BOOK REVIEW: THE SHIPPERS BY KATHERINE CENTER

GOODREADS SUMMARY

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

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

TEE'S THOUGHTS

Katherine Center has officially become an auto-buy author for me. At this point, I don’t even need to read the synopsis, I just trust her to deliver something full of wit, humor, and heart every single time.

Her newest book, The Shippers, is no different. It’s packed with engaging characters, lighthearted moments, and that effortlessly addictive writing style that keeps you turning pages long past when you meant to stop.

I did enjoy the MMC, Jojo—but I’ll be honest, she tested me a little. There were moments where her immaturity really showed, especially in the way she handled certain situations. She had a tendency to avoid things that deserved to be taken seriously, often slipping into denial or shifting the blame instead of taking accountability. I found myself rooting for her while also wanting her to just  get it together.

That said, the story still felt very real. Center does such a good job capturing the messiness of relationships—misunderstandings, emotional fallouts, and all the complicated in-between moments that make her characters feel human.

So while I had a few frustrations, I was still completely pulled in—and honestly, that’s part of what keeps me coming back to her books.