The Shippers by Center, Katherine

NO ONE DOES SUMMER ROMANCE LIKE KATHERINE CENTER.

She wants him to help her woo someone else.
Genius. Foolproof. Can't go wrong.

DELUXE EDITION―a gorgeous hardcover edition featuring beautiful sky blue sprayed edges!

After a lifetime of being bad at love, JoJo Burton vows 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.

Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 05/19/2026
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.14lbs
Size: 9.38h x 6.07w x 1.35d
ISBN: 9781250408051

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Library Journal 02/01/2026 pg. 44
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2026
Publishers Weekly 03/23/2026

About the Author
KATHERINE CENTER is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including Happiness for Beginners, The Bodyguard, and The Rom-Commers. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down--and how we get back up. The movie adaptation of Katherine's novel Happiness for Beginners is a hit Netflix original movie starring Ellie Kemper. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.