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.

Katherine Center does it once again. Though I feel like this one is women's fiction with a strong romantic subplot. Emma grows so much throughout this book. And though she's obviously a huge fan of Charlie as a writer, and has a crush on him, she doesn't let that lead her throughout the book. She interacts with him as if he's anybody else and doesn't change herself to be someone he would fall for.

As for the things that Emma has been through, and blames herself for? That has to be such a tough load to carry. While I've never had to care for someone as intensely as she does, I understand how making your whole personality into a caregiver - even without the guilt - is so easy to do. I was so proud of her sister and father for making her go to LA.

Now, the ending. I thought this was going to rip me up like Me Before You. I almost wanted to quit listening because I was so afraid of that ending. The ending (and the last few chapters really) is still really emotional, but I won't say anything more in case it gives it away once you've started reading it.

After listening to The Rom-Commers, Patti Murin is still one of my favorite narrators. I really need to make it a priority to see what other books she's narrated and download them from the library or Hoopla.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress #macaudio2024 #partner for the gifted copy of the audiobook.

Can you believe this is my first Katherine Center book?! I will absolutely be adding more to my TBR after reading this one!

Hear me out though…as I was making my way through this book I was enjoying it but not 100 loving at first. I kind of thought the main character Charlie was kind of a jerk. He was rubbing me the wrong way….a little too aloof and I just didn’t like him. BUT THEN….the ending happened and I was like….oooohhhhhh now I get it. I can’t tell you why but the ending made up for all of my annoyance with him during the rest of the book. I can’t tell you why as it will be a spoiler but trust me it’s well worth the wait!

I can now appreciate his standoffishness-grumpy-attitude. Is this what y’all mean when you say grumpy sunshine?! 😂 This thriller obsessed girl is learning about this romcom life and although I don’t know the ins and outs yet, I am HERE FOR IT. This book is refreshing, endearing, tackles a hard, complicated topic and I think it is done flawlessly. I even shed tears in this one!! What is happening to me?! Anywho, this book I would absolutely add to your summer reading list! It is so well done and the good thing is it comes out this week so you don’t have to wait!

The Rom-Commers
Katherine Center
Pub: 6/11/24
5☆

ALL the stars!! Katherine Center is the absolute Queen of Rom-Coms and the Rom-Commers was another gleaming example! Quite possibly my favorite KC read thus far.

I loved this one so damn much! It is was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I already cannot wait to reread with the audiobook! I laughed, I cried, and I swooned so damn hard. I seriously could not get enough of Charlie and Emma. They were beautiful, goofy, and their struggles felt so real and relatable. I could survive forever off the banter alone between these two. 😆 Although I couldn’t control myself whatsoever while reading, I did NOT want this book to ever end.

Reading a KC book always feels like the biggest hug. You get the best characters, the best stories, and the most amazing HEA’s. I thought I might break my iPad I was smiling and squeezing it so hard when I finished reading. SO GOOD!! 😍

What I loved;
💕 LOL Humor
💕 Grumpy x Sunshine
💕 The “Research”
💕 ALL the feels
💕 The Cameos
💕 Personal Growth

I went back and did a reread with the audiobook, and though I didn’t think it was possible, I loved it even more. Patti Murin’s narration was absolute perfection. Her voice and KC’s words were made for each other. KC’s recorded note at the end was so great! I’d love to come over to the fun side and hang out on the hill of love stories with her!

The Rom-Commers is an absolute must read and will without a doubt be one of THE books of the summer. Add to your TBR, your cart, request from your library. Do all the damn things becuase you 💯 need this book in your life.

All my love and appreciation to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review.

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for romcoms. This book was the perfect blend of book romcom and movie romcom. Katherine Center never disappoints and this book is no different. This book is for those who love romcom movies and who want to laugh. I loved it.

Amazing Read

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, Katherine Center for the opportunity to read your book. This was an incredible read. In this book, we meet Emma Wheeler. She is the caretaker for her father after he suffered an accident. Her former boyfriend, Logan offers her a job to rewrite a screenplay written by her favourite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, for six weeks. I thought this story was amazing. It was full of laughs and I loved every moment of it. The characters and plot were amazing. I thoroughly loved Emma as the heroine because despite everything she went through, she still saw the best in everything she does. Also, I loved her family. Her dad was a sweet character. I loved her relationship with her sister, Sylvie. I thought it was sweet that they would be supportive of each other’s dreams. Charlie Yates was another fantastic character. He was sweet, sexy and smart. I thought the romance was fantastic. I love how Katherine Center writes her stories. This is my third book that I read from her and she never disappoints. She keeps making me laugh, enjoy and love reading romance comedy. I cannot wait to read more books by Katherine Center and more romance comedy authors. Overall, an amazing read.

I was blown away by this book! I’ve always been a Katherine Center fan, but this one is by far my favorite. I laughed out loud so many times, and the ending had me wiping away tears. Charlie and Emma’s banter was fun, flirty and frustrating, and I loved every second of their developing relationship. Emma has a huge heart for others, and Charlie is confident and driven. They made each other better and it was really fun to follow their romance.

Thank you so much for sharing this audiobook with me! The narrator did a great job! It’s going on a bunch of my recommendation lists and I can’t wait to tell my reader friends about it!

Emma put her life on hold when her father had an accident, requiring him to have a full time caregiver. She teaches and writes screenplays, but nothing has ever caught on. When her agent calls her with a ghostwriting offer to write with her favorite screenwriter, she turns him down. She has to care for her dad. Her younger sister cancels her summer internship and their family sends Emma off to LA. When she arrives at Charlie's house, she learns not only didn't he agree to write with her, he had no idea she was coming. He doesn't want to write this screenplay- a romcom- and only agreed to it in order to get another movie made. He is cynical and doesn't believe in love. He reluctantly agrees to Emma's help after spending time with her. Again- only because he really wants his mafia movie made.

I always enjoy [author:Katherine Center|409113]'s books. I don't always *love* them, but I always like them. I was kind of skeptical of this one at first. I just didn't connect with it in the beginning and it made me sad, longing for [book:The Bodyguard|58724801]. (Though luckily we have a couple of cameos from Jack!) But as it went on, I loved it more and more. Somewhere around the 2/3 mark, I was crying for the first time. Towards the end, I was downright sobbing.

The overall plot is kind of predictable. But getting there isn't. It is very human and real. Romance is a tricky genre. Some is pure fluff. Some requires explicit sex scenes to make it interesting. Some is sickeningly sweet and fake. Then you have books like this- where the characters feel real. You can actually connect with them. I will read fluff and steamy books when I am looking for something that is enjoyable with little effort. But I never love those books. It is books like this- the ones that require you to actually feel something- that I end up loving.

Patti Murin narrates the audiobook and does a spectacular job, as always.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

SMP needs to take accountability for their actions in order for me to review this book and it's truly disheartening to realize I read a book under this publisher and this is still going on when it's a very simple ask. I would love to be able to talk about the books I have read under the imprints in this umbrella but I can't and that's very frustrating because the bookish world should be a welcoming place for all people regardless of race, gender, etc, but the lack of action being taken is truly so disappointing. I will rate this book the stars it deserves because the author has done nothing wrong but the publisher's need to realize they are hurting their authors too with this because none of us want to continue reading books attached to a place bent on doubling down on bigotry.

I struggled with rating this book and writing my review because I really like Katherine Center's writing style, but I couldn't connect with the characters in this book. Emma is hired to help Charlie rewrite his rom com movie script. He is known for writing other movies, but he has never written a rom com. Emma and Charlie are opposites, but they have to work together and live together for six weeks.

I didn't like that Emma tried to make Charlie face his fears. It felt like she was forcing him, and I didn't like that. I also struggled with all of the miscommunication between Emma and Charlie. As a character, Charlie's inconsistencies really got in the way of my ability to root for him. If I were Emma, I don't think I could ever trust him.

I also struggled with Emma's relationship with her sister. Emma had to be caregiver for their father, and she also helped to raise her younger sister.

The narrator, Patti Murin, did a great job with the material. I also enjoyed the bonus chapter in the audio book. The author's note was read by the author in the audio book. I really connected to Katherine Center's message and love and appreciation for the rom com genre.

Overall, I have mixed thoughts and feelings about this book, and it makes me sad to feel that way about it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read a few books by Katherine Center, but this is definitely my favorite book of hers! It’s so good! I ended up staying up way too late just so that I could finish reading it.

The Rom-Commers is about forgiveness, growing, not giving up on your dreams, and making the most of the life you have. It was such a beautiful story.

I loved the characters in this story. While Charlie Yates started off a bit rude and arrogant, he quickly became such a sweetheart who’s thoughtful and maybe not as confident as you’d expect him to be with the fame and awards he had.

Emma was an absolute delight and so funny and charming without even trying to be. She was constantly putting others first, which was lovely, but I also liked the moments when she did things that she enjoyed. She learned to let others help even when it’s hard to give up that control.

The friendship that formed between Charlie and Emma was so wholesome. They got along so well and really complemented each other. Their conversations were entertaining, and I just loved how quickly they became comfortable with each other.

Emma’s family was really sweet, but I loved that they weren’t perfect. They didn’t always say or do the right things, but it was clear how much they loved each other. Emma’s dad was a total sweetheart, and I loved that he didn’t let grief and his health hold him back from life.

The premise of this book was also so interesting and unique. I haven’t read any other books about screenwriters, and I thought it was fun to learn more about that. It was also adorable to see Emma teach Charlie all about rom coms (especially the kissing!).

Also, I read this book as an audiobook, and it was fantastic! Patti Murin did an amazing job with her character and with her dialogue with Charlie. She fit Emma perfectly, and I definitely need to read more audiobooks that she narrates.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone! It was an easy five star read for me, and I can see myself re-reading this book many times in the future.

4.75 - Thank you so much to MacMillan Audio for the complimentary copy!

This book will be out June 11th.

This is my 3rd summer of reading a Katherine Center and this may be my favorite one of the three.
I just enjoyed the book from start to finish. The way that Katherine writes just always sucks me in. I really need to go back to read her backlist.

"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."

I just loved the dynamic between Emma and Charlie. Emma was a talented writer who just needed the write opportunity to strike to hit. And the opportunity came from her former ex who manages a very famous screenwriter and he needs help reworking a romcom. But the catch, Charlie doesn't believe in love nor has never seen a romcom!

Even though I loved this book, I am so surprised how many reviews are saying how much they love Charlie. I felt like Charlie was unlikeable through majority of the book. We do find out why this was the case but it made it hard to like him. Day by day Emma just chewed away at Charlie's hard exterior. And while doing this he slowly began to warm up and a different side to Charlie began to shone through. He would do small gestures to show he was paying attention.

"I get it now."
"Get what?"
"Why we're rewriting this story."

A major storyline that is woven throughout the book is Emma's role as a caretaker to her dad. We learn what happened that caused his Ménière's disease and what her daily life is like taking care of him. She is entrusting her younger sister Sylvie (and her boyfriend) to take care of her dad while she is away in LA. I did feel bad because Emma had taken on the brunt of his care for the last 10 years and it was just something that she made her full responsibility. I really feel like she was so passionate about his care after feeling responsible for their mother's death. The climax came towards the end when things came to a head.

I paired my reading with the audio which was narrated by Patti Murin who is a top tier audiobook narrator. She truly knocks it out of the part each and every time! Her tone and cadence is always so pleasant to listen to. This one was no exception. I loved how she voiced all the characters!

I really enjoyed this but I know a lot of peers have had mixed reactions to this so please take in consideration my thoughts but also others as well.

I love this author so much and this was another hit! I'm so glad I got this copy! Totally made my weekend as I devoured the book quickly

When Emma Wheeler's dad suffered a life-altering injury that left him in need of around-the-clock care, she put her dreams of becoming a Hollywood screenwriter on hold to take care of him. She's spent her life on the side-lines, idolizing other writers and directors who are making it big in TinselTown. One day, her friend calls her with the offer of a lifetime: to work alongside her biggest idol (and star crush), Charlie Yates, doing a re-write of her all-time favorite film.
Her sister has just graduated from college and agrees to come take her place as dad's caregiver to Emma can spend 6 weeks in LA with Charlie.
Unfortunately, she finds out upon arrival that Charlie doesn't actually want to work with her, and doesn't care at all about the project they're supposed to work together on.
Will she stay or will she go? Can they find a way to work together, and will the man of her dreams turn into a dream or a nightmare?

This was a cute story with beautiful writing and an interesting story. It didn't knock my socks off, but kept me interested and wanting to find out how it played out.
Solid 4 stars. Another good, clean, love story suited for both teens and adults.

Katherine Centers. is an auto-buy author for me- if she writes it, I’m buying it! At I have yet to read a book of hers that I did not enjoy! The rom-commers was so good and may just be my new fave of hers!
This book was hilarious (I found myself giggling as I read it), but it was also emotional and raw at times.
Emma gets the opportunity to write a script with her hero screenwriter, Charlie, but things don’t go quite as expected.
Charlie could care less about the awful romance he’s written and sees it simply as a means to an end, but Emma wants to make it amazing and convince him that love stories matter.
I loved seeing Emma stand up for herself, the romance genre and even love itself! 🥰

I listened to the audiobook and loved it! I totally recommend!

My Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️ No explicit content

Read this book if you love:
💕 Real-life Issues
💕 Grief Journey
💕 Forced Proximity
💕 Humor/ Banter
💕 Grumpy x Sunshine
💕 Disability/ Caregivers
💕 A Come-Back Story

This was good! I wasn’t blown away, I felt like the plot was a little too on the nose. But the characters felt whole and had depth to them.

This book was so cute!! This is about Emma and Charlie. Emma is a screenwriter who has yet to find success and Charlie is a big name in screenwriting. Emma's old friend is Charlie's agent, so he hooks her up with a job of helping Charlie write his new screenplay for his first ever rom com. His attempt was awful, so he needs Emma, a romance junkie, to help. However, when she gets there she realizes Charlie is a major grump who had no idea she was coming and he's not really happy to see her. He reluctantly agrees to 6 weeks of working together to revise the screenplay and the book goes from there. The 2 have such a sweet grumpy/sunshine interaction and I normally don't love that trope. I think the reason it didn't bother me here is because Emma is just so loveable. She has been knocked down many times but just keeps popping back up with her bright red, poofy hair and her optimistic attitude. However, she's also self aware and realistic. I really liked her. I hate when one partner makes a decision for the other to protect them, thinking they know whats best for them, and that definitely happened in this book, but I binged it almost in one sitting so I felt like it concluded quickly enough that it wasn't too drawn out. This book is free of steamy scenes and overall just really sweet. It's a little cheesy, didn't make me cry, and is not going to stay in my head forever, but Katherine Center has a way of writing a book that sucks you in and makes you love love. So cute!

Having read and enjoyed two previous books by Katherine Center (The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger), I requested a review copy of both the ebook and audiobook versions of The Rom-Commers from NetGalley. The story centers around an author/aspiring screenwriter named Emma. Emma has long been a fan of a screenwriter named Charlie Yates. When she gets the chance to help him rewrite a failed script, she jumps at it. However, Emma feels a lot of worry and guilt for leaving her disabled father in the care of her sister while she jets off to LA to work with Charlie.

At first, Charlie is a jerk. He doesn't believe in love, much less rom-coms. Emma is determined to change his mind.

There were a few things that I enjoyed about this book. I have one of the same medical conditions as Emma's father and my husband is a survivor of the same disease that Charlie was recently cured of. I also loved Emma's relationship with her father and sister. The author's audiobook narration was enjoyable as well. The drawbacks for me were that Charlie remained kind of a jerk for most of the book and overall the book was pretty slow-moving for me.

This was a 3.5 star book for me, rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for review copies of the ebook and audiobook versions of The Rom-Commers.

I chose to listen to this via audiobook and the narrator, Patti Murin, did a phenomenal job. The way she presented each characters’ personalities and voice was amazing and made it easy to follow along. This story had me laughing out loud and had amazing witty banter. The character development was spot on and they each came with in-depth backstories that made me so invested in each of their journey. It was also fun to watch a romance book within a romance book being developed.

I highly recommend this book, as it will be a great summer read.

𝔾𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕂𝕟𝕠𝕨
💎 Single POV
💎 Forced Proximity
💎 Grumpy X Sunshine
💎 Witty Banter
💎 Workplace Romance

This is another delightful book from Katherine Center.

Emma is a writer of romances and screenplays, but she is also caring for her Dad who lives with her after suffering an injury many years ago in the accident that killed Emma’s Mom. Being a full time caregiver has left her unable to follow her dreams and take up opportunities many times before. But when her agent gives her the chance to re-write a script with a famous screenwriter, Charlie Yates, Emma decides she has to give it a go. Charlie has been one of her favorite authors for years. She persuades her sister to look after her Dad, while Emma heads of to LA.
Charlie, however, doesn’t want to work with anyone, and is completely unimpressed with Emma. He is not shy about telling her so. Emma is so upset and finds him a rude and disappointing person. He doesn’t believe in love, and has written a truly appalling remake of one of Emma’s favorite romantic comedies. As Emma gets ready to leave and return home, she decided to tell him everything that’s wrong with his screenplay – an honesty that Charlie finds refreshing.

A lovely plot, well written characters, and the usual twists and turns of a romantic comedy where the path to true love never runs straight, this was a quick and enjoyable read.

I was not a fan of Charlie though. He was rude and so badly behaved on so many occasions that I wasn’t sure, no matter how he fell for Emma, that she would have trusted him to be a good guy in the end.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Patti Murin and I enjoyed the way she read it. The pacing was good, and her voice kept me interested.