After not loving Katherine Center's last couple of releases (sorry!), this felt like a total return to form for me. I laughed out loud, I cried and I fell absolutely in love with both main characters in this delightful novel. The banter and dialogue throughout was great, and I also loved all of our secondary characters (Dad! Lance! Sylvie!). Highly, highly recommend this one - a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy!

“There are endless human stories, but they all end the same way, so it can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there.”

Katherine Center has written another story that absolutely charmed me! It was funny, witty, and had me frequently laughing out loud. The romance between Emma and Charlie was a delight, but also had a lot of emotion and depth to it. I loved the way the story pays homage to romance and romantic comedy.

Emma Wheeler is an aspiring screenwriter whose career hasn’t taken off, as she’s the dedicated caregiver for her father who needs round the clock care.

When her idol, Charlie Yates, writes a screenplay for a romcom that is truly terrible, Emma is offered a chance to help him rewrite it. Her sister steps in to help out, and Emma is off to California.

The dynamic between these two is just so much fun! While Emma is someone you immediately fall in love with, Charlie takes a while to grow on you. But it’s not long before you realize how wonderful he really is.

Being so cynical about love and relationships, writing rom-coms isn’t his forte, but exploring what romance truly is with Emma, and being around this smart, caring, and fascinating woman, wakes up some deep feelings in Charlie and a realization about the beauty of romance—real and fictional.

Through this gem of a romantic comedy, Katherine does a beautiful job in asserting the value, hope, and enjoyment a good romance novel can bring to a reader.

If you’ve enjoyed other books by Katherine Center, I think you’re really going to love this one. I certainly did!

Content: divorce, cancer, death of a parent (past event), closed door, infrequent use of strong language.

Many thanks to Katherine Center, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for a digital review copy. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Katherine Center can do no-wrong. She is consistently an instant-buy for me and I just love how readable and enjoyable all of her novels are.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for my #gifted copy of The Rom-Commers!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★ (ALL★THE★STARS★)

Katherine Center is the author where you think there is no way the next book can beat the last book she wrote. Like no way possible. But then you read the next book…and you are just speechless. How does this woman continue to write the most amazing books with the most amazing characters. Time after time? It just doesn’t make any sense. Katherine Center, you have once again stolen my heart with this one. This one (along with ALL of the books written by Katherine Center) is a must read!

I want to start by saying that it took me a week to read this book. Not because I was not enjoying it or because I was too busy to read it. For reference, it usually takes me 1-2 days max to read a book this size (less if it’s an audiobook). It took me a week because I purposely spaced it out so that I could savor it for as long as possible. I knew I would only have one chance to read this book for the first time, and I am so glad I got to spend a full week with Emma and Charlie.

Emma Wheeler has always wanted to be a screenwriter and loves romantic comedies. She even won a huge contest. But she’s been the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care. But when she gets the chance to help Charlie Yates (YES, THE Charlie Yates), she finds a way adjust some things and gets her sisters to come home to help so she can spend six weeks in LA working with Charlie. Emma could not be more excited to work with Charlie, but when she arrives in LA, Charlie doesn’t seem too thrilled to be working with Emma. He doesn’t even care about the script, he’s just using it to get a different one green-lit. But Emma did not adjust her entire life for nothing, and she is committed to this rom-com. She is determined to convince Charlie that love stories matter, even if that means breaking some rules during the process.

No words will do this one justice. I literally ugly cried so many times while reading this book. And then snorted because I was laughing so hard. I loved Emma and Charlie. Loved them. It’s such a feel good book with so many good messages. While it’s complex, it had the perfect balance of lighthearted moments. Read this book. I promise you will not regret it.

“𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭... 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫—𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦—𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.”

🩷𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲
🩷𝐆𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲 𝐱 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞
🩷𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
🩷𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
🩷𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠
🩷𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🩷𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡
🩷𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

**Posted on Instagram - Mini Review-on or around April 24th, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
Posted on Goodreads on April 22, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around June 11, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on April 11, 2024
**-will post on designated date

I have read most of Katherine Center's books. After reading "Happiness for Beginners" I went through her back catalog. She always serves up a refreshing mixture of romance and comedy, and always with a deeper lesson the female protagonist is struggling with. Plus, she can write a very dreamy male MC. "The Rom-Commers" is no different! This story features a screenplay writer who has dedicated a decade of her life to care for her disabled father, but when she has a chance to work with her screenwriting hero, she has work through thoughts of being selfish and taking chances in order to "write her own good story" and maybe find love in the process. Emma and Charlie are both very relatable and fun and the secondary characters (Charlie's Hollywood connections, including actor Jack Stapleton from Center's "The Bodyguard" and Emma's sweet family) are also fully realized. This book is funny and sweet and swoony. I was very happy to be able to read it,

The title tells you what type of book it is, but there is so much more to the story. Great banter! Truly likeable characters. A story you can immerse yourself in and come out the better for it! It has all the feels and so many moments to chuckle along with the characters. My take away from this book is, life is difficult, but surrounding yourself with the right people makes the hardest trials bearable.

"The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center delivers a delightful blend of romance and comedy that is sure to captivate readers. Center crafts a charming narrative that moves at an engaging pace, keeping readers hooked from beginning to end.

One of the standout features of the novel is its lively and witty dialogue, which adds depth to the characters and enhances the overall reading experience. The interactions between the characters feel authentic and relatable, drawing readers into their world.

What sets "The Rom-Commers" apart is its fresh and inventive storyline. Overall, "The Rom-Commers" is a must-read for fans of romantic comedies. With its engaging plot, charming characters, and witty dialogue, it is sure to leave readers with a smile on their face.

Katherine Center’s books always leave me feeling overwhelmed with emotion and inspired in many ways. They have so much heart and depth and I literally could not stop reading for the last fourth of the book. I stayed up until 2am glued to the story. It was gripping and emotional and frustrating and beautiful. I don’t know how she does it. She is brilliant!

The dialogue was amusing and brilliant and flowed so well. It feels so vivid I can almost hear the characters speaking as I’m reading. There were so many hilarious parts.

There is some discussion at the beginning of the book that was really uncomfortable for me and couple moments later that are out of my comfort zone for what I like to read. I also really wish there was not so much language as it puts a damper on the story for me and makes it harder to recommend to everyone.

🔥: Closed Door with innuendo and sexual discussion
CW: Frequent strong language

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is about a romance loving writer helping another writer who - you guessed it - doesn’t believe in romance fluff.

I have seen before where KC defends the romance genre and happily ever after endings. So, Rom-Commers was just a little too “preaching to the choir” for me personally, as Emma spends a lot of time trying to convince Charlie of all its merits.

I already love love. I already love love stories!!! Reading a whole book where one character is constantly defending romance was actually kind of boring to me. (Which I was not expecting.)

But I did like the banter and scenarios between them. It’s all on par with Center’s style. And it’s safe to say if you like her books, you’ll like this too.

It's incredibly hard for Katherine Center to write a bad book. Seriously I don't know how she does it.

Finishing this book, it's my favorite. I laughed. Like a lot. And I cried. Also a lot. I heard and recognized so many things about myself in this book. The juxtaposition of soul crushing words and the lifting up of what's happening in your world, living your dream.

And the thing about this book is. I knew there was going to be a happy ending. You read the authors note in hello stranger, she tells you she writes happy endings. But the journey to the end. She had me second guessing her. This book was beautiful and cute and it brought me so much joy. There's wit and growth and determination and some pretty stellar quotes. I loved it.

I absolutely loved this book. This is my first book by Katherine Center but I will be putting all the others on my TBR list! I loved everything about the book and I couldn’t put it down. The characters are great and their banter is amazing. Everyone definitely needs to put this book on their list. Rom-Commers should be in everyone’s beach bag this summer! Thank you Net galley for the ARC.

4.5 ⭐️

I really loved this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s such a great story with a deal, forced proximity, work romance and a tad Cinderella retelling.
🌺
It’s captivating, predictable but also surprising. At one point I really disliked a character’s manipulations for a bit. I understand the needed growth but this seemed unnecessary and really low shots for drama. Yes it made the character more realistic but it was hard to read and not what is usually said by main characters.
🌺
I kept reading for Charlie. Love a grumpy cinnamon roll especially his love for Cuthbert 😍 Emma’s hero worship and sacrificing and self declared sainthood status was getting old quickly. I loved the mentions of Jack and Hannah!
🌺
(I don’t like the cover 🙈).

I adored every word of this quirky, funny, and life affirming book. I am a huge fan of KC, and this is my new favorite! I laughed, I cried, and I just felt so dang lucky to be a reader. What an awesome, awesome book. Five huge stars!

Katherine Center has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her romances are filled with amazing plots and really interesting characters. The Rom-Commers has now risen to the top of my favorite of her books.

Emma is an aspiring screen writer who, because of some difficulties in her life, has not been able to reach her full potential. Charlie is one of the best screen writers in the business and the one writer she looks up to. He's basically her IDOL. When she gets the opportunity to work with him up close and personal she jumps at the chance. She's a Rom Com expert and he's trying to write a Rom Com and is miserably failing at it. Their meeting does not start great but as their story flows you get to witness something beautiful bloom.

Here are the things I loved about this story.... the characters are flawed... Charlie isn't the perfect book boyfriend and Emma isn't the perfect sunny FMC. They have flaws and they have amazing characteristics and you get to see both sides of them and fall in love with their story. I absolutely love that Katherine doesn't focus on tedious details but allows us to enjoy all the big details and the really small ones that have great meaning.

Thank you St Martin's press for this ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

***And that honest review is.... put it in your TBR STAT!

Instagram post: 4/21/2024

Katherine Center sums up what it means to love a romcom. The joy of believing, the anticipation of a great kiss and the warm fuzzy feelings which come with a happy ending. On a miserable weekend, what could be better than to snuggle down and read one of her books.
Her main characters are full of witty dialogue, quirky humor and head smacking moments. I also love that her characters aren’t drop dead gorgeous but people with some extremely endearing mannerisms and attractive body parts, like nostrils. I like to read about everyday people getting the romantic adventures and sexy storylines.
Emma is talented, loyal and a little scared of the real world. But the chance of a lifetime to work with her idol means she jumps on a plane to LA, taking her misgivings with her and a high dose of anxiety. Charlie is the idol who falls from the pedestal she put him on. Together they navigate the world of the romcom and the hunt for Charlie’s romantic heart.
Another wonderful, light hearted romp from Katherine Center. This is full of heart and hope. Loved it.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

⭐️I’m torn with this one! This book made me laugh but also aggravated me sometimes! I really liked Emma in the beginning, Charlie not so much🫠 he got better but I don’t think I get his thinking sometimes. Their relationship kind of gave me whiplash 🤪Also, the cussing felt a bit excessive! For me, it was a 3 star⭐️. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. It had its moments!

Katherine Center is always a delight! I loved this story about two unlikely screenwriters (one famous, one not so much) coming together to work on a project. Both characters backstories were sad but real and they really made them my complex and made the reader understand the reasons they were both hesitant in their working partnership and then possibly more. Great book! 10/10!

I have enjoyed all of Katherine Center’s books. I usually don't read this type of book regularly, but I love to switch up my mystery thriller books with some light hearted books that make me smile. Another great one by Katherine.

WOW!! Katherine Center has done it again! Loved this story of Emma Wheeler - who had dreams of being a screenwriter until tragedy struck and had to walk away from her dreams to care for her father and younger sister.
A old boyfriend has kept her busy with work - until an amazing opportunity is offered. She’ll have to travel to LA
and will be working with her idol Carlie Yates.

Loved all the laughs and tears this had. Center is able to draw out our emotions like no other.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy in return fir an honest review.

3.5

👫Katherine Center is an author I always enjoy reading. Her romances are sweet, closed door, and fun. For this book, though, I personally did not feel a connection with the MCs. I did not understand the attraction to Charlie- he did not seem to be that great of a catch. I know he's supposed to be an amazing writer, but that part was just talked about and not shown, so you're just taking Emma's (FMCs) word for it. Charlie supposedly shows he is kind or vulnerable by caring for others by taking care of a guinea pig, which was unrelatable.

🐹I thought the supporting characters were flat. The ex-wife character detracts from the story, and her brief appearance did not make sense. Logan was Emma's best friend but had all the red flags of what a bad friend looks like. I loved Emma's dad.

👓The plot was a good idea but never took off, and I was a little bored. Please remember I am in the minority as the majority of readers loved this book. Sometimes, the author's name and reputation can sway the star ratings and they go in with fan goggles. I wonder if I start reading these books with such a high bar that I expect them to live up to instead. I will definitely continue to read anything she publishes

🥰What would have made this book better? Probably a dual POV from Charlie.