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.

✨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