I was able to get a hold of this audiobook in exchange for a honest review. Katherine Center has become one of my automatic reads, and this book was especially funny.
This is the kind of book you want to pick up when you’re in the mood for a silly romance (meaning you have to stretch what you think could happen in real life to have some fun in this fictional world), I couldn’t help but smile and bookmark some of the cute quotes throughout this book. If you love positive main characters and very slightly pessimistic side characters, I would highly recommend Katherine’s books.
In this book particularly, Emma is a strong female lead that sticks to what she believes in and finds evidence whenever someone doesn’t believe it. For 10 years she helps take care of her father before she has an opportunity in LA to screen write with a famous screenwriter and her sister helps out while she’s away. Emma seems so fun and adventurous that it seems hard to believe that she held herself back for that many years, it was certainly a treat to see what happens to Emma and see her prove everyone- and maybe sometimes herself- wrong.

This was such a fun book that also tackled some serious issues. I enjoyed the female MC but not so much the male. I also felt like the assumption of having cancer and then finding out it was only bronchitis was a little far fetched.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an audiobook arc of The RomCommers in exchange for an honest review! I adored this book!!!! In an attempt not to be cheesy, I won’t say that it was the perfect romcom (though it was), I’ll just say that it made me feel all of the feelings that I love to feel while reading a book in this genre. I giggled, I cried, I got frustrated, and most importantly, I fell in love with both of these characters. Katherine Center knows how to nail the perfect formula of romance, humor, real life, and the magic of books, and I stand by that. This is simply a delightful book, and if you’re a fan of love, it’s going to be a book you adore.

This was SO good! Katherine Center and her ability to express the meaning of love and why love stories are so important is so profound. Loved these characters, the depth of their life experiences, and how they came together in the end.

The audio was very well done and brought so much emotion to the story it made me teary at points.

This book was like a warm hug for my soul. I was silly grinning the whole time. I love the grump and sunshine trope and this version did not disappoint. A little more of an emotional rollercoaster than I usually expect from Center, but I am HERE for it.

I absolutely adore Katherine Center and her novels. The Rom-Commers may be my favorite thing she has written yet. This story could not have been written by someone who didn’t have an adoring love for romance and romance stories.

This story does all of the best parts of romance. It takes romance and puts it in the perspective of real life. It proves that love can still happen even without the best of circumstances.

The relationship between Emma and Charlie was delightful to read. It takes someone special to write two people that are so well meant for each other. Each of their characteristics meant to work together to make the other better. The chemistry was so palpable that I hardly even noticed/cared that it was closed door. Because it felt like that was not even needed.

The relationship with Emma, her father, and her sister was beautiful. It showed growth and real, genuine struggle in a way that made it feel realistic. It touched on those things we think deep down, even when we know it isn’t true and acknowledges those feelings. It shows that sometimes people say hurtful things in the heat of the moment, but proves that that’s all it was. It shows that hard times do not have to last.

This is the first time an audiobook has made me cry, and I will forever love it for that.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of this story.

Honestly? This is a better book to listen to than physically read, but it's a good book either way! Also, I loved the callback towards the end. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved listening to the Rom-Commers! I especially enjoyed the extra chapter and note from the author included in my edition. This book was a length that felt like I really got to know and invest in the characters! Put it at the top of your to be listened to stack!

I think this may just be the best rom-com I have ever read.

Katherine Center so perfectly translates the complexities and nuances of human relationships to page. Her characters have so much depth, contradiction, humor and lovability. There is drama without being dramatic. (*I just can’t with the Colleen Hoover books* ). I love that her stories are so down to earth that I could see myself being a friend or neighbor to her characters, and live easily in their worlds. Her books are somehow just normal and also extraordinary.

The Rom-Commers follows Emma, our neurotic and fiery heroine who after years of putting herself aside to take care of her ailing dad, finally takes the chance of a lifetime- to rewrite a script for one of her idols, the broody, but sexy, Charlie Yates. Of course Charlie, is, maybe must a *tad* reluctant. This set-up is everything. I eat up grumpy-sunshine and there is no shortage here. However, Charlie is so much more than just a grump. He’s a cinnamon roll with a complicated, protective backstory that took me on an emotional ride. And Emma too is more than just the quirky sunshine she seems. Her hurt runs deep, bottled up to protect her, and when it finally bubbles up, it’s so raw and relatable that I was left gut crying in the school drop-off line. Oops 😅 (Not me waving at the teacher, yelling out the window that I’m ok, it’s just a good book). Yep, that happened.

Read this book. If you love Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, One Fine Day, Jerry McGuire, Never Been Kissed, etc. If you live for a good 90s romcom. Do yourself this favor. It reads like a movie. I don’t know how to explain it, but it does. Some books are just magic.

Fav quote: “A world without me was suboptimal, but a world without Emma was impossible”. 😭 If you can listen to the audiobook and hear this bonus chapter, do it. It crushed my heart and I loved every second.

To Katherine Center, YES, YOUR “hopeful stories about human connection [DO] have cultural value”! 🧁


Thank you so much Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review this book.

💖 What’s it about?
Emma has given up her screenwriting dreams to care for her father, who was seriously injured in a hiking accident and needs full time care. But when her friend Logan secures her the opportunity of a lifetime—to ghost write a romcom for the famous screenwriter of her dreams in L.A. for six weeks—her sister won’t let her say no.

Emma flies to L.A. with stars in her eyes—only to learn that the opportunity is not at all what it seems. Screenwriter Charlie wants nothing to do with Emma or love, but they come to an agreement to try and make it work.

Soon the two lonely writers come to a comfortable living arrangement, and their pull to each other is undeniable.

💖 My thoughts:

Katherine! This book is amazing. I laughed out loud the whole time. Not only is this book a beautiful story about what love means in all of its forms (family, caretaking, romance), but it’s the perfect ode to romance movies and books.

And also, did I mention it’s hilarious?

So many small quirks made me guffaw. And the line-dancing chapter alone was enough to bring tears of laughter to my eyes.

I just loved this book so, so much and can’t wait to add a hard copy to my shelves!

🎧 And if you are an audiobook person like me, you will love @pattimurin reading this one! Amazing work!

4.5/5 (rounded up)

I really enjoyed this. The narrator did a good job with distinct voices for each character. This was a slow burn, but the story itself I felt was a good pace, and it held my attention throughout. There were many parts that had me laughing 🤣 and I even cried a little. Highly recommend.

This was everything I needed and more without even knowing it . It was sweet and real and heartbreaking. It made me want to shout, cry, and not care if the entire town heard me and complained to everyone else about my dramatics. The narration was excellent. The characters were so relatable. The dialogue flowed naturally and the pacing was perfect. You couldn’t help but be fully invested in the plot. I am going to definitely read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for allowing me enjoy this book in anticipation of its release. The views presented are my own.

I normally am not a fan of books that are about celebrities/screen plays but I became invested in this RomCom and as always Katherine did not disappoint.

I also enjoyed the narrator!

Emma Wheeler loves romance movies, and writing love stories is her passion. Her life is dedicated to look after her father and younger sister, and she has missed good professional opportunities, but a huge offer is presented, and she accepts supported by her family. Her job will be to work along a famous screenwriter by fixing his work. The problem is that his work needs to be rewritten. Emma seems experienced in that field, but she hasn't had a love story of her own.

Rom- com isn't a genre that I read often, but books always come in the best moment, and this was a nice win and I found this book enjoyable, funny, and sweet. It wasn't the kind of romance that made me sigh, but I listened to the audiobook while doing my house chores and and it made my days very amusing.

There were things happening in the novel that we only see in fiction, but also, some others were genuine and relatable to real life.
I loved the strong family bonding, and also, I enjoyed the kind of romance passing from platonic to enemies to lovers.
This rom-com doesn't include spicy events, and it was cute.

The audiobook is narrated by Patti Murim, and her voice was music to my ears. It was very pleasant to hear and brought me a lot of smiles.
The audiobook also includes the author’s voice reading the dedication, author's note, and acknowledgments.

Thank you, Netgalley and Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audiobook.
Pub date: June 11th, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC! This was such an excellent read, it flowed so well and I was immediately enveloped in the story and connected with Emma as a character.

I loved how quirky Charlie was, albeit frustrating in only a way that someone who is a creative can be, his communication was lacking and in a lot of ways he acted like spoiled man child, but that’s just a cover for his adversity to emotions.

Meanwhile, Emma feels all the feelings and her anxiety was so palpable, almost too real. Needless to say, I identified.

A few story beats felt almost too convenient and some of Emma’s actions perplexed me and made me question her judgment and the concrete development of her character.

I loved the Jack Stapleton cameos! Also, Emma’s dad was a standout character. This story was heartwarming, emotional and an engaging read!

As an absolute fanatic for romcoms, a book literally called The Rom-Commers about two writers writing a romcom is about as perfect as you can get. Emma and Charlie are ooey-gooey charming, and I genuinely couldn’t stop smiling. Charlie learning to love!! Emma’s crazy antics!! The yearning!! I’m a puddle.

Katherine Center’s new era of romances is killing me in the best way. She is writing books that just make you feel so good. I want ten more right this minute.

A very delightful 5⭐️ Go preorder this one asap!!

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc.

Hi if you need me I’ll be living the good life sipping bubbly on the romance hill with Katherine Center! Forever. She is such a great romance and feel good author. Sooo obviously I loved this one as well. Can’t wait for the rest of the world to enjoy it and will be posting a full review on my page closer to release day. The audio and narration- top notch!

What to expect:
Forced Proximity
Grumpy x Sunshine
Workplace Romance
Disability Rep

4/5
Katherine Center never disappoints. Charlie and Emma were beautifully written. I loved the banter and humor that is embedded into her stories the most. I wish the ending was dragged out a little bit more but I still truly enjoyed this one.

“If you wait for other people to light you up then I guess you are at the mercy of darkness.”

summary
This story features Emma & Charlie -
Emma is a RomCom aficionado & screenwriter who has put her career/dreams on the back burner to be the caretaker for her father who has pretty severe health problems. Emma is presented an opportunity to work with her screenwriting idol, Charlie Yates, who has taken on writing his first RomCom and it is BAD. Emma seizes the opportunity when her sister takes over caring for their dad, and she goes to live with Charlie for the duration of their work together despite having clear differences on how it should go.

review
Oof - I’m so bummed to say I appear to be in the minority for this one as it looks like my 3-star review is drowning in a bunch of 4&5 star reviews. Which is great for the book and honestly probably lots of people will love it, it just didn’t resonate with me. I should mention that 3 stars is still a good read for me! It just wasn’t an instant fave and was mostly unremarkable.

To me a lot of the book seemed to include a lot of backstory that probably wasn’t fully necessary. There was a lot of book before the romance starts brewing, but then it was just kind of thrown into it like the tension existed but to me it didn’t - the relationship suffered from a lack of chemistry and seemed more like a star struck woman shooting her shot.

Which brings me to Emma, who honestly needs some therapy (but tbh who doesn’t?). I noticed many of the lower reviews of this book talked about not liking Charlie but IMO, he stayed the same and just learned how much of him would be tolerated by Emma.
The book talks about some pretty intense trauma events in Emma’s family history that’s it’s clear she has not dealt with. Towards the end she gets in a heated argument with her sister and says something scathing to her, to which the sister says something almost the same back to her. Emma ruminates on this for basically the rest of the book and at least to my memory never apologizes. This part was a yikes for me.

Would I recommend? Yes mostly.
Is it likely I will remember most of this plot & the characters after next week? Probably not.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a early copy of this audioARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Katherine Center and Macmillan audio for the copy. This is Katherine Center’s best book yet. I was either smiling, laughing, or crying the entire way through. Emma will capture your heart and is officially my new favorite FMC.

Emma is a screenwriter who specializes in Rom-Comms, so when legendary action screenwriter Charlie Yates is tasked with writing a Rom-Comm, he needs her expertise. He just doesn’t know it yet, because to him the script is just another way to further connections for his other screenplays and he doesn’t believe in love himself after a messy divorce. Emma bets on herself with the help of her sister who watches her father who needs around the clock care while she’s gone.

Can Emma convince Charlie that this script needs work and she’s the person for the job? She may just help his heart grow a few sizes while she’s there with her infectious optimism.

This novel needed to be adapted into a movie yesterday. I call it as Center’s next film adaptation. If I haven’t convinced you already, just read this book and see the magic for yourself.