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.

✨Sweet
✨No Spice
✨Coast Guard rescue swimmer MMC
✨A little bit of Found Family

“When a person who’s good at something says that you are also good at that same thing… it’s nice.”

“You couldn’t hate love, could you? Was that even allowed?”

“What do they call those moments when your fiancé cheats on you with a pop star in front of the entire world? Opportunities for personal growth?”

“Genuine delight-just for half a second. There, and then gone. Like a firefly.”

“Six-two, with big buzz-cut energy, and… manly. Had I ever used the word manly before I describe anyone before? Did people even still use that word? And yet there it was. I felt it the way you feel heat from a fire.”

“That face of his was beautiful. I felt positively overtaken by the sight of it. I wanted to buy it, and own it, and take it home.”

“I might not be good at bathing suits. But I was very good at doing what needed to be done! I was good at achieving goals.”

“This was it. This was the phobia. Being exposed, in plain daylight, with nowhere to hide- and then being… rejected. By anyone. Even a stranger.”

“Wait! Hold on. Was I detecting a note of flirting? Was the love hater flirting with me?”

“I was really more fascinated by how Lucas, a man I’d dated so long, could have noticed so little about me. And, for that matter, how I could’ve noticed so little about myself.”

“No one’s born fearless, you have to earn it.”

“Never in my life had I been scolded for being too sexy.”

“If you don’t reject the harsh things people say to you, then I guess, at some point, that means you accept them.”

“You’re like a human hot fudge sundae or something.”

“Was it the best kiss in the history of humanity? Um… yes. I think all the history books will agree.”

“I felt myself just giving in to it all- letting go. She has really let herself go. Maybe that was right. And maybe that was a good thing.”

“You think you’re this unnoticed, forgettable thing. But you’re not.”

“I’m embarrassed to admit how panicked I was. But I wasn’t a crisis person. I wasn’t a woman of action.”

“Waiting to be rescued is hard. It’s an agonizing mixture of boredom and terror.”

✨ e-ARC Book Review ✨

🌺 The Love Haters - Katherine Center 🌺
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I’ve really enjoyed Katherine Center’s past books, so I was excited for the opportunity to read the e-arc of this one!

Okay so the first half of the book was definitely promising! I loved that Katie was forced out of her “beige world” to colorful Key West, where she met Rue and Hutch. I really enjoyed the chemistry between Katie and Hutch, like it was just obvious that these two clicked. However, once the brother arrived and started the fake dating drama, and then the competition, and THEN the hurricane fiasco, it all just seemed to go a bit astray. That being said, I did like the overall theme of the book. I do think this was more of a love story between Katie and her relationship with her body, and learning to embrace it for what it was. But I wanted more swoon worthy romantic moments between Hutch and Katie which the beginning showed all the potential for.

So for me, this was a bit of a miss, but maybe if you’re a fan of this author you’ll enjoy it more!

✨If you would like to check out Love Haters it releases 5/20✨

A big thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

✨ Follow for more bookish content ✨

Katherine Center is an immediate must-read author for me. I loved, loved, loved The Love Haters. I was immediately immersed in the story and sat and read this in one day.
Katie is a videographer and is assigned to do a promo video for the Cost Guard. Her boss' brother is a rescue swimmer who is portrayed as emotionally unavailable. Katie doesn't know how to swim, is recovering from public humiliation by her now-famous ex-fiance, and struggling to be comfortable in her body.
Enter a host of fun characters, a lovable Great Dane, a hurricane, and hunky Hutch the Coast Guard rescue swimmer, and you've got a really lovely story.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Thanks so much for the ARC!

The Love Haters was a mostly fun read. There were some huge issues I had that I can’t quite look past.

Katie works for a commercial video company. She may or may not be on the chopping block at the company. Her coworker who acts like he’s “saving her” sends her on a mission to create a video for the coast guard. But it turns out the subject is his brother. The brother, Hutch, is actually “viral” famous from saving Jennifer Aniston’s dog.

This beginning made me say “what?!” too many times. The job seemed strange. Who wants to work at a miserable and failing company? The coworker seemed sketchy. The mission seemed too challenging. Katie would have to train to be a Rescue Diver. Why?! And then we add on that the brother has a hint of fame. Oh! And Katie will be staying at the coworkers aunts house but can’t tell her why she’s there. Again- what?!

Of course Katie- who is self deprecating- has little confidence. Too much of the book focused on her lack of confidence and weight. She begins to really get to know Hutch and of course falls for him. We loved that bit. We loved Hutch. Then the idiot coworker brother shows up and has wrapped Katie in a RIDICULOUS web of lies that almost made me quit the book at 70%. I was so annoyed. And Katie- who has been learning to love and respect herself goes along with it. Gross.

I also needed more about Hutch at the end- as he was the best part of this book. Too many holes for me or should I say lies.

The Love Haters is a charming, feel-good read with quirky, lovable side characters who truly shine. Lighthearted and fun, it’s an easy escape with heart and humor. I really enjoyed it!

This was not my favorite Katherine Center book. I really liked the focus on body image, learning to love yourself. The romance part just fell a little flat for me.

I’m a bit late to the game as a Katherine Center fan, but she quickly became one of my go-to authors. Her stories are so deeply emotional, with this unique mix of tragedy and magic. The Love Haters is no exception. There’s no way to fully capture the swoony chemistry between the main characters—it’s truly transportive.

Read it if you enjoy any of Katherine’s other titles, are a fan of Emily Henry or Abby Jimenez, or have a soft spot for swimmers and/or daredevil men.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from NetGalley—thank you to them! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

gorgeously well-written romance book w2ith awesome characters and shockingly high drama. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center
Writing: B+
Story: B-
Characters: B
Setting: B
Best Aspect: I enjoyed the characters for the most part and the story was cute.
Worst Aspect: I was bored, it was too standard and I feel I have read this all before just with different characters in a different place.
Recommend: Yes.

Before this, the only book by Katherine Center that I had read was The Bodyguard, which I liked — a little cliché, but I thought the characters had good chemistry, and I liked the story.

Things I liked: the male lead and his characterization, the Coast Guard setting, which I could tell had been researched quite a bit and definitely gave some depth to the setting, and I liked Rue. I also like that we didn’t have to spend a ton of time with Rue’s friends, the “Gals”— I feel like in the genre, too often side characters are given way way too much page time because I think the author has a lot of fun writing, a quirky side character, but they tend to blur together and get pretty boring. So fun to have them as background, but I’m glad it wasn’t a central element.

Things I didn’t really like: I didn’t feel like the two main characters really had all that much page time together. We’re *told* that they bonded while spending time together commuting and at work, but we’re not *shown* all that much of that, which wasn’t nearly as fun and made it kind of hard to be that invested in their relationship. I also hated whatever was going on with the female MC’s colleague, Cole. Anytime he was on the page after the first chapter so, I was just reading waiting for him to leave again. I didn’t think the way his entrance into the middle part of the novel shaped the plot was all that believable to me. I understand it’s a romance novel and there have to be some obstacles for the love story, but I really just didn’t care for this one. His every action just absolutely reeked of sexism, which isn’t what I’m looking for when I read books of the genre.

This book was an entertaining and quick read, but to me it was just OK. It would be a good library check-out for an easy pool or beach read, but not some thing I would probably feel compelled to reread again or will likely go out of my way to recommend.

I enjoyed the romance and silliness of the book. I caught the myself giggling. It def was very over the top and sugary. Everyone was a caricature even the fmc and mmc.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! Katherine Center has yet to miss. "The Love Haters" follows Katie, a videographer who tells a *teeny tiny* white lie about her swimming abilities in order to save her job. She is tasked with filming Hutch, a dreamy Coast Guard rescue swimmer, and the sparks fly. Like any Katherine Center, this book is so much more than just its romcom plot- Katie has a very complicated relationship with her body, and this book explores that journey. I laughed, I cried, I will read anything by Katherine Center.

Katie heads to Key West to do a story on Hutch, the hero that saved Jennifer Aniston’s dog. This isn’t just any story, but the one that can save her job as her company downsizes and people are being let go left and right. The tricky part is that Hutch doesn’t want to be a hero and he doesn’t want to do the story for Katie. Can they end up working together (and maybe more) or do they both hate love and want to run the other way?

I love Center’s books. They are lighthearted and funny, but have a sweet storyline! This one was no different! I really enjoyed it!

5⭐

thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

now playing: give you love - forest blakk

spoiler free

13+

romance: 4/10 (a few non-descriptive kisses, allusions to a side couple hooking up, innuendo)

cursing: 5/10 (ass, shit, bitch, f-ck a dozen or so times mostly in the last 25%)

violence: 2/10 (one fist fight, a car crash that resulted in both cars exploding, a shipwreck)

other: characters do consume alcohol and get drunk, a guy cheats on his fiancee

tw: loss of parents, loss of signifcant other, body image issues

tropes: work romance, he falls first, one bed, vacation romance

first person, past tense

“give me sunshine or give me dark skies”


– OVERVIEW –

Katherine Center strikes again.

If any of you have been friends with me for a while you would know that she wrote one of my favorite reads of 2024, The Bodyguard. It seems the trend is ongoing bc this was an utter masterpiece.

She writes not only romantic love stories, but also love between friends, family, and self.

This book was healing for me in so many ways.

While I’ve never had extreme problems with body image, my body and I have never been on speaking terms either. This book not only made me laugh, cry, and shatter my heart into a thousand pieces, it managed to change the way I choose to look at myself.

Her books are an experience that I can’t even begin to describe in words, they take me through hell and back.

I’m never an onlooker, I AM the story. I saw myself within these pages in ways I have never felt with any other book.

I will never forget this book.
I will never forget how it changed my brain chemistry.
I will never forget Hutch and Katie

“darling, you can give me anything you want”


– PLOT –

As per my last review, we are doing this clickbait YouTube caption style

Watch U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Do 200 Push Ups *LIFE CHANGING*

True story.

“give me crazy”


– CHARACTERS –

Katie
⤷ She may be a full grown adult, and I a mere 15-year-old, but never have I ever connected with a character this much (aside from perhaps Liz Buxbaum, but if you guys know me at ALL yk we are the same person 😭)

Hutch
⤷ he is my prime example of what I mean when I say I don’t have a physical type and it’s all in the personality. I don’t give a rat’s hairy arse what he looks like, his personality makes him perfect

Rue
⤷ She reminded me so much of my old nextdoor neighbor who’s like a third grandma to me it hurt

Beanie
⤷ She’s the epitome of a good best friend. She reminded me sm of my best friends it melted my heart to see it

Cole
⤷ He was annoying for most of the book, but then I saw WHY and I was crushed for ever hating him

George Bailey
⤷ He and I have the phobia of thunder in common, so he just had to be mentioned, him as his toad, Lucky


“all your amazing”


– CONCLUSION –

Pick up a Katherine Center book and you won’t regret it, trust me

“whatever you give me, I will give you love”


– PLAYLIST –

someone remind me to make a spotify one when my phone isn’t almost dead 🥲

Give You Love - Forest Blakk
Catch My Breath - Alex Warren
Those Eyes - Michael Gerow (cover)
10,000 Hours - Dan + Shay

I want to start off by thanking NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an E-ARC copy of The Love Haters.

I would consider myself a huge Katherine Center fan. I have truly enjoyed every book of hers (even the extremely sad ones), and this book is NO DIFFERENT. This book had me laughing, crying at times, and feeling all the emotions.

Katherine Center’s main characters always have a story and baggage they carry with them, and in this book, our main character Katie struggles with body image struggles and I feel like this can be related to in the mass of her genre.

I love pretty much everything about this book and am so excited to re-read it when it’s officially published. ALSO, huge shout out to Mr. George Bailey, Hutch’s rescued pet Great Dane. (I have Great Danes of my own so I can’t even properly write down how excited I was to see a Great Dane written into this story).

Once again, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this gem of a book before its release date May 20, 2025.

I just finished this book and let me say, I really enjoyed it!

I love Katherine Center and her closed-door romances. They are wholesome, charming and hilarious.

I will be honest, this book was not my fave compared to The Bodyguard. However, before going into this book I would recommend reading the author's note because it gives better context into what the story is about.

I originally was going to give this book a 3 star because I felt that we didn't get enough of the romance and Hutch felt very one-dimensional. Katherine Center made me realize that this story is about Katie and her battle with body image and how sometimes if we aren't completely whole before we find our person that is okay!

#TheLoveHaters #NetGalley

I have been a fan of Katherine Center's books for a while now and while The Love Haters did not disappoint, there was something about it that was missing for me. I did enjoy this read and would recommend it those that enjoy a fun rom-com.

This was my first book from Katherine Center and it won’t be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style and the way she developed her characters.
Katie Vaughn doesn’t like much about herself. Her boyfriend broke up with her for someone famous and she may be losing her job. She takes up her coworker Cole’s offer to go to Key West to shoot a video for the coast guard and a day in the life of a would be hero, Hutch. Hutch and Cole are brothers but Cole isn’t completely honest with Katie about their relationship.
She can’t swim which is required and has to take lessons. Her best friend wants to help her learn to love herself and makes her list things she likes which isn’t much. With nothing to lose she sets out on this adventure in her black neutral clothes.
Enter Rue, a colorful Aunt to Hutch and Cole, who breathes life in to Katie. She gives her a place to live, new clothes, friends and an in with Hutch.
Katie and Hutch hit it off but as friends for the most part until they can’t hide it anymore. Cole comes to town and causes chaos as him and Hutch are a bit estranged even though they are brothers.
Katie changes so much throughout the story. She becomes stronger, braver and learns to love herself.
There were so many fun and heartfelt moments in the story.
The plot of the story kept me so into the story and it really comes full circle at the end! I truly enjoyed all this book had to offer from the story to the characters to the way it developed.

ARC review:
Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and of course Katherine Center.

The company is downsizing and her coworker, Cole has a job for her. Katie found it weird he didn’t want it - job of a lifetime. Filming the most well known coast guard in Key West, kind of a hot super star. Then she finds out “Hutch” Hutchinson is Cole’s brother snd their relationship is complicated.

Only a few minor details, Katie didn’t know how to swim nor did she wear a bathing suit. Ever, ever. This trip was going to be a success. Things got better each chance she got- losing her luggage with her pre planned clothes she felt comfortable in. Then her ride at the airport with a very broody and quiet Hutch. And she’d be working with him the entire trip. Hutch was no welcoming committee.

But Katie had to make this film a success. She needed this Job. And something about Hutch intrigued her. He had a passion for what he did.

Katherine Center is always on my TBR with any new book! I loved how she went deep into body positivity and being comfortable with who we are. We may feel obligated to be a certain size or weight for a job, significant other, or family expectations; there are so many. This was a large topic discussed in the book. Along with grief, comparison of siblings, giving back to the community.

Overall, it maybe my favorite book thus far. The deep connections made between people were beautiful.