I adore Katherine Center's writing and this book was no different.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Key West, this book follows Katie, a mid-level video producer, who’s forced to take a high-stakes job profiling a Coast Guard rescue swimmer to prove herself and save her job amidst company downsizing. After being cheated on by her ex, who became a famous musician, Katie is left grappling with confidence issues, avoiding anything colorful, revealing, or related to swimming. But to succeed in her new role with Hutch, an idealistic, hardworking, love hater, Katie will have to confront her fears and insecurities head-on.

I loved how Center addresses the pressure women face to conform to unrealistic size expectations and the challenges of dealing with online negativity from people who are intent on bringing you down.

I also loved Katie’s best friend, Beanie, Hutch’s dog, George Bailey, and his aunt, Rue—each of these characters added so much to the story. The one thing I didn’t enjoy was Cole’s character and the web of lies he wove, affecting everyone around him. It felt like a version of a frustrating miscommunication trope that the main characters couldn’t do anything to resolve themselves.

Overall, this story was super fun and I loved the Key West setting as well as the ending of this book. This would be a perfect book to read on a summer vacation.

Katherine Center is by far one of my all time favorite authors. I was beyond thrilled to get an eARC of this book from NetGalley. And it was fine. But here’s the thing, I expect way more than fine from Katherine Center. The two main characters love story seemed very surface level. Overall the story seemed about Katie accepting herself, which took so much of the story. Katie’s internal monologues came across often as immature.The biggest plus of this book was the side characters. I loved Beanie, Rue, and the girls. George Bailey and his quirky personality has me smiling more than once. This was an enjoyable read, just not the hit I was expecting. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC!

The Love Haters was such an enjoyable reading for me! The story is a perfect slow burn, focused more on the plot and characters and not the spice. Side characters are really great, I'm in love with the banter and humor.
I think so far it's the best book of Katherine Center. The story is really touch my heart, I was fond of the topic of struggles with the body of the heroine.

Be sure, this book will make you smile! I highly recommend to everyone.

I have never met a Katherine Center book that I did not love and this was no exception!! The Love Haters is the kind of book where you keep checking the time left in book estimate on your kindle and are filled with dread as you want to live in the story forever :) This story has the classic sweetness & love of a romcom along with the deep & meaningful themes that help you reflect in your own life. Reading this book made me smile to myself like a fool and cry both tears of joy and sadness for the fictional characters but also the everyday realities of what we all face in learning to love & be kind to ourselves before we can do that for those around us! Thankful to netgalley for letting me experience this story pre-release & recommend it to all my reader besties!!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the advanced copy! 4.25 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book!

💜 Likable FMC, Katie, that goes through a huge period of growth.
🧡 Swoon-worthy Coast Guard rescue swimmer MMC, Hutch
💛 Rue… Hutch’s colorful, loving, badass ain’t that takes Katie under her wing.
💚 Big dope of a Great Dane with an affection for frogs

I would’ve loved a little more spice, but the slow burn love story definitely kept my interest regardless. I was laughing out loud at certain scenes (SWET training… haunch tragedy…).

The only things keeping this from being a 5 star for me:
-missed communication/lying to “help” always drives me nuts. I wish that Katie handled that differently.
-Cole sucks. 💩 I wish there was more of a chance to find something more likable about him.
-certain points had the FMC speaking directly to the reader. This felt awkward to me, but I got more comfortable with it as the story went on.

Another Katherine Center novel that’s sweet and quickly devoured, like a cupcake from your favorite bakery. Her books are always fun while tackling a deeper issue (in this case, mostly Katie’s ED and body-image issues). But the most important players to mention are: HUTCH! And GEORGE BAILEY!

When we first meet film producer, Katie, she's at a crossroads of sorts - she just heard rumors of layoffs at her company and in order to save her career, a coworker suggests that filming a newly famous coast guard rescue swimmer just might be her ticket to avoiding termination. Only problem is that the man in question wants nothing to do with adding to the newfound fame her video series might inspire.

Katherine Center has a great way of gathering all of the ingredients needed to build a phenomenal story, but this one was missing something for me. I would have loved a little more backstory buildup with her relationship (coworker friendship??) with Cole and her boss, Sullivan, to really make the conflict toward the end a little more flushed out and believable. I silently raged when Cole stormed in claiming Katie as his fake girlfriend just as she and Hutch were getting close. And for her to just take it in stride?! To gain all of that momentum about herself and her self-worth to just assume Hutch would want to go to Sullivan instead?! In short, I wish she has put herself in his shoes for a moment.

All in all, this story was really a tale of overcoming internal obstacles. Every single character (with the exception of maybe Rue and her girl gang) needed to work through their own challenges of self-confidence and self-acceptance in a way. And while I love when authors choose to tackle real-life topics like these, I think we were given a few too many slices of exercising self-love in the beginning. Which, after reading the author's note at the end of the book that outlined Katherine Center's ultimate goal, I think I would have rather read a short note in the beginning as well to really set the tone for me going into it.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Katherine Center for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center continues her streak of rom-com winners. The Love Haters features Katie, who’s willing to do anything to save her job. Even if it means going from Dallas to Key West to shoot a promo video for the Coast Guard without even knowing how to swim. Which is how she finds herself living in a cozy coastal cottage full of color (Katie prefers beiges, blacks, and grays) surrounded by a slew of colorful older women and one hunk of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. Described to Katie as a love-hater, Hutch doesn’t quite fit what she was imagining. Center takes readers through a mesmerizing story filled with witty banter and laugh-out-loud situations and introduces them to likable, relatable and heroic characters. Center’s faithful readers will be thrilled with this new release!

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

This was my first Katherine Center read and I read it in 2 days. I’ve always heard great things and was so excited to get this! Now - I have to admit the first chapter of the book had me thrown off because the way Katie was coming off was a bit “clueless” vibes BUT I fear I judged her too harshly at first. I ended up really enjoying this story. This is exactly what I expect when I pick up a RomCom. While the storyline was a bit silly - there were still some very tender moments. I’ll definitely be picking up more of Katherine’s books.

I finally got my hands on the baby thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press!

I love a love story, and The Love Haters is a love story in so many different ways. It’s about finding love for yourself. Finding the love of your life. The love and connection with a sibling. The love for a stranger, and bringing joy to others and yourself. The love for an animal that has never been shown love before, and a fierce love that animal has for toads.

Katie is relatable in her self deprecation that I myself, and a lot of other women struggle with. She is quirky, she rambles when she is nervous, and she has a support system that reminds you to be there for yourself and others.

Hutch is just cool, without having to try to be cool. He has layers and shadows that gave me all of the feelings.

This was a great book, and I have to quote Katherine Center’s author’s note, “it’s healing to read stories about healing… It’s life changing to read stories about people changing their lives.”

The Love Haters
Katherine Center
Publication date: May 20, 2025
4/5 stars

I was so excited to get this ARC and stayed up way too late to finish reading it! Katie is a video producer who agrees to film a promo for the Coast Guard in attempt to save her job. There she meets her supervisor’s brother, Hutch, and his lovable Great Dane, George Bailey.

I am a huge Katherine Center fan but there were a few aspects of this book that make me take off a star. There is a lot of content about eating disorders/body image that I felt should have been mentioned in an author's note at the beginning of the book vs the end, a lying scene, and a certain order of who was “rescued first” that gave me pause. Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. Katherine Center has a way of pulling you into her stories and also teaching something new along the way.

Thank you Katherine Center, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was incredible, packed with so many elements I love in fiction. The characters had real depth, and the story wove in meaningful life lessons about self-esteem. With fabulous characters, a heartwarming love story, an unforgettable dog, and more, it had everything I could hope for. Katherine Center never fails to deliver! I'm thrilled to recommend this book widely, as it's clean and suitable for readers of all ages.

I love Katherine Center so I was beyond excited to receive the Arc of her upcoming book! The way she writes her characters is so real and endearing. The FMC has body issues and the brothers have some unresolved issues to unpack but the prior is what makes the story real. I think the subplot of the brothers was ridiculous but then again I’ve also seen my sons fight over the most ridiculous stuff! I would recommend this story to any rom com loving reader who also needs to work on falling in love with themselves again! I also highly reccomend her writers notes, they’re always a perfect way to end her stories and the reason I rounded up 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you soooo much NetGalley for the advanced readers copy!

Another KC home run. This story is not just a sweet love story between Katie & Hutch. It is a story of personal growth, accepting and loving yourself and your qualities, especially your body. I loved how KC tackled body image issues and how Katie had to grow personally before she could truly love someone.

My only comment is that I wanted more Katie × Hutch content. They are adorable.

This was the best first book to start the year with.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

4.5/5

Such a fast-paced, very cute read!

SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS:
Katie Vaughn, a video producer from Texas, has 2 choices: lose her job in a company-wide layoff or fulfill her editor Cole's adamant request to produce a recruiting video for the Coast Guard profiling Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, a rescue swimmer in Key West. ...only Katie isn't qualified for the job because she can't swim. And Cole is actually Hutch's brother who claims that Hutch's main hobby is frowning and reports that Hutch has refused all interviews until this one. Can Katie fake it till she makes it? Can she break through Hutch's always-serious shell to produce a career-saving recruiting video?

I really loved this one 🥹 Were the body image issues laid on a little thick? Yes. Did Cole drive me crazy? Yes. Did some wild, outrageous, and beyond silly things happen to thicken the plot? Also yes lol. These were some things that I was considering when I initially thought to rate this book 4 stars instead of 4.5, but I loved Katie's self-love journey SO MUCH (Special thank you to Beanie. Every female deserves a Beanie in their lives.) and the silly plot developments were just so entertaining that even when I found myself thinking "WHAT?! That would NEVER happen", I still enjoyed every second and couldn't stop reading because I had to find out what happened next. I also adored Rue in every single way. I highly recommend reading the Author's Note at the end to put some things into perspective!

Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Genre: romantic comedy, contemporary romance
Tropes: forced proximity, (unconventional) workplace romance
Trigger warnings: body image issues (body dysmorphia, disordered eating), family trauma, grief following death of family members

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

The title is perfect! It reflects the preconceived notion that Katie has about Hutch before she meets him, but also is a subtle nod to Katie’s own love-hate relationship with herself. I found myself relating a lot to Katie’s inner thoughts and narratives, and I often had to stop and pause to reflect on what I was feeling and thinking as I watched her be cruel to her own body. I loved the side characters, especially Rue. I long for my own “Gals” in my life who are always around and hyping me up. While I felt that Cole’s character was a bit shallow and surface level, I acknowledge that this was probably the point and it did not detract from the emotional impact of the story. While I loved the buildup and tension between Katie and Hutch, the shining star of this book for me was Katie’s journey towards self-acceptance and love. I am still on that journey myself and I think it was important for me to be there with Katie as she has those ups and downs while trying to be kinder to herself.

So excited to have received an ARC from NetGalley! During (minimal) pauses I took when reading, I tried to think of how I’d describe it — and because of Center’s writing style, I kept feeling like reading this book was like listening to a friend tell me a story — a funny, charming friend who is *really* skilled at storytelling tell me a story about a miraculous, exciting time in her life that left me feeling as though I know her and the others in the story.

What a story it was. It is so evident how much research and care goes into her books - they feel authentic and compelling, and this one is no different.

The theme of not only accepting but going beyond that and loving yourself as told through Katie’s journey on the relationship she has with herself/her body was especially poignant for me - and many women, I’d assume - and that topic was addressed in such a meaningful way that I’m certain the quotes that stood out to me will be ones I revisit often, especially at times when my self image isn’t so great.

Love books that make you feel like you’re living alongside the characters … ones that you think of long after you read the final page — and this is one of them. The author’s note in this one is the icing on the cake.

As a romance reader, I picked up this book expecting a cute vacation romance, but it turned out to be so much more than that.

The story follows Katie Vaughn, a video producer working at a production company. To save her job from her boss, who is on a firing rampage, she agrees to go to Key West and produce a video about Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Even though she doesn’t know how to swim, she takes on the task. Oh, and one more thing—Hutch is the older brother of her coworker Cole, who has a strained relationship with him.

Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson is a stoic man who lives with his rescued Great Dane and is close to his aunt Rue. At least, that’s what Katie initially believes. But as she spends more time with Hutch, she learns that he’s much more than what his brother described him to be. Over time, Katie and Hutch’s love blossoms.

However, for me, the main focus of the book wasn’t the romance—it was about a woman’s relationship with her body. Girls and women everywhere have struggled, and continue to struggle, to maintain a healthy relationship with their bodies. Often, we can be incredibly harsh on ourselves—through self-sabotage or by depriving our bodies of the nourishment they need. The author skillfully made this theme a central part of the book, and through the main character’s development, the message of self-love shines through. By the end of the book, and especially in the acknowledgment, the author beautifully conveys this message, and I couldn’t help but tear up while reading it.

As the author mentions in her acknowledgment, “The best love stories are never just about romantic love. They're always about so much more than that: kindness, joy, belonging, and safety—not to mention growing, changing, and healing from the past. They are always masterclasses on how we find the best in each other—and, by extension, ourselves.” This perfectly encapsulates the essence of the book.

For me, personally, the romance was the subplot. This book is ultimately about self-growth, learning to love yourself, and being kind to your body.

My favorite quote:
“We're here to be alive. To feel the sun on our skin. To breathe deep in the wind. We're here to feel it all. To love and cry and love some more. We're here to rescue ourselves—and everybody else—in every way that we can.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

THE LOVE HATERS, By Katherine Center
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Katherine Center does it again! Not only are her books filled with beautiful and warm love stories, you can’t finish one of her books without feeling a deeper sense of satisfaction to be human and alive. I won’t forget Katie and Hutch’s chemistry and their story - this is an easy 5-star review to give!

Katie Vaugh is desperate to keep her job - desperate enough to lie about her qualifications and take on a project in Key West, Florida to shoot a promotional video featuring US Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutchenson. As Katie gets more involved she learns that Hutch may not be the “love hater” she was warned about. Between conga lines, chromaphobia, swim lessons, and one incredibly sweet Great Dane, Katie’s trip to Key West becomes less about her job, and more about finding herself, including who makes her happiest.

True to Katherine Center's style, Love Haters is quirky, heartwarming, and full of wit. Center
has a remarkable ability to create characters that feel real, and this book is no exception. Hutch, our hero, with his handsome yet perpetually frowning demeanor who does not say much, stands out as a unique and lovable hero. I especially appreciated how Center wove in his quirky habit of humming "Heart and Soul," a touch that makes him feel even more authentic.
The heroine, Katie, is endearing, though she struggles with her self-image—a relatable thing for many readers.


One thing that stands out in this book is self-help wisdom infused within the narrative. There are references to the Gottmans, renowned relationship therapists, as well as plenty of insights about love, communication, and personal growth.