Katherine Center never disappoints. I have once again gotten lost in her writing, in a world of romance and humor that is realistic yet just the right amount of “that doesn’t happen in the real world” dreaminess. This adorable rom-com takes place in the Florida Keys in what I can only imagine as a charming cottage community. The Girls are amazing and I must find a tribe of grannies to unconditionally support me the way they immediately do with Katie. Enter Hutch, the grumpy Coast Guard rescue swimmer…and his enormous Great Dane. Hilarity and misunderstandings ensue. Love Haters is the perfect escape from reality I needed during this particularly stressful time in our political history.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t my favorite Katherine Center book. I found it difficult to connect with the main characters, Katie and Hutch, and their romance lacked the emotional depth I expected. The love story felt rushed, leaving it a bit shallow and underdeveloped. Overall, I found it boring and struggled to stay engaged with the plot.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

Katherine Center’s The Love Haters is a heartfelt and engaging novel about self-discovery, resilience, and unexpected romance. The story follows Katie Vaughn, a video producer recovering from a public breakup, as she takes on an assignment profiling a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, despite her inability to swim. As she navigates personal insecurities, professional challenges, and a growing connection with the guarded but kindhearted Hutch, Katie embarks on a journey of self-acceptance. With witty dialogue, endearing side characters, and a charming Great Dane, the novel blends humor and emotion beautifully. While some plot elements feel a bit contrived, the book ultimately delivers a compelling message about embracing one’s true self and the power of love. I would highly recommend this to my patrons at the library, as it’s a delightful read that balances romance, humor, and personal growth.

Katherine Center is a romance QUEEN, and this book was no different. I was giggling and swooning the entire time. Katie was wholly relatable, and Hutch was a literal dreamboat. I loved everything about this, the way Katherine can take sizzling chemistry, funny banter, and marry it all with deeply relatable and heartfelt topics that teach us about ourselves and how we exist in the world. Honestly, EVERYONE needs to read this book.

The Love Haters was an absolute delight—equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and completely unputdownable. Katherine Center once again delivered a story packed with snappy banter, swoon-worthy romance, and just the right amount of emotional depth.
Katie Vaughn was a mess in the best way—a determined but underqualified video producer who somehow found herself in paradise, pretending she could swim (spoiler: she absolutely could not). And then there was Hutch, the infuriatingly handsome, broody, secretly soft-hearted rescue swimmer who stole every scene… along with Katie’s common sense. Their chemistry was electric, their banter was top-tier, and their forced proximity shenanigans? Pure gold.
Throw in a chaotic Great Dane, a feisty aunt, and a brewing hurricane—both literal and emotional—and this book had everything I wanted. I laughed, I swooned, and I may have stress-sweated through Katie’s swimming lessons. And that grand romantic moment? Perfection.
If you love rom-coms that make your heart race (both from laughter and longing), The Love Haters was a total winner. Katherine Center just gets it—love, humor, and the magic of a well-earned happily ever after.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Love Haters // Katherine Center

Publishes May 20, 2025
thank you net and st Martin for this ARC.

I binged this book in one day. I loved the characters, the setting, the complicated plot (that continuously seemed to grow more complicated, not from miscommunication but downright lies), and of course Katherine Center’s unique voice that shines through in her writing.

Katie is facing being fired from her video producing job unless she can pull off a video that encourages coast guard recruitment. She has to travel down to Key West for this project that was originally assigned to her boss, Cole. To make matters more complicated, Cole is the brother to the Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. Hutch, who is described as very serious and no fun, is expecting Cole. One other crucial problem is that Katie doesn’t know how to swim.

In addition to Katie, Cole and Hutch, there’s Rue and her gang of retired ladies, as well as Katie’s cousin, Beanie. In my mind Beanie had the voice of Katherine Center, full of wisdom and encouragement. Rue is the lovable auntie figure who made me smile every time she was on the page.

Katie faces many internal and external battles throughout the book. She’s been dumped by a now famous singer, struggled with disordered eating, has to learn to swim (and wear a swimsuit), and well, there’s a hurricane. Not to mention the family drama she unintentionally enters into, which becomes a major plot point in the book (and I thoroughly enjoyed it).

I haven’t even mentioned the Great Dane, George Bailey, who causes quite a bit of drama. He’s a lovable rescue who doesn’t quite understand his size. And then there’s the whole thing with Jennifer Aniston’s dog.

I adore Katherine Center and this lives up to the hype that surrounds her name!

This was my first Katherine Center book so had no expectations but ended up loving it.
This has quirky funny romance but still some deep topics that are handled wonderfully.
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to pick up another one by KC.

I do enjoy escaping into a Katherine Center story.
They are sweet, stormy, and heartfelt.
Love Haters tells of two people not looking for anything even though deep down they do really like one another.
If you're looking for a feel good story this is it!
Slow burn
Coast Guard Rescue
Closed Door

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an earc to review before it's release date*

This book comes out May 20, 2025.

*3.5* I liked it. It was enjoyable. Fun, entertaining. I liked Katie. She was funny and struggles with her body image which I can relate. However she annoyed me in some scenes where I like rolled my eyes. Her relationship development with Hutch is great. I liked it. But I felt like they didn't get to know each other enough for the romance. The first kiss was fast already. I loved Rue and Beanie. They're just hilarious and really love how they always be there for Katie. I also felt like there wasn't that much comedy. I laughed in a few scenes but it just doesn't feel enough for me to feel like a rom-com. I do like Katherine Center's writing so I do want to read other books of her.

Quirky, funny, and cheesy but in the best way. Katie takes a trip down to Florida to do a documentary on the coast guard and a day in the live feature on hutch who is her bosses brother. While down there she turns her monochrome life into a technicolor dream. With the help of rue; hutch’s aunt she gets a new wardrobe and eventually a new confidence to learn to swim to be able to fuller immerse herself in the documentary. She falls in love along the way unexpectedly. While it wasn’t my favorite Katherine center book as it did feel like a really slow burn I enjoyed elements of it and the message behind it. I also liked the backstory of how Cole and hutch go to where they are and glad we explored that storyline in detail.

I love Katherine Center’s other books, so I was very excited to read this one! With that being said, my expectations were high. This story follows Katie, a video producer pretending she knows how to swim as she is documenting what a coast guard rescue swimmer does for his job *cue love interest*. A lot of the book was Katie dealing with body issues elements, which seemed to overshadow A LOT of the romance in the book. Overall, it was an easy read that was enjoyable, just not quite my favorite book of hers.

Katherine Center can do no wrong—ever. Leave it up to her to have me crying over a Great Dane on a houseboat.
Truly, this book had me swooning after we met our MMC.
Katie’s journey to self love was a rocky one. She’s faced some demons and some horrible thoughts about herself. Watching her heal through the pages was so beautifully written. One scene in particular stands out as she thanks her body for all it’s done and can do for her. I think this self-love journey was almost as exciting as the romantic love story.

I think Hutch is my new book boyfriend. The kindness of his heart, empathy and his own healing journey was transformative. We love a nice guy!!!

Be sure to read the authors note- as always beautifully written.

3.5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ cute, quick read. To me, this book was a slower start than other KC books but by the end I was hooked and read the last 50% in one sitting. Overall a very sweet heartwarming story with lovable characters.

Katherine Center can do no wrong. I will take no criticism. This book was perfection. I absolutely adored Hutch and Katie. Katie’s character had incredible growth. Rue was the sweetest. I despised Cole and George Bailey was hands down my favorite character. I felt like I was in the story with these characters. I loved everything about this sweet story. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was so different from Katherine Center’s normal books, but still so good! Since I myself am a Katie with hazel eyes (really hazel haha) and sectoral heterochromia who loves to wear dark colors, this one hit home! I loved Katie (FMC); she’s so very chaotic and relatable. I struggled to connect with Hutch (MMC) a lot because of how little he talks in the story. We heard a lot ABOUT him, and we get his crucial backstory from him, but it was a lot of internal content from Katie so I felt like we missed on a lot of the connection between the two.

Still, I think the secondary storyline about Katie learning to love herself was so important, especially in today’s world, and I do see why that meant that sometimes Hutch took a backseat.

I totally enjoyed it though and would definitely recommend it!

I loved the premise of this one and the setting was very vivid. I was immediately pulled in and super super excited to read this one; however, I felt like a lot of the romantic relationship was off page. I didn’t feel like I actually got to know the main couple as a couple. It felt very rushed and not a lot of buildup or tension. I did absolutely love the side characters especially the dog overall it was a nice quick and fun beach read but this is not my favorite Katherine Center novel. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Chefs kiss.

I have loved Katherine Center books for quite some time now comma so when I saw her next book was featuring the US Coast Guard rescue swimmer I was immediately biased by my husband’s own affiliation and was too excited to read this book.

Per usual, I was immediately drawn into the book by the deep character building she’s able to do through her narrators. Katie was so likable and relatable, we all have body issues. We all have insecurities, and if my ex became a famous singer from TikTok and the world scrutinized me, hell I’d be insecure too. I laughed out loud several times and found Hutch so very endearing and George Bailey one of the best dogs described in writing. She captured the goofiness of a great Dane and I felt like I really got to know these characters. There’s a strong chance Hutch entered my top 5 book boyfriends.

The ending was one of the most drawn out scenes that I’ve ever read by her, and I felt myself immediately rushing to get through it because it was not only written so well, but I was in such suspense for it to be over that I had to go back and reread the ending the next day

I can’t wait for this book to come out and for my other friends to read it, I will be buying a hardcopy book myself, and loaning it out to everyone I know, including every Coast Guard spouse who loves to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. The book is set to publish on May 20, 2025.

so good!!! Katherine Center is the QUEEN of romcoms and i will die on that hill. this book was cute, funny, quirky, and so much fun to read. Katherine knows just how to capture my attention and i could not put this book down.

This will be the perfect summer read, I will def be reading again by the pool! Thank you netgalley!

Katherine Center hits it out of the park again with this one! I’ll admit to not loving it as much as The Rom Commers but I did love it.

Katie is our heroine. She’s desperately trying to hang onto her job during downsizing. She’s tasked with filming a Coast Guard recruitment video but tells a little lie: she can’t swim.

Hutch, famous for saving a pup that fell down a cliff, wants nothing to do with this project, or Katie. He agrees to the project but isn’t happy about it. Did I mention he’s ridiculously hot?

And then there’s Rue, Hutch’s aunt and possibly the best character in the book.

Katie’s insecurities were so real. I can’t imagine there are many women who won’t relate in some way.

I’ll admit that the ending is a little unrealistic, but in the way that you don’t mind because it’s so sweet.

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.