Leave it to Katherine Center to always write a great rom-com! Katie is the perfect character--a mix of quirky and lovable, without realizing how great of a person she truly is. And Hutch--the broody and quiet, yet kind, soul is perfect for this love story. And while it's light and fluffy in moments, and filled with laughter, there is a deeper meaning in so much of this book. It's a lesson in self-confidence and body acceptance, in finding your inner strength to love who you are. While I didn't like it as much as some of her others (Hello The Rom-Commers!), this was a fun heart-filled read. Thanks to #NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Now that I have dodged all the tomatoes you have thrown at me for not rating this 5 stars, can I please explain? Don't get me wrong, I love a good happy, fluffy rom com, but this was either extremely childish or Katherine Center was humming Puff The Magic Dragon the whole time she penned this book. Right down to the fact there were literally "butt" scenes . I thought butt jokes ended in middle school....?
Hey speaking of questions, there were a comical amount of questions posed by the main character. Rhetorical question after rhetorical question.
73
43
52
53
76
17
77
44
45
58
57
15
67
45
62
19
87
66
27
16
44
41
89
52
25
=1250 (my eyes got crosseyed)
Yes THAT is the breakdown of the number of question marks per chapter in this book, for a total of over 1000 quesetions......(no pun intended) But are you for real?
Can you see why I was so annoyed? --What has she done to me, I am now asking questions.
Moving on....
This is suppose to be a love story, but there was so much "In Katie's Brain" I can barely recall the times her and Hutch actually interacted-except the juvineille Butt scenes. I understand Insta-Love in books, but I mean at least there are several scenes of the couple interacting and the author shows us their chemistry, for this...nope. Silch. Nothing. The scenes the two are together are dominated by the flippin dog.....and now for my BIGGEST rant.
Let's set the scene:
Category 4 Hurricaine, Katie is driving off the island to safety, she receives a call Hutch's dog is stranded in the boat house. What does our girl do? She turns around to go get the dog....Putting HER life at risk AND those who have to rescue her. I am sorry I cannot deal with dumb actions like that. Yeah I know send PETA on me, but that was utterly dumb.

Then there is the whole "conflict" between the brothers: Cole and Hutch. Cole was just not a believable character, he was the definition of slime. I had to reread the big blow up between the brothers which I still do not understand. If you can explain...?? When Cole shows up with Sullivan and how that all played out, just had me thinking I was reading an Adam Sandler movie....
I blew through the last 15% of the book because it became an urge to get it over with....

The side characters were batting 50%. Rue, I absolutely adored, i could use more of her, in fact I think she would have been a better "voice" and person help Katie discover who she was than the totally shallow and one dimensional Beanie. The conversations Beanie and Katie had were truly painful, I hated to whole body imagine bashing. Yes there is a space for it, but this went on for pages and pages. I know Katherine Center tackles some tough issues in her light hearted books, but this felt too much like a self help book squeezed into a fiction book.
I am dissapointed and hope Katherine Center reigns it back in, not that she needs to go all serious on me, but at least write characters who have maturity levels that are not still wearing Hannah Montana T shirts......

Her authors notes of course are always lovely, and speak to what a marvelous person she is. So I bumped it up a star!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this advanced copy of The Love Haters. I was not influenced or paid in exchange for my thoughts.

I thought this book was so good. The writing was great and I feel like it took me to Key West! I really loved the FMC journey and her discovering self love and self worth. The way it was written made it super relatable, as that’s something many people go through.

I also really enjoyed the romance and everything that happens between them. We see awimming lessons, Congo dancing, beach vibes, and romantic attraction. I ate it up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review ARC.

Love this book so much! Maybe not my most favorite one by this author, but definitely on top 5. My most favorite part was not really about the love story of two MC but I like how they overcome their traumas. Every girl needs someone like Hutch next to them. I love the supporting characters too.

Shout out to NetGalley and the author for this advanced copy!

I absolutely devoured this book. I was hooked from the start. Katie is so relatable in various aspects. She driven, smart, and working on herself.

Now let's talk about Hutch. Omg book boyfriend if I'd ever read one. Handsome, humble, and all around good guy. Plus, he has a cute pup named George Bailey.

Both characters grow throughout the book, all while slowly falling in love. I really liked that their love story wasn't dependent on each other. They grew and dealt with their issues in their own way while also supporting each other.

10/10 would recommend

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC!

I love Katherine Center, but this one didn’t make the top 3.

The good: I loved the Key West vibes, the integration of both characters’ traumas, Rue, and George Bailey. Any scene with GB was a standout!

The less-good: I felt like Hutch/Katie’s relationship came out of no where. There was no buildup or time for the reader to love them. I also can’t wrap my mind around why Katie made the decisions she did once Cole arrived. Just feels like there were 100 better ways to handle the situation, so I found it took me out of the story.

Overall, still love Katherine Center! This just wasn’t one I would recommend.

This was a fun read. However, I was not as big of a fan of this book as I was of other Katherine Center reads.
The tone of this book is kept pretty light throughout. It does touch on some heavier topics, but the tone never gets too dark. At times, I felt like the tone was at odds with the heavier topics it was trying to cover. It felt like some heavy topics were mentioned and then simply brushed away, or a change of topic or joke was introduced to get back to a lighter tone.
I also felt like some of the plot points were a bit far fetched. I would recommend this book for someone that doesn't mind suspending their disbelief and who doesn't mind rolling with some of the plot points introduced. It did help make the read more fun that the book doesn't seem to take itself too seriously.
I did really like Katie, Hutch, and Rue. They were fun characters that I was rooting for throughout the book. Although I wish Hutch was flushed out just a bit more. He came off as a little one-dimensional at times. I really liked Rue and would love to read a book all about her and her gals. Katie was a fun, likable character.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a light and fluffy slow-burn romance with some action scenes built in.

Katherine knocks it out of the park, once again! After she’s cheated on by her singer fiancé, Katie finds herself in another hurdle: get fired in a mass round of layoffs at her video production company, or make her career by profiling a (reluctant) Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch at a colleague’s request. The problem? She can’t swim and has to lie to get the gig in the first place. But the second she lands in the Florida Keys, she’s immediately caught up in the world of Hutch, his colorful Aunt Rue, & rambunctious Great Dane George Bailey. (Bonus points if you recognize what the name was inspired from!) From hurricanes to houseboats and overcoming fears, this is shaping up to be quite the epic romance.
I couldn’t put this novel down. I was hesitant given a recent breakup and knew despite the title, there was going to be romance. But wow I loved this so much! Every one of the characters brought a bit of magic to the story and I didn’t want it to end. Would love a spinoff with Rue and the Gals!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center has such a gift of writing romance novels that also contain emotional subplots. I was drawn to each of the characters in this book, especially Rue. I appreciate the Coast Guard/military representation in this book, and would recommend this to contemporary romance lovers!

Thank you NetGalley for a Very fun read! First I love George Bailey!! He’s a fun addition! The banter is fabulous and the arc is great! Can always count on an enjoyable read from Katherine Center!

⭐⭐⭐.5/🫑🫑 The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a standalone rom-com about Katie, a beautiful, insecure, creative, and kind soul just trying to figure out how to save her job. Her coworker, Cole, sets her up with a gig that she hopes will do just that, interviewing Hutch -- the man who is renowned for saving Jennifer Aniston's dog while serving in the Coast Guard. The catch is she'll have to be in the water, and our girl doesn't know how to swim. By the end of filming, she learns a lot more than just how to stay afloat.

💚Fake dating
🩷Coworker's brother
💚Traumatic pasts
🩷Grumpy-sunshine
💚Body positivity
🩷Found family

The Love Haters had me laughing out loud more than I have with a book in a while. Katie’s inner monologue is hilarious and offers a fresh, witty perspective that really kept me engaged. Beyond the humor, the book also touches on some serious topics, particularly mental health, with Katie using great tools for practicing self-compassion when struggling with negative feelings. I absolutely loved Cole—he was sweet, dreamy, and the perfect balance to Katie’s wit.

This was shaping up to be a five-star read for me, but unfortunately, the last ten percent of the book was so silly and far-fetched that I just couldn’t get behind it. While the rest of the story was heartfelt and relatable, the ending felt a little too out of touch with the rest of the tone.

This book was great. The body image issues could be a little heavy at times, I even cried a bit at the ending. I loved Rue and the Gals, Hutch, and Katie, and the dog! This was a quick read.

This is a slow-burn story about romantic love but also about learning to be kind to oneself. Written with humor and with insight into what goes inside our minds when we feel insecure about ourselves, the story is light and heartwarming. I loved every page and highly recommend it to those who want to end with a smile on their faces at the end of it. This book was a 5-star for me.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my ARC.

Katherine Center is a never miss for me because her books don’t disappoint. They are so well thought out and developed.

Her character development is unparalleled. Katie’s growth throughout this book is so wonderful to read. And very relatable.

The love story is understated but beautiful. Reading a Center book always feels like I’m reading about someone’s actual life. I love them and I love her.

An ARC was provided by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for this one and read it pretty quickly!

It was cute, warm, engaging. The main character was relatable and self-aware enough that she didn’t come across as totally ditzy and lost. Even the arrogant annoying semi-villain in this was a bit relatable. Overall I’d classify this as a fun read, well-paced, the writing was good and the plot built nicely upon itself. I also appreciated the obvious research that went into writing a believable romantic interest that’s rescuing people at sea.

However if you’re looking for spice, there is none. This is pure 90s romcom material where there’s a couple of hot kisses but nothing more.

I’m giving this a 4 because although I wanted more romantic development, I appreciated the time spent on the main character’s growth, the funny subplot lines and the heart of it all. And it’s a nice warm read set in Florida - and where I live it’s cold and February.

So sad to say that I DNFed this one at 40%.

I usually try and give books at least half before I give up but over two weeks I tried to read this one and I was getting nowhere. I had to keep pushing my self to read it and I just... there is too many books out there to read for me to push through one that just isn't working for me.

I've read a few other Katherine Center books and I felt like I enjoyed them. The Bodyguard and hello stranger. I gave them both three stars but I definitely enjoyed The Bodyguard more. (probably around 3.5 stars). However, I feel like the Katherine that wrote those two and the Katherine that wrote this one; those are two different people. This was just wasn't for me.

To start, I was a fan of our main character in the beginning. I felt like she had potential. However the further we got in to the story, I just wasn't a fan so much anymore. Maybe it was the way she talked about her body image that did it for me. I'm not sure.
Second, Cole was very cringe and complete trash.
Third, what was this whole weird thing with Hutch? Literal Face palm. It felt like two middle schoolers trying to admit/ not admit that they had feelings for one another. I don't know. It just wasn't for me. Hutch didn't have much to him either. There was no depth to his character. He was just blah. The romance between him and the Mc felt rushed and was disappointing in my book. Barely into reading and I was just hoping for it to be over.

Overall I feel like I see a lot of four and five star reviews and I'm happy some people enjoyed it. This has me thinking this might just be a me problem. ( However when the inner dialogue from our MC was a little over the top sometimes and ranted on for far too long.) (Eight to ten pages of inner dialogue??) Not sure if I will give this one a try later down the road or not. I'm starting to think that Katherine Center may just not be an author for me.

I read this book in one sitting, predictable loveable story with no spice but so much heart. You gotta just suspend your realities in a bucket for this one but it was still a cute ride.

I’ve been a fan of Katherine Center’s work for a few years now, and while this book wasn’t as bingeable as her past couple releases, I do think it’s her most impactful I’ve read. As someone who also struggles with body image issues (and started reading this book while on vacation wearing my first-ever bikini at 30 years old), I was moved by our FMC’s journey. This book felt like my own personal Rue as I let myself go. How glorious.

While The Love Haters may not hit the same for someone looking for a punchy, sweet rom com like Center’s past couple releases, it’ll mean a lot to those it does resonate with. I’d recommend it to anyone who has ever hated their body or to anyone looking for a heartfelt story of self discovery that’s more impactful than the illustrated cover may imply.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Katie, a videographer on the verge of being let go, goes on a last hiatus to Key West to film a commercial for the Coast Guard in hopes of proving herself invaluable to the company. What Katie didn’t expect was to step in the middle of a decade's worth of sibling rivalry built on a troubled past. While in the Keys, Katie can’t deny her attraction to Hutch. But as soon as the distance starts to close between them, a new problem arrives in the form of Hutch’s brother Cole- and he has her heart and her job by the throat.

Pros
-The FMC, Katie, and the MMC, Hutch, are likable. I love Katie’s internal journey of growth.
-Cole is not likable, even after his past and harbored feelings are revealed. IDC he is immature and holds everyone around him responsible for his problems instead of himself. The good news is that it looks like growth is on the horizon.
-Rue and “the girls” are to die for! They help create a warm, loving, and accepting community that gives Katie the support she needs to stop holding herself back.
- Has a romantic comedy feel due to the situations Katie gets herself into… They are hilarious and embarrassing and--lucky and unlucky for Katie--Hutch is always around to help fix it.

Cons (just a little bit of repetition)
-Too many references to the song “Heart and Soul”
-WARNING the overuse of the phrase “pie slice” will give you a tick. Red will creep into your vision until you want to bludgeon someone with a pie slice.

I enjoyed this story! It is sweet and crafted to uplift the reader after heavy themes and leave them hopeful. I recommend it and rack it in the reread category!