I had a hard time knowing how to review this book, since I love Katherine Center's books overall. However, this book was just okay for me. I loved the premise of two writers falling in love while writing a rom-com. Some of the highlights of the book for me include the humor (I definitely laughed out loud a few times), the deeper topics (cancer, grief/loss of loved one, caregiving for a parent, etc.), the very realistic conflicts, and the main characters, Emma's personality. Why I didn't rate it higher: I didn't like the way the other main character, Charlie, treated Emma at times (despite later knowing why) and some truly cringey moments (yes, I know it's a rom-com). I did love the classic Hollywood rom-com ending of the book. I would still recommend this, even though it's not my favorite by this author. Some of the best books I've read by Katherine Center include The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, and Happiness for Beginners. I will definitely read her future books!

Oh, how a Katherine center book always hits the spot and makes life a little better. Whenever I need to take a break from life and just enjoy the moment, her books are a perfect opportunity to do just that. I so enjoyed her new book. I laughed, I cried, and savored every moment of this reading journey. Thank you, Netgalley and McMillan Publishers for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two very flawed people fall in love. That’s basically this book summed up, without any spoilers.

Emma is a woman who has a martyr complex and uses guilt as a weapon to manipulate people into doing what she wants. Charlie is a selfish human, who thinks very highly of himself and very lowly of others (incl the female mc at the start).

Interestingly enough, they both have character arcs that make them better individually and together. By the end I was rooting for them, even if I didn’t particularly like them.

I think this was a cute rom com, with some fun banter and maybe some dialogue that was a bit problematic. I think it was well paced, even if some choices the characters made frustrated me to no end. I didn’t necessarily like how this book was narrated by Emma, like she was telling a story to someone- but it felt like a narrated movie, and I think that fit this book considering the plot.

Overall, I’d recommend you read it if you want a quick rom com read that’s clean and cute.

Emma's passion is writing, but she's sacrificed some major writing opportunities in order to care for her father, who was injured years ago in a tragic accident. When she gets the opportunity of a lifetime - to move to LA short-term and work with one of her favorite writers - her first reaction is to pass. Her dad needs round-the-clock care, and she has devoted her life to keeping him alive. But her sister happens to be coming home from college and can handle caring for their dad while Emma is away. After some debate, Emma decides to go for it. Her other passion is rom-coms, and this gig is to co-write one with her idol, Charlie Yates. Initially, Charlie is a disappointment. He doesn't believe in love, doesn't understand the recipe for a solid rom-com, and he's kind of a grump. Emma is hell-bent on getting Charlie on board with all things romance and rom-com feels. As the two spend more and more time together, sparks begin to fly. Can Emma change Charlie's ways and convince him that true love does exist?

Let me start off with this - I will always and forever read anything written by Katherine Center. I love her stories, her laugh out loud moments, and her perfectly imperfect characters. Her endings are like a warm hug. The Rom-Commers checked off all the boxes for me and was a super quick read that I blew through in two days (it would've been one if I had the time). Katherine Center is a delight who has mastered the rom-com recipe.

The Rom-Commers is yet another great summer read by Katherine Center that I loved.
Emma is her dad's primary caregiver but leaves him with her sister when she is hired to help edit her screenwriting hero Charlie's first rom-com. But does he really want help? Will Emma's dad be ok while she's gone? Will she finally make the connections she needs to further her screenwriting career?

Katherine Center's writing makes the reading experience such a pleasure - her main characters, the banter, the supporting characters. I became very invested in Emma and Charlie's story and felt as if I was reading about friends. That's why her books are ideal summer reads! But then I'm sad when the story is done.

If you have loved Katherine Center's previous novels, I highly recommend this one too, because you will surely love it.

Many thanks to #StMartinsPress & #NetGalley for being so kind as to provide me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the Rom-Commers!

Katherine Center is one of my absolute favorite authors, and the queen of crafting witty banter and sharp dialogue. Her books take the reader on a journey through all the feels, and are the perfect, absorbing read.

The Rom-Commers delivers with all of the above! The perfect summer read!!

Characters Emma and Charlie, with all of their emotions, quirks, and flaws, are hard not to root for - separately as well as together. Although I’ll admit that through a good portion of the book in rooting for Emma I felt like she belonged with better than a guy who dissed her so coldly and frequently behind her back (defense mechanism or not), Charlie redeems himself in the end in the magical way you hope a “rom-com” will.

The depth of love described within Emma’s family really hit soft spots for me and was a great side plot - the scene where Emma’s dad instructs Charlie (via email) to make her favorite doughnuts for her birthday, and the lengths Charlie went to to make that happen was so sweet.

Best part about this book? The ending and the underlying message. The Rom-Commers is full of wonderful, inspiring quotes and messages. The ending sums it up best:

“It can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there. It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on.

It’s all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it - but how you choose to tell it.”

Words to live by! This book and characters will stay with me long after finishing.

I did not think anything could top The Bodyguard for me, which was one of my favorite reads of 2022, but this has!! By far my favorite Katherine Center book now. This was so so good! It managed to make me feel every single emotion and I loved the storyline.

I have read and enjoyed several of this author's previous books, so I was very excited to receive this #giftedcopy for review. It was a bit of a slow start for me and I was worried this one wouldn't work for me. But then things really took off and I was hooked. This book made me laugh out loud, gasp and tear up a few times. Once you get to know Emma and Charlie you really fall for them and root for them to work things out. There is also a bit of the behind the third wall element that I loved too, when the author is speaking directly to you, the reader. I thought these were very fleshed out characters with some serious issues and dilemmas that they each had to work through. I thought the issues were handled well and in a pretty realistic way. Definitely a romcom with some substance. @katherinecenter is becoming an autobuy author for me and I look forward to what she writes next!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to throw this one in your beach bag! Out June 11, 2024.

To be honest I started this book in March maybe it was February but the point is it took me way too long to finish this book. The first half just did not grab my attention like I would have wanted it to. I found myself reading a chapter a day. I kept watching reviews go up and everyone loving the book so I pushed to read it. So yesterday May 28th I decided to try again and I was at the 48% mark and well I finished the book 24 hours later. Overall it was a good book with a cute love story with some laughable content.

Emma is a hopeful write who finds herself being her father’s care taker after a freak accident during a camping trip with her family that ultimately killed her mother. As an inspiring writer who never leaves her dad’s side an opportunity to write a long side her favorite screen writer becomes available after shes contacted by an ex boyfriend that works for him. The screenwriter is Charlie a divorced bachelor and survivor of cancer. Emma takes a trip to LA to work by Charlie sides but what is a dream come true for her really a nightmare? The two work side by side in a hilarious journey leading to love on the screen and real life.


Overall I enjoyed it even though I thought I wouldn’t.

Just when you think Katherine can't outdo herself, she does. Her books will wrap you up in a hug and deliver some of the most profound and memorable romances you'll ever read.

I absolutely loved this book and the main characters. Even though Emma doesn't have the big Hollywood recognition that she deserves, she's confident in her work, even when her idol Charlie brushes it off when Emma is brought on to save his failed romcom script since he doesn't do romance. Despite his reservation in getting close to Emma as they rewrite the script, watching Charlie let Emma in gradually was such a heartwarming journey, especially after finding out about his health struggles. Emma learning to let others help her in caring for her dad and learning that she can still live out her dreams and overcome the guilt associated with her father's accident was heartbreaking but all too relatable for every caregiver out there who puts their dreams on hold and often experience burnout.

You'll laugh and you'll tear up in this story and realize that Katherine Center just keeps setting the bar higher and higher in the romance genre.

So cute, a little repetitive and I wanted more in the ending. I wanted more time with Charlie and Emma!! I loved the Texas tie into the bodyguard and just found the second half of the book unputdownable!

When it comes to Katherine Center books, I always know exactly what to expect—they feel like a warm hug in the summer sun. The Rom-Commers was no different, and also somehow managed to combine several of my favorite rom-com tropes (enemies to lovers, grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity) into one book. But beyond that, it *also* tackled a number of deep topics such as panic attacks, chronic illness, deferring one’s dreams, and being a parental caretaker in a way that elevated your typical romantic comedy in a way that felt genuine to a fellow panic attack sufferer, heart-felt, and hopeful. Overall? I absolutely loved it.

The Rom-Commers releases on June 11th, so go ahead and pre-order it now—you’ll definitely want this for your summer beach bag!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @katherinecenter for an ARC of such a lovely book!

Emma Wheeler always wanted to be a screenwriter but after a family tragic accident she has spent the last 10 years as a 24/7 caregiver to her father. Until the day her friend from LA says she has the job of a lifetime for her.... to rewrite a script for her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates.

Reluctantly she leaves her younger sister with her home responsibilities and goes to LA for 6 weeks to work a dream job but when she gets there Charlie had no idea about this set-up. He doesn't care about his Rom-Com script, he just wrote it for a friend's wife so he could get another script of his produced. Charlie thinks Rom Coms are fake. He doesn't even really believe in love anymore once his ex-wife left him the day he found out he was sick.

After some back and forth Charlie feels bad for Emma and agrees to let her stay one night, but it turned into longer as he started to like her. They go out for "research" and one thing leads to another but is it enough to change Charlie's views about love? Will he push her away or let her in?

This book gives you all the feels. You'll laugh, cry, feel tension, be angry and smile. I just loved everything about this book from the characters to the storylines. Will everyone find their happy ending in the end like they do in the movies? You'll have to read to find out.

This is the first book by Katherine Center that I’ve read and disliked. All of her other books are true works of art. I love them all. This one….. is bad. That’s not fair. The first half is good, with the exception of Charlie. The man’s only personality is that he’s kind of a jerk. After that, I feel like he has nothing to him. He might have trauma, but he makes that everyone else’s problem. Emma is a good character, but as the story goes on, I liked her less and less too. She’s low key mean to her family after everything, and she said something’s to Sienna that I would never forgive. Also, for being damn near 30, she’s really immature. The ending was pretty unforgivable in my opinion. I know it’s a work of fiction, but it felt very lazy and unnecessarily cruel to throw in a fake over the phone cancer diagnosis. Overall very disappointed with this book.

This was another sweet, witty rom-com from Katherine Center. Center always tackles real life and believable issues, wrapped around a cute romantic story. Following Emma, an aspiring screen writer who is currently taking care of her ill father, she gets the break of a lifetime and flies to LA to work with one of her biggest heroes, Charlie Yates. What follows is the sweetest beginnings of friendship between the two and quite a bit of hilarity. Center does such a great job of tackling real life and writing wonderful characters. Add this one to your summer a TBR for sure! Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy.

Rating: 5 ⭐️
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
How I Read It: 📱

Synopsis
Emma Wheeler dreams of becoming a screenwriter, but as the sole care-taker of her ill father, her dream life has been put on the back-burner. That is, until she gets a chance to work with her FAVORITE screenwriter, Charlie Yates. Emma hesitantly leaves for LA for six weeks, leaving her sister to care for her father. When she gets to LA, Charlie is not what she expected, and he doesn’t believe in love! How can you write a rom-com and not believe in love? Emma is determined to not only work with Charlie, but make him see that love is real.

My Thoughts
This book had me laughing out loud! It was so much fun! The banter in this book was right up my alley! The characters were so well written and enjoyable, and I loved Emma’s awkward moments in front of her screenwriting crush, Charlie! KC does such a great job of making you feel the connection and emotion between the two main characters; this book tugged on my heartstrings and nearly had me in happy tears at the end because it was a beautifully written love story.

Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud rom-com that will have people staring at you as you crack up, definitely pick this one up! You will not be disappointed!

❗️Of Note
📝 Cancer

Themes:
💜 Rom-Com
🔥 Slow-burn

Ratings
Characters: 5 ⭐️
Pace: 5 ⭐️
Enjoyability: 5 ⭐️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I was excited to receive a complimentary copy of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center from NetGalley. Opinions in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed this novel; I liked how Emma got a chance to live her dream working with her favourite screenwriter of all time. However, I wasn't entirely enthralled by Charlie as he wasn't always nice to her. That said, I could tell he just needed counselling.

I also didn't really understand why someone as young as her was willing to give up her whole life to look after her dad, surely there was another option, like maybe a caretaker or something? It seemed crazy to me that she just accepted that she would never have any of the things that she wanted out of life, and I"m a people pleaser too. Once she got out of this rut though, I did enjoy the story. I liked how Emma was trying to educate him on Romcoms because I love this genre of reading too, and you do sometimes get made fun of for it.

This was a fast read. I really liked Emma's family; her dad seemed super sweet. I went through all the emotions with this novel and I'll definitely try another novel by this author.

I absolutely loved this hilarious, and heartfelt romance! This slow burn rom-com is filled with witty banter, awkward and hilarious situations, and a sweet and moving storyline with lots of heart. Emma Wheeler is a talented screenwriter who loves everything about romantic comedies. She has put her life on hold to care for her father. When she gets a call to cowrite a romcom with her screenwriter idol, her family makes her go. Charlie Yates is a successful screenwriter, but doesn't believe in love. He isn't happy to be working with Emma, but she is determined to make it work. Their time together starts off rocky, but I loved how Emma and Charlie slowly begin to attune to, and take care of each other. But they both have complications in their lives, and when that begins to be too much, will their new found relationship be strong enough to endure? This story was just perfect for me, and I was totally consumed by it from start to finish! I loved all of the awkward, hilarious, sweet, heartfelt and moving moments that had me laughing out loud, swooning, and cheering for Emma and Charlie's HEA. I am a huge fan of a great grand gesture and this one made me totally happy!

This book was the perfect summer read. Katherine Center made me laugh out loud on one page and simultaneously weep tears of joy in the next. This book is the perfect ode to all the romantic comedies before it and also an original look at how “happily ever after” is never quite what it seems.

Who needs to turn on a tv or go to the movies when the best new Rom-Com novel by Katherine Center is out?! I just finished this book and I want to read it all over again!! I loved all of the characters, even the supporting ones. KC creates a vulnerability in them that is both admirable and authentic. This story is about two unlikely writing partners Emma and Charlie who are brought together by a mutual friend and business partner to write a rom-com. Too bad neither of them is able to let go of their thoughts of what defines one, but what they come to realize is that fact and fiction aren’t as far apart as they thought. The sprinkles on my donut were the little nods here and there to a couple of my favorite actors and rom-coms including KCs amazing novel The Bodyguard! Just when I think I’ve met my all time favorite rom-com, she comes out with another one that steals my heart! A warm thanks to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital copy in exchange for my honest review.