"The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center is a charming and heartfelt romantic comedy that celebrates the power of love, second chances, and the magic of storytelling. The novel follows Emma Wheeler, a passionate screenwriter who dreams of making it big in Hollywood while balancing the responsibilities of caring for her father.

Center skillfully weaves together themes of ambition, family, and self-discovery as Emma embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rewrite a script for her idol, Charlie Yates. Leaving behind her caregiving duties to her sister, Emma dives headfirst into the world of Hollywood, only to find herself facing a formidable challenge in the form of Charlie, a cynical and disillusioned screenwriter.

The dynamic between Emma and Charlie crackles with tension and chemistry, as they clash over their differing views on love and storytelling. Emma's unwavering belief in the power of romantic comedies and her determination to prove Charlie wrong make for an engaging and uplifting narrative. As they collaborate on the script, Emma and Charlie find themselves drawn to each other in unexpected ways, leading to a series of delightful and comedic misadventures.

Center's writing is witty, engaging, and filled with humor, making "The Rom-Commers" a joy to read from start to finish. The author expertly captures the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, while also delving into the more tender and poignant moments of Emma's journey towards self-discovery and fulfillment.

At its core, "The Rom-Commers" is a love letter to the power of storytelling and the belief in happy endings. Through Emma and Charlie's unconventional romance, Center explores themes of authenticity, vulnerability, and the transformative nature of love. Readers will find themselves rooting for Emma as she navigates the ups and downs of Hollywood, all while staying true to herself and her dreams.

Overall, "The Rom-Commers" is a delightful and uplifting novel that will leave readers laughing, swooning, and believing in the magic of love. With its endearing characters, witty dialogue, and heartfelt romance, it's a perfect read for fans of romantic comedies and feel-good fiction. Center has crafted a charming and memorable story that is sure to capture the hearts of readers everywhere.

Katherine Center is an author that always goes straight to the top of my TBR list As soon as I can I have to read them!

The Rom-Commers is my new favorite. Each new release replaces the last new one.

Emma Wheeler has a real talent for writing romantic comedies and is the queen of romcoms and what works in stories. But she's put her writing dream on hold to be a full time caretaker for her father.

When her ex/friend/agent calls her with a chance to re-write a script with her favorite screenwriter
BUT

He's never wrote a Romcom and to say its terrible is mean to the word terrible.
he doesn’t believe in LOVE. and he's only writing this to get his other movie made.

Emma is determined to convince him romance and romcoms are important and gives him tasks to show him its real.

There's something about Katherine Centers books that pull you in right away the cast of characters in this book is just wonderful. I had so many laugh out loud moments. I honestly can't wait for the audio as well because some things you just want to hear.

Look for a cameos from Jack Stapleton from “The BodyGuard”.

Available June 11, 2024< Will be a great summer read!


Thank You to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story was everything a romantic comedy should be. Funny, heart felt, heart break, love and just a beautiful story.

Emma and Charlie are the perfect stars in this story! Emma receives the opportunity to work with a famous screenwriter, Charlie who she has followed throughout his career. She's completely fan-girling and cannot wait to work with him. But things get off to a rough start.

These two are so good together. They had me smiling, laughing and crying. I loved how this book was realistic in that not all things in life end with perfect bows because life isn't perfect. There will always be hard times along with the good. And Katherine did an amazing job at showing this with Emma and Charlie. Not to mention Emma's dad stole my heart too with all his dad wisdom and outlook on life.

This book has a piece of me now along with these characters. So relatable and I can't stop thinking about them.

Thank you Netgalley, Katherine Center and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. This book releases on June 11, 2024.

Katherine Center has done it again! I was completely glued to this story as I read page after page. Fans of Katherine will absolutely love this book and even get a cameo from beloved characters of past books!

Katherine Center has an incredible talent in which she makes me laugh (like actually giggle), cry (sobbing in some places), and just constantly smile (like a lunatic).

Can you tell I enjoyed it?? 5/5 easy. I was just so dang happy reading this. Emma, our FMC, has put herself last for the past 10 years. Caring for her father and letting her younger sister shine, she has written herself out of her own story. She finally gets the opportunity of a lifetime to write alongside her writing icon, Charlie Yates. Charlie is the definition of cynical and has zero interest in working with Emma, until he spends 5 seconds around her. Cue the slow burn angst.

These two complemented each other SO well, and I absolutely loved every second of their love story.

#allhailromcoms

“It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on.”

I just finished this and loved it to pieces. This book brought fun, laughter, and a (much needed) good cry. It felt like a big giant hug and had so many sweet, romantic moments. As a person with newly diagnosed anxiety, this book really spoke to me and I really felt like I could see myself in the FMC. Katherine Center always delivers the most uplifting, swoony, funny books and I adore everything she writes!

My first read of Katherine Centers and it did not disappoint. It may be one of my favorite of the year. It is a story about writing romantic comedies and it has all the heart and love and heartache I could handle. It was an “insta love” without having a toothache too sweetness to it. I found myself getting belly butterflies and that exciting tingle in my chest that you get from a rollercoaster. I felt the tears well up in my eyes along with Emma and just as many belly laughs if not more. I couldn’t have hoped for anything more from this book.

I cannot adequately explain the scope of emotions I felt while reading this novel. Katherine Center is a mastermind at weaving a person's most realistic fears (loved ones getting sick, traumatic deaths) and still showing the reader that there is still happiness. This story had beautiful themes of reminding us that life is still beautiful, even when it is sad and scary. There is happiness. Katherine Center's novels are heavier than many realize and are worthy of much more attention and nuanced conversation than they currently receive. Then again, I live under a rock, so what do I know.

WELL DONE, I HAVE BEEN WRECKED IN THE WORST/BEST WAY.

I’ve been lucky enough to listen to the audiobook version of The Rom-Commers (twice!) and now I’ve had the pleasure of reading the book.

Reiterating what I’ve said before: this book is slow-burn, forced proximity perfection. There’s angst, yes, and a few fairly heavy topics, but overall the book has a sort of buoyancy that is completely in keeping with Emma’s outlook on life. q

I adore Emma, and Charlie Yates may be one of my all-time favorite book boyfriends. They complement each other so well, both emotionally stunted but in completely different ways and for completely different reasons.

While this is a slow-burn romance, at no point does the story drag. The plot managed to surprise me in a way that few romance books do. There are a couple of small questions I have, but nothing that would detract from this being a solid, five-star read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of this book.

loved this book! Quick pace and easy to get into. And 3 weddings in one book! HEA guaranteed.

Emma is a caregiver to her father and never puts herself first. She gets an opportunity of a lifetime and has to entrust her sister to caregive her father. Charlie is a writer who has a case of the yips and refuses to work with anyone. Will Emma get thru to Charlie and make a successful rom com script?

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Emma was a promising screenwriter who had to put her dreams on hold for a decade due to a family tragedy. Allowed a bit of respite when her sister returns from college with a med student boyfriend in tow, Emma is called to LA to work for six weeks on polishing up a romantic comedy with the screenwriter she most admires.
Charlie is the revered, accomplished object of Emma’s professional aspirations. He’s also a man who doesn’t believe in love. His screenplay is a nightmare - for reasons - and Emma breaks down for him all the ways in which it’s awful. When they begin working together in earnest to rewrite it, Emma’s belief in romance clashes with Charlie’s cynicism.
I must stop here with the synopsis, as the publisher will provide it, and it would be criminal for me to inadvertently spoil any of this wonderful, funny, emotional, heartbreaking, life-affirming beautiful novel. It’s a ride the reader will not regret taking.
Katherine Center’s captivating writing style is immediately accessible yet light years beyond what one would expect from a romantic comedy. Written exclusively from Emma’s point of view, the voice is that of a dear friend catching us up on her journey from the last time we’d seen her to this point in her life. She’s witty and stubborn, even impulsive, but always likable.
I unreservedly recommend this book which is truly a standout in a sea of mediocre contemporary romantic fiction.
I was fortunate to have received an advance reader copy from NetGalley and it’s my privilege to share my honest impressions.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 
This was a cute and fun read with a HEA. Katherine Center always writes easy and fun books and this was no different. Emma teaches Charlie how to love and write a HEA while they get one of their own. This book made me laugh, cry, and squeal (sometimes at the same time). Katherine's writing has her classic tone of banter and feel-good vibes.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like much about this at all. It was easy reading and polished but beyond that I was scratching my head that an author as revered as Katherine Center would write this. I expected a women’s fiction with a romance, even though the blurb sounds more like a romance, and somehow it was neither. It was also not a comedy.

It was a story of two (mostly unlikable) people in forced proximity who work on a screenplay together, & that’s about it. Not a lot of character growth, not a lot of romance. They don’t like each other, they barely get to know each other, then they’re in love, I guess? It’s a little hard to tell because both characters were so obtuse.

The MMC insults and degrades the FMC to multiple other characters multiple times, in front of her and behind her back. The FMC accepts all this and still likes him anyway. She’s pushy, naive, and judgy. She throws herself at the MMC then pouts and won’t let it go when he turns her down. Have some self respect, girl.

I don’t know what else to say. Maybe this book has an audience but it’s obviously not me.

4.25 ⭐️!!!
This was my first Katherine Center book and I really didn’t know what to expect, but there are so many golden nuggets about life in this book. I want expecting any *emotional damage* coming from this book but got it anyway. I also expected it to be pretty predictable but ended up being proven wrong as well! Charlie is a very far from swoon worthy, perfect MMC. He says all the wrong things, doesn’t believe in love, and is just fumbling through life, and this relationship. It was a bumpy journey, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by this book!

I was really looking forward to this one after loving Hello Stranger! The Rom-Commers was a quick and easy read, but while there were some cute moments in this one, it wasn’t my favourite out of all of hers I've read.

The plot was sweet but the ending let it down. (No spoilers) it just felt incongruous with Charlie’s character. Charlie started out with quite a defined grump type of personality and while he softened throughout, the end just didn't work for me.

The plot also relied on too many conversations being overhead, particularly in the first half, which was boring and simple after the first time it happened. There are other ways to introduce conflict! And speaking of conflict, I did not understand what was going on with the TJ Heywood thing at all.

Overall Emma was an ok FMC - I liked her passion for romance and her funny moments. However, she was annoying at times - overbearing and one dimensional rather than charming in moments where it would've made a huge difference e.g. getting drunk and climbing to the top of a high dive board is not endearingly cute, it’s tragic! And ignoring all the terrible things Charlie said without calling him out on it is the same - I prefer to see more maturity in my FMCs than is sometimes written in romcoms. I did like the inclusion of her current family dynamics and liked the representation of her life as a carer, but think there was more to work through with the trauma of her family's history that also would've added some depth to the story and her relationship with Charlie.

Overall not one I'll likely reread, but would recommend as an easy beach/summer read to a friend.

This is the first book I have read by Katherine Center and I loved it!! In many places I laughed outloud and at the same time there were a couple places where I shed a couple of tears. Her writing reminds me of another favourite author of mine Kristan Higgins. The story is believable, heartfelt, emotional and at places hilarious. I encourage you to get this book and read or listen to it as the story will definitely not disappoint and you will be glad you took the time to enjoy this book.

3.5 Stars
Zero Spice
Forced Proximity
Grumpy Sunshine

Emma is an aspiring writer. She loves rom-coms and loves love. She is also her father’s full-time caretaker. Emma’s life has revolved around her father for the past decade pushing her dreams to pursue writing aside.

Charlie is a famous screenwriter who wrote a terrible script. Said script needs to be rewritten in order for his passion project to be produced. He switches genres and decides to write a romance but doesn’t believe in love.

Can a nobody-writer help a famous screenwriter get past his writer's block? Can she help him believe in love?

This was the first Katherine Center book I’ve read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book. I didn’t hate it. I actually loved it. Was it life-changing? Not at all. But it was really good entertainment between deeper-themed books. I appreciated the lack of spice. So if you’re looking for that, this might not be the book for you. But it’s a cute rom-com and I love a good Romanic Comedy. I laughed, gasped, and cried as the book unfolded. There was tension and bickering. What made it better was that the MMC was so awkward. They were both awkward but in the best way possible. I loved their banter and the tension between them. I didn’t mind that it took over 50% of the book to finally get a kiss.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted swoony rom-com, this book is perfect.

Like most of Katherine Center's books, The Rom-Commers is some fun fluff with a side of personal struggles. They truly embody the HEA. I have fun with her books because they always leave me feeling light. Her writing style sets her apart from many of her peers. It's funny and conversational in a way that I don't usually read, and it could be annoying if done differently.

I also recommend reading The Bodyguard if you want to understand the small crossover.

Katherine Center gets me every time!!!

This review is simple, if you like romcoms THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!

Two writers. He is successful and doesn’t believe in love. She is a hopeless romantic that has put her writing career on hold for years to care for her family.

They come together to write the perfect romcom! It’s adorable. He’s grumpy and she’s sunshine.

It’s cheesy and heartfelt…all the things! Perfect read for a romcom lover.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!!!

Emma’s family tragedy has her tied to a 5 mile radius of an apartment she shares with her disabled father, tossing away her career aspirations to take on a role of full-time caregiver.
When the opportunity to work with THE Charlie Yates (action writer extraordinaire) to ghostwrite his romcom (your favorite genre)
Do you…
A. Not tell your family
B. Pitch your sister
C. Get caught by your dad
D. All the above

The dialogue between Emma and Charlie moved this story forward wonderfully. It made it nearly impossible to put down, and had me invested from the beginning. I love them both so much, even if I want to throttle Charlie for trying to hide his thoughts and feelings surrounding his career and the people around him.

How do I sum up cynical Charlie Yates outside of his rumpled oxfords and wide leg trousers?
“We were in his very cool, vintage—reconditioned and now hybrid, he told me—truck. The Allman Brothers were on the radio. The windows were hand-cranked down. The famous zero-humidity LA air fluttered all around us. Charlie drove one-handed, his free arm resting out the open window.“ (RIP Dickey Betts).

This rang true. “…blue versus black ink is an essential identity issue. Much like Coke versus Pepsi, or the Beatles versus the Stones, or college-ruled notebooks versus regular. You can be one kind of person or the other, but not both.” (The correct answers are: Black ink, Coke, Beatles, college ruled.)

Omg the Italian cowboy. ☠️

I love that Meryl Streep and Amy Poehler are part of this universe.

Does it take 88 days to fall in love with someone?

Do not, I repeat, do not read Chapter 12 while on your way home from work on mass transit if you aren’t able to handle crying in public. People may think another day of working in NYC destroyed you. But no. It’s just Chapter 12 wrecking you.

I wasn’t a fan of how Emma’s curly hair was such a focal point (hi, curly girly here. Embrace your curls!!), the confession(s) from Emma, and how hurtful of a phone call it was with her sister Sylvie. That being said, this is a 4.5 star read for me, and one I will absolutely reread. It ranks up there for me with Book Lovers and Savor It.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.