Tag Archives: Katherine Center

ARC — The Shippers— Katherine Center

““You cannot fly all the way here for less than twenty-four hours to say something that major—and then just not say it!”
But he could.
And he did.
No amount of begging, arguing, threatening, or guilt-tripping changed his mind.
He took off for London at six AM, as scheduled, without ever saying the thing he’d flown to Texas to say.
And all I could do was go home. And wonder what it was.”

Genre: Romance, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5+ stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Touches on hard subjects, like divorce, child abuse, domestic violence, and kidnapping. Contains romantic content, but no explicit sexual content.

Katherine Center is one of my few insta-buy author, and I can, once again, say with certainty, that she never ever misses. “The Shippers” follows JoJo Burton, a mathematician-turned-art-teacher, as she tries to fight against what she believes is her ultimate love curse: as soon as she feels loved by someone, she will run away. She is always the dumper, never the dumpee. As she boards a cruise, for her sister’s destination wedding, she is set to change the course of her life. And in comes Cooper Watts (the man that you are crying emoji), her childhood best friend, the one who convinced her to leave her ex at the altar, and the one true heartbreak of her life. This close proximity romance will have you turning the pages in record speed, trust me.

I could not get enough of this read. I read it in less than 24 hours. If I could re-read it for the first time again, I would. I am usually a very explicit reader (clean romances aren’t my thing), but I’m not even sure how to explain that this book is, indeed, a clean romance, but it made me feel things some explicit books haven’t achieved. I usually rate clean romances as 1 fire emoji in the spicy meter, but gosh, this book took it one step further, hence the 2. The tension between JoJo and Cooper is palpable. Their care for each other is evident from the start. Their miscommunications almost drove me insane, but it was so worth the wait.

If you’re looking for butterflies, giggles, and a clean, summer romance, look no further. “The Shippers” is the book for you. 5 stars isn’t enough to express how much I loved this book.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 19, 2026

ARC — The Bodyguard — Katherine Center

“There’s nothing like the mutuality of a hug—the way you’re giving comfort but you’re getting it, too. I didn’t know what was real or fake anymore, but right then, it just didn’t matter.”

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis (stays PG13, but it’s great)
Content Warnings: Mentions cheating, cancer, car crashes, and discusses the loss of parents and alcoholism.

“The Hating Game” meets “Spoiler Alert” (or Starstruck, that Disney movie from the 2000s) in this exceptional novel about an Executive Protection Agent (essentially a bodyguard) and a superstar falling in love. “The Bodyguard” follows Hannah Brooks, a recently-dumped, ordinary-and-stumpy Executive Protection Agent, and Jack Stapleton, a famous actor who took a hiatus after a tragic accident that led to the death of one of his brothers. Now that Jack’s mother has been diagnosed with cancer, he steps back into society and is forced to get a security team—but refuses to scare his mother with the fact that he needs security at all. So in comes Hannah, who is lowkey forced to be Jack’s fake girlfriend while they stay at his family’s ranch. But when does faking end and reality starts? That’s for them to find out.

Oh God, I can’t even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, I loved the plot and the writing, I hated the villains (for a change), and I just couldn’t get enough of the fanfiction feel of it all. I just have to mention it again: I can’t believe how good of a villain we got, I don’t know who I hated more: her ex boyfriend or her ex best friend, that’s all I’m saying.

Also, I can’t believe this is my first Katherine Center book, I’ll definitely be adding her to my TBR list. I really enjoyed her writing, her descriptions are there but aren’t long enough to be boring. The characters she crafted were both relatable and fantastical, in the best sense of the word. Both Hannah and Jack were so sweet. It’s like you know the things that happened in this book probably wouldn’t happen in real life, but they still technically could, and it would be wonderful if they did.

I also couldn’t tell you if this book was a slow burn or not, because it sort of was, but, at the same time, it felt like a romance from the start, even if that was fake. What I can tell you is that this book is filled with character development and growth, not just two shallow characters pining after one another.

I would recommend “The Bodyguard” to any readers who’ve enjoyed close proximity and fake dating trope books, like “The Spanish Love Deception” by Elena Armas, “The Unhoneymooners” by Christina Lauren, or “The Hating Game” by Sally Thorne. Also, if you’ve been into fanfiction at any point in your life, or if you’ve ever had a big crush on someone famous, this book is for you.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 19, 2022

“To what we’ve held onto. And what we’ve lost.”