The Rom-Commers

4.5 ⭐️

I love Katherine Center so so much and this is just another amazing example of that!

Emma is a writer who has taken care of her paralyzed father for ten years and given up the first part of her career for it. She lands a writing gig in LA, working with her favorite screenwriter to rewrite his terrible manuscript. While she learns to let her sister help her dad, she shows Charlie what romance writing is about.

I loved Emma so much. She will forever be one of my favorite romcom heroines. She brings such a boldness and assuredness to each conversation about love and loss, and I don’t blame Charlie for falling for her. Such a beautiful story.

Thanks to @netgalley for this ARC!

A beautiful romance! I loved the characters. I laughed out loud, and rooted for the romance. A must for all rom com lovers!

A celebrity romance is always hit or miss for me, but I always love stories about writers! Charlie & Emma had such great banter and I loved the scenes of them just talking and spending time together. I had hoped for it to be a little spicier because there was so much great chemistry there, but I still enjoyed the book. Honestly, I didn’t like Charlie much until I understood his motives more, and the end really pulls this story together. I think the last 20% of the book really changed my feelings and I totally recommend this! I really enjoyed reading Hello Stranger last year and I’m officially a Katherine Center fan so I can’t want to see what’s next!

Katerine Center's books are always auto-buys for me. I just love them! This one didn't disappoint and might just be my favorite! I really enjoyed reading this one and it's great story line! I couldn't stop reading and really enjoyed the unlikely relationship, fun story line and banter. I will definitely be recommending this story!

Wonderfully huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the gifted audiobook for The Rom-Commers. This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. This was surprisingly my first Katherine Center books and it most definitely will not be my last. I enjoyed the premise of this one. There was a lot of tension. There was so much hurt and ache that both characters have gone through and need to overcome which made them feel so human to me. I loved the dynamic between Charlie and Emma. It was wrapped up with the most beautiful bow. I can't wait to read more from Katherine in the future! Defintiely recommend!

Katherine Center just writes the most heartwarming, fun to read books. Her characters are relatable and likable (except when they aren't supposed to be). I fell in love with this book and its wild plot right away. Easy 5 stars from me. I just love to read a Katherine Center work of Art. The characters stick with you like fond friends. She has someone how found the balance between a wonderful romance and a closed door plot so all readers can enjoy.

I devoured this book. If I didn’t have to go to work, I would have finished this in an afternoon. As someone who grew up loving rom-coms and desperately wanting to become a screenwriter, this felt written just for me.

This is the third book I’ve read by this author and truly I think each one is even better than the last. It was tongue-in-cheek funny, which I love. There was miscommunication, which I don’t usually love, but I felt it was justified and didn’t go on too long.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. I can already tell I’ll be revisiting this one.

Loved this book! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. Katherine Center does it again! Emma is not the confident, have it all together protagonist you would expect but she deserves every good thing and more. Charlie Yates has his own dark shadows. I loved how the two characters grew together through the pain of their own stories. The story is a good mix of fun with real life grief and loss and making sense of their path in life. Enjoyed it very much!

Reading the Rom-Commers was like sitting in on a romance master class. It’s a little meta, a romance about writers drafting a rom-com screenplay, but it works so amazingly well. Emma and Charlie have the most incredible meet-ugly, subvert a lot of tropes, and overall really just won my heart. Katherine Center is two for two in getting me to finish her books in less than 24 hours and she’s definitely auto-buy author status for me now.

Book Review
The Rom-commers by Katherine Center

Plot
A book about writing a romance driven screen play …. From the standpoint of someone who doesnt believe in love or happily ever afters

Tropes
Grief
Cancer
Divorce
Caretaking
Sibling as parental figure
Life on pause
Personal growth

Characters
Charlie - an egotistical award winning writer who doesn’t believe romance or love is real
Emma- a romance writer in the making, she has yet to have her work reach the screen, her dedication to her family has been her main focus for soo long she cant see opportunity when it comes knocking
Logan- a former BF and current friend of Emma’s, who also happens to be Charlie’s agent

Thoughts
✅ Life lesson and love lessons - I love The authors personal insights into her characters motivations…. In this book Katherine literally spells it put for the reader
✅ I adored how Katherine peels back the curtain and shows the reader/audience what makes a romance (movie or book), how its created, what is essential in conveying intimacy and connection on paper
✅ This book was perfect in every way
I know the POV might not be to everyones liking (Emma is telling her own story) but I found it it made the narrative more relatable- like a friend telling me whats up

Quotes (there were soo many gems!)
“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.”
** couldnt agree with this more

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for my digital ARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

🤍 Thank you @smpromance for the earc copy of this delightful story🤍

The Rom-Commers has it all! Charlie and Emma’s story made me laugh-out-loud, swoony, gasp, and it also had me a little teary-eyed.

Also, I’m realizing one of my very favorite things when we have a grumpy x sunshine situation is peeling back those layers!

Emma shines the brightest because she’s walked through a lot of darkness, and to value the sunshine sometimes takes walking in the dark. Life has beaten Emma down and watching her reclaim that vibrancy was so special!

This is definitely my new favorite from @katherinecenter!

Read if you enjoy:
• swoony kisses
• bad first impressions
• romcom love
• emotional stories
• all the banter

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆/5
Steam: closed door/fade to black
TW: death of a loved one described, grief
Out June 11th

I feel really bad to DNF this because I've loved Center's work in the past, and I was so excited to read this - early, especially! Unfortunately, this book is not for me.

The premise is cute - Emma, an unknown writer, suddenly receives a job working with Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriter. But, once she arrives in California to work, she learns that Charlie is not at all eager to work with her level (or lack thereof) of expertise.

What I liked: Emma is funny, there is a substantial backstory to Emma and Charlie individually, and the setting of Charlie's famous mansion is fun. The list, however, ends there.

What I disliked: The past tense narration, the lack of detailed setting, Emma and Charlie's forced romance, and the pacing.

Overall, this story could be done better, in a more readable way.

This is my second book my Katherine Center, and I think she is going to become a must read! This book is a delightful ode to Rom Coms, and I loved it!

The Rom-Commers by @katherinecenter is every 90’s romantic comedy loving girly’s swan song.

As with every book by her, her thorough research and attention to detail sets this work high and above any other like it. I learn something every time. There’s this genius undercurrent of this book being so self-aware that it’s almost as if the HEA hits you in spite of itself. I even have in my notes: “The way this book explores its own genre is mind-bendingly, brain-bleeding good.“ so— I guess I rest my case on that point.

No sassy grandma, but there is a lovable, harmonica-wielding dad that shines just as brightly.

I’m all for a spoiler-free review, and in the spirit of less-is-more, I recommend this book to anyone who has ever chosen to see the sunny side, because Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan, and Sandra Bullock would expect it.

Things to love:
👩🏻‍💻grumpy/sunshine
👩🏻‍💻Meeting adolescent hero
👩🏻‍💻Forced Proximity
👩🏻‍💻Celebrity romance
👩🏻‍💻Closed-Door
👩🏻‍💻I’m going to go ahead and say He’s a protective MMC

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end! It had me smiling, laughing out loud and everything in between all the while dealing with some important topics like dealing with grief, rediscovering your self and more. Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors!

Emma Wheeler, aspiring screenwriter, has the chance of a lifetime when an unexpected job comes up working with Charlie Yates, a famous screenwriter and her idol. However, it means Emma has to leave her dad and move to L.A. for six weeks, something that's difficult because Emma has been his full-time caretaker for ten years, putting her own dreams on hold to care for him in the wake of a tragic rock-climbing accident. But Emma's little sister Sylvie steps in and gives Emma the push she needs to go after her dreams. Except, when Emma gets to L.A., it turns out Charlie Yates doesn't actually want her help with his new script after all. Which is unfortunate, because his new script, a rom-com, which is off-brand for him, is truly, truly terrible. Emma loves rom-coms and can't stand to see this awful one inflicted upon the world. As she tries to convince Charlie to accept her help and give his script a real chance, it turns out the two writers may get along better than they anticipated--Emma knows they can write a great happily-ever-after for the screen, but can the two of them find their way to love as well?

This may be Katherine Center's best book yet. I laughed, I cried, I felt all the feelings, and devoured this in two days. The characters were complex and interesting, even the supporting ones, and the author sensitively portrayed anxiety and grief and various physical illnesses. The plot was engaging and fast-paced. The dialogue was, as usual, full of witty and smart banter, and there were several points that made me laugh out loud. The book deals with grief but is ultimately optimistic about the world, love, and happy endings, and will leave you with warm fuzzy feelings. Highly, highly recommend for anyone who is a fan of her previous work or who loves contemporary rom-coms with some emotional depth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. This was perfect. I loved it so much. it was hard to put down! It was such a feel good story with all the right amount of emotions. I teared up a few times. Two screen writers falling in love while writing a rom com (the man is a grump) it felt like I was watching a 2000s rom com with Julia Roberts as the star. I finished it within 24 hours. So happy to have read this.

This was another sweet addition to the Katherine Center collection. She really has a knack for writing great chemistry between characters, and this book was no exception. I laughed out loud several times with some of the sarcastic snarky dialogue between the main characters. Even the side characters are really well-developed with their own witty dialogue. This was quick, fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely recommend!

Katherine Center always delivers! This one might just be my new favorite. I loved the two main characters, both with their imperfections and quirkiness. The parent caregiver part really hit home for me because of my family situation so I totally related there. This book had pretty much everything you could ask for....humor, work-place banter, hard to deal with topics, and my favorite....romance! Thanks so much for the advance copy! I highly recommend it. I will be buying a physical copy too!

I devoured this book and wish it was 10 chapters longer. I just didn't want it to end. Charlie and Emma were just SO funny and the banter was expertly done. Katharine Center has done it again!!! For those who love "you're my favorite person in the world" heroes this is the book for you!!