I really enjoy Katherine Centers books and this is another win for me. I was glad to read it thru NetGalley and offer this review. This novel will be classified as a Rom-Com and as in all her books there is a lot of depth to the story. I think I should just use the authors words to sum it up: “The Love Haters has a very specific love story between Katie and Hutch…but it also has a different one between Katie and herself”.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Love Haters - Katherine Center has produced another fabulous book

This book centers around the main character - Katie - who has a love/hate relationship with herself and her body (don't we all) and chromophobia (fear of colors - just like me!). In order to save her job, she goes on an assignment to observe the Coast Guard (while she can't swim, good choice there) and there she meets a fabulous group of people including my favorite character - George Bailey - who help her be less afraid and a love a little more. I did get a little frustrated with one character but I guess that shows the brilliance of Katherine's writing because I wanted to reach into the book and strangle him - repeatedly.

A wonderfully written book that should be read by everyone who loves to hate love - whether its loving the people around you, loving the world you're in or just loving yourself

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I’m convinced that Katherine Center’s books get better with each new one out. I loved this love story that was about so much more than that. It was about family, relationships, and learning to love yourself … all with the best characters and the most perfect of dogs. Check this book out when it’s released in May 2025.

Katherine Center does not miss! I loved this book like I have loved every other Katherine center book I have read! I loved the characters, I laughed and almost cried. Zero complaints, it’s a wonderful love story!

3.5 stars, which I’m soooo so sad about because the Rom Commers was one of my favorite reads of the year last year!

Katie is a low level film maker that’s given a last minute assignment to attempt to save her job by flying to The Keys and filming a recruitment video for The US Coast Guard about rescue swimmers. Her subject, Hutch, hates the spotlight but only agreed to make the video to help Katie’s coworker, and the person he thought would be filming the video, Cole.

I had a couple of issues with this book, the first of which is the way it dealt with Katie’s obvious eating disorder and body dysmorphia. I think the idea of addressing that Katie was attempting to fall in love with her own body in the midst of the love story between Hutch and Katie was a really beautiful idea, but was handled in such an unrealistic way. A few weeks in the keys, one man telling you you’re pretty, and your friend making you feel stupid for being afraid to weigh yourself does not cure the deep rooted issues Katie was dealing with.

My other issue was in the secondary characters. Cole was so insufferable that I found myself having a hard time finishing the book once he showed up because I didn’t even want to read about him or the lies he had told. I also didn’t understand the character Beanie. I’m always a huge fan of the best friend character in romance novels, but she was so two dimensional and honestly kind of obnoxious that I didn’t understand what role she even played in Katie’s life.

Besides those issues, the love story at the core of this book was really beautiful. I did think it felt a bit rushed at first, like a lot of the early conversations were happening off page and we were just being told about all the ways they were connecting, but I understood why when so many other plot points were playing out in the second half of the book.

As always, Katherine Center writes beautifully, unfortunately this one just was not a hit for me.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Once again Katherine Center has written a book that I have fallen in love with! Katie Vaughn is trying to put her life back together after a failed engagement. Her job as a journalist/videographer is on the line, so she accepts a job filming a Coats Guard rescue swimmer. Enter Hutch, he is brave, strong, kind and her co-workers brother. What unfolds is a story about learning to love yourself, facing your fears, and enjoying life. The side characters of Rue and “The Gals” gave me Golden Girl vibes and add a special touch to the story.

Thank you to St. Martins press and NetGalley for the chance to read this arc in exchange for my honest reviews.

I was so excited to read this from NetGalley, as I am a very big Katherine Center fan.

Katie works as a video producer, and is strong-armed by her colleague Cole into working a project in Key West filming a promo for the Coast Guard filming Cole's brother Hutch--a certified hero who is the Love Hater in question. She stays in a cottage owned by Cole's aunt and discovers a found family there, while slowly developing feelings for Hutch.

What I loved about this book that made it stand out for me is the underlying "self-love hater" that Katie is, as she struggles with body image throughout and is recovering from an abusive relationship with her body. You see her growth throughout the book, as she learns to not only love Hutch but to love herself.

While much of the book is a lovely organic development of the relationship between Hutch and Katie, the "conflict" that comes in between them is a bit heavy-handed and somewhat unbelievable. However, it doesn't last long and is resolved relatively quickly (which some might say demonstrates it was a bit unnecessary to begin with).

Overall, it had what I've come to expect from Katherine Center, a light hearted book that delves into deeper topics such as grief and body image issues. I ate it up.

Katherine Center never dissapoints! In her book The Love Haters we meet Katie , a journalist/videographer, who agrees to new project to save her job. She has to film Hutch, a coast guard rescue swimmer for a promo. Hitch is incredibly kind, brave, heroic, hot, & also her coworkers brother. This has shared bed, forced proximity, fake dating, & enemies to lovers. The enemies to lovers being between Katie and Katie which was a nice reminder to us all. This book wasn't spicy but it held my interest all the same. Please check this one out when it releases on May 20,2025!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I'm a huge fan of Katherine Center. This felt more in the middle of the pack for me. Katie goes on assignment to make a promotional video for the Coast Guard, without even knowing how to swim. Of course, romance and comedy ensue when an elder friend takes her under her wing, and when Katie starts to fall for the subject of her video.

What I really liked: Aunt Rue and her circle of friends who make the most of every day. George Bailey, an adorable Great Dane. Hutch really seeing Katie.
What I didn't like as much: There was a lot of self-talk about weight near the beginning that almost had me close the book. This could be triggering for some. I felt the plot raced along where I didn't get to feel as much between the two main characters as they were getting to know each other. The life-threating situation at the end felt a bit unrealistic.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press and Katherine Center for access to the ARC of The Love Haters. I confess, I did plan to just start this book as I was heading to bed and, while I did stay in bed, I did not sleep. I spent those 7 hours devouring this book rather than sleeping! No regrets! It was well worth it. I love Katherine Center! Her words, her stories, her characters, they are a part of my DNA now. If you haven't read a Katherine Center story, go do it now. I loved getting to know Katie and Hutch as they struggled to overcome their pasts to find their happily ever after. Katie is a heroine whose story is so relatable and sadly so very common; the internal battle with self-image and body-image and self-love is so very hard for so very many of us humans. If only we could each see ourselves the way our loved ones see us. Thank you, Katherine, for teaching us all to love ourselves more and better through Katie's journey. Your stories make the world a better place.

Absolutely astonishing read! Easily 5 stars. Katie was so relatable in every way. As females, we have expectations for ourselves and our bodies, Katie does, too. We are our own worst critics. This book showed me what it's like to truly love myself and the skin I'm in. To stop holding myself back from things because I'm so hard on myself for me, weight or shape of my body. I teared up twice reading this. But I laughed during so many moments. It was the perfect blend of romance, comedy, and deep topics. I love Beanie!!! I absolutely loved Hutch! But the dog George was top tier. He was such a smart fella. Rue was a beautiful soul, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the depth to her character and understanding how brave and kind she was. I loved her character all around! This was just such an amazing read for so many different reasons. I will be gushing about this for a long time, and I plan to try to take Beanie's self-help wisdom into my own personal life. To love myself without comparison to my expectations or others. To just enjoy life and the colors of it like Rue does. To be brave and help others any chance I get like Hutch. And most importantly, to love myself and find the silver lining like Katie did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for giving me this ARC to read/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully reading this book.

Another truly lovely romance read! This will be a wonderful summer beach read. Loved the quick and easy read that this was! Such a good romcom that I’d recommend

Katherine Center's romances are like a drop of sunshine!

There’s just something so addictive about the way she writes romances and the chemistry between her characters. I didn't want to put this book down. It was sweet, lively, hopeful, and endearing. I found myself laughing out loud and, of course, gushing over the love interest. The atmosphere was fun, bright, and compared to where I live, tropical.

I really enjoyed this, however, the events that take place at the end of the book threw me for a bit of a loop. Nonetheless, reading this was an amazing time.

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

Katherine Center’s The Love Haters has me just reeling. It’s so unbelievably GOOD and yet I am sitting here, still having all of the feels from this binged book. I literally couldn’t put it down…and stayed up until 7 am to finish it, and now, I am sad that it’s over.

Katie has had the Worst luck with all different kinds of love in her life. She is finally shakily on even ground again after finding her fiancé cheating on her with a gorgeous celebrity that she tells herself that she can never compare to. She was bullied into an eating disorder by her family and social media, and this has also led her to try to be an inconspicuous as possible.

During the assignment that she took to try to save her career, she met her subject’s aunt Rue, who slowly started introducing color back into Katie’s life. That assignment was so eye-opening and soul-searching for Katie. But would it be enough to ever make her feel like she’s enough for the first time in her life?

This book was beyond amazing, and so universal in its themes and metaphorical prose. It really resonated deep within me, as I am sure that it will for countless others. Thank you, Katherine Center, for this gift!

And thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this outstanding ARC!!!

3.75 ⭐️ I have some quotes that I absolutely loved and that spoke to my soul within this book, but I’ll wait for permission to share and likely after the book is released. I love Katherine’s books as there’s always a heartwarming story of love and understanding amidst the trials that the main characters seem to face. There were parts where I really connected to Katie and understood her fears and desires. The lies in which she found herself caught up in with Cole really bugged me. It was a much bigger mess than it needed to be. And him and Rue finally telling Hutch the truth in the middle of a hurricane by calling the coast guard base seemed wild. But overall the story was sweet and a great reminder of body positivity and overcoming our own self doubt. I loved Rue from the moment she was introduced and she made the story for me. And don’t even get me started on the way Katie had be smiling with the way she was talking to George Bailey during that hurricane into trying to reason with him. And Beanie is what all friendships should be made of. Thanks Katherine for a good read.

This. Ok was a fun romcom read, heavy on the com side. The characters are so likeable. Well, except for Cole but eventually he’s understandable. Hutch is just hit, you can feel him smolder. Katie is sweet and Rue is so funny. I smiled through most of the book, I laughed and I also worried when a hurricane threatened everything. No spoilers but I love that even George Bailey saved his friend.

I really wanted to enjoy this, but unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. From the start, I found the way body image was addressed to be quite insensitive, and there were moments I had to skim past because it was just too frustrating. The romance didn’t click either—it felt rushed and lacked the depth or connection I was hoping for. Don’t even get me started on Cole; his constant lies made him almost unbearable to read about..he just drove me nuts. That being said, Rue was definitely the highlight of the book. I adored her character and the dynamics with her gal pals—they brought a much-needed lightness to the story. I did enjoy the occasional witty dialogue, and the Coast Guard setting was a fun backdrop that added some unique flavor to the plot. Overall, this just wasn’t the right fit for me. It's disappointing, but it happens.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a charming story about learning to love yourself. Be your own best friend and advocate. The Great Dane, George Bailey, was the absolute best.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book was a delight. Even if I set aside my bias for Key West and Great Danes, it would still be the fun, laugh out loud book I didn't even know I needed. Katie took a gamble agreeing to an assignment to shoot a promo video for the US Coast Guard featuring Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson to save her job and to say that it paid off would be an understatement. But honestly, how could you not fall in love with Hutch and his stubborn, goofy rescue dog? And then there was his Aunt Rue - a true gem of a human being bringing color and life and spunk to the story (and to Katie). I could feel Katie's heart mending as she slowly learned to love herself and then ultimately learned it was okay to love someone else.

Unfortunately, there was also Hutch's brother and Katie's co-worker, Cole. I realize that he had a relevant role in the story, but I could have done without him and all the frustration he caused with his short visit. He was constantly trying to meddle to force situations to work in his favor and really brought down the whole vibe of the book which is why I deducted a star.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this early!

Rating: 5 stars
Katherine Center blessed us with the perfect blend of a military man, family drama, self-help, and a savior complex.

Katie, our main protagonist, has a lot to overcome. Then a job-saving opportunity pops up in the Florida Keys and she does what she needs to do. Traveling to the Coast Guard’s military base to shadow the perfect specimen, so his brother doesn’t have to, could only create an incredible plot.
The setting was perfect for a fun beach read. As a Florida resident, I’m usually not a fan of books taking place in my home state, simply because I know it too well. But, Katherine Center absolutely did her research in all aspects of this book. Plus, the compound of cottages with some extra grandmotherly figures made it feel like she ran away to a remote cottage in the Sims 4. As for the military base, the casual atmosphere (outside of disaster scenarios of course) was so soothing in comparison to the chaos of our main character’s inner thoughts.

Katie deals with a lot of inner turmoil that she causes for herself, though not her fault. Her journey throughout the book is well-paced, as goes for the entire book, and her progress gave me hope (Honorary mention to Beanie who carried the self-help regime on her tired back.). As for Hutch, with his chin dimple, he was a dream man and his devotion to helping anyone in need was impressive, if not a wee bit concerning. Not to mention, he’s got a Great Dane.

The only even slightly negative thing I can say is that I wish we got to see more of the filming and interviews. But, if my only complaint is that I wanted more content, I’d say this is a win.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with this Arc. All opinions are my own.