As a big Katherine Center fan, I'm never surprised to love her books. Her upcoming release The Rom-Commers, which comes out this summer, is going to be the perfect book to put into your pool/beach bag.

Emma has put her dreams aside to care for her father after an accident that killed her mother. She's been so busy taking care of everyone else that she's forgotten who she really is. But when Emma's best friend gets her a gig writing a rom-com screenplay with Charlie Yates. Yates, one of the most famous and notorious screenwriters for writing alone, doesn't want Emma's help or anyone else's help for that matter. Having flown out to L.A. already, Emma isn't giving up without a fight and has made it her mission to convince Charlie that true love can be real.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, paired with one of my favorite authors and I'm sold! While this wasn't my favorite of Center's, it was still such a great read. The overall tone is a bit darker than some of Center's other books and does focus on some deeper topics such as: Meniere's disease, cancer, death of a parent, and more. But in traditional Center fashion, she handles these topics with care and adds in her signature 'bright side' perspective.

Emma and Charlie while not my favorite romance couple, were a joy to read about. Emma stressed me out a bit a first, I did enjoy how upfront she was about her feelings and open to sharing she was. I eventually really loved the way Emma and Charlie balanced each other out and you could feel the chemistry jumping off the pages.

With ton of life lessons, plenty of witty banter, and chemistry, this romance should definitely be on your list to read. I just adore Katherine Center and I'm already ready for her next book to come out!


The Rom-Commers comes out June 11, 2024. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my advanced copies in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.

I am so disappointed in this book. I usually like Katherine Center’s books. I loved the Bodyguard and I enjoyed Hello Stranger. But this? No. I hated the main male character. He is a complete and utter jerk to Emma when she shows up and then tries to Spider-man his way out of a relationship with her. And the main female character learns absolutely no lessons and treats her little sister like garbage.

Just a big ole no from me. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC. I hope I like her next one. This hurt MY feelings to write.

Every time I pick up a book from Katherine Center, I know I am in for a ride. She effortlessly weaves comedy, challenges, love, and triumph into a beautiful story that is always worth the wait. From the moment I "met" Emma, I found myself rooting for her, laughing with her, loving with her, and mourning with her. She is relatable on so many levels and I found myself fully invested in her journey. Charlie is endearing as an old-young curmudgeon. He puts on a unflappable front, but deep down we all know he has a kind, tender heart. I loved watching their story unfold and getting to watch these character grow with each other and independently!

I have loved Katherine Center's previous novels, but ultimately decided to dnf this one at 50%. I was enjoying what I was reading in the beginning, but it just kept falling flat for me. I didn't connect to the characters and I found some of the dialogue to be odd. I will still read over book by Katherine in the future, but I don't think this one was for me.

Absolute five star read! I knew I was going to love this book I just didn’t know how much. It was cute, quirky, funny, and emotional. Both Emma and Charlie have really been through it in life. They have survived trauma but until they meet each other, they haven’t thrived. Their banter is adorable. A little forced proximity mixed with opposites attract mixed with some workplace romance. I love how Emma breaks the fourth wall talking directly to the reader throughout. It was fast paced and just a super sweet romance. Definitely one you will want to pick up for your summer TBRs!

I enjoy Katherine Center's books and The Rom-Commers was no different. This is a cute, light read filled with entertainment involving both laughter and tears.

When yet-to-be-discovered talent Emma Wheeler gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work with Hollywood giant Charlie Yates, she finally decides to do something for herself and seizes the moment — with a healthy nudge from her younger sister and her father, for whom Emma has been a round-the-clock caregiver for a decade.

Once in Los Angeles, Emma discovers that her high school friend Logan, now a Hollywood manager to big names (one of whom is Charlie Yates), has not told Charlie that Emma has been hired to help him completely rewrite his rom-com screenplay, penned as an exchange in hopes of getting his mafia movie made.

After the initial shock for them both and Emma's rash decision to hoof it to a hotel, followed by some in-between moments, Charlie ends up offering to accept Emma's help with the terrible (and unholy abomination) screenplay — a modernization of the grandmother of all rom-com films ever, "It Happened One Night", which is untouchable (it won the BIG FIVE, after all).

What are the right words for effusive love of a romantic comedy book about the genre of romantic comedy films? Center's unabashed, no-holds-barred defense of rom-coms, be it a book or a film, was so utterly enjoyable. This is my first five-star book of 2024, and I cannot express how glad I am that it was this book with this story.

Center always writes exactly in a style that seems written just for me, and The Rom-Commers is no exception. She nails the humor, the characters, and the story, all with the right amount of lightness and reality. I flew through this book, and I think I'm going to buy a copy just for a reread.

Another winner from Katherine Center! I like how she handles some tough subjects with respect and care and also injects humor into the story. Emma is a delightful, slightly awkward character who is very relatable. Of course there’s a romance but it’s not too gushy, it’s just right.

This story was a slow start for me. However, once it got going, I enjoyed it. It is a light weekend read for anyone needing a small escape. It is not my favorite of Katherine Center’s works but it was good.

Such a good book. Romance is not my typical genre, but I love Katherine Center’s books so I had to give it a try. Definitely enjoyed it and would recommend.

This book was so much fun!

What I love about Katherine Center books is that they have a love story, and something else the character is going through. They are fun but also have some depth to them.

In the Rom-Commers, our main character Emma is the caretaker for her father, and has been so for the last 10 years.

Charlie Yates is a screenwriter who Emma connects with through a friend. Together, the two need to work on re-writing his rom-com. But it is not quite that easy. For one thing, Charlie doesn't want to write with anyone. And Emma, is working through her own situation with her family.

There is one scene between the main character and her father that really hit me hard and I can't stop thinking about what the character said.

I also loved how a character from another of her books pops up a few times.

Katherine, you did it again. I will read whatever you write. This book was perfection. Might I say my favorite Katherine book so far. There was laughing and crying. There was so much feeling in this book.

Loved it so much! it was fun, entertaining , witty, tragic , tear jerking , I could go on and on . I hope this does go to a real screenplay cause what I saw in my mind would be epic on the big screen!!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It wasn’t as trauma heavy as some Katherine Center books, and I really appreciated that. It felt like an ode early rom-coms. The grumpy hero who comes off as mean but isn’t really, and the happy heroine who has some struggles to overcome. It’s an ode to what many people love about romance reads. It’s meant to be predictable and give us the happy ending that we want.

I enjoyed the set up, and while I thought there were some ridiculous scenes, it worked for me. Is it even a rom-com if it doesn’t have some ridiculousness? I think what I liked most is that this is unabashedly a romance. It doesn’t claim to be more. It’s lighthearted with low level angst.

There’s a twist toward the end that brings a bit of drama. Because of the nature of the book, I just went with it. It was exactly what I expect when I read a Katherine Center book.

This book contains strong profanity, and has kissing.

The Rom-Commers had me in tears a time or two, made me laugh out loud, was witty, smart, and a whole lot of fun.This was a charming read about life and love. Chocked full of life lessons one can take away.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s books for this ARC.

Katherine Center writes heartfelt romantic comedies, and her latest doesn’t depart from the genre. Like all her novels, however, this one also pursues darker themes, notably, when does filial duty become a form of self-martyrdom?

Emma Wheeler has given up a decade of her life to care for her father, paralyzed from a climbing accident and subsequent Meuniere’s disease when barely 45. They live in a small Texas apartment, where Emma keeps close watch over her father’s food and pill intake, and ensures that he doesn’t fall, while struggling to pay the medical bills. She has also raised her younger sister, now in med school, after her mother’s death in that accident. She is a community college English teacher who longs to be a screenwriter. Showing much promise in that area, she gave up on a prestigious Warner Brothers internship to put family needs first.

It’s the nature of rom-coms, that, just when Emma thinks this is her forever life, she gets an improbable chance to step out of her fate. Her high school ex-boyfriend—exes are the new fairy godparents—is a successful Hollywood agent who has generously passed small writing jobs to her, steps up with a beguiling offer. Will she help superstar ‘screenwriters’ screenwriter’ Charlie Yates produce a worthwhile rom-com film script (he is renowned for thrillers, horror, and action movies)? She will rewrite his ‘terrible’ script, and, by very strong implication, her own life. Deal!

But is it? Her ex hasn’t mentioned that Charlie doesn’t know he’s getting a writing assistant, much less one who will be pretty much ghost-writing ‘ from zero.’ Starstruck Emma doesn’t know that her six-week visit to Los Angeles will take place in Charlie’s home. Neither will get the true story until they meet.

Not only is the script terrible, so is the fairy tale prince himself. Charlie is a rom-com troll, arrogant, rude, sloppy and selfish. But Emma hasn’t sacrificed half her life to be cowed before she takes the cash prize promised. This is no simple matter, given his mood swings and her sensitivity. keeps her eye on the prize. Sometimes, in my view, his verbal barrages are abusive, and I just want her to curse him out and leave him to fail. Why did she have to go live with him to begin with? Why, if he was so upset about it even having her help, did he relent to that arrangement? The reason given is that he’s ’old school.’ It’s not convincing.

This is a good new-fashioned rom-com, so the ending is a given. But Center isn’t afraid to look at the darker themes that even fairy tales reveal. How much does any one human being owe to their loved ones? When does loving duty become a self-imposed trap? When does rudeness become damaging? Even if the fictional characters are rom-commers, and this book is a rom-com, Emma and Charlie are made to work at their own relationship, and that lends a distinctly non-rom-com reality to a quick and warmhearted read.

This was my second Katherine Center novel and it won't be my last! 5 stars for Emma and Charlie! Loved the characters, the romance and the wonderful family relationships! You will be smiling, laughing and a little teary-eyed when you finish this story! Perfect for your summer reading list. Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this fantastically charming book.

I just finished reading Katherine Center’s The Rom-Commers and I’m still smiling a big dopey smile. I loved everything about this book from the characters, to the sweet and witty dialogue, to all the feels it gave me while reading. Katherine Center is a genius when it comes to writing such likable characters in a fun and flirty fashion.

Emma is a sassy, compassionate and talented woman. She is adorably insecure but at the same time isn’t afraid of what she wants. Charlie appears to be a pompous and egotistical jerk, but appearances can be deceiving. These two lovely characters share witty banter that keeps the reader invested and cheering for their relationship.

This is a must read for any rom-com lover and is deserving of all the stars! Chef’s kiss.

I really enjoyed this one. It seemed familiar having recently read By The Book by Jasmine Guillory. I love a good close proximity romance and this one definitely fit that trope. I liked the development between the characters and the level of spice was just what I was needing.

I picked up the audiobook and really enjoyed it. It was well produced and the narration was great. I'd definitely recommend that format.

I love a good romcom, and this is a really good romcom!

The Rom-Commers follows Emma Wheeler, an aspiring screenwriter who has been given the opportunity of a lifetime- helping to revise a screenplay for a romantic comedy written by esteemed writer Charlie Yates. Romcoms are Emma‘s specialty, and Charlie Yates is her favorite screenwriter… but what should be a dream job gets quickly complicated.

Emma and Charlie are easy to root for, and Emma has both the humor and gravitas to anchor the storyline. I loved the humor and the chemistry throughout the novel, And the author throws in some wonderful secondary characters as well. I will admit that the ending had a moment that (in my opinion) felt a little unbelievable enforced, but by then I was enjoying the book so much that it was easy to forgive. This is a fun and quick read- definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher, for this advanced copy.