4.5 stars.

The Love Haters is yet another win from one of my favorite authors. She never misses! This story had heart, humor, and just the right amount of emotional depth. Like all her books, it left me smiling and feeling all the feels. Every release from her is an instant favorite—she’s truly the queen of feel-good fiction with meaning.

I loved this book! I'm tempted to buy a copy for my therapist's office to loan out. This book deals with relationships and fears, in a romcom. It's everything you want in a fun romantic story (except for spice). I loved the characters and the book is well researched.

OUR GIRL KATHERINE CENTER DOES IT AGAIN!! Honestly one of the only authors that does closed door romances well.

True to the style we know and love from Katherine Center, The Love Haters hits you with a great love story filled with laughs. You’ll be rooting for the main characters and that goofy dog. I couldn’t put this one down.

There was a lot of emotional trauma happening on all accounts, and all of these people could have used some therapy IMO. As with some of Katherine’s other books, I would not consider this a Rom Com, but more Contemporary Fiction with Romance. The main story was Katie’s relationship with herself, while her romance with Hutch was secondary. Overall, I enjoyed the book more than I thought and the ending was cute!

What I didn’t like:
This one should have had a trigger warning about eating disorders and body issues. It touched on a lot of heavy subjects, and I don’t think they were taken too seriously. A little over halfway through I was super annoyed and hated what was going on, which brings me to Cole being the absolute worst. I felt like some of the drama his character brought was unnecessary - the story had enough going on already!

What I liked:
I loved Hutch, and I was happy that eventually Katie’s character had some growth. I enjoyed the banter and chemistry between Hutch and Katie. I loved the side characters, specifically Rue, and the giant Great Dane, George Bailey – they added a lot of heart and humor.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a fun and easy read that puts a fresh spin on the enemies-to-lovers story. The characters have great chemistry, and their banter keeps things light and entertaining throughout. While the plot is a bit predictable, it’s still an enjoyable ride with just enough emotion to keep you hooked.

Katherine Center has a way of writing characters that feel real, even in the middle of a romantic comedy. The book moves quickly, and it’s perfect for when you want something light but still meaningful.

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

This was the perfect summer romance read! Katie was a very relatable FMC and I saw myself in her struggle with her weight and self image throughout the book. I loved how her and Hutch had chemistry from the onset, but yet they fought it at every turn. I really loved the backdrop of this book and all of the side characters were so fun and added to the story. This was just a perfect and fun read!

This book was only ok for me. It was a good summer/beach read but I don’t feel it’s one I need to read again. I would give it a solid 3.5 stars. I liked the over all story but the parts I didn’t like were the mental health aspects. There were three or four times where she was upset and stuff was happening and then she was like totally ok 100% better which wasn’t realistic. I appreciate a good pep talk and I understood the point but things aren’t suddenly better like they are here. I would definitely read another book by this author though to try again. Thank you!

DNF@16%. I’m so tired of the self hate and body image issues already. In my fictional worlds females aren’t defined by their weight and their whole personalities aren’t about being thin.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center never misses when it comes to blending humor, heart, and hope — and The Love Haters is no exception. I absolutely loved this story! The plot was engaging from the first page, and I found myself quickly pulled into the world she created.

The characters were truly the highlight for me. They felt funny, authentic, and deeply relatable, like people I’d want to be friends with in real life. The dialogue was sharp, the emotional beats hit just right, and the chemistry was believable without being over-the-top. Center knows how to craft characters that feel real — flawed, lovable, and trying their best.

I gave it 4 stars only because there were a couple of moments where the pacing dipped just slightly, but honestly, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment. The message at the heart of the story — about love, self-worth, and rewriting your own narrative — was exactly the kind of uplifting content I’ve come to expect and love from this author.

If you’re a fan of smart romantic fiction with humor, heart, and a heroine you can root for, The Love Haters should absolutely be on your list.

Once again, Katherine Center gives love and attention to difficult topics. Discussing them with humor and a level of seriousness that mirrors our every day lives without downplaying or overdramatizing these concepts. The way she tackles body image, self esteem, and other aspects of self-worth is fantastic and very very human. Oh, and the romance is cute too.

I’m hanging my head here, but this is my first Katherine Center book! Where have I been? I really enjoyed both the digital copy and the audiobook.

What a story. The journalist has to film a video of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Katie is fighting hard against being laid off, and her coworker Cole has asked her to film a video profile of “Hutch” Hutcherson in Key West, Florida. There’s just one problem - Katie can’t swim, and that’s a requirement for doing this. It the whole story is about much more than learning to swim! It’s about learning to love yourself, about opening up to the people in your “neighborhood “, about working through your fears of others actually getting to know you.

The narrator was good and I loved the way she kept us waiting at the end of the story to see how it all might turn out. But Katie and Hutch are the real stars, with a supporting cast of Aunt Rue (I’m really dying to shop in her store!), Hutch’s lovable Great Dane who has a really cute name, and all of Aunt Rue’s fun friends.

This one definitely earns four sparkly stars!

I received a copy of the digital ARC and also digital ALC via the publisher and NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The main character spent more time learning to love her body than she did falling in love with the main male character. I was OK with it!

Complaint: the MMC was tooooo perfect. I kind of understand his resentful brother's POV on that issue, ha.

How can you not love Katherine Center. This book like all of here is light and loving. I was in love from the moment I found out she can’t swim. LO. Quick read, never disappoints.

I’m not sure Katherine Center has wrote a book I didn’t like. She writes complicated characters in a way that you still root for them. Real life is messy, and so are the people on her page, but never so messy in the books that it will stress you out like real life. I love that it takes you behind the scenes of life in the Coast Guard. It makes me want to move to the Florida Keyes. The love hater in question is so likeable, and the love triangle was unexpected and creative! I’m not sure where I’ve seen that done that way before. I love the twist and turns that this book took, even if I wanted to punch the brother at times. And I loved that it was also a love story about the FMC learning to fall in love with herself in addition to the usual romance tropes. It’s a quick read, it had me laughing out loud at points, and I read it twice because I enjoyed it so much. 5/5 stars. Thank you to Ms. Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC. It was a fun trip

4.5 ⭐️

OMG THIS BOOK?!?! Literally obsessed! This is one of my fav books I’ve read all year so far. The romance? Chefs kiss, I loved it so much. I didn’t want it to end, I wanted to see even more of Katie and Hutch together cause I was obsessed. I loved the side characters in this book, George Bailey especially such a cutie and Rue, loved her and her group of friends! Can’t believe I pushed off reading this for so long, definitely going to be reading Katherine Center’s others books immediately.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martins Press for this ARC!

One of the very top of my list “anticipated releases” this year and Katherine Center 👏🏻 never 👏🏻 misses 👏🏻

Absolutely devoured this, I legitimately put it off a bit because I hate waiting for the next release and thought surely I could pace myself- what a lie I believed. The Love Haters has an insanely beautiful, quirky, hilarious cast of characters. From a troop of living large old ladies, a whole horse of a dog- George Bailey, feuding and competitive brothers, a kick-butt bff, and of course our leading lady: Katie.

Katie, the key definition of somehow confident yet not, sharp wit, passionate, creative. She’s real and relatable and the moments of learning to embrace her body after years of childhood diet culture pushing- ugh I just love her. Hutch might just be my favorite MMC of Katherine’s. His genuine drive to care for those surrounding him, the way he is set to do *anything* for his connection to his baby brother, his humor.

I don’t know how the ability to write such believable and real feeling love stories comes so naturally, but Katherine Center just does it. It’s such a balance of real life trauma and hard topics with lightness and laughter. The feel good reads I always know will be waiting within her books. Honestly I’d pay to see my own love story written because I know it’d be amazing and a peak comfort romance despite being a rather boring “Tinder success” story.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advance copy!

Katherine Center is a real favorite author and I've loved her last few books. The Love Haters is a lot of what I've loved about her: fun characters, good banter, a great HEA. Where The Love Haters differs for me is that I can't tell if I actually liked the female main character and I can't figure out why. I didn't find her annoying or unlikeable, I also wasn't completely sure she was actually in love with Hutch, the perfect mmc. And because we never get his POV, it was hard to know why he was in love with her, other than the fact that they are both beautiful people and she is "not perfect" and he is. The premise seemed slightly off?

But that being said, I enjoyed this! Cole, a secondary character, was a lying hoot and an actual chaos demon. The dog is amazing! Secondary characters were really all around fantastic. And I love a good rescue.

I'm going to keep reading Katherine Center because her books are fun.

I love a Katherine Center book and this felt a little reminiscent of her "older" books. A fun summer read.

I finished this one in a day! This is a romantic book about a videographer, Katie, who is assigned to make a Coast Guard training video starring stoic, unfriendly Hutch who also is her superior's brother.
The slow burn was fun and ultimately satisfying. And, the book was quite romantic. However, I also found this book to be unexpectedly touching. (I found myself reaching for the tissues while reading at work.)
Another unexpected aspect of the book was the focus on self-image and self-love. At times, I found myself wishing that Katie would have some self-confidence. But, I can certainly understand the struggles that she was going through.
Ultimately, this was a fun, steamy, satisfying summer read.