I cannot believe I’m saying this about a Katherine Center book, but I hated this so much, I had to quit. Maybe (most likely not) I’ll pick it back up again at some point, but the Big Conflict that appeared to keep the love interests apart was extremely off-putting and archaic and felt gross. And the FMC’s body image and history of disordered eating was… confusingly handled. I can’t nail down *exactly* what was giving me the ick so badly, but something felt very off about pretty much everything.

Katherine's writing has a way of making you feel more emotions than you thought possible while reading a romance. The way she makes you feel seen in her characters is undeniably one of my favorite things about her writing. The Love Haters has plot, lovable characters, and a romance that will sweep you off your feet.

Thank goodness for Katherine Center, who can be trusted to release a feel-good romantic comedy every summer. I always look forward to her books, and getting to read an early copy of "The Love Haters" (her summer 2025 novel) was a treat.

Katie Vaughn works for a Texas video production company which is in the middle of a round of layoffs. Her boss, Cole, sends her to Key West, FL, to shoot a promotional piece for the Coast Guard, featuring a rescue swimmer named Hutch, implying that a great final product could save her job. What he doesn't tell her right away is that Hutch is his brother, and that the two are somewhat estranged, for reasons that aren't made clear until much later in the book.

In order to get permission to go up in a rescue helicopter, she'll need to pass a swimming test, which means putting on a swimsuit, something she hasn't done in years. She has serious body image issues, and has had to overcome feelings of inadequacy, rooted in her stepmother's criticism during Katie's childhood. (She talks about obsessive calorie-counting, which might rate a trigger warning.)

Naturally, Hutch is incredibly handsome, and there seems to be some mutual attraction... but then he starts acting rather aloof. It all comes back to Katie's job, which seems to be an extremely dysfunctional situation on many different levels.

The best part of "The Love Haters" is the final quarter, when the story takes a very dramatic turn. It would almost have been too suspenseful had it not been for the fact that I know reading a Center book guarantees a happy ending. In this case, that also involves Katie learning to love herself.

4 Stars! I did enjoy this book a lot. However, it felt boring at times, too slow to start & it seemed to drag on a bit & I started skimming through. Once the main characters meet, it got better. I’m glad I didn’t stop reading. The main characters are Hutch & Katie. I loved Hutch, a Coastguard rescue swimmer (how hot is that!) but Katie annoyed me. I get it, she has self image issues but unless she’s actually overweight, shut it & move on. It’s like when beautiful women complain that they’re ugly to someone who isn’t good looking themselves. I really loved Hutches aunt too. The HEA ending was great. Action packed, entertaining, and it had Hutches dog, whom I also loved. All in all, a good read that had me smiling while I read & I’d definitely recommend.
*I received this book at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

It’s official: Katherine Center is my favorite rom-com author!
This book was everything I’ve ever wanted—deep, funny, sexy, and absolutely swoon-worthy. I laughed, I gasped, I got butterflies, and yes, I even got chills the entire way through. It’s the kind of story that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go.

Sure, we might shake our heads at the Katie for turning around to save George Bailey, but do we hate her for it? Not one bit. That choice, like everything else in this book, just worked.

I can only dream of writing something this good. Katherine Center has set the bar impossibly high, and I’m not mad about it. Highly recommend!

I was so excited for this one, y’all!! I put the rest of my TBR aside to start this one and as per usual Katherine Center did not disappoint.

Like with all of her books, I knew I was in for the characters overcoming some very real struggles, loads of laughter, the warmest fuzzies, and falling in love of course.

Katie was so relatable! I love Katherine’s description in the author’s note “she is in an enemies to lovers trope relationship with her own body image”. The best romance of the book might actually be the one she develops with herself. I personally suffer from a chronic illness and some of my medications have drastically changed my weight and overall shape of my body over the years so this was so nice to read as I have been on a self love journey myself.

As much as I loved Katie’s personal journey, I do want to mention that the romance between Hutch and Katie was so special. Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer with the dopiest and cutest dog George Bailey. All of their interactions were just so heartwarming to me.

I adored all of the side characters as well. Rue and the Gals and even Cole added so much fun to the story.

This might be my favorite book of Katherine’s yet! Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I wish I could share this book right now! I absolutely loved the characters. I loved the message. I loved the drama, the suspense and the story line. This is a quick and easy read. I love when a book can capture fears and anxieties in such a natural way. Highly Recommend.

I love love love Katherine Center and her books never fail to delight me!

While this one was mostly enjoyable, it fell a teeny bit short for me.

The main character, Katie, has a tricky relationship with her own body, and at times, I felt that her harping on her shape and her ways of relating to food took away from being able to enjoy the book fully.

However, at the end of the book, there is a note from the author that addresses this, and she mentions that love stories can come in all forms. This one happens to include one between Katie and her body in a kind of enemies-to-lovers trope. I understand that and completely support it!

Aside from the body image aspect of the book, I was smitten, as per usual.

The fact that Katie's love interest, Hutch, has a Great Dane delighted me to no end. Big dogs are the best!

The book takes place in Key West, which provides a fantastically Floridian backdrop for all kinds of fun things to take place.

It's a story that will put a smile on your face and one that definitely deserves a spot on your TBR list!

Thank you to #netgalley for this ARC of #thelovehaters

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

As always, Katherine Center writes a 5-star book, and this might be my new favorite one to date. This book had me laughing and crying in one sitting, and I wish I hadn't read it so quickly. 

Katie, the FMC has had it pretty rough over the last couple of years, from getting engaged to being cheated on. Even worse, it all went viral. Additionally, Katie has struggled with body image issues. She goes to Key West and meets Hutch (who btw might be my new fave MMC).  He went viral for saving Jennifer Annistons dog from drowning. The chemistry between the two is amazing, and their meet-cute laugh is hilarious. Watching them fall in love has been a real treat, and I cannot wait to see what else Katherine Center puts out over the coming years! 

Read if you like:
Found family
Funny meet-cute
Coast Guard
Enemies to lover (with your own body)

I loved this! Katie is trying to save her job when she accepts a job filming with the US Coast Guard in the Florida Keys for a promotional video. Her co-worker, Cole, has asked her to go in his place and the subject is his brother Hutch. Perfect, handsome, hero Hutch who once saved Jennifer Annistons dog. I loved Katie and Hutch as well as the other characters of the book, especially aunt Rue who was so welcoming to Katie. And the dog George Bailey. I loved seeing the character growth of Katie. This is a love story but even more so, a story about loving yourself. This will be a great beach read next year. Also the authors note is perfect. Books really are so much magic:)

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of The Love Haters in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published May 20, 2025.

Christmas came early this year for this Katherine Center Super Fan! ! I was so excited to receive an email inviting me to read her latest book. This is the 9th book that I’ve read by this author - she is one of my top 5 favorite authors!

This book is a rom-com in that there is romance and there’s comedy. But there is so much more! There’s layoffs at work. There’s history between brothers Hutch and Cole that hasn’t ever been addressed. There’s Rue who runs the Starlite, wears bright colored-clothing and hangs out with The Gals. There are bathing suit malfunctions and splinters in embarrassing places. There’s George Bailey the Great Dane. There’s Beanie who reaches Kate to love herself. There’s a thrilling in-depth look at Coast Guard rescue swimmers. There’s a Hurricanes and lies and kisses.

This is so much more than a rom-com. The story brilliantly weaves themes of fear, confidence, body image and secrets.

I laughed, I cried and I had all the feels! ❤️ I wish the Starlite really existed because I’d like to retire there, wear bright clothes and hang with The Gals.

Highest recommendations!

Once again, I was so excited to read a new Katherine Center book. And there was a lot to like about this one. As usual, there was humor and heart, and just an overall lightness in the writing, which I love. I liked Katie and Hutch, the lead characters, though I do wish their relationship had been explored further. I also really liked George Bailey the Great Dane and Rue and her gals.

What didn't work for me was Cole, Hutch's brother. I was not a fan of all the lying, and he was downright awful.

All in all, it was a good read, and I'm already looking forward to her next one.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I have yet to read a Katherine Center story that didn’t make me giggle. This is no exception - such a sweet, light hearted story.

I loved this book so much. Katie was such a relatable and likable character. I wanted to hang out with Rue and the Gals. I loved Katie’s journey of learning to love herself and how everyone had a part in helping her get there.

Katie Vaughn is in a little bit of a rut, she broke up with her musician ex-fiancé and her job is not on the cutting board. She gets an offer from a co-worker to go out to key west to film a video about the US Coast Guard in order to save her job. Since this job revolves around water and Katie doesn’t know how to swim, she’s in a little over her head but that is until she meets the rescue swimmer she’s supposed to be profiling, Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson.
The Love Haters is a funny, cute romantic comedy. I’ve really enjoyed all of Katherine center’s recent books and this one is no exception. I would highly recommend this when it comes out May 20,2025. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an Advance copy.

A must read author in my book! I really got into Center’s latest story and connected so much with the main female character. The storyline was interesting and I had a hard time putting this book down! It’s such a captivating self-discovery romance that I’ll remember for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I wanted to love this so much, but this author is hit or miss and this was a big ole miss for me. The characters were so cringy I just couldn’t focus on the story at all

Katherine Center can do no wrong. I will always recommend her books! This one was just the right dose of cute and sweet without being bland.

I absolutely LOVE Katherine Center, so when I got an email that I was invited to read an advanced copy of this book, I was beyond THRILLED to take St Martin’s Press up on their generous offer (multitudes of thanks to them!).

Katherine Center books are always the perfect blend of funny and poignant, and this book was no different. At first, I didn’t like all of the body image issues Katie had (though it was definitely understandable why she had them) but as the story progressed, I loved seeing her become more confident in herself and get out of her comfort zone. I always love Center’s love interests, and sure enough, I was swooning over Hutch from the moment he was introduced. I loved every scene he was in. I really enjoyed their relationship and their chemistry was fantastic (though this is a clean read with nothing other than kissing).

As a dog person, I loved George Bailey, and also Lucky! The secondary (human) characters were great as well, especially Beanie, Katie’s cousin/best friend/de facto sister. I love stories that have a strong bond between cousins. I also loved Aunt Rue and her gang of friends.

I always like that Center’s books are deeper than just a stereotypical romance. This book made me laugh and it made me cry (in a good way). I was a ball of emotions but overall this book just made me HAPPY.

I loved this book so much. A new favorite of mine from this author.

Naming the dog after James Stewart’s character from It’s a Wonderful Life got me thinking — Katherine Center needs to write a Christmas book! I would love that so much!!!!

Anyway, I enjoyed this book so much. I’m already awaiting Center’s next book and this one isn’t even out yet!

Wow wow WOW!!!! Absolutely LOVED The Love Haters! I can honestly say that from start to finish I was feeling ALL. THE. THINGS.

The love story between Hutch and Katie is so sweet and loved the genuine way they come to have feelings for each other.

I have honestly never read a book that portrayed what it is like to feel big feelings about your body and the anxiety of having others judge your body. Then Katherine went and showed Katie's journey to starting to love herself and her body despite imperfections and it was BEAUTIFUL.

Rue & The Gals and Beanie were the cherry on top!

Katie's point of view was raw, genuine and hilarious and I couldn't wait to hear from her what would happen next.

If you asked me to pick a favorite between The Rom-Commers, The Bodyguard and The Love Haters I don't know that I could do it!

Katherine Center continues to blow me away with not only the romance in her books, but the relationship with other characters and deeper themes!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC!