“Life isn’t a straight line. It’s always ups and downs. That’s just how it goes.”

In The Love Haters, Katherine Center explores the importance of self worth and the realization that loving yourself is a genuine gift that we so often struggle with.

Katie Vaughn is a videographer being sent to Key West to film a US Coast Guard training video. The video will be focusing on Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson a rescue swimmer and brother of Katie’s coworker Cole Hutcheson. Katie is immediately hit with two major obstacles: she can’t swim and she hates bathing suits.

Katie’s insecurities stem from two previous relationships and the cruel comments she was subjected to on social media. The wounds cut deep but the generosity of one Aunt Rue will bring color and warmth into Katie’s life. Rue and “The Gals” are such a wonderful addition to this story. They are fun loving widows who only want to live their lives to the fullest…I adored them.

As Katie and Hutch work together, sparks fly and Katie finds herself learning to open up and have fun. She even falls for Hutch’s enormous Great Dane George Bailey, even though his enthusiastic greetings keep knocking her off her feet. But when Cole shows up in Key West, with their boss Sullivan, everything falls to pieces in a hurry. Lies, misunderstandings, family riffs and a hurricane will further complicate things.

My biggest criticism of this book is the “breaking of the fourth wall” constantly by Katie. I’m just not a fan of this device in books. It takes me out of the story a bit. I think it’s done to add humor and perspective but I’m just not in love with it. It really highlighted the quirkiness of Katie’s character but it was a bit over the top.

However, this is still a book I found myself lost in, chuckling at, and swooning over. Katherine Center will always be a master of creating love stories that evoke joy and magic. The Love Haters may not be my favorite book by her…but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I started reading Katherine Center last year and became a big fan, reading several of her books throughout the year as well as attending one of her author talks. That said, this one is not a big win for me unfortunately. Center delivers the fun moments and witty banter that I expect but I personally find content featuring extensive body image and disordered eating to be triggering and upsetting to me. I think the typical Center fan will enjoy this as a quick summer read but not one that you are likely to revisit.

Ratings
Story Concept 3/5
Quality of Writing 4/5
Pacing 4/5
Plot Development 2/5
Character Development 3/5
Overall Enjoyability 3/5

Katherine Center is the queen of getting me out of slumps. This book was magic on paper and I loved everything about it. My new favorite of hers!

In Katherine Center's "The Love Haters" we follow Katie Vaughn as she accepts a career saving offer to film promotional film for the coast guard. Easy right? Just go film rescue divers doing their thing from safely in the helicopter. WRONG! In order to qualify for the job there is a swim test Katie must pass, but of course, she can't swim. Enter, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. The very good-looking rescue swimmer she is to film. He'll teach her! Having been hurt by love once before, as sparks fly Katie must decide to choose her job or this incredible rescue swimmer.

I can honestly say that I loved every second and aspect of this book. The banter was so well written. The found family vibes that Katie has with Hutches aunt and her friends. Just so GOOD!!! I even loved the dog; he is a real match maker. And her best friend was so funny and amazing.
I think that what I loved most was the relationship that Katie developed with herself. It was so inspiring and really made me step back and think about how I treat myself and my body.

This is perfect for someone who wants a cute witty romance that also has some suspenseful stakes toward the end. Someone who wants to read about a woman's journey to fully loving and embracing herself again after doing her best to become small.

Unfortunately (and I am most saddened by this), The Love Haters was a big miss for me. I love Katherine Center and her books always land between 4-5 stars typically for me. This one felt silly in comparison.

Some things that didn't work for me:
-I felt as if I hardly knew either main character
-Katie, the FMC, made her entire personality around her body image issues and the fact that she couldn't swim
-Hutch, the MMC, was entirely forgettable
-the 3rd act "conflict" between the brothers was one big eye roll -- you're telling me that Cole shows up and says Katie is his gf and Hutch believes it even though Hutch is the one who told Katie about Cole and his ex-wife and wedding incident??? DUMB.
-so many things in this book would just never happen...for example 1) Katie's ex-fiance becoming a famous singer and making it big YET he regrets breaking up and wants her back almost immediately after cheating on her??? just no, he's famous and a star and i promise he's not naming a song after Katie. 2) Beanie, Katie's friend, always preaching about how great Katie is and boosting her up yet every time they talk Beanie brings up the ex-fiance even though she wants Katie to move on -- also dont get me started on sending pics of her ankles and talking about how she loves her ankles and ear lobes. WHAT WAS THIS?! 3) when the brothers finally come together towards the end, that whole situation was unbelievable and would never actually happen 4) the natural disaster and Katie on the thing w/ the dog. no, just no.

Besides all of that, my main issue is that these characters had ZERO CHEMISTRY. none. zilch. when they kissed towards the end, it genuinely caught me off guard because they hadn't showed an ounce of romance/banter/chemistry prior. it was so bland and these characters could not have been more bland.

way too much body image talk and not enough romance. this was not KC's best work and a lot of this stuff should've been edited out in my opinion.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

As much as I love Katherine Center, The Love Haters is probably her book that I have enjoyed the most. It definitely had me wanting to stay up all night reading and kept thinking about during the day. Hutch may also have ruined me for other book boyfriends.

When Katie is sent to the Florida Keys to make a promo film for the Coast Guard, she is in no way prepared for the transformation her life is about to make. In the videographer uniform of black pants, black t-shirt, she runs smack into the bright colors, friendly souls and outdoor lifestyle of Key West. Her job initially gets easier when she meets the subject of the film, Hutch. But then it gets much, much harder as she finds herself stuck in a complicated relationship dynamic between Hutch and his brother, who just happens to be her superior at work who sent her to make the video.

Katie's delightfully pushy best friend / cousin is the BFF we all need - helping to move Katie into a place of both openness and acceptance that ultimately pays off in her strength and authenticity. It's a fantastic woman's journey that is told in an honest and relatable way. But this is no quiet romance. There is so much adventure and excitement and suspense built into this story, along with moments of sadness and out-loud laughter. It really is a fantastic read.

Such a lovely, joy filled book! I can't help but smile through a Katherine Center novel, and The Love Haters was no different. I've read all but 2 of her books, and this is definitely one of my absolute favorites by her!

This one was just not for me 😭 I had quite a few problems with the story that made me feel “meh” about it but then it just started getting veryyy over the top.

🛟No famous ex-fiance is going to turn around and publicly state he shouldn’t have dumped you, then write a song about you and give the title YOUR FIRST NAME. that just won’t happen I’m sorry and no he’s not pining over her that publicly that is just so unrealistic. Fiction can only account for so much disconnect from reality.
🛟the best friend was all “you’re beautiful your ex never deserved you!!” Then turns around and brings up the ex in EVERY SINGLE CONVERSATION TO KATIE?? I’m confused.
🛟After spending all this time together, Hutch never once thought it was weird Katie never mentioned she was ‘dating his brother’??? After Hutch was the one who told her about Cole’s DIVORCE from the ex that wanted to “switch brothers”? No man with an ounce of dignity would have a). still married that woman and b). proceeded to hate his brother for the situation. HOW did he not find it weird that Katie and Cole apparently never talked about anything??
🛟Giving the dog an extra 10 pounds so she doesn’t have to tell a search and rescue operator her real weight was….a choice. BUT LOL then basically like 20 mins later has decided she loves her body all of a sudden?
🛟The thing that made her love her body was……a hurricane…………..?
🛟Waits for a forgettable amount of time (it could have been mins or days I do not remember) on a sinking boat for search and rescue and the second she hears the helicopter — BAM the pontoon deflates. This defies ALL PHYSICS.
🛟Now I’m no search and rescue expert, but call me crazy I cannot imagine they would save the dog first. Over a human. At LEAST they’d find a way to save both at the same time (since the operator knew it was her and a Great Dane!!!!!!!! Not a handheld chihuahua or something) but my god no one would go save the dog and leave the human treading water in the ACTUAL OCEAN until they get the dog to safety.
🛟There was no romance anywhere to be found. I felt more chemistry between Katie and the frog on the pontoon.

If you loved/liked this book, I am truly happy for you because I wanted to love it so badly. I have not gotten a lot of sleep this week and am probably taking it out on this review and for that I’m sorry. This one was my first real miss with KC and I’m majorly bummed this didn’t work for me.

Thank you to the publisher for my advanced copy and to Macmillan for the free audiobook! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book - perfect to pick up for an easy, romance read, while still addressing some real challenges in the world (body image, family comparisons). I wasn't expecting some of the drama that was included, and really did enjoy the unexpected pieces of this read. I felt a bit left hanging at the end (maybe room for a follow up on what has happened????)

In order to keep her job at as a video producer, Katie has to flub a few details (most prevalent that she can’t swim) to interview Coast Guard hero, Tom “Hutch” Hutchinson, in Key West for a recruitment video. The one orchestrating this is Katie’s coworker and Hutch’s brother, Cole, who is feuding with him.

But while Hutch is perfect for the camera (despite his interview skills leaving more to be desired), the job is messier than Katie expected. She finds herself growing close to Hutch and Cole’s Aunt Rue and Hutch’s Great Dane, and…Hutch. Struggling to let go of her own insecurities, Katie attempts to let a chance at love in, only for Cole to show up and wreak havoc with the tentative bond between her and Hutch.

This was a fun book and very informative at parts regarding the Coast Guard and its procedures. I found the miscommunication part to be annoying and wanted to punch Cole in the face. The last conflict of the book seemed absolutely wild to me, I didn’t hate it but it was definitely unexpected. Overall, not my favorite of hers but still a good time and one I read very quickly!

I have loved all the KC books I've read, so I literally jumped up and down when I saw I was approved by Netgalley for a digital ARC (and thank you for that, Netgalley!). I felt so special.

And I raced through this book in a day - it has some wonderful parts (especially Aunt Rue - she's THE BEST). But the constant body image stuff was really hard for me - I'm not saying it doesn't exist or shouldn't be written about/explored/confronted, and it was a purposefully crafted love story about loving one's self - but it was romance light in that regard, and just didn't hit the mark for me.

I really enjoyed this one! It was fun and frothy, with some emotionally vulnerable portions but still so lighthearted. George Bailey wins best supporting character. :-)

I hope this becomes a movie adaptation; it would be really fun.

3.5 stars. I really love Katherine Center's books. This one, however, left me torn. There are parts of this book that I really loved and parts (mainly the middle section of the book) where I found myself being really bored. I didn't connect with either of the main characters and I felt that they lacked any sort of chemistry. 

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book!

Right off the bat I'll acknowledge the elephant in the room: it seems like early reviews of this book are lower than the author's other titles, but honestly I'm surprised by this. Vacation vibes, a hunky "just listen to my instructions" love interest, a loveable Great Dane, and a *potential* brush with death? What more could you ask for??

When video producer Katie starts on a project for the US Coast Guard with a fake-it-till-you-make-it attitude, she has no idea what's in store. Profiling the Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson should be easy: after all, she's good at what she does and, even though she can't *technically* swim, how hard can it really be to learn... and then practice on-water helicopter crashes? These are minor details in the grand scheme of her plan, which is to keep her job in the face of pending lay-offs and catch some sun while she does it. What ensues is SO MUCH MORE than she could have ever imagined.

A funny, career-driven, body-conscious but no less charming Katie is a woman after my own heart. It was refreshing to have a FMC dealing with and working through insecurity because, even if it's not the most romantic narrative to read, it's REAL. It's relatable. I honestly wouldn't have appreciated the story as much without this character arc and I'm grateful to Katherine Center for including it.

Hutch is DREAMY. Fans of the man in charge vibe will appreciate Hutch's tough on the outside, warm on the inside persona and empathize with his reluctance to be hurt in love (again). I can't count the number of times I squealed out loud in response to Katie and Hutch's flirty banter. I was also so in love with Katie's relationship with Hutch's loveable dog, George, that I re-read most of their interactions because of how sweet and adorable they were.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Love Haters and was absolutely on the edge of my seat towards the end (no spoilers). I love that it was as much a story about Katie falling in love with herself as it was Katie falling in love with Hutch (maybe even more so?) and this made the story even more relatable and meaningful to me. Now please excuse me while I go re-read Center's backlist.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for The Love Haters for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First, I love Katherine Center and all of her previous books. I think I have rated all of them 4.5 or 5 stars. This one was good, but not one of my favorites by her. I loved the back story of the two brothers, Cole and Hutch, and I also liked learning about Katie's past with her ex-finance who is now a famous pop star. But here is where my "but" comes in...I was not invested in the romance between Katie and Hutch. It just didn't seem real to me. The attraction was one thing, but all of the sudden Hutch changes who he is and who he has been for his entire life once he meets Katie??? It just didn't make sense and honestly I did not even want them together. But again, I loved the storyline with Hutch and Cole and their "aunt Rue". That was my favorite part of the book and why I am giving this 4 stars.

Thanks again for the ARC!

Another gem from Katherine Center! The Love Haters is full of rom-com vibes with just the right mix of humor, heart, and a dash of mystery to keep you turning the pages. I fell in love with the characters just as much as they fall for each other—Center really knows how to write people you root for.

Katie, the FMC, is recovering from an eating disorder, which adds depth to her character without overwhelming the story. It’s not the main plot, but her healing journey is woven in with care and empathy—it even felt a little healing for me as a reader.

And of course, there’s the lingering question: Are they love haters, or just unlucky in love until now?

My favorite quote:
“Who knows what kind of magic goes into one person liking another person?”
Exactly.

If you love smart, heartwarming romance with real emotional layers, this one’s for you.

Thank you to netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3/5 stars. While I generally admire and usually really love Katherine Center's work, this novel unfortunately did not meet expectations. Though the main characters Katie and Hutch were well-developed and the plot elements were engaging (with excellent narration by Patti Murin), the handling of certain themes - particularly the protagonist's relationship with body image and weight - felt somewhat lacking in nuance. The book's ultimate message about the importance of self-relationship being equal to external relationships is valuable; however, the execution fell short of Center's usual standard. While this may stem from my typically high expectations for her work, this particular novel ranks lower among her works (and I’ve read a lot of hers). This also isn’t a matter of more recent books not connecting with me as well, because I just read The Rom-Commers last month and was absolutely enamored - my favorite of hers yet.

While I love a good “rom-com” novel, this is my first of Katherine Center’s books I have given a go even though I have seen her books recommended many times.

For me, this one just did not hold my interest and the characters were less developed than I would expect and it made it hard to connect and keep my attention to the storylines. I will be trying another of Center’s books but I think this one just wasn’t for me.

3.5 ⭐️!

I received an ARC of The Love Haters on NetGalley. I absolutely adored this book. I’m a big fan of Katherine Center anyhow so no surprise there! This book had me grinning like a madman while reading it. My family would say “what’s so funny?” This book… It’s so dynamic, so funny, so deep. There’s a cute love story in the book. Lots of self love and deep inspirational thoughts. I devoured this book in a day. I’m sad it’s over, honestly. Add this to your 2025 must read list!!

What a fun quirky romance! True Katherine Center style and super cute! This was a fun quick read. I love the main characters banter and sometimes mysterious love language.