Katie Vaughn is recovering from a break-up. Not only is her ex famous, but the media spotlight is harsh with many comments on her image and body mentally breaking her down. To make things worse, her job is currently laying people off and her job is at risk. The only thing saving her is a profile on a coast guard hero named Hutch, and he happens to be her bosses only brother.
Katherine Center has a way with her writing. Feel good, funny, romance. this is a gem.
I loved the evolution of self-discovery and growth BEFORE love and romance.
The depth in this story was beyond enjoyable and I cannot wait for more Katherine Center in the future.
Bravo!

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, Katherine Center and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, cute and charming summer read! It was a lot of telling instead of showing but still enjoyable,

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc.

Wowwww I really love all the themes and messages of this book. It talks about confidence, body image and it really made me relate to all the conflict going on in the story.

This was my first Katherine center book and I absolutely loved it!’

It’s a mix of humor and high stakes and I’m all here for it!!

All the love for this book. The Love Haters was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. Not only a laugh out loud love story but also a love story to ourselves and our beautifully imperfect bodies. A love story to found families and strong female friendships. A love story to working out problems with siblings.
I’m here for books where locations are also a character. I want to go stay at the Starlite with The Gals!! Please take me there now. I want to know Rue, Ginger and the rest of The Gals and be welcomed and loved by them. I want to do the Conga with them and drink sangria with them.
Chemistry between Hutch and Katie was so good and so easy. Their banter and conversations were so good. And let’s not forget George Bailey!! What a giant love bug.
Go read this book!

I got my hands on an advance digital copy of my favorite author’s book that will be coming out on May 20th, and it’s officially my newest favorite KC book! Can’t wait for my pre-ordered hard copy to arrive!

Wow, wow, wow! Every time I think @katherinecenter can’t out-do herself, she does it again. The way she tells stories that I related to so much it feels like she’s talking about me, just slays me every single time. The Love Haters made me laugh, made me cry, made me feel second-hand embarrassment & grief, made me highlight so many nuggets, and made me feel good and reflect on my own experiences big time!

Things I loved most about this book:
BOTH main characters
Rue + the Gals
The glimpse into the Coast Guard
Overcoming fears
A few well-placed double negatives 😍
Witty banter
Clean romance that made me swoon
Beanie’s wisdom
The complicated relationship with her body
The Joys of Grief
The processing of grief in needful and beautiful ways
The author’s note at the end 🤟🏻

The portions about being seen were especially meaningful to me as my own love story (with my body and my husband) is crazily similar. I know about the fear of being seen AND the freedom + validation that come from finally being seen, known, and loved by someone it’s okay to feel safe with.

And mostly, the depth. In a could-simply-be rom-com, Katherine always, always, ALWAYS makes me feel so deeply. My heart opens up and the messages included amid & throughout the ROM and the COM sink deeply into my heart and being.

I am changed.

And I am always better for having read her books.

So while this is kind of starting to sound like an ode to Katherine (who totally deserves it), it’s really more of a nudge to pre-order this book and pick up one of her others in the meantime. If you need my order of favorites, I’ve got you!

THE LOVE HATERS

Katie is faced with a tough decision: either wait to be laid off from her job as a video producer or, at the request of her coworker Cole, take on a potentially career-defining assignment profiling Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie can’t swim.

I can always rely on KC’s books for a comforting escape. This one had all the charm of a classic rom-com with an added layer of self-acceptance. With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a sweet, wholesome romance, I couldn’t help but root for the main characters.

That said, I had more mixed feelings about Katie’s struggles with self-love and body dysmorphia, at least in the beginning. While many women will find this relatable (me included), I felt the author could have approached this with more sensitivity, but as the story progressed, I really grew to appreciate Katie’s self-discovery and Hutch’s supportive role in her healing journey.

The plot is a bit silly, but I still had a lot of fun with it. And I can’t forget George Bailey, the Great Dane—he absolutely stole the show.

The Love Haters is a fun, charming rom-com that takes readers on a whirlwind adventure from the corporate grind to the sunny chaos of Key West. Katie Vaughn, burned by love and disillusioned with her career, is given the chance of a lifetime: to profile the ruggedly handsome, slightly jaded Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch Hutcheson. The catch? She can’t swim, and she has a complicated history with Hutch’s brother, Cole. The chemistry between Katie and Hutch is electric, though marred by Hutch’s "love hater" attitude and Katie’s growing guilt over her lies. Their relationship, filled with stolen kisses, hilarious mishaps, and growing emotional tension, is at the heart of the story, offering both humor and warmth as they navigate their complicated feelings.

What sets The Love Haters apart is the delightful mix of humor and heart. Katie’s misadventures—fake swimming lessons, helicopter flights, and even hurricanes—provide a steady stream of laughs, while her emotional growth adds depth to the story. Hutch, with his tough exterior and vulnerability, is the perfect foil to Katie’s more guarded persona. The supporting characters, especially Aunt Rue and the adorable rescue Great Dane, add to the quirky charm of the story. As Katie faces her fears and comes to terms with her past, the novel beautifully balances romance, self-discovery, and the messy, unpredictable nature of life and love. It’s an entertaining, feel-good read with a generous dose of heart and humor that will leave readers cheering for Katie and Hutch’s happily ever after.

Katherine Center’s writing style is so easy to read. I felt so many of the emotions Katie went through in this book. Katie had a supportive and encouraging best friend that you instantly love and want as your own. I really went on this whole journey of discovering love and her own self discovery. Loved it so much

I love Katherine Center’s writing. All of her books are great and this is no exception. I love the closeness to Katie’s cousin and the humor of doing anything to keep her job

“That’s what no one ever tells you. You can look around with your own eyes. You can find your own details. Notice for yourself what matters—and decide what it means”

4.5 Stars

Katherine Center whisks us away to the Florida Keys where we (and our FMC) are given a crash course in the Coast Guard and water rescues.

Katie Vaughn, a budding videographer trying to keep her job, jumps at the chance to take on her boss, Cole’s Coast Guard project without bothering to mention she can’t exactly swim. Upon arrival in the Keys, she meets her subject, Cole’s brother Hutch, who despite the sadness in his eyes and the perpetually frown on his face, is quite the handsome catch. Over the course of her time in Florida, Katie and Hutch grow closer as they spend most work days filming and most off-days learning how to swim. She falls in love with his Great Dane - George Bailey, colorful Aunt Rue and The Gals who all live nearby.

But things get messy in paradise when Cole appears. Antics ensue between drinking contests, wrestling fights, hurricanes, and many, many white lies.

I loved what felt like a dual love story wrapped into one delicious rom com package. Watching Katie learn to love herself over the course of 300 pages was almost as gratifying as watching her relationship with Hutch unfold.

Learning to be brave, vulnerable, and honest were the main themes that stuck with me, even after the final page. I enjoyed the full cast of characters, especially George Bailey and his lucky toad.

The story was entertaining, engaging, and well written. Another winner for Katherine Center!

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

Can Katerine Center write a bad book? No!
Love Haters is her latest novel and it doesn’t disappoint. I was smiling and laughing the whole way through.

Katie Vaugh is a video producer who is on the cusp of being laid off. Her coworker Cole throws her a bone and sends her to shoot a documentary of his brother Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who just so happens to hate love. That’s fine with Katie because she too has been burned by love. Katie arrives in Key West and meets Cole and Hutch’s aunt Rue (my favorite character) and her gang of retirees (the gals). Things in paradise get a little murky but you can smell the love in the air. If you are looking for a good beach read this summer or just an escape from the winter blues, this novel will do the trick 4.5/5 stars.

Thank you Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this delightful novel.

Huge thank you to Net Galley and St. Marten’s Press for the digital arc!!

The Love Haters is quintessential Katherine Center! Katie is a multifaceted character that I could really relate to. I really saw myself in her and I think that made me love her character progression throughout the book that much more! My only hold up (and the reason I only gave it four stars) was that I missed the relationship development between Katie and Hutch. There’s a point where Center tells the reader they had these great conversations where they learned about each other and I would have enjoyed witnessing those conversations. There could have been less rumination by Katie and a little more of Katie and Hutch.

Overall, though, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartfelt contemporary romance!

At first I thought it was a pure romance and when reading it like that I found it lacked a bit - there were some moments that in a pure romance I found were missing. However upon further reflection, I think the book is more about learning to love yourself and how doing that can brighten the whole world for you. For that, it was beautiful! So while it was light and fun, it also packed an unexpected punch.

I have read quite a few Katherine Center books at this point. I can't say that this one was one of my favorites. Don't get me wrong there were still a few places that really got me in my feels. But there was a little too much going on. I did like Katie and Hutch as characters. Katie was a very relatable character. Her self esteem issues were understandable but I did not like the way discussions surrounding weight and food were handled I loved Aunt Rue and her friends. My favorite part of the book by far was the best boy, George Bailey. Gigantic dogs that don't realize their size will always grab my heart. In the end the story got a little complicated and we didn't get as much time with our leads together as I would have liked.

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

This beautiful story of complex characters turned out to be a romance in a way that is more than just ordinary. This book is, indeed, a love story between two captivating characters; however, it is also a story about learning to love oneself, being happy and proud of one's identity, and loving one's perceived flaws as much as one does the things that one believes are beautiful.
FMC Katie embarks on a journey of self-discovery without even realizing it, while also finding friends and the love of her life. MMC Hutch is the perfect blend of grumpy and sunshine (golden retriever) vibes, and I was completely enamored with him.
His constant support and how he showed Katie what true love looks like are absolutely perfect. I can strongly recommend this book to everyone who loves Katherine Center books as well as everyone found of classic and deeply emotional love stories.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Katherine Center (who pointed out that eARC was free to grab) for an amazing read!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.

Katherine Center did an incredible job at handling themes of confidence, body image, self-love (or lack thereof), grief, and coping mechanisms.

Not only did we get a wholesome romance story, but we were nourished through reading and experiencing Katie’s journey of healing and self-love. (read Authors Note please)! Katherine mentioned that the act of self love is not so simple and not a “linear” thing, but a big project. As someone who struggles with the topics mentioned in the book, I found this to be immensely healing and it happened to be a book I needed at this very moment.

This is a story I would highly recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- 𝙲𝚘𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙶𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙼𝙼𝙲
- 𝙱𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚢
- 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚢
- 𝙵𝚞𝚗 𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜
- 𝙶𝚛𝚞𝚖𝚙𝚢 𝚡 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎
- 𝚁𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚞𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚐 𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚍 𝙶𝚎𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚢* (𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖)

*Mentions of past animal cruelty. Present natural disaster danger.*

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This is a sweet, lighthearted rom-com by a modern master of the closed door romance. I had a ton of fun reading about the turbulent romance between Katie and Hutch, and I absolutely loved the senior citizen side characters who meddle in everything with the best intentions possible. I appreciated the added lesson that is obviously one of the main points here. If you find yourself love-hating yourself, this would be a perfect read to serve as a reminder or gentle rebuke for you. The focus on body image might have been even a little over-the-top if it hadn't been completely balanced with the humor in this book. There are laugh-out-loud moments here that are not to be missed. If you're looking for a feel-good romantic comedy that's sure to make you smile, check this one out.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. Katie goes on a journey as much with herself as she does Hutch. I feel like I could see a lot of myself in her and her views about her body and I think that will be a common feeling for many readers. I think we could all use a Rue and a Beanie in our lives to guide us along and take the brave steps we want but might be too nervous to take on our own.

The only character I didn't enjoy as much was Cole but I understand his behaviors and actions. I just felt like he was kind of a lot for a person who didn't really have any kind of existing relationship with Katie before sending her on this journey. Obviously, in true KC fashion, things work out but for a minute, I was questioning why Katie would want to keep her job if it meant continuing to have to work with him.

I'll definitely reread this one when it gets released and look forward to telling friends about it so they pick it up too.

My favorite funny line was, "You're like a human hot fudge sundae or something."

My favorite 'ohh, now it makes sense' line was Hutch asking Cole, "Why are you keeping score? It's like you want to be angry." It showed that my thoughts as a reader were consistent with the awareness the characters had of each other.

3 stars. The writing felt very choppy and didn’t flow so well. The romance was lacking. Not my favorite.

Katherine Center is always a must read for me and the Love Haters didn't disappoint. I truly loved all of the Coast Guard and documentary film content and learned a lot. The love story was a little light for me this time (and I hated Cole) but a solid read overall.