
"💞☹️If you are going to do something terrifying, it should be something you already know by heart💞☹️".
"💝🥀At least tell me the truth about my destiny before you give up on me forever💝🥀".
"💘🥰I'm telling you that I have loved you my whole life long💘🥰".
"❣️♾️I'm your loophole, because I have loved you all along❣️♾️".
"💕😘The best thing to hold onto in life is each other💕😘".
"🖤✝️I had Faith in you like I don't have Faith in anyone else. And then you abandoned me🖤✝️".
"💗🎶But tonight,
you belong to me💗🎶".
Josephine "JoJo" Burton is twenty-six years old and has spent her lifetime of being bad at love. JoJo has always been the dumper but never the dumpee because she has serial commitmentphobia. It was so hard to watch JoJo on her love journey because she would just overthink and question everything, which is just so relatable because what do you mean the hottest guy loves me? Is this real or am I being played? As someone whose biggest red flag is my heart, I related so much to JoJo, we both love way too easily but in the end it gets us no where, so it's safe to say that JoJo and I are both bad at love, I guess. JoJo's sister Ashley is having her wedding on an eight day cruise to the Bahamas and Cozumel and JoJo is Ashley's maid of honor. Finn Turner was JoJo's first kiss after a game of truth or dare when JoJo was ten years old and Finn was thirteen years old, this first kiss sparked a massive crush that lasted six years. Finn is newly divorced and has RSVPed yes to Ashley's wedding. JoJo decides to woo Finn during the cruise for some long delayed closure. On this eight day cruise, JoJo comes up with Operation Conquest where she tries to make fall in love with her, but the cruise's main objective is to conquer all of JoJo's intimacy issues. Once Finn left for college, JoJo soon later had a secret crush on a cute boy named Cooper, but her duties as maid of honor- JoJo promised Ashley that she would serenade her at the reception in lieu of a toast, but JoJo has a fear of singing without Cooper. JoJo's entire love life is a Catch-22 phrase, JoJo has a curse of only loving men who don't love her back.
Cooper Watts moved to London four years ago after his college graduation, but his mom told JoJo's mom that Cooper went to London to play in a band, but instead he's a Foley artist in London where he makes sounds for movies. Cooper left without saying anything to JoJo, all of her texts and calls to Cooper went unanswered. You might think Cooper is the worst person for just running away, but after you read his heart breaking childhood story- which I bawled like a baby as he was telling, you will just want to reach into this beautiful book and give this handsome man the biggest hug. JoJo thinks Cooper's look alike is Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid- which I so agree with. Y'all let me tell you, Cooper Watts is boyfriend material. Cooper RSVPed no to Ashley's wedding but later changed his mind because his gut instincts told him JoJo might need him during this eight day cruise. Cooper's nickname for JoJo is Joey- hence her full name is Josephine. Cooper has the best cabin room on the cruise because he has cleithrophobia which is a fear of getting trapped. Cooper is a professional hype man, he always complemented JoJo even on her worst days when she felt like her life was falling apart. Cooper, I'll take you for myself, just propose like right now and I will gladly say yes, you're theeee man of my dreams. Cooper just has one of the biggest most beautiful hearts because he has no fear of loving you, he wants everyone to be happy no matter what their past looks like. Cooper Watts is the true definition of a warm ooey-gooey cinnamon roll, this man will leave you swooning.
Josephine and Cooper are two knuckleheads that you will fall madly in love with. JoJo and Cooper were neighbors from ages eight to twenty-two and their childhood catchphrase reminded me of my childhood- "you are going to be in so much trouble when my mom finds out". JoJo and Cooper are equal parts adorable and ridiculous, they are so gentle with each other but at the same time when they are together they are just complete goofballs. Their banter was my favorite part of this book, they both had me laughing so much but they also had their serious moments which I truly appreciate. The thing that I found top tier hilarious was the doorknob condom scene- you have to read this book to understand hehe. During Operation Conquest on this eight day cruise, Cooper was always there to rescue JoJo when things went downhill. Y'all when I tell you this, I'm so serious, when Cooper showed up he always gave it his all no matter what the circumstances were. Cooper always told JoJo that he has been on her team since day one even while JoJo is trying to win over Finn, Cooper just wants to see her happy because JoJo looks good with happiness. Days after graduating college, Cooper and JoJo made a plan to get summer jobs at the same bookstore together, but Cooper ghosted her and left without a word. The thing I found most swoon worthy is when Cooper took the time to rub aloe on JoJo's sunburn, Lord please find me this type of love one day. When things went downhill during Operation Conquest, Cooper made it seem like everything will be okay no matter what was happening.
THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!
𝄞ᥫ᭡ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Bad At Love by Halsey𝄞ᥫ᭡
0:43 ───|──────3:02
❤️🥰The Shippers is for anyone who could really use a hug right now❤️🥰.
Katherine Center said it best. "💖👑Love is the best thing humans have ever invented. It's our crowning achievement as species💖👑".
"💓🌱Love is the best kind of therapy💓🌱".
"💞☹️If you are going to do something terrifying, it should be something you already know by heart💞☹️".
"💝🥀At least tell me the truth about my destiny before you give up on me forever💝🥀".
"💘🥰I'm telling you that I have loved you my whole life long💘🥰".
"❣️♾️I'm your loophole, because I have loved you all along❣️♾️".
"💕😘The best thing to hold onto in life is each other💕😘".
"🖤✝️I had Faith in you like I don't have Faith in anyone else. And then you abandoned me🖤✝️".
"💗🎶But tonight,
you belong to me💗🎶".
Josephine "JoJo" Burton is twenty-six years old and has spent her lifetime of being bad at love. JoJo has always been the dumper but never the dumpee because she has serial commitmentphobia. It was so hard to watch JoJo on her love journey because she would just overthink and question everything, which is just so relatable because what do you mean the hottest guy loves me? Is this real or am I being played? As someone whose biggest red flag is my heart, I related so much to JoJo, we both love way too easily but in the end it gets us no where, so it's safe to say that JoJo and I are both bad at love, I guess. JoJo's sister Ashley is having her wedding on an eight day cruise to the Bahamas and Cozumel and JoJo is Ashley's maid of honor. Finn Turner was JoJo's first kiss after a game of truth or dare when JoJo was ten years old and Finn was thirteen years old, this first kiss sparked a massive crush that lasted six years. Finn is newly divorced and has RSVPed yes to Ashley's wedding. JoJo decides to woo Finn during the cruise for some long delayed closure. On this eight day cruise, JoJo comes up with Operation Conquest where she tries to make fall in love with her, but the cruise's main objective is to conquer all of JoJo's intimacy issues. Once Finn left for college, JoJo soon later had a secret crush on a cute boy named Cooper, but her duties as maid of honor- JoJo promised Ashley that she would serenade her at the reception in lieu of a toast, but JoJo has a fear of singing without Cooper. JoJo's entire love life is a Catch-22 phrase, JoJo has a curse of only loving men who don't love her back.
Cooper Watts moved to London four years ago after his college graduation, but his mom told JoJo's mom that Cooper went to London to play in a band, but instead he's a Foley artist in London where he makes sounds for movies. Cooper left without saying anything to JoJo, all of her texts and calls to Cooper went unanswered. You might think Cooper is the worst person for just running away, but after you read his heart breaking childhood story- which I bawled like a baby as he was telling, you will just want to reach into this beautiful book and give this handsome man the biggest hug. JoJo thinks Cooper's look alike is Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid- which I so agree with. Y'all let me tell you, Cooper Watts is boyfriend material. Cooper RSVPed no to Ashley's wedding but later changed his mind because his gut instincts told him JoJo might need him during this eight day cruise. Cooper's nickname for JoJo is Joey- hence her full name is Josephine. Cooper has the best cabin room on the cruise because he has cleithrophobia which is a fear of getting trapped. Cooper is a professional hype man, he always complemented JoJo even on her worst days when she felt like her life was falling apart. Cooper, I'll take you for myself, just propose like right now and I will gladly say yes, you're theeee man of my dreams. Cooper just has one of the biggest most beautiful hearts because he has no fear of loving you, he wants everyone to be happy no matter what their past looks like. Cooper Watts is the true definition of a warm ooey-gooey cinnamon roll, this man will leave you swooning.
Josephine and Cooper are two knuckleheads that you will fall madly in love with. JoJo and Cooper were neighbors from ages eight to twenty-two and their childhood catchphrase reminded me of my childhood- "you are going to be in so much trouble when my mom finds out". JoJo and Cooper are equal parts adorable and ridiculous, they are so gentle with each other but at the same time when they are together they are just complete goofballs. Their banter was my favorite part of this book, they both had me laughing so much but they also had their serious moments which I truly appreciate. The thing that I found top tier hilarious was the doorknob condom scene- you have to read this book to understand hehe. During Operation Conquest on this eight day cruise, Cooper was always there to rescue JoJo when things went downhill. Y'all when I tell you this, I'm so serious, when Cooper showed up he always gave it his all no matter what the circumstances were. Cooper always told JoJo that he has been on her team since day one even while JoJo is trying to win over Finn, Cooper just wants to see her happy because JoJo looks good with happiness. Days after graduating college, Cooper and JoJo made a plan to get summer jobs at the same bookstore together, but Cooper ghosted her and left without a word. The thing I found most swoon worthy is when Cooper took the time to rub aloe on JoJo's sunburn, Lord please find me this type of love one day. When things went downhill during Operation Conquest, Cooper made it seem like everything will be okay no matter what was happening.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
⭐️ 2.5 ⭐️ I am not a die hard romance fan and while The Shippers was far better than her previous novel, The Love Haters, I can’t say this was amazing. Romances are personal, right? We finds little bits and pieces of ourselves in them and the love stories should feel at least somewhat familiar. Personally, a romance or a rom-com needs to have a level of maturity that’s enjoyable, relatable and interesting or funny enough to have a good time. The Shippers didn’t speak to me because it read like a high school romance where kids argue all the time about insignificant things and the entire content of the book felt like child’s play. Perhaps I am not the targeted audience, but I was hoping for more mature, adult like content that is light, engaging and gave me butterflies thinking about my own life and love experiences.
The Shippers is about two childhood friends who go on a family cruise (for a wedding), navigate family chaos and try to resolve intimacy issues once and for all. JoJo is terrible at love and is on a quest for closure and Cooper, her childhood friend, is that soft cinnamon bun roll who just rolls with her plans. Through out the cruise, JoJo is on a roll to win over her childhood crush, Finn, and comes up with most ridiculous ideas to win him over while seeking out Coopers help. Shipboard antics ensue, but JoJo soon realizes perhaps she’s not really going for the right guy especially when the right person has been in front of her all this time.
The biggest let down of this book was JoJos immaturity. Jojo is introduced as an intelligent and intellectual person with a passionate personality but none of her choices or actions align with that description. She wants to win a man, so she asks another to give her a hickey. Are we seriously in high school? Is that supposed to be funny? Cooper flies in all the way from London for her, so what does she do? She decides to use him, pushes him to fake flirt and decides he isn’t interested in her. He’s constantly showing her attention and taking care of her, he’s throwing some sense into her with his leveled conversations. What does she do? She refuses to listen to him, runs away and not only wants him to chase her but she MAKES him chase her.
Cooper on the other hand was the three most perfect shades of cool, calm and collected. He’s grounded, he’s a listener, he’s mature and patient. He doesn’t react with his emotions, but uses logic and thinking. He’s serious when he needs to be but also the sweetest when it comes to her. Honestly don’t see what he sees in her. JoJo was not a likable character and didn’t deserve him. She was self-centered, with a spark of a teenager and personality of a goofball. Her mind read like a frazzled hot mess, always looking to do something stupid without understanding the consequences. On top of that, their entire banter was based on HER ability to easily miscommunicate almost everything. When time came for “real talk”, JoJo is the first to run away because she’s unable to process the reality of things in real time. This is just NOT how I’d like my romance built. I don’t enjoy reading romance/rom-coms where the main character doesn’t know what to do with themselves and purposefully ends up getting herself into ridiculous scenarios that are can easily be avoided.
Call me a critic, a hater or a whatnot but I’m past that age of fluffiness that is not on par with what I’d like to see in a feel-good romance that can be applicable to all ages. Unfortunately this is not it, unless of-course you enjoy reading immaturity on paper. There is nothing “cute” and “adorable” about this novel, and the friend to lovers was not a treat. It had its fun moments and funny lines and for the first 50% it was great. I really thought this would be a solid 4 star review. The ship really sunk after that.
I perhaps may not have been the right audience for this book but readers who love silly romances should try this one out.
This book is featured as an add-on on BOTM. Grab your first $5 copy here via this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Cancel the subscription any time, at no extra cost!
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and the author, Katherine Center for this eARC!
Publication date: May 19, 2026
The Shippers is about two childhood friends who go on a family cruise (for a wedding), navigate family chaos and try to resolve intimacy issues once and for all. JoJo is terrible at love and is on a quest for closure and Cooper, her childhood friend, is that soft cinnamon bun roll who just rolls with her plans. Through out the cruise, JoJo is on a roll to win over her childhood crush, Finn, and comes up with most ridiculous ideas to win him over while seeking out Coopers help. Shipboard antics ensue, but JoJo soon realizes perhaps she’s not really going for the right guy especially when the right person has been in front of her all this time.
The biggest let down of this book was JoJos immaturity. Jojo is introduced as an intelligent and intellectual person with a passionate personality but none of her choices or actions align with that description. She wants to win a man, so she asks another to give her a hickey. Are we seriously in high school? Is that supposed to be funny? Cooper flies in all the way from London for her, so what does she do? She decides to use him, pushes him to fake flirt and decides he isn’t interested in her. He’s constantly showing her attention and taking care of her, he’s throwing some sense into her with his leveled conversations. What does she do? She refuses to listen to him, runs away and not only wants him to chase her but she MAKES him chase her.
Cooper on the other hand was the three most perfect shades of cool, calm and collected. He’s grounded, he’s a listener, he’s mature and patient. He doesn’t react with his emotions, but uses logic and thinking. He’s serious when he needs to be but also the sweetest when it comes to her. Honestly don’t see what he sees in her. JoJo was not a likable character and didn’t deserve him. She was self-centered, with a spark of a teenager and personality of a goofball. Her mind read like a frazzled hot mess, always looking to do something stupid without understanding the consequences. On top of that, their entire banter was based on HER ability to easily miscommunicate almost everything. When time came for “real talk”, JoJo is the first to run away because she’s unable to process the reality of things in real time. This is just NOT how I’d like my romance built. I don’t enjoy reading romance/rom-coms where the main character doesn’t know what to do with themselves and purposefully ends up getting herself into ridiculous scenarios that are can easily be avoided.
Call me a critic, a hater or a whatnot but I’m past that age of fluffiness that is not on par with what I’d like to see in a feel-good romance that can be applicable to all ages. Unfortunately this is not it, unless of-course you enjoy reading immaturity on paper. There is nothing “cute” and “adorable” about this novel, and the friend to lovers was not a treat. It had its fun moments and funny lines and for the first 50% it was great. I really thought this would be a solid 4 star review. The ship really sunk after that.
I perhaps may not have been the right audience for this book but readers who love silly romances should try this one out.
This book is featured as an add-on on BOTM. Grab your first $5 copy here via this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Cancel the subscription any time, at no extra cost!
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and the author, Katherine Center for this eARC!
Publication date: May 19, 2026
June 11, 2026
3.25
This started so wonderfully! Perfectly funny, with just the right amount of absurdity that it does get away with being super cheesy and predictable. I was loving the ridiculous humour for about 150 pages.
When we got to that midway point though, something in my brain switched. I started to feel bored, I wasn’t loving the predictability anymore, and just felt over it. I think with a plot that is so predictable, it needed to unfold VERY fast- and I somehow found the pace of the book to be a bit slow, even for a short 300 page read. I was mostly just annoyed at our characters for not seeing what was too obviously right in front of them… it gets to a point! 😂
A great read to get my mind off things after some emotionally heavy ones. Not my favourite Katherine Center, but it did the trick!
This started so wonderfully! Perfectly funny, with just the right amount of absurdity that it does get away with being super cheesy and predictable. I was loving the ridiculous humour for about 150 pages.
When we got to that midway point though, something in my brain switched. I started to feel bored, I wasn’t loving the predictability anymore, and just felt over it. I think with a plot that is so predictable, it needed to unfold VERY fast- and I somehow found the pace of the book to be a bit slow, even for a short 300 page read. I was mostly just annoyed at our characters for not seeing what was too obviously right in front of them… it gets to a point! 😂
A great read to get my mind off things after some emotionally heavy ones. Not my favourite Katherine Center, but it did the trick!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars
my favorite katherine center book, by far 🥹!!! oh wow, going into this my expectations weren’t the highest because although her books were mildly likable, they weren’t anything to really enjoy or savor.. but how this book proved me wrong!
’the shippers’ follow Josephine [jojo] and Cooper, while they work together to conquer a man that jojo has been crushing on since childhood, to solve her problem of love once and for all. they enter a cruise trip together, and everything spirals from there.
now.. the huge positives: Cooper 🧡! this man owns me — i can’t spoil anything but he literally did EVERYTHING for jojo 😭 he was the sweetest, most humble, and most patient man ever.
jojo, on the other hand, was positively insufferable. she was always making the wrong choices, blaming everyone else for it, and expecting others to give her grace. she was unable to take situations seriously at all. truly the only reason i couldn’t rate this book higher.
overall, this book is such a perfect pick for summer 🌅! the setting is great, the cover is perfect, and the romance is hot.
🥨 ₊˚୭, thank you to my lovely bestie rei for reading this with me. ily forever! <3
thank you to netgalley for the ARC 💛.
⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹
✉️⌇pre-read ⊹
i'm so happy that it's finally March and that the weather is starting to warm up ☀️🌱 because it means starting my spring reads 😼 ofc reading with my ARC partner, rei 🙂↕️🧡.
thank you, netgalley, for the ARC!
my favorite katherine center book, by far 🥹!!! oh wow, going into this my expectations weren’t the highest because although her books were mildly likable, they weren’t anything to really enjoy or savor.. but how this book proved me wrong!
’the shippers’ follow Josephine [jojo] and Cooper, while they work together to conquer a man that jojo has been crushing on since childhood, to solve her problem of love once and for all. they enter a cruise trip together, and everything spirals from there.
now.. the huge positives: Cooper 🧡! this man owns me — i can’t spoil anything but he literally did EVERYTHING for jojo 😭 he was the sweetest, most humble, and most patient man ever.
jojo, on the other hand, was positively insufferable. she was always making the wrong choices, blaming everyone else for it, and expecting others to give her grace. she was unable to take situations seriously at all. truly the only reason i couldn’t rate this book higher.
overall, this book is such a perfect pick for summer 🌅! the setting is great, the cover is perfect, and the romance is hot.
🥨 ₊˚୭, thank you to my lovely bestie rei for reading this with me. ily forever! <3
thank you to netgalley for the ARC 💛.
⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹
✉️⌇pre-read ⊹
i'm so happy that it's finally March and that the weather is starting to warm up ☀️🌱 because it means starting my spring reads 😼 ofc reading with my ARC partner, rei 🙂↕️🧡.
thank you, netgalley, for the ARC!
March 1, 2026
4.5 ⭐ (Yay! I remembered to write the full review for the book, lol!)
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ JoJo Burton is bad at love, but wants to fix her intimacy issues at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship by possibly wooing her first crush and first kiss, who is newly divorced and is attending the wedding. But out of the blue, her childhood best friend, Cooper Watts, shows up, and JoJo decides that the least he can do for her is help her find out if her first crush is Mr. Right since Cooper moved to London four years ago without a word and broke her heart. And as JoJo and Cooper spend more time together as they fake flirt, share a cabin, and finally answer the questions they’ve held onto for so long, they finally get the closure they need about each other that will change everything for both of them.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: this is what falling in love feels like by JVKE
1:13 ───ㅇ───── 2:00
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ I think this might have been the last friends-to-lovers book I actually loved. I wanted to wait to read this closer to the pub date, but I was way too excited to read another Katherine Center book, so I downloaded it, and I flew through this story! 🤭
I related a lot to JoJo and her intimacy issues. I, too, am bad at love, and I know I will be horrendously bad with romantic love, but unlike JoJo, I’d rather not work on my issues, lol! 😂 Granted, she did annoy me from time to time because she was wooing a guy who didn’t even know she existed, while the perfect guy was right there in front of her the entire time, pining after her. Look, it’s been a while since I’ve read the book, but I do remember being so frustrated that she still clung to her belief that the neighborhood friend and first kiss was the perfect match for her because, girl, no, he’s not. I don’t know much about love and who is compatible with whom, but you and that guy would not last a month, let alone a lifetime. Ugh, that made me so upset! 😂🤦♀ But she was funny and had people’s best interests at heart, so I’ll cut her some slack.
But then there’s Cooper. I am in love with him!! 😭♥ He’s literally one of my favorite characters of all time. He has my heart and soul because, good lord, he was funny, sweet, and serious when he needed to be. Can a guy be perfect? Because I think Cooper is. Not only that, but he’s hot, too?! JoJo, honey, what?? If you don’t want him, I’ll take him. 🙋♀🤭😉
And I think this is where the problem lies with the sudden disdain I have for this trope. The guys are almost perfect—they’re so understanding, kind, sweet, loving, and always ready to listen. Do they have flaws? Yeah, of course, but they’re minor, for some reason. Meanwhile, the FMCs are annoying, immature, selfish, blind to their own mistakes, and take a million years to see when they are in the wrong or that they have been and always will be in love with their BFF. AND THE GUY STILL WANTS THEM AFTER ALL THE FMC PUT THEM THROUGH??!! Yeah, no. I’m good.
But thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that sort of thing in this book. Yeah, there were problems, misunderstandings, and falling-outs, but it didn’t drive me insane because they were there for a purpose, and the story was super sweet! Reading this made my heart happy, and when I finished the book, I wanted to cry happy tears. I’ve only read one other book by Katherine Center, and I loved that one as well, so she is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I totally recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet, funny, childhood friends-to-lovers romance! 🩷
𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪 Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own. The book will be available on 05/19/2026! 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ JoJo Burton is bad at love, but wants to fix her intimacy issues at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship by possibly wooing her first crush and first kiss, who is newly divorced and is attending the wedding. But out of the blue, her childhood best friend, Cooper Watts, shows up, and JoJo decides that the least he can do for her is help her find out if her first crush is Mr. Right since Cooper moved to London four years ago without a word and broke her heart. And as JoJo and Cooper spend more time together as they fake flirt, share a cabin, and finally answer the questions they’ve held onto for so long, they finally get the closure they need about each other that will change everything for both of them.
◦◦,`°.✽✦✽.◦.✽✦✽.°`,◦◦
ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: this is what falling in love feels like by JVKE
1:13 ───ㅇ───── 2:00
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ I think this might have been the last friends-to-lovers book I actually loved. I wanted to wait to read this closer to the pub date, but I was way too excited to read another Katherine Center book, so I downloaded it, and I flew through this story! 🤭
I related a lot to JoJo and her intimacy issues. I, too, am bad at love, and I know I will be horrendously bad with romantic love, but unlike JoJo, I’d rather not work on my issues, lol! 😂 Granted, she did annoy me from time to time because she was wooing a guy who didn’t even know she existed, while the perfect guy was right there in front of her the entire time, pining after her. Look, it’s been a while since I’ve read the book, but I do remember being so frustrated that she still clung to her belief that the neighborhood friend and first kiss was the perfect match for her because, girl, no, he’s not. I don’t know much about love and who is compatible with whom, but you and that guy would not last a month, let alone a lifetime. Ugh, that made me so upset! 😂🤦♀ But she was funny and had people’s best interests at heart, so I’ll cut her some slack.
But then there’s Cooper. I am in love with him!! 😭♥ He’s literally one of my favorite characters of all time. He has my heart and soul because, good lord, he was funny, sweet, and serious when he needed to be. Can a guy be perfect? Because I think Cooper is. Not only that, but he’s hot, too?! JoJo, honey, what?? If you don’t want him, I’ll take him. 🙋♀🤭😉
And I think this is where the problem lies with the sudden disdain I have for this trope. The guys are almost perfect—they’re so understanding, kind, sweet, loving, and always ready to listen. Do they have flaws? Yeah, of course, but they’re minor, for some reason. Meanwhile, the FMCs are annoying, immature, selfish, blind to their own mistakes, and take a million years to see when they are in the wrong or that they have been and always will be in love with their BFF. AND THE GUY STILL WANTS THEM AFTER ALL THE FMC PUT THEM THROUGH??!! Yeah, no. I’m good.
But thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that sort of thing in this book. Yeah, there were problems, misunderstandings, and falling-outs, but it didn’t drive me insane because they were there for a purpose, and the story was super sweet! Reading this made my heart happy, and when I finished the book, I wanted to cry happy tears. I’ve only read one other book by Katherine Center, and I loved that one as well, so she is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. I totally recommend this book if you are looking for a sweet, funny, childhood friends-to-lovers romance! 🩷
𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪 Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own. The book will be available on 05/19/2026! 𓆩ᥫ᭡𓆪
February 28, 2026
Katherine Center used to write about women doing adult things, but she for some reason turned into the most basic writer of rom coms. These 20 something storylines just bored me to tears.
JoJo deciding not to fall for Cooper was ridiculous. He flew all the way from London to Texas to break up her failed from the start wedding, and has everything she could want. Zero buildup for the obvious.
Wish Center would go back to her roots, because this sounds like it was written by a 20 year old college student on the brink of her career as a rom-com writer.
JoJo deciding not to fall for Cooper was ridiculous. He flew all the way from London to Texas to break up her failed from the start wedding, and has everything she could want. Zero buildup for the obvious.
Wish Center would go back to her roots, because this sounds like it was written by a 20 year old college student on the brink of her career as a rom-com writer.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
the concept of fully grown adults acting like children
pre read.
─ 05/12/26 🏖️ . 𖦹˙
release day is getting too close for comfort so it’s time to lock in 🤧 i’ve had mixed experiences with kc’s books but this one seems pretty fun!
ⓘ thank you to netgalley + st. martin’s press for the arc!
pre read.
─ 05/12/26 🏖️ . 𖦹˙
release day is getting too close for comfort so it’s time to lock in 🤧 i’ve had mixed experiences with kc’s books but this one seems pretty fun!
ⓘ thank you to netgalley + st. martin’s press for the arc!
December 20, 2025
I am in love with Cooper! 🩷 This book made me want to go back in time and fall in love with my best friend. It was just so good.
Was it somewhat predictable? Yes, but it felt like a romcom from the early 2000s. Just sooooo good. It could be a movie for sure.
A cruise. A wedding. Drama. Laughs. What more could anyone want?
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Was it somewhat predictable? Yes, but it felt like a romcom from the early 2000s. Just sooooo good. It could be a movie for sure.
A cruise. A wedding. Drama. Laughs. What more could anyone want?
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this free advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 21, 2026
I am conflicted. This book has successfully made me cry which would typically earn it a major point in its favor but doesn't mean it is working this time too. (spoiler alert: this is another emotional, slightly pointless review)
Since everyone seems determined to trauma-dump in this book, I figured it was only fair that I shared mine too.
Once upon a time, I was so obsessed with Wattpad that you could immediately tell every book I'd ever religiously read had come straight from there. And do you know what kind of story I kept reading over and over again? You guessed it: the very trope I now despise—a best friends to lover's romance fueled by endless miscommunication.
Picture a younger version of me devouring stories about two teenagers who constantly broke each other's hearts simply because neither of them had the courage to confess their feelings. Somehow, it always took one of them getting into a relationship or casually messing around with someone else for the other to finally realize they were meant to be together all along.
Now imagine my disappointment as an adult when I discover that adult romance novels are still serving me the exact same trope (I genuinely thought grown-ups were supposed to be better at communicating). So why am I once again being subjected to a royal pain in the neck caused by two adults who refuse to have a single honest conversation. And now I'm the one left heartbroken, after swearing I would never let these tropes get such a chokehold on me again.
You ought to also be aware that in every romance novel I read, I will always be the #teamgirl (most of the times). So, imagine the surprise when I was to find myself immensely frustrated with Jojo who happened to be so oblivious and foolish that for the first time ever, I felt she was completely undeserving of the male lead. While some of their exchanges are adorable, Jojo comes across as far behind her age.
Now, I detest it when others try to dictate how adults "should" behave. Even yet, Jojo frequently comes across as immature. And I know some people would argue that her behavior stems from unresolved childhood issues, which eventually come to light during this eight-day wedding cruise. It does function as a full-circle moment, and everything falls into place: why she acted the way she did, the truth she eventually discovers, and the sense that everything is finally alright.
But the way the story handles this resolution is where it loses me. Honestly, I feel like this girl still needs therapy. Her issues seem far too deeply ingrained to be resolved so easily. I find it hard to believe that years of emotional baggage could simply disappear because a misunderstanding was finally cleared up. The story presents it as a breakthrough, but to me, healing would have required much more than a single revelation.
Then we have Cooper... and as much as I hate giving men credit, he single-handedly carries this book. Yes, he has his own share of flaws, but the way he never gives up and unwavering devotion to Jojo is exactly why I found her so undeserving of him in the first place. But when you really look at their dynamic, I realized, maybe Cooper too deserves his Jojo after so long.
If I didn't make it clear enough, this book may be suffered gravely from miscommunication, but it never falls into the kind of frustrating territory that so many friends-to-lovers romances do. Cooper's love for Jojo is never in question. He may be terrible at communicating, but he loves her so profoundly that you never see him intentionally trying to hurt her (except that one time and you know which part I am talking about). Even then, as a reader, you already know that he did not commit to what Jojo accused him to do because i) Jojo is always stupid and ii) this is Cooper. We would all lose the competition of who loves Jojo the most without even competing even when I don't find myself loving Jojo as much (but I have come around to it in the end).
Still and all, I do find myself enjoying this book more than I did her past three books (ever since The Bodyguard), though it doesn’t always serve the kind of romance I wanted. In spite of that, this is as close to a cheesy, feel-good love story as I have gotten from Katherine Center in a long time. That said, I tend to enjoy it more when couples start dating earlier in the story rather than only near the very end. The only reason I keep going is the author’s note at the beginning promising a happy ending. In another time, this might be a DNF or even a worst case of two stars read.
All the same, I’m just an emotional reader. I’m actually glad Katherine Center decided to continue this story and publish it. I’m probably just being a bit petty (or traumatized really), since this feels more like a 3.5-star read that I would normally round up to 4 stars. Maybe when I have come to my senses, I might actually do just that so count your blessing dear author! because you still made me cry and that is not nice (¬`‸´¬)
I don’t even know if this makes you want to read the book or run in the opposite direction. It is, at its core, still a fairly light read, even if it manages to sneak in some emotional punches along the way. So, despite everything I’ve just said (and overanalyzed), I would still encourage you to pick it up if you’re curious. Take my complaints with a grain of salt—I’m just being egoistical and overly invested as usual. Clearly, this book had no problem getting under my skin, so it might just do the same for you in the best way possible.
"I'm telling you you're my favorite person on this overcrowded earth. I'm telling you that I've loved you my whole life long. I'm telling you I've had my own Operation Conquest going this whole time. And the person I was trying to conquer... was you"
Since everyone seems determined to trauma-dump in this book, I figured it was only fair that I shared mine too.
Once upon a time, I was so obsessed with Wattpad that you could immediately tell every book I'd ever religiously read had come straight from there. And do you know what kind of story I kept reading over and over again? You guessed it: the very trope I now despise—a best friends to lover's romance fueled by endless miscommunication.
Picture a younger version of me devouring stories about two teenagers who constantly broke each other's hearts simply because neither of them had the courage to confess their feelings. Somehow, it always took one of them getting into a relationship or casually messing around with someone else for the other to finally realize they were meant to be together all along.
"I don't want to break your heart," I said. "I'm not scared of that." Cooper said. "You break my heart all the time"
Now imagine my disappointment as an adult when I discover that adult romance novels are still serving me the exact same trope (I genuinely thought grown-ups were supposed to be better at communicating). So why am I once again being subjected to a royal pain in the neck caused by two adults who refuse to have a single honest conversation. And now I'm the one left heartbroken, after swearing I would never let these tropes get such a chokehold on me again.
You ought to also be aware that in every romance novel I read, I will always be the #teamgirl (most of the times). So, imagine the surprise when I was to find myself immensely frustrated with Jojo who happened to be so oblivious and foolish that for the first time ever, I felt she was completely undeserving of the male lead. While some of their exchanges are adorable, Jojo comes across as far behind her age.
Now, I detest it when others try to dictate how adults "should" behave. Even yet, Jojo frequently comes across as immature. And I know some people would argue that her behavior stems from unresolved childhood issues, which eventually come to light during this eight-day wedding cruise. It does function as a full-circle moment, and everything falls into place: why she acted the way she did, the truth she eventually discovers, and the sense that everything is finally alright.
But the way the story handles this resolution is where it loses me. Honestly, I feel like this girl still needs therapy. Her issues seem far too deeply ingrained to be resolved so easily. I find it hard to believe that years of emotional baggage could simply disappear because a misunderstanding was finally cleared up. The story presents it as a breakthrough, but to me, healing would have required much more than a single revelation.
Then we have Cooper... and as much as I hate giving men credit, he single-handedly carries this book. Yes, he has his own share of flaws, but the way he never gives up and unwavering devotion to Jojo is exactly why I found her so undeserving of him in the first place. But when you really look at their dynamic, I realized, maybe Cooper too deserves his Jojo after so long.
If I didn't make it clear enough, this book may be suffered gravely from miscommunication, but it never falls into the kind of frustrating territory that so many friends-to-lovers romances do. Cooper's love for Jojo is never in question. He may be terrible at communicating, but he loves her so profoundly that you never see him intentionally trying to hurt her (except that one time and you know which part I am talking about). Even then, as a reader, you already know that he did not commit to what Jojo accused him to do because i) Jojo is always stupid and ii) this is Cooper. We would all lose the competition of who loves Jojo the most without even competing even when I don't find myself loving Jojo as much (but I have come around to it in the end).
Still and all, I do find myself enjoying this book more than I did her past three books (ever since The Bodyguard), though it doesn’t always serve the kind of romance I wanted. In spite of that, this is as close to a cheesy, feel-good love story as I have gotten from Katherine Center in a long time. That said, I tend to enjoy it more when couples start dating earlier in the story rather than only near the very end. The only reason I keep going is the author’s note at the beginning promising a happy ending. In another time, this might be a DNF or even a worst case of two stars read.
All the same, I’m just an emotional reader. I’m actually glad Katherine Center decided to continue this story and publish it. I’m probably just being a bit petty (or traumatized really), since this feels more like a 3.5-star read that I would normally round up to 4 stars. Maybe when I have come to my senses, I might actually do just that so count your blessing dear author! because you still made me cry and that is not nice (¬`‸´¬)
I don’t even know if this makes you want to read the book or run in the opposite direction. It is, at its core, still a fairly light read, even if it manages to sneak in some emotional punches along the way. So, despite everything I’ve just said (and overanalyzed), I would still encourage you to pick it up if you’re curious. Take my complaints with a grain of salt—I’m just being egoistical and overly invested as usual. Clearly, this book had no problem getting under my skin, so it might just do the same for you in the best way possible.
Read
March 7, 2026AAAAA FINALLY, a katherine center book i can say i fully enjoyed 🧡🥹!! rtc!
pre-read:
another br with my precious girl, ivy aka arc partner 🫶🏼🏹💋 we’re really trying to read all of our arcs atp 🤭 the weather here in my country is starting to feeeeel summery and warm 🌤️⛱️ and what better way to read summer books to get into the feels more, right?!
pre-read:
another br with my precious girl, ivy aka arc partner 🫶🏼🏹💋 we’re really trying to read all of our arcs atp 🤭 the weather here in my country is starting to feeeeel summery and warm 🌤️⛱️ and what better way to read summer books to get into the feels more, right?!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 ⭐️
I am having a hard time rating this book because I did finish it super fast, and it was such an easy read that screamed rom-com (which I love) 💕 I could easily picture this as a movie in my mind while reading BUT…the miscommunication plot throughout the entirety of the book, as well as the FMC’s personality, made me rate it lower. I was not her fan or rooting for her HEA lol 😅 she was hella annoying for me.
A LOT OF PEOPLE will like this book because it was so entertaining, and it took the very classic childhood friends-to-lovers trope to its fullest potential 💖 A destination wedding where JoJo wants to solve her intimacy issues and sets her mind on wooing her childhood crush during a week at sea? YEP LOVE IT which then enters Cooper... who left JoJo 4 years ago, her best friend, without a word and is suddenly back again and helping her get her happily ever after.
From the very beginning, you can tell Cooper is obsessed with her 😩 and you can see how much it irks him to help, but he does it anyway (SCREAMS miscommunication 🙃) Every single plan to win over her man becomes this push-and-pull between them. Again, it was hilarious to read and watch unravel throughout the book but mannnnn I got annoyed.
I needed her to be less oblivious 😂 which I KNOW IS THE POINT. So, for those who love a character that makes you wanna smack her (in a loving way) because the very thing she wants is RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER… then this will absolutely be your next 5 star read 🤣⭐
tropes
💕 childhood friends to lovers
💕 only one bed
💕 fake flirting
💕 he always loved her
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
releases next week but got the opportunity to start earlier soooo here we gooo thank you Netgalley for my eARC
I am having a hard time rating this book because I did finish it super fast, and it was such an easy read that screamed rom-com (which I love) 💕 I could easily picture this as a movie in my mind while reading BUT…the miscommunication plot throughout the entirety of the book, as well as the FMC’s personality, made me rate it lower. I was not her fan or rooting for her HEA lol 😅 she was hella annoying for me.
A LOT OF PEOPLE will like this book because it was so entertaining, and it took the very classic childhood friends-to-lovers trope to its fullest potential 💖 A destination wedding where JoJo wants to solve her intimacy issues and sets her mind on wooing her childhood crush during a week at sea? YEP LOVE IT which then enters Cooper... who left JoJo 4 years ago, her best friend, without a word and is suddenly back again and helping her get her happily ever after.
From the very beginning, you can tell Cooper is obsessed with her 😩 and you can see how much it irks him to help, but he does it anyway (SCREAMS miscommunication 🙃) Every single plan to win over her man becomes this push-and-pull between them. Again, it was hilarious to read and watch unravel throughout the book but mannnnn I got annoyed.
I needed her to be less oblivious 😂 which I KNOW IS THE POINT. So, for those who love a character that makes you wanna smack her (in a loving way) because the very thing she wants is RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER… then this will absolutely be your next 5 star read 🤣⭐
tropes
💕 childhood friends to lovers
💕 only one bed
💕 fake flirting
💕 he always loved her
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
releases next week but got the opportunity to start earlier soooo here we gooo thank you Netgalley for my eARC
Want to Read
September 4, 2025💘Pre-release:
No matter what this book is about, if Katherine Center writes it I’m already on board. Enough said 🫡
No matter what this book is about, if Katherine Center writes it I’m already on board. Enough said 🫡
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
. ˖ ꒰𑁬 ♡ ໒꒱ ˖ .
this did not disappoint! it was so goofy & romantic. i love cooper! he's an amazing, protective MMC. i'll definitely check out more books from katherine center.
. ˖ ꒰𑁬 ♡ ໒꒱ ˖ . pre-read
this looks so cute! i have not read any books by katherine center and i have always wanted to. this is my sign!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
this did not disappoint! it was so goofy & romantic. i love cooper! he's an amazing, protective MMC. i'll definitely check out more books from katherine center.
. ˖ ꒰𑁬 ♡ ໒꒱ ˖ . pre-read
this looks so cute! i have not read any books by katherine center and i have always wanted to. this is my sign!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
➳ 3.75 ☆! ⚓🚢 spoiler free + mini review
⤷ so fun!! yearning for more summer reads asap
arc! @netgalley
⋆˚࿔ 33rd review of the year
₊‧꒰my thoughts꒱ ‧₊
⤷ honestly so good! i was going into this with big expectations bc the cover is just STUNNING and the prose is tea!! childhood friends to lovers, a wedding, a plan (conquest ifykyk), and a cruise?! sign me up!! while i did enjoy the story and it's characters, i cant give it ALL my love! at times i got a bit bored?? (this was by no means a slow book, it was very quick) i just mean, i wasn't super attached to the characters so at times i was just like okay? lets move on!
⤷ i REALLY loved cooper, he was such a sweetheart! our fmc could sometimes frustrate me LOL, but i like her! with every katherine center book i read, i always see her fun spark in her writing 🥹🫂 its so unique and you cant find it anywhere else!! i will say, the bodyguard, the rom commers, and hello stranger are my top reads by her, so i def recommend!
⤷ overall i can see myself recommending/rereading this in the future. i cant wait to see what KC does next, and its a true honor to read an arc for one of your favorite authors, thank you netgalley 🥹🩷
tropes!
⋆ cruise setting
⋆ childhood friends
⋆ a wedding
⋆ fake dating/trying to win over someone else
₊‧꒰info!꒱ ‧₊
⤷ find my book review on goodreads @elliexreads
⤷ this is recommended for adult/new adult readers!
⤷ contemporary romance
publish date: may 19, 2026
₊‧ all ratings and opinions are my own ₊‧
�� thank you @netgalley and st martins press for the arc in exchange for an honest review !🫂
----------
₊‧꒰4.2.26꒱ ‧₊
⤷ I AM OVER THE MOOON ABOUT THIS ARC!! EE THANK YOU NETGALLEY. if yk anything ab my fav authors, kc is one of them!! this might be my 6th by her?? i forget, but oh im so ready. cant wait to share more thoughts. 🫂💌
⤷ HAPPY APRIL!! (one of my fav months) and also olivia just announced a new album lets go 🩷😽
⤷ so fun!! yearning for more summer reads asap
arc! @netgalley
⋆˚࿔ 33rd review of the year
"there is no universe where you call me for help and i dont come running"
₊‧꒰my thoughts꒱ ‧₊
⤷ honestly so good! i was going into this with big expectations bc the cover is just STUNNING and the prose is tea!! childhood friends to lovers, a wedding, a plan (conquest ifykyk), and a cruise?! sign me up!! while i did enjoy the story and it's characters, i cant give it ALL my love! at times i got a bit bored?? (this was by no means a slow book, it was very quick) i just mean, i wasn't super attached to the characters so at times i was just like okay? lets move on!
⤷ i REALLY loved cooper, he was such a sweetheart! our fmc could sometimes frustrate me LOL, but i like her! with every katherine center book i read, i always see her fun spark in her writing 🥹🫂 its so unique and you cant find it anywhere else!! i will say, the bodyguard, the rom commers, and hello stranger are my top reads by her, so i def recommend!
⤷ overall i can see myself recommending/rereading this in the future. i cant wait to see what KC does next, and its a true honor to read an arc for one of your favorite authors, thank you netgalley 🥹🩷
tropes!
⋆ cruise setting
⋆ childhood friends
⋆ a wedding
⋆ fake dating/trying to win over someone else
₊‧꒰info!꒱ ‧₊
⤷ find my book review on goodreads @elliexreads
⤷ this is recommended for adult/new adult readers!
⤷ contemporary romance
publish date: may 19, 2026
₊‧ all ratings and opinions are my own ₊‧
�� thank you @netgalley and st martins press for the arc in exchange for an honest review !🫂
----------
₊‧꒰preview ᝰ.ᐟ꒱ ‧₊ ⚓🚢
₊‧꒰4.2.26꒱ ‧₊
⤷ I AM OVER THE MOOON ABOUT THIS ARC!! EE THANK YOU NETGALLEY. if yk anything ab my fav authors, kc is one of them!! this might be my 6th by her?? i forget, but oh im so ready. cant wait to share more thoughts. 🫂💌
⤷ HAPPY APRIL!! (one of my fav months) and also olivia just announced a new album lets go 🩷😽
May 25, 2026
meh... read this ON a cruise ship, still felt off. The female lead was awful, immature and needy, really didn't care for it. Might be done with this author, sigh...
June 17, 2026
"I'm telling you you're my favorite person on this overcrowded earth. I'm telling you that I've loved you my whole life long." The yearning 🤭
I have conflicted thoughts about this book. I enjoyed the setting, the interactions between family members/friends, and I loved Cooper. Unfortunately, I was frustrated by the main character for most of the book, she was very clueless about love and I didn't like the miscommunication by both main characters. The plot was interesting and fun, I liked the fake dating aspect. Many of the characters were complex and had interesting personalities. I loved Cooper, he was funny, charming, protective, sweet and overall such a great man. The yearning from this man was amazing, he waited for her for so many years. I loved that he trusted her to tell her about his past trauma and show his heart. There were so many sweet things he did for JoJo that made me swoon including the dance scene and song scene. The only thing I didn't like was that he didn't communicate to JoJo about how he felt about her. I wasn't a fan of JoJo for most of the book, she was sweet to Cooper and her family, but she was immature and very clueless. Also Cooper poured his heart out to her during one scene and she barely said anything back to him. The side characters were great, especially JoJo's Dad, sister and Mom. There were several sweet scenes between Cooper and JoJo but the miscommunication was frustrating. The chemistry between Cooper and JoJo was great, but the romance felt one sided. JoJo didn't explain her feelings for Cooper. The ending was sweet, but I was underwhelmed by some aspects of the romance. Overall this book had the potential to be wonderful, especially because of the Cooper's yearning, but it was disappointing.
I have conflicted thoughts about this book. I enjoyed the setting, the interactions between family members/friends, and I loved Cooper. Unfortunately, I was frustrated by the main character for most of the book, she was very clueless about love and I didn't like the miscommunication by both main characters. The plot was interesting and fun, I liked the fake dating aspect. Many of the characters were complex and had interesting personalities. I loved Cooper, he was funny, charming, protective, sweet and overall such a great man. The yearning from this man was amazing, he waited for her for so many years. I loved that he trusted her to tell her about his past trauma and show his heart. There were so many sweet things he did for JoJo that made me swoon including the dance scene and song scene. The only thing I didn't like was that he didn't communicate to JoJo about how he felt about her. I wasn't a fan of JoJo for most of the book, she was sweet to Cooper and her family, but she was immature and very clueless. Also Cooper poured his heart out to her during one scene and she barely said anything back to him. The side characters were great, especially JoJo's Dad, sister and Mom. There were several sweet scenes between Cooper and JoJo but the miscommunication was frustrating. The chemistry between Cooper and JoJo was great, but the romance felt one sided. JoJo didn't explain her feelings for Cooper. The ending was sweet, but I was underwhelmed by some aspects of the romance. Overall this book had the potential to be wonderful, especially because of the Cooper's yearning, but it was disappointing.
Read
January 29, 2026goofy but delightful
Currently Reading
June 20, 2026🧡🩷💛🩵Pre-read: 🚢☀️💍🫧
KATHERINE CENTER IS MY GIRL. If she disappoints me again… I’m done. 😉😉🫶🫶🫶
KATHERINE CENTER IS MY GIRL. If she disappoints me again… I’m done. 😉😉🫶🫶🫶
Want to Read
May 24, 2026I'm pretty sure I'm slumping, I'm also in a review slump, I can't pick ratings for the life of me...and of course it happens right when I have free time....anyways, another one of my most anticipated books came out so ofc I have to read it asap 🤭
March 7, 2026
A fun, fluffy, laugh-out-loud read. I absolutely loved cooper, but found jojo very immature &, at times, blatantly annoying. Overall, it was an enjoyable read if you’re looking for some quick, sunshiny vibes.
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!
June 10, 2026
The Shippers is a friends to lovers rom-com, taking us aboard a cruise ship as Josephine “JoJo” Burton tries to fix her cursed love life. Oddly enough, the novel starts at Jojo's wedding, only to the wrong man. But as she readies herself to walk down the aisle, Cooper Watts, her childhood best friend who ghosted her four years before, unexpectedly arrives. His appearance makes her realize the wedding is a mistake, and she fakes a faint to call of the wedding, driving off with Cooper. Yet by the next day, Cooper is back to London.
The true plot of the story is set six weeks later, as JoJo boards a cruise ship for her older sister Ashley's destination wedding. Using a bit of self-diagnosing, JoJo thinks her dating failures stem from an unresolved first kiss with her childhood crush, Finn. Seeing Finn is newly divorced and on the guest list, JoJo concocts a plan to seduce him on the cruise. Boarding the ship, Cooper unexpectedly appears yet again, and she ropes him into her plan as the perfect wingman. But of course, with any fake flirting rom-com, we see our main characters start to question if it is real. Though JoJo remains glaringly oblivious, it becomes obvious that Cooper has been in love with her for years, and has his own plans to woo her on the cruise.
We get many classic tropes: forced proximity, friends to lovers, miscommunication, and he falls first. On top of the romance, we get family subplots, specifically with her distant father. In the beginning, he is marked as an absentee father, too focused on work. However, as JoJo pulls him out of the shell, she and her family come to realize how much he cared all along, saving her parents' marriage. We are told in the preface that the story would end happily, and what do you know, it does.
I found this summery romance to be very cute no matter how cliche. I flew threw it; somehow it almost read like a thriller? I think I was so invested in seeing how Cooper explained ghosting her four years before that I couldn't put it down. However, when he finally explains, I found it to be a weak excuse and largely a letdown. More so, I wanted more context into their childhood and college years before he left. I went back and forth as to how I felt about JoJo. As the story progressed, her immaturity became rampant, and all the miscommunication was hard to sit through. Cooper's feelings for her were clear from the get go, making it hard to believe that she had no idea.
The elements with her father were also poorly explained. It seems that he was pretty much absent for all three of his kids' childhoods, but it was excused by sudden revelations that he cared. Some things about it were glossed over simply for the happy ending. Though I cannot fault Katherine Center for this; she told us it was going to have a pleasing ending. The novel was not exactly profound, but no rom-com truly can be. A nice, summer read.
The true plot of the story is set six weeks later, as JoJo boards a cruise ship for her older sister Ashley's destination wedding. Using a bit of self-diagnosing, JoJo thinks her dating failures stem from an unresolved first kiss with her childhood crush, Finn. Seeing Finn is newly divorced and on the guest list, JoJo concocts a plan to seduce him on the cruise. Boarding the ship, Cooper unexpectedly appears yet again, and she ropes him into her plan as the perfect wingman. But of course, with any fake flirting rom-com, we see our main characters start to question if it is real. Though JoJo remains glaringly oblivious, it becomes obvious that Cooper has been in love with her for years, and has his own plans to woo her on the cruise.
We get many classic tropes: forced proximity, friends to lovers, miscommunication, and he falls first. On top of the romance, we get family subplots, specifically with her distant father. In the beginning, he is marked as an absentee father, too focused on work. However, as JoJo pulls him out of the shell, she and her family come to realize how much he cared all along, saving her parents' marriage. We are told in the preface that the story would end happily, and what do you know, it does.
I found this summery romance to be very cute no matter how cliche. I flew threw it; somehow it almost read like a thriller? I think I was so invested in seeing how Cooper explained ghosting her four years before that I couldn't put it down. However, when he finally explains, I found it to be a weak excuse and largely a letdown. More so, I wanted more context into their childhood and college years before he left. I went back and forth as to how I felt about JoJo. As the story progressed, her immaturity became rampant, and all the miscommunication was hard to sit through. Cooper's feelings for her were clear from the get go, making it hard to believe that she had no idea.
The elements with her father were also poorly explained. It seems that he was pretty much absent for all three of his kids' childhoods, but it was excused by sudden revelations that he cared. Some things about it were glossed over simply for the happy ending. Though I cannot fault Katherine Center for this; she told us it was going to have a pleasing ending. The novel was not exactly profound, but no rom-com truly can be. A nice, summer read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
── .✦ 3.5 stars
okay so shoutout to florida for being over 80 degrees and letting me appropriately read a summer romance in december? literally on christmas eve?
anywhoooo this was my first katherine center, and i thoroughly enjoyed! it reminded me a lot of an emily henry slash abby jimenez story, with a great romance but also so many other things going on, from emotional to entertaining to a little bit ridiculous but hey we’re having fun so it’s fine. also i realllly enjoyed the writing, literally binged over 80% of it in the matter of a few hours because it was so bingeable and i couldn’t put it down.
cooper omg the man of my dreams!!! so so sweet and silly and protective and caring and supportive and ugh literally so perfect i adored him. i want one under the tree tomorrow for christmas. thank you.
jojo, on the other hand? positively insufferable. god, i could not STAND HER. not for one second. she was so dramatic and made issues out of nothing, was so childish and couldn’t stop to have a grown up conversation when she and cooper were having issues, literally just annoyed me the entire book. i wanted to love her, truly, but i didn’t relate to her and found it difficult to actually root for her most of the time.
overall, pick this up on your next beach trip!!! it’s definitely a sit in the sand and binge in one sitting type of story, and who doesn’t love that? a super solid romance story, and yes, has inspired me to want to pick up more katherine center <3
𐙚⋆.˚pre-read
started this at 2am last night and 15% in i feel like i need to keep going (yes it’s winter but i live in #florida and it’s 80 degrees so i think a summer romance is fine yes!!) 🍒🐳
thank you to netgalley & st martin’s press for the arc! all opinions are my own.
release date: may 19, 2026
“once you’ve decided to let yourself love somebody ... it’s hard to turn that off.”
okay so shoutout to florida for being over 80 degrees and letting me appropriately read a summer romance in december? literally on christmas eve?
anywhoooo this was my first katherine center, and i thoroughly enjoyed! it reminded me a lot of an emily henry slash abby jimenez story, with a great romance but also so many other things going on, from emotional to entertaining to a little bit ridiculous but hey we’re having fun so it’s fine. also i realllly enjoyed the writing, literally binged over 80% of it in the matter of a few hours because it was so bingeable and i couldn’t put it down.
cooper omg the man of my dreams!!! so so sweet and silly and protective and caring and supportive and ugh literally so perfect i adored him. i want one under the tree tomorrow for christmas. thank you.
jojo, on the other hand? positively insufferable. god, i could not STAND HER. not for one second. she was so dramatic and made issues out of nothing, was so childish and couldn’t stop to have a grown up conversation when she and cooper were having issues, literally just annoyed me the entire book. i wanted to love her, truly, but i didn’t relate to her and found it difficult to actually root for her most of the time.
overall, pick this up on your next beach trip!!! it’s definitely a sit in the sand and binge in one sitting type of story, and who doesn’t love that? a super solid romance story, and yes, has inspired me to want to pick up more katherine center <3
𐙚⋆.˚pre-read
started this at 2am last night and 15% in i feel like i need to keep going (yes it’s winter but i live in #florida and it’s 80 degrees so i think a summer romance is fine yes!!) 🍒🐳
thank you to netgalley & st martin’s press for the arc! all opinions are my own.
release date: may 19, 2026
May 26, 2026
binged this on my flight to Europe and it was just ok for me! her last two books haven’t hit the mark like her earlier work has for me (my faves of hers are THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE and THE ROM-COMMERS).
i loved Cooper, but had a harder time connecting to Jojo. she didn’t have the typical emotional depth her female MCs do and felt semi immature to me for her age.
i should have known this going in but im not a big cruise gal so i think the forced proximity on the cruise wasn’t working for me from the start 😆 and after just reading & loving DOLLY ALL THE TIME which was a nearly 5-star forced proximity trope, this one fell flat in comparison. sometimes the time in which you read books effects your ratings so much, so take that w a grain of salt!
the friends to lovers trope was cute and again, everyone will love Cooper. it’s hard not to! the romance was a slow burn and the twist was unexpected for sure.
all in all, she’s an auto buy author for me and ill always read her work. this was a quick lil romcom read but definitely not my fave of hers. thanks to St Martins for the gifted copy!
i loved Cooper, but had a harder time connecting to Jojo. she didn’t have the typical emotional depth her female MCs do and felt semi immature to me for her age.
i should have known this going in but im not a big cruise gal so i think the forced proximity on the cruise wasn’t working for me from the start 😆 and after just reading & loving DOLLY ALL THE TIME which was a nearly 5-star forced proximity trope, this one fell flat in comparison. sometimes the time in which you read books effects your ratings so much, so take that w a grain of salt!
the friends to lovers trope was cute and again, everyone will love Cooper. it’s hard not to! the romance was a slow burn and the twist was unexpected for sure.
all in all, she’s an auto buy author for me and ill always read her work. this was a quick lil romcom read but definitely not my fave of hers. thanks to St Martins for the gifted copy!
May 29, 2026
4.5⭐️ I have enjoyed everything Katherine Center has written, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that The Shippers is another winner for me. Set primarily aboard a yacht, this book, primed to be one of the beach reads of summer, offers fun, chaos, and whole lotta love (as it turns out).
Right off the bat, I enjoyed the premise of this story and the fact that we begin at what seemed like an ending, at JoJo’s wedding. Her connection to childhood friend Cooper was almost instantaneous, and the fact that he stopped her wedding felt romantic— so when months later, JoJo becomes fixated on wooing the man she credits with her first kiss, seemingly out of the blue, I struggled to connect with her character and the decisions she was making. But as the story builds, and she is forced to take a closer look at what it is she really wants, that’s when the magic began to happen for me.
While obviously not the main story, I absolutely loved the subplot of JoJo’s parent’s marital struggles and how it impacted not only them, but JoJo as well. The scene in which she’s talking to her former-marine father and he lays his heart out on his sleeve, really pulled at the heartstrings and made me root as much for her parents as I did for her to find her own love story (with Cooper, not Flynn).
I will say, as much as I am loving and am here for her really uplifting, funny romcoms, part of me does miss the more emotional heft of Center’s previous books like Happiness for Beginners and Things You Lose in a Fire. This book does begin to bridge the two types of books so I am hopeful we’ve not seen the end of her women’s fiction.
🎧 Patti Murin is one of my faves, especially when it comes to narrating KC’s books. However, for some reason, her voice didn’t quite mesh with what I envisioned for JoJo and perhaps made her feel even younger than her 20-something years. Although I think most will absolutely love this format, I do wish I had gone into it with print and done my usual reread in audio.
One last note— please make sure to read the author’s note at the beginning of this book. It is well worth your time.
Read if you like:
▪️romcoms
▪️cruise ship settings
▪️quasi-love triangle
▪️witty banter
▪️charming side characters
▪️feel good romance
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies.
Right off the bat, I enjoyed the premise of this story and the fact that we begin at what seemed like an ending, at JoJo’s wedding. Her connection to childhood friend Cooper was almost instantaneous, and the fact that he stopped her wedding felt romantic— so when months later, JoJo becomes fixated on wooing the man she credits with her first kiss, seemingly out of the blue, I struggled to connect with her character and the decisions she was making. But as the story builds, and she is forced to take a closer look at what it is she really wants, that’s when the magic began to happen for me.
While obviously not the main story, I absolutely loved the subplot of JoJo’s parent’s marital struggles and how it impacted not only them, but JoJo as well. The scene in which she’s talking to her former-marine father and he lays his heart out on his sleeve, really pulled at the heartstrings and made me root as much for her parents as I did for her to find her own love story (with Cooper, not Flynn).
I will say, as much as I am loving and am here for her really uplifting, funny romcoms, part of me does miss the more emotional heft of Center’s previous books like Happiness for Beginners and Things You Lose in a Fire. This book does begin to bridge the two types of books so I am hopeful we’ve not seen the end of her women’s fiction.
🎧 Patti Murin is one of my faves, especially when it comes to narrating KC’s books. However, for some reason, her voice didn’t quite mesh with what I envisioned for JoJo and perhaps made her feel even younger than her 20-something years. Although I think most will absolutely love this format, I do wish I had gone into it with print and done my usual reread in audio.
One last note— please make sure to read the author’s note at the beginning of this book. It is well worth your time.
Read if you like:
▪️romcoms
▪️cruise ship settings
▪️quasi-love triangle
▪️witty banter
▪️charming side characters
▪️feel good romance
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
2.25
i'm... disappointed. :(
i've now read ELEVEN katherine center books and rated 9 of them 4 stars or above, some even 5 stars. i loved how she wrote love stories that were emotionally mature and real and tackled a lot more than your typical rom-com. but it's like a switch was flipped because both her most recent books have been 2 stars for me. it pains me to say it because i used to call her one of my favorite authors :(
i'm not going to go into too much detail because i don't think it's really necessary but here were my thoughts while reading"
-LOVED the setting. i was so excited to read a romance set on a cruise ship because there's something magical about a cruise.
-jojo is probably the most selfish FMC i've ever read about. her life is all woe is me and everything is always happening TO her instead of her making things happen. even in the middle of her sister's wedding, she could only think about her problems. she also dips out on her own wedding in the first couple chapters (a relationship which she had been in for YEARS) and is completely unphased by it and only has bad things to say about her ex (why were you with him for 4 years if he's so bad?)
-the miscommunication was just tooo much. i can handle some miscommunication because i think it's realistic, but i'm not kidding when i say this girl literally RAN away from cooper as they were trying to figure out their problems. it felt like they were in high school and couldn't have a mature conversation to save their lives.
anyways.. i had a few other problems with this but those are the main points. i feel sad about this review and i wish i had better things to say but this is just me being honest.
i've seen friends rate this high so this could totally just be a me thing :)
🔥NO SPICE🔥 frequent references to s*x though
🤐NO STRONG LANGUAGE🤐
i'm... disappointed. :(
i've now read ELEVEN katherine center books and rated 9 of them 4 stars or above, some even 5 stars. i loved how she wrote love stories that were emotionally mature and real and tackled a lot more than your typical rom-com. but it's like a switch was flipped because both her most recent books have been 2 stars for me. it pains me to say it because i used to call her one of my favorite authors :(
i'm not going to go into too much detail because i don't think it's really necessary but here were my thoughts while reading"
-LOVED the setting. i was so excited to read a romance set on a cruise ship because there's something magical about a cruise.
-jojo is probably the most selfish FMC i've ever read about. her life is all woe is me and everything is always happening TO her instead of her making things happen. even in the middle of her sister's wedding, she could only think about her problems. she also dips out on her own wedding in the first couple chapters (a relationship which she had been in for YEARS) and is completely unphased by it and only has bad things to say about her ex (why were you with him for 4 years if he's so bad?)
-the miscommunication was just tooo much. i can handle some miscommunication because i think it's realistic, but i'm not kidding when i say this girl literally RAN away from cooper as they were trying to figure out their problems. it felt like they were in high school and couldn't have a mature conversation to save their lives.
anyways.. i had a few other problems with this but those are the main points. i feel sad about this review and i wish i had better things to say but this is just me being honest.
i've seen friends rate this high so this could totally just be a me thing :)
🔥NO SPICE🔥 frequent references to s*x though
🤐NO STRONG LANGUAGE🤐
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.75 ★— You know that scene in Sex and the City where Miranda tells Carrie that she can’t continue watching her make the worst choices and be delusional about Mr. Big? That’s how I felt for a lot of this book, because the main character in this story is delusional in a way that, while often entertaining, is also a little exasperating.
The book centers on JoJo Burton, who comes face-to-face with a childhood best friend she hasn’t seen in years on the day of her own wedding, which she abruptly ends after panicking during the ceremony. Soon after, she boards a cruise ship for her sister’s destination wedding, hoping to heal the underlying issues that led to her messy love life while getting into plenty of shenanigans with the aforementioned childhood best friend who volunteers to help her.
This was my first Katherine Center book, so I went in blind with zero expectations of her usual writing or storytelling style. As soon as I got into it, I noticed that her prose was very light and fun, that her writing style was very easy to follow, and that her cast of supporting characters made for an entertaining backdrop to the book’s main story.
I also noticed something else relatively quickly: that I liked the male love interest more than the main character. Often, during my read of this book, I found myself wondering why exactly he was so persistently in love with and loyal to JoJo, who really did not seem worth the effort.
Because, damn, JoJo really isn’t, in my opinion! Cooper Watts is the caretaking, gentle, and patient type of childhood best friend archetype who’s clearly harboring a long-running crush on her that’s apparent from the first chapter… and JoJo is 100% oblivious to it.
This is a pretty common childhood friends to lovers setup, but I thought JoJo’s obliviousness was really set to a maximum here, even for a romance book heroine. And while that was obviously done in part for comedic effect, it really felt like her utter obliviousness was still there even after he confessed, which was honestly kind of annoying.
JoJo just really is not the type of main character I enjoy, with her quirky, naive, and almost obnoxious personality, along with the delusional quality to her that I already mentioned.
Her daddy issues, which are quite central to her issues with relationships and love and are framed as quite important in the beginning, were also depicted a bit strangely. While she was very aware of them, it felt like they were almost handwaved away in the subplot toward the end.
Now, the book did have me enjoy its setting, and I thought having the opening chapters set at a wedding made for a sufficiently dramatic and entertaining beginning that hooked me very well.
Just… while I thought the chemistry, banter, and connection between Cooper and JoJo were wonderfully depicted, and while I did really buy their love and care for each other, my lukewarm feelings about the heroine soured a lot of the reading experience for me.
I still can’t say I regret reading/listening to this, because I had a decent time and found it funny and charming enough, but this definitely isn’t a story I’ll be returning to.
🎧 Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
No complaints about the narrator here! I thought she really made JoJo come to life and sold the more comedic aspects of the narration very well. I also thought her voice for Cooper was really good.
______________
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
The book centers on JoJo Burton, who comes face-to-face with a childhood best friend she hasn’t seen in years on the day of her own wedding, which she abruptly ends after panicking during the ceremony. Soon after, she boards a cruise ship for her sister’s destination wedding, hoping to heal the underlying issues that led to her messy love life while getting into plenty of shenanigans with the aforementioned childhood best friend who volunteers to help her.
This was my first Katherine Center book, so I went in blind with zero expectations of her usual writing or storytelling style. As soon as I got into it, I noticed that her prose was very light and fun, that her writing style was very easy to follow, and that her cast of supporting characters made for an entertaining backdrop to the book’s main story.
I also noticed something else relatively quickly: that I liked the male love interest more than the main character. Often, during my read of this book, I found myself wondering why exactly he was so persistently in love with and loyal to JoJo, who really did not seem worth the effort.
Because, damn, JoJo really isn’t, in my opinion! Cooper Watts is the caretaking, gentle, and patient type of childhood best friend archetype who’s clearly harboring a long-running crush on her that’s apparent from the first chapter… and JoJo is 100% oblivious to it.
This is a pretty common childhood friends to lovers setup, but I thought JoJo’s obliviousness was really set to a maximum here, even for a romance book heroine. And while that was obviously done in part for comedic effect, it really felt like her utter obliviousness was still there even after he confessed, which was honestly kind of annoying.
JoJo just really is not the type of main character I enjoy, with her quirky, naive, and almost obnoxious personality, along with the delusional quality to her that I already mentioned.
Her daddy issues, which are quite central to her issues with relationships and love and are framed as quite important in the beginning, were also depicted a bit strangely. While she was very aware of them, it felt like they were almost handwaved away in the subplot toward the end.
Now, the book did have me enjoy its setting, and I thought having the opening chapters set at a wedding made for a sufficiently dramatic and entertaining beginning that hooked me very well.
Just… while I thought the chemistry, banter, and connection between Cooper and JoJo were wonderfully depicted, and while I did really buy their love and care for each other, my lukewarm feelings about the heroine soured a lot of the reading experience for me.
I still can’t say I regret reading/listening to this, because I had a decent time and found it funny and charming enough, but this definitely isn’t a story I’ll be returning to.
🎧 Audiobook Notes
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
⭐ Listener Rating: 5/5
No complaints about the narrator here! I thought she really made JoJo come to life and sold the more comedic aspects of the narration very well. I also thought her voice for Cooper was really good.
______________
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC and to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.
February 23, 2026
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Katherine Center is simply magic!! An auto-buy author for me without hesitation! And somehow she still finds new ways to amaze me!! I truly didn't think anything could rival Rom-Commers , but The Shippers just sailed straight into my heart and tied for first place!!!
Cooper and JoJo are childhood best friends with history and heartbreak between them, reunited at a destination wedding cruise, sharing one cozy cabin at sea where the air feels thick with everything unsaid. The banter sparkles. The fake flirting doesn't feel very fake. The slow dancing? Swoon. The jealously? Delicious. And beneath all of it is this breathtaking, almost unbearable longing.
JoJo had me laughing out loud with her Project Conquest chaos, but underneath her shenanigans is vulnerability and fear and hope. And Cooper?? The ultimate cinnamon roll boyfriend! 🫠🥰 The kind of hero whose quiet devotion says more than grand gestures ever could.
But what truly makes this story soar is its emotional depth. Beneath the romance and hilarious moments is something far more tender and moving. It's a story about having the courage to choose love when fear feels safer. About refusing to let old heartbreak quietly script your future. The vulnerability feels real, the growth feels hard-won, and the emotional payoff is beautifully earned and so deeply satisfying.
I loved all the secondary characters which added so much warmth and richness to the story. Grandma Dottie was an absolute hoot! And the ending and epilogue were pure romantic bliss.💖🩷💝
Katherine Center said she wrote this for anyone who needed a hug and that's exactly what it feels like. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and cannot wait to buy the physical copy to add to my personal collection. I absolutely loved it so much and it deserves ALL the stars!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Katherine Center is simply magic!! An auto-buy author for me without hesitation! And somehow she still finds new ways to amaze me!! I truly didn't think anything could rival Rom-Commers , but The Shippers just sailed straight into my heart and tied for first place!!!
Cooper and JoJo are childhood best friends with history and heartbreak between them, reunited at a destination wedding cruise, sharing one cozy cabin at sea where the air feels thick with everything unsaid. The banter sparkles. The fake flirting doesn't feel very fake. The slow dancing? Swoon. The jealously? Delicious. And beneath all of it is this breathtaking, almost unbearable longing.
JoJo had me laughing out loud with her Project Conquest chaos, but underneath her shenanigans is vulnerability and fear and hope. And Cooper?? The ultimate cinnamon roll boyfriend! 🫠🥰 The kind of hero whose quiet devotion says more than grand gestures ever could.
But what truly makes this story soar is its emotional depth. Beneath the romance and hilarious moments is something far more tender and moving. It's a story about having the courage to choose love when fear feels safer. About refusing to let old heartbreak quietly script your future. The vulnerability feels real, the growth feels hard-won, and the emotional payoff is beautifully earned and so deeply satisfying.
I loved all the secondary characters which added so much warmth and richness to the story. Grandma Dottie was an absolute hoot! And the ending and epilogue were pure romantic bliss.💖🩷💝
Katherine Center said she wrote this for anyone who needed a hug and that's exactly what it feels like. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and cannot wait to buy the physical copy to add to my personal collection. I absolutely loved it so much and it deserves ALL the stars!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 8, 2025
WORTHY OF ALL THE STARSSSSS!!!!
First of all, I’m an avid Katherine Center supporter. I’d read anything she writes, but this one is her best to date! It’s a dose of healing between the pages; much-needed laughter and love. Precriptive reading.
Secondly, I’m an avid cruiser. I’d read anything that’s marketed as a clean read if it is set on a cruise ship, regardless of location.
Finally, I’m just starting to branch out into romcoms. Center’s narrative tickles my funnybone while still making me gush and swoon.
This book is centered around the idea that we need to develop courage to follow our own compass. I loved the exploration of holding space for destiny, of choosing love over fear, and of the value in rebranding. I laughed at the pity hickey episode and was instantly charmed by Cooper Watts.
I’m keeping this brief for those who are looking forward to this one. You have a book worthy of all the stars to look forward to in 2026. I'm kinda jealous that you have this wonderful book still to read for the first time!!!!
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
First of all, I’m an avid Katherine Center supporter. I’d read anything she writes, but this one is her best to date! It’s a dose of healing between the pages; much-needed laughter and love. Precriptive reading.
Secondly, I’m an avid cruiser. I’d read anything that’s marketed as a clean read if it is set on a cruise ship, regardless of location.
Finally, I’m just starting to branch out into romcoms. Center’s narrative tickles my funnybone while still making me gush and swoon.
This book is centered around the idea that we need to develop courage to follow our own compass. I loved the exploration of holding space for destiny, of choosing love over fear, and of the value in rebranding. I laughed at the pity hickey episode and was instantly charmed by Cooper Watts.
I’m keeping this brief for those who are looking forward to this one. You have a book worthy of all the stars to look forward to in 2026. I'm kinda jealous that you have this wonderful book still to read for the first time!!!!
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
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