One of the hottest, fastest-rising rom-com stars delivers her latest swoon-worthy novel about a destination wedding on a cruise ship.
After a whole lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton decides to solve her intimacy issues once and for all at her sister’s destination wedding on a cruise ship. With the help of a little pop psychology, she diagnoses herself with a fixation on the neighborhood guy who was her first crush and first kiss (and who just happens to be a newly divorced wedding guest), and she decides to woo him during the cruise for some long-delayed closure. Only problem is, her sister’s a little busy being a bride at the moment—so JoJo ropes in her childhood bestie, Cooper Watts, to be her wing man. Cooper: who RSVPed no, but then showed up, anyway. Cooper: who left town without a word four years earlier and moved to London. Cooper: who was, if she’s honest, the worst heartbreak of JoJo’s life. It’s bliss for her to see him again, and its agony, too—and the more they team up for Project Conquest, the more she obsesses over questions she can’t bring herself to ask.
Shipboard antics ensue in this witty, heart-tugging, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance—as JoJo and Cooper fake flirt, slow dance, share a cabin, sing duets, treat sunburns, get jealous, rescue each other over and over, and finally, at last, figure it all out in the most blissful, swoony, romantic way.
No one does summer romance quite like Katherine Center. The Shippers will take readers on the cruise of a lifetime in a story awash with romantic longing, top-notch banter, long-held secrets . . . and true love rediscovered.
My Book Review:
In The Shippers, author Katherine Center weaves a lighthearted romantic tale of childhood friendship and finding love.
Set on a destination wedding cruise ship, the reader is easily drawn into this entertaining rom com as they follow childhood best friends JoJo Burton and Cooper Watts as they discover that love has always been right in front their faces all along.
JoJo Burton has intimacy issues when it comes to romantic relationships, she always dumps her boyfriends. Even on her wedding day to fiancé, Pearce Richmond, JoJo calls off the wedding after her childhood best friend Cooper Watts unexpectedly attends the wedding after he had previously declined the RSVP.
Cooper Watts had been JoJo's childhood best friend, but after their college graduation, he abruptly left town and moved to London. It has been four years since JoJo and Cooper saw or talked to each other, that is until he unexpectedly came to her wedding, and then six weeks later to the destination wedding for JoJo's older sister Ashley and fiancé Brody.
Now on an eight-day destination wedding cruise to the Bahamas and Cozumel, JoJo and Cooper are together once again, but past history issues and a crazy Operation Conquest plan to get JoJo's first kiss and crush to fall in love with her has them fake flirting with each other ... but is the guy she had a teenage crush on really the guy who she shared an unforgettable first kiss with while blindfolded during a childhood game of truth and dare?
The Shippers is such a fun romantic comedy that easily keeps the reader engaged as they follow JoJo and Cooper's story. Set on a destination wedding cruise ship and told in the first-person narrative by JoJo, the reader follows along as their unexpected partnering helps them finally get a chance at finding love and happiness in their lives.
There was a great mixture of emotion, drama, angst, banter, humor and crazy antics mixed in this story. The author does a great job of describing JoJo and Cooper's longtime friendship, and how their undeniable chemistry has sparks flying, even when they still need to figure out what they have together was always in front of them. You can't help but cheer them on, and hope that they realize they can finally become "shipped."
The Shippers is a wonderful story that has enough emotional depth, drama, romance, comedy, and witty banter, that makes it a delightfully entertaining romantic comedy tale that romance fans will certainly enjoy!
Rating: 5 STARS
