Unfortunately as much as I typically love Katherine Center’s books this one was a miss for me. I didn’t love the initial set up. I felt like I was dropped right into the middle of the book instead of being introduced to everything. It seemed as if I should already know everyone and their situation. The MC has a lot of body image concerns and it at times felt like the soul purpose of the book, which just wasn’t enjoyable to focus on. The depth and emotion I typically get when reading her books just wasn’t there for me this time as I just couldn’t connect to the characters in a way that would be impactful.

I’m relatively new to Katherine Center, this is my third book of hers, and I honestly think I’m becoming a big fan.

I made the mistake of reading some early reviews of Love Haters before I myself started this book, and a lot of those people were not a fan of the FMC’s body image anxieties.
I however, did not feel that way. I thought it might be triggering for me as someone who has body dysmorphia and is currently down on myself. Instead, I felt so seen. A lot of Katie’s inner thoughts and anxieties were exactly how my brain rationalizes things. I found her very admirable and relatable and I loved being inside her head.


I pretty much devoured this book and stayed up far too late in the AM just to finished. The pacing was amazing, there was so much chaos and goofiness it reminded me of the old school rom coms I would watch growing up.

The chemistry between Hutch and Katie was *chefs kiss* . I’m still thinking about them almost a week after reading. Many times after I finished the book, I forgot I had finished and kept wanting to go back into their world and their romance.

Thank you so much for approving me for this read. I will now be going back and reading every Katherine Center that I haven’t gotten to yet

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have read and enjoyed several others books by Katherine Center, so I had high hopes for this book. This book definitely lived up to my expectations. It was wonderful!

3.4 ⭐️

Synopsis: Katie Vaughn has one last chance to save her job. The only thing in her way? Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. Can two self-proclaimed love haters survive paradise—and each other—long enough to get the job done?

What I loved:
-The quiet, beautiful theme here is: “To be loved is to be seen.” No, the book does not explicitly say this but Hutch definitely exudes this.
-If the text message, “Hey, I saw this and thought of you” were a person, it would absolutely be Hutch.
-So yes, I may be in love with Hutch! Leave me alone!
-GEORGE BAILEY.
-AUNT RUE AND THE GALS.
-Hot take, but… Cole? He was a walking disaster fueled by sibling rivalry, and as someone with two brothers, it felt way too real.
-Last but certainly not least, Katie. Her internal dialogue is my internal dialogue and therefore I too, feel seen.

Number of times I mentioned Hutch in this review: 5. (Honestly? Should be more.)

Thank you St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the ARC! Out 05/20/25

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in advance of its release.
This book took me a bit to get into, but once I got into it, it was hard to put it down. Cole and Hutch are exactly what you were expect out of two brothers who experienced trauma I love the community that was created in this story.
Katie overcame so much, it’s nice to see authors addressing body image problems and disordered eating in characters

My favorite thing about The Love Haters was how layered Katie and Hutch's traumas were, and that it didn't detract from the cute romance aspects of the story. Instead, it was interwoven to create a fluffy yet deep story of love and overcoming personal trauma. I give The Love Haters 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review The Love Haters by Katherine Center. All opinions are my own

What a great book!
4.5 stars, rounding up to 5
This was a fun book with lots of laugh out loud moments and also the great feel good moments too. Loved the main characters and also the dude characters!

“But I hadn't thought I hated love. I'd thought I was just recovering from it.”

I found myself relating to Katie and her insecurities in so many ways. She was such a likeable, kind person, she just had trouble seeing the positive things about herself. Hutch was the perfect romantic partner for her, even when they didn’t want to admit it. Hutch was a true hero and that works because Katie was too. She didn’t let being afraid stop her. I absolutely loved his dog, George Bailey. He was such a fun, sweet dog that helped Katie and Hutch into several funny situations. His aunt was the sweetest. I admit that I wasn’t fond of Hutch’s brother, Katie’s boss, at first but he redeemed himself. The characters in this book were so much fun in every situation, even when they were feeling emotional or in a dangerous situation. I’ve never read anything by Katherine Center but I’m glad I read this. I can’t wait to read more of her work. She really has a talent at writing a fun story with amazing characters.

I thought this was an entertaining read. I thought the premise was cute and the tropes were right up my alley. The thing that made this book good but not great for me was the amount of discussion there was surrounding Katie’s body image issues, I think the same point could have been made with 80% less discussion about how uncomfortable she was in her body and how much of a hot alpha male Hutch was. I thought the rest of the writing and plot were enjoyable. I loved the characters, including the Girls, but Hutch’s dog was the best part of the book. I would recommend this book, but I would just warn that those with their own body image issues should tread lightly.

This felt like Katherine Center’s writing from the start, but somewhere around the time Katie begins her job filming for the coast guard recruiting promo, it felt like more telling that showing. The majority of the initial getting to know you part of the relationship between Hutch and Katie was brushed over in an over the weeks chapter. Unfortunately, it made me not really connect to a set of characters I so desperately wanted to enjoy. The premise of this story had a lot of promise, but without really getting the page time to get to know the FMC and MMC, it just didn’t click for me. That’s not been the case with her past book, so it kind of pains me to give her anything below 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the arc. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

Katherine Center’s ability to make a reader work through a tough topic with humor and a light touch never fails. In The Love Haters, we get a good hard look at what it means to love ourselves – our physical bodies, our worth as individuals, the value of our place in our family and in the world.

The setup in a nutshell: Katie is a junior videographer whose job is on the chopping block. Her coworker Cole, ostensibly trying to help save her job, offers her the chance to film a promo video for the US Coast Guard – “ostensibly” because the subject of the promo is Cole’s estranged brother, Hutch. Add in a hurricane, a rescued Great Dane named George Bailey, the fact that Katie can’t swim (a detail she omitted to get this gig), and the fact that Cole is willing to tell an unlimited number of lies for the sake of self-promotion, not to mention a misguided need to one-up his brother, and you betcha things go south quickly.

The Love Haters publishes on May 20, 2025, just in time for summer! Get your pre-orders and library holds in now.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, NetGalley, and author Katherine Center for the complimentary copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group for this eARC!

This was my first book by this author and I thought it was a cute story. The banter was bantering, which I absolutely love! I would have loved to see more of Katie and Hutch’s ‘actual’ relationship on the page. I did prefer the first half of the book, personally, and with the abrupt ending, a lot is left to the imagination. Overall, I enjoyed it and am interested is reading some of her other books!

The relationship between Katie and the Hutch is the emotional core of the novel, and it’s beautifully done. Their connection feels real and deeply felt, with strong chemistry that draws you in.

One drawback was Katie having to lie to him—it felt unnecessary and undercut some of the trust and emotional weight their relationship had built up.

The houseboat scenes, especially the boat stranded out to sea with the dog, were a bit hard to connect with. While atmospheric, they felt slightly out of step with the rest of the story’s emotional realism.

“The Love Haters” by Katherine Center
So Many ways to feel/show love…
This was a really fun read and, well as I read this story and the author’s notes at the end of the story; I discovered that I had been visiting some new or maybe just forgotten ways that love is felt, shown, accepted, or, denied. I came away from reading a light fun read feeling renewed, refreshed, and my spirit was lighter, too, as well as being joyfully entertained.. Read this story to be entertained and maybe gain a bit of insight into yourself or others along the way, Or, just to escape your real world for a few hours. Happy Reading !!

I really liked Katherine Center's last book, The Rom-commers, and I was very excited to read this one.

Katie Vaughn is a video producer with serious body issues after she's dumped by her newly famous fiance and is ripped apart by internet commenters. She's on the verge of being laid off from her job, and so she agrees to take on an assignment profiling Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson in Key West. There are just two problems: Hutch is the estranged brother of her co-worker and is expecting his brother to handle the video, and Katie can't swim.

When Katie arrives in Key West, she's adopted by a group of fabulous elderly widows, meets a neurotic but lovable Great Dane named George Bailey, and realizes that Hutch is not the grumpy robot his brother told her about and she grows closer to him.

I was really enjoying the book, but around the halfway mark, I thought that maybe there could be a bit more conflict in the story. And then the book took a major detour into drama town and I got all the conflict I wanted.

This book is funny, sweet, and romantic. Katie and Hutch are both great characters, and their romance is charming. The group of old ladies who adopt Katie are absolutely delightful. As Katie is making a promotional video about the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer, there's a lot of info about how the rescues are handled and how the swimmers train, which I found really interesting. Video producer/would-be documentary filmmaker and rescue swimmer are really interesting jobs and something a little different than the usual romance professions.

This is a very charming book and I would definitely recommend it.

Read this if you like:
•dogs
•complicated family relationships
•forced proximity

George Bailey (the dog) stole the show and saved the book for me. The best Great Dane there is! Katie is jaded and has body image issues. The body image issues run DEEP and parts of this felt like a self help book for body issues. Katie lies to get a job, lies that she can swim, and the job involved being able to swim. Hutch is a coast guard hunk with a complicated relationship with his brother (Katie’s coworker). Katie felt immature at times but overall a cute story and the dog was the best part of the book! This is also a great reminder that everyone should learn how to swim. Thank you SMP for eARC

I loved Hello Stranger and really enjoyed The Rom-Commers so I was totally up for another Katherine Center book. Unfortunately, The Love Haters didn’t feel like the author I’ve read and loved. The only decent thing about this was the short romance we see between Kate and Hutch before the dumbest third act breakup happens. And by third act, I mean literally HALFWAY through the book so we’re robbed of the majority of the romance. The marketing for The Love Haters ain’t it, either. This is definitely a storyline more centered as women’s fiction with the major focus on Katie trying to love herself. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good self love journey, but can we accomplish it without a man saying cringey dialogue and solving all of the fmc’s problems by being hot yet sad???? This story felt like we glossed over all the areas that had true potential (i.e., Katie and Hutch’s blossoming romance). Don’t even get me STARTED on the ending events of this book - it’s seemingly random and not conducive to anything previously brought up in the story. This was such a let down and definitely needs a different approach to the marketing.

Before concluding my review, I think it’s very important to mention the abundant, graphic depiction of body dysmorphia and an eating disorder. There are zero content warnings or implication that the above mentioned triggers would be a driving plot point from the first chapter. There’s also suicidal ideation that, again, isn’t forewarned to the reader. As authors, publishers, and editors - YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER. The Love Haters desperately needs a sensitivity read, content/trigger warnings, and proper marketing.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy.

Format - EARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 💋

Series- N/A

Troupes- Forced Proximity, small town, arm chair travel, grumpy/sunshine

CW- Death of loved ones (off page), Surviving a hurricane at sea

I don’t know how Katherine Center does it but her writing is serotonin to my brain. I honestly think she could write a dictionary and my would find it fascinating. This book is no different.
My eye balls and brain gobbled this one up in less then 24 hours. I could not put it down and luckily for the gremlin in my brain but not so lucky for the rest of my life I’ve got Covid so I didn’t have to put it down.

Set in a place I honestly, had no interest going but now am desperate to visit the Florida Keys, with a MMC who is literally a hero and a MFC who is the every girl, and antagonist who you love to hate but are also glad when they get redeemed. Add in a great Dane named George Bailey and this book could do no wrong.

This book has no spice, just a lot of mutual pining and a mid air kiss for the ages. But it does have a lot of found family, lovable dynamic characters and one hell of a lot 80% that leaves you wanting a movie made out of this Absolutely knock out of a book!

I loved every second of this book and as always am excited for whatever Katherine’s brain has for us next!

Thank you Katherine Center, St Martins Griffen and netgalley for the advanced copy it has no baring on my review or opinions of this book.

“𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬.”

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 5/20/25

*Thank you @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: Katie is about to loose her job in a company downsizing, when her co-worker offers her a deal that just might save it. Go to Florida, make a promo video for the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers featuring his brother, Hutch. Who happens to be the infamous Pup Daddy (aka rescued a celebrities dog). Hutch is a Love Hater, and all business. Katie has to navigate Hutch's moods and the murky emotional waters that ensue.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲:
🚁 USCG (United States Coast Guard)
🌊 Grumpy x Sunshine
🚁 Books with a Dog
🌊 Books about Self Love/Discovery
🚁 Octogenarian Side Characters
🌊 Laugh out Loud Dialogue

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
I devoured this book! The first couple chapters were slow but establish the rest of the storyline. Any book that can make me giggle out loud is a winner in my eyes.
I loved the originality with the USCG, when there are so many of the same themes repeated in romance/rom-coms. I also loved that this book addresses body confidence issues that many women face. From feelings of inadequacy in teen years, to a break up that caused more public scrutiny of Katie's looks, to learning to appreciate everything about herself. Then lets talk about George Bailey, you just cant NOT love him! The relationship with Rue and the FMC/MMC(s) was well developed. The ending was of course sweet and reflective, if you can suspend a bit of reality in the way things played out- I think most would love this story too!

#TheLoveHaters

I went into this book with high hopes, I absolutely adored Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard and The Rom-Commers. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t land the same way for me.

Katie’s character struggled with self-image, which is a very real and relatable theme. But the repeated emphasis on “everyone says I’m beautiful, but I know I’m not” felt overdone and went too far into pick-me territory for my taste. It became more frustrating than sympathetic, and I found myself pulled out of the story by it.

There’s also a scene toward the end involving a competition where the “prize” is getting to kiss Katie—and that moment felt especially uncomfortable. It came across as objectifying and creepy, and it was hard to reconcile that with the otherwise lighthearted tone.

That said, Center’s signature warmth and wit are still present. Her dialogue sparkles, and the chemistry between characters is as charming as ever. Hutch, Rue, and Beanie were definite standouts—I really enjoyed them as side characters and wish they had more.

While this one wasn’t for me, I’m still a big fan of Center’s voice and storytelling, and I’ll definitely be picking up her next release. Here’s to hoping the next one recaptures the magic!