This book unfortunately was not for me. I usually love Katherine centers books but the way this book began really through me off. It through us right into a very serious topic with no warning and no foundation before the book started. I feel I usually need to get to know the MC's a bit before the story can begin to unfold, unfortunately it was a bit too rash for me. I will definitely be reading future Katherine Center books though as I think this book just didnt fit for me.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a stranger to lover/forced proximity romance.

Katie is a video producer whose job is on the line.

Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue 🛟 swimmer with a great Dane, George Bailey, who is scared of thunder.

Told in first POV, this novel is full of small town vibes, humor and friendship.

Another must read author for me. I loved the setting of this one, as Katie fumbles her way around paradise, pretending to know how to swim so she can follow around Hutch the rescue swimmer. I can appreciate that the author gave us a character with body image issues, but I am not sure I love how it was handled in the book? It wasn’t in a bad way, just maybe sort of weird and surface level? I absolutely loved Rue and the gals, but I hated Cole and the boss. I hated the whole Cole situation so much once he arrived on the island. The big lie/conflict of the book was not my jam. What did work for me was the dog.

Bottom Line: Overall, it wasn’t my favorite from the author, but still an interesting read and I had a hard time putting it down…wanting to see what would happen next.

**I received a copy of The Love Haters from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

Katherine Center has done it again! This book had everything. Romance, laughs, drama.
The FMC is incredibly endearing. She was so so relatable.
The MMC was so swoon worthy!
Like all of Center's books, I laughed my way through them. She's a treasure.

Katherine Center never disappoints. This story had different layers that were interesting to uncover. Katie is a video producer that gets assigned to work on a project with Hutch, a Coast guard search and rescue that also struggles with love, so she’s told by her coworker who is also his brother. The story unfolds challenges on both sides including Hutch’s traumatic past and Katie’s insecurities. I really enjoyed the thoughtfulness of the story addressing difficulties with body image, an eating disorder, self esteem and even “chromophobia” in which many women can relate. The information on Coast Guard search and rescue was unique and interesting to learn. I did struggle a bit with Hutch’s brother/ Katie’s coworker’s conflicts and odd choices. Katie’s journey toward self love and romantic love kept me engaged and wanting more. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC of Katherine Center’s annual romance.

Katherine Center always kills the romance genre and quirky characters. This book did not disappoint and I love that she is keeping on trend with including an animal!

Full review to come soon.

I absolutely love <b>Katherine Center</b>. she has lived up to to my 5-star expectations every single time, so it kills me to say that this fell a bit flat. cole pissed me off more times than I could count, and when I got to the end, I was left thinking "...that's it?" I could've used more of some things and less of others..

TW: body dysmorphia, natural disaters, weather

I really loved this book! It was great to watch Katie really come into herself, and find out more about Hutch. I loved how all of the characters were connected in some way, but you didn't find out how immediately. A cute story!

The Love Haters is ideal for readers who enjoy witty, heartfelt rom-coms exploring self-discovery and chaotic adventures in sun-soaked settings, blending humor with emotional growth.

Katherine Center's sweet rom-com about a video producer and her reluctant hero of a subject is set against the colorful backdrop of Key West. The appealingly playful love story incorporates issues of body image, job insecurity, and past tragedy in a lighthearted and charming novel.

Katie Vaughn has been single for a year, since her former fiancé, an up-and-coming musician, hit it big and then very publicly cheated on her with a pop star.

She's a mid-level video producer on the verge of a layoff--unless she accepts a job in which she documents the life of Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch Hutcheson, an everyday hero who rose to fame when he happened to save Jennifer Aniston's golden retriever. And he's not interested in being filmed.

He lives in Key West, and much of the footage will be taken in and around the water. Katie doesn't disclose that she can't swim, but surely there will be precautions taken, life vests forthcoming, and she can probably even film from the deck of the boat...right?

The banter made me laugh at times, and I bought the attraction between Katie and Hutch, as well as the "reasons" (all solvable, folks!) that they must not be together. Katie's evolution in considering and coping with body image issues felt valuable and compelling. Supporting characters are great, colorful, and add nice layers of interconnectedness to the story.

While the roadblock issue of not swimming is easily resolved (in convenient fashion, so that the two main protagonists can spend time together), a bigger, more problematic secret emerges to keep the tension going. The famous ex fades away as an issue as the story goes on. The crisis that forms toward the end felt over the top and drawn out, with a rom-com-easy resolution, but by that point I was ready for anything Center was throwing my way.

This is not a racy book, and the attraction and relationship are focused on emotions and wanting to be together without being swoony or angsty.

I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

Katherine Center is also the author of The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard, and other books.

Note: You can find Bossy reviews of each of these titles on Bossy Bookworm, the blog.

I read the Love Haters all the way back in December! Like all of Katherine Centers books, I really enjoyed it! This one is set mostly in Key West which was fun because I’ve been there several times as my brother lives there. I am not a great swimmer though, and I get horribly seasick which is not fun. This story was pretty fun and full of hilarious antics, romance, and some drama as well. I can’t imagine myself doing most of the things that Katie did while doing her job, mostly because of the aforementioned seasickness and not so great swimming skills (which incidentally, Katie is also not a great swimmer). That did not stop me from loving this book. I’m a huge fan of Katherine Center and can’t wait for her next book!

The Love Haters published May 20th! It’s the perfect beach read! Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced readers copy! #read #reader #TheLoveHaters #KatherineCenter #fiction #ebook #netgalley #stmartinspress #bookreview #book #bookstagram #summer #beach #beachread #summerread #hurricane #romance

✨Review - The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Katie Vaughn has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or take a gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim―but pretends that she can.

I had a love-hate relationship with this one. (See what I did there??)

Things I loved:
🏝️ The dreamy Key West setting
😂 The over-the-top comedy scenes
🥰 The way Gottman relationship therapy tools were used to promote self-love

Things I didn’t love:
🪞The way body image and eating disorders were handled - it felt very shallow (i.e. you’re beautiful just the way you are!) rather than looking deeper at qualities such as personality and talents to see value in a person (i.e. you’re beautiful on the inside!)
🙉The overuse of the miscommunication trope. It felt excessive and frustrating, and was just too much for me.

A huge thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was another great read by Katherine Center. I really appreciate all the details included, makes it seem so realistic. Thanks NetGalley for the eArc.

Such a great romance! Adored the writing and the setting, and it was so easy to fall in love with the characters.

I love Katherine Center! Every one of her books brings me absolute joy. And you can tell how much research she puts in her stories! She is amazing!

Love Haters follows Katie Vaughn, a video producer hoping to improve her career. After being convinced by one of her co-workers to take on a story, Katie finds herself on the hunt for an exclusive interview with the famous Coast Guard hero Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson.

Great self-image rep. Loved all the Coast Guard vibes and research. Though moreso a women's fiction book, the romance was well done. KC had me biting my nails at the end scenes. Talk about emotional!

Another great read by KC. I will read them all.
4.5 stars.

Thank you Macmillian Audio for my #gifted ALC!

I like main characters who are imperfect and make mistakes, but don't like ones that are dumb. Katie is a video photographer who works for a company. When her coworker Cole approaches her to make a video of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West, her first reaction is Where is Key West? What does the Coast Guard do? Why would swimming be involved? Her company has been cutting staff to save money and she wants to keep her job so she agrees even though she doesn't know how to swim. In Key West she is met by Rue, a lovely woman who owns some cottages and a store in Key West and who happens to be the aunt of Hutch,, the rescue hero who is also the brother of Cole. Cole didn't want to do the shoot because he is estranged from his brother and Katie didn't know any of this until she arrives in Key West.

This book has a lot of slapstick and misunderstandings and it sometimes reminded me of the old sitcoms like "Threes's Company". Hutch turns out to be handsome, heroic and the owner of a Great Dane dog that constantly jumps on Katie so hard she becomes injured which wouldn't appeal to me . Hutch and Katie develop feelings for each other but for various reasons Hutch cannot tell Katie he likes her. The romance factor isn't shown as much as I would have liked in this book.

Cole himself arrives during the shoot with their boss is tow and due to misunderstandings there is a lot of arguing and Katie feels like she and Hutch will never have a chance to get together. I also didn't like that Katie constantly called her cousin Beanie for advice on the body dysmorphia she had (Katie) and never once asked Beanie how she was or what was going on in her own life. Things resolve themselves during a hurricane and a rescue at sea. I liked the Key West setting, Rue and her colorful friends and I liked the rescue scenes. Didn't like Katie's negative talk abut her body, her using Beanie as a crutch and the way no one wanted to tell the truth about their situations. Thank you the Publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for a gifted copy of this audiobook.

🌺Read if you like:
Workplace romance
Grumpy x sunshine
Found family
Mental health rep
Self love
Sunny Florida setting
⚠️Triggers: body image struggles, death of parents

Katherine Center is easily one of my favorite romance authors. Her books always are so cute and have such relatable characters with actual depth. The Love Haters was no exception.

My favorite thing about this book was the characters. Katie was such a relatable FMC—her battle with body image and loving your body the way it is, is definitely something that spoke to me. Hutch was such a great MMC. He was so genuine with everything in his life- his family, his job (coast guard rescue diver), his community and his sweet giant dog, George Bailey. The way he loved Katie and made her see herself as beautiful was honestly the greatest. Rue was also *chefs kiss* she was the most fun, outgoing and passionate character I’ve read in a while. I loved her backstory and the little found family she created.

I had the privilege of listening to the amazing Patti Murin narrate this audiobook and of course it was amazing.

This book was definitely pretty cheesy in some aspects and was fairly unbelievable, but I appreciate Center's approach to sensitive topics. I loved the character of Rue- would love to see a romcom about her, tbh, she's a hoot! The hurricane scene at the end felt a bit rushed, with minimal build up. Katie's self-revelations felt realistic to me. While the romance didn't really feel real, the rest of the story did.

I really enjoyed this story. Esp when Rue and Hutch were brought into the sorry. Some of the things were a little far fetched but that didn’t take away from the story.

I've read a few books by Katherine Center now, and while I wasn't in love with this one, I did enjoy the personal growth the main character, Katie, had throughout the story. She has low self-esteem and believes she isn't capable of doing big things, but as the story progresses, she learns a lot about herself.

I also want to touch on the point that Katherine Center has a knack for writing characters with these big lives and careers. Katie, for example, is a YouTube content creator who was once engaged to a rock star. She meets Hitch, who is in the Coast Guard. (Previous characters include a female bodyguard and movie star and a screenwriter.) A part of me not feeling a connection to the characters are their careers.

Overall, this story wasn't bad. There just seemed to be a little more drama that wasn't necessary and didn't really help move the story along.