This book is precious, as all her stories are. Bonus content: lots of (perhaps too much?) body positivity and learn-to-love-your-imperfectly-perfect body messages.

Overall, a great story! 4/5 for me. The characters sucked me in and I really enjoyed Hutch and his story as well, and how he navigated his insufferable brother. Definitely a necessary read for any Katherine Center fans!

Another winner from one of my favorite writers!

Katie Vaughn needs her job as a video producer, so she accepts an assignment profiling Tom Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

Between the stress of not knowing how to swim and losing her luggage, Katie second-guesses the wisdom of agreeing to this crazy trip. However, encouraging words from her best friend, Beanie, convince her to put herself out there, and it turns out to be the best decision of her life.

This is a story about learning to love yourself, and the lessons are taught with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and a toe-curling romance.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This one is out May 20, 2025!

Rom-Com. Katie was burned in spectacular fashion when her struggling musician fiancé suddenly turns into a huge pop star and publically cheats on her. And a year later she’s about to be burned again at work when she hears they’re downsizing, so she immediately agrees to produce a video promoting the US Coast Guard in hopes of keeping her job. The problem? Katie can’t swim, which is a pretty vital part of the job description. Once she arrives in Key West, her helpful proprietor of the place she is staying arranges swim lessons for her. The catch: it’s with Hutch, the hot coast guard rescue swimmer who is also her superior’s brother. As her life becomes more enmeshed with Hutch’s, lies start stacking up and her feelings grow. Can Katie come clean, or will it ruin her relationship with Hutch and lose her job?

I am a Katherine Center STAN and so I of course loved this one. The banter is great, some unexpectedly sweet/vulnerable moments were mixed in with some LOL ones. This was such a quick, easy, FUN read and the setting in Key West will make for a perfect book to kick off the summer season in May.

Another adorable rom com by Katherine Center! Maybe not my absolute favorite by her, but still a wonderfully warm and engaging read. What did I love? George Bailey, Rue and the Gals, beanie, the research spent on the coast guard, Hutch’s sweet sad eyes, and the care and attention given to body image and self love. What I didn’t love? Cole, the drinking competition, Cole again, the miscommunication( although this was more a lack of willingness to stop someone else from lying) and did I mention Cole? Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy and to the author for another fantastic read.

I was so excited to receive an Advanced Readers Copy of The Love Haters and am thrilled to share what a wonderful read it is.
We all know that Katherine Center writes great romance, but the fact that she also embeds real-world issues into her novels is what I appreciate more than anything. It brings a realism to her stories, even though we know that the chances of actually having one of these picture perfect romances isn’t likely.
The story in The Love Haters is about Katie, who was cheated on and is having trouble moving on, and Hutch, the Coast Guard rescue swimmer hates love (or so we are told). Katie’s assignment is to interview Hutch and create a documentary-style commercial marketing the Coast Guard, but her lack of swimming skills throws her into the deep end with the main man, himself.
This is The Beach Read for 2025!

I love the book's premise and honestly could have enjoyed it being longer so the build-up of their relationship could have been a bigger part of the book. It felt like they were into each other super quickly but it wasn't rushed to the point where it wasn't believable. I also loved the ending and the rescue premise. It was a really unique, and cute story.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: May 20, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

If Kathrine writes it, I will read it IMMEDIATELY. This was a very highly anticipated read for me and I was not disappointed at all. I loved this. You right away are sucked into this world and we follow Katie through her lows and highs through this read. This book is full of laughs, giggles as well as fireworks, chemistry and all the emotions and feels (Katherine is so good at making us FEEL her books and love her characters. This was such a fun read. If you love Centers writing, love a feel good romance that just makes you feel the feels then put this book on your TBR for its May 20th release and devour it just as I did.

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as St Martin’s Press.

Katie has a decision to make. Sit around and wait to be laid off or take the offer Cole has offered. The job is profiling Tom Hucheson, a rescue swimmer in the Keys.

As she lies through her teeth about her swimming skills, (non-existent) she is just as confident she can fake it.

AS the lies build, both of these love-haters need to come clean, but will they let go of the love-hate?

Always a good time!


NetGalley/ St. Martin’s Press May 20, 2025

I absolutely LOVE Katherine Center books. Lately I feel like every romance book is exactly the same - same heroine, same traditional sexy guy, same plot. Katherine Center books always go above and beyond and truly have a great backstory and unusual characters that you're sure to remember. Learning about the Coast Guard and rescuing people was definitely not something that I'd ever think I'd learn about in a romance book. But this book had it all - romance, fights, life saving rescues, and a cute (but huge) dog! What's not to love. I can't wait to read the next Katherine Center book as this one was great and the perfect way to get out of the romance book slump.

This story is about Katie Vaughn, who just recently ended a bad relationship with her fiance. Her co-worker, Cole, asks her to do a video in the Keys about his brother, named Hutch. Hutch is a coast guard rescue swimmer. Cole begs Katie to do this assignment because her job is one the line and also due to the fact that Cole has a strained relationship with his brother. Katie agrees to do the video but has one main concern, she is not able to swim. Katie agrees to take swim lessons from Hutch, and this further develops into a special friendship. Aunt Rue is a supporting character who becomes very fond of Katie and supports her from the start. This was definitely one of my favorites by Katherine Center. Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I give it 4.5 stars.

Katherine Center is one of my favourite authors - her books are normally guaranteed to make me smile and laugh. Unfortunately, The Love Haters is probably my least favourite of her books that I have read. The theme of body dysmorphia, potential history of eating disorders, and general lack of confidence that the main character experiences in the first half of the book were emphasized too much. I enjoyed the banter and the love interest, as well as the concept of the book, but felt that was overshadowed by how much the main character dislikes her body.

3.5 Stars, rounded down.

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press & NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.

i love it. the end.

The Love Haters is not just a swoony romance that holds your heart and comes with a dog side character. It's also love letter to our bodies and our love for them. It's a self love journey from a very flawed and damaged character who just needs to find love for herself before she can love the man of her dreams. And Hutch is precisely the man of her dreams. It's funny and tender and almost broke my heart a million times. But it also put it back together over and over again in the best sort of way. Katherine Center for the win. Always.

There is something about Katherine Center’s writing that gets me every time. She writes so well and so fun that at the end when you realize the spice level was basically zero, you don’t even care. I laughed out loud and felt so deeply during this quick read that I am still reeling now that I finished it. I feel seen and I just really loved this book. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

This author is such a great story teller! Her novels always place me right in the pages of the book, going along on the adventures with the characters. I can almost see what the Vitamin Sea looks like and feel the love from The Gals.

Katie struggles with her body image throughout the book and I enjoyed how Beanie attempted to counteract her thinking by talking about what she enjoys when looking in the mirror.

Rue was another great character and such an encourager.

George Bailey was pretty fantastic as well. I never knew what he was going to do next!

There were lots of family dynamics at play between Cole and Hutch. It was interesting to learn throughout the story of the struggles that they experienced.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc. The opinions are my own.

Katherine Center has a way of pulling your heartstrings like no other! I simply devoured this story. I did try to pace, myself but I was so invested in this story and I accidentally finished it before I was ready to say goodbye to the characters.
This tale focuses on two characters who stumble into a romance while they aren’t even looking for love. In fact, both are pretty firmly in the anti-love camp when they begin working together.
The Coast Guard aspect was fascinating, and the Key West setting was the perfect backdrop for this one. I wish I could head there on vacation and visit a place that has all the charm of the Starlight, the vacation rental where Katie stays.
Center is a master of weaving emotions into her stories, I alternately laughed and teared up at the circumstances the characters faced.
I highly recommend this delightful beach read.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an early copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Katherine Centers books. I was so happy to get this copy!! This was a story about self love, acceptance,  romantic love, and amazing friendships.  Katie was tasked to videotape a promo of coast guard Hutch as he went about his day saving lives. Her boss Cole was his brother so he figured it was better to send her as her job was on the line by the higher boss Sullivan. Katie arrived at Key West not expecting much except work. Yet, she met amazing gals and Aunt Rue. I absolutely loved Aunt Rue. She had her Vitamin sea store filled with colorful clothes that she shamelessly gifted to Katie. She took Katie under her wings to show her life can be colorful and fun. Katie was afraid of being seen. She was anxious of her body that started with her step mom body shaming her as a young teen. She was terrified of being unappealing to others. With the help of Aunt Rue and others she reclaimed her confidence and self love. I liked Hutch and his strength. I especially loved how he took care of Katie’s emotional needs and was very supportive. Another great character was Beanie, the sweet and caring cousin that cheered for Katie. Everyone should have a Beanie in their life. I loved any story with a dog and this was no exception. George Bailey was a sweet dog that added humor to the love story. The only meh moment was the beginning of the story. It started off slow for me. Otherwise what a wonderful,  sweet, and  beautiful story. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my review.

Really cute! A romance story about a film maker and a rescue swimmer. It’s a cute premise mixed in with body positivity and saving dogs. While this isn’t my favorite Katherine Center book, it still emerges you into a heartfelt love story. I didn’t love the main character and her body image hangups, but did appreciate the ensemble cast. Center is a great writer and would recommend this book to friends.

Thank you #netgalley for sharing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another wonderful book by Katherine Center! If you look up "low self esteem" in the dictionary, you will probably see a picture of Katie Vaughn. She's hanging onto her video producer job by a thread, her musician boyfriend dumped her once he hit it big, and she struggles with body positivity. In order to save her job, she has to profile heroic Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom Hutcheson in Key West. Sounds great, right? Except Katie can't swim (she lied and said she could), and in order to do her job, she has to pass a test where she's upside down in a helicopter underwater.

Katie's navigation of this situation is both heartwarming and hilarious. She and the other characters are multi-faceted and deeply drawn, and I loved following along on Katie's journey to a more positive self image.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Perfection! I absolutely adored this book! Katherine Center has such a way with words and her books are my favorite! I always forget I’m even reading because I get so absorbed in her stories. There are so many funny moments and interactions that I was giggling as I was reading along!

At first, Hutch seemed so mysterious which intrigued me so much. And as I got to know him and he opens up more I fell in love with him just like I know you will! I loved how the story was told from Katie’s point of view. Her inner dialogue is so relatable and witty. Such an enjoyable rom com from start to finish! I couldn’t have loved it more!

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc!