Another great Katherine Center book. The characters were wholesome and the book was easy to read. Thanks NetGalley for the audio eArc.

This checked all the boxes for a rom-com in my books!!

Loved the predictably of co-writers to lovers. I adored Emma’s character. Her care and dedication to her dad, her sacrifices felt believable caring for a sick parent. I was definitely routing for her.
Charles character was well written, making him unlikeable turned loveable with his generous acts from afar at the hospital.

Loved the book. Also found it refreshing to not have steamy bedroom scenes!!

Audiobook narrator was great. Love it on audio and written form!
4⭐️s. Will be recommending to friends.

I laughed out loud, I cried, and I laughed some more. Loved this book so much. So sweet and charming without any unnecessary spice. The witty banter was right up my alley. I would love to watch this book in movie form! Didn’t want it to end.

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

The audiobook narration was great, I’d rate that 5/5 stars.

The story however, left much to be desired. I do love a Katherine Center book but I had a tough time rooting for this romance. Emma has family baggage and she’s a total pushover because she worships the love interest, screenwriter Charlie Yates. Great premise but Charlie is an a-hole to Emma throughout almost the entire book and I just didn’t buy the romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Short synopsis: Emma gets the chance to help her favorite screenwriter rewrite a script for a rom-com, hesitantly leaving her sick dad with her sister.

My thoughts: This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint. There is so much emotional growth throughout the pages, that I couldn’t help but root for Charlie and Emma.

I’ll admit, it took me a HOT minute to warm up to Charlie. Was a little too much male privilege that he eventually grew out of, but he did redeem himself with the picket square (if you know you know).

I also liked the growth emma went through. She needed to relinquish some control and let some things go, which she eventually did.

The audio on this was so well done! Highly recommend reading with your ears.

All in all, perfect classic Katherine Center. All the wit and banter which amazing characters.

Read if you love:
- Rom-Com movies
- Writers
- Celebrity romance
- Forced proximity
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Workplace romance

Granted, this was precisely the kind of book I needed right now--light and happy and not a lot of work--but it was also good. I am not a "romance" reader but I do like them once in a while, especially Katherine Center who is on the right side of romance--a bit corny at times but not silly or insipid. I am now in my summer reading mode and, especially with the end of the school year and upcoming surgery, I have very little focus and need lighter fare. It's like food: who wants heavy dishes in the middle of the summer; I need salads and things that are easy to digest. It is the same with books.
The reason I liked this book (and Katherine Center in general) is the voice. The narrator is likeable and funny, struggling with real life issues. And in the midst of some significant problems, she is optimistic and genuine, even if not perfect. Her love interest is curmudgeonly and who, at first, seems virtually misanthropic but with a heart beating somewhere inside under all that scorn. Has this been done before? Of course and it will be done again undoubtedly. However, Center has a really good handle on voice and character development so that the plot, while done before, doesn't really matter; I just want to listen to the character and have coffee with her. I would love to see a sequel, one where she and her curmudgeonly beau get married and navigate more life and difficulties alluded to in this novel.
Hopefully the author will see this review.
I read parts of the e book and listened to the audio; I think I preferred the audio but it may be my frame of mind. But also, the narration suited the voice of the main character.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for providing me with the arcs in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early. First, I love Katherine Center books, so was excited to read this one about a girl who moves in with her writer crush to write a rom com screenplay. Emma and Charlie have good banter, but the book went off the rails for me when there was an accident with Emma’s father, a fight with Charlie and a health issue. It all seemed just too heavy for a rom com book. If you’re a big fan of Katherine Center’s other books, I’d still recommend it.

I loved the characters and the plot—especially the awards scene. It made me think of Notting Hill and The Holiday in the best ways. The narrator was great. I especially loved the bonus material and author’s note at the end and read by the author. Brilliant touch.

“I’ll take it! And I’ll spray-paint it bubblegum pink and write my name on it in red Sharpie with little hearts! And I’ll tell everybody I won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for a rom-com so rom-commy it was called The Rom-Commers!”

“He felt real.
But more than that: he made me feel real.”

The Rom-Commers is a triumph of PURE JOY! Katherine Center dazzles with an adorable story oozing with love and hope and kindness. Reading it is like cozying up in a warm blanket… I always have a smile on my face reading her books, and this one is no exception.

Charlie and Emma, two writers, wind up working together on a rom-com screenplay. Along the way Charlie discovers what it feels like to be in love and they both learn how to give themselves permission to be happy. They each bring anxieties and baggage to the table. Just two souls figuring out that “Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that will be true.” It’s funny and charming and also brought tears to my eyes. My favorite kind of book…it delivers all the feels.

I was so excited with the Easter egg of finding Jack Stapleton from the Bodyguard in this book. These are FICTIONAL characters, and I found myself actually HAPPY that Charlie had Jack as his true friend. That’s a great writer… Katherine Center somehow makes me care about Charlie enough to be happy that he has a genuine friend that I feel I KNOW because I read all about him in The Bodyguard. Well done!

KUDOS on another gorgeous cover! And please never lose Patti Murin as the narrator of your books….she has a perfect voice for these books, just adds warmth and joy and absolutely brings these characters to life.

Thank you, Katherine Center, for your passion for the rom-com! Your words in the authors note are sooo true… we do find the stories we need to read, they call to us from our hearts. I will continue to “hang out with you on your hill of love stories”… you keep writing, I’ll keep reading!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
#netgalley #theromcommers #romcom #katherinecenter #pattimurin #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress

I wasn’t sure about the narrator at first but she really grew on me. I loved that Katherine did the bonus scene and author’s notes..
“Appreciate your person. Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids - and then appreciate the hell out of that person. Train yourself to see their best, most delightful, most charming qualities. Focus on everything they’re getting right. Be grateful- all the time - and laugh the rest off.” - Emma’s dad

I love Katherine Center and everything she writes. You can feel her love for romance novels as her words jump off the page. I love the way she takes complex, made-up characters and forces you to see yourself in them or to empathize with them.

In this story, Emma is a wanna-be screen writer who hasn’t followed her dream because she has been taking care of her dad for the last 10 years. She has turned down opportunities and dream jobs so her sister can live her dreams. But now an opportunity of a life time has fallen into her lap and she gets to take it! The opportunity is writing a rom-com with her hero: Charlie Yates.

Problem is the whole saying “ don’t meet your idols” may be true in Charlie’s case. While brilliant he doesn’t like rom-coms, he doesn’t know how to write one and he doesn’t believe in love (typical). So it is Emma’s job not only to help him fix the horrible script but to show him what love really is.

You can never go wrong with Katherine Center and with The Rom-Commers she brought her usual punch of a cute and quirky romcom but this one also packs some depth.
As you first start to read this one you may think oh I’ve hear this before, enemies to lovers, grumpy guy turns romantic, will they won’t they, why don’t the see how good they are…and then there’s so much more.
Katherine Center adds to Emma & Charlie’s romance with elements of family, being a caretaker, tough medical situations, grief, divorce, and mental health. This adds so much relatability and depth to what could be simple tropes. It makes the story so much more believable and builds the reader’s connection and feelings for the characters. It’s easy for a romcom doubter to think romance is just a fairytale and nothing ever happens so perfectly, but with this one it’s not perfect, their love is flawed and complicated and that’s what makes a story like this universal and hopeful.

Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant to dig into this story as the first chapter or two didn't peak my interest. I'm so so glad I kept listening because I found myself squealing during adorable parts, laughing in public during the comedic blunders, and rooting for the main characters until the very end.
I really enjoyed Katherine Center's ability to write a "rom com" with such a unique twist, as the characters are reliant on one another to succeed in their own careers. I appreciated the realistic aspects of the characters' lives, such as being a caregiver for your parent, having a few strings still attached to an ex, and feeling lost on your own path in life! And how FUN that the author narrated her own adorable story!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
This was a really enjoyable story! Unknown cheerful writer being set up to help a grumpy famous writer rewrite a horrible rom-com he had written and not quite an enemies to lovers romance, but close, with a lot of funny bits thrown in. This was somewhat comical at times and while not spicy whatsoever, was very well written and a quick, fast paced and entertaining read!

I’ve loved every Katherine Center book that I’ve picked up and this one was no exception! I found Emma to be a very relatable and likable character and really enjoyed her point of view, wit, and quirkiness. 5 star read for me.

The Rom Commers by Katherine Center was a sweet love story and much more. The main character deals with grief, guilt, and anxiety over losing her mother and then caring for her father after a freak accident. The narrator did a wonderful job with both Emma and Charlie's voices. I enjoyed the way Emma spoke directly to the reader. This gave the reader more insight into why she made some of the decisions she did. The lack of communication between Emma and Charlie was a little frustrating but of course everything worked out in the end.

This was my first Katherine Center book and, unfortunately, it will be my last. I went into this book with pretty high hopes. My initial reaction from the very beginning of the book was even positive and I was excited for the experience. However, I do think this had a lot of problems that started surfacing pretty quickly and continued throughout the majority of the story.

One of the first things I noticed was the repetition of certain narrative devices. For example, there are at least three scenes early on where the main character overhears crucial conversations. This repetitive eavesdropping felt like a lazy way to move the plot forward and ended up feeling pretty silly. Something else that repeated throughout the entire book was Emma's habit of echoing whatever anyone else said. I don't have any highlights, so I'll just give a silly example - if Charlie were in the kitchen eating a banana, Emma would walk in and ask him what he was eating. Once he said "A banana", I can guarantee you that her response would be "A banana?". Every. Single. Time. This element was incredibly frustrating and definitely made the interactions feel stilted and unnatural.

I also didn't love our main characters - individually or together. I didn't necessarily hate either of them overall, but they both had elements that made it impossible to love them. Emma was mostly ok but at the end, she was really horrible to her sister. Then, when her sister kind of clapped back, all Emma did was focus on what her sister said. But she never acknowledged that she also said really hurtful things and never apologized. It was absolutely unbelievable.

Charlie was not a well done character. He's very rude to Emma and also kind of awkward and out of touch with basic human emotions and behaviors. Firstly, his rudeness was not really justified or explained away. He does apologize for some things, but there are a lot of things that he never addresses or apologizes for. Maybe the author thought this situation was enough of a justification, but it wasn't. His lack of interpersonal communications skills were also not explained very well. I think his situation was again meant to shed some light on that, but I didn't find it believable. I really thought we might discover that he had some form of neurodivergence, but that wasn't the case nor was there anything that satisfactorily justified some of his behaviors. It just made it very difficult to see him as a real person.

There was also a huge lack of chemistry between Emma and Charlie. We saw a few moments where one of them, mostly Charlie, would do something nice for the other but it was all so stilted. There was absolutely no emotion in me when Charlie touched her arm or tucked her hair. I felt NOTHING. We were mostly told that they were developing feelings rather than every shown any of it. I was not invested in them at all and their romance was very lackluster.

I was originally going to give this book a 3 star rating because, despite my issues, I did find it very easy to read and I did find myself compelled to read it. But, the more I put my thoughts on paper, the more I talked myself down to 2 stars. This is not a book I would describe as something that I like. I also find these issues to be more substantial with such an experienced author. I know that most people adore this author and her works, so maybe it's a me problem. But, this one didn't work and I don't plan on picking up any more of the author's works.

Thank you, NetGalley, for access to an ALC in exchange for my honest option

I've listened to several books by this narrator and she does a good job, however I struggled with this one because her intake of breath before EVERY. SINGLE. SENTENCE. Audio producers, beloveds, you have to edit this out. Or the narrator should be editing this out if that's included in their package. If it's delivered in this state, it has to be fixed. I'm sorry. It's so painful to listen to.

I'll start my actual review of the book by saying I have read several Katherine Center books and I am usually not a fan, but I decided to give her one more chance and I'm pleasantly surprised! This book was much more my speed. I was cautiously optimistic throughout this entire book. It's not perfect, but I truly enjoyed it!

Some issues I felt very strongly about...

I feel like the first kiss was trying to be the Nick Miller/Jess Day scene where they're locked in the room and their friends wont let them out until they kiss and Nick shouts "Not like this!"

Except that wasn't how this kiss came across. Instead the man says no, no no, and she keeps advancing, forcing herself on him. And then when she has a moment of clarity, that a man is saying no, and she's trying to pressure him into something, she feels awful for about *checks notes* 0.001 second before she feels bad about <i>herself</i> that a man doesn't want to kiss her. Girl that was not the takeaway from this.

Then later he says they cannot sleep together, and he is not giving consent, and she keeps trying to pressure him. Honestly, if this wasn't part of the plot I would have very little negative to say about this book.

There's a twist to this and honestly I thought it was going to end up being a little bit of a heartbreak and I was here for it.

All in all, I'll give this a 3.5 stars. I'd recommend it to people and it might have been enough to prompt me to give other KC books more of a chance.

Emma and Charlie, Charlie and Emma; no matter how you say it, they are beyond interesting together and mismatched as hell (at first)! Emma takes care of her elderly dad but is a talented writer and pretty nice. Charlie is a famous screenwriter but as prickly as a cactus. Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever like Charlie. I don’t think we are supposed to love him in the beginning but what do you know? I ended up happy they got together.

These two are thrust together by a mutual person they know. Neither was happy about it but it turned out just fine. The secondary characters were pretty cool too. Center’s writing is phenomenal and seems to have everything I love: wit, fun, turmoil, happy ending, and keeps the story interesting. Yes, there were a few spots that kind of linger but I find this to be true of most books.

This was fun to listen to and I hope others will check it out and make it one of their summer reads. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this audiobook. I am so glad I listened to it.

This is my first Katherine Center book, and I loved it. It was emotional, funny, raw, real, and happy. I love the emotional ups and downs for this story and the absolute realness that she brings to her story. Also..... I really love a super grumpy MMC.

I received the audiobook from netgalley in exchange for honest feedback, so I want to explore the audiobook narration as well, which really matched the FMC. The narrators tone really matched what I feel Emma would have sounded. Emma was so real and so human, but also so frantic and scattered. The tone of voice that was utilized really matched the character, and I absolutely loved that.

I definitely recommend snagging the audiobook, which included a special chapter from Charlie's POV and a note from the author.

Emma Wheeler desperately wants to be a successful screenwriter, but she has put that on hold to take care of her father. Charlie Yates is a famous Screenwriter, one of Emma’s absolute favorites, but just wrote a horrible Rom Com. How could he write a good one without even believing in love? Can Emma help rewrite his rom com and potentially rewrite her love life as well?

Katherine Center is quickly becoming a favorite of mine! The Rom-Commers is an enemies to lover + grumpy x sunshine romance with well developed characters, great backstory, witty engaging banter, humor and heart. Despite being a romance limited in spice, these was still a lot of heat and tension between the two main characters that was honest, believable and shall I say realistic. Since this is a book about two writers writing, there is a lot of unique behind the scenes looks at how the book with play out, which I found fun. Overall a great read to take to the beach or read on a cold night by the fire.