I love Katherine Center. I did not love this book.

Katie heads to The Florida Keys to film Hutch, a heroic Coast Guard for their recruitment video. When she arrives Hutch is not thrilled to have her as he was expecting his brother Cole (Katie's Coworker) to be the one with the camera in hand. What comes next is an uncomfortable amount of lying and an unconvincing love story.

There are two things that worked for me in this book.
1. George Bailey. The best dog character there ever was.
2. Rue. The eccentric, kind hearted, live your life in color Aunt of Hutch & Cole.

I didn't like Katie's constant negative self talk or the whole lost at sea ending that was absolutely implausible. I didn't quite buy the love between Katie and Hutch either. She filmed him for a week and over the course of a couple of paragraphs she lists off what shes filmed with him and then BOOM.. love. HUH?!

However, I could have looked past those things IF Cole wasn't a disgrace to the whole human population. He was degrading and condescending. The degree to which he lied as a grown adult was a bit terrifying. How dare he treat Katie that way. The whole drinking contest/bar scene made my skin crawl. The worst part... she accepted it. WHAT THE HELL KATIE. Stand up for yourself!

I miss Katherine's older books where the women were fierce bad ass characters stepping out of societal norms to be whoever they want to be. I wish her books would pivot back in the direction of strong independent women holding their own. I'm disappointed with The Love Haters, maybe her next will be better.

5 💫

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for giving me the privilege to read “The Love Haters” in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolute joyous ride of a book! I was captured by Katie from the very start. You are immeshed with her life as a pretty average woman except for the fact she dated a celebrity who cheated on her. From every regard, I think most women will see themselves in Katie from listening to the public opinions of herself, torturing herself to feel some sense of control & working diligently to get herself back on track.

Katie finds out her media company will be cutting back their staff and her coworker, Cole, puts in for her to work a job in the keys which could save her job if she can just show her boss how irreplaceable she is.

Only downfall, this job is with the coast guard.. filming promos to entice recruitment. One problem, Katie can’t swim and she has a slight bikini phobia. She’ll figure it out later, her job is on the line.

Meet Hutch, Jennifer Anniston's paw daddy, by paw daddy I mean rescuer of her dog. Hutch is also Cole’s brother. Hutch also happens to be the coast guards rescue swimmer. He’s also handsome and possibly a love hater.

I won’t give the story away, but this book takes you on a hilarious, heart warming rollercoaster. This love story is so much deeper than the surface. It’s also a love story of best friends, chosen family, yourself and finding possibly the love of your life! It’s a love story about making the most of each moment and making your life the love story you want to see!

Recommend x 100

Thank you St Martins Press for the advance copy.

Katherine Center is an absolute queen. There is not a single thing I didn’t love about The Love Haters. It’s a slow burn romance with such clever and hilarious scenes. I absolutely adore Katie and Hutch.

Read if you love:
• an awesome BFF dynamic
• body positivity
• pup daddies
• meddling older women
• low steam
• Key West

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is an absolute rom-com delight —sweet, sun-kissed, and just the right amount of drama!

Meet Katie Vaughn, a savvy video producer who definitely can’t swim but somehow ends up on assignment in Key West to film a heroic (and very dreamy) Coast Guard rescue swimmer. His name? Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson—cue the slow-motion, shirtless beach entrance. 🤤 He's charming but guarded, and totally off-limits. He’s her subject, after all, not to mention her boss’s brother.

Armed with a fake swimming résumé, a camera, and a heart full of uncertainty, Katie dives (well, not literally) into the colorful world of the Florida Keys, conga lines and hurricane warnings, not to mention some serious chemistry. Oh, and did I forget to mention Hutch’s giant, goofy Great Dane, George Bailey, and his love of toads? 🐸

The Love Haters is a feel-good story about courage, second chances and forgiveness. If you love sunshine, slow-burn romance, banter, and happily-ever-afters with heart, this one’s a total keeper! 💕

Like all things Katherine Center, The Love Haters is just so totally her, full of color and love! The characters are meaty and gooey, and in Hutch’s own words, like a hot fudge sundae. I feel hard for both Katie and Hutch, and completely envious to not have a rescue swimmer of my own, to watch him do 200 pushups every morning and jump rope in nothing but his boxer briefs - wow! 😍 And I love that Katie slowly woke up to the realization that she really loved herself, her body and truly embraced and appreciated the beauty that she was.

Thank you Katherine, for another great novel and for always championing love! And thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s press for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this lovely story!

The Love Haters
By: Katherine Center

The vibes:
- videographer + Coast Guard rescue diver / hero celebrity
- cinnamon roll MMC
- a clingy Great Dane named George Bailey
- body image & self love rep

Katherine Center does it again!! I will never stop loving her wonderful ability to capture real life struggle, humor, and love all in one amazing story! Hutch is a new favorite—so pure—and Katie was spunky and impossible not to root for! The self love and healing body image rep was so good & needed! I plan to reread this in the future which is the highest recommendation and praise I can give!

Trigger warnings: body image struggles, body shaming, loss of parents, loss of partner, grief, car accident

Huge thank you to Katherine Center, her team, & NetGalley for access to this ARC in return for my honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the arc of The Love Haters by Katherine Center.

Center has done it again! Another rom com with a twist. Katie is over love and over working hard for little reward. Her relationship with her now uber popular ex is over. Katie is also at risk of losing the job she loves until her coworker Cole swoops in to save the day. Cole’s elusive twin Hutch is a rescue swimmer with the Coast Guard who’s avoided all fame with the small exception of saving Jennifer Aniston’s dog.

Cole gets Katie a shot at filing Hutch in Key West as part of a promo video and staying with his quirky aunt Rue. There’s only one small hitch…Katie can’t swim. Who needs to swim to film a rescue diver, seems like a minor hiccup.

Between Katie’s secret, Hutch never agreeing to the video, and a giant Great Dane let chaos ensue.

This is a great summer read for Center fans!

Pub Date: May 20, 2025
🌟🌟🌟.5

Seriously, I could eat Katherine Center novels with a spoon. And this one, in particular, was especially yummy. Firstly, I loved the premise of this book. Katie is a sort-of down on her luck video producer who gets the chance of a lifetime to profile a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. However, there are a few downfalls to Katie--she can't swim and her job is on the line. But she takes the chance and heads to Key West to profile Hutch and make a Coast Guard recruitment video.

Right off the bat, I have to say how much I love Hutch. He is the grumpy cinnamon roll of my dreams. He's one of those romance novel heroes that you wish existed in real life. I love how protective and loving he was with Katie. And Katie? She was a super-relatable MC with her body issues and past with guys. I also LOVED the Key West setting. It was so colorful and fun and I really want to plan a vacation there now. (I literally asked my husband about it LOL). And Rue and the Gals? I absolutely love senior citizen side characters and these ladies were *chef's kiss*

(The last 30-35% of the novel involves a hurricane and some sorta scary situations, so just know that going in.)
Overall, this is another wonderful addition to Katherine Center's catalogue and I can't wait to keep reading her books! :)

**A big thank-you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC to read and review for my own opinions!**

🌊🚁🏝️Looking for a summer/beach read? This is it!
Romance, found family, Florida setting and even some suspense! I could totally see this as a movie🎥 and that is how I like my beach reads!

Could we have done with less body image issues? Just put the swimsuit on girl! Having the issue is fine it just felt a little over addressed I would say.

I loved the aunt character she offered a grounding and loving figure for both of the main characters.

The ocean is scary and I was on the edge of my seat for part of it! Not use to that in romance books and I liked it! Reminded me of some of Nicholas Sparks books but no one dies😉

So glad I was able to get this on NetGalley and thanks to the publisher for the copy!

Now what am I going to read this summer?!

I love Katherine Center's storytelling and this one was no exception. I fell easily into this story and was rooting for the characters. Like all her stories, there was the element of personal growth, along with romance. But I think this one leaned a little too hard on the personal growth piece, as sometimes the self-acceptance narrative took precedence over the romance to the point that the ending felt rushed. I would have loved to see one or two more scenes with our love interests once they were actually together. But still a solidly enjoyable read.

I’ve only read a handful, I always love Katherine Center’s books. They never fail to pull me in and keep me hooked, and Love Haters was no exception. This one was full of banter, wildlife trivia, hilarious dog antics, with a message full of self love and body positivity. I have a lot of backlist of KC to catch up on and I can’t wait!

This book was such a fun, vibrant escape! I absolutely loved Katie and Hutch together—their chemistry was electric, and their banter had me smiling the whole time. Aunt Rue was a total scene-stealer, and the Great Dane? An instant favorite. Watching Katie go from a gray, routine life to one filled with color, courage, and unexpected adventure was so satisfying. It’s romantic, funny, and just the right amount of chaotic. Highly recommend if you need a tropical pick-me-up with heart.

I will always read a KC book and I will always be endeared by the characters and get lost in their stories. Center does a great job at atmosphere and, in this one especially, found family. Rue and The Gals were a highlight. This one is very heavy handed on body acceptance, particularly weight. If that’s a struggle, know that it takes up a lot of the storyline. Center is also very personal in the way she narrates her books and I love that direct perspective. This one was very heavy on inner monologue. I think the self focus and the extra monologue got to be too much combined. All that said, I appreciated the author’s note where she shared Nora Ephron’s quote “Reading is escape, and also the opposite of escape” as well as her own “Love stories are the best kind of therapy”. I felt this, so mission accomplished. 3.5⭐️

After reading this, I'm done with Katherine Center books. Love Haters felt almost YA, that's how cringe the inner dialogue was. I know that Katherine Center books normally lean into that women's fiction area but the one I liked the most from her was The Bodyguard and I've been hoping with every Katherine Center book I've picked up since that I get that more romance leaning story. Love Haters focuses way more on the main character's relationship with her body and less on the romance. It's just weird that the titles of Katherine Center's books have been screaming rom-com (ie. the Rom-commers and the Love-Haters) but the romance is so underdeveloped. I feel like we never get to know the male leads enough to truly like them. Also, in this book, one of the characters, the brother of the male lead, is soooo frustrating.

While it was interesting to learn about the Coast Guard, I would not recommend this book to romance readers.

The Love Haters is a witty, sun-soaked rom-com about facing fears and falling for the last person you expect. When video producer Katie fakes her way through a dream assignment in Key West, sparks fly with grumpy rescue swimmer Hutch…who just happens to be her coworker’s brother. Full of humor, heart, and heat, this is a feel-good escape you won’t want to put down.

This was such a fun, comforting read that transported me to Key West and made my soul happy! Katie is a videographer who is dealing with an extreme case of body dysmorphia, so she is uneasy when her supervisor sends her to Florida to profile Hutch, a rescue swimmer in the Coast Guard. Katie also has another secret that makes this assignment difficult: she doesn't know how to swim. Luckily, Hutch's lovable aunt, Rue, takes Katie under her wing like a modern-day fairy godmother. I loved the characters, especially Hutch's giant dog, George Bailey, and I loved reading about Katie's journey of self-acceptance. This book is full of funny and touching moments, and it was like a vacation and a warm hug at the same time. I do wish that there was a bit more romance in the end (after a page-turning event the book was over pretty quickly), but I am just sad I have to wait a whole year to get another dose of Katherine Center's magic! The Love Haters releases on May 10 and will be perfect for your summer reading--thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author for the librarian preview copy.

Fun, fabulous and flirty! The Love Haters is another Katherine Center classic with lots of action and romance but also with a good lesson within. As a young lady recovers from a rough breakup, she meets someone who teaches her to love herself and her talents.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 ⭐️

The first half of this book was amazing, I loved it I fell in the love with the characters and their story. The second half was a bit of a whirlwind & a let down for me. Good overall!

3.5/5 ⭐️
this was such a unique concept for a book. I really enjoyed the self acceptance/body positivity aspect of this book. Katie finding her love for herself, was really enjoyable to read about. this took place in Key West, Florida and the setting was honestly perfect for the summer. I loved Rue, she was such a fun side character. Hutch, what a man. Never thought I would be reading about a swimmer on the Coast Guard but here we are. I really enjoyed Hutch and Katie‘s chemistry in the first half. I will say, Hutch‘s actions towards the second half didn’t really fit his character and kind of felt unnecessary. also, I really didn’t enjoy Cole’s character and honestly every scene with him made me mad.

Ultimately the miscommunication aspect of this book was my biggest complaint. The summer vibes and quick pace made this an overall really fun read, so if you’re looking for a lighthearted book to read this summer, I would definitely recommend this.

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martins Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

The Love Haters is the feel good book for everyone who loves love! Sue me, but I can’t resist a man with a frowny smile. Make him a heroic Coast Guard rescue swimmer and I am in heaven. The main character, Katie, is relatable as she works through issues related to self-love.

This book really has it all, including strong female friendships, a delightful Florida Keys setting, and a lovable giant dog. It has both humor and heart. I gobbled this one up, loving every page.

This was my first time reading a book by Katherine Center, and overall, it was a light read.

I appreciated how it touched on themes of body positivity and self-acceptance. The cozy setting was a highlight, and there were some genuinely funny moments that made me laugh.

However, I couldn’t bring myself to care much about the side characters since they weren’t given enough depth. The chemistry between the main characters also felt underwhelming. I liked their banter, but their emotional connection wasn’t developed enough, especially toward the end, which made their relationship feel flat. What frustrated me the most was the conflict. It could have been resolved so easily if they had just sat down and talked. And honestly, I couldn’t stand the part where Cole decided that the game winner would get to kiss his girlfriend. It was unnecessary and really irritating.

While I did enjoy certain aspects, especially the humor, I can’t say it fully delivered. It’s a quick read, but it left me wanting more.