Book Review: The Shippers by Katherine Center

 

Pages: 336

Genre: Romance

Pub. Date: May 19. 2026

Publisher: St. Martin's

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books by Author: The Bodyguard

and The Love Haters 

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

Goodreads says, "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."

 

 

 

 

Jojo has left her fiancé at the altar and finds herself starting over yet again; she feels she is notoriously bad at love. When her sister gets married and has a destination wedding on a cruise, she is forced to spend time not only with her quirky family but also with her childhood best friend, Cooper. Not only were they inseparable growing up, but to complicate matters further, they stopped talking after she got engaged and he moved to London four years ago. But the more time they spend together on the cruise, the more they fall into their old friendship. Cooper decides to help Jojo in the love department as she wants to gain the attention of newly divorced Finn, who was her first crush. So, over the course of the cruise, Jojo and Cooper try to flirt (and other antics) to gain Finn's attention, but the more time they spend together, the more they realize that maybe they have something there that's more than friendship. Katherine Center's The Shippers is a delightful rom-com with a great cruise ship setting; it makes for fun summer reading.
 
Jojo is a quirky kind of main character that I usually enjoy. I found myself laughing more often than not at some of the antics Jojo and her family get into on the cruise. At times, though, I did feel some of the "games" that she and Cooper were involved in felt a bit immature and got to be a little much. Nonetheless, I felt The Shippers redeemed itself, especially if you enjoy a good friends-to-lovers romance.
 
Center really did a good job developing the secondary characters in The Shippers, such as Jojo's grandmother and her cousin, Harmony. Imagine spending a week on a cruise with all of your extended family and the hilarity that would ensue. Center captured that and more. Plus, the cruise ship setting to a tropical destination makes this a great book to throw in your beach bag this summer.
 
While I felt some parts of the novel were a little overdone, and Jojo irritated me from time to time, overall, I thought The Shippers was a fun summer novel, and her fans will especially enjoy it. Readers know they can always count on a happy ending from Center! Let me know in the comments if you are a fan of Katherine Center and if you plan to read The Shippers this summer.