What a wonderful book -- one of those that leaves you bereft when you finish, like you've just said goodbye to a very good friend. "The Rom-Commers" features characters who each have a strong sense of self that isn't dependent upon a romantic relationship (unlike too many other contemporary romances).

Both Charlie and Emma are script writers, and so it's not surprising that their dialogue sparkles, and the teasing banter between the two reads like a classic Hollywood film script: snappy, good fun. There are obstacles to Emma and Charlie's romance, but Katherine Center doesn't resort to the all-too-typical Misunderstanding that could have been solved by any attempts at Normal Communication.

Well-paced, strong characters, witty banter-- but the best parts of the novel are the characters' disagreements and arguments: honest, refreshing, and real. Most similar in tone and pacing to Center's novel "The Bodyguard," this latest effort should attract new fans and abundantly satisfy loyal readers of her previous books.

I am already a huge fan of Katherine Center’s books. The Rom~Commers was no exception.
Emma has given up the last 10 years of her life to stay home to take care of her Dad in Austin, TX, to give him the best round the clock care. She is an author at heart and knows all about writing but just doesn’t have the name or connections to go behind her work.
One day an opportunity of a life time come up or her to work with her favorite screen writer Charlie comes up and her family is able to finally let her work on her dream for the next 6 weeks in Los Angele, CA. But things are not as smooth as she expected them to be when she arrives at the famous Charlies house. But from day one this seems to set the stage for how this stay at home caregiver/aspiring big name writer. Emma is hired to help Charlie rewrite a romcom screenplay. But neither ever knew they would be living out a real life Rom Com of their own. This book has lots great emotional elements to it and helps you to see things in another view. I was so close to finishing this book I ended up losing 2 hours of sleep to finish it on a work night & did not regret it. I definitely recommend this book.

Katherine Center is an auto read author for me and I loved this book! I think it would make the perfect romcom movie. I felt all the emotions in this book; happiness at Emma getting her shot, sadness at the story of her mother dying, her fight with her sister, and Charlie's diagnosis, and laughter at the silly things Emma and Charlie would do while writing. I love that her hard work of taking care of her dad and putting herself last finally paid off and she got the opportunity that she deserved by working with her favorite screen writer and even director. There were a few throw backs to her previous books aka Jake Stapleton that made this story even more loveable. If this book is not on your radar for June, it should be!

Ohhhh wow. Katherine Center did it again with this wonderful novel! All of her stories keep you intrigued the whole way and also have an amazing way of making you feel different feels. I love her writing and the way she brings the characters alive on the pages. I highly recommend reading this book for laughs and romance all in one!

I've had the pleasure of hearing Katherine Center speak at a book signing event at which she said that she recommends people read her books in reverse publication order. She argues that just like most things in life, she has gotten better and better with practice and that she believes her newest work is always her best. To that, I'd have to agree. The Rom-Commers is a delight. The characters are lovable, and even though tough topics are discussed, Katherine Center always manages to masterfully weave themes of hope throughout her stories. I anticipate this will be a top read of the year for me and I hope you check it out as well.

After ten years of being her dad’s caretaker, Emma gets the call for an opportunity of a lifetime. She’s always wanted to be a screenwriter, and has even won awards, but her dad came first. Now that her sister is home from college and able to take over, she has the chance to make her dreams a reality, and to co-write with CHARLIE YATES. Her favourite screenwriter ever, who has written a terrible rom com and needs help. But he doesn’t want it. Especially from someone like Emma. Cue close-proximity with a grumpy man, who she might have a small crush on.

Omg I loved this book so much. I cried so many tears, both sad and happy, and can’t not rate it 5 stars.

I loved Emma’s energy and personality, and the way she behaved around the stars of LA resonated so much. Her family overcame so much and was so lovely. You could tell Charlie was in love with her from the first second, and the grumpy energy made for such a good build up.

Both characters have a lot of trauma that they work through, both together and apart, and they’re just such a power couple.

I also loved the nods to the tropes and writing style of a rom com throughout. Fantastic writing and story.

Loved this one. Katherine Center gets better with each book. Both mains are flawed and interesting and i love that they were good solid friends first.

Katherine Center is becoming on of my go-to romance authors lately! She delivers unique characters and a romance to make you swoon and kick your feet with giddiness.

Charlie Yates is a very well known and loved screenwriter and needs to write a Romantic Comedy in order to get his Mafia story filmed and his manager also happens to be best friends and manager of Emma Wheeler, a RomCom writer. Emma has put her whole life on hold while she takes care of her father after he got severely injured from a rock climbing incident. Emma is creative, a hopeless romantic, caring, sweet, and driven!

I adored Emma and Charlie together, they had such an easy dynamic together and I just love how she taught him so much, especially helping him realize what exactly love is. When he said he enjoyed going to the grocery with her and stocking the pantry!!! HOW CUTE!

when he said he wasn't in love because he googled it!!!!

also, I loved seeing Jack Stapleton from The Bodyguard make an appearance!

I have become a really big Katherine Center fan since THE BODYGUARD, and this entry is also very good. It's less of a romance than Bodyguard, but still a great, fast read about a woman who has struggled for a decade or so caring for an invalid parent only to be given her big break in Hollywood.

Like all Katherine Center books (that I've read, at least) there are some extremely heavy issues here. People who think the word "cancer" has no place in a rom-com should stay away.

But it's also very sweet and charming and I'm very glad I read it.

This book was everything I've come to love and expect from a Katherine Center novel: namely that it was fun and super cute and had a delightful cast of characters. From the witty banter to the grumpy/sunshine tropes, this book was thoroughly enjoyable. The romance is more sweet than spicy, and I personally love books about the writing process, especially when it's two writers butting heads. So if you enjoyed "Book Lovers" by Emily Henry and/or "The Roughest Draft" by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, I think you would really like this book. The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I am personally not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope... (is withholding information considered miscommunication?). But apart from that, this might be my favorite Katherine Center novel, or at least tied with "The Bodyguard." Definitely recommend!

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this eARC early in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Center is a favorite of mine. She has the amazing ability to write romance novels without making it overly spicy. You're able to feel the deep love and connection between two characters without all the smut. I loved the concept of this book. and absolutely fell in love with the characters. Highly recommend this one!

This was a charming surprise! As the main character says, rom-coms are formulaic, always containing certain elements. Yes, this novel has all the elements, but surrounded by a lovely and original structure. Emma narrates this story of being given an opportunity to write a rom-com with one of her idols, Charlie. Of course, it’s a rom-com so we know where it’s going, but full of charm and unusual characters with unusual problems.

So, I do recommend this book to readers of romance/women’s novels. It’s a great way to spend a weekend!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

Emma Wheeler is a screenwriter who hasn't been screenwriting much since she's been taking care of her dad for the past decade, a job that requires every minute of her attention. But when her agent sends her a screenplay that needs fixing and it's from her favorite writer, Charlie Yates, she is horrified to discover that the writing is execrable. So bad, she agrees to his offer to hire her to come cowrite with him. Dream come true? Not so much because Charlie has no idea she's coming and no intention of working with her once she's there. Cue: romantic situation.

I think this might be my favorite Katherine Center book yet. There've been quite a few titles out lately explicitly referencing the genre expectations, and so I was a little bit leery about this getting that meta. And as the main characters are both screen writers, there are self-referential mentions of stereotypical rom com plot points, but it was all very fun and well-earned. They aren't just hitting romance beats for some theoretical exercise, Emma wants to make Charlie live through the choices he made in his awful screenplay to show him, for instance, why line dancing isn't sexy. I was also concerned going in about the parasocial dynamic between fan girl Emma and the mega-successful Charlie whom she idolizes. This too was handles super well since their meet cute obliterates that hero-worship and brings them both to a more even-keeled mutual animosity.

Caveats out of the way, what I loved about this book was how much it leaned into the fun of a good romance, the push and pull of an involuntary couple, the delightful banter, the slow-growing respect and realization that, hey, we like each other. This book has so many really lovely moments of play as Charlie's grump exterior gives way. They each bring a backstory that ratchets up the emotion and allows them to connect at a deeper level. The writing is sparkling and witty, and a stable of side characters adds depth and charm. We get a couple of cameos from Jack Stapleton from The Bodyguard. Emma's dad is wonderful. And there's a guinea pig named Cuthbert (as in Matthew and Marilla maybe?).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

In recent years I’ve avoided books about writers because tbh it feels a little navel gazey. Also they’re usually about the kind of writer I am not, and the added heightened unreality of their situation irks me. That’s why I put off reading this ARC a while even though I love the author’s work. I thought, “mm, maybe I’ll just wait a bit.”

I’m very glad I was wrong.

In a world of books incorrectly billed as romcoms when they are low on both rom and com, The Rom-Commers was a massive delight. Center writes deadpan humor with rapid back and forth banter, inner dialogue that slays, and amazing chemistry. Her books are just READABLE. The voice is engaging and delightful. But even through the humor, her book packs a powerful emotional punch.

Emma set aside her writing dreams to care for her invalid father after a family tragedy and only gets small jobs that a former boyfriend sends her way. But this job he sends her is a doozy—rewrite a script from a massive screenwriting legend that is abysmally bad. After much coaxing, Emma travels to LA to find out that he doesn’t want her there, he didn’t agree to this—but she’s not giving up. She’s going to get this script written—even if she has to teach him how to love again.

I absolutely loved this book. 5 stars.

Heat level: 0. Kissing only!

CW: death of a parent (past), caretaking of a dependent parent (current), cancer diagnosis (past)

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC.

Rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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If you don’t have an early copy of The Rom-Commers, you need to preorder it. This book was absolutely phenomenal and everything I didn’t know I needed at the current moment. I felt all of the emotions and I laughed and I (almost) cried and this one just left my heart so full that I cant stop thinking about it. I absolutely loved it, I’m sure this will be a contender for one of my top reads in 2024.
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The Rom-Commers is told from Emma’s POV and has a steady fast pace throughout. I loved both Emma and Charlie and the rest of the characters so much. These characters were so raw and their growth throughout the story was awesome. This story is so much more than just a romance. It’s funny and witty and there’s dealing with grief and illnesses and there’s family drama and leaning to understand oneself and so much more. From start to finish every single thing that happened to these characters felt so real. There were multiple “Oh my God” moments that had me audibly gasping and the ending was just *chefs kiss* perfection.
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Honestly, I could gush about this one for days on end, but I’ll keep this one short and sweet. This book is everything. It was incredible from start to finish and its one that you without a doubt need, regardless of if romance is your genre or not.
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I listened to this one while reading my eARC. It was narrated by Katherine Center and Patti Murin and this audio was incredible. To my audiobook fans - this is the way to go!!
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This one comes out on June 11. It’s a must read! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to @katherinecenter @stmartinpress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide a review. Is Katherine Center both one of my favorite romance authors and my accidental life coach? The answer is yes.

The last decade hasn’t gone how Emma Wheeler had planned. Still in Houston, instead of being a successful Hollywood screenwriter, she has spent the last decade raising her younger sister and providing round-the-clock care to her father. She’s still writing, and Logan, her high school ex, is her agent (he is in LA and kind of a big deal), although she’s never made him a dime. She has a vision board of all her favorite screenwriters and a mermaid romance script, but she is resigned that her dreams are behind her. That is until Logan presents her the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help action movie superstar screenwriter Charlie Yeats rewrite his most recent script. It is a rom-com, and it is atrocious. The only catch is that she’d have to face fears of leaving her father, spend six weeks in LA, and tell her idol that his screenplay is trash. After a first meeting that doesn’t go as planned, Charlie is surprisingly open to feedback. Emma sets about the difficult task of convincing Charlie of the value of rom-coms and happily ever afters - and they may stumble into their own along the way.

In all her books, Center nails the ability to create charming, wholly engrossing romances with more layers and complexity and makes you think about life. She did it beautifully in Hello, Stranger, and again with this one. Emma and Charlie face real, hard things about life and get honest, difficult-to-hear truths from those they love. They are also so fun as these two, opposites in many ways, seek connection and care-taking but are dorky and awkward. It is a delightful, laugh-out-loud book with powerful messages about risk, hope, disappointment, tragedy, and happily ever afters.

I devoured this story. It’s kind of left me speechless- mostly because it gives you so much to think about. I hated Charlie most of this book- I just couldn’t figure him out and why he was acting that way to Emma.

The last 10% of this book I began to understand him and also cried that last 10% as well. So much wisdom in this book. It really makes you think of all you have to be grateful for.

Thank you, Katherine Center, for making me think of all I have to be grateful for.

Thank you for the ARC for my honest review.

I was very excited to get a copy of this ARC. Who doesn't love a good romcom and a pair of writers who are writing a romcom but not fully accepting they are in their own romcom? Say less.

I immediately fell in love with Emma and Charlie and their quirky banter. I loved how domestic they were after one day of working together. Their connection was instant and I also loved Emma's internal commentary when trying to figure out if their feelings for each other for genuine but how she'd never outright ask him, just keep obsessing in secret like a normal person.

Like any good romcom, real emotions were felt too. I sympathized with Emma's situation with her dad and the guilt over the accident. The last 15% of this book had me right in the feels.

The only thing that took me out of this world was the use of real and not real actors. It broke the bubble a little for me, but other than that this was truly a delightful read with some great feet kicking, giggling inducing moments.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc.

4.5 rounded up

In this novel, we are introduced to Emma, an aspiring screenwriter who has been stalled in her career because she is the primary caretaker of her handicapped father. Following Emma’s little sister’s graduation, her best friend, who happens to be the agent of a celebrated screenwriter, orchestrates a collaboration between Emma and the award winning writer Charlie. Charlie, skeptical of love and struggling with a lackluster screenplay, finds himself at odds with Emma, who is determined to prove to him the magic of a truly captivating love story.

The Rom-Commers pulled me in from start with its delightful charm. The ensemble cast of characters truly stole my heart. The author's writing style effortlessly transported me into the heart of the story, making every scene come alive and helped me to feel the emotions of the characters. While there were a couple parts that felt a little “over the top” to me, the overall experience was nothing short of enchanting. This book was truly a love letter to all the romance lovers out there.

The Bodyguard still remains my favorite novel by Katherine Center but I did enjoy The Rom-Commers more than Things You Save in a Fire and Hello Stranger.

I did listen to this on audio and the narrator gets a 10/10 from me. She did an amazing job at bringing Emma’s character to life.

Thank you for the ARC of this book!

Katherine Center is one of those 'must-read' authors for me: If she writes it, I will read it. Every new release of hers is my new favorite book and The Rom-Commers keeps with that tradition. In this story, we are introduced to Emma, a talented screenwriter whose potential has yet to be explored due to life's circumstances, and Charlie, another talented (and very famous) screenwriter who helped make Jack Stapleton famous (you may remember him as the male protagonist in "The Bodyguard"). Katherine Center has the uncanny ability to breathe life into not only her MCs, but the secondary characters as well. As I read about Emma working with Charlie to improve his script, I felt as if I was watching these two people fall in love in real life. I laughed, I cried, and then I fell into a book hangover when I finished and remembered that these weren't real people. If you're looking for a book that will wrap you up and warm your heart, do yourself a favor and pick up The Rom-Commers. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.