It was adorable in such a Katherine Center way! I love that she ventures outside the box and makes her readers learn all about new careers and hobbies; this one being swimming! I may be semi-prepared to jump out of a helicopter during a natural disaster now.

As for the plot and romance, it was mediocre. The chemistry was too immediate for my liking and there wasn’t enough banter and conversation to make me connect to their relationship. However, Hutch is such a cinnamon bun hero, I can’t help but love him.

What this book really focused on was self love and positive body image. Katie was so destroyed by her ex boyfriend and the internet, she became completely insecure with herself. I do think though for someone so insecure, she was too easily over her ex, and it would have been more believable if she still had feelings for him.

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

The Rom-Commers was one of my FAVORITE romance reads of 2024, if not of all time, and was the first and only book I've read by this author. I feel like my expectations were too high going in, and I found it to be pretty underwhelming.

I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, because I feel like at one point the story just took a weird turn with a whole bunch of unnecessary child-like drama happening. That part just kind of ruined the romance/story for me. The epilogue was pretty cliche and over the top as well.

This was a nice, easy, funny romance read though. Just not anything too special IMO

The Love Haters swept me away and introduced me to an engaging and delightful book of characters.
I also enjoyed the sense of community between the characters, the various relationships like friendship, love of family, love of your profession, love of a pet, self-love, and romantic love. It is also about being honest, being vulnerable, taking chances, and being brave.
Such a well written, engaging, and page gripping book!!

If you are a fan of Katherine Center love haters will not leave you disappointed if you're new to Katherine Center this will surely make you a fan! It will be the perfect summer beach read. It is written with wit and charm and plenty of laughs. My only complaint is that I wished it was 50 maybe 75 pages longer in the front end. The start felt rushed and could have used more building.

Cue the book hangover… At this point, Katherine Center can do no wrong in my eyes. The Love Haters was readable and entertaining full of Center’s signature witty banter alongside a heartwarming theme of self-love and body acceptance. Whether you are new Katherine Center or her books are an auto-buy for you, grab The Love Haters.

5-Star Review: "The Love Haters" by Katherine Center

Katherine Center’s The Love Haters is a heartfelt and irresistible story that blends humor, emotional depth, and a touch of romance in the most delightful way. From the very first page, I was hooked by the authentic characters and the fresh, engaging writing style that Center is known for. The book explores the complexities of love, vulnerability, and personal growth with a perfect mix of wit and warmth.

The protagonist is instantly relatable, someone we can all see ourselves in, struggling with life’s disappointments but still searching for meaning and connection. The dynamic between the main characters is so well-crafted, providing moments of both tenderness and tension that make every page turn so satisfying. What makes The Love Haters stand out is Center’s ability to show that love is not always easy, but it’s worth fighting for—even when it’s messy or complicated.

What truly impressed me was how Center tackled deeper themes—self-worth, healing, and forgiveness—without ever losing the charm or lightheartedness that make her books so enjoyable. The humor in this book is sharp and endearing, balancing the more serious moments with just the right amount of levity.

The ending left me feeling uplifted, with a renewed sense of hope. It’s a book that reminds us that love, in all its forms, is something to cherish, even when it feels complicated or out of reach.

The Love Haters is a perfect blend of humor, heart, and hope, and I couldn’t put it down. Katherine Center has once again delivered a story that is emotional, thoughtful, and ultimately, a celebration of love in all its messy, beautiful forms. Highly recommend!

ARC Review- This book! Our main character Katie is so damn relatable. She struggles loving herself and knowing her worth but is so adorable, kind, and sassy af. I enjoyed her pov and was rooting for her all the way. There is a part that she is facing life or death and her best friend calls. She answers and lets her talk so she can enjoy what might be the very last time they speak. Before she can tell her bf what was going the phone gets lost. It was such a small thing but I related to it in a such a big way. And our love-hater himself was delicious. Hutch really helped Katie feel seen. Those two made me smile or grumble through the whole book. And my absolute favorite character was Rue. This story would have been nothing without her. She tried to live life to its fullest even when most of us would feel like it was impossible. When you find out about her history with the boys you will see everything in a whole new way. You absolutely need to read this book!!

Cannot post review on Amazon but will in the future. Waterstones is posted but has a 48 hr waiting period before it shows up.

Katherine Center does it again with another occupational romance, but this one has the tender heartwarming nature of a romcom where the character learns so much more about herself in the process. In this book, Katie goes to the Keys on a work trip to film a promotional video for the US Coast Guard with the focus on Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. Through the project, Katie is forced to face the self-deprecating aftermath she’s been dealing with since her breakup a year ago while meeting, arguably, the cutest group of old women. (“The Gals” were my favorite part of the book, by the way.) This book felt entirely like a 2000s romcom in the best ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy of this!

You know those books you never want to end? The ones where you wish there was an entire series to dive into because one book just doesn’t feel like enough? That was this book for me. I absolutely loved it!

The story takes us on a journey with Katie, a videographer doing her best to save her job amidst a wave of layoffs. Desperate to prove herself, she takes on a project she has no business agreeing to. Her subject? Hutch—a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who also happens to be the brother of her superieror. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, Katie can’t swim, knows nothing about the Coast Guard, and has to create an incredible video to save her job.

This book explores a variety of deep and emotional topics (TW: disordered eating & death) while weaving in humor and heartfelt moments. It delves into how past traumas and experiences shape the way we understand ourselves today. One moment, I was laughing out loud; the next, I was tearing up.

The characters are so well-developed, and the story truly immerses you in another world. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and wish I could stay in this world a little longer. Highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advance reader copy.

I enjoyed ‘The Bodyguard’ by Katherine Center recently so I was very excited to go into this new book. However, this book felt kind of flat. The pacing felt very long and the situation that pushed our character on an adventure just didn’t feel believable.

This book had some heavier themes such as body dysmorphia/not liking your body, which was mentioned multiple times and the character had to work through, but it didn’t leave an impactful feeling.

Overall, I wanted to like this book and I gave it a good shot but I think it is just okay.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read an advance copy of The Love Haters.

Katherine Center always provides relatable, honest, quirky heroines, wrapped up in a delightfully cozy read with the perfect amount of love story. The Love Haters wasn't just a love story between Katie and Hutch but also a story of personal growth and the importance of friendship. I love when characters have flaws and cracks that feel true to life, which is one of Katherine Center's gifts as an author and something that we see in The Love Haters. I am always excited to have a new Katherine Center to read!

The Love Haters is another true delight of a read! Nothing has yet to top The Bodyguard, but I throughly enjoyed this one. It had the perfect mix of rom-com romance and real life struggles. As always, someone needs to make movies from these books! This was my first eARC, so thank you netgallery and St. Martin’s Press!

First thing’s first- I absolutely loved this book. I’ve read all of Katherine Center’s books so when I got the opportunity to get an ARC for this one, I jumped at the chance.

Once I started, I could not stop reading. I LOVED Katie as a main character. She had so much depth to her and there was a lot about her backstory that I could relate to. She felt like a real person to me, and while the love story with Hutch was wonderful and I loved reading it (and I loved him!), Katie learning to fall in love with herself was the main takeaway from this one. Writers sometimes don’t write those types of stories well, but I really like how it was done here.

The supporting cast of characters were all great too- I wish I had a Rue in my life to dress me up in colorful clothes and a whole group of ladies cheering me on in life. I would love to see this made into a movie one day- there’s a lot of romance, yes, but there’s also action and really wonderful people that you can’t help but root for.

Another great novel from katherine center. This book takes you on a journey with the FMC toward self-love and discovery with real topics and a romance that supports the story but doesn't overwhelm it. The romance is sweet and developed nicely, and the best part - It is not the answer for "fixing" the FMC her nor is it the thing that makes her realize she needs to go on her self care journey in the first place. The book does a nice job exploring difficult topics, always handling consent in romantic relationships really thoughtfully, and kind of flipping some of the tropes you love to see into new adaptation. It was fun and I read it in one sitting. The characters feel so relatable and I love that this book the side characters are people you feel like you know and are getting along with throughout the book. Content warning should include exploring topics around negative self talk and body image.

In true Katherine Center fashion, this book was a perfect combination of funny and endearing. So many quotes that I was absolutely obsessed with. The romance was sweet and the addition of George Bailey was also adorable. Definitely one of my favorite books by this author.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced copy!

Katherine Center does it again!! This book had everything! I laughed, cried, got angry, and just had the best time reading this. I can’t wait for this to be in everyone’s hands.

I was eager to read this book as I have enjoyed Katherine Center's previous works. I was not disappointed by this heartfelt, funny, and hopeful novel. I loved the development of the main character as she grows to love herself and reframe her mindset. The setting of Key West was an amazing choice and I loved the introduction of color and unique personalities. The slow build romance was realistic and believable with many amusing moments. I would definitely recommend this book!

Katherine Center I'm quite literally obsessed with you please never stop writing. Katie is an intensely relatable character, not in the way she falls in love, but the way her trauma prevents it. She is headstrong, fiercely independent, and motivated. And all these things can't save her from the hurt that lingers deep in her soul. Hutch has found a way to heal himself, and knows that his trauma doesn't dictate the life he continues to live. And so Katie couldn't fully grow until she changed. In addition to being a beautiful love story between two characters, it is also a love story between Katie and her body, one I think many women could do with reading. She is so understandable for those of us who have always struggled with our body image and just need to love ourselves a little more. And her development was never a sudden epiphany, it was something she worked hard for. Like we all have to do for the rest of our lives. To love and understand ourselves, we must work at it. Katherine Center captures this idea in a wonderful display of hope, love, and adventure, and I can't wait for readers to fall in love with this book as they have with all her others.

The Love Haters was a cute, easy and fun read that I really enjoyed! Katherine Center's books are just such a pleasure to read and I was hooked immediately with his one too. I did find the last 3rd of the book (primarily once Cole shows up) to be a little frustrating with all of the lies (lies which felt unnecessary). And the ending felt a little rushed for me from a romance perspective, especially with *SPOILER ALERT* Hutch almost leaving Katie in the water after saving George Bailey. But overall, a charming and entertaining read!

There is nothing bad I can even say about this book. If you are feeling low, sad, tired, or unhappy, this is just the medicine you need. The Love Haters is a book that once you pick it up, you won’t want to put it down until you're finished. It felt like coming home and snuggling into my favorite blanket.

First off-the characters. I fell so in love with every one of them within 3 pages of introduction. Katie is so relatable, Beanie is full of wit and wisdom we all need to hear, The Gals are hysterical, and I want to be Rue when I grow up. The brothers, Hutch and Cole, have their rivalry bringing conflict, but even after wanting to punch Cole in the nose, he still ends up being likeable in his own way. Saving the best for last-George Bailey is the one holding everything together.

There are laughs, tears (or the threat of tears), action, and best of all-love. Katie has her own struggles but the way Katherine Center writes about them, its healing for the little girl inside every reader. Too often love stories seem forced or unnatural and Katherine Center has figured out the magic touch to avoid this. Self-love and romantic love both have their perfect place within the story. It’s not often I read a fun, fluffy romance and immediately need to buy it, but this one did the trick. 5 STARS!!!