Shipwrecked by the Heroine, Saved by the Cast
I had to sit with this one for a few days because, honestly, it made me a little sad. I wanted so badly to love it, but it didn’t quite hit the high marks of The Rom-Commers or The Love Haters, both of which I absolutely devoured. That being said, it was still a fun, easy-breezy companion that kept me company and helped me breeze through my week.
Recently, the best-friends-to-lovers trope has really grown on me. There is something about it that tugs at the heartstrings differently, and I definitely felt that connection here. The story follows JoJo and Cooper, childhood best friends who haven’t spoken in years. After Cooper RSVPs “no” to her wedding, he suddenly shows up out of the blue to convince her not to walk down the aisle. When the wedding gets called off, JoJo embarks on a quest to win over her childhood crush during her sister’s upcoming wedding festivities—and she solicits Cooper’s help to do it.
The banter between them is excellent, and there are plenty of moments that will make you laugh out loud. I also absolutely loved the supporting cast; they brought so much life and warmth to the story. As always, Katherine Center excels at creating unique plot lines, and the final “twist” leaves you feeling happier than expected.
However, the main downfall for me was JoJo’s maturity level. She is hands-down the most frustrating fictional character I have met in a while, which ultimately took a major toll on my final rating. Because she was so exasperating, I really would have loved some chapters from Cooper’s perspective to balance things out. I also needed that ultimate happy moment to come much quicker, rather than waiting until the 86% mark to finally get there.
Yet, despite those grievances, the story had a strong grip on me—I absolutely needed to know what happened and couldn’t bring myself to put it down. I’ve even been wondering if the audiobook version handles the perspective or the delivery better, and I might just have to buy it to find out.
While this one lands at a solid three stars for me, I will still eagerly await the next release from Ms. Center. She loves to write about love, and when I want a romance, I need it to be an effortless, joyful escape. She usually delivers that in droves, and I will always be here for it!
