The Love Haters was a much anticipated release for me, but it didn’t quite deliver. I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two main characters, and I did not enjoy the miscommunication between them. I did like Katie’s character development, I think her journey with how she felt about her body will be relatable for many women. I also felt like this book was very readable, I was able to fly through it. There was even a bit of suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Surprise, surprise- another banger from KC. Her signature humor and cast of wonderful characters shines yet again. Love that she always manages to write a romance that’s not just a romance. My love for Key West made this perfect for me. I was non-stop smiling reading this one. All the stars.

I have read (and loved) nearly everything that Katherine Center has written, with "The Rom-Commers" being my favorite. .I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book!

So, nobody is more surprised than me that "The Love Haters" didn't hit the mark, despite the fun and clever premise! I didn't feel the realness of the characters that Center normally creates.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. Hopefully back on track with her next release!

I’ll be honest - I didn’t love this book until the storm scene at around 80%. I felt as if the MMC was a bit closed off (which makes sense with his traumatic past and family dynamics) but I loved how bubbly the FMC was.

My favorite part about this book would be the grace the FMC shows herself for all she endured. She talks about resilience in the epilogue and I think we can all relate to her. We are our own harshest critics and it’s easy to listen to the noise. Sometimes a transformative life event really helps put things in perspective.

Taking off a star because I wish there was a little more romance. I lived the MCs but I didn’t feel a romance spark between them.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book! Katherine Center does it again. Her stories have such deep and meaningful plot points while still feeling vibrant and fun. The Love Haters encompasses so many types of love - romantic love, friend love, familial love and self love.

I would say that people who struggle with body image or eating disorders should know that that is a central theme of the book. However Katie’s growth and self love throughout the story is beautiful and powerful.

The friendships Katie has and develops with Beanie, Rue and the gals, George Bailey (!!!) and even Hutch make the book feel light even when dealing with some heavy topics. I adored the vibrancy Rue and the gals brought to every page and the reminders that life is short and how important it is to lean on your people.

And finally HUTCH. He was everything you could dream of in a MMC. His personality and their banter was so much fun. If you are in the mood for a longing, pining, romance this is the book for you!

This book was so good. Theres something about Katherine Centers books that suck me in in the first chapter. I related to Katie in a way that I didn't expect. Katies body issues and the origin for them reminded me of myself. I grew up being told to suck my stomach in for pictures, It made me look at myself and my weight in a very different way. It made me fear being seen like Katie. Seeing Katie learn to love herself and her body was so amazing. On the romance end, Katie and Hutch were so amazing. I find the title "Love Haters" not to reign as true as I thought it would, but it makes for an interesting surprise. It sets us up with an expectation that may change the way we view the book. Katie and Hutch were so fun to read together and I loved watching them fall in love.

I loved this book so much. I could not put it down. Side note: I’m suddenly very interested in Coast Guard rescue swimmers. 😆

Katie is producing a recruitment video for the Coast Guard and Hutch is her main attraction.

This makes me want to dive into more of Katherine Center’s backlog to see what I’ve been missing.

This book was wonderful. Katharine Center always writes charming love stories where some confusion fuels the story. This was funny and I really enjoyed it.

First and foremost I received an e-arc from NetGalley.

Katherine Center has done a fantastic job with this story. I enjoyed the style in which it is written. The characters are lovable and memorable. This story will surely make you laugh and possibly make you angry at times. I highly recommend if you love a good romantic comedy.

(Copied from Goodreads) Very pleasantly surprised! Our main character Katie struggles with body issues which many can relate with. Her character seemed realistic and developed well throughout the story. I loved her relationship with Beanie and the banter between them! Hutch is your typical broody mmc (a love hater), but lightens up as he spends time with Katie. I liked him as a character but was left wanting more.

Positives
-Side characters! Rue, Beanie, George Bailey, Cole (as a “villain”)
-Katie’s arc
-Flow of the story
-Not insta-love and not slow burn

Neutrals
-Romance: Cute but didn’t really feel the love
-Spice: none, but fine by me
-Conflict: I don’t love lying and miscommunication but it worked okay

Negatives
-The writing: Sometimes the writing felt a bit amateurish, and some sentences I had to reread to make sense
-Time jumps: I wanted to see more Katie/Hutch interactions that were skipped over!
-Re above: In general I wanted more story, more cute moments!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Well what can I say? Kathrine Center just knows how to write a good, heart racing, thought provoking love story! This was seriously so good!

I absolutely love the deeper life lessons in this story and some of the insane action! I was not expecting so much adventure in a rom com! My heart was literally racing those last few chapters, y’all. That was intense!

I will say, Katie, the main character, just boiled my blood sometimes. Some of the decisions she made just made me so confused and mad! This made it really hard to cheer for her sometimes. Unfortunately, because of that, this wasn’t my favorite book by Kathrine Center and is why I settled on a 4 star. With that being said, I did love seeing how much Katie grew by the end of the book and started learning how to love herself.

Thank you St Martain’s Press and NetGally for this ARC! My opinions are my own.

Available May 20, 2025

This was not your typical Katherine Center book. I'm glad that I read it. I will be reading more Katherine Center books in the future.

OH MY GOSH Ms Katherine Center you’ve done it again!! This was such a fast, fun, feel good read all around and I had so so much fun in it - literally DROWNING in cuteness!! I’m going to keep this review short and simple, just like this book.

Ok so first of all, Katie is such a cutie oml. The situations she gets herself in are so real, her quirks and remarks are iconic, there’s so many random ways I see myself in her. The secondhand embarrassment is real, but honestly i’m absolutely living for it.

And then hutch? Oml yall know i love me a pet-loving nerd. A note I wrote while reading this was “I like this nerdy ass man so much ME WHEN” and i couldn’t agree more. At his confession? God DAMNN. Their banter is lovely, their respect for each other is inspiring and precious, and while of course there must be some misunderstandings, there were many decisions both made regarding each other that I love and appreciate with all of my heart.

Gosh i love the feel good vibes so so much and the body positivity messaging is also so cute and well traversed and explored. Of course this book didn’t go into extreme complexities of anxiety and grief, but the way it unfolded was beautiful and I absolutely loved to see how this was expressed in the colorful world of this book. We didn’t go excessively far into emotional depths, but I think that is alright with this one.

Now, my only complaint is that I feel like there were some key moments we were taken out of. The book was short, which is usually a good thing, but it also felt short (if that makes any sense). Like (i'm on the verge of being very cliche here) there's quite a bit of telling rather than showing - like she mentions hutch and katie have cutesy ass conversations about life and hobbies and things but we don't get to see them! I wanna know what they’re talking about, the cutesy conversations, the instances of hutch being an easy talker like I WANT TO BE IN ON THE CUTE MOMENTS. I just wanna be a fly on the wall guys, it's all I'm asking. And maybe I'm a slow burn fanatic, and by no means was this like insta-love, but I feel like there were just some extra moments between the characters that may have happened, but we just didn’t get to see them in the book itself.

BUT, either way, this is SUCHHH a fast, cutesy read and I recommend it to anyone looking for a lovely, feel-good rom-com that’s just so vibrant and addicting in every way! Thank you Katherine for SLAYINGG once again!

Also i have a favorite character in Rue and ima need you guys to read this book to figure out why. Spoiler alert: she’s an icon. Everyone in here is just so damn cute and lovable!

“Every time you have to be brave, you get to be a little braver next time”

Thank you SO SO MUCH NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for an E-ARC copy of this book! <3

I really loved this story. It has some mix reviews on GR, but really it’s the perfect light summer rom com.
Interesting plot that I have never read anything similar so it had me engaged and rooting for the BEST FMC!

I loved this book! Such a fun and easy read and definitely one of Katherine Centre’s best. I read it in a few days, which is quick for me!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced E-ARC of this book.

This is my favorite book that Katherine Center has written! A toad, a dog, and a pup daddy. What more could you want?

Katie and Hutch have depth, sweet self- deprecation, and amazing chemistry. The background setting in the Florida Keys with the Coast guard only adds to the story. I can see this being made into a movie and I would like to buy my tickets to see it now.
Katie has body image issues and an irrational fear of swimsuits that doesn't serve her well when she is going to film a documentary on a hermit hero, Hutch. Her swimsuit debacle is only the beginning of a series of hysterical, yet realistic events that push Katie out of her comfort zone and into the arms of self- love.

This book is a fun ride about escaping the box we put ourselves in, embracing ourselves, and letting it all go.

Katie’s job is on the line. So it’s a no-brainer to accept the task of interviewing and filming an ocean hero who saves the day everyday for his job as a coastguard rescue swimmer. But what Katie doesn’t tell her boss is that she cannot swim. She fakes it as best she can and gets caught up in family drama, perilous situations, and yes, a bit of love.

THANK YOU Katherine Center and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions here are mine and mine alone.

We have yet another home run by Katherine Center. I enjoyed every minute of this story, from Katie’s hilarious mishaps to the unique family dynamics. It was so fun to see Katie develop as a character going through some tough things in life. I really liked the drama of the whole story as it was entertaining and kept me on my toes.

I highly recommend this fun and captivating story as it will leave you laughing, crying, and everything in between!

Katie Vaughn is still reeling from the public fallout of her breakup with her now-famous ex. Eager to hang on to her mid-tier video production job, she agrees to profile Tom "Hutch" Hutchinson, a coast guard rescue swimmer who became an overnight sensation after saving Jennifer Aniston's dog. As Katie dives into Hutch’s life in the Florida Keys, she finds herself facing her deepest insecurities and fears—while desperately trying to avoid being fired.

First off, I have to give a special shout-out to George Bailey, a lovable Great Dane rescued by Hutch. This gentle giant completely steals the show in every scene he’s in. Every time I read it, I couldn’t help but smile. Another highlight is The Gals, a quirky group of retirees who swim, sip cocktails, and meddle in each other's lives. They’re the kind of friends everyone wishes they had.

While this story didn’t quite hit the same high notes as some of Katherine Center’s other works, it’s still an incredibly heartwarming and funny exploration of loss, friendship, and learning to embrace yourself as much as you love others. Katie is a relatable protagonist, and I’m pretty sure I’ve had the same internal dialogues she’s had. Hutch is such a sweet, swoon-worthy guy, too. I often turn to Katherine Center’s books for a mood boost, and this one definitely delivered.

Read this if you love: ▪️Coast guard heroes ▪️Quasi-Hollywood romances ▪️Grumpy x Sunshine dynamics ▪️Forced proximity ▪️Dogs named George Bailey ▪️Fun, quirky side characters ▪️Romantic comedies with depth ▪️A Florida Keys setting

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

In the author’s note, Center talks about how mirror neurons cause you to experience stories as if you are in them. She hopes that helps us go along on Katie’s journey to love for her body. She fails to mention the part where she put Katie in MORAL PERIL. My body felt that for sure. (Which means it was written well!) She also says “love stories make us better at love,” which made me wonder about my favorite genre: murder stories.

Anyway, to go on a journey to body love, we started at intense hate and that was tough to read. After the rough start, we got to all the things I loved about the book – Rue, the gals, Key West, George Bailey the dog, Hutch’s abs… I ended this book in love with all of it and wanting more.

3.5 stars rounded up for NetGalley.

Katie, our FMC, is doing everything she can to keep her job and avoid getting cut from her video production company. This includes saying yes to a job that requires her to be able to swim, which she can’t. Enter Hutch, our hunk of an MMC, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer she’ll have to work with. And from there, it goes.

Katherine Center has a unique way of writing, and she’ll sometimes write at you as if the character is talking to you as a bystander. To me, it comes off as exaggerating and a bit dramatic. It is very one-of-a-kind and different. I'm just not sure it's for me.

I enjoyed the first half of this book. It was fun. There was character development on Katie’s part. Hutch was interesting. I loved Hutch’s aunt Rue. The anticipation was there! However, I wish we had more interaction between the two main characters as they got to know each other. It felt rushed, and it was hard to picture their chemistry.

The second half of the book felt silly and dragged out. Katie felt passive, and all the former go-getter qualities she had developed vanished. A side character got thrown under the bus, which was unnecessary. I thought that the third act was a bit frustrating.

Overall, I had fun reading this book, and it was entertaining even though it was not my cup of tea.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this eARC in exchange for a review!