Katherine Center's books emphasize the importance of love, even in the face of challenges. Her upcoming novel features a videographer who falls for a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer, blending joy and humor with themes of trauma and self-love. Read THE LOVE HATERS.

Katherine Center can do no wrong! Maybe I loved this book so much because my name is also Katie and I am not comfortable in my own skin but I found it to be such a wonderful read with fun banter and sassy characters and I love the elderly ladies!

Katherine Center does it again! She has become an auto-buy, auto-read author for me since I read The Bodyguard. I absolutely loved Katie, Hutch, Rue, Beanie, George Bailey, and The Gals!! This book was funny (sometimes laugh out loud funny) and sweet, with a dash of adventure. It was inspiring and hopeful and full of wisdom. The Starlite cottages were a lovely place to spend time with these delightful characters. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to ruin anything. Just know that it's a good story and dive in!

After The Rom Commers was one of my favorite books last year, I was so excited to read The Love Haters!
I do love a book with a meddling older person and Aunt Rue fits the bill perfectly! I love how she schemes to push Hutch and Katie together, and is just such a generous and hilarious person. Another highlight of the book was Hutch’s dog, George Bailey. Unfortunately the romance aspects of this book were lacking, and while the storyline was enough to keep me reading the ending left me wanting for more resolution. The third act break up was completely ridiculous! Also fair warning there is very little actual romance, not even closed door scenes. Even though this wasn’t my favorite Katherine Center, there are some cute moments but if you’re hoping for Rom Commers, you will be disappointed. If you enjoy Katherine Center you will probably enjoy this read

Perfect summer read! Main character Katie is struggling with a lot: body image, her videographer job, and her love life. To try to save her job, she takes on a project for a coworker, and ends up in Key West, Florida in close proximity with a heroic rescue swimmer. I really liked the banter, found family vibes, and of course, the toad-eating Great Dane sidekick.

Katherine Center is one of my all time favorite romcom authors. Her books always make me laugh and her romance plots are spot on. I think out of all of the romcoms I’ve read (from any author) The Love Haters is my favorite. This isn’t just a story where girl meets boy and falls in love. This is also girl meets herself and falls in love.
Katie is the perfect romcom protagonist. She’s sweet, funny and quirky. While the male lead, Hutch, is sexy and heroic the real hero of this book is Beanie, the side character; Katie’s best friend/cousin/sister from another mister. Beanie gets Katie to look at herself in a much kinder way.
How much happier would we all be if we could see ourselves the way others see us?
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this. Thank you also to Ms. Center for writing a character whose words resonated so strongly with me. The Love Haters hit the shelves on May 20th.

Katherine Center is a tried and true author for me. I know I will always love her books. I loved the theme of this one and getting to know more about the coast guard. She delivered a great love story. My only “eh” moment was her fixation with the bathing suit in the beginning.
Loved the old ladies club and want to find my own resort spot one day! Thanks for a great book!!!

One of my fave authors writing a romcom and including the Coast Guard?? Yes please! I was super excited to see the Coast Guard show up in a romance like this. 😉

Buuut... so much of the book ended up being about the main character’s, Katie, really harsh view of her own body. Tbh, that part got old kinda fast. I was hoping for more of the love story and definitely more Coast Guard stuff.

She really goes on and on about how much she hates her body. It honestly takes over the beginning of the book. The beginning almost felt more like a self-help book about body image than a romance.I get that flawed characters are more real and relatable , but Katie’s issues were just a lot. It started to feel like too much.

The romance between her and Hutch didn’t really feel believable either. There wasn’t a lot of development between them, so when it finally picked up, it kinda felt like it came out of nowhere.

Also…. I was SO pumped for Coast Guard representation, but Hutch kinda felt more like a lifeguard than someone in the military. At one point he (an Aviation Survival Technician/AST/Rescue Swimmer) is called a “U.S. Coast Guard employee”?? Huh?? wtf. LOL

I really wanted more romance, more spark, more heart. The little love story that was there just didn’t hit for me.

Ok, one thing I did really like: the setting. Key West was such a vibe.

George Bailey was 100% the highlight of this book. If you know, you know. And that last scene with him? Yeah... it got me a little teary. In a good way 🥹

I really love Katherine Center’s writing and she’s still gonna be an auto-buy author for me no matter what. This one kinda stumbled a bit for me, but I’d still recommend it for a beach read this summer. Enjoy the Florida beach vibes and of course, George Bailey. 💛

The book started out a little slow, but the plot got better the more I read with many jaw-dropping moments. I enjoyed that it was based in the Keys. Rue and Bailey were my favorite characters. Thanks, netgalley, for the arc.

Unfortunately this one is just not for me. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. The main characters were kind of insufferable for me. I’m a big Katherine center fan but this was just didn’t work for me

2.5 stars

This one fell...flat to me. It read in an overall immature tone to me, and I had a hard time caring about the two main characters and their love story overall by the end of the story.
Katie and Hutch had potential at first, but it just didn't go well.
This book had an overall workplace romance tone to it and I enjoyed that part of the story. I also enjoyed the part where he tended to her wounds in a hilarious way.
Katie just kept making terrible poor decisions to me, and I couldn't help but feel like she had an overall childish tone even though she was an adult. I empathized with her ED and body issues, but didn't like that the catalyst to look at herself differently was Hutch validating her beauty and whatnot. Also her decision to not tell the truth and to continue with Cole's facade was frustrating and had no valid reasoning behind it.

I liked that Hutch and Cole finally resolved their brother issues tho. Their backstory about their parents really tugged at my heart.

As far as the narration, I had a hard time getting into it. Great voice acting but an overall childish immature tone that took me out of the story every now and then.

I loved the dog. George Bailey was the most tolerable character.

Thank you to MacMillion Audio for the eALC, and to net galley and St Martin's Press for the eARC!

I always know going into Katherine Center’s books that I’m going to finish with a full heart and a smile on my face, and The Love Haters absolutely delivers!

When we meet the main character, Katie Vaughn, she’s not in a great place. Her video production job is in danger and she has recently had a devastating public breakup with her famous boyfriend. The public made it their business to criticize everything about Katie, particularly her appearance, which was not good for her mental health. She desperately needs a change, and she needs to keep her job, so she takes an assignment in Key West, where she will shadow, then produce a documentary on Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a popular Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Katie has no idea how life changing this assignment will be!

I loved all of the romcom vibes as Katie and Hutch get to know one another. The romance is a classic grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity that starts with Hutch and Katie bonding while he gives her swimming lessons. There are plenty of hilarious antics and witty banter that give way to wonderful chemistry and that had me rooting for these two pretty quickly.

What had me maybe even more invested than the romance though was Katie’s overall growth and her journey to learn to love herself again. I thought her struggles were written realistically, and I loved watching her tackle her fears and insecurities. It takes her a while to get to a better place, but she just really seems to find herself while in Key West and she also makes so many wonderful friends along the way.

If you like fun side characters, this book has a great cast, including a fabulous rescue Great Dane named George Bailey who will steal your heart.

4 1/2 stars

Katherine Center always gives me the feels. From her first words to her author's note, she squeezes a lot of heart and soul into her books. You'll get that little callback when you read the book, Love Haters.

Katie has gone through a lot. She is deeply conflicted about how she feels in her own skin. Not totally self-hating but doubting. Her growth through the book is really inspiring. Hutch helps her through some of it, but it is her own journey. Hutch is a good male character and pretty swoony. He is very broody but not in an eye-rolling way. He and Katie have a wonderful rapport in the book. There are side characters in this book that have so many lines that I was underlining. Hutch's "aunt" Rue is living life to the fullest, and Katie's cousin Beanie is an awesome hype woman.  

This book captured my attention and I didn't put it down once. I would definitely recommend The Love Haters.

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

A romantic comedy with the perfect blend of laugh-out-loud scenes, drama and heart-warming moments. I love the way Katherine Center writes and how she tells stories. This is a story that will take you on a journey of emotions and thought that have you rooting for the amazing characters. I loved Katie and Hutch. They are strong, determined yet vulnerable and will easily weave their way into your heart. The story is inspiring, hopeful and uplifting as well a funny. It's sure to entertain and bring a smile to your face, it did mine.

I loved this book!!! I felt like it had such a good balance between the romance and Katie’s self discovery/self love journey. I also loved Hutch’s character and how he had a quiet way of showing his love. The way that they both communicated and felt like they could tell each other everything was so sweet, I highly recommend this book!

One of my most anticipated books, this one delivered everything I hoped it would. I adored it.

It’s the perfect mix of humor, warmth, romance, and emotional strength. From the very first page, I was drawn in. I loved Katie and her witty thoughts. Add in the dose of grumpy sunshine and close proximity vibes and a Great Dane who stole the show and I was smitten. The characters were relatable, lovable, and complex and their tension and slow-build chemistry made it impossible to stop reading.

The emotional layers and authentic representation of mental health and body image were so well done. The plot was hopeful and heartfelt and blended laugh-out-loud wit with real, meaningful moments. It’s one of those books that makes you feel. I smiled during the lighthearted moments and felt the anxiety during the tense moments.

Always a fan of Katherine Center's novels. Her latest was another hit. Grateful to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one ahead of time. I have been sharing this title with friends as a recommended summer read.

📚The Love Haters by Katherine Center
💛mf contemporary romance
💛coast guard mmc x video producer fmc
💛grumpy sunshine
💛forced proximity
💛opposites attract
💛standalone romance

⚠️CWs for eating disorders, body image issues, animal in distress (he’s a very good boy and is okay in the end!), natural disaster (hurricane), manipulation, drunk driving, death of a loved one, grief/loss, adoption

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5

I want to start this off by highlighting that there is a heavy focus on eating disorders, body image, and disordered eating throughout this book. There was no mention of this within the summary or on the author’s website. I had only skimmed early reviews of the book, but didn’t readily see any reviews mentioning it either. I’m very passionate about content warnings in general, especially when the marketing or colorful cover contradict the suggestion of heavier themes. Had I known that these themes were going to be central to the fmc’s characterization, I likely would have skipped this release.

There were elements of the character interactions and plot itself that piqued my interest at the start, but then I had to strongly resist the urge to DNF again at about the 65% mark. The meddling and the over the top drama was soooo not it for me.

I’ve also realized that I really dislike the inclusion of real-life celebrities that Katherine Center has been doing with her last few releases. I just think it’s weird that real people are being placed in situations where words are being placed in their mouths, it’s very off-putting (especially as someone who hates pop culture references in general). I know the scenes are harmless (like it’s not like Jennifer Aniston was being placed in crazy situations or anything), but it still felt very weird to me.

The only redeemable part of this book was Hutch and his pup George Bailey. Especially compared to previous Katherine Center mmc, I like that he was a solid communicator and deserved a lot more than he got. To be completely honest, I probably would have rated this 1 star had I not liked Hutch so much.

⚠️I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, but it should be noted that I waited until after release day to pick this up because I wanted to listen to the audiobook.

Loved this. Katie had me rooting for her since the very beginning and her and Hutch’s progression into friendship and then more had me melting. I adored this book

Katherine Center's latest brought back some of my favorite parts of her writing; characters you love and root for, beautiful writing, and a story that is quirky, hilarious, and even made me cry. An absolute delight!