Jersey Girl Book Reviews: Book Spotlight: The Shippers by Katherine Center

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Book Spotlight: The Shippers by Katherine Center

The Shippers by Katherine Center

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

Format: Hardcover - 336 pages

Audiobook - 11 Hours 8 Minutes

Kindle - 327 pages / 2.8 MB

Nook - 336 pages / 2 MB

ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1250408051

ASIN (Audiobook): B0FRNT8Z6P

ASIN (Kindle): B0FLYRRRRD

BNID (Nook): 978-1250408068

Genre: Romance / Romantic Comedy / Rom-Com

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Book Description:

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.

About The Author

BookPage calls author Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She is the New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Bodyguard, The Rom-Commers, and The Love Haters, among others. Katherine writes deep, nuanced, laugh-and-cry rom-coms that brim with hope and healing. The movie adaptations of her novels Happiness for Beginners and The Lost Husband have both hit the global top ten on Netflix. Her books have made countless best-of lists, including Amazon’s Top 100 Books of the Year, Barnes & Noble’s best books of the year, the Indie Next Great Reads List, Goodreads’ Best Books of the Year, Library Reads Hall of Fame, People Best New Books, and more. Her spring 2026 book is The Shippers—and People says “Katherine Center’s The Shippers is the wedding romance you need.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.