I normally LOVE Katherine Center's books, but this one missed the mark. Almost as it it were written by someone else. The characters just weren't there for me. The dynamic was lacking as well.

I can totally do that. Who really double checks a resume anyways? I can google that right? Watch a YouTube video? Fake it until I make it? I’ve got this right? RIGHT? Like how hard is it to learn to swim as an adult? If all else fails, I’ll take a few quick swim lessons. That should do it. If children can learn how to swim, so can I!

I can imagine those words floating around in Katie’s head. Pun intended. What would you do if your job was on the line and you were just told that your boss was downsizing and your name may be on the chopping block? Would you agree to take on a job that requires you to get in the water? A job that requires you to know how to swim? Abso-flipping-lutly!

Meet Katie. Katie is a videographer who has been asked to take on a job of interviewing a rescue diver for the coast guard. But not any old rescue diver, but diver Hutch Hutcheson. Brother to Cole Hutcheson, Katie’s coworker. This story is a huge one. Not only is it covering a high profile man, but it is Katie’s Hail Mary to save her job. The catch , you have to be able to swim. And not only swim but put on a bathing suit. Neither of those things are in Katie’s vocabulary.

While Katie is leery about taking this job that she is most certainly not qualified for, what seals the deal is finding out that Hutch is a love hater. Which is exactly what Katie needs. Katie is also is boycotting love after it did her wrong.

When this dark little awkward storm cloud arrives in sunny Florida she isn’t quit prepared for the bright and colorful characters she is about to be spending a whole lotta time with. She is forced to get out of her comfort zone by people who genuinely love her and sees the real Katie. While facing body image issues and trying to be comfortable in her own skin, she is also forced to be brave enough to do something that most adults should know how to do but full force….in an ocean….with an uber sexy rescue diver with the saddest brown puppy dog eyes, who is perpetually frowning that handsome face of his. What could possibly go wrong?

When these two worlds collide, it’s a total hurricane. Things aren’t all sunny in paradise. Throw in a exuberant gaggle of retired elderly women who call themselves The Gals, a laundry list of lies, a Great Dane that has weird obsession or two, intense coast guard training requirements, conga lines and tropical drinks, and an actual hurricane.

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All hail queen of romance, Katherine Center! Please, don’t ever stop writing! Every time I crack open a new Katherine Center book I think to myself, could this really be better than the last Katherine Center book I read? And just like magic, it is! I don’t even know how it’s possible to like this gem better than her previous work because I absolutely loved everything she’s written prior to this! I can’t get enough of her!

What I adore about Katherine Center’s books is that she takes serious situations and struggles, adds in the perfect chemistry and romance, and blends them into a beautiful story that so many readers can relate to no matter the age of the reader.

In true Katherine Center style, there is comedy and love mixed in with all the seriousness. The comedy is just the best in this book. I don’t know how Center does it, but she truly is a genius at combining comedy with serious topics. Never do they seemed forced or overly done.

The romance! Katherine does such a phenomenal job at forming relationships and writing a love story that gives you the giddiness that you hope a romance story will bring you. All while doing that, she keeps it PG which I so appreciate because it shows readers you don’t need smut to make a love story. Never am I left with wanting more spice. And because of that, anyone at any age can read this book and it would be appropriate for them. Truly a feel good romance! And it truly shows that a good romance writer can write a book and not rely on spice to make up for poor writing.

I very rarely buy books after reading them via ebooks or audiobooks. This book, is absolutely a must purchase for me! I HAVE to own this because I LOVED every part of it! I have zero negative thoughts or anything that I would change which is also a rarity for me!

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What I loved:

The characters
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I loved each and everyone. Even the ones that you wanted to smack upside the head. They all fit together perfectly and I just loved this little family.

The topic: body image
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The topic is one that I have struggled with most of my life. Negative body image is something that a lot of people struggle with in silence. I struggled with it as a child because I was too skinny and tall. I was often told I looked sick and that I just needed to eat a sandwich. As a teen when I developed curves I was told that the boys better watch out. While still very skinny I had an athletic hour glass figure that everybody seemed to comment on. As an adult, I struggle with multiple heath issues that causes my weight to fluctuate. On top of that I’m a mother of four and have had multiple stomach surgeries that doesn’t make exercising easy. I went from incredibly skinny (on the verge of malnourished) to in absolutely incredible shape with a body to kill for, to a body that doesn’t feel like it’s mine. I struggle daily with my body image. Those who have struggle with body image issues will get this book and will love it. Those who don’t, may roll their eyes and think, oh get over it already! But, I can guarantee every single person on this planet has some time or another has struggled with loving every inch of themselves whether they want to admit it or not.

Anyways, I kind of got side tracked there. The point is, I adore how Katherine Center addressed this topic and how she made the reader go on a journey of discovering self love for their body as well.

The Humor
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Kathrine has this amazing way of combining humor with serious subjects and romance. It’s seriously pure magic. It’s natural and never forced or cheesy. You can see Katherine own goofy personality and quick whit shine through in her characters. It’s also highly relatable because I often get myself in the most ridiculous situations that I rarely tell people because they’d think I’m crazy and reading about it makes my Murphy law luck roll with laughter and shake my head and say, I get you girl!

The Romance
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I adore how Katherine can write a Rom-Com that has no sexual content and still leave you weak at the knees. Now don’t get me wrong, spice doesn’t bother me one bit. I don’t shy away from it or condone it whatsoever. However, It gets old reading a book that relies only on the spice to hold the readers attention. There are so many books that have a great idea but then are executed so poorly with terrible writing and just all spice. There are so many writers that rely on the spice to float the story and capture readers. Romance readers deserve better than that. Katherine truly captures what a romance novel should be. Between the characters chemistry, the character development, the slow burn romance, the comedy, and all the giddiness that a romance should entail, she captures it all! And I love that you can recommend her books to anyone and not have to worry if it may be offensive or inappropriate. Never have I read a Katherine Center book and think, gosh I sure wish for a super detailed roll in the hay.


Family & health
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I enjoyed how Katherine brought these characters together and made such a cute and quirky family. She wrote that you don’t have to be blood to be family and that those who you surround yourself with and show up for are your true family. It was beautiful. I also loved how she highlighted making the most of your situation. Taking some really hard things that happened in this book and making the best of it. There was multiple situations in this book that were pretty darn sad and she wrote her characters in a way that many people can draw hope and inspiration from. Whether it’s health situations or a loss of a loved one, she captured making the best of a difficult situation beautifully.

What I disliked:

I normally can come up with multiple things to nitpick in a story. This one though, was just perfect! I have no negative things to say or anything that I would change other than I didn’t want it to end!
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I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to read an ARC (advanced reader a copy) in return for an honest review. These are my own thoughts and opinions on the book. Thank you so much to Katherine center, NetGalley, and St. Martins Press for this amazing opportunity. You can get your own copy of The Love Hater on May 20, 2025.

I thought the premise of the book was cute. A videographer has to shoot a coast guard promo video and falls for her subject. I thought the plotline for the brother scenario between Cole and Hutch was really interesting in hearing about how they had their falling out and seeing them reconcile their relationship. I loved Rue and her connection with Katie. I loved the banter and the little things that made this book special. I think the hurricane at the end was a bit much and while I could see the value in Katie's growth, it seemed like too much especially with how far into the book it was. Also the epilogue seemed really really long and I would have rather seen some of that in the bulk of the book instead of placed at the end.

The Love Haters had all the elements for a great rom-com with a mixture of humor, drama and Key West locale; however, I don't believe the actual story lived up to the hype. Katie is a video producer who takes an unwanted assignment from her coworker in order to hopefully stave off a layoff at her company. Katie soon finds out why the assignment was unwanted and ends right in the middle of her coworker's extremely complex family dynamics.

As the story unfolds, there wasn't a lot of strong character development. Katie and Hutch's chemistry was not the greatest. The story told us they spent a lot of time together but we didn't actually get insight into many of those moments. The other characters were hit or miss. Her coworker's quirky aunt Rue and her "Gals" were so fun to read about. However, Katie's friend Beanie was grating and her coworker Cole was frustrating throughout.

There were also overarching themes (grief and body image) that are really heavy and the handling of these themes was heavy handed. It was a PSA at times and felt preachy at best and really annoying at first. Maybe many who have gone through these issues could relate but I found myself rolling my eyes at times because I could not relate much at all.


Overall, The Love Haters is a quick read. I'd highly recommend it as a vacation read because the Key West imagery is perfect. While it wasn't my favorite rom-com read, I did enjoy the ending. I do think many will relate to heavier themes and enjoy how the characters grow.


A huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital ARC!

Not my favorite Katherine Center, which is a little disappointing ):
I wasn’t sold on the Katie & Huch’s connection from the get go and I didn’t love the ongoing focus on Katie’s poor body image was a bit triggering for me. I did, however, enjoy Aunt Rue & her friends!

Thank you for this ARC!

It pains me to say this, because I adored Katherine’s book The Bodyguard, but this book was boring. I requested this ARC because of the witty banter and fun storyline of The Bodyguard, but this one felt like it was written by someone else. The whole plot was about Katie’s body image issues, and while I respect her for trying to include this topic, it overshadowed the rest of the story. If it was the focus, it should have been included in the blurb. I skimmed the ending after reading to the 40% mark and never getting to care about the characters or feel any sort of chemistry. I would skip this one.

After several weeks of anticipation, my request to read The Love Haters was finally accepted. I had devoured Katherine Center’s The Rom-Commers so quickly that I was sure I would do the same with this novel. Indeed, it felt fresh and the writing style sucked me in to the point at which I almost felt as though I were at the beach. However, something was missing that was not from Center’s previous works. Perhaps Katie’s self discovery seemed a bit too convenient and the manner in which she came to her conclusions lacked true conflict and growth. Perhaps the character herself was just not as endearing as Center’s other protagonists. Therefore, while I was engrossed, I didn’t feel as emotionally connected, nor invested, as I wanted to be. Hutch too was the ideal love interest, but he didn’t elicit the same reaction as I normally would have had. Hopefully, Center’s next project will remedy the problem. Or, perhaps The Rom-Commers is just that good.

I don’t know where to begin! Hutch, our MMC, might be one of the swooniest book boyfriends to be written! Throughout the story I couldn’t find a single red flag, the man is truly perfect! What I didn’t expect was for this to also be a story of self love and self appreciation! The FMC deals with long-held body issues throughout the story, but tackles them in a way that challenges the readers own views of themselves! All in all it is a fun, tropical read that will be perfect for the summer!

One complaint was that I would have liked a bit more of a wrap-up for the main couple in the epilogue. The ending felt rushed and I would have appreciated a bit more time to see how things unfolded for the couple! I also struggled with the whole fake dating situation with Hutch’s brother. It just felt very sudden. There needed to be a full conversation between Katie and Hutch after everything was said and done!

Other than that, the story was very well written and will be the perfect beach read! There are plenty of feet kicking moments that will keep readers entertained! The vibrant, tropical setting also helps to set the vibes for the whole experience!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!!! I really appreciate it!

Katie is a video producer who is assigned to do a profile on Hutch, a rescue swimmer for the U.S. Coast Guard. Katie is on the chopping block at work, so she'll do anything to prove she's good at her job, including lie about her ability to swim. When she meets Hutch, he doesn't seem very excited about her being there. He was expecting her coworker, who also happens to be his brother who h's trying to repair a relationship with. Katie agrees to help the brothers reconcile if Hutch will let her stay and teach her how to swim. In the midst of working together, Katie and Hutch get to know each other more and start falling for each other. However, with a few plot twists will these previous love haters be able to finally get their happily ever after?

I loved this book! It was so fun and had some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. It was nice to escape to the warmth of the Florida Keys while there was snow outside my window. Would highly recommend this one to any rom-com lovers when it comes out! Also, can Glen Powell be cast as Hutch if this is made into a movie?? Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I swear Katherine Center does not miss! There was so much to love about this book. My favorite character was Rue and her influence over everyone in the book. The huge dog that continues to knock Katie over. The brother trauma and all the lies. The pennies were so special, and what a neat idea! I loved this book! I wanted more of the romance between Katie and Hutch.

Not my favorite by this author but just might be me. I did not like the Katie’s ongoing body focus and I had a hard time seeing the connection between her and Hutch. I loved Aunt Rue and her group of friends though!

Big thank you to Netgalley and Mt. Martin's Press for this ARC review. I was jumping up and down with excitement when I was approved to read.

The Love Haters was amazing! It's a solid 5-star read with great writing, pacing, character development, plot, romance, humor, and engaging dialogue. If you're a fan of Katherine Center, you've got to check this out. And if you're into non-spicy fiction, this is must-read. The story is narrated by Katie Vaughn, who works for a video production company undergoing restructuring. To save the day, she's sent to Key West to film a Coast Guard recruitment video. Her superior, Cole, wants Katie to create an additional video promo about Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch, who is also Cole's brother. Katie can't swim, but she keeps it a secret to get the job. Hutch thinks Cole is filming the project, and there's tension between the two brothers. Hutch is known as a 'love hater' because he's strict and lacks emotion. As the story unfolds, Katie forms a bond with Hutch's aunt Rue and even gets swimming lessons from Hutch.

The story is full of humor, and I adore books featuring animals. A tough male leave with a soft spot for his pet--swoon! There's a fantastic dog in this book stealing the show. I'm really into stories about people reconnecting with their pets lately. I also enjoy books that teach me something. I once read a book about a coast guard swimmer and learned nothing. But this book taught me about water rescue and even swimming. Love it! The story had surprising twists I didn't see coming. It took unexpected turns that fit the story well. The conflicts were resolved nicely too. Initially, I felt frustrated by the FMC's lack of confidence, but as the story unfolded, I realized it was a crucial part of her character development. The emotional conversations and self-realization moments were great. Overall, it's a 5-star read! I'd love a bit more about the couple in the epilogue because I'm nosy and want to know everything that happens after. Nonetheless, the presence of an epilogue is a must for me (and I am thankful there is one). Many thanks for this ARC-I can't wait to recommend this book to everyone I know!

Thank you for the ARC!

I was so excited to read this. It's my first Katherine Center book and I've heard great things about her previous books.
Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me. The characters fell short for me and the self hatred of the FMC was just too much.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, and I enjoyed most of the characters and themes. I appreciated the way that Katherine incorporated issues of grief and insecurities in both of the main characters and while I do agree with some of the commenters that the way Katie struggled with being in her head was at times frustrating, it was also very relatable to me. I think we can all be our own worst enemies l, especially as it relates to body image. I also appreciated her inclusion of Gottman and applying those principles to her own relationship with herself and that growth over the course of the book.

I do wish there was a bit more in terms of character depth/development when it came to Katie and Hutch's relationship. I liked their dynamic, but I wish there was a bit more. I was also pretty irritated by Cole, but I think that was kind of the point. He created a lot of ridiculous situations, and I wish Katie had done more to stick up to him, but I know that was intended to be the main conflict.

I loved Rue's character and the Gals. They added a light-hearted humor to the otherwise heavy or awkward situations, which I found enjoyable. And I think they also added a layer to the theme that love can come in many forms, friendship, self-love, family, etc. Overall, I enjoyed the read. It was an entertaining quick read, and I'd recommend it.

This was my first ARC, so thank you to the publishers and net galley for the opportunity to read and provide my honest feedback.

Would you risk it all to save your job, even if it means filming an action-packed Coast Guard promo from a helicopter—despite not being able to swim?

That's Katie’s dilemma. After a painful breakup with a rock star boyfriend and the toll of public scrutiny on her body image, Katie vows to swear off love. Her career takes her to the Florida Keys, where she crosses paths with Hutch, a handsome rescue swimmer who helps her rediscover her confidence. Along for the ride are Hutch’s quirky Aunt Rue, his charming brother Cole, Katie's unpredictable boss Beanie, and Hutch’s lovable Great Dane, George Bailey.

This rom-com is an adventurous, lighthearted escape with just a touch of spice. While the story dives deep into character development and emotional growth, some plot twists feel a bit far-fetched, which made it harder for me to stay fully invested in the story and its characters.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!
Let's get straight to it: I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Love Haters. While it presents itself as a love story, it's not simply the romance between Katie and Hutch. Instead, it's a powerful narrative about Katie's journey to self-love and acceptance of her body. Yes, you read that right.
While the book carries elements of a rom-com, its core focus lies on Katie and her struggles with body image. This might seem unconventional to some readers, but I found it deeply resonant. I connected with Katie on a profound level and felt like offering her a comforting hug. Katherine Center masterfully captures the emotional rollercoaster women experience when grappling with body insecurities. She tackles this sensitive topic with brilliant writing skill, weaving in humour and a touch of romance. The comedic moments were genuinely funny, requiring me to pause and collect myself.
About the romance, I must admit it felt somewhat secondary. This is why I've rated the book four stars. Hutch seemed more like a supporting character than a leading male character. The romantic connection between Katie and Hutch felt rather ‘on surface’ and the development of their feelings was a bit confusing. However, there were undeniably sweet moments that I really loved.
The supporting characters on the other hand were excellent, adding a consistent dose of fun and energy into the story. (And yes, I absolutely hated Cole, regardless of popular opinion!). George Bailey was a standout character, stealing every scene and winning my heart.
Overall, I found The Love Haters to be an amazing read. While its depth might not resonate with everyone, I encourage readers to give it a chance. It’s a story that goes beyond a simple romance and dives into the complexities of self-acceptance!

The Love Haters is a cute rom-com about Katie and Hutch. Katie's last relationship was a dud and now it looks like her job is failing, too. Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who also has his own emotional baggage. The two get thrown together for a documentary project in the Florida Keys and have chemistry from the moment that they meet.

Overall, I give The Love Haters 4 stars. It's sweet with some heavier themes mixed in. Parts of it had me rolling my eyes (Hutch's brother, Cole, is particularly obnoxious) but the description of Hutch's job and the actual danger that Katie finds herself in had me turning the pages. One thing that I have come to expect from Katherine Center's books is that her main characters are never perfect and have some things they are working through. I wish the side characters in this one had more depth, but George Bailey (the dog) and his toads make up for it. PS: The dog makes it through the book just fine, in case you're the type of person who worries about that sort of thing.

This one will be a great book to stick in the pool bag this summer. It's light and frothy and ends well.

Big thanks to the publisher for this ARC!

Overall this was a fun summer read! I really enjoyed the story and characters (even the side characters- specifically George Bailey!)

I loved Katie finding herself and body positivity along the way. I also adored Hutch and the whole Coast Guard rescue swimmer side.

I really enjoyed this book start to finish!

See my full review on Goodreads.

The Love Haters was a solid beach/vacation read! It would also be perfect to read in the summer. Katie, the fmc, is fighting to keep her job and accepts a project in Key West where she'll end up working with the male main character, Hutch, who is a rescue swimmer. Big problem is, Katie can't swim... chaos ensues.

I really enjoyed both characters in this and how the romance played out. I loved the setting and I thought the story had a great amount of depth behind it.

This is actually my first Katherine Center book, and I'll certainly be picking up another. I would absolutely recommend adding this one to your TBR!

Katherine Center is my favorite romance author for exactly books like this. I was literally giggling out loud to myself at how cute this book was. Hutch and Katie are two of the most awkward, adorable people ever. The tension added later in the book felt unnecessary at first, but ended up playing up the plot really well. Overall it was a great read and I can’t wait to read more from her!