First let me start by saying the plot is good. Katie is about to lose her job as a video producer so she accepts a job from a coworker making a recruitment video profiling his brother Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. So she heads down to Key West and lots of things ensue.
But that was the end of anything interesting. There is no chemistry, no romance and not really any comedy. Hutch's brother calls him a love hater, but nothing about what she describes about him says he hates love. And, he falls quick, but there is no build up.
Katie's body image insecurity is exhausting. It was the entire first half of the book and then some, and it is her entire focus. She is all about herself and Hutch is an afterthought. Although she ogles his body the entire time, but yet has so many body insecurities herself.
The ending (epilogue) was very strange. Katie recaps every character in the book, but herself and Hutch. It just ended abruptly.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC! I really enjoy Katherine Center's books and I was so excited to get this book. But, unfortunately the book fell way short of my expectations. I just did not connect with it at all.

A new Katherine Center book to read always makes me smile and once I get started, I really don't want to put it down!! Her books are always a wonderful way to spend the day and will definitely make you smile. The characters were very interesting and this always helps make a book better!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!! Really appreciate it!

When Katie takes an opportunity to film a recruiting video for the Coast Guard, she is thrown into a new world navigating the family turmoil of Cole (her co-worker) and Hutch (Cole’s Coast Guard brother) while also learning how to love herself and navigate romantic relationships.. I was immediately drawn into this story, and felt invested/connected with all the characters. I read in less than 24 hours to uncover all the secrets of this story.

While I loved the concept of the story and the characters, I felt like there were too many different storylines thrown in that resolved too quickly, left me feeling a little let down. I overall enjoyed the book, and thought it was a fun read! I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an early review copy.

Katherine Center is one of the best authors to balance the romance elements with lighthearted humor. This book follows Katie, as she is enlisted to create film promo for Coast Guard recruiting, and has to follow Hutch, her co-workers brother. Absolute shenanigans ensue, and this was a fun, quick read.

While I typically enjoy Katherine's work, this one is not for me. The FMC primary personality trait is her body issues, while also objectifying the MMCs body. Her ex became tiktok famous and online criticism gave her an ED. This woman doesn't need a new man, she needs therapy. DNF @ 33%

Having a bad day? Read a Katherine Center book to cheer you up. Having a great day? Read a Katherine Center book to keep the good vibes going. These are words to live by. Truly. So when I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of The Love Haters, you already know that no matter what mood I was in, this book hopped the line to the front of my giant TBR stack and was immediately devoured.

In the classic way only Katherine Center manages to achieve, the reader is immediately transported to another lovable character’s world where there’s (of course) romance, humor, and (as a new twist!) lots of action! The Love Haters will have you swooning, laughing, and falling in love not just with the characters but also with yourself, in this powerful ode to learning to accept and love one’s own body.

Huge thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, & NetGalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest feedback!

I really wanted to love this book, but it unfortunately didn’t hit home for me. I struggled a lot with the themes of body image and the way it was portrayed. Honestly the first time it was brought up (very early on) I almost DNFed. I do hope that a content guide will be place at the front of the book on release. I also thought the ending was cliché and wanted to enjoy it but was feeling bored by that point. The romance was lacklustre at best. If you want an easy read, this hits that box but, unfortunately, don’t expect much more.

I will say I enjoyed this book at the beginning and then things went downhill in my opinion. I feel as if the plot kind of fell off towards the middle of the book. The book had a strong focus on the main female characters feelings about her body. It was discussed a little too much for my liking, and while I understand trying to express awareness to body image issues, it was too much. I love Katherine Center but I just feel like this wasnt a book she wrote. I would recommend to someone who has not read her writing before, but not sure I would widely recommend it.

”You’re going to come back to life in ways you never could’ve imagined…”

Oh, hey, thanks Katherine Center for calling me out like this. Apparently all this body shaming and self loathing and fear-of-being-seen that I’ve been doing is so common it’s now a romcom trope, which is fantastic. I’m just going to go grab an extension cord and lay down in the bathtub for a while.

”Isn’t that how it always is? The thing you’re afraid of is never the thing you should be.”

In all seriousness, this was delightful. Katie and Beanie had the sweetest friendship, and Rue & The Gals are living the old-lady life of my actual dreams, and Hutch is S tier book boyfriend material. It was so refreshing to watch Katie come to terms with her body image and find things to love about herself, and while I personally won’t be doing that, I’m so happy for her that she was able to make it happen.

”We’re here to be alive. To feel the sun on our skin. To breathe deep in the wind. We’re here to feel it all. To love and cry and love some more. We’re here to rescue ourselves—and everybody else—in every way that we can.”

I could maybe have done with a little less Cole and Sullivan (side characters) and a little more Hutch and Katie, because I just found our MCs so endearing and wanted so much more of their love story than any of the side quests we found ourselves on. A perfect summer-vacation romance!

——

A huge thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love Katherine Center but this fell SO flat for me. Katie's body image issues being the only plot for the first half of the book and not being well mapped out was so frustrating. It caused me to not be invested in the rest of the book. I'll still love Katherine, this just wasn't for me.

Katherine Center is an automatic read for me, and the Love Haters did not disappoint. It is so refreshing to have a romance that is funny, clean, and has some meat to it. I am ready for more of her books to come to the screen!!!

I liked this is that I liked the way Kate looked at herself and how she overcame her body image issues. They were very relatable. I liked her relationship with Beanie. I didn't love the men. I thought her ex would play a more prominent role. Cole was a jerk. And I wasn't sure what was going on with Hutch at times. Like maybe he wasn't even going to be her love interest? And at the end when he chose the dog? I couldn't believe it. Like, at all. So I love Katherine Center, I enjoyed reading this but it wasn't a favorite.

Katherine Center was one of the first Romance authors I began reading. Katherine creates what feel like realistic HEAs that are heartwarming and funny. The Love Haters is no exception. I couldn't help but immediately fall in love with Hutch. However, it took me almost the whole book to like Katie. I found her character too hyper focused on her looks, and too naive when things began to go awry. Maybe it is just me, but the "small misunderstanding/white lie, body negative" tropes have become overdone and are a struggle to finish. While I struggled to like Katie, the humor Katherine intertwined through-out created a book I was still sad to see end.

I love Katherine Center and this was another quick, easy read. I loved the secondary characters, especially Rue and George Bailey. But I found my skimming a lot of the parts where Katie was overthinking everything in her head. I still enjoyed the book and can’t wait for more from this author.

The Love Haters is summer in literary form. From the setting to the fun side characters, this book just feels like being on vacation. While the book is marketed as a romance, I think it falls more into the women’s fiction category. Yes, there is a romance, but it kind of takes place on the back burner in this book. A lot of the plot is about the FMC’’s self growth and learning to love herself again. What I really loved about this book is that I did not find any of the plot boring. It really is the perfect beach read because it has a little of everything - work drama, found family, romance, action and adventure, humor, etc.

The only complaint that I have (and it’s not really a complaint) is that the book wraps up very quickly. I just wish there was maybe one more chapter to let the audience settle in with how everything is resolved.

I have just absolutely adored the last three books that Katherine Center has published and this one is no different. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Love Haters

Katherine Center is an automatic read for me, and I went into this book with very high expectations. While I did enjoy the book, there were several things that I felt were lacking. The character development wasn’t very present, and the “romance” aspect seemed based on proximity more than anything else. This book had so much potential, but Katie and Hutch were kinda boring and frustrating!

I kept wanting Katie to have more confidence. Katherine Center never fully described what Katie looks like and why she thinks she is so unattractive and large. But I loved the idea of the “beauty list”. Body image positivity: “she loved all of her everything because it was hers.”

My favorite character was Rue and “the Gals.” Rue was quirky and brought some light and vibrancy to the story.

I don’t like the miscommunication trope at all. Halfway through the book I could tell that Cole was sketchy and up to no good.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to a friend for an easy “beach read” type book. A cute, closed door, PG romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I just really loved it. Katherine Center is a great writer, and I have enjoyed most of her books. Katie, the FMC, has some pretty severe body image issues, but I thought this was pretty relatable in general, and it didn't throw me off the story. She is a videographer and gets tasked to go make a promo video in Key West for the Coast Guard. The problem with this is that she has to wear a swimsuit and. . . SHE CAN'T SWIM! Of course, Hutch, the MMC, can teach her. I loved the interactions with George Bailey, his dog, and there was even a thrilling rescue scene that brought me to tears.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a ARC e-copy.

This book screamed spring/summer. It was fun and a fast read for me! I love the author’s other books and I will continue to read more.

Hutch is definitely the perfect golden retriever bf. I loved that he taught Katie how to not only swim but to love herself too! Katie is a curvy, caring person and opens up Hutch’s heart. I can’t wait to buy this book for my shelf!

DNF @67%

I reallyyyy struggled with this one 🥲 Kathrine Center can be a hit or miss author for me and unfortunately this didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect to either of the characters & was just not vibing with the FMC.

I tried very hard to finish this since it was a buddy read, but it just wasn’t working out for me and I felt myself being pulled into a slump.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an earc in exchange for an honest review.

Nope. This was not it.

I'm a huge fan of KC but these last two books have been such a letdown for me. But, it already has a 4.04 star rating so readers are enjoying it but I was not the audience for this book.

Where do I even start with THE LOVE HATERS? Well, first off, Katie (our MC) is EXHAUSTING with her constant self-loathing and body image issues. The first 50% of the book was focused on how much she hates her body and hates wearing bathing suits (spoiler* most of the setting is LITERALLY in the ocean, "training" with the coast guard so a bathing suit is kind of a necessity.) It was just so repetitive and annoying that by that point, I was pretty checked out of the story.

Next, calling this a "romance" is a stretch. I felt ZERO chemistry between Katie and Hutch; it was so awkward. Honestly, I didn't have any feelings towards any of the characters.

Lastly, the setting of Key West was lost somewhere in the disjointed writing. I didn't sense vivid descriptions AT ALL, other than her naming a few of the popular, touristy areas (where I'm sure locals are NOT hanging out at.) The writing just felt all over the place with no common connection. Then she throws in a disaster that had me rolling my eyes so hard. The ending is too tied up in a bow but I was just glad it was over.

Is this the same Katherine Center from Things You Save in a Fire and The Bodyguard because I can't tell. I wanted to love this but sadly, it was a huge disappointment. I rounded up to 2 stars since I actually did finish it.