Oh I loved this! All of the characters were so likable (somehow I didn’t even hate Cole or Sullivan). I really enjoyed both Hutch and Katie’s backstories. Rue is the sweetest and strongest woman ever. Beanie is the best cousin friend and I appreciated the way she helped Katie learn to accept her body. I was surprised how much I liked the hurricane scenes, I didn’t expect the turn it took. And obviously George Bailey is a winner!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital review copy.

Katherine Center's books have become my favorite way to kick off my summer reading. I love her writing style and the themes about which she writes.

While this wasn't my favorite book, I still loved the message about the importance of loving oneself and I like how Katie's character developed in the story. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between Hutch and Katie and I especially loved the characters of Rue and, of course, George Bailey.

My only dislike was how clueless Katie was at times. Her cluelessness was too extreme, particularly in the beginning.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and look forward to Center's future books.

The Love Haters
By @katherinecenter
🎧 By: Patti Murin
🗓️ Out 5/20

🌞 Grumpy sunshine
🌞 Forced proximity
🌞 Coast guard/ rescue swimmer
🌞 Video journalist
🌞 Body image + self love journey
⚠️ Content warning with the body image, eating disorder content

This is a book that just brought ALL the vibes!! The audiobook sucked me in and I listened in 1 sitting! We get a tropical setting with a plot that brings the humor, the banter and all the emotions!

Katie is in Key West to do a piece on Hutch and get video content of his job with the coast guard. But of course Katie doesn't know how to swim and needs Hutch to teach her. Their banter is instant perfection.

We also get a furry friend I obsessed over.

I do want to make sure I point out how hard Katie's head can be to be in at times if body image or disordered eating is a trigger of any kind for you! Please take care of yourself first!

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for this ARC + ALC
I truly had a great time with this one!

I feel robbed in that third act and epilogue, because tell me why I’m getting everyone’s story except for the one I actually care about?! Like where were my cute relationship & bonding montages? Ugh 😩 that rescue was so anticlimactic tho.

In fact, I don’t think there were enough bonding scenes tbh 🥲

I still enjoyed it. I laughed & got sad & angry & annoyed & find it a bit relatable with Katie’s body dysmorphia. So it definitely did stir up emotions there.

Oh & 1 full star was for George Bailey the Great Dane 🫶

The way this book had me CACKLING!!! Omg prob the funniest author ever. Also I just loved how she described the FMC’s insecurities, so real. The inner monologue was so good. The way she described her “haunch”.. just hysterical. I totally loved reading this one.

I’m having a really hard time rating The Love Haters. On one hand, I flew through the story and really loved the chemistry and relationship between the two leads. Hutch is hot, and his dog is awesome, and it was fun learning about the Coast Guard. However, Katie really bothered me as a main character. I didn’t love how the book portrayed her body image issues, and I found her annoying at times, despite very much understanding body image issues myself. The plot also skewed so far unrealistic. Not my favorite by Katherine Center, but still enjoyable overall.

BOOK REVIEW: THE LOVE HATERS ☀️👙🌊

Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy!🤍

I really enjoy picking up a Katherine Center book each summer as they usually are such fun and heartfelt romcoms! While there were quite a few LOL moments and I the banter was great (especially on audio!) THE LOVE HATERS ultimately fell a bit flat for me. I wasn’t super invested with Katie or Hutch and felt like there was far too many references to Katie’s struggles with her body image, it was a bit redundant to me.

Overall, if you’re looking for a cute summery romcom I’d check out The Rom Commers by Katherine Center!

I have mixed feelings about this book.

The story had so much potential to be great, but it was so slow and could use some work on the dialog between characters.

There were multiple times where Katie was talking on the phone with her cousin/best friend that seemed unnecessary to me. Specifically the conversation about wearing a swimsuit.

I also couldn't see what Katie saw in Hutch . He acted like a child more often than not.

I did love Rue and the whole compound setup with her friends. I enjoyed any part of the story that included them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Ah this was so cute! It's been a while since I've read a romance and I'm happy to dip back in with this one. It's fun and light but also a lovely story about being vulnerable. Highly recommend!

This was a fun summer read! I liked the writing style of this author and will go back for more of her books now. The characters were fun and relatable, and their story was cute without being too cheesy. The author did a great job of sucking me into the story and I stayed up way later than I should to finish it. I will recommend to others for sure!

I was definitely rooting for the love story in this one, and I loved the Key West setting (so vibrant and full of life, it made me want to book a trip). The atmosphere was one of my favorite parts of the book. That said, I really struggled to connect with Katie as a character. She needed therapy (like… a lot of it, honestly), and I found myself frustrated trying to make sense of her choices, which often felt irrational or overly dramatic. Also, I wish I had known ahead of time just how much of the book would focus on body image and self-perception. I totally understand the importance of those themes, but it’s not something I personally look for in a rom-com, so that threw me a bit. Overall, not a bad read, just not quite what I expected.

thank you to the publisher for the arc :)

I'm really surprised that this isn't rated higher. I enjoyed it! If you are looking for an easy romance that's not too deep then this is it. It was just a good time. I listened to the audiobook and I was hooked from the start.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

As a lover of Katherine Center, this was not my absolute favorite, but I did enjoy the story and the characters. I had trouble placing which "romance trope" this book is, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Katherine Center's books are always good when you're looking for a fun, sweet romance. I really loved Rue and The Gals so much and would've loved even more of them in the story. This was a fun summer setting, full of good side characters, and great if you're looking for a closed door romance.

Can I just take a second to say how much I adore Katherine Center? She’s part of this new wave of romance authors who actually tackle real-world issues—with characters who feel like people you know, or even reflections of yourself. Give me that any day over the old-school romances where the 17-year-old FMC is falling for a guy who’s got centuries (literally) on her and still insists on lurking around high schools. Or the billionaires with control issues and more red flags than the Running of the Bulls. Hard pass.

This book, though? This one delivered. I’ll admit the last two Center books I read didn’t quite hit for me, but this one hooked me from the first page and didn’t let go. George Bailey galloped in and stole my heart immediately, and Hutch wasn’t far behind. And Katie? She felt so real. Her struggle with self-love and body image is something so many of us can relate to—I know I’ve been there. It’s refreshing to see a main character who’s navigating that kind of internal battle with such honesty.

If you're craving a rom-com that's cute and fun but still grounded in real-life emotion (and blissfully free of Fae men who desperately need therapy), this is the book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC
3.5

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a sunshine-and-saltwater kind of summertime story—with big heart, relatable humor, and just enough chaos to keep you smiling til the end!

The Vibes:

😂 I adored Katie's dry wit and laughed out loud multiple times at her internal monologue. She also works through body acceptance, and I appreciated the author including this topic.

🛟 Hutch is the stoic, rescues a Great Dane from a puppy mill 🐾, and saves you from the ocean like it’s nothing 🌊—kinda guy.

💃🏼 Aunt Rue STOLE the show. Her brutal honesty, desire to live in FULL color, and zest for life were sincerely a treat to read. I felt like I had a precious great-aunt giving me encouragement and straight talk!

Unexpected Bonus: A quiet, tender thread about grief, self-worth, and what it means to choose joy. 💛

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

I enjoyed a quick trip to the Keys with this one! Loved the Coast Guard rescue swimmer character of Hutch, his dog George Bailey, and his beloved Aunt Rue who retired to the Keys and runs a few businesses. I didn’t like Katie nearly as much, but her filmmaking occupation was at least interesting.

The main reason I struggled with Katie’s charactersis the same as many other readers, the body image issues were really over the top. I get that the intention was to share how traumatized she was by growing up being told she had to be skinny, and then by the internet who judged her photo when her fiance got famous, but it was too much, and honestly a bit triggering at times. It’s not even clear whether she is actually overweight or just a skinny person completely in her head about a little thigh fat. It did give the book a strong theme of learning how to love and accept yourself, I thought it was just kind of clunky in getting there.

As far as plot goes, it felt like not much was happening, then it went in a direction that was very weird and unexpected, but the last 25% strongly redeemed itself with some exciting scenes before wrapping everything up neatly.

Not my favorite of Center’s - I would name Hello Stranger and Things You Save in a Fire in those spots - but it was entertaining for a quick summer read!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this DRC for review consideration.

3.5 stars! I love Katherine Center so much! Her ability to weave serious, important topics into romance books is such a talent. I’d definitely say George Bailey carried this story! This one was cute, but not my favorite. Still a good read - I personally am just obsessed with Katherine’s other book, The Romcommers, sooo much! 3.5/5 stars

Another beautiful book written by Katherine Center!
The chemistry between Katie and Hutch is literally undeniable! You can tell from the moment they meet that there is a small spark! But there are so many secrets, tension between Hutch & Cole, and the hurricane-force emotions swirl around them that takes them a minute to fully commit to their feelings. Aunt Rue is hilarious and don't get me started on the dog! They both will have you laughing out loud.

Katie Vaughn’s company is downsizing and as one of the newest hires, she’s worried her job is on the chopping block. This is why she accepts an assignment to make a recruiting video for the Coast
Guard featuring Hutch Hutchenson, one of their rescue swimmers, when she doesn’t know how to swim. A major requirement, but off to Key West she goes.

Katie struggled with her body image and self-confidence after a brush with her ex-fiancé’s new-found fame (people can be so awful online!). It wasn’t just not knowing how to swim, that was a mental challenge for Katie.

I loved Katie’s journey from an insecure introvert to someone who wasn’t afraid to live in color. Hutch and his aunt and her friends gradually coaxed Katie’s true self out with swimming lessons, dinners, and a rambunctious Great Dane! Hutch was an absolute pillar and oh-so-dreamy! I also loved the Coast Guard aspects of the story which added an extra element of adventure, danger, and excitement!

The Love Haters was a pure delight from start to finish! I adored Katherine Center’s author’s note at the end, as well.

I alternately read an e-copy and listened to an audio version with Patti Murin narrating. Her performance was perfection! Just icing on the cake!