This was another enjoyable book by Katherine Center. She makes my tear in the best way possible. Not only does this story make you feel good, it gives you hope that people can change their opinions and not have life be over.

The Rom-Commers is about two screen play writers who are matched together by their agent. One needs to break into the industry and one is seasoned but has lost their mojo. They are put together for a 6 week period to write a screen play for a romantic comedy movie for a producer who will make an action movie if this task is completed. While together, the FMC tries to teach love to the MMC. Of course they have a good time together and create a bond.

I loved the characters, even the sub-characters. I can picture the coffee shop that a few scenes talk about, and I loathe the backwards cap man so much I don't even want to repeat his name. Katherine Center writes phenomenally and I cannot wait to see what else she brings to life.

Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion.

I chose this book for review because I liked the idea of two screenwriters, one established in Hollywood and the other looking for a big break, working together to rewrite a romantic comedy. The Rom-Commers is a mix of the grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity tropes and it snagged my attention almost immediately.

Emma Wheeler is many things–the full-time caregiver to her father, her sister’s biggest fan, a teacher at the local community college, and an aspiring screenwriter. Her high school boyfriend is her manager and he’s thrown work her way over the years as a form of penance for breaking up with her in college, so she’s not surprised when he calls with an opportunity. What she doesn’t expect is the offer of working with her favorite writer to rework a romantic comedy.

If you are looking for super sexy smexytimes, let me be the first to tell you that there are no love scenes, closed or otherwise. But there is a sweet, fun romance between two people that have a lot of going on in their lives but kind of fall for each other while being forced into the same space in order to work with each other. Emma is fabulous, I fell in love with her immediately. Charlie Yates, the award-winning screenwriter, is another story. He comes across as rude and douchey at first, and from the way he is described I kept picturing a grouchy, disheveled old man in my head. He did grow on me, but it took a while.

When I say these two have a lot going on in their lives, I mean A LOT. Emma is a full-time caregiver because her dad suffered a traumatic brain injury ten years ago and can’t be left alone. Her mother died in the same accident. Charlie has an ex-wife who he has a complicated relationship with and a history of cancer. I was surprised at how funny this book was despite the somber backstories. The dialogue and scenes where they are studying certain elements for the screenplay are humorous, and despite only getting Emma’s POV, I felt their connection. I kind of wish there was at least one love scene, the kissing scenes are a great build up, but I think I would have enjoyed the two of them connecting on a more physical level before the third act break up.

The HEA is nice, and I liked how everything came together with them and Emma’s family. All in all, this was a delightful read. It made me smile.

Another fantastic Katherine Center read!

I always enjoy this author’s books. They’re uplifting, fun, relatable, but with some serious undertones. And this read is no different. The FMC Emma is such a relatable character. She’s the oldest daughter who has taken on the responsibility of taking care of her father and has given up nearly everything so her younger sister can thrive. The MMC Charlie is such a grump in the beginning but he really starts to work his way into your heart as the story continues.

While I really loved Emma, Charlie was a little too grumpy and closed off. He made a lot of assumptions that were frustrating for me as a reader.

While this isn’t my favorite of Katherine Center’s books, it’s a solid read and one I’ll be so happy to have on my shelf! Plus, Katherine Center books always have the prettiest covers!

This one is for you if you like:
• Forced proximity
• Work romance
• Enemies to friends to lovers
• Grumpy/sunshine

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the digital ARC. My review is honest and voluntary.

Katherine Center has a way of writing where I hear the narrator like my own audiobook is playing in my mind as I read, complete with multiple voices and soundtrack. I love her characters, and she writes the best banter. She is also able to balance the serious moments with humor in such a way that while we feel the feelings we also know that things are going to be ok. She did all these things and more with Charlie and Emma. I SO loved The Rom-Commers.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Rom-Commers and give my unbiased opinion of it.

Katherine Center is the romance author I never knew I needed in my life. Although this is a clean romance, it is intense with incredible chemistry. Emma has experienced intense tragedy in her life and has proclaimed herself the caretaker of her family. Her BFF helps her weigh an experience of a lifetime and Charlie becomes everything she want looking for. I devoured this story from beginning to end.

This is officially my new favorite romance book of all time. The fmc was so relatable, I have never felt so seen by a character. This was such a funny, sweet, summer romance. The topics of grief were so well executed. I went to the store after reading 50% to go buy her other romance novels. I highly recommend everyone reads this!

It was a great idea--a non-compatible couple have to write a romantic comedy screenplay--and I absolutely adored the heroine, but the hero was too much of a jerk for my taste. Grumpy/sunshine is a tough challenge to make work, and reader reactions are wildly subjective, but for me, grumpy needs to be kind, and honest. This jack wagon was neither.

Add to that a (content warning here) fake cancer diagnosis, which is never going to be funny to me, ever. I do not want cancer in my romances, even fake for really stupid reasons.

Mileage varies!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this copy of "The Rom-commers."

This book was "shimmery" and "dazzling" (you'll have to read it to understand the joke!) But I'd actually thought of it as sparkling and bubbly while I was reading.

I won't go into much about Emma's background (you can read it for that, too) , but she's "hired" to work with her famous screenwriter-idol Charlie on a rewrite on his dreadful attempt at a rom-com screenplay.

She's never had a real relationship and found love in screenplays and stories. Charlie doesn't believe in love (or doesn't think he does).

The dialogue is zippy and sweet and hysterical. And Emma's family is so delightful and adorable - you'll love them!

REVIEW: The Rom-Commers ⭐⭐⭐

“You had to maximize joy when it fluttered into your life. You had to honor it. And savor it. And not stomp it to death by reminding everyone of everything you'd lost.”
― Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers

I’m a huge fan of rom-coms, so I was excited to start The Rom-Commers. Emma is a striving rom-com screenwriter who is also a caregiver for her dad. She gets an opportunity from her ex-boyfriend to help rewrite a rom-com screenplay with Charlie Yates, a famous thriller and action writer. When Emma shows up in LA, things go differently than planned, and Charlie isn’t expecting her.

First of all, I like how this story is written. Katherine Center writes it in a way that seems like Emma is talking to you as her friend. There are many times when Emma addresses the reader, making the book feel like a personal conversation. This voice, paired with the great narrator, just really helped make the story more compelling. I also liked the theme that so many people think lowly of romance or rom-coms, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Katherine Center even had an author's note about it at the end of the book. I thought having the main characters be screenwriters was also a unique view.

I loved this story as a fun rom-com until about 70-75% in. Then, there were so many unnecessary conflicts, and the ending was unrealistic. There were conflicts between Emma and Charlie and Emma and her sister that just made me cringe. Plus, throughout the book, I struggled to like Charlie. It was hard to root for him when he wasn’t someone I particularly liked.

Thank you, Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

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Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my complimentary eARC, and to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Katherine Center has done it again. The Rom-Commers was a delightful look into the very hectic and chaotic life of a Hollywood writer. Though it was tough at times for me to read, I pushed through and was rewarded with a heartwarming read. Emma and Charlie make a great team, even though it takes Charlie a while to realize it.
I enjoyed the shout out to Jake and Hannah from The Bodyguard.

I paired the audio and as usual, Patti Murin did a phenomenal job. Her voice is very east to listen to and her different character voices make it easy to follow the story.

Omg I loved this so much!!! I was hooked by the premise right from the beginning. A curmudgeonly writer, Charlie, needs help to write a script he doesn’t want. Enter Emma, a believer of love who is ready to open his heart and give him the push he needs. I laughed so much while reading this. I haven’t read such a humorous book in ages and it was super refreshing.

I fell in love with the characters and this felt like it could be real life! It makes you get sucked into the book so easily and I was able to shut out the world and just read this story. Their banter is so much fun that I did not want it stop! Their obstacles made perfect sense and by the end, I felt like I really knew them and wanted them to be together so bad!!! It was great!!!

I highly recommend this to those who enjoy hilarious romance novels that grab you from the start and delight you the whole way through.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

3.5/5 stars

This was a cute story line but just didn't work for me. First, Charlie the MMC was so rude to Emma and not in a cute we can come back from this way. Emma was INSANE I would fly in the other direction if I ever met her. She's ~not like other girls~ because she has curly red hair and has sacrificed everything in her entire life to care for her dad. It would be sweet if she wasn't a pick me I'm sorry!! I love Katherine Center's banter and plots and will absolutely keep reading her books this one just wasn't for me!

I really enjoyed this rom-com. The heroine, Emma, was lovely. Her family has suffered a terrible tragedy, but she has stepped up and sacrificed her promising future to help them. Now she has an unbelievable opportunity to work with her idol, Charlie Yates, on writing a screenplay. At first, Charlie seems like your typical grumpy, arrogant hero, but he soon reveals himself to be a very nice guy who has suffered in his past. They start working together and become great writing partners as well as good friends.

There are your standard romantic trope type complications, but I liked the snappy dialogue and Emma’s willingness to stand up for herself, but also to put herself out there. I liked that her father is such a lovely guy.

This was a fun read which I strongly recommend.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

3/5 ⭐️

So, the start of this book was great - cute, flirty, fun banter between Charlie and Emma - but it just slowly descended for me as it went on. The drama increased to a point that was just borderline ridiculous to me - and I love some fun, soap opera level drama - but this was trying to be somewhat realistic and grounded and it just did not work for me (the car crash was what started the descent). The chemistry between Charlie and Emma started off pretty strong but also became less and less believable. It's a cute premise, two screen-writers writing a rom-com together as they fall in love, and Center's writing is enjoyable, but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for my early access to this.

I was skeptical about this book when I read the title and the blurb. Then I started reading and was thoroughly blown away by how great a story it was. The characters are wildly interesting and funny. Charlie and Emma have the most entertaining and witty dialogue. Their interactions light up the pages and will make the reader eager to keep going. There are laugh out loud moments as well as deeply poignant ones. This is truly a great story that should be on your buy list.

I loved this book! I am relatively new to Katherine Center, only having read one of her novels (The Bodyguard) prior this one. The Rom-Commers is about two screenwriters, one famous, the other unknown, getting together to re-write a romcom movie script. Emma has not taken the time to devote to her work for the past 10 years as she is a full time caregiver to her father. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold and watch Emma be vulnerable as to where she was in her life. Charlie is a famous author, but has never written a Rom-Com. He oscillates from being completely unlikeable to being just the sweetest. If you are looking for spice, you will not find anything beyond PG in this one, but the spice is not needed, this quick read is fantastic on its own.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press and the author for the copy of this book in exchange for my thoughts.
Publication Date: June 11, 2024
Genre: Romance

Katherine Center did a wonderful job with this lighthearted comedy. Her work reminds me of Emily Giffin and the Something Borrowed series. Lots of details to follow but done in a beautifully crafted way. This would make a great beach/vacation read!

There are not enough words to describe how much I loved this book - when first starting to read I already had a feeling I'd rate it around 4+ stars, but by the end it was an easy 5 star read.

The Rom-Commers follows Emma, who is given the opportunity to partner with her idol Charlie on a rom-com script rewrite. Soon after they meet, she learns that he isn't the guy she expected and he doesn't believe in love. This book had some of the best banter, and I absolutely loved how strongly the grumpy/sunshine trope shone through. I'm always a sucker for books centered in the entertainment industry too, so that was a huge plus.

Truly this book helped me get through a slump and that says a lot because once I'm in a reading slump I need an AMAZING book in order to feel fully out of it. This book fit the bill to the T. I have no critique, and can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy once it is released!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a new contemporary romance novel. The story in The Rom-Commers begins as a grumpy meets sunshine type of enemies to lovers romance but eventually grows into a friends to lovers from the forced proximity between the characters.

Emma Wheeler has always dreamed of becoming a screenwriter full time but life took a turn for Emma years before when she lost her mother and her father was permanently injured with Emma becoming his full time caretaker. Emma’s writing has won awards but as well as she knows her chosen genre of rom-coms writing them full time has continued to be a dream.

That dream may be turning into a reality though with one phone call from Emma’s old friend, Logan. Logan is now the agent for the famous screenwriter Charlie Yates, one of Emma’s long time idols. It seems Charlie needs help diving into the unknown genre for him of rom-coms and Logan thought Emma would be the perfect person who could help Charlie re-write the worst rom-com script that ever existed!

Katherine Center is one of those authors that whenever I pick up a new books for her I am completely certain I’m going to enjoy it and thus far she hasn’t made me wrong yet. From the very first of pages of this new book I was drawn in and knew I was going to enjoy these characters and rooting them along the way. There is of course a roller coaster of emotions over the course of the book but what it all keeps coming back to is the laughter and light that I hope to always find. Definitely an author I recommend checking out!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Adult workplace romance with tropes of forced proximity and friends to lovers. I enjoyed this book! The characters were interesting, witty, and the dad had the most sage advice. The main characters, Emma and Charlie, had great banter and chemistry. I also thought the storyline was unique and very enjoyable. I wasn’t a fan of Emma’s actions/decisions in the third act, but the conclusion definitely made up for it! I highly recommend this rom-com novel!