Katie Vaughn, a video producer on the verge of losing her job, takes a risky assignment profiling Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson.

One problem… She can’t swim.

This book was such a fun read in so many ways. I loved Rue, the gals, and George Bailey. It had a lighthearted feel with a touch of adventure. However, the theme of weight and body image—while an important topic—didn’t quite fit here. While tough subjects should be explored, this one didn’t seem to land.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!!!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center (publishing 5/20) follows Katie, a video producer trying to save her job amidst the threat of layoffs. To do so, she begrudgingly agrees to cover a gig for her co-worker Cole, shooting a promo video for the Coast Guard.

That’s how she finds herself on Key West, practically adopted by a group of delightful senior ladies, facing her fears and falling for her heroic (and stupidly attractive) subject, Hutch — who just so happens to be her Cole’s brother. A brother who — unbeknownst to Katie — Hutch thinks she’s dating Cole. Let the complicated web of lies begin.

While the handling of Katie’s body image struggles didn’t quite land for me, the book has everything you’ve come to expect from one of Katherine’s novels. Fans of hers will enjoy Katie and Hutch’s banter, the charming setting and all the complications that love brings.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

The Love Haters ended up being like a pleasant vacation to the Florida Keys with the nice addition of a hot U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Katie is a documentary filmmaker who is in danger of being laid off. So despite not knowing how to swim, she takes a job in the Keys to film a promotional video for the U.S. Coast Guard. There she meets Hutch and his guardian (after his parents died) Rue. There is a lot of chaos in this book! Especially with Hutch’s brother Cole. And the book has a serious side with Katie dealing with a toxic view of her body. The final part of the book was quite gripping. While I enjoyed this novel, it wasn’t quite at the level of “How to Walk Away”. Nevertheless, it was vintage Katherine Center through and through.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy.

I absolutely loved this book! I felt so connected to Katie as I view my body how Katie views hers and it was kinda healing to read her journey with that. And the quirky side characters known as The Gals were also fun and Beanie is the best friend that everyone needs! The romance was sweet and the crazy lies and miscommunications were wild! I had a great time reading this and I can't wait to read her next book! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

I usually love Katherine Center but this book missed the mark for me. The lies from Cole, the hurricane scenario, the constant self doubt and questioning… it just got too unbelievable and too out there and irritating for me. Extra star added for Rue.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. All thoughts are my own. Katherine Center is back! I loved her books Things You Save In A Fire and How to Walk Away - this book reminded me of those. Katie is a video producer and her boss Cole sends her to Key West (OMG) to do a video on Coast Guard responders - particularly on his brother Hutch, where there is no love lost between the brothers. Throw in beautiful scenery, a colorful aunt Rae and her friends, a big lovable dog (along with a toad) this book was great, I laughed, I cried, it has all the great things that only Center can tell. I even learned some things about the coast guard. Totally recommend, put this on your TBR pile!

Immediately wanted to go out and buy a physical copy! I love Katherine Center books. Emotional, tension, clean, I just love that I can recommend them to almost everyone!

So happy to have received an ARC for this- Thank you netgalley.
One of my favorite things about Katherine Center is her experimentation with such unique careers and integrating them into a rom com. It really makes her stand out to me. That was the best part of this story to me, as it usually is, but the social & romantic plot line did not keep up for me. The brotherly dynamic and the coworker dynamics were both very odd, in a way that took me out of the story. The romance between our two characters had some pacing issues that didn’t work for me, and it ended up falling flat, even at the ending. I was sad about this while reading, because I saw such a potential at the mid way point. Certain things that were unnecessary got in the way, and they never clashed back together like I hoped they would. Not my favorite of hers as far as pacing, plot, and chemistry.

I have been a fan of Katherine Center's work over the last few years; her romance novels are full of infectious stories, fun banter, and great life lessons. So when I saw her newest was available as an ARC, I jumped on it!

However, it's definitely my least favorite of hers that I've read. Videographer Katie is sent to a job profiling the Coast Guard in the Florida Keys after a bad breakup has left her down and out. The story centers on her and Hutch, the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer she hopes to feature in her work.

At it's core, the premise is really fun and I did enjoy the characters and the setting. Where I took issue is that the plot details landing Katie on this job were so outlandish and unrealistic (yes, even for a cheesy romance novel) that it really took me out of the story. I also didn't think Katie and Hutch had much chemistry, and their reasoning for wanting to be together didn't seem clear.

This just felt like a step down from her books The Bodyguard, Hello, Stranger, and The Romcommers, unfortunately.

I absolutely love everything Katherine Center writes! The Love Haters is no exception. I of course loved the plot of this book, with the main focus being the relationship between Katie and Hutch. I thought their development felt really natural and authentic. The ladies in the background also made the story that much more engaging. The side plot of Hutch and Cole's relationship was also very touching.

One part of the story that caught me by surprise was how thoughtfully and compassionately Katie's journey of self love was handled. It felt really authentic and equally moving. (Related to this, the author's note on the end touching on this made me particularly emotional.)

I absolutely recommend it to anyone else who has previously loved Katherine Center's work!

Firstly, I just love Katherine Center. Any book she writes is an automatic add to my TBR, so I was so excited to receive an ARC of The Love Haters. It did not disappoint. Katie is a video producer on the verge of being downsized out of a job. In an effort to prove her worth and keep her job, she agrees to film a promo for the Coast Guard in Key West, featuring Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, whose 15 minutes of unwanted fame came from saving Jennifer Anniston's dog. Throw in a meddling brother, a famous ex, a crazy aunt and a Great Dane, and shenanigans ensue. I mean, who among us hasn't had an embarrassing swimsuit mishap?

The hijinks are hilarious, but under the surface is a deeper look at the way women see themselves and the disconnect between that and the way others see them. And that is why I love Katherine Center. She writes a great love story. Period. But she also manages to weave in elements that go just a little deeper to make you think. She writes such relatable characters. I may never have to prove I can save myself from a capsized boat, but you better believe I've had a hard time being kind to myself.

The Love Haters is a 5-star read for me, and I hope Katherine Center keeps them coming!

I've been a huge Katherine Center fan for a while now and was so excited to get this ARC. But I really struggled not to DNF. There was no chemistry between the characters, it didn't feel like a romance. And frankly I didn't really find either character very likeable.

This was not my favorite Katherine Center book but it was a solid romance read. The storyline just didn’t work for me.

Katherine Center is a story-telling master. She truly crafts another world for readers to step into, and The Love Haters was no different. The storyline was unique, the characters were lovable, and I couldn't stop reading.

Katie has just arrived on Key West to film a video profile of Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. This wasn’t supposed to be her job, it was supposed to be the job of her colleague, Cole - but turns out Cole and Hutch are brothers and they haven’t spoken in a year. So now Katie is here, even though she can’t swim, and she finds herself falling into place on Key West alongside Hutch, his Great Dane, and Rue, the woman who raised Hutch and Cole.

I always look forward to new Katherine Center books because I know that I’m going to fly through them and I’m going to have a really great time while I do. This one was so fun because of the jobs of the respective main characters, Katie and Hutch. I don’t often see books where the FMC has a job as a videographer, and the MMC is a rescue swimmer. I learned a lot about the Coast Guard and you could tell Center had done her research. I also loved the setting here and imagining this group of characters hanging together, Rue and The Gals, and the colorful cottages that dot the story.

Underlying the romance between Katie and Hutch is a great storyline about Katie learning to love herself, and especially her body. Though Center doesn’t beat us over the head with the storyline, it’s there in each decision Katie makes and I appreciated how accurate her internal monologue felt as I’d imagine most of us women reading this have experienced something similar.

Some of the situations in this one were outlandandish and tropey but even so I really liked this one and I think that these two characters - and George Bailey, the Great Dane - are going to stick with me for quite awhile. Plus, I’ll never look at the Coast Guard the same again!

Katie Vaughn is a heroine I could relate to. After an ugly, public breakup, she has a new job doing promotional videos, but now even her mediocre career is under threat since her boss is firing underlings left and right. When she’s offered the opportunity to do a promotional video shooting rescue swimmers in the Florida Keys, she knows she needs to do whatever it takes to save her job. Like lie. About things like whether she can swim.

She meets Hutch, her coworker’s brother, and Aunt Rue, and a Doberman named George Bailey. And somehow her lies just keep escalating.

This has all the trademark fun of a Katherine Center romance with a few added harrowing rescue scenes thrown in for good measure.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES MAY 20 , 2025.

2.5 ⭐️ This is basically a book about a girl who is super insecure and detailing how insecure she is through every aspect of her life, especially wearing a bikini because of past ED, and a really hot rescue swimmer on the coast guard she has to interview. Not a fan of reading an inner monologue of someone being so self conscious.

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and Katherine Center for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts! My first read from Katherine Center and I am obsessed; it is a delightful story that talks about loss, conquering fear and about how important it is to love yourself as much as you love others in your life. The themes were much deeper than I expected but I really enjoyed that! A perfect summer read that I would recommend 100%!


Tropes:
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Forced Proximity
- Coast Guard rep.
- Body Positivity

TW: body image issues (ED?)

This is a story about Katie, a video producer who’s about to lose her job. She then has to follow Hutch, a coast guard rescue swimmer, around to film his job to create a recruitment ad.

I liked the summer vibes, the characters (except Cole) and the hero aspect of the book. However, I did not like how strongly Katie was dissatisfied with her body. The beginning of the story was focused solely on her body image issues which could be triggering for some people.

I would recommend this book to for those who want a quick summer read.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

When video producer Katie Vaughn is at risk of losing her job, she's willing to do anything she can to keep it. Even if that means filming a promo for the coast guard as someone who can't swim. She starts to deal with more than just her fear of the ocean and water, but rather her deeply rooted fears of self-image. With the help of her cousin and best friend Beanie, Katie tries to conquer her fears. In the mix of it all, her main subject "Hutch" turns out to be more than just a subject in her videos...

This book was a fun read and I loved that there was more to it than just the romance. In order for Katie to love others, she had to learn to love herself. It was so true that your worst enemy is yourself sometimes. Beanie was such an essential piece to Katie's growth and it was so cute to see their relationship throughout the book.

Hutch was also just a dreamy man. Not only was he fit and tall, he was also kind, humble, and was essentially a hero in every way. I loved how patient he was despite Katie being quite quirky. I loved how much he loved and cared for his family and his dog, George Bailey.

Rue and her friends are what every person hopes to be when they retire. Just laid back, barbecuing every night with drinks in hand. Living next to your buddies. It seems like such a fun time. Not to mention Rue's pretty well-off.

Overall a fun book. I thought that it could be a little less wordy with Katie's inner dialogue. But other than that, a fun read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!