✨ A Romance That Rescues Your Heart: Full of Healing, Humor, and Heroic Love ✨

I never thought a romance book could be this riveting, that I would crave every page and find myself sitting on the edge of my seat. The Love Haters by Katherine Center hits you with all the feelings and intensity. Once you start, it lingers in your mind all day long, and you won’t be able to stop until you know what happens next.

Katie is at the heart of this story. She’s the perfect representation of so many of us, her life isn’t perfect, but she does her best to survive. She’s hurting, insecure about her body and how she dresses, and has stopped wearing vibrant colors because of past trauma. What I love about Katie is how much she grows throughout the story. She made me reflect on life and truly represented what many women feel.

Then comes Tom Hutcheson also known as "Hutch", the seemingly perfect guy with the perfect everything. He looks flawless and seems to have it all together, but no one knows what he’s had to endure to survive. The pain he carries and everything he’s lost make him so much more than just the "perfect guy." Together with supporting characters like Rue, Beanie, George Bailey, and Cole, this cast is full of relatable, lovable people, and one unforgettable dog.

The Love Haters is a story of trauma, grief, healing, and kindness. It's packed with funny scenes, a sweet rescue dog, a town full of unforgettable characters, helicopters, and a sprinkle of hot rescuers. I am absolutely in love with this book. Katherine Center made me fall for her characters and delivered plot twists that went far beyond anything I expected.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read the story of Katie, Hutch, and George Bailey, and for making me fall in love with every single page.

✨WHAT I LIKED:
📌 Katie being saved multiple times by Hutch
📌 Rue being a lovable foster mother adored by all
📌 Rue bringing vibrant swimsuits and dresses for Katie every single time
📌 Rue and The Gals’ hospitality and warmth
📌 Hutch dedicating his life to rescuing people
📌 George Bailey jumping onto Katie every time
📌 Katie’s heroic act (Like, OMG!!! This girl is amazing!)
📌 Cole’s powerful character development
📌 Katie finally embracing her insecurities and finding her confidence

✨TROPES:
📌 Grumpy x Sunshine
📌 Rescue Romance
📌 Found Family
📌 Small-Town Charm
📌 Opposites Attract
📌 Emotional Healing
📌 Insecure Heroine with Inner Strength
📌 Hot Hero with a Tragic Past
📌 Slow Burn Romance
📌 Big Dog, Big Heart
📌 No Spice

Center is an auto buy author for me! I’ve loved the majority of her books and this was no exception. It does read slightly different than her other books but I really enjoyed this one. I wouldn’t describe it as a romance, more a women’s fiction!

🏖️ The Love Haters by Katherine Center 🏖️

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️.5 (2.5/5)

Katie has two choices: get laid off from her video producer job; or take a job profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a coast guard rescue swimmer in Key West. It should be an easy choice, but Katie can’t swim. And Hutch hasn’t necessarily agreed to the profile. When Katie lies about her abilities to get the job, things get messy, and both her and Hutch have to learn to be brave.

I was super excited to receive an ARC of The Love Haters, as I’ve loved some of Katherine Center’s books in the past. Unfortunately, this one didn’t hit for me. I kind of felt like it started really fast with us being thrown in, and I would have maybe liked to see a bit more of Katie first.
First - let’s talk about the romance. I felt like I didn’t get to know the characters very well, and I didn’t see their chemistry. There were a couple cute moments, but overall, I didn’t see why they were into each other.
Second - the body image stuff. I felt like this was an important topic that maybe wasn’t handled in a great way. While the handling of it may be relatable to some, there should have been trigger warnings that I hope are part of the published version. Even if being talked about in a way that is relatable, it felt kind of like a punch line at some times, and I think there should have been more acknowledgement of the harm and trauma and ways people can get help. And like referring to a girl posting bikini pictures as being flirty?? I didn’t love it.
While I liked some of the characters (mostly Rue and George Bailey), I wanted to know Katie and Hutch a bit more. I also felt that Beanie didn’t add a lot (and how did she not notice the eye thing?????).
Overall, this wasn’t my favourite Katherine Center book, but I understand why people love it, and I’ll definitely read her next release.

Read this if you like:
- deception
- funny senior characters
- intense jobs and a look into those

Vibes: 🩱🚁🌊🎥

Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph.

🌸The Love Haters is out May 20, 2025! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.🌸

I adore Katherine Center’s books, and this story was great. It had some heartwarming moments and made me laugh out loud.

Katie is on a job-saving mission to video Tom ‘Hutch’ Hutcheson in Key West, Florida. He doesn’t know she’s coming (It’s supposed to be her coworker/his brother), and she also doesn’t know how to swim, which is a requirement, so this is about to get a little wild.


Katie and Hutch were so likable, and I rooted for them to be together. I also loved Hutch’s dog and his aunt. His brother Cole, eh. But I guess there has to be some drama, amiright? As a whole, this book pulled on my heartstrings and was a lot of fun. The ending had me smiling so big! Another win for Katherine Center.

3.5 stars- The Love Haters was an enjoyable book with characters you just want to root for. I liked the character relationships and the banter between them. I loved how the author really showed the character growth in Katie. It moved a little slow at the beginning but it did pick up a little over halfway through. Overall this was a cute read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

While normally I'm the biggest fan of Katherine Center's writing, this one fell short for me.

I think the premise of a filmmaker who can't swim filming a promo for the Coast Guard is prime KC material. Add to that some of Katie's struggles with body insecurity and Hutch's complex family dynamics and you've got something. But unfortunately all the added plot elements that I believe were incorporated to raise the stakes just ended up making things increasing complex and at times, a little unbelievable. I understand that with the genre, you might need to suspend belief at times but the last 25% honestly felt a bit like a different book to me.

Despite this, I pressed on and enjoyed the way things came together. I think that's a testament to Katherine's unique talent. I squealed and teared up in equal measure and really felt that Katie's relationship with Rue, the mentor character in this story, was an incredible high point. While there are definitely some passages that felt a little zany or over the top, there was still a good heathly dose of Katherine Center charm. So while, this is probably my least favorite read from her so far, I am still excited to see what's next from her.

Potential trigger warning for many references to disordered eating and body dysmorphia struggles. This is a primary theme for Katie's character and personal growth.

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

4.25⭐️
Despite how unrealistic a lot of this plot was, I really enjoyed this book and read it very quickly!
In Katherine Center’s writing I appreciate her lighthearted, humorous writing style as she masterfully pairs it with addressing a deeper conflict that the main character is working through. I thought this particular book spent about the same amount of time on both the FMC character growth as the romance which I particularly enjoyed.
The overall main message is beautiful as well as some subthemes of found family and friendship. And, the author’s note is very powerful🥹

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Enter Katherine Center with another fantastic rom-com! I always love a KC character and even more so I feel like the setting of this novel was a character in and of itself. It has been a long time since I wanted to go visit a place based off a book I read, but if a real life starlite cottage existed I would be there in a moment. And hopefully it would have the Aunt Rue we all need.

Katie's job is on the chopping block and her manager in order to "save" her puts her up for an assignment creating a recruitment video for the Coast Guard in Key West Florida. Katie's biggest hurdle... she is a bobber not a swimmer. So when she arrives at her destination, the woman who runs the rental cottage offers to help Katie find someone to teach her. And that just happens to be the subject of her work project who now knows her secret inability to swim which could get her fired even quicker.

I feel like the biggest love story in this novel was between Katie and her need to love herself as well as Great Dane extraordinaire George Bailey and Hutch. I know it is actually between Katie and Hutch but goodness did those side love story lines take up a lot in my brain while I read. Hutch truly is book boyfriend material and I am with Colin in Hutch's perfectionism eclipsing everyone else. Which is not Hutch's fault in any way. He is just very godlike and we should worship him.

There was so much amazing found family (or tragedy led to found family) dynamic. I loved the relationship between Rue and Hutch as well as Rue and her gals. Honestly, that is a future that would be such a beautiful one to have. It gave Golden Girl vibes in the best possible way. I also enjoyed the varying levels of drama even the weather induced ones. Katie needed to be put in such a position to truly grow as a character and I was so happy that she had George Bailey by her side (well she was in fact the rescuer-er or attempted one) oh and we can't forget Lucky the toad!

I always love Katherine Center's writing and never want the book to end. In this case the only thing I wished for was more of Katie and Hutch romantically together as opposed to all the drama that kept unfolding that kept them apart. I needed like an extended spicy epilogue or something.

I did notice that there was an edit from the eARC that didn't make the ALC and I preferred the Hutch's fame name as Pup Daddy versus what it ends up being Puppy Love. Pup Daddy just fit so much better with the story in my opinion.

I am a fan of this author. I loved her last release but this one wasn’t for me. I’m sure others will enjoy it tho!

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC of this book!

First and foremost, I love Key West and am mad at myself for leaving this unread for so long. The author describes the Keys perfectly: Victorian homes, colorful caftans, beautiful scenery. It truly made me want to go back.

Second, I loved that Hutch was a member of the USCG. I literally googled ‘rescue diver’ and ‘SWET test’ to get a deeper understanding. I appreciate that the author did some deep dives (no pun intended) into learning about this career.

Third, the plot was great until Cole (the brother) and Sullivan showed up. I know the story needed a turning point and this was it, but it wasn’t a great fit for me and missed the mark. I’ve never lived through or experienced a hurricane, but now I definitely don’t want to.

The Love Haters is Katherine Center’s newest romance novel that follows filmmaker Katie as she takes a gig to hopefully keep her job. Cole, her kind-of-boss, assigns her to make a promotional film about the Coast Guard starring none other than his brother, Hutch, a viral hero who rescued Jennifer Aniston’s dog and a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Katie accepts the job not disclosing that she cannot swim.

I am typically a Katherine Center fan. I like that her books feature characters that are full-fledge women who have their own lives outside of romance. The plots of her novels usually feature the protagonist overcoming an obstacle, healing from trauma, or growing. Yet, the synopsis of The Love Haters does not disclose what Katie’s issue is, since it is not part of the central plot. And herein lies the issue that forced me to put aside the book unfinished.

While I understand the need for trigger or content warnings, I have always been someone who skims past them to avoid plot spoilers. I also do this because I have never needed them. (Thank you, therapy.) However, The Love Haters desperately needs a warning (or at least inclusion of Katie’s struggle in the synopsis). I have seen very few reviews that are not positive for this book, and I feel like I have a duty to warn readers who could be potentially harmed by picking up the novel.

At least the first 20 percent of The Love Haters focuses on Katie as she takes the Coast Guard gigs and begins her stint in Key West. During this time, there is a near constant focus on Katie’s body and her body image. There is descriptive and extremely negative self-talk, while the narration also makes it clear that Katie is a thin person. She is 130 pounds and upset that her thighs touch. As I mentioned, the focus on her body is relentless, detailing Katie’s body, what she eats, how she looks, etc. I found it is done in a way that is both overwhelming and shaming.

I usually feel an obligation to finish books that are gifted to me by publishers, and I do not DNF easily. However, I felt like I need to put The Love Haters aside for the sake of my mental health. I have never ever been triggered by a book before, but this one did the trick before I even met the love interest. I want to make clear that this is not the first book I have read that deals with these topics, it is the first one I read that did so in a distasteful manner. Center desperately needed a sensitivity reader or two prior to publishing. If you have never experienced negative thoughts about how you feel in your body or how you look, you may not notice it. However, if you have struggled with your body image, eating disorders, etc. I would recommend steering clear of The Love Haters.

4.5 Stars – Katherine Center Strikes Again with a Sun-Soaked, Heart-Splashed Rom-Com!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of Love Haters—a rom-com that had me grinning, swooning, and furiously Googling “how to become a rescue swimmer” (spoiler: I still can’t swim either).

Katherine Center has once again proven that she is the queen of writing heroines who are messy, brave, vulnerable, and laugh-out-loud funny. Katie Vaughn is no exception. She’s spiraling out of a job, faking her swimming abilities, and thrust into the tropical chaos of Key West to film a profile on the world’s most annoyingly attractive Coast Guard hero: Hutch Hutcheson (yes, his name sounds like a superhero—and yes, he kind of is one).

Their chemistry? Off the charts. But this isn’t just banter and beach vibes. It’s emotional vulnerability wrapped in a hurricane (literally and figuratively). Hutch is grumpy and guarded; Katie is determined and delightfully awkward. Together, they’re magic. Throw in a misbehaving Great Dane, a conga line gone rogue, and some seriously witty sibling rivalry, and you’ve got a rom-com that’s part forced proximity, part sunny redemption arc, and fully unputdownable.

Center balances humor and heart so well, and she’s not afraid to tackle real fear, grief, and growth beneath the rom-com sparkle. I also have to shout out Aunt Rue—truly the eccentric Key West fairy godmother none of us knew we needed.

The only reason I’m not going full five stars is because I wanted just a bit more time with Katie and Hutch once the emotional dust settled. But honestly? I’ll be thinking about their stolen kisses and hurricane confessions for a long time.

If you’re a fan of books that make you laugh, tear up, and contemplate swimming lessons, Love Haters is for you. Katherine Center, you’ve done it again—and I’d happily fake swim my way through any rom-com you write next.

3.5 - I love Katherine Center books so much, especially her contemporary romance, women's fiction books. Recently, I feel like shes been leaning more heavily on the romance genre and while I've still really enjoyed her recent releases, they haven't been my absolute favorite of her books. The Love Haters was a fun summer romance that I think is perfect to enjoy at the beach or on a summer vacation!!

The Love Haters follows Katie and Hutch. Katie is struggling with her career, about to get laid off, when she is given the opportunity to make a career defining move producing a film following Hutch, a Coach Guard rescue swimmer. Katie has sworn off love but when she meets Hutch, they have instant attraction. Katie is someone who really struggles with her self worth and internal dialogue and body image. Katie and Hutch get caught up in a messy relationship for the summer full of a lot of lies and sneaking around.

While I appreciate the themes and focus on body image, body dysmorphia and self worth, I think it could have been handled better. Personally I don't love it when a character struggles with their self worth and body dysmorphia and then suddenly the love interest comes around and cures them in a few weeks. I understand a book is only so many pages and fast paced but I think if anything there could have been more dialogue and healing done throughout the book before Hutch really starts changing how Katie views herself.

However, I did really like the relationship dynamics and how flirty and fun Katie and Hutch were together!! I do think the first half of the book felt a bit slow in terms of pacing but the second half of the book went quick and a lot progressed with their relationship.

Overall, unfortunately not my favorite Katherine Center book, although I appreciate what she was trying to do with this sensitive topic. thanks to St Martin's Press for the free book!!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an audio copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Every book I read by Katherine Center is better than the last. And this one definitely fit that bill. She takes some that may appear ordinary and makes it extraordinary.
Kate Vaughn needs to save her job. So when the opportunity to follow famous coast guard Tom "Hutch" Hutchinson presents itself through her coworker Cole, she takes the leap. Never mind she can't swim and the assignment requires her to learn what coast guard rescue swimmers must endure to become part of, she'll do anything to make sure she keeps her job. Even present just a few lies Hutch and his family/friends. She'll need to face her fears to do well but can she also open her heart to be happy?
I loved Kate's character. She grows so much during this book. She starts out trapping herself in lies to get where she needs to go. But as she progresses she learns the things she needs to learn in order to survive her assignment. She also learns to open up and let her heart feel things she never thought would come up on an assignment with the Coast Guard. She creates relationships with those around her and finds a found family she was never looking for. Her biggest change is the confidence she gains about her body. Eating disorders are no joke. They literally become your entire personality and without therapy can overtake your life and become all you are. Center does really good job of showing how this disorder forms who Kate is. I could feel her anguish over this throughout the book. Often times these things come across as not realistic for me but I could feel just how hard it was for Kate's character to grow and change in this area. Center promotes body positivity in a realistic and relatable way.
Hutch, oof. Definitely a new book boyfriend for me. He's so much more than what he seems on the surface. His sibling rivalry with Cole is just what I would picture happening with two brothers who always seemed to be competing with each other. Though I think the competition was more on Cole's end than Hutch's. I appreciated Hutch's wanting to be out of the spotlight and just do his job. After all, his job is to save lives and that is what made him famous. But why should he be any different than the others who do the same every day?
I always worry about single POV romances. So many times I am wishing I could see what is going on in the other character's mind. But Center does a good job showing all the characters through Kate's POV. And of course Kate's insecurities are so much easier to understand when you're in her mind. The experience of the story through Kate's POV is perfect. I loved the banter Kate showed us with all the characters. Plus we got a great perspective on Hutch's found family and how they care for him.
The romance was a little bit of insta-love for me, thus the drop in my rating from 5 to 4 stars. There was some good organic growth but I feel like it happened too quickly.
As for the side characters, there is nothing like being in the middle of a bunch of older ladies talking about men, love, and so many other things. And Rue, gah, she cares so much for Cole and Hutch despite the circumstances under which they came into her care (won't give spoilers here but it will make you tear up). I low key hated Cole. I still can't forgive him for how he acted and I'm not sure how Kate and Hutch do!
The show stopper was George Bailey, Hutch's Great Dane. This dog is full of personality and fun. I just could not get enough of him and I loved how he formed a relationship with Kate.
As with all of Center's books, I was sad to be done with this one and almost immediately wanted to pick it back up and start again. That is the sign of a good book that burrows itself into your heart and makes a home there. If you are looking for a feel good book that promotes self love, digging into who you are, and learning to accept your perfect imperfections, Center gives it all!

I didn’t totally connect with the main character, and while we see Katie’s attraction to Hutch early on, I didn’t really feel much chemistry between them. I think it needed a bit more tension in the beginning to really hook me. The last 40% definitely picked up and had some better moments, but I still didn’t feel fully invested—I mostly just wanted to finish so I could start my next read.

The book also brings up some heavier themes like eating disorders and body image, but they felt more surface-level than deeply explored. Since they were mentioned a lot, I wish they’d had more weight and depth.

I’m sad I didn’t love this one, especially since Katherine Center’s last release was one of my favorites from last year. Still, not a bad book—just not the one for me. I’ll definitely keep reading her!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

To start off if you have any type of body issues this book might be triggering. A large portion of the book is about her gaining confidence in her body and trying to actually like it. This is a slowish burn and I really enjoyed it. Hutch was so interesting and I love that he immediately noticed everything about her. The fact that he caught her actual eye color and no one else ever had, he had me swooning.

I received an arc through netgalley.

4/5 Stars
0.5/5 spice

Quick Summary: Katie is sent to Florida Keys to shoot a promotional video for Cost Guards and the ones who dive in the save those who are at sea!

Once again, Katherine Center is quickly becoming one of my autobuys and comfort reads. This book is going to be very different from her past few books. In my opinion, I feel like the romance takes a back seat, and the main message is really about loving yourself. I enjoyed Katie, I feel like I could relate to Katie and her struggles with her body image. (Trigger- lots of disordered eating, body image language). As someone who is a professional in the field, I feel like the issue was brought up very well, and the therapy behind it made me chuckle because of how I tend to use some of it in my work :). Anyways, enough of me geeking out about it. Hutch and Katie was soo much fun to read about. While I feel like the love was more insta, it was fun to watch them banter and get to know each other. While Hutch's brother, Cole is a moron, it was also fun to read to read about their relationships and the one-sided competition that is between the two of them.

Overall, the MC and the side characters (George Bailey, too!) were all great, and it was such an easy read. I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a good rom-com this spring/summer. Once again, read your triggers because there is some disordered eating/body image language.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katherine Center and St. Martin's Press for sending an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! Definitely a 3.5/5 ⭐️ read for me! The pacing was a little slow for me, but I think that, more than just the relationship between the main characters, there were so many different subelements and relationships between secondary characters that made this book one I stuck it out for. I personally loved the relationship between Hutch and Cole (Ace). It was exactly what you’d imagine of a sibling rivalry, where one never quite feels like he’s on the same level as the other, but the real trauma behind where that came from hit me in the heart. My absolute favorite part of the book however was how Katie learned to love herself. It was so relatable as a woman to go through the struggle of loving yourself and how you look, and her best friend helped Katie (and me!) learn to do that. It’s so simple but so groundbreaking: “I just love all of my everything because it’s mine.” That line is going to stick with me for a while!!

Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. A Katherine Center novel is a perfect way to start your summer. The characters and setting are always heartfelt and delightful and this did not disappoint.

Katie takes on a writing assignment in gorgeous Key West while trying to get over a rather public break-up. Her subject is a very handsome but modest Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch, who wants little to do with publicity. As Katie gets involved with his life and family including a giant rescue Great Dane, a romance buds. Katie is literally swept off her feet as she negotiates her assignment as well as the comical side characters that encourage a romance.
It wouldn't be summer without a Katherine Center romance and this laugh out loud story does not disappoint! Summer starts here!

4.5

The thing I love so much about single pov romance books is that you truly experience every thought that character has. We follow Katie through this whole ordeal and she has a lot of feelings about it. I find it so real that in every aspect of her day to day life, her body has become front and center despite her dislike of it. When experiencing something, like ED recovery, you have spent a long time focusing on, in this case, you body that it becomes an entity you carry around with you every where. I really enjoyed that consistency. Don't even get me started on Hutch... hot and a good listener? Yes, please. Thank you very much!