🏝️ Self-Discovery
🏝️ Found Family
🏝️ Key-West
🏝️ Rescue Animals
🏝️ Strong Friendships
🏝️ Forced Proximity
🏝️ Fake Dating
🏝️ One Bed

I am such a Katherine Center fan. Love her and what she stands for in her writing and the experience she strives to give us as her readers. There’s so much depth and her way of drawing you and getting you to think about being better is beautiful.

This one was another 5⭐️ read for me. I really enjoyed the story of Hutch and Katie, Katie and Beanie, Katie and Rue, Katie and George Bailey, but also Katie with herself… and yes, everyone else! Loved how Katherine wrote the dynamics and gave us insight to the backstories for everyone. Overall, the ensemble of characters were endearing. The pace, per usual, was perfect.

Another hit from Katherine Center! The romance in this book was sweet and well-paced, but I think the real strength of the book was Katie's own changing relationship with her body. A beautiful story of coming to love yourself. I think the lies got a bit convoluted and the final rescue was a bit unrealistic, but neither of those were deal breakers for me!

The self-help journey became a little saccharine after a while. Focusing on the relationship development would have increased the suspense and intensity of the ending. It was a cute, quick read, but it felt rushed. However, a prequel about Rue would be a book I'd buy and recommend!

Ever since I ready my first Katherine Center book I knew she would forever be an auto-buy author for me, so I was thrilled to receive an eARC of The Love Haters.

In order to save her job, Katie must travel to Key West and film a promotional video for the Coast Guard. So what if she doesn’t know how to swim? Unfortunately for Katie her subject isn’t completely on-board with the project and she has to pass a Shallow Water Egress Training (SWET) exercise in order to fly with the crew which means she needs to learn how to swim - fast.

I loved the unique premise of the plot and I thought that Katie and Hutch’s first two encounters were the stuff of my rom-com meet cute dreams (especially the second, iykyk 👙). Not only does this book explore the romantic relationship between Katie and Hutch, but it also dives into the relationship that Katie has with her own body. I think many readers will be able to identify with Katie’s body image issues, yet I wish that I had felt more for Katie.

Additionally, I felt that the pacing of Katie and Hutch’s romance was off in a way that made it seem like it came out of the blue. I wish that there had been more scenes to show us how their relationship was developing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have such conflicting feelings about this book. First, Katherine Center is an always-read author for me. I love the heart, emotion and goodness that she writes with every. single. time.
That said, this one didn’t fully land for me. The handling of the main character’s body image issues, disordered eating and overall insecurities felt clumsily handled. It felt over-simplified, too easily resolved and almost emotionally separate from the character herself. Though I love that the author is trying to speak to those issues it just didn’t work for me.

I also had a hard time with the connection between the two main characters - it just never felt like a genuine finding of/falling in love.

Overall I felt like I was watching the formulaic telling of a plot/story and not living the life story along with the characters which is what I typically feel with this author’s stories. I still love her way with words and she will remain a must-read author for me but this one just wasn’t my favorite.

🌴 The Love Haters - Katherine Center

3.75 ⭐️ - This is such a cute, lovable, throw in your beach bag book! I am a sucker for a cute Katherine Center romance while I’m sitting on the beach and this was perfect. This one takes place in Key West so I read it while I was in Naples.. close enough!

I like a lot of things about this book! The body positive messaging is so important in today’s society with social media and “expected images.” At times it felt like a lot, but it felt so important to include. I loved our side characters - Rue and The Gals and George Bailey! They were a fun addition to the story that kept me laughing the whole time. I loved Hutch; a genuine good, swoon-worthy guy with an interesting job (that I learned a lot about). Katie has quite the journey through this book and I enjoyed following along. This is one you need to keep on your radar for this summer, especially if you’re a romance or Katherine Center fan!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin Press for the early ARC. This one will make its splash on 5/20!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced e-book reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Love Haters by Katherine Center was a welcome surprise as I have not read anything by this author in a while! Exactly as the title says - this book follows the “haters” to lovers relationship between Katie and Hutch. I’ve recently started reading a lot of military based romances so when I saw this one had a male protagonist coast guard rescue swimmer - I immediately wanted to dive in! Katie and Hutch have a very palatable romance that was slow but also nicely paced. I thought Hutch had a lot more character development than Katie. I rated the book a 3/5 because as much as I loved the book, the “I can’t swim but I’m going to fake it til I make it and then pass my military grade exam in order to film a rescue hero” was a little unbelievable. I was anticipating something else. However if you’re a fan of quirky characters, chances are encounters, and lighter tone romances - this is a great read!

This is another hit from Katherine Center. An enjoyable rom com that had me either giggling or reading with a smirk on my face the entire time. Even though the reader will probably know how the story ends the plot keeps the reader engaged to see how the story will play out. I even feel like some of the minor characters in this story could have their stories continued in another book. A great easy book to have for this summer too!!

3.75⭐️

This was my first Katherine Center book and I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this book, and the fact that I could relate to our FMC Katie made it better. Katie struggles with body image (as do I) and I just really appreciate the honest struggles that she went through and had to deal with.

I also love Great Danes and had them growing up so that just made things better😂 George Bailey stole a piece of my heart for sure.

Ultimately I didn’t want to put the book down. I had such a fun time. It did leave me wanting more of Hutch and Katie’s relationship/story though.

I also really loved Rue. Her personality, her outlook on life. I think she brought a special perspective into the book and I just loved the role she played to the boys but also to Katie.

I want to give a huge thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sending me the arc!

3.5 rounded up

New from Katherine Center, this story follows Katie, who is almost out of a job, to Key West to save her employment from a boss that is determined to downsize.

She runs a popular YouTube show on the side, and has wanted to interview a certain someone for the channel for a long time. The problem? He refuses most interviews.

When Katie discovers that her coworker is actually the guy’s brother, they hatch a plan to send Katie to Key West to try to complete the interview for the channel, as well as to film a documentary for their office, starring the same individual.

The only problem is, Katie can’t swim—and it’s a water rescue documentary.

When she arrives in Key West she is greeted by a lovely older woman named Rue, and she meets the elusive man—Hutch—after all, but it doesn’t all go to plan, as it appears he wants nothing to do with her or the documentary.

What follows is more or less a typical enemies to lovers story following the traditional Katherine Center charm.

Was this my favorite book of hers? No. Was it a cute book, yes. Bonus points because there are lots of mentions of dogs.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of an ARC in exchange for a review

This is an adorable 90s rom-com style story. I have never read anything from this author before, and I truly enjoyed her conversational writing style. When I give a blurb to recommend this to my friends, I will say, "It's a nostalgic rom-com with loveable side characters, wild, sometimes unbelievable circumstances, but it's all in good fun."

Katherine Center has written another wonderful book that can make you laugh while also bringing in heavier issues in a relatable way. The two main characters in this book were well written and I wish we could have seen even more of them together. George Bailey and The Gals were perfect additions to the book. This book had me giggling while also having the ability to bring me to tears and then looking at myself in a different way because of the FMC’s enemy to lovers relationship with herself.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC. I’ve loved all of Katherine Center’s books and this one was no exception.

"The best love stories are never just about romantic love. They're always about so much more than that: Kindness, and joy, and belonging, and safety-- not to mention growing and changing, and healing form the past." Katherine Center in her author's note.

How true that quote perfectly wraps up this book and SO many of my thoughts about this one. I do want to thank Katherine Center, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for the eARC version of this book and allowing me to read it before it releases. These thoughts are all my own!

This story follows broken-hearted, unknowingly love hater Katie on her journey to fulfill a job she didn't sign up for, nor did she want. Enter- Hutch Hutchinson, who is unknowingly, non-purposefully, an around good person. He's just out to help, rescue, and save others and what he doesn't know he does is save himself and Katie both. But the connection I loved the most in this story was Katie and Rue. Rue is everyone's honorary aunt, who loves with her whole heart, and fixes all the broken places that need tending to.

The Love Haters gave me all the feels. It was so joyful, funny, and hit in all the places. The character relationships, the open honesty of the inner struggle so many people face, and the down right realness of everyday people, just living their lives to the best of their abilities kept me living in the Key West bubble but also wanting to go and experience a place like Rue's little slice of heaven. I am so glad that this time I FORCED myself to slow down, not devour this book in one sitting (which I totally could and would have) and soak in the greatness of Center's writing because her style and craft is all consuming. You will not regret reading this book, and you should set an alarm to get it when it releases.

The Love Haters (ARC REVIEW)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the copy of The Love Haters

The Love Haters is a cute romcom. The romance is clean and actually very minimal, only kisses. This book is more about self discovery and healing than romance. I loved seeing the soft side of Hutch and vulnerability of Katie. It was a great and easy read!

Read this if you're looking for a light, funny, and charming quick read that will have you grinning.

Trigger warning: does mention disordered eating, weighing self, and body dysmorphia issues.

Tropes:
•forced proximity
•misunderstandings
•fake relationship
•competition
•family drama
•hero

This was the first book I've read by Katherine Center and I'm excited to check out her other books.

Overall, this was a great novel. It took me a handful of chapters to get hooked into the story but once I did, I fell in love with the story, the characters, and the humor it brought. There were so many relatable parts to the characters I became attached with!

Angry spoilers ahead...
I really enjoyed The Bodyguard and was hoping to love this one, but it took forever for me to believe the chemistry and then once it was real, I was getting irrationally angry at the male love interest. After the first time my 160-lb dog harmed someone, he would be on a leash. Two more times is just reckless and irresponsible which doesn't suit the character. Additionally, the man knows there is thumping against the boat and blood in the water, remarks it can draw predators, and then rescues the dog first and leaves the heroic woman he loves floating in chummed waters when she's just been traumatized saving his dog from a hurricane. And then she apologizes to him? For a misunderstanding? And he left her ass bobbing like a cork with Jaws and his friends. And then I'm supposed to cheer him on when he kisses her? This girl is a glutton for punishment. I don't expect much from male fictional characters, but saving me before the dog is top of the list. Let Fido and his mouthful of frog wait for a second. He literally has no concept of time because...dog. Also, Cole is a literal sociopath and somehow he gets a happy ending. I'm not used to ending a romance novel and feeling so pissed off. This review will likely never see the light of day, but maybe make this a dark romance with some spicy scenes. If she's gonna be with a neglectful man who puts her last behind animals, at least give her a few good spanks.

There is so much to like about this book (and I’m still on a high from the ending), so I’m going with 4 stars!

As Katie ventures down to the Keys to save her career, she meets Hutch, a no nonsense (but obviously hot) coast guard rescue swimmer. This book has a lot of good—lovable (and funny) characters, a Great Dane, humor and punchlines, and, my personal favorite, a unique ending. However, my biggest pet-peeve? The title doesn’t fit. Hutch being a “love-hater” is brought up like once at the beginning by his brother, yet it’s not mentioned again until the last chapter, which would be fine if his actions made it clear, but they don’t. Hutch is very clearly not a love hater in the way he talks about and interacts with Katie. The title quite literally doesn’t make sense.

And another peeve. This is tell not show kind of romance. There is no chemistry between to the two characters. In fact, it starts out not very romance-y at all. It’s more of a self-help book on how to love your body. Which by the way, this book needs a giant trigger warning for body dysmorphia, eating disorders, body shaming…literally all the things. PLEASE do not publish this without that! The whole first half is more or less about Katie’s struggles with her body image. Literally no romance; well, at least not palpable.

I know that’s a lot of criticism, but it did pickup about 60%. Then, all of a sudden there’s chemistry between Katie and Hutch. And the ending is pretty unique, and I didn’t see it coming. That part was the best part.

And the last thing I’ll say, for the love of all things, someone please take away Katherine Center’s ability to italicize anything. It is so annoying and distracting.

The Love Haters had its fun moments, but it wasn’t my favorite Katherine Center book. The setting was great, and I liked the premise of Katie taking on a job she wasn’t really qualified for, leading to some entertaining and occasionally frustrating situations. The romance had its sweet moments, and I did like the love interest. But a big part of the book focused on Katie’s insecurities, particularly with body image and calorie counting, and it started to feel excessive. I completely understand that people of all sizes struggle with body image, but the way it was written just didn’t sit right, especially without a trigger warning. It took away from the overall enjoyment of the story for me.

I did like Katie’s journey of self-discovery, and the book had some heartfelt themes about confidence and overcoming fears, but again I wish TW had been involved. But in the end, while it had its enjoyable moments, it didn’t fully work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

very quick read! katie grew a lot throughout the book and i loved Rue. definitely spends a bit too much time at the beginning with body image

The Rom-Commers is one of my favorite rom-com novels ever, and this has been a highly anticipated 2025 release for me, so it really pained me to DNF this at 50%. I really wanted to push through, but just kept dreading picking it up.

Unfortunately I just really didn’t connectl with the FMC and found her banter really annoying (like the way she repeated everything back to whomever she was talking to in question form). I felt no chemistry between Katie and Hutch, and did not swoon even a little bit during their first kiss. I just could not bring myself to care about these characters or their stories.

I know a lot of people will love this, but it just wasn’t for me. Although, I’ll still continue to pick up anything Katherine Center writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.