Wonderfully huge thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the gifted audiobook for The Rom-Commers. This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. This was surprisingly my first Katherine Center books and it most definitely will not be my last. I enjoyed the premise of this one. There was a lot of tension. There was so much hurt and ache that both characters have gone through and need to overcome which made them feel so human to me. I loved the dynamic between Charlie and Emma. It was wrapped up with the most beautiful bow. I can't wait to read more from Katherine in the future! Defintiely recommend!

What an absolute delight!

This story follows Emma Wheeler and Charlie Yates, as forces bring them together to write a rom-com for the screen. Emma teaches Charlie how to both write and live a love story. Along the road, the two develop feelings for each other, and learn that perception and the life they live can only come from the path they create for themselves.

I don’t typically love peppy “sunshine” FMCs but this one was absolutely enamoring and in many ways relatable. I was rooting for Emma throughout. The chemistry between Emma and Charlie was off the charts, and I actually laughed out loud several times through this read. I loved how the author treated the third act break-up, and tied up the story neatly in a bow. It was extremely heartwarming and satisfying.

The one thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the authors use of breaking the fourth wall, where the narrator made commentary directed at the reader. However, this is a personal gripe and something a lot of others might actually enjoy, as it is a common tool used in romcom films.

My review of the audiobook narration:
Initially, I was hesitant and unsure if I was going to like this one, because the narrator used a very peppy, high inflection vocal interpretation. However, once i got about 20% in, I really started to enjoy the way the narrator read this. She perfectly reflected the facets of our FMCs character in a way that was enjoyable and kept me interested. Her ability to go back and forth with the voices of the MMC and FMC was seamless. I highly recommend doing this one on audio!

I will be immediately pre-ordering this one in physical format as well! I mean the bright pink sprayed edge! Come on 😍

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to the audio ARC!

The Rom-Commers is now my favorite Kathrine Center book and one of my favorite book of all time. It is a sweet romance with a healthy dose of family life and Hollywood life. Charlie and Emma were an adorable couple and I loved reading their banter and how they fell in love.

Emma’s role as caregiver and the struggle trusting her sister to take far of their dad was something I think many readers will identify with.

What an absolute BLAST. I’ve never read anything by Katherine Center before, though I’ve always heard great things, so this was a fabulous first intro to her! It was like being projectile catapulted into bright colors & sparkle with a hint of “grief is inevitable”—which is, like, my exact vibe. If you’re looking for a book that truly feels like watching a rom com, this is your girl. There were so many layers of story, so much banter & so much heart.

Our main characters were such a joy to experience. Emma was the Romance Defender™️, sunshine girl, who has seen her fair share of grief & heartache. Who has given up her dreams to take care of her perfect (& I mean PERFECT) dad (I seriously think he was my favorite character). Enter Charlie—an acclaimed screenwriter who has been turned jaded by a series of painful circumstances that he calls his life. & since then, has just lost steam & cannot write this rom com he has been tasked to write. So of course. It’s gonna be written together. The two must write together & LIVE together. WE LOVE TO SEE IT. They had such fun chemistry, it felt so easy & natural. Like even from the first page they’re just meant to be. I will say, Emma frustrated me a bit at the end, but I did end up forgiving her—we all have our moments. This book is for the lovers of Beach Read, lovers of opposites attract & writers falling in love. People who want to hear a human story about how grief & love are so carefully intwined, you might think they’re enmeshed. It was an overall amazing time, perfect for laying on the beach & crying & giggling & kicking your feet.

This is 4 stars from me! The kind of story you truly love to hear & makes you smile like a fool—the best kind.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Macmillan for the arc!

Katherine Center is a automatic read for me and I have absolutely adored each and every one of her books. This one might be my absolute favorite. This was one of those books that I just never wanted it to end, but also, never wanted to stop reading. I will be singing its praises to all my book loving friends! The Rom-Commers was an easy 5 stars!

This contains a review for the audiobook.

Katherine Center writes entertaining and captivating books. This one is no exception. The story and characters were well rounded and interesting. I thought the plot was well laid out and kept my interest throughout the book.

I will say that the language was definitely stronger than I remember in the previous Katherine Center book I read. There are plenty of F-bombs and some other curse words as well. There would be enough to give it a R rating if it were a movie. I was going to it a fan of that at all. I think the book would have been just as impactful without, what I felt to be excessive cursing. I will also note that there is a mention of a homosexual relationship even though one of the characters is never on page. Just wanted to make note of that for those of you that might want to know.

Now for the audio. It is a single female narrator that reads this book. It is told from the female character's point of view, so that fits well. I thought the narration was excellent. She really kept me invested in the story. I didn't have any trouble listening at an increased speed either.

I am also glad that the author's note and additional chapter are included in the audio format. Those are both read by the author herself. That adds a nice touch.

I think overall the story is 5 stars but I personally would remove one due to the language content. I know this is a secular book and I could tolerate some. I just felt that a line was crossed and so I'm giving 4 stars.

Thanks to Macmillian Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to a copy of this book. I am happily and voluntarily leaving my honest review.

If loving cheesy romances is wrong I don’t want to be right! That’s exactly how this book felt. It was adorable in a kicking your feet kind of way. There’s a part in this book where she is telling him what a romance is and it definitely fit this book. We all know how it ends, but it’s the process that gets us there that makes it fun. I absolutely adored Emma and related to her and her inability to put herself first. Her relationship with her sister, although strained at times brought joy into the book. Charlie although grumpy at first stole my heart about halfway through and I found myself rooting for him and Emma before I knew it. Overall, a very fun listen and will definitely be recommending to my friends.

Emma, an aspiring screenwriter who has put bigger dreams on hold to care for her father, is hired to help her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, rework a terrible romcom script. She uproots her life after 10 years of serving as sole caretaker to pass these duties along to her younger sister for the summer and take a career changing opportunity. Only, she shows up in LA to find Charlie hasn't agreed to work with her and doesn't see the issue with his script. He's a talented award winning writer in several other genres, but the romcom script is a means to the end of getting his mafia gangster script produced. He doesn't seem to buy into love or any of it.

This is my first novel from Katherine and it was such a joy. I enjoyed the narrator, Patti Murin, and the life she brought to the characters and this story. Even with some heavier life moments, the characters were likeable and I found myself rooting for them to find their way.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an advanced listening copy on @NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A romantic comedy that celebrates the magic of Rom-Coms! Katherine Center was able to weave together witty banter and warmth throughout the story. I loved learning how each character's past traumas impacted them in their current situations. Overall, uplifting- like a big hug!

Another great read from Katherine Center. Likable characters. Nice simple story line. Narrator is great as well.

This is my first Katherine Center romance and, man, I didn't expect this to go this way. I'm not sure if it's the narrator's voice, but I wanted to crawl out of my skin with how much I disliked this female character and everything she was saying/thinking. She sounded, to me, like one of those people who try to come off as quirky and silly and also snarky and spunky, but you just want them to shut up. I didn't like her at all, so I just couldn't enjoy this. Again, I'm not sure if it's the writing and the narrator or just the narrator, but I just couldn't stand it. I'll definitely give this a second chance, but I'll be reading it.

I have always loved Katherine Center's characters because of how real they feel in their personal past lives and their new romantic lives. This book was no different; it was full of flawed yet fun characters. The only thing that took me out of the story was the insane secondhand embarrassment I felt when she kept begging this man to like her and be with her. But that is a personal feeling for sure—I just wanted her to find her chill in that moment.

I loved the narrator and thought she did a great job bringing this story to life. I would definitely recommend this to romance fans!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me listen to this!

Katherine Center’s “The Rom-Commers” is a delightful blend of humor, romance, and introspection.
Wonderfully Formed Characters: Center’s characters come alive on the pages. Emma Wheeler, our aspiring screenwriter, is relatable and endearing. Her struggles, dreams, and quirks make her feel like a close friend. And Charlie Yates, the famous screenwriter, is equally captivating. Their chemistry sparks off the page.
Relatability: We’ve all yearned for our dreams, balancing them with real-life responsibilities. Emma’s journey resonates with anyone who’s dared to chase their passion. The struggles, sacrifices, and moments of triumph are beautifully portrayed.
Immersive Storytelling: The writing style envelops you like a cozy blanket. You fall into the story effortlessly, rooting for Emma and Charlie. The rom-com world they inhabit feels like a safe haven—a place where love blooms against all odds.
I knocked a star off because the fourth-wall break wasn’t necessarily my jam and the resolution felt a bit too neat, like a perfectly tied bow. Still would highly recommend! Thank you for the ARC!!!!

So I am going to do this review in two parts, the first being my review of the actual book and the second being the audio narration.

The Book:

This was my first Kathrine Center book and I had a good time! It was cute & quirky. It made me tear up and feel for the main characters. I liked the relationship between the FMC & the MMC but to be honest it felt just a little lacking. I didn’t think that there was enough context to really make you feel the emotions between them. Overall, it was a quick easy read and sometimes we just need that.

The Narration:

I have a few qualms with this part. First of all, I didn’t really love how the MMC “sounded” he just felt off the way it was done. About 3/4 of the way in the narrator sounded congested maybe.. not sure here. The biggest thing for me that drove me absolutely crazy was that you could hear intakes of breath so often it distracted from the book, I noticed it more heavily towards the end of the book but either way it was enough to make me pause a few times out of annoyance.

WOW. This was perfect. I loved it so much. The narrator was amazing and it was hard to put down! It was such a feel good story with all the right amount of emotions. I teared up a few times. Two screen writers falling in love while writing a rom com (the man is a grump) it felt like I was watching a 2000s rom com with Julia Roberts as the star.

Katherine Center wrote a solid story with The Rom-Commers. The style was different with the main character talking to the reader. It felt like being told an incredible story, and I appreciated that. Seeing as the main character is a screenwriter, it seems like a great choice. Emma and Charlie are both very broken people who are dealing with connection in two very different ways. Emma chases after the connection while Charlie is so afraid to lose it that he pushes it away. I feel like the only thing missing for me was the small moments where people fall in love. I think that I just wanted more. The ending was beautiful. I wrote down quotes from this story that I will cherish.

Gah what a beautiful story! Katherine Center has this ability to make you cackle one minute and then cry the next. The banter between Emma and Charlie is on point. The story was great. The backgrounds and the family side stories were relatable. What I LOVED about this story is how optimistic it is! It makes you want to see the good in everything knowing we only have so much time on this earth. Emma was such an awesome character and I loved when she was vulnerable and true to herself. I loved how Charlie took such good care of Emma however he could. I also loved that this was a deep rom-com about rom-coms. The narration by Patti Murin was amazing as always and I'm so glad I chose to listen to it. Seriously if you love rom-coms, deep family stories and stories about love, you will not want to miss this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC of this story which publishes on 6/11/24

2.75⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ California
Publication date ~ June 11, 2024
Page Count ~ 336 (31 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 11 hours 21 minutes
Narrator ~ Patti Murin
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ mentions of cancer, forced proximity, slow burn, no steamage

Emma is obsessed with Charlie’s work and is thrilled when her friend gets her a job working with him on a screenplay.

🏝️can you see me over there on outlier island all by myself? I think what didn’t work for me the most was how mean Charlie was to Emma. He was truly awful, repeatedly. And when we find out why it was too late for it to be redeemable in my eyes. I wasn’t feeling their chemistry, perhaps due to the meanness. She’s been an obsessive caretaker for her father since the accident that (I can't remember if this is early knowledge, so I'll hide it just in case) (view spoiler), so that made you feel for Emma, but I can’t say I really enjoyed her character. She was even mean to her sister at one point. I absolutely did not like her drunken night by the pool, so dumb. There were some funny bits, but nothing that had me rolling like I like my rom-coms to be.

Overall, it was okay, but not great for me.

Narration notes:
She did fine for Emma, but she didn’t really work her tone too well for Charlie.

Emma is the queen of writing romcoms. When her idol Charlie needs assistance with his new project, Emma is thrilled to be given the opportunity to lend a hand. But Charlie doesn't seem all that keen about the project. Can Emma change the way he thinks about romcoms?

I will read anything Katherine Center writes. Her books are so easy to read with her captivating writing style. The audiobook was great to listen to and I was all in, rooting for our couple to find their way to be together. I appreciated the backstory about Emma's father and loved his own little ending too. This is definitely one you want to have on your list. It releases early June.

This was my first Katherine Center book and if the rest of her books are half as good as this one, I will be reading them all! This is such a fun premise, what fan of romance wouldn't want to read a romcom about writing a romcom? I found the two main characters, Emma and Charlie, to be immediately likeable and it was so fun to follow their story and see both of them grow in different ways. The supporting characters were so enduring, I especially loved Emma's dad and I felt like he had so much wisdom to share that I personally needed to hear. I was really touched by how he (and the rest of his family) faced their hardships with such hope and optimism. This book perfectly balanced humor and fun with some heavier themes. This stands out as one of my favorite reads of the year so far and I will be recommending this book like crazy!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.