A fantastic Rom Com with two loveable main characters! Quirky, fast paced, witty, and meaningful. This book is all you could ask for in a feel good way!
Disclaimer: body image discussion heavily

If you’ve ever been wronged while in love - ladies and gents this one is for you. How could you not hate love when it obviously hates you too. But wait. What if fate has a different idea about how you should live your life.
Katie like a lot of women out there has been lead to believe you must be a size 0 to be happy. That anything that isn’t this number is not beautiful or acceptable. Enter a whole series of psychologically damaging events from childhood to adulthood and bam you have all the ammunition you need to feel even more inadequate than you ever thought possible every single day. These learned beliefs undoubtedly extend to the dating world because how could they not, right? But wait. What if you had a best friend that didn’t believe in this? That thought that you were so wonderful all day everyday no matter what size you were and pumped you up every step of the way?
Add an assignment that the boss didn’t want to do that was passed down the line with one stipulation. Katie’s real reason for being there needs to be revealed at a specific time. During her convert mission she meets rich and dynamic individuals who inspire confidence in her and help her not hide in inadequacy anymore. Add a tall and handsome lover hater and you’re all set for a thrilling journey.
Katherine Center is my compass for what is good and happy in this world. Her books never cease to bring me joy when I seem to need it the most. Center crafts these beautiful characters and you can’t help but love every “imperfect”piece of them. They’re so relatable to me every single time and I just want nothing but the best for them because I see so much of myself in their struggles.
Thank you to St.Martins Press for this access to this ARC.

Having enjoyed other novels by Kathrine Center, I had high expectations for her new novel “The Love Haters.” As my teen students say, this book is “doing too much.” One of themes of the story involved body image. While it attempted to address the issue, the impossible situation the main character finds herself in are a poor backdrop. The minor characters had little to no character development and made their motivations hard to understand. While I enjoyed reading this book, it was just too silly to take it seriously.

I am a big fan of Katherine Center’s writing, and this book did not disappoint. It made me laugh out loud multiple times, and of course the romance is delicious and swoon worthy. There are some really powerful parts regarding the main character’s relationship with her body, and I think a very timely discussion on social media’s role in self esteem (or lack thereof). It’s probably not my favorite KC book, but it was definitely easy to read and I finished it very quickly.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance with no smut, but I truly enjoyed this. It was such an easy and fun read. I really like how this wasn’t so overly focused on romance because I was genuinely curious and eager to know what was going to happen next in the story. Also, I’m sure Cole was meant to be unlikeable, but some of the things he said had me laughing out loud, and he eventually became one of my favorite characters in the book lol

This is the first Katherine Center book for me, and I’m definitely going to check out some more of her stuff now!

The first couple chapters took a few days to get into (whether it be life or the story, I am not sure) but once I got into the story, I could not stop reading it! It is definitely Katherine Center. The chemistry between the characters was perfect even if miscommunication was their main issue. The build up of the characters definitely made you understand why they had those miscommunication. It is about growth beyond love for others but love for yourself. Also, George Bailey is great.

I read this so quickly on a 3 hour flight. I always love Katherine Center books and this one was no different. Katherine's books always mix happy and light fun with some deeper, more serious scenarios as well. This book balanced the light vs heavy well and had great pacing. Also, she always finds a way to introduce new careers and characters in such an easy way - I loved the focus on the coast guard and a film production company. It reminded me a bit of the firefighter focus in Things You Save in a Fire. I love when there's a bit of a celebrity aspect as well so Katie's ex being a famous musician and the impacts of that was a fun addition. Overall a fun, quick read! I can see this being a great summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy!

TW: body dysmorphia and past eating disorders

Another 5 star book from Katherine Center! I will say, this one is different from her latest books, but I still loved it! I feel like she focuses more on the FMC's relationship with herself, and the relationship with the MMC is background. This is one still full of laughs, love, and quirky characters that I want to know in real life! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This was another 5 star read from Katherine Center! She is one of my favorite authors and really delivers on the light hearted romance here.
This book really delved into self discovery and learning to love yourself with the main character. I feel like everyone goes through a period of learning to love themselves, lumps, bumps and all! Throw in a hunky coast guard main character, enthusiastic great dane, and quirky aunt.....it was such a fun read! While I received an ARC copy, I already have the audible version on pre order and can't wait to listen to it again!
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the complementary advanced digital copy - all thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ her books are usually a little too much “insta-love,” Hallmark for me. This one was heavier (maybe a little too much) on the self-love and body acceptance. The romance almost took a back seat and didn’t give me those giddy, butterfly feelings. And the “conflict” didn’t quite work for me, seemed strange.

I thought I would love this book, but I just liked it. She’s one of my favorite authors but I wasn’t blown away. I liked the story and ending. I think the main characters struggles with an eating disorder was a bit over dramatic. I’m not saying eating disorders aren’t, it just felt a little fake to me.

The Love Haters is a fun and entertaining romance. I love the characters and how they grow and develop through this book. I really enjoyed this book.

Katherine Center can write about the hard topics without making the whole story heavy. The main character, Katie, is very relatable. I love all the side characters in The Gals and Aunt Rue. The author's note is a must read as she explains herself in characters. Katherine Center books are auto reads for me so I was excited to get to read it early. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC.

Katie is swept off to Key West to film a video for her job, well, to hopefully keep her job. Her arrival doesn't quite go as planned, cue some reader smiles. As her trip unfolds she has to learn how to overcome her lack of positive body image. Katie has an amazing support person, which we all should have!

Hutch is a hero, he doesn't know it. Will Katie be able to prove to him that he is with her video?

This story brought the smiles and the tears to the eyes. It was a quick read and 4.5* for me!

Make sure to read the authors note at the end.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE Katherine Center. This just wasn't her best book. I didn't really start to love the book until about 80% of the way through the book. The dialogue felt juvenile at times.

I'd still recommend it being read, but just know this wasn't her best. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this adorable romantic comedy ahead of its release date! In Love Haters, Katherine Center does a wonderful job of exploring self-love and self-worth as the main character, Katie, finds her way after getting cheated on by her famous fiancée. I adored her relationship with her best friend & cousin, Beanie, and I loved her journey of self-love throughout the entire story. Every woman can see themselves, in Katie, as she picks apart her body and focuses on her flaws. Ofcourse Center throws in the insanely handsome good guy, allowing the reader to cheer for them to end up together. Laugh out loud moments, and some teary eyes, this story was a 5 star for me!

If you haven’t already, check out the Rom-Commers also by Katherine Center!

I loved Katherine Center’s last book and was so excited for this one! I love her tone and her quirky characters, but unfortunately I didn’t love Katie and Hutch in her newest book, The Love Haters.

Katie is a video producer who really needs to do good on her latest assignment - a promo video for the US Coast Guard, following her boss’s hot but love avoidant brother, Hutch. While in Florida on assignment, Katie gets tangled up in a web involving some family drama, some secrets, and a lie involving her swimming abilities. Amidst all of this, she’s starting to develop feelings for Hutch, who is known to be the “love hater”.

A few things I couldn’t stand:
- the overly quirky nature of the book and characters. A little bit is fine, but this got a bit too “slapstick” for me.
- the villains. No spoilers, but it’s a bit much, especially towards the end. Not necessary at alllll.
- how Katie’s body issues were overshadowed. I think that her issues were an important topic, and relevant to the theme of the book, but it just didn’t work as well as I had hoped with everything else going on. It was almost too much.

I really wanted to love Katherine Center’s newest book as much as I have her other ones, but sadly this one wasn’t as good as the rest.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katie risks being laid off for her job as a video producer when her coworker Cole proposes that she travel to Florida and make a career changing promo for Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch…who also happens to be Cole’s brother. Katie takes on the assignment because it’s a shot to save her job but also she has an up and coming side gig profiling hero’s on YouTube and Hutch is a dog rescuing hero…perfect to check all of the boxes. Except Hutch is uber private and has never granted any access following his big story. Undeterred, Katie goes to Florida and settles into the brothers’ aunt’s Airbnb slash retirement community - with a Congo line, and falls for Hutch. Did we mention that Katie can’t swim? That will be a significant piece of the puzzle as Hutch teaches her to swim in his aunt’s pool. The anticipation of a true rom com begins. Mid story Cole comes to Florida and claims Katie is his girlfriend as some sort of revenge on Hutch which throws the whole situation into a tailspin. I admit I got a little lost in the sauce of this complicated ruse, but it kept me entertained, if impatient, for Katie and Hutch to get back to their story. Predictably, like a rom com should be, the story refocuses with some exciting drama involving a storm and a lovable goof of a dog, George Bailey. It was a fun story and true to form, Katherine Center gives us likable characters to root for to figure it out. Another hit!

Another Katherine Center book that I thoroughly enjoyed! I loved the setting and really enjoyed the storyline tied in with Rue, and of course George Bailey. I liked that there was a bigger subtext to this book around body image and loving your own body and enjoyed the light-hearted way Center wove that throughout the story.

This book was such a ride! It felt like three books in one. Several twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and they all kept me turning the pages. Love the main character and reading about her coming to terms with her own inner struggles. There were so many great other characters, too. Hutch, obviously, but also Rue and The Gals and Beanie and even George Bailey. Everyone was so endearing and relatable. This book is right up there with The Bodyguard as a favorite from this author. Loved it!