Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s for the ARC.

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Love Haters is the new romcom from Queen Katherine Center. It follows Katie, a video producer who lies her way into a job, and the video’s subject, Hutch. As Katie gets trapped in a lie and faces many adventures, the two grow closer.

I always love Center’s emotional romances and this one is a great mix of comedy, drama, and romance. Katie and Hutch are immediately lovable and you can’t help but root for them. Another hit.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Katherine Center book, and unfortunately I did not enjoy it. I thought the FMC was annoying and didn’t connect to any of the characters. The plot sounded fun at first, but it ended up being so boring. Super bummed about this tbh :(

Thank you to SMP for the advanced copy!

"The most unusual thing about me was something you could only see if you were really, really looking."

The Love Haters was such a fun read at times and it really puts you in that summer/vacation mindset. The writing style is very charming and quirky. It just left me smiling and laughing over how ridiculous and campy some moments are. At the same time the more deeper emotional elements, made me more reflective on, how I choose to see myself. I loved reading Katie's self-discovery journey as a character in overcoming her toxic and judgmental relationship, she has with herself. At times, we can be our biggest critic and toxic relationships aren't just limited to our social ones. The book just felt more than a fun rom-com because of those more emotionally charged moments and the exploration of more heavy themes of fear and body image.

"He noticed your pie piece, and he redefined the color of your eyes."
The romance was just so sweet and full of love. I honestly wished we had more once I got to the end of the book. There are moments with miscommunications that do drag the down the book a little bit in the second half. However, I still enjoyed watching the journey between Katie and Hutch. It just felt that the small things matter and how we can easily overlook or not notice certain aspects of ourselves like our eyes.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It took me a long time to warm up to the characters and I never really ended up liking Katie. The whole book felt more like a 'self-love' book instead of a romance. It took forever for the romance to heat up. The last 25% of the book was the best, and George Bailey (the dog) was the winning character for me. Rue came in a close second. So, it was hard for me to really love a book when the main characters aren't the stars. I still enjoyed Katherine Center's writing style, and will definitely pick up the next one by her.

4.5/5

This is my second book by Katherine Center and she did not disappoint. We follow Katie who is a video producer at a company that is laying off a bunch of people. Her coworker Cole, gives her the opportunity of a lifetime to go down to Key West and film a video for the Coast Guards.

It was just a feel good story. Katie has body image issues after all the hate she received in her last relationship. We get to see her find herself, and be with a man who loves her for who she is. And Hutch is such a great guy…dog lover, handsome, saves lives for a living, very caring. What is there not to love?

I really enjoyed this, it was fast paced, hard to put down, and it’s so easy to read. The main reason I’m not giving it 5 stars, is the connection between Hutch and Katie felt a bit rushed, it would have been more enjoyable seeing that connection build on page.

The Love Haters was such an enjoyable book to read! I loved the setting, plot, and characterization throughout. The banter between the two main characters was adorable!!! I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to pick up a cute summer read for their next vacation!!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this early access copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publishers for this e-arc!!

As a devoted Katherine Center fan, this one kind of disappointed me… I wasn’t very drawn the Katie or Hutch, and felt that their chemistry was non-existent.

The majority of this book is centered around body image (in a rather degrading way at times) with Katie showcasing her insecurities and how she feels about them in her head. The irony though is that the minute we are introduced to Hutch, all we hear about for the next 200 something pages are about his body and how hot and dreamy he is and omg he is SO HOT.

Yeah, I was not a fan of that, and as well with this being such a standard plot line in terms of tropes? We got the mc-thinks-she’s-ugly-but-the-male-mc-makes-her-realize-she’s-actually-gorgeous- trope and the WORST TROPE OF ALL: miscommunication! How lovely! This AND the fact that this was the most unfunny rom com book I’ve ever read really honed in the 2 star review for me.

I just wished we got more romantic development throughout the novel rather than really random descriptions of how the US Coast Guard works, and that excruciatingly long scene about the Hurricane! Like, I absolutely couldn’t care less!!

Looooooved this love story. Too cute. Swoony. 5/5

That said, I have pretty big issues with the way the self-love plot line was executed. The FMC has had an eating disorder and it is treated like she just had a bad self-image and with some positive self-talk she gets better. My understanding of eating disorders is that doesn’t work. The problem is bigger than that. If we could all change our perspective and have it fixed wouldn’t we? I appreciate that the author tried, but the execution was poor IMO and I can see this story being very triggering to those who have struggled with eating disorders and self loathing.

I also really couldn’t handle Beanie. She’s just not an empathetic friend, nor does she treat Katie’s ED and self-loathing with proper respect and concern. She outright rejects what Katie says she loves about herself. Maybe that’s calling her on her crap, but to me it was disrespectful and I really wanted her out of the story.

Cole also is awful.

If you made it this far, nice work. I do not know how to recommend or not recommend this one, so we are settling on 3 stars.

Honestly, I don't even know what to think about this book.

Katie was not a pleasant MFC, in my opinion - she had too many issues that became tiring to read about.
Hutch didn't leave an impression of this dreamy MMC who would make you swoon over him.
And I feel they didn't spend much time together to have developed real chemistry. I do understand that they were together for weeks / months (?!?) but there should have been more scenes described in the book that would make you feel that they literally do have real connection.

Besides this, there were too many side actions to try to make the story more interesting 🤔 🤷‍♀️

My favorite parts of the book were all the scenes with Hutchs dog - great dane called George Bailey. I think animals (some not all 🤭) always add extra likeness to the stories ☺️

I also wouldn't mind being a part of Rues Gals group 😃 They seemed like a fun group of elderly ladies just enjoying their life in the sun with a lot of fun 🍸

Thank you, @netgalley, for this copy of ARC for an exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital eARC copy, and for Macmillan Audio for the Audiobook. I did a tandem read and it did not disappoint at all! I loved the Narrator (Patti Murin), she did a fantastic job! I absolutely LOVED this book!! Katherine Center does an outstanding job with keeping the reader engaged the whole storyline!! I learned a lot about the United States Coast Guard which was super fascinating to me! The banter between Katie and Hutch was great as well. This story towards the end really had me teary-eyed and tugged at my heartstrings in the best way possible! I finished this book in a day and a half because I did not want to put it down! There are some deeper meanings than the surface level as you are reading this book which has some great lessons as well! I definitely recommend doing a tandem read as it helped me understand the book better.

I was so excited to see that Katherine Center had a new book coming out. She’s one of my authors that I get the book without reading the blurb and they are always so wonderful! Her characters are so great in every one of her books. Big fan here! I just loved Hutch and Katie. Loved their story so much, Cole not so much(IYKYK). Aunt Rue was just a wonderful addition to such a great character lineup. I mean we would all like to live how Aunt Rue does.

To sum it up, it’s a wonderful book with characters that you just fall in love with…. But that’s pretty much all her books.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

Katherine Center always succeeds in writing a heartwarming story with lovable characters. I loved the character of Rue most, she was just an amazing human who had so much love to give. It was a very quick and enjoyable read.

The first part of the book was hard to get through. The entire 20% of the book started with the main character talking about how much she hated her body and it was a little difficult to keep going! It is a very important topic and I appreciate how Katherine Center includes conversations on mental health issues throughout her books… I just don’t believe it was executed as well. But once she arrived in Key West, while her body image issues were mentioned throughout the book, there was a better balance. Not a perfect balance, but a better one.

I wish there was more development between the characters. Sometimes it felt like there was more telling than showing. But overall, Katherine Center knows how to write a lovable story with amazingly funny situations.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Katherine Center does it again - the perfect feel-good rom-com! This one is cute and eccentric with “the gals” and their antics on the sideline all while rooting for Janie and West. This felt a little less traditional with the outline of the plot- I didn’t realize the description matched the book until about 60% through the novel! Either way, I was instantly in love with the three main characters. Katherine Center does such a wonderful job of balancing real issues with a feel good story that you think could actually happen. It’s the perfect balance of inspirational and funny and cozy. All at the same time I know I will always enjoy reading her books and I also love that they are all clean romances, but the plot is never cheesy. 5⭐️, 0.5🌶

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as past Katherine Center books I've read. This was a quick read, and the setting made the whole thing feel fun and summery. Katie and Hutch had fun banter, although Katie felt like a much more developed character than Hutch,
This was a fun read, but I wanted some of the storylines to be fleshed out and explored a little more. And by the end, a couple of storylines felt like they fizzled to a finish instead of being brought to a proper conclusion, especially the ex boyfriend plot point. But reading this was a great way to spend a day, overall! Some of the romantic scenes were so cinematic that they felt adequately swoon worthy for me.

4.75 stars. A swoony ride with a fast-burn romance.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center was such a fun, heartwarming read. I really liked the characters and everyone felt full of life and personality. I was rooting for them all almost immediately. The dialogue was written so well.

The love story of it all moved a little too fast for me. It felt a bit unrealistic how quickly things escalated. I wanted a more slow-burn kind of relationship but I guess when you know you know! Still, the charm of the writing and the depth of the characters totally carried it. I really appreciated the emphasis on self-acceptance and self-love too.

Overall, I genuinely loved this book and was sad to get to the end. Light but meaningful with powerful personal stories, romantic but not crazy cheesy. If Katherine Center has 0 fans, I am dead.

Katherine Center has done it again. I love her books so much 🥹 at sometimes the plot does get a little squeeze-y cheesy but honestly that’s part of the allure for me. I really fell in love with every single character in this story. Kate’s body imagine issues were also very relatable for me as they do seem to take over and dictate the way you think you have to do things, no matter how silly they may be. This book was funny & heartfelt. I loved how it ended and I always get a bit sad whenever I finish reading her books.

Thanks NetGalley & St. Martins Press for the arc of the book and audiobook. The audiobook is very, very good and the narrator is a pleasure to listen to.

I didn’t think I was going to sob but I did. This book was really good and I found myself relating to Katie so much. Having low self esteem, body dysmorphia and just not feeling good about yourself is so hard. I love that Hutch and Beanie played such a big role in pushing her to love herself and see herself in a new way. I love that she had her own moment of appreciating herself and her body and all of the amazing things bodies do! This is my second Katherine Center book and it didn’t let me down!

Synopsis: Katie is on the verge of losing her job so she tells a small lie to coworker Cole o head to Key West to work on a documentary about Navy Seals. While there, Hutch, the seal she is shadowing, is adamant that he hates love. Will Katie change his mind?

Thoughts: I had such high hopes. All the other books by Katherine Center have been amazing. This one fell short. It seemed rushed at the end, I didn't feel the romantic connection, it just didn't give me the thrill that other books did.

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

DNF at 33%. Unfortunately, I don’t think Katherine Center’s writing is for me. I was so frustrated with being in the main characters head and every other sentence being about her weight/body image issues. Felt zero chemistry with the MMC and for a romcom, I wasn’t even cracking a smile at the parts I think were meant to be funny.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

Katherine Center’s latest romance is flirty, emotional, uplifting, and even a story of thrilling survival. Set in Key West, Florida, main character Katie, a documentarian, is sent to film a recruitment reel for the US Coast Guard, specifically featuring Pup Daddy, “Hutch,” a rescue swimmer who recently saved a drowning dog in a viral video. Of course, Hutch happens to be Katie’s manager’s estranged brother, and sending her to Florida is all part of a family feud. Nevertheless, as things heat up between Katie and Hutch, we revel in tropes such as forced proximity, miscommunication, workplace romance, meddling older ladies, and, my favorite, “big dumb dog knows a lot more than he should.”

As always, Katherine Center equally features heart and soul alongside a steamy romance, and I personally loved Katie’s journey with body image and self respect. The ‘Gals’ were a sweet treat in all their scenes, and George Parker is joining my list of best book doggos immediately.

Make sure to add The Love Haters to your tbr if you’re a fan of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Beth O’Leary (in fact, The Love Haters is a great American pairing with O’Leary’s latest novel Swept Away!!)