As much as I love Katharine Center, the body issues hit a bit too close to home. I'm sure it's a fun read, and I know people will love it!

This book was an ARC from NetGalley. This story and the characters fell flat for me. Everything was very one dimensional and awkward. The love story was more of a subplot of the FMC's narrative of body acceptance. There was no development of the characters or their love story. The main characters have two small conversations, and they are head over heels in love though having to prior relationship? The relationship between the FMC and her boss felt forced and unnatural. The reason Coke and Hutch seem to be feuding was silly. Overall, this felt like an outline of a story vs. a finished product. #netgallery #lovehaters #floridakeys #romance

As always, I enjoyed the book written by this author. The story was a sweet one and focused on the need to love your body - and how a person can have a negative view of how they look. I liked the message of the story: that we should love the body that we have; and that we are lovable.

Katie's job is on the line when she is tasked to film a Day-in-the-Life video of rescue swimmer, Hutch Hutcheson. The challenge is Hutch's estranged brother is the one who gave Katie the assignment. Additionally, although a qualified video producer, Katie faces some extreme challenges while trying to complete this assignment.

The Love Haters is the newest rom-com by author, Katherine Center. The plot is cute, and the characters are likeable. It's definitely worth the read if you like a cute rom-com.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of Katherine Center"s newest novel.

The Love Haters
By the one and only @katherinecenter
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to @katherinecenter @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy. This book comes out on May 20th just in time for those summer reading lists!

Katherine Center is the master of the feel good romance. There is nothing better to turn to when the world is imploding than a love story by her. It restores your hope in the world and lets you escape to a happier place.

I LOVED the character of Rue, the happy grandmother who scoops you up and treats you like one of her own. I also loved the relationship between Katie and her best friend Beanie and how Beanie knows just the right way to encourage her out of her comfort zone.

It will make you laugh and smile and leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Yes you have to wait for this one but she has a whole backlist that you can work through in the meantime. The Rom-Commers still holds the number one spot for me, out of the books that I have read, but honestly they are all so close.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #katherinecenter #thelovehaters #readinginpockets #momswhoread #booklover

Just like always Katherine Center writes a beautiful love story filled with plenty of laughter, action, and self reflection. In her authors note for this one, it says her books are “deep rom-coms” and that’s a perfect way to put it.

The style of this one, I felt, merged her back-log book themes with the lightness of her newer books. And what a great combination it was.

The web of relationships and side characters in this book gave it so much depth. I learned so much about the coast guard (which I know Katherine Center did field research for). And of course, had me swooning at the end, all while being a closed door romance 🥰

The greatest relationship of all though, was the relationship the main character Katie had with herself, specifically with her body. I knew it from the beginning of the book that when negative comments were made, Katherine Center would turn that around and give Katie what she deserves - love of herself.

Thank you to Netgalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martins Press for the eARC of this one. It’s out May 20, 2025 🤍🩷

I'm a somewhat recent Katherine Center fan. Her books bring so much happiness, and I just love it! The bad news with The Love Haters is that it didn't quite live up to my expectations in terms of what I've come to expect from Center; however, on the plus side, the story grew on me the more I read.

Here are a few aspects of the book that didn't quite do it for me. First, there was a LOT of body image talk. I understand and appreciate this, but it just wasn't really my cup of tea. I often felt like I was reading a self-help book more than the romcom I was expecting. Secondly, there wasn't much action for the first 1/2 or even 3/4 of the novel. I enjoyed what was happening, but overall I wanted more to happen, if that makes sense. I really liked Hutch as the MMC, yet overall I'm starting to feel like all of Center's MMCs kind of blend together into the same old guy. It is sort of explained by the book's end, so I guess I will let it slide, but overall I was so confused by Hutch "the love hater" who actually was very friendly and hospitable and sweet! I wanted a little more of that hateful energy that the title set me up for!

As I said, though, the book got better for me as it went on. Although there were definitely some eye roll moments leading to the climax, the climax itself was really good and actually had me on the edge of my seat. Center always excels in choosing unique subject matter as her jumping off point, and I do appreciate how much research and effort went into capturing the daily life of a Coast Guard member. If you are a Katherine Center fan, this will most likely be another of her books that you will enjoy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this hopeful rom-com, and I’m ready to fly to Key West now! CW: past eating disorder.

I think I would read Katherine Center’s grocery list. She never fails to make me fall in love with characters and their stories. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken more than 24 hours to read one of her books.

The unexpectedness of the plot, the inner battles the characters face, and the love that streams through the book like a ribbon sets this book apart. Katie’s story and her journey to love—in more ways than one—will make you feel like you’re right there with her. This is such a great book!

Katherine Center has done it again! This book had me kicking my feet squeeing, gasping with laughter, and yelling “WHAT!” at 2am and waking up my boyfriend (very sorry ethan). The Love Haters has the perfect ratio of romantic to character development with a loveable protagonist, swoonworthy love interest, and a cast of background characters that has me packing a suitcase and searching for a portal that will take me to the universe that they exist in.
This book has it all! A Great Dane that thinks it’s a chihuahua, helicopter rescues, and romantic sunset kisses. The Love Haters is the perfect summer read and I can’t wait for it to come out so I can yell about all the spoilers.

This book had me giggling or laughing throughout. I enjoyed feeling like the FMC was talking to me and telling me her story. Like two friends chatting.

Katie is a videographer trying to save her job by taking an assignment she’s sorely unqualified for. Her assignment is to make a promo video for the US Coast Guard, highlighting one of their own rescue swimmers. However, Katie can’t swim and knows little to nothing about the USCG.

Hutch is the rescue swimmer being filmed. He’s supposed to be the silent, always perfect hero. He was expecting his little brother to be the videographer and is not happy to discover Katie instead. Being the professional he is he goes through with the video.

While I enjoyed most of the story, some things were out of left field IMO. Cole suddenly showing up with a bucket full of lies threw me off. Plus the category 4 hurricane fiasco also felt forced. I really wanted a bit more of the MCs story in the Epilogue.

I did appreciate Katie’s journey to self acceptance regarding her body image. I think many of us have gone through similar struggles and liked that Katie was working on herself.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a wonderful book about a woman named Katie whose fiancé cheated on her after he became a famous musician and who may lose her job as a video producer due to layoffs. Despite not knowing how to swim, she takes a job filming a promotional video for the coast guard to save her job. Dealing with body issues along the way, she must find a way to face her fears. Enter Hutch, her supervisor’s brother who is the lead in the coast guard video. As they grow closer, complications arise. But will Katie be able to face her fears regarding her body, job, and love life and take her chance at happiness?

I loved this book; I couldn’t put it down! I loved the growing relationship between Hutch and Katie. I was drawn out of the story a bit when Cole, her supervisor, showed up and unexpectedly threw a wrench in the plot. I felt it was a bit out of the blue and expected her ex to show up to cause issues instead. I also felt the ending was a bit abrupt, telling rather than showing. However, I loved the main relationship and other side characters. I would give this 4.5 stars and definitely recommend it to others!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Saint Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of love haters.

Katie somehow finds herself going down to the Keys to film a USCG Recruitment video in an effort to save her job to avoid being laid off, taking the place of her coworker Cole… only to find out that the story of the video is Cole’s older, grumpy, love hating brother.

I’ve always enjoyed a Katherine Center book. If there’s one thing that I can always count on it’s going to be that I can expect some funny banter, quick and precise writing, and a storyline that keeps me engaged.

We definitely get some of the funny dialogue at the beginning and some quick back-and-forth humor and sarcasm. However, this does start to fade away about halfway through the book as topics such as loss of a family member and body positivity become more prevalent.

While I enjoyed the first half of the book, it was hard to stay dedicated to the two main characters as it really didn’t seem like they had much chemistry. I wanted to root for them, but fell flat and actually doing so.

Also, the last 20% of the book went from 0 to 180 at the drop of a hat; it felt like there was almost too much going on towards the end and everything really could’ve been simplified down to one or two story lines instead of five different storylines or major things going on.

Katherine Center has a great gift for giving her readers a story with characters that are easy to connect with while reading the book.
Katie gets tossed into a situation that she was not sure how to handle.
I really enjoyed all the characters – each in their own way and I adored George Bailey, who happens to be Hutch’s Great Dane.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of The Love Haters in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors due to her ability to write stories that provide an escape. She does this in The Love Haters with the witty banter, sunny Key West setting, and an adorable dog with anxiety.

However, I'm torn on this review. and would give it 3.5 stars. Where there were many parts that I liked, as mentioned, the overall story was hard for me to connect with and ultimately this is one was not my favorite of hers. The storyline felt a bit forced and was heavily based on secrets and miscommunications which just doesn't work for me. I found myself frustrated rather than enjoying the story at times. I feel like there was a lot going on with each character and not enough time to fully develop those stories, which also was a bit distracting.

Overall an entertaining story and a quick, enjoyable read. There were parts that I did not connect with very much, but I was still able to enjoy the book and was eager to see how things all played out for Katie and Hutch.

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

Katie Vaughn is an incredible FMC. She's witty, self-deprecating, and delightfully messy in all the best ways. Katie is 100% retable, and I was rooting for her as she fumbled through her professional crises and personal insecurities, trying not to be attracted to the new subject of her video for work. Hutch, pause for the swoon, is the definition of a cinnamon roll hero. He is strong and capable on the outside but secretly the sweetest. He is a hero of the Coast Guard, and she can't swim. The tension between them builds in the best way possible.

The banter is funny; the situations are gloriously chaotic. Katie is the complete opposite of Hutch, which leads to adorable and laughable moments thanks partly to a Great Dane. The story also weaves in emotional themes of responsibility and personal growth. Katie is finding self-love and confidence, facing fears, and realizing being honest with yourself can be difficult. Honestly, this is the best Rom-Com. It delivers all the feels. The perfect opposites attract romance with undeniable chemistry. I highly, highly recommend it!

I was gifted an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

The Love Haters was such a fun ride! I really connected with the characters, which was my issue with Katherine Center's previous book, Rom-Commers. The main character, Katie Vaughn, struggles with a tough romantic past, body image issues, and the impending possibility of losing her video producer job if she doesn't take on a challenging assignment that she's not really qualified for. The job to film a Coast Guard promo turns out to be more complicated than expected, but the characters she meets in Key West help her change her perspective on so many things.

I attended an author event with Katherine Center last summer and she honestly reignited a love and appreciation for rom-com style books that I'd previously written off as "predictable". But as Katherine said, if you're surprised by the ending of a rom com, someone didn't do their job. Not only did Love Haters satisfy my need for a feel good love story, it did still manage some small surprises along the way. The Key West setting was fun and almost all of the characters were likable in their own way. I definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my review.

Another great read from Katherine Center. The Love Haters is a story about a woman’s journey to saving her job and learning to love herself through the process. With amazing side characters, personal growth for the FMC and twists you weren’t expecting in a rom-com, this book has it all. I was literally cackling with laughter one page and crying with sadness the next. Great read. Highly recommend.

Katherine Center is one of my favourite autoread romance author. I appreciate how she weaves a funny romance in with depth as she covers more difficult topics. The commentary on body image and self-acceptance was strong alongside a narrative about grief and accepting one's past. I absolutely was on the edge of my seat during the final pages! Additionally, the author's note at the end has my heart swelling and on the verge of tears. Another great read from Center!

Another amazing Katherine Center book! I love all of her books but this one is definitely towards the top for me! I felt bonded with the main character, Katie, right away and I felt Katherine tacked the tough topic of learning to love yourself beautifully. I can’t wait to own a physical copy as well!