I couldn’t put this book down (even into the late hours of the night). I laughed so hard while reading it that my husband went out and bought earplugs. Reading about writers contains its own kind of charm. If these characters were, I don’t know, doctors or firefighters or professors, I would not have believed the relentless witty banter full of illustrative metaphors and impossibly perfect diction to be possible, but because they were writers actively engaged in the act of writing romance script, Center had so much leeway to let the dialogue take center stage.
Recently, I have taken an interest in this whole idea that good novelists keep secrets from the reader throughout the course of a novel in order to keep intrigue and engagement strong. This novel is a perfect example of that. Even in the moments when Charlie, our male lead, came across as less than charming, I understood that it was for a reason that I was not yet privy to, but would eventually learn. Emma, as a narrator, is wildly likable, breaking the fourth wall (if that is even a term for novels) by switching into the second person to talk directly to the reader at surprising and endearing times. I loved Emma, her dialogue, her wild red curls, and everything else about her. I loved Charlie and his grumpy, accomplished, internally soft being. I can’t remember the last time I read something this utterly delightful.

This is another good book by Katherine Center that even intertwined characters from The Bodyguard. The storyline line had a good pacing that kept me engaged as a reader, but the last chapter and epilogue seemed rushed and forced to conclude everyone’s storyline. I wish the ending was extended a little longer.

3.5 ⭐️

The Rom-Commers is another lovely novel by Katherine Center following Emma. She is a screenwriter who hasn't been able to break into the field due to being the full-time caretaker for her father and his life-long health issues to ensure she is there to support her family. When her agent offers her an opportunity to work with her all-time favorite writer, Charlie Yates, her resolve breaks down (after some coercing from her family). She leaves across the country while her little sister takes on the job of caring for her father. Things didn't go to plan when she gets to LA and realized that Charlie had no clue about this plan to work on fixing the (shitty) rom-com script together.

Let me be honest: Charlie is an ass in the beginning. I kind of hate how much of a pedestal Emma had him on during their first few interactions, however, the two of them grew on me as they started to open up. Emma purposely pushed Charlie's buttons more than once and I love that. His reactions made him more bearable to me, but I never fully connected with them.

If Emma said his whole name 1 more fuckin time I will riot. I cannot.

As much as I grew to like the two main characters, I did not really care about the story. It was fun and interesting in concept, but the side characters were beyond annoying and I didn't care for really any of them. The more I think about this, the more I dislike aspects of the story. (3rd act breakup for literally no reason?????) It was a good ride, but if I wasn't listening to the audiobook I think it would've probably been a very possible DNF. (2.25X audio speed baby!!)

💝 forced proximity
💝 grumpy x sunshine
💝 celebrity x fan
💝 fast-paced, fun audiobook
💝 love and loss

cw: cancer, grief, past death of a parent

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ALC of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Y’all… Read. This. Book!

I just adore Katherine Center! She could literally write a book on astrophysics and I would drop everything I’m doing to read it.

I loooved her book 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧. It was easily one of my top reads of 2023. Am I still raving about it? Yep! Annnd here Center goes, yet again, making her way to the top of my 2024 favorites.

How do you become a favorite book of mine? Easy. Give me topics and characters that evoke all the emotions. If you can make me shed a tear, or quite literally laugh out loud, well, that’s just an extra star! And 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙨 will give you alllll the feels!

Don’t even bother reading the blurb for this one… just grab a blanket, cup of warm (insert your beverage of choice) and cozy up with this read. You’re gonna love it! (If you enjoy audiobooks, Patti Murin did a fantastic job narrating! I highly recommend.)

One caveat: I’d suggest reading 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙙𝙮𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙 first. It’ll make the cameo appearance of a character from this novel just a little more fun!

Bravo Mrs. Center on another masterpiece!

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center follows the story of Emma and Charlie, two polar opposites whose lives intertwine. It was such a cute read, the romance aspect was there — the comedy aspect not as much. Which is what I think this novel was missing for me, as my expectations were “we’ll get some LOL, funny moments.” Overall I recommend this novel to all romance lovers, the story is unique, is a bit of a book within a book, and I loved the growth for Charlie and even Emma coming out of her shell, 3.5⭐️

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced reader’s copy of this title via NetGalley.

*Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an
ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Tloved this book. Katherine center is always a must read for me, and this one held up to that standard. I didn't want the story to end!

If you're going for realistic and believable, this novel won't be your cup of tea. If, however, you get off on Katherine Center's quirky humor and unlikely accidents, flavored with Holly wood celebrities, then run right out and get your copy.

Emma Wheeler is a screenwriter who now teaches English at a community college. She is a redhead with wild, wiry curls who cares for a handicapped father. Her best friend from high school is now a successful Hollywood agent and so the tale begins. Before long, we meet some movie and TV greats like Meryl Streep and other disguised names you will recognize. Exactly how The Rom-Commers becomes a Rom-Com begins when Emma meets her idol, an award-winning screenwriter, Charlie. The pace and fun of this book helped to entertain me during a stressful time. That's what made it worth 4 Stars.

Center speeds off on her trademark love stories with missed signals, near-death accidents, close family ties and lots of humor. If you read her acknowledgments, as I did, you may find help for anxiety with a book recommendation. Both I and Emma did.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early copy to review.

Quick synopsis: Emma Wheeler has always dreamed of being a rom-com screenwriter, but her life circumstances have kept her from that dream. Charlie Yates, on the other hand, is one of Hollywood’s most prolific screenwriters - but his rom-com script is the actual worst. Emma gets called in to help him rewrite the script, and the result will make or break both of their careers.

Thoughts: If you want a book that will make you both laugh out loud and reach for a box of tissues, Katherine Center is your girl. I don’t want to go into too much detail about this book because I feel like there is a lot that is best to uncover while you’re reading. The premise is a fantastic rom-com set up, and the follow through honestly went so much deeper than I anticipated. Katherine deals with a lot of difficult and emotional themes, but as always she does so in such an honest and realistic way with glimmers of hope throughout. This book should be on everyone’s summer reading list. A note on the audio: I did a little of both formats for this one, and I definitely loved it either way! If you’re an audiobook person, you’ll love Patti Murin’s narration - highly recommend!

Read this if you like:
🎞️ rom-coms
🎞️ Hollywood
🎞️ family & found family
🎞️ grumpy/sunshine
🎞️ forced proximity

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC! This book had it all. It had all the fixings that make a romance novel, truly epic. This book made me laugh out loud, get angry and cry. I loved watching Charlie and Emma fall in love on paper, their love story was beautiful and real. This book had a lot of moments that showed empathy, pain and joy. I found myself inhaling the characters, the story and being sad that it was all over. I truly loved this book and highly recommend it to those who feel like their love is a burden, who feel loss and pain deep in their hearts and for those who still want to believe that life can be beautiful.

This book is one that will stay with me, not only is it charming and funny and romantic, but it shares a strong message. 5 stars from me.

I’m a sucker for HEA’s and for rom-com’s so I knew I was going to love this book before I even started it. I received an ARC of both the ebook and audio so I listened & followed along. I finished both in a day because I just couldn’t put it down and thankfully I didn’t have to work early the next day.

This book is exactly what you’re expecting from the description. There’s no really huge twists or hidden Easter eggs. Which I appreciate, but also I do love a good twist. There was humor, memorable characters, and a sweet & charming romance with a solid layer of depth. This story is also about two people getting to a level self-discovery & realizing that they can “live their lives” & be happy. The author had me laughing, crying, and swearing at the characters (mainly Charlie Yate’s because, c’mon man..did you really have to be such a jerk?). There’s no spicy/steamy scenes in this, but to be honest I didn’t really miss them. I appreciated the flow of the story & the dual POV’s. As for the audiobook on its own, I enjoyed narration. Overall a solid 4 star read/listen that I will definitely be recommending to others.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, MacMillan Audio, and Katherine Center for the ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed other books by this author but this one fell short for me. I didn’t like the characters and the interaction between Emma and Charlie. It wasn’t an almost DNF for me.
I appreciate the advanced copy from NetGalley and the publisher

I have read a number of Center's books and have always enjoyed them, and the Rom-Commers was no exception. I liked the characters. I liked the premise. I liked how they grew into a relationship with each other. And while there were no real surprises to how the book evolved, I wasn't expecting any. It was a quick read, and great for a holiday or when you need a pick me up story. Emma has a lot to deal with and romance seems to be her way to escape from the things that keep her tied to her home. At the same time, she has a very supportive family and seems to have a great relationship with them despite everything that she is carrying inside. Charlie is a bit of a butt, but he's a loveable butt. I spent most of the book picturing him as a younger Harrison Ford. Maybe that's me. Maybe that's who he's modelled on, well, without the whole writing of scripts bit.

The crossover with The Bodyguard was well done. Not forced which I appreciated, and not done in a way that would require you to have read the previous book in any way. You could simply read this and not even realize there is a crossover, which is how a good crossover should work.

If you are looking for a feel good romance or like romances that involve characters who are celebrities, this is a great pick. And if you have liked Center's books before, then that doubles the odds of you liking this one.

Perfection. Truly, The Rom-Commers is an instant rom-com classic. It is extremely rare for me to find a book "unputdownable", but I could not get this one out of my head and I read it in one day. I laughed, I cried. I was completely captivated from start to finish.

The Rom-Commers follows two screenwriters, Charlie and Emma. Charlie is a professional in the industry, and he must collaborate with Emma to rewrite his terrible rom-com script. The chemistry in The Rom-Commers is undeniable. And more than that, it felt REAL. The conversations between Emma and Charlie felt like conversations I would have with my own partner, from their banter to their arguments.

I HAVE NO NOTES! All I can do is gush about this book. This one will resonate with fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez. The Rom-Commers is without a doubt my new favorite Katherine Center book, and has cemented her as an auto-read author. I'll forever be chasing how Emma and Charlie made me feel.

The Rom-Commers had me happy crying, I mean this book is an absolute joy burst and a beautiful ode to the romance genre. Emma Wheeler wants to be a screenwriter but she’s also the sole-caretaker of her kind father, so her dreams have been on the back burner—that is until she gets a chance to re-write a rom-com script with her favorite writer Charlie Yates, her dream job. Only the script is awful and he doesn’t believe in love, so Emma makes it her mission to ignite this cynic’s belief in love. This story is quirky and fun and has so much heart and joy. There is a cancer subplot, as a trigger warning and grief about a parent loss. But the conversations are handled so well. Emma is amazing. She’s brave and honest to herself and strong. She has so much love in her and she is just such a gem. And I love how Charlie grows. I loved having this story through only Emma’s eyes and how she continuously breaks the fourth wall with the reader. It is inviting and warm and the story is of two flawed people remembering what love can feel like. It’s beautiful and hard and painful and happy, and just all the things. It feels like the perfect classic rom-com and I would’ve read hundreds of more pages of these wonderful characters. Katherine Center is an absolute joy to read, and this was just so good! I can’t stop raving about it!

First, thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This will release on June 11th. I’ve been a long time reader of Katherine Center and will pick up anything she writes. I did enjoy the premise of this one a lot. The idea of two screenwriters-one just getting started and one is Uber famous coming together to complete each other. I enjoyed this and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. There was something about it that fell flat for me in a way that none of her other books have. I think it may have been Charlie as a character. His characterization kind of seemed to change with the wind a bit. I did enjoy him more in the last 20% of the book. Overall, solid rom-com. Definitely worth the read as it was fun. There were a lot of great pieces of heartfelt writing I enjoyed a lot too.

QUOTES: “Because the more we can imagine our better selves, the more we can become them.”
“happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”
“You always say people falling on each other isn’t romantic—but then it always is.”

TROPES: coworkers, opposites attract, forced proximity, celebrity MC x non-famous MC

SONG: Fortnight by Taylor Swift (I love you, it’s ruining my life)

Rating: ★★★★★ (True Five stars)
"The RomCommers" by Katherine Center is an absolute gem of a book—no notes! And let's be real, with a title like "The RomCommers," how could you possibly go wrong? It feels like this book was written just for me!

Having read two previous works by Katherine Center, I can confidently say that she continues to surpass herself with each new release. As my fellow Texan and queen of closed-door rom-coms, she has truly outdone herself this time, raising the bar by a mile.

In "The RomCommers," Katherine introduces us to Emma, a rom-com fan and talented screenwriter who has spent the last decade caring for her father after a tragic accident while teaching on the side to make ends meet. When her high school ex turned best friend, Logan, presents her with the opportunity to ghostwrite a rom-com alongside her idol, the Oscar-winning and charming Charlie Yates, Emma jumps at the chance. Despite Charlie's initial lack of enthusiasm, Emma is determined to win him over to her love of rom-coms and see their project through to the end.

Where do I even begin to express my love for this book? Let me count the ways. Emma is the epitome of a perfect female lead—intelligent, determined, confident in her abilities, and fiercely devoted to her family and friends. Charlie, with his grumpy exterior and a soft, cinnamon roll center, is an irresistible character who quickly falls for Emma's charms and wit, much to his own surprise. Their banter is delightful, their chemistry electrifying, and they've swiftly become one of my all-time favorite book couples. The way Charlie looks at Emma with admiration, the way Emma loves everything about Charlie—it's all so beautifully and hilariously written and utterly swoon-worthy.

"The RomCommers" is a must-read for fans of close proximity, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, and workplace romance. Trust me, you won't want to miss out on this delightful book!

The Rom-Commers is perfect for all romcom fans!

As always, Katherine Center has written a beautiful story filled with hope, swoon-worthy romance, and humor. This book is an ode to romcom lovers everywhere!

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center - Releases June 11th 2024 - 2.5 Stars

Honest discussion incoming. I started this book really enjoying the storyline and feeling like Katherine Center can just tell a good story. 2 Screenplay writers in Hollywood working together to write a rom-com?! Let's go right?! And I will say, I really enjoyed The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger by Katherine Center, so I was so pumped for this one! (And I will still be reading her backlist because I have heard nothing but great things about those!)

Unfortunately, this newest one just wasn't for me for several reasons and I ended up being disappointed. I am very appreciative to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly read and review of the eBook and audiobook - and the narrator did a great job in narrating the story to keep you engaged - I did want to keep reading and listening - but like I said, it ended up not being for me.

As I mentioned this is about 2 Screenplay Writers who are working together to write a rom-com together. We have Emma and Charlie. Emma is ultimately a character I started off really enjoying because I found her, at first, to have such depth as a caregiver to her family and very relatable because I am a special needs Mama and have experienced caregiver fatigue just as she has. I loved how passionate she was for her writing and was so excited for the project they were going to work on.

The story kicks off as her ex-boyfriend from high school introduces her to Charlie, a famous screenplay writer in Hollywood, to help him with his horrible rom-com he's written. Charlie is a guy she has idolized and fan girled about for years in her screenplay writing career, so she is nervous and so excited to go on this journey. Her family encourages her to go because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity for her and she has sacrificed so much for them. However, Charlie wants nothing to do with Emma because he says he doesn't need help and it wasn't exactly approved for her to work with him at the start. After reading her work, he realizes she is a good writer and asks her to stay. She ends up staying and living with Charlie in his mansion for several weeks to help write the story and everything takes off from here.

Here is what I didn't like:

While I started off liking Emma, I became frustrated because of how much she is pursuing Charlie when he is completely mean and rude to her. There are several situations where he talks bad about her behind her back and she overhears it. For example, Charlie was married before and Emma overhears Charlie talking bad about her to his ex-wife (and the friend who introduced them) saying she was "nobody" and "just a writer" etc., yet there were times I felt like he did like her and showed emotions for her? So, while I understand the reason he felt like he couldn't be with her, he was just so rude for no reason and she didn't know any of those reasons. Yet she still peruses him. Over and over again. So ultimately, Charlie was a character that was just so back and forth for me and I had mixed feelings throughout the story about him. I felt like we needed his POV to really understand him since its first person and we just feel like he likes her but then he treats her bad several times so you end up frustrated with him.

Around 78% is where I almost DNF'd this book because of a scene that, while this entire book was considered clean romance, this scene frustrated me on a personal level. Essentially, Emma is upset for a certain reason and ends up getting drunk during that time at Charlie's place. She is pursuing him and trying to proposition him to have sex with her and it could just be a 1 time thing, that is doesn't matter etc. He says no, he doesn't want to, she is not able to consent because she is drunk and she thinks to herself how "ugh. now he was throwing consent at me? How was I supposed to argue with that? Maybe I could use my feminine wiles." And so continues to try to proposition him for sex with him continuing to say no. That bothered me because it portrayed her in such a negative way. So in that moment he's being a good guy, yet she's mad about it.

I did ultimately finish the story and see the happy ending they had, but I was just over it at that point. They didn't really go together for me personally - it felt toxic in a way. So all of those things lead me to this 2.5 star review. With some things I liked but it was overall, not for me.

Again, I do like the two previous Katherine Center books I have read by her but unfortunately, this one was just not for me. I will be reading more of her backlist but not recommending this one.

Content: language - several F and S words, sexual innuendos, death of a parent, parent with an illness, cancer, divorce, caretaker fatigue and other details explained above.

Katherine Center is one of my 'must read' authors with Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez, Nikki Payne, and Mazey Eddings. This book exceeded my expectations and felt like a love letter to Rom Coms. Emma was the quintessential Rom Com Female main character, gave up everything to take care of others, put her career on hold, and wasn't living her life. Enter her opportunity to work with the curmudgeon Charlie who wanted nothing to do with her. The progression of watching them fall in love was that of a great Rom Com, and I loved that it was meta since they were writing a Rom Com at the same time. While I understand why the pantry scene was there, to have them fall on each other and show it can be romantic, I felt like having Margaux part of the story wasn't necessary. Who lets their ex-wife have uncontrolled access to their home? Otherwise, this is definitely a book that I would recommend others.