~Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Center/team for the ARC!~

There are so many love stories in this book…and I’m obsessed with every single one…

Quick summary: She makes documentaries and he is a swimmer for the US Coast Guard. When Katie gets a job to make a promo video featuring Hutch with the USCG, there’s just one small problem. She lied to get the job. She doesn’t know how to swim and is about to follow along on high stakes drills over the ocean.

I may or may not be in love with Hutch. But I think the story line of Katie learning how to love herself is the most beautiful. So many incredible side characters (and a few very annoying ones). The book is romantic, stressful, hilarious, full of fabulous older ladies, and genuinely heart breaking. We have romance, action, and a Lot of drama. I couldn’t put the book down and constantly found myself picking it up to read even if I only had a few minutes to spare. Highly recommend it. One of Katherine Center’s best!

This was the sweetest of books. I will always pick up a Katherine Center book. I plan to read again and again.

This was a slow read for me, but once I got further into it, it was another cute read from Katherine Center.

Katie and Hutch happen to have been single for a year, but does that make them love haters? When a work assignement takes Katie out of her comfort zone and as she works through her past ex and body image issues, the characters grows. A cute read overall.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity of this advanced copy

Has the same cutesy, overly quirky writing style as The Bodyguard, with a somewhat unique premise built around the classic grump/sunshine trope. I liked the lighthearted setup and the introduction to the characters. It’s goofy, fun, and easy to read, while still trying to explore some deeper personal themes. That said, the shifts between silly and serious felt a bit jarring to me and, when not balanced well, can end up cheapening both. I didn’t feel deeply connected to the main character, so the emotional beats didn’t fully land, but I wasn’t bothered by how the story honored the characters’ truths either.

Katie is a fun and quirky character who has her own insecurities. Hutch is a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard.
Katie and Hutch have to work together. Then there is aunt Rue, brother Cole and so many great characters that make up such a great story/book.
I enjoyed the banter, the inner monologue, it was just perfect.
Love Katherine Center and her books always come at the right time.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Another great read by Katherine Center! Anytime a dog is involved, I’m all in!

I enjoyed the storyline, but there were moments where Hutch was a little too “love hater”. His aunt took such good care of Katie. It was fun to read about all of the ladies in their floral clothes! Easy to picture.

This book is great for anyone wanting a fun summery read! I do recommend it, as I do with all of her books that I have read!

It took me a while to get into this book, however in the end the story won out and I liked it. It is the second book by this author that I have read and while good it did not measure up to the first one. As the book went along I got into the story more and liked it more. There were some scenes that did make me laugh out loud and the story was good. There were characters I really liked that were fun and interesting and some that I did not like as they were shallow and predictable. All in all it was a good quick read.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a heartwarming and emotionally charged novel that explores love, healing, and self-discovery. Center’s writing is witty and relatable, and she does an excellent job of blending humor with deeper, poignant moments that explore vulnerability and the complexities of relationships.
While the romance is at the heart of the story, it’s also about personal growth and finding one's way through emotional turmoil. The dynamic between the protagonists, as they evolve from antagonists to lovers, is both charming and satisfying. Fans of contemporary romance with a touch of humor and heart will find The Love Haters a delightful read.

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me and I was over the moon to be selected for an ARC of her newest novel.

This book is perfection. It’s about a woman who must fall in love with herself before she can come to terms with loving someone else. The depth of characters in Love Haters is astounding, and I found myself deeply attached to them all by the end of the novel.
From Rue, the former chromophobe (it will make sense, I promise) now living her dreams. To Katie, the novel’s protagonist who must overcome her fears and find it in her deluge of self-doubt to love herself. To Hutch, our literal hero (a Coast Guard rescue diver) who not only save a dog, but has the best dog that he rescued and nursed back to health. Instant swoon!

I love, love, loved this one. And adore how Center is able to weave a story about love and make it a lesson about life all wrapped up in one gorgeous story.

Buy it, read it, and remember to enjoy all the little moments life has to offer.

New Troupe the Lying brother.

This book was a joy, Katherine Centers books never disappoint. This story had great character development and growth, and it was well-paced to keep the reader interested. I also learned a few things about the Coast Guard. I loved the aunt, she has so much personality. Based in Key West and being so water-related, this would make an incredible beach read/ summer read.

Nothing but love for The Love Haters!

Katherine Center has done it again, not because it's an adorable romance (cuz it is), or because it’s a fun and entertaining story (cuz it is), but because it’s such an honest look at how much emphasis we put on looks and body in our world. Katie is such an honest portrayal of woman struggling with body image and her cousin Beanie is the friend we all need.

Thank you St Martins Press and NetGalley for an early copy. All opinions are my own.

The Love Haters is classic Katherine Center: we have a lovable, relatable heroine at the helm, witty, fun, yet vulnerable humor steering the course, a romantic love interest setting hearts afloat, and an emotional journey that will courageously battle every tumultuous wave and conquer all fears and anxieties to triumphant end.

Protagonist Katie carries a wounded heart and a suitcase filled with anxieties, but that doesn't stop her from accepting her coworker's offer to take a career-saving (and perhaps career-making!) gig profiling recently famed Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch. Katie is to follow his footsteps to provide a new perspective to his work, but along with those followed footsteps comes the expectation she will participate in some rather watery exercises. Unfortunately Katie may have told a fib or two about her non-existent swimming skills, luckily she may have found just the instructor to gain her those skills.

Each and every time I've read a Katherine Center book I find myself immediately gravitating to one of the main players, typically the heroine. There's always a large facet of them that feels part of me. That feels the very reflection of me. But of all those leads, I have never felt as close to one as I did with Katie. Katie is me on almost every level (gosh I wish I had her wit though!). I was almost taken aback at how so much of Katie's insecurities, fears, and habits reflected exactly my own. Her personal journey almost paralleled my own.

Using self-deprecation and humor as a self-defense mechanism? Check!
Wearing all neutral colors and fearing color and bathing suits because of an irrational fear of being seen? Check, check!
Feeling less than, not good enough, not lovable enough? Check, check, check!
Cannot swim but has probably the best looking instructor around to teach her? Sadly not a check there-- but who knows what tomorrow will bring, ha!

The heart of this love story is protagonist Katie learning to love herself. Her body image insecurity is what she grapples with throughout this journey. And this is her true love story-- to stop worrying how she fears how others' perceive her, and to instead learn to appreciate every single part of her. To see her own beauty, her own worth, her own good-enough-ness. Her triumphs by book's end is one that pierced my very soul. It's one that lit a fire in me, motivating me to catch up, that if Katie can do it, so can I!

I embraced every single part of Katie.

I got her on every level.

My heart hurt not just for her, but for me too. I've never felt so close to a protagonist like this one, but this is the magic of Katherine Center's writing. She is able to pull a vulnerability and explore it in such a manner that it feels like it's holding a mirror up to you. Not to disparage but say, look at how we can triumph over this. I see you, and I see how you can keep going. So keep going.

Katie, keep going, I'm going to try to catch up until I'm right alongside you!

Katie had a wonderful love story with herself, but she also dipped her toes in another pool of love, one that featured the stoic but surprisingly soft Hutch.

I'm not sure if it's a thing, but I consider this particular work as romantic women's fiction. At its heart, this book is about the heroine gaining confidence, navigating her path through life, and figuring out how to love herself. But there is, as there always so wonderfully is in a Katherine Center book, a romantic love interest to get the hearts a pumpin' and the swoons a gaspin'. In this case, we have Hutch. Gorgeous, almost too-good-to-be-true-but-you-best-believe Hutch.

I'd say overall the romance in this one remains on a will-they-or-won't-they level; it's not a romance you'll journey through, and still I consider Hutch the most romantic of Katherine's love interests that I've read from her works. I love how he dismantles Katie's initial perception of him. He's not closed off, nor a love hater, he sees everything. And that includes all the beauty of Katie, inside and out, and he lets her know it. I swooned and swooned over those poignant words he spoke. They were a wonderful glimpse to the window of his heart-- and it's a really good heart to have. Green flags all around!

There may be some hurdles along the way of the romantic subplot, but conquering them will make each worthwhile.

This entire book is personally satisfying. I'm still rather mind-boggled by how connected I felt to Katie, how her personal struggles collided right in with my own. I felt like I was wearing her skin, feeling her lows-- but also her highs. It became a tremendously inspiring experience. It became of those few times were feeling seen emboldened me, rather than having me shrink away.

Thank you Katherine Center for writing such a beautiful, moving journey of a girl who finally saw her reflection and loved it.

Thank you St. Martin's Press Early Readers and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

This was really cute. I pushed my rating up because of the ending, which was exciting, unexpected and dramatic. I really liked the characters and found the subplot surrounding body image to be thoughtful and well done. One of Katherine Center’s strengths, in my opinion, is making all the characters interesting and well thought out, not just the main characters. This is a great choice for people who prefer closed door romances. I enjoyed the audio. The narrator brings Katie’s character to life and her tone of voice adds to the comedy.

Katie, a video producer with her career hanging in the balance, has been sent to the Key West to profile Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The only problem is that swimming is required for the job, and Katie wasn’t completely honest about her ability to swim.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Did I devour this? Yes.
Did I enjoy Katie's self-acceptance and the view of Hutch's amazing job? Again yes

But the ugh about the exposition particularly in breaking the 4th wall remains. I hate that this is so common in her books, I think. OVERALL FUN and Romantic, and so close to being spectacular....

But I also struggled with the last 20% of the book because the heroine was literally almost too stupid to live, and then <spoiler> is incensed when she can't immediately trade on Hutch's status in the USCG? It's annoyed with dispatchers for being Uber professional and not chatty post HURRICANE. MA'AM.

There's just a lot of weird self-sabotage overall. Which suited the themes, but it was exhausting.

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my review!

This story surprised me in so many ways. I adore how Katherine Center writes about love and that her books include love in many ways, not just romantic. But the romance in this one was top notch. I will say I didn’t enjoy the plot point with the brother, but I suppose I understand why it had to happen. I just loved our main characters and their dog so much. And the setting and premise were delightful and felt so real.

If even for just one chapter, I’d love to get to read things from Hutch’s perspective.

And also, I loved Katie’s journey about loving herself and her body. I wish it wasn’t as relatable as it was — for societal reasons, not because of how KC wrote it. We all deserve the love we give others.

Lastly, the syntax and way KC wrote this book tickled my brain in the best way. The pacing was great, I loved that it felt like Katie was telling me the story personally while I was also getting to experience it with her. I enjoyed the writing almost as much as the story itself.

I loved this book. It is the perfect pool or beach read. Katherine center does it again with the banter for me and the love story. It was so light hearted and fun. This is probably one of my favorites by her now!!

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately the characters lacked dimension. There was nothing swoon worthy about Hutch, even though he was described as a loyal brother and son (-ish to Rue), a dedicated rescuer for the coast guard, and dog dad. I found Cole really annoying and when he arrived he added many complications to the story that just seemed like too much.
Katherine Center is still an auto-read author for me though- I love the lightness and humor in her writing

This was a slow burn. I am a huge fan of Katherine Center and this was a a very enjoyable read but it didn’t reel me in like many of their other have. I truly enjoys the character development. In the end, I love each of them. It is a story about loss and how it molds your life, friendship and learning to love yourself. As many of Katherine’s books, it gives all the feels. I was LOL many times, fell in love with George Bailey and have a new found love for frogs.
Keep going what you’re doing Katherine. You are a breath of fresh air.
Then you Katherine Center and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy.

I received this as an ARC - thanks NetGalley!

This was my second book by Katherine Center and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed this story!

The character development on both Katie and Hutch was so good. Katie was so relatable that I couldn’t help getting pulled in. Only negative for me was I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and I was left wanting a bit more out of it, which could have been in the epilogue (which was kind of all over the place). Overall, good story and characters - I would recommend this read!

I enjoyed this one.. mostly. I really liked the characters and they were easy to root for, except for Katie's constant criticisms of her body while constantly ogling over Hutch's. The romance between Katie and Hutch was definitely a slower burn but it also felt believable, so I definitely wanted them to end up together. I don't like using lying as a central trope and wish Katie didn't go along with it for Cole's sake, but it was still a decent story, even if I felt we didn't need all the fake dating nonsense. I loved all the side characters, especially Rue and her hilarious gaggle of old ladies. This book had some laugh out loud moments and while the end of the book was a bit insane, I was happily along for the ride.

One thing everyone should know about Katherine Center's books is that there will always be one central "message" that she's trying to send - and she will beat the crap out of you with it. It's almost too much. In this book, the message was loving yourself and body positivity, but she almost takes it too far. It just felt over-explained and unnecessarily repetitive - I feel like we, as readers, can understand the message without it being blatantly laid out for us eighteen times over the course of the book. I still enjoyed the book, but I did roll my eyes quite a few times. A little subtly would be appreciated!

I'm probably around a 3.5 on this one.