Katherine Center's spring/summer book release has been a highlight of my year for the past several years. The bulk of this review is based on my first read-through of The Love Haters, in e-book form. [January 1–4] When I finished, my Notes to Self included “Can't wait to read it again with my ears.” My second reading—this time, the audio ARC, narrated by superstar Patti Murin—was every bit as satisfying. [March 24–26]

Early readers are asked not to share quotes from ARCs until they are compared to the final published version. This, of course, isn't generally possible, as the whole point is to create early buzz. Even if I could, I wouldn't know where to start—there are just too many nuggets from which to choose. As I was going through my notes, I decided that I'll order one signed and personalized hardcover and one unadorned hardcover to use as my reading/sticky flagging copy. Who am I kidding? I'll probably buy the audio as well. If you are a KC fan, too, be quick like a bunny to get yourself on the library hold list and/or to Center's website to preorder the book from one of the independent bookstores that have signed books (with bonus swag) available for preorder.

This is what I can tell you: I laughed; I learned; I cried (at least once); I sobbed (at least twice); I might have stopped breathing a few times.

As is typical of KC's recent catalog, deep relationships between a varied cast of characters are featured in the story, including Katie's cousin/best friend Beanie; Katie's jerky coworker Cole; Cole's brother Hutch; Hutch and Cole's Aunt Rue (and The Gals—her besties); and Hutch's rescue Great Dane George Bailey. The fact that Aunt Rue and The Gals reminded me of my Granny and The Girls played no small part in my immersion in the book.

The book is slow-burn hot and sexy, but not smutty—which is my personal preference. The first kiss doesn't happen until Chapter Twelve (almost halfway through). If that's not your favorite, still come for the humor, action, all types of love, and emotional nourishment.

While I have a fairly full pipeline right now, I have no doubt that a third reading is in my not-too-distant future. When life is tough, books like The Love Haters offer restorative positive energy.

Wow another fantastic read by Katherine Center! Captivating from start to finish. Great setting and characters that kept me flipping pages long past my bedtime. Lots of heartfelt messages throughout. Totally enjoyed it.
Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a nice story. Thought it was well written. Wasn’t my favorite book but I was able to finish it.

The Love Haters is full of charm, humor, wit, fun characters, and plenty of swoony moments. Beyond that it hits the deeper themes of learning to love yourself, selflessness, and the beauty that can come from found family.

Hutch will melt even the hardest of hearts (along with George Bailey).
Katie will win you over and have you rooting for her by the end.
Everyone needs someone like Beanie in their life.
Cole needed the swift kick in the pants that he got.
And Rue...Rue is an absolute gem of a character!

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook after reading this book and it did not disappoint. The narrator truly breathed life into these characters and upped my emotional investment in the story. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook if you are able.

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC and to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“You should definitely almost drown,” Beanie said. “But not all the way. Just enough so he has to give you CPR.”

4.5 stars

You know what? I’m so glad I didn’t DNF this.

That’s not a great way to start a review but it’s true lmao I was going to because I just didn’t like the language/tone but I pushed past that and realized that I did in fact like the tone of the book and how the FMC thought and I ended up loving it. How about that? lmao

“Relaxing is hard,” I kept saying. “I don’t know what to do.”

This was another fun rom-com from Kathrine Center! She’s really great at writing relatable characters, Katie’s insecurities and struggles were hard to read but so real and it was great. Hutch was also great, super grumpy and owned a dog named George Bailey, so top notch.

"“See how easy it is? Plus it helps that you’re a woman.” Good god. I guess he’d noticed."

lmao her internal thoughts had me rolling. The comedy in this was *chef’s kiss*

“I collect pennies from 1965. Only pennies. Only 1965. The year my mom was born.”
“Are they valuable?”
“They are to me.”
“How many do you have?”
Hutch shrugged. “A jar full or so. I haven’t counted in a while. I just like finding them, you know? It’s like my mom’s saying hi.”
“Huh,” I said. “I thought you just really loved pennies.”
“Naw,” Hutch said. “I just really loved my mom.”

The whole parents and Rue storyline had me literally crying, so that was fun.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, the author, and Netgalley for this ARC!

I won’t say that one kiss fixed every broken thing in my life. But I will say this: having someone stand up for you and then kiss you senseless by the water at sunset is a hell of a thing.

This is an easy read rom-com with some underlying life messages that we learn about along the way. I enjoyed the characters Rue and George Bailey the most. It made for an enjoyable, effortless read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced listening copy of The Love Haters by Katherine Center. This book comes out on May 20th, 2025.

🥰Enjoyment: I am of two minds on this one. As a writer, KC has a voice that really draws me in. However this book focused heavily on a theme of body image and negative self talk that really was a lot. I wouldn’t call it a trigger for me but literally the entire plot is repeatedly touched by our FMCs self image concerns and it just weighed down the story for me. Additionally the “conflict” that existed in the back half of the book didn’t feel high stakes enough to drive the plot in the way it did. There were a few other nitpicky things that I won’t dive into but I just wanted more. More depth and less negative self talk. This won’t stop me from picking up the next KC book, but this wasn’t my favorite one.

A splash of charm, but missing the depth

The Love Haters was one of my most anticipated 2025 reads, but it didn’t quite land for me. There are glimpses of Katherine Center’s usual charm—witty banter, a swoony hero, and a fun setting—but overall, it felt more surface-level than heartfelt.
Katie, our FMC, gets caught in her boss’s lies, risking both her career and her chance at happiness. While her backstory is developed, it didn’t feel particularly compelling. Hutch is a solid romantic lead, but the chemistry and emotional depth weren’t as strong as I’d hoped. The side characters felt flat, and the story relied too much on telling rather than showing.

It’s an easy, entertaining read with conga lines, hurricanes, and stolen kisses—but it missed the emotional punch I expect from Center.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a complimentary eArc in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, if you're starting with Katherine Center books, start with The Rom-Commers, Beautiful Stranger or How to Walk Away.

This was a sweet read! I really enjoyed all of Katherine Center's books. Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Read this book if you are into these tropes:
- Found Family
- Witty Banter
- Forced Proximity
- Body Image/Insecurities

This book made me laugh, smile, and I was definitely giddy! However, the miscommunication trope is NOT for me. I have a hard time when characters do not communicate effectively. This book does cover the topic of eating disorder which. may need some trigger warnings for some people.

I really enjoyed watching the FMC grow confidence in her body and the growing bond between her and Hutch! Overall, I would say this is a solid 3/5.

I had both the audio and ebook of this, so yes you are getting this review twice.

DNF at 10% on Chapter 4. WHY IS THERE NO DISCLAIMER FOR ANOREXIA OR EATING DISORDERS. I am anorexic and trying become a recovering anorexic and this book has made me spiraled. I read the Rom-Commers by this author and absolutely loved it, so of course I wanted to read the next book by this author, but since there’s no disclaimers for sensitive topics I didn’t know this would be a problem. I was going to try to push past it, maybe reading a book about something I struggle with every day of my life will help me begin my healing journey, but I fear it’s going to set me back. Do better.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. The FMC's body image and self-confidence issues were such a major focus that is was a bit overkill in my opinion and started to really drag on and feel redundant. I also did not buy in to the romance, either. It felt like we were just told they fell in love but did not have much evidence of such happening. This is on I felt I should DNF at around 30% but kept going hoping it would get getter or hook me in and sadly that just didn't happen.

I did think Hutch seemed sweet, especially how he cared for his rescue dog!

3⭐️
I loved the first half of this book! Katie, the main character, was hard to like with her self-hatred but that was part of the charm, knowing that she was going to learn and grow through the book. I love a self-love character arch. I really liked Hutch, the US Guard swim rescuer. But the plot shift at the middle of the book where Cole, Katie’s boss AND Hutch’s brother, arrives on scene lost me. It wasn’t a miscommunication troupe but it sure felt like it.

I love Catherine Center books and will continue reading her books. This one just was a miss for me.

My favourite romcom of the year by far! I had so much fun reading this book. It had very few of the annoying tropes I dislike in a romance book and most of the ones I love!

It's about a filmmaker who goes to shoot a promo about the Coast Guard (btw I still find it so weird that the coast guard is military in the US). But anyways there was lots of cute found family vibes, self love, a cute dog, and lots of nice descriptions of the Florida Keys. What's not to love? The romance was cute and believable and the conflict was annoying but acceptable. The climax of the story was also unexpectedly exciting!

I'll definitely be recommending this one! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for giving me an Advance reader copy of this book.

This book was the perfect Rom-com mixed with a love story of self love. Katie is going through a lot in her personal life that changes the way she perceives herself. A recently broken engagement, her job on line and her self worth at an all time low. Her ex fiancée is a celebrity and she w2as forced into the harsh public eye, which lead to online bullying. After that she was seeing herself in all the wrong light, but it took a trip to paradise for a work video to really jump start a healing relationship with a hot Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch, but more importantly herself.
The story was also healing for Katie but the other characters as well. Hutch and Cole brothers who lost their parents in a car accident when they were younger learn to heal their strained relationship. Rue the owner of the cottages in Key West played a huge role in Hutch’s life and also helped Katie find her way through her kind gestures and support.

We all have that best friend like Beanie! The outspoken, tell it like it is, loves you so fiercely that she isn’t afraid of giving you tough laugh and ask those hard questions.

We often are very self critical on ourselves instead of giving a little grace or seeing us the same way people we love see us. We aren’t made to be “perfect” we all have our flaws but at the end of the day with the right amount of love and support you can go on a live a happy life.

This book made me laugh and but also got me thinking about how I’m often self critical and how I need to look at myself in a better light.
The Love Haters was my first book By Katherine Center and I will be looking into her other books moving forward.
I personally think this book is the perfect Beach read going into the summer and it should be added to your TBR asap.

Thank you, NetGalley and Katherine Center, for letting me read this book in exchange for a review.

I am a fan of Katherine Center's work, like The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger and The Rom-Commers, which I often reread. I was very excited for this new book, The Love Haters, but I had trouble getting through this book. There's a lot of repetitive sentences and conversations, the body issues are the female main characters' only personality trait and it was difficult to sympathize with her. It felt a lot like 'pick-me-girl' vibes.

Moreover, this story is written in a very objective way. Like, when the love interests kiss, it's just written that they kiss but you don't feel it. You are not brought along on this experience. Same with the love development, you just have to trust conversations happened because you do not read about it. It's difficult to relate to the main character and feel her emotions and difficulties. Mostly because of this objective way of writing. That made this book not good in my opinion.

There were also many scenes where miscommunication happened and I'm just like 'JUST TALK!'... one of my least favorite things in books is where if they just literally stood up for themselves or said something, things would be resolved. It just seemed a bit childish and some scenes, like the lies Cole spun and involved Katie in, was just ridiculous. How does everybody in the book just seem to kind of go along with it? I know that 'ridiculous' / 'funny' things are Katherine's style with her books and it has been funny in the last few books but this one felt a bit too much and extra unbelievable and not relatable. Like who calls 911 and says that Hutch is a sexy name? You're literally on a sinking boat, what do you mean?

I hope Katherine Center will write other books, more in the way she did The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger. I'm hoping for this at least.

This was okay. This is my second book that I’ve read from this author and I just don’t think she’s for me. The characters were hard to like and seemed very immature. I didn’t care how the story was going to play out at all.

Ok, I really loved this one!! I felt like it was just what I needed right now. Some aspects were a tad far-fetched, but I was ok with them - it added to the magic of the story for me. I felt this one was a true romcom done in true Katherine Center fashion!

All the love for The Love Haters! I absolutely adored the newest Katherine Center rom com!

Katie gets pulled into a project she may not be qualified for in hopes to save her job. She sets off for Key West to meet the rescue swimmer she will be profiling for a Coast Guard promo video to find that Hutch is quite the catch, along with his eccentric Aunt Rue and his lovable great dane. Toss in Rue's lively community of friends, lots of brotherly drama, and a tropical storm; and you end up with a delightful story you won't want to put down!
 
Thank you to #NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC of #TheLoveHaters in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a cute read. I liked the characters overall although I felt like the story was a little longer than it needed to be.

A fun read! I was a huge fan of the setting, and enjoyed that it leaned into the local side of key west vs the tourist side. I found the male lead to be interesting, but could have enjoyed him having a little more that made him not perfect (all his conflict was about his brother not him). I like that the main character wasn’t “fixed” by falling in love, and I really liked the aunt.