Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for this arc ◡̈
I started my Katherine Center journey a few months ago and started off with a bang with the Bodyguard. When I saw I was approved for this arc I was so excited. Unfortunately I couldn’t get over the self deprecating FMC. I’m all for positive self image and body positivity but within the first 20% I read more self hate and complete insensitivity toward the FMC’s body than my middle school diary. The body dysmorphia with the swimsuit. This can’t be solved by going to on a shoot for her video production company for the COAST GUARD when she can’t swim 🙃

I love Katherine Center. She’s an auto-buy author for me. And don’t get me wrong, this book was enjoyable and lovely! But it wasn’t what I’d built up in my mind.

My biggest critique is that there was too much going on and most of it felt half baked. Body insecurities, brothers feuding, a looming firing, a celebrity ex that was maybe still in love, found family, and a lie that only got the plot moving over halfway through the book. It just all felt a bit disjointed. It could have been a couple of different stories.

That said, I couldn’t get enough of Rue or George Bailey. I learned a lot about the Coast Guard. Katie annd Beanie’s relationship made me tear up a few times. And I want to move to the Starlite ASAP.

I had a hard time connecting to the story and the characters. On paper, I should be able to relate with Katie on body positive and acceptance issues. But I didn’t care?

It was cute. It was fine. It was boring.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Katherine Center for the ARC.

Well this was… delightful.

Not only did this new book by KC score high for me on both the ‘fun’ and ‘good’ scales, it was also SOOOO funny. The FMC, Katie, is just so inside her own head and so self deprecating it just had me giggling.

The good: I love how Katherine’s writing is always so emotional. I swear she always gets me. Like she always throws in something that surprises and delights me. I also love how every fmc she writes has such a clear voice and is usually on some amazing personal journey that’s so relatable.

I loved both main characters. From Katie’s hilarious inner monologue to the yearning from Hutch and all the cute stolen moments and banter they have together and their sweet little romance. I also love that the MAIN trope in this book, as pointed out in the afterword, is really the enemies to lovers journey Katie has with her own body. Let me tell you, as an owner of a body, one that I don’t always have the best relationship with, some of her self discovery moments were so beautiful and poignant.

“She thought the most important thing a woman could be was tiny” giiirl, hasn’t every woman had that one bad role model in our lives teaching us the same thing? I love that in 2025 so many women are working so hard to break the cycle.

“She loved all of her everything because it was hers, it was such an astonishing idea”. So simple. So true.

I also deeply enjoyed the female friendships in the book and the community building.

The bad: I really disliked Cole and the lies. It’s not that I disliked the story at all, I just did not enjoy this character and the corner he painted Katie into. I wanted to punch him myself, so thanks Hutch for taking care of that for me.

The ugly: Nothing! Except for maybe Lucky the toad. Because toads are ugly.

I love Katherine Center books, and this one was no exception. The combination of love on many different levels, friendship, multi-generational, romantic, loving yourself, and doggie love, made this book a standout for me. Plus, you'll learn about the U.S. Coastguard as well. I highly recommend this book!

I love reading Katherine Center books. This book was so beautiful because I felt like it wasn’t just a love story between a boy and girl. I loved the personal growth Katie made and how she learned to love herself. Of course I loved the story of Katie and Hutch and how their relationship developed. This was another hit by Katherine Center, well done! Beautiful job. Thank you for allowing me to read it early.

Love, love, love. This was my first Katherine Center book and had no idea what to expect. I found myself laughing out loud, kicking my feet while reading this. I related to Katie a lot in this book. We oftentimes get down on ourselves and have difficulties looking at ourselves in a positive light. However, with time she was able to find love again with herself and with someone else. Some parts of this were a little extreme in descriptions, especially the beginning. But overall, I loved it and will definitely read more of Katherine’s books in the future.

Thank you for allowing me to read this advanced copy. I will be doing a social media post on my Instagram in the next week.

This book discussed a lot of though topics in a thoughtful way. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the Coast Guard while following Katie and Hutch’s stories.

Katherine Center’s ability to create well developed characters is impressive and without flaw! Katie, Hutch, Rue, George Bailey and the gals will stay with me. This is a story of empowerment and unity of beautiful people.

Katie has had a rough go and willing to save her job takes an assignment out of her comfort zone. This fun novel has you laughing, brings hope and even a few tears. Thank you for writing such a fun novel to read.

Thank you NetGalley & St, Martin’s Press for this ARC.

A fun journey to Key West with entertaining hijinks and predictable twists along the way. I prefer more natural conflict between rom com leads than was featured here (and the conflict was so cringe). Katie’s issues were touched on more than they might have been in other books, which I appreciated, but all the context of her life felt like it still needed more definitive strokes than the shadows we received. Overall, enjoyed the escape while I was there.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book was really sweet! I haven't read Katherine Center before, but after this I'll definitely check out her other books. I really enjoyed her writing style, and while some of the messaging was a little heavy-handed, I appreciated the representation of body image struggles and the references to the Gottmans. While I loved the characters, I do wish we got to see a little more of them being sweet and flirty, rather than angsty and confused. I appreciate yearning as much as the next person, but I also love seeing characters happy together. Also, some of the behaviors in this book, primarily Cole's, was forgiven way too quickly in a way that felt unrealistic.

All of that aside, it was cute and fun and entertaining. It'll be a great summer read for fans of contemporary romance novels, and it never hurts to have a sweet, giant dog thrown in the mix.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the representation about how women struggle with body image and eventually some people cannot even weigh themselves anymore to protect their mental health. I wish we had more information of the conversations that happened between the FMC and MMC but still enjoyable,

Katherine Center is a favorite author for me! This one wasn’t my favorite, but I love her writing style. So much wit and good chemistry. Some of the characters/motivations felt a bit off, but overall I enjoyed it.

Katherine delivers another heartfelt romance. What truly resonated with me was Katie’s journey of self-acceptance. Her relationship with her own body made her struggles deeply relatable. While I enjoyed her romance with Hutch, I found myself wanting more of their relationship on the page.

Told in first-person, the narrative is personal but sometimes a bit much. Still, Center masterfully balances heavier themes with warmth and hope, never rushing the ending. And the author’s note? LOVE.

All in all, another solid read from Katharine. Thank you for the ARC.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 ⠀
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⠀I just love a Katherine Center romcom. They are just delightful. You get all the feels: romance, cute banter, funny characters, real life situations, laughter, tears and always a happy ending!
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 takes place mostly in Key West. Just so we are clear I love a book with that has a dog with a cool name. Nothing is cooler than a reacued Great Dane named George Bailey! The MFC is super relatable and you find yourself rooting for her. The MMC sort of comes off as a stern & firm guy who is mostly misunderstood, extremely good looking and sunshiny. I loved Rue and the gals they sound like my kind of people! 🥳🍹. ⠀
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Katie has been against love since her last boyfriend cheated and let the internet drag her through the mud. Katie is also trying to save her job as a videographer and has been sent by her boss, Cole to film some promos with his brother Hutch. Katie soon realizes she will gave to participate in the project meaning SWIM. Small detail, she lies to get the job... Katie can't swim but decides she can fake it. Hutch is the quiet, firm, brooding Coast Guard rescue swimmer who apparently has no time for love or anything remotely fun. He also isn't speaking to Cole so is super annoyed when Katie shows up instead of Cole. I mean what could go wrong...⠀
𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙪𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙤𝙢. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 is perfect for a binge at the beach or pool. The release date for 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 is May 20, 2025 just in tome for summer. ⠀
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📗 320 pages on Kindle ⠀
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Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Katherine Center for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have enjoyed Katherine Center's previous books, but this one just fell flat for me. There were some components that I expected to reappear later in the book but never did, and others that just seemed almost forced.

When Katie lies to save her job, she may end up losing it all. Who knew that the Love Hater would rescue her from love after all?

After a failed relationship with a music star , Katie put her life back together. Her job as a video producer has been her saving grace, as has her side project of filming her “A Day in the Life” series for YouTube. After being told that she most likely will get fired for downsizing, Katie jumps at the chance to produce and be a part of a project for which she’s wholly unqualified, and the results are hilarious.

Katherine Center has never put out a book that wasn't one that I could put down.

I love/hated this book. I feel like I didn’t get enough about Katie and Hutch’s relationship. It just ended rather abruptly- there was too much time focusing on getting to them being together and then it just ended. I loved their relationship and Hutch and it just didn’t feel complete. I had high expectations because I loved the romcommers last year and this just did not live up to it. It’s overall a sweet story- Katie learns to love herself which is what every woman wants to be able to do but it just didn’t feel complete

Aside from the love story between Katie and Hutch the real kicker was the love story between Katie and herself, specifically with her own body. It was like a mini enemies to lovers trope there. I think that is so relatable for women in their late 20s early 30s that made this story so real. Some things to keep in mind is that this book is written in the first-person narrative, the main character speaking to the reader relaying the story which is sometimes annoying to me personally. Trigger-warning discussions of ED, and death.

If you want a happily ever after ending you can trust that Katherine Center is going to give you that. Now, she may take you on a little rollercoaster in between but she does a beautiful job wrapping up the story by the end not rushing a conclusion together which I really appreciate. Even though there are predictable moments throughout this story you find yourself rooting for the main characters and hoping for that happy ending and that is the beautiful thing about romance books. I have to say; the authors note was my favorite part. It was beautifully written and clearly reiterated the key takeaways she wanted us readers to learn from this story. One of those lessons for me was "People say you have to love yourself first before you can love others. But I don't think it's that linear. Learning to love yourself is a process-and a circular one at that." Preach! that hit me hard and was something I needed to hear. Another one- "We can train our own eyes to look with kindness, and pay attention to what's beautiful, and focus on what's right instead of what's wrong. That's how you fall in love-and stay in love-with anyone, including yourself."

Another fantastic book from KC, I will read every book you write. Thank You to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the gifted ARC. As always, all opinions are my own.

Katherine Center’s books are always an absolutely delight and this one is no differerent! The body image insecurity to positivity message resonated in a way that made me feel seen. The story is of course a rom-com and the journey that brings Katie and Hutch together is filled with much laughter and some tears. The banter is so, so good. I love George Bailey, and Rue and her Gals as the meddling matchmakers that sometimes help get into and out of situations. Cole, might be ok by the end, but we love to dislike him for his selfishness, immaturity, and unnecessary drama he causes. I devoured this book-it was a quick read and will be perfect for summer! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.