I understand why Katherine Center has become an automatic read for many. I enjoyed The Bodyguard (although I didn't need Jack to pop up quite so many times in this book) and once I got into Hello Stranger, I found it entertaining. That said, as many parts of this book I found enjoyable there seemed to be equal amounts of irritants.
Pros:
Fully established characters with important backstories
Numerous points where Center's dialogue amongst the characters shined

Cons:
Charlie was a jerk and his arc wasn't enough to make me want to root for him, especially in the way he treated Emma throughout the book.
Many of the silly scenes didn't hit for me (high dive) and I found myself just speed reading through them.
The ending

In weighing the pros and cons, I didn't ever feel like I wanted to stop reading the book (and I dnf quite a few books) so that equates entertainment to me. I will continue to read the books Katherine Center writes and hope for more pros the next time.

Many thanks to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

Katherine Center never fails to write funny love stories that warm your heart. I was excited to read The Rom-Commers when I heard she was publishing a new book. I didn’t even read the description of the book because she is an auto buy author for me.
In the beginning, I was not a huge fan of the premise of her story. It took me some time to get invested with the characters. By the second half of the book, I was enjoying it and experiencing all the emotions! Her author’s note at the end of the book was the cherry on top and a good reminder why I even picked up this book to read.

🤍Book review 🤍

The Rom-Commers
A Novel
by Katherine Center

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a delightful rom-com that had me smiling, crying, and laughing all in one day. Emma Wheeler dreams of being a screenwriter and gets her big break working with her idol, Charlie Yates. But Charlie is jaded and dismissive of love, making their collaboration rocky at first.
Emma’s journey feels like reading her diary—intimate and real. The characters are well-developed and relatable, especially Emma and Charlie. Their banter is sharp and their relationship progression feels natural, moving from reluctant partners to something more.
The book beautifully balances humor and emotion, with touching moments that brought tears to my eyes. Emma’s dad, recovering from a brain injury, adds depth to the story and showcases the power of kindness and patience.
While not my absolute favorite, I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt love letter to rom-coms and will definitely read more from Katherine Center. My favourite still remains The bodyguard!
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me! Her stories are always touching, funny, and centered (see what I did there?) around finding joy and gratitude. Her words always seem to leave you better for having read them, and The Rom-Commers is no exception!

What would you do if you have the chance to work with one of your idols? Our FMC Emma gets the opportunity to figure that out when she is called to rewrite the script of her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates. Charles certainly doesn’t turn out to be who she expects him to be, and what follows is a story about how they find their way to each other, despite some very real past hurts.

Will you laugh? Yes. Will you cry? Probably. Will you find a million Easter Eggs to the best movie rom-coms of all time? I did. This book was unputdownable, and I am thrilled to give it 5 big stars! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my gifted ARC!

A rom com lover who dreams about making it as a screenwriter gets the opportunity of a lifetime, working with her favorite famous screenwriter on his new rom com movie script... except he's not as charming or wonderful as she had hoped, and he refuses to work with a "nobody"... can she really write this rom com? Emma Wheeler loves rom coms, she's longed to make it as a screenwriter and is good enough to have won contests and even be offered an internship... but she's had to give it up in order to look after her father who was injured in an accident that killed her mother too....an accident she feels responsible for. Emma then gets a call from her manager with the job opportunity of a lifetime, to re-write a script for the famous screenwriter Charlie Yates, the same Charlie Yates that Emma has been obsessed with since forever. This is her dream job and she immediately gets on a plane to go... leaving her younger sister to step in for caretaking duties while Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks. Yet when she mets Charlie she is absolutely shocked to discover he is nothing like she imagined, he in fact is an egotistical, rude, and plain mean guy who refuses to work with a "failed, nobody screenwriter" despite the fact that his script is so terrible it could destroy his career, oh and the fact that he doesn't even want to write a rom com, he just wants a passable script to send off... and the fact that he doesn't believe in love. Emma is determined to change his mind about rom coms and love, despite the fact that he belittles her, treats her like dirt, and is so combative about everything, Emma wants to change his mind. Yet the more time she spends with him the more she begins to fall for him... yet can the same be said for him? Or is this all just to get the script he needs to get funding for his next movie project? This started off with potential... however I just couldn't ever get around to actually liking either character or enjoying their romance at all. I'm going to be honest, I just disliked Charlie overall, he really didn't endear me, he didn't come off as a great love interest after everything, and honestly he just got on my nerves. I really wish I did like this but the character's love story just didn't fit well enough for me and if I'm being honest i got a bit annoyed with both characters throughout the story. Both Emma and Charlie are going through a lot of their own issues but Charlie constantly taking it out on Emma and Emma just being his punching bag just didn't feel that great. It's an okay romance but it's definitely not one of my favorite ones from Katherine Center. I've loved Katherine's other books and will absolutely be reading her future works, this one just missed the mark a. bit for me. If you like opposites attract then give this one a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: June 11,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

- Workplace romance (screenwriters)
- LA setting
- Sudden roommates
- Grumpy x sunshine
- Hurt/comfort
- Cynic x hopeless romantic
- Closed door
- Single POV

What to expect in The Rom-Commers:
- A book that will make you laugh out loud before it makes you cry. Like giggling and kicking your feet, and then your heart hurts.
- The best grumpy/sunshine dynamic between the grumpy bigshot screenwriter and the nobody writer who has always had a crush on him.
- Fantastic character growth.
- The MC communicates directly with the reader for such a unique and immersive writing style.
- A love letter to the romance genre (research included 🤭).
- The perfect epilogue.

This book had me smiling, crying, rolling my eyes, and laughing all in the span of a day! This is my first Katherine Centers book, and it will definitely not be my last! I don’t know how else to say it, but her writing style feels so human.
This book felt very much like I was reading Emma’s diary, or listening to her talk about her life on the phone or over coffee.
I thought that the characters had a lot of depth and were very personable (at least most of the time iykyk).
I had tears rolling down my face at a couple parts of it, I recommend reading the tw before starting!
I recommend and I know I will be picking this up again after it comes out!
The banter was so good and I thought the relationship progression was perfect!
There were some things I didn’t care too much for and things that irritated me so I’m not going to say it’s a favorite of mine, but I think it will be a favorite for lots of people!

Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

First thank you to st martins press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Emma is a talented writer but her life took a twist after high school. Now she has the chance to work with her favorite writer but it means getting out of her comfort zone.

What I liked: i love watching rom-coms and this book is a love letter to that genre. Emma is a great character in that she has so much potential but letting go and taking advantage of it is not her nature. Charlie is an amazing writer but he protects himself by isolating himself. Emma’s dad had an accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. My mom had a craniotomy which is also a brain injury. Too often only the bad side is discussed in books but Katherine center always shows us the bright side. He is very sweet and patient and teaches his girls lessons. I really like Charlie the best in the book. He is brilliant but emotionally life has been the greatest to him. He builds up walls to protect himself Of course with a title the Rom-commers there has to be romance. I love that their love came from the small moments and grew during their time together from friends to more. It wasn’t all grand gestures. You can always count on lessons from a Katherine. Center book. Please do read this book as we need more kindness and love in the world. Of course laughter always helps too

Rating: 4.5/5

Katherine Center is an instant buy for me! And this book proved why!

I laughed and cried at parts of this and found the overall romance was so wonderful. The characters and their individual development was excellent. And I loved seeing their romance blossom.

Overall, I will definitely be recommending this and look forward to reading more from Center!

A book about writing a script about writing a script about love? YES PLEASE. Even if that confused you just know, Katherine Center did it again and wrote one of the best books I’ve read this year. Funny, witty, inspiring, and uplifting, the Rom-Commers is this year’s summer romance must read!
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

katherine center can DO NO WRONG!!! 🥳 I love everything she writes between her fluffy banter to her sweet grand gesture moments!!

the biggest red flag (and elephant?) in the room for me was the attitude of the main characters… both charlie and emma were … not nice? I love a good enemies to lovers don’t get me wrong, but there’s a difference between banter and straight up slaughter of character 😅😕 if someone said the things to me that charlie said to emma or emma said to her sister, I would simply not stick around for the explanation…

that being said, I did enjoy the exploration of grief and trauma through the stage of grief that is anger. as someone who has experienced all five stages, anger is definitely the one where people alienate themselves from you, and I can definitely appreciate how charlie and emma both took that in a different direction

this was a surface light book and dare I say, I wanted more! I wanted more about emma’s caretaker moments with her father, more with charlie’s ex-wife and their guinea pig babies, more with emma and sylvie’s strained sisterhood due to their childhood trauma… but I am also a 100% contemporary emo romance girlie so that just might be a personal preference

TLDR: I liked it a lot, but it didn’t hit as hard as katherine center’s other books tend to do…

thank you to netgalley and st martins press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: brut champagne

This sweet book felt like Katherine Center’s love letter to all rom-coms 🥰

GENRE: Rom-Com
MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)
#gifted @macmillan.audio —tysm!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️ Rom-com movies 🎥
▫️Single POV
▫️ Laugh-out-loud moments
▫️Closed door (no spice)
▫️ Father-daughter relationships
▫️Overcoming family wounds ❤️‍🩹
▫️Tropes: forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, grand gesture

MY THOUGHTS & RATING:
This book was absolutely delightful! 🥹 If you’re already a KC fan, you’ll be so happy with The Rom-Commers! 💖 It was my 3rd one by her and I’m learning that her books are a fun balance of romance & women’s fiction. This one left me feelin’ GIDDY ☺️

When Emma is given the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for the one and only famous screenwriter, Charlie Yates, she can’t pass it up! Although leaving her father for several weeks is difficult since she is his primary caretaker. Once she arrived to do the job, things are not as they were promised 😳🤭

I really enjoyed the themes in this story about being brave and going for it!!! Life is not going to be easy and neither will loving someone fully. The banter was the freakin’ cutest #swoon 🥰 I also enjoyed the heavier side-plot (hellooo, emotional reads are my fav), but do keep in mind cancer is mentioned in this book. The main plot was kinda silly tbh lol, but it was adorable nevertheless. Pick this up for a quick, enjoyable read!

DETAILS:
▫️Publishes: 6/11/24
▫️Pages: 336

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s, and NetGalley for an ARC of The Rom-Commers! All opinions are my own.

Whew lord - great ready to CRYYYYYY!! This book was so amazingly witty and funny and snarky until all of a sudden I found myself sobbing hysterically and genuinely worried about how things were going to end. I got my HEA, thankfully, but whew, Katherine put me through it for a second.

This was such an amazing book, and as my second KC book (following reading Hello Stranger last year), it has absolutely convinced me that I need to inhale Katherine’s entire back catalog. Sorry to all my friends who I recommend this to - you’re going to cry, but it’s going to be worth it in the end.

*Potential spoilers below*

POV: single first person

You can expect: screenwriter MCs, caretaking, forced proximity, roomance, coworkers to lovers, guinea pig dad.

Rep: TBI, Ménière’s disease, soft tissue sarcoma, anxiety/health anxiety, gay side character

Spice: closed door, never goes beyond kissing

CW: traumatic accident (side character), death of a parent, cancer, near-drowning accident as a child

The Rom-Commers is coming from Katherine Center, an author who has captured the hearts of many with her writing style and ability to write romance that leaves you giggling and swooning all in one breath.

While I absolutely love her writing style, I did find this book a little difficult to connect with when it came to Emma and Charlie. The plot itself has all of the makings for a great rom com, and it did indeed achieve its job. However, I think it would have hit home a little more for me if Charlie's character had been more developed. He came off as rude, maybe even standoffish, and it was hard to see where Emma started to fall for him. It didn't seem he developed enough for Emma to see him in the light she did, but also, I can admit maybe that was just my expectation.

Despite this hiccup, it was still a lovely read. The writing is lovely and this author seems to always have a way with words that has you swooning even if you don't want to.

Katherine Center is absolutely an autoread author for me, and I adored her newest book The Rom-Commers. I’m so, so grateful to @stmartinspress for an advanced copy and to @macmillanaudio for an ALC. The Rom-Commers comes out June 11, so there’s time to preorder. I can’t wait to pick up my copy at my first in-person @katherinecenter event (insert many squeals!).

The Rom-Commers stars writer Emma Wheeler who has put her dreams of being a screenwriter on hold to care for her father who needs round-the-clock care in Texas. When her manager calls with an offer she can’t refuse—help screenwriting legend Charlie Yates rewrite his terrible romcom in California—she almost refuses until her younger sister cancels an internship to stay with their dad. But when Emma gets to California, Charlie Yates is not the delight she’d hoped, and he has no interest in writing with a “failed nobody screenwriter.” Can Emma change his mind? I don’t think I’m breaking any of Katherine Center’s rules if I say probably, but you should read to find out.

I loved this book. It was joyful and funny and sad and had me on the edge of my seat with nerves more times than I typically like. But when it’s a Katherine Center book, I trust her not to break my heart in any way she can’t fix. I wish I knew more how to bring this level of positivity in my life despite things not going my way, but I’m not always great at it. Reading her books, however, is one tactic I’ve got.

A couple reviews of this one I’ve seen thought Charlie was too mean. And, okay, I guess he was a little acerbic—maybe even mean—at times, but that made it all the better when we saw his sweetness come out in little ways. If you’re looking for a perfect love interest from the get go, maybe Charlie isn’t your next book boyfriend, but he’s absolutely one of mine.

Katherine Center has a wonderful way of crafting a rom-com that has just enough whimsy to not be plausible but just enough reality that you can think “what if it was”. I found her latest installation to be almost as enjoyable as her previous novels but felt the MMC felt a little flat. He lacked many of the endearing qualities of Center’s other MMCs but by the end I still found myself rooting for him and the couple’s happy ending. I would still recommend this as a lovely, quick summer read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance reader copy of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.

I’ve read Katherine Center before and enjoyed her writing, but not like this. I really connected with this one. The characters were sweet and funny and relatable. Their motivations made sense. There’s no contrived tension that reads like a Three’s Company plot.

This book is funny and touching and clever. I’m rounding up from 4 1/2 stars.

This was only my second book by Katherine Center, but she is officially an auto-read author for me! This book was wonderful and gave me ALL THE FEELS! It is absolutely adorable and perfect in every way! I like that the characters in her books are not perfect, they have flaws and have been through things. I love the banter and the chemistry! I think of her books as "comfort reads", like comfort food, but in book form!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this fantastic story that comes out on June 11!

I discovered Katherine Center's books a few months ago and I've really enjoyed many of her books since then. This book was no exception.

Charlie is a very successful screenwriter, but he has many quirks. And he's been commissioned to write a rom-com. But he's done a miserable job with it. Maybe because he doesn't believe in love. And he certainly doesn't believe in happy endings. Emma, an aspiring screen writer, has been hired by Charlie's agent to help him re-write the screen play. Even thought she's had a rough 10 years, she still believes in love, in romance, and happily ever after. And she's willing to pull Charlie along to understand what makes a great rom-com.

Anyone who has ever read a rom-com knows how it's going to end. But Katherine Center does such a good job at bringing us there. Chuckles, outright laughter, tears, and a great storyline. There are some very heavy moments in this book, but there is fun and sexual tension. I'd absolutely recommend this book.

This was just ok for me -- It was so heavy handed in the romance cliches that it felt inauthentic to me. It's like one person said what if I do absolutely everything that romance lovers want but in one book and this was the result. It ended up just not giving me the feels that I anted. I will say however, that if you love Emily Henry, this one is for you! Also this cover is a bit of an abomination!

The Rom-Commers comes out next week on June 11, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

But that's not to say I'd never been in love. I was not stingy with my crushes. I had a thing for the guy at the meat counter at the grocery store, and the ER doc who'd stitched my dad up after his last fall, and a cute young maintenance guy who worked at our building.
I fell in love all the time. Just. nobody fell in love with me back.
Fiction really kind of was all I had in the romance department.
But that wasn't a weakness. That was a strength.
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.
Love stories had lifted me up, delighted me, and educated me on the power of human kindness for years.