4.5 stars rounded down. Katherine Center can always be counted on to deliver a book that leaves you with a smile and some insightful lessons. This is a romance but more than that, a story about a woman struggling with body positivity. A subject that can feel too personal and tough to read is delivered with such charm and delight in this book. The characters are all great (minus one who I did not care for). There is a section of the book that just did not fly for me, hence the half a star loss. But otherwise, it’s another winner from this author.

I had a hard time getting into it but over all I enjoyed it, I liked how they spoke about body image, it was an important message to send along side the romance. I also really enjoyed the characters, especially the Galen a cute beach read

Katie Vaughn, a video producer, takes on a reluctant assignment to film Hutch Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. Staying at Hutch’s aunt’s charming inn, Katie encounters quirky characters, including her coworkers, who hope she’ll find romance. Hutch is a hero with a lovable dog who’s afraid of storms, ticking all the boxes for a rom-com. While the premise is promising, I found it hard to connect with the characters, as they felt disconnected from the story. This one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Looking forward to reading more from this author though.

This was cute! I really loved the first half and bought into the story and the romance. I loved the idea of falling in love through the lens of literally filming someone, and it was super invested in the relationship in the first half. But the story took a downturn in the second half and I thought the romance stopped being developed in a way that felt satisfying. I also really did not enjoy the reasoning behind the central conflict between the brothers. I think the author really missed an opportunity to have an amazingly epic romantic moment at the end of the novel and it fell soooo flat I was really disappointed in that. In the end, I feel like romance was not wrapped up effectively at all. I enjoyed the way eating disorders were handled and enjoyed the Gottman shoutout. Overall, really fun and cute but with some execution problems that didn’t necessarily take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

The Love Haters By Katherine Center

“Katie has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

Katie is faced with learning to swim, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses as she navigates this career-making gig.

Will love spark or be swept away in the ocean?”

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5

This is my first Katherine Center novel to date. While the book’s concept is adorable, it was a bit lack luster for me.

I understand body dysmorphia, but it’s harped on tremendously in this book in my opinion (very unnecessarily). It doesn’t overly add to the depth of the story, so I’m not seeing the need.

I wish there was just more. More development of characters, possibly dual POV. This book is to be a rom-com but I’m not really getting those vibes.

Enjoyed this book until the very end! This is officially my favorite Katherine Center book to date. The chemistry between these two main characters had me rooting for them and kicking my feet in excitement and anticipation. This book really has it all and then some.

Longtime Katherine Center fan here, so I was excited to be one of the first in line to pick up "The Love Haters." While Center's easy banter and lighthearted writing shine through like always, I'm sad to admit that this wasn't quite the home run for me that I hoped it would be.

Faced with the prospect of losing her job as a videographer or taking a tough assignment making a promotional video for the Coast Guard, Katie makes an easy choice. Despite knowing very little about the Coast Guard — and even less about how to swim — Katie says yes to her colleague, who happens to be the brother of a near-famous Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. Although Hutch is rumored to be a love hater, it isn't long before sparks fly between the two.

I'll admit, it isn't hard to love Hutch — at all. Did I develop a crush on him? Maybe, just maybe. Center gifted us with a great character there, and I found myself wishing this was a dual POV novel just so I could get into his head and heart even more. That said, I really struggled with Katie as the main character. Center's author note points out that this is a love story between Katie and her own body as much as it is a love story between Katie and Hutch, and I can see where she was going there. But I felt that Katie's body image issues were very clearly crossing the line into a full-blown eating disorder that was worthy of some professional therapy. Instead, this was never acknowledged in the book aside from having a friend "take away her scale." Obsessive weighing, a year+ of eating under 1,000 calories a day, and a deep phobia of announcing her weight or wearing a swimsuit — these are not normal self-confidence issues and I think both Center and St. Martin's Press missed out on the opportunity to reduce mental health stigma, normalize professional therapy, and even empower like-minded readers with helpful resources (a point I felt was missing in the author's note at minimum).

All this to say, I might have fallen for Katie a little more if her clear need for help wasn't such a distraction. But if you are able to look past that and are seeking a beachy summer read with plenty of sparks (and closed-door spice), definitely give this one a shot.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy for honest review.

4.5/5

Another Katherine Center hit.

Loved this one so much. Katherine is such an amazing writer, who crafts her characters so well. Focusing on different relationships, this book delves into being vulnerable, brave, and honest. And as always the Author’s Note just makes this book so much better.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

I enjoyed this book. It did tend to repeat itself a bit with the self talk of the main female character.

Katherine Center is one of very few authors who can present romance and serious topics intertwined so masterfully. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and the slow burn and the stunningly handsome hero and his aviator glasses! But when Katherine said that this is an enemies to lovers with oneself that really resonated and that’s the main impetus here. We’re often so much kinder to others than we are to ourselves especially when it comes to body image.
The flirtatious build up and the guessing what’s behind those stoic eyes had me turning pages deep into the night. At a moment of impending disaster, the feelings of abandonment tugs at my heart and had me holding my breath. The side characters, especially “The Gals” not only provided the lightheartedness to offset some of the seriousness, but Aunt Rue also exemplified life lessons learned and shared. And George Bailey added 170 pounds of doggie humor!
Katie Vaughn might have gotten in over her head when she took on her latest assignment. But since her job was on the chopping block, it really wasn’t the ideal time to admit she didn’t exactly meet the qualifications. Oh, and the subject she’s been sent to profile, Hutch, is her supervisor’s estranged brother – a US Coast Guard hero. What could possibly go wrong?

I have enjoyed previous books by Katherine Center, but unfortunately this one was a miss for me. There was too much crammed into the plot, especially considering the extremely slow start. The shipwreck was too close to the end to make any real impact on the plot. I did enjoy the characters’ complex back stories and found Hutch to be a likable MMC.

The Love Haters written by Katherine Center was a very cute love story about a coast guard rescue swimmer, dubbed the love hater by family, and his connection to our main character, Katie. The story had nothing that kept me held in unfortunately and I felt it was about to get deep and then missed the mark. I felt the dialogue was cheesy and unrealistic. The deep topics of body image and self love were there but barely covered. I felt like the story could have had so much more and had a ton of potential, but fell short for me.

Where do I even start 🤔 If you had asked me in the beginning I was on the super struggle bus with this. For one the main female character Katie was such a buzzkill right off the bat, and the premise was over the toppppp. I know romcoms kind of get a free pass for being ridiculous/unrealistic but I dunno it was a bit much. The last romcom I read I had the same problem. The author starts it with the female mc being a disaster and or pathetic so it’s very hard (for me) to go into it when you start out with a dud of a character that has no self confidence. Romcoms can still have a good story even if the female character is awesome!! As the story progressed though she grew on me, a lot, thankfully. Then comes Hutch the main mc, and gimme lol. He was a great character & I enjoyed his character development along the way. I had a hard time initially getting into the book, but after awhile I started to get more invested & I liked/loved the idea of the two being a couple. Rue (Cole & Hutch’s aunt) was probably my favorite part/person in the book. Her personality you could feel it when reading, she made you smile 💖 One of my favorite parts of the book (without giving too much info) was anniversary day where they handed out flowers in town😍 The rest of the book is your typical they spend time together, more unrealistic plot (some of it was cute & I did enjoy it), but then she gave us the chemistry, the part we look forward to in a romcom! … & then at the end it just kind of ends. They make up because they always do but but but…where was the very necessary conversation??, some interaction in the future (not just Katie telling us what took place later), and there was zero romance besides a dumb makeup kiss. Hi 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️ super hot coast guard plus romcom equals at least some sex right? What even was that ending?? As much as it was headed in the right direction to get these two coupled up I’m incredibly disappointed in the ending as far as Katie & Hutch go. Overall this wasn’t what I’d really consider a romcom, and the ending wasn’t redeeming if anything it was the opposite. I feel like it lacked true closure, especially since the author read it from Katie’s pov telling us what happened vs the events playing out real time. Not a bad book but not what I expected & imo not really what I would consider a romance, it was definitely missing the romance & spice. There was ZERO spice! I’m not expecting a porn but c’mon haha. Another thing I noticed in this book compared to her others was there was a lot of Katie talking to herself/rhetorical questions. It was ok as far as it didn’t necessarily bother me but sometimes a bit much & kind of random or not in line with the rest of the writing. Not Center’s best work or what I’m used to from her past books unfortunately. That or it needs to be classified under a different genre 🤷‍♀️ If anything this was more of a book about finding yourself/self confidence with a touch of cutesy couple added in, sort of. It was well written but just kind of a miss. I do look forward to her next book & I think she is incredibly talented, excited to see what the future brings us with her writing ☺️

Sorry I feel bad writing this review😭. Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC, always appreciative of the opportunity!

Katherine Center writes some of the best rom-coms with the most endearing characters. The Love Haters is a fun and sweet read about Katie and Hutch, they are quirky and endearing, with an adorable meeting. This book is 5/5!

Thank you netgalley for an arc of The Love Haters by Katherine Center

I was disappointed with the new Katherine Center book, The Love Haters. I have loved some of her previous ones and I just couldn’t get on board with this one. I struggled most with the outrageousness of the plots (it surpassed the line of too unrealistic for me) and I didn’t believe that the main character would make some of the choices she did about 75% through. I will happily pick up another Katherine Center novel but this one, unfortunately, won’t be making it onto my shelves.

I liked that the main character was working through her body image issues, but sometimes it became a lot of her processing that and I felt like it became very repetitive. The connection between the romantic interests was cute and I really enjoyed their story and getting to know each other. The setting of the Keys was really fun and the side characters of the gals were a nice addition to the story.

I've always enjoyed Katherine Center's books, and I really liked this one too. I loved Katie's journey to accepting her body more, but definitely wanted more of her cousin Beanie in that plotline - maybe even a visit? Beanie seems lovely and I would've loved more of her. While this was a romance, so much of it was about Katie falling in love with herself and I really enjoyed that. And George Bailey - the best detail (It's a Wonderful Life is one of my favorites so I caught it right away). Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Net galley for the E ARC! Oh my gosh i devoured this story and ended up enjoying it way more than I even thought I would. This story follows Katie who gets tasked by her co worker Cole with this job of producing a video for the coast guard in the key west. Not only does she have to document the coast guard responsibilities and experiences but she ends up having to film a "day in the life " video for hutch who long story short saved Jennifer Anistons dog and is now a internet heart throb. And hutch a Cole are brothers who don't get along. This was the sweetest story of family and love and surprisingly body positivity. I loved that Katie was realizing how to love her body and appreciate it for all it does. This story was so much deeper than a romance but still had me swooning.

Another wonderful Katherine Center book! The Love Haters follows Katie as she attempts to save her career as a video producer by profiling Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The only problem is Katie cannot swim, and as you can imagine, Hutch becomes an excellent instructor! During this book, Katie learns more than just swimming techniques, she learns about self-acceptance, found family, and of course, love. I really appreciate how Katherine Center discusses body image issues and grief throughout the book with honesty and sensitivity while still being hilarious. So many of us, let the critical voices from our past have too much power in the present impacting our view of ourselves and relationships. Multiple characters are dealing with their own internal beliefs that are no longer serving them and discovering ways to let those voices go.

Katherine Center did it again with this one. She is quickly becoming one of my new favorite authors. If you love a good fake dating trope, you will certainly enjoy this book! There were moments of humor and I enjoyed the character development that took place for Katie. Overall, 3.5 stars.