🥰Enjoyment: I am of two minds on this one. As a writer, KC has a voice that really draws me in. However this book focused heavily on a theme of body image and negative self talk that really was a lot. I wouldn’t call it a trigger for me but literally the entire plot is repeatedly touched by our FMCs self image concerns and it just weighed down the story for me. Additionally the “conflict” that existed in the back half of the book didn’t feel high stakes enough to drive the plot in the way it did. There were a few other nitpicky things that I won’t dive into but I just wanted more. More depth and less negative self talk. This won’t stop me from picking up the next KC book, but this wasn’t my favorite one.

A splash of charm, but missing the depth

The Love Haters was one of my most anticipated 2025 reads, but it didn’t quite land for me. There are glimpses of Katherine Center’s usual charm—witty banter, a swoony hero, and a fun setting—but overall, it felt more surface-level than heartfelt.
Katie, our FMC, gets caught in her boss’s lies, risking both her career and her chance at happiness. While her backstory is developed, it didn’t feel particularly compelling. Hutch is a solid romantic lead, but the chemistry and emotional depth weren’t as strong as I’d hoped. The side characters felt flat, and the story relied too much on telling rather than showing.

It’s an easy, entertaining read with conga lines, hurricanes, and stolen kisses—but it missed the emotional punch I expect from Center.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a complimentary eArc in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, if you're starting with Katherine Center books, start with The Rom-Commers, Beautiful Stranger or How to Walk Away.

This was a sweet read! I really enjoyed all of Katherine Center's books. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Read this book if you are into these tropes:
- Found Family
- Witty Banter
- Forced Proximity
- Body Image/Insecurities

This book made me laugh, smile, and I was definitely giddy! However, the miscommunication trope is NOT for me. I have a hard time when characters do not communicate effectively. This book does cover the topic of eating disorder which. may need some trigger warnings for some people.

I really enjoyed watching the FMC grow confidence in her body and the growing bond between her and Hutch! Overall, I would say this is a solid 3/5.

I had both the audio and ebook of this, so yes you are getting this review twice.

DNF at 10% on Chapter 4. WHY IS THERE NO DISCLAIMER FOR ANOREXIA OR EATING DISORDERS. I am anorexic and trying become a recovering anorexic and this book has made me spiraled. I read the Rom-Commers by this author and absolutely loved it, so of course I wanted to read the next book by this author, but since there’s no disclaimers for sensitive topics I didn’t know this would be a problem. I was going to try to push past it, maybe reading a book about something I struggle with every day of my life will help me begin my healing journey, but I fear it’s going to set me back. Do better.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. The FMC's body image and self-confidence issues were such a major focus that is was a bit overkill in my opinion and started to really drag on and feel redundant. I also did not buy in to the romance, either. It felt like we were just told they fell in love but did not have much evidence of such happening. This is on I felt I should DNF at around 30% but kept going hoping it would get getter or hook me in and sadly that just didn't happen.

I did think Hutch seemed sweet, especially how he cared for his rescue dog!

3⭐️
I loved the first half of this book! Katie, the main character, was hard to like with her self-hatred but that was part of the charm, knowing that she was going to learn and grow through the book. I love a self-love character arch. I really liked Hutch, the US Guard swim rescuer. But the plot shift at the middle of the book where Cole, Katie’s boss AND Hutch’s brother, arrives on scene lost me. It wasn’t a miscommunication troupe but it sure felt like it.

I love Catherine Center books and will continue reading her books. This one just was a miss for me.

My favourite romcom of the year by far! I had so much fun reading this book. It had very few of the annoying tropes I dislike in a romance book and most of the ones I love!

It's about a filmmaker who goes to shoot a promo about the Coast Guard (btw I still find it so weird that the coast guard is military in the US). But anyways there was lots of cute found family vibes, self love, a cute dog, and lots of nice descriptions of the Florida Keys. What's not to love? The romance was cute and believable and the conflict was annoying but acceptable. The climax of the story was also unexpectedly exciting!

I'll definitely be recommending this one! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for giving me an Advance reader copy of this book.

This book was the perfect Rom-com mixed with a love story of self love. Katie is going through a lot in her personal life that changes the way she perceives herself. A recently broken engagement, her job on line and her self worth at an all time low. Her ex fiancée is a celebrity and she w2as forced into the harsh public eye, which lead to online bullying. After that she was seeing herself in all the wrong light, but it took a trip to paradise for a work video to really jump start a healing relationship with a hot Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch, but more importantly herself.
The story was also healing for Katie but the other characters as well. Hutch and Cole brothers who lost their parents in a car accident when they were younger learn to heal their strained relationship. Rue the owner of the cottages in Key West played a huge role in Hutch’s life and also helped Katie find her way through her kind gestures and support.

We all have that best friend like Beanie! The outspoken, tell it like it is, loves you so fiercely that she isn’t afraid of giving you tough laugh and ask those hard questions.

We often are very self critical on ourselves instead of giving a little grace or seeing us the same way people we love see us. We aren’t made to be “perfect” we all have our flaws but at the end of the day with the right amount of love and support you can go on a live a happy life.

This book made me laugh and but also got me thinking about how I’m often self critical and how I need to look at myself in a better light.
The Love Haters was my first book By Katherine Center and I will be looking into her other books moving forward.
I personally think this book is the perfect Beach read going into the summer and it should be added to your TBR asap.

Thank you, NetGalley and Katherine Center, for letting me read this book in exchange for a review.

I am a fan of Katherine Center's work, like The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger and The Rom-Commers, which I often reread. I was very excited for this new book, The Love Haters, but I had trouble getting through this book. There's a lot of repetitive sentences and conversations, the body issues are the female main characters' only personality trait and it was difficult to sympathize with her. It felt a lot like 'pick-me-girl' vibes.

Moreover, this story is written in a very objective way. Like, when the love interests kiss, it's just written that they kiss but you don't feel it. You are not brought along on this experience. Same with the love development, you just have to trust conversations happened because you do not read about it. It's difficult to relate to the main character and feel her emotions and difficulties. Mostly because of this objective way of writing. That made this book not good in my opinion.

There were also many scenes where miscommunication happened and I'm just like 'JUST TALK!'... one of my least favorite things in books is where if they just literally stood up for themselves or said something, things would be resolved. It just seemed a bit childish and some scenes, like the lies Cole spun and involved Katie in, was just ridiculous. How does everybody in the book just seem to kind of go along with it? I know that 'ridiculous' / 'funny' things are Katherine's style with her books and it has been funny in the last few books but this one felt a bit too much and extra unbelievable and not relatable. Like who calls 911 and says that Hutch is a sexy name? You're literally on a sinking boat, what do you mean?

I hope Katherine Center will write other books, more in the way she did The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger. I'm hoping for this at least.

This was okay. This is my second book that I’ve read from this author and I just don’t think she’s for me. The characters were hard to like and seemed very immature. I didn’t care how the story was going to play out at all.

Ok, I really loved this one!! I felt like it was just what I needed right now. Some aspects were a tad far-fetched, but I was ok with them - it added to the magic of the story for me. I felt this one was a true romcom done in true Katherine Center fashion!

All the love for The Love Haters! I absolutely adored the newest Katherine Center rom com!

Katie gets pulled into a project she may not be qualified for in hopes to save her job. She sets off for Key West to meet the rescue swimmer she will be profiling for a Coast Guard promo video to find that Hutch is quite the catch, along with his eccentric Aunt Rue and his lovable great dane. Toss in Rue's lively community of friends, lots of brotherly drama, and a tropical storm; and you end up with a delightful story you won't want to put down!
 
Thank you to #NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of #TheLoveHaters in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a cute read. I liked the characters overall although I felt like the story was a little longer than it needed to be.

A fun read! I was a huge fan of the setting, and enjoyed that it leaned into the local side of key west vs the tourist side. I found the male lead to be interesting, but could have enjoyed him having a little more that made him not perfect (all his conflict was about his brother not him). I like that the main character wasn’t “fixed” by falling in love, and I really liked the aunt.

THE LOVE HATERS was my first Katherine Center novel and I’m happy to report that I did enjoy it.

That said, I will be honest, this one started out a little rough for me. Katie (the FMC) gets very heavy into body image insecurities. I do believe the amount of time and text dedicated to that aspect of the story could and should have been adjusted. The saving grace, was that Katherine did a really great job wrapping up that story arc and giving it the right touches and care at the end of the book. Another pain point for me was the abhorrent amount of lying and deceit in the second part of the story was quite off-putting, and I’m not sure it added much to the plot other than to wave the miscommunication flag.

My favorite part was Hutch. He was just how I like my main men. His backstory with his family and Rue (who was also fabulous) was touching, and the discussions it spurred were some of my favorite parts of the book.

The book is exactly like all those classic 2000’s era rom-coms we love. It has humor. Characters you can’t help but root for. Sweet romance. And all-around feel good vibes.

I always enjoy Center’s books, and this one is a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching Katie find herself again. Though I agree with the reviewers that say we don’t need men to feel beautiful. But it is nice to hear it now and again. Katie also has her cousin helping her to love herself, and that holds weight, not just to Katie, but in the storyline as well.

And of course, I especially loved George Bailey, who can’t stop knocking Katie over. He is a great addition to the story. Overall, this was a fun read.

Advanced Book Review! Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for sending me this book for review. Opinions are my own.
I always run to grab Katherine Center’s books early from NetGalley – as many of us do. But (and this might be an unpopular opinion) this one won’t make it into my list of favourites from her.
It took a while to get into – I didn't really feel engaged until nearly a quarter of the way through. Up to that point, it felt like I’d been dropped into the middle of a story without much lead-in… and yet, not much was actually happening either.
Once things picked up, I was more into it – especially the dynamic between Katie and Hutch, and learning about his work as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The middle section worked better for me. But the last third started to lose me again. The story veered off in a direction that felt chaotic, with a bar scene that really turned me off (no spoilers, but yikes). The lying, miscommunication, and character shifts, especially with Katie’s boss and Hutch’s brother Cole, just didn’t land for me.
There were bright spots. I really liked Rue who came across as such a kind and grounded character. And the mystery around Hutch and Cole’s falling out kept me curious. And the body image representation stood out. Katie’s fear of wearing bathing suit felt relatable, and I thought it was powerful that we never actually get a detailed description of her appearance (unless I missed it!). It’s a subtle but important reminder that body image struggles don’t have a specific “look” and that anyone can deal with them.
This one wasn’t a hit for me, but I’ll definitely read whatever Katherine Center writes next.

This book was cute but parts of it were so unrealistic. I also have a hard time with a miscommunication trope. But I loved George Bailey and Rue!! The love story was cute and fun but I didn't like the lying from Cole.

I LOVED this book and devoured it in 2 days. The chemistry between the 2 main characters was amazing. I love Katherine Center because her romance books always have a more depth to them. Rue and the great dane dog were my 2 favorite characters and made me laugh out loud. Makes me want to immediately book a trip to Key West.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite romance authors, unfortunately this one was just not my favorite. I loved George Bailey and Hutch. I liked the inclusion of the body image stuff but was perhaps a little heavy handed. I did not love the part of the book when Cole comes to Key West.