Hoping that the author has a Trigger Warning page at the start of the book, since it touches on some sensitive subjects such as body image. However, the story is pretty cute - Katie is a video producer that gets the opportunity to profile Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. Just one thing: Katie can’t swim. She happens to befriend Rue, who does have a swim instructor - who happens to be Hutch. After some lies, stolen kisses, drama, and a huge Great Dane rescue named George Bailey, there were some happy endings. This is the first book I’ve read by Katherine Center, so I’m looking forward to checking out some of her other books.

My sincere thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Love Haters by Katherine Center. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

The Coast Guard needed a new recruiting film and Katie has been given the job. There's just one problem, she can't swim. She didn't exactly lie, she just didn't divulge that information. When she gets to Key West, she gets a place to stay with a quirky older lady named Rue who just happens to be the aunt of the man she is to interview and shadow for her film, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. Of course, Rue spills the beans that Katie needs to learn to swim in a few days, not knowing her dilemma. Not only that, but Hutch is gorgeous and swoonworthy and Katie is deathly afraid to put on a bathing suit. How is this going to work out?

First of all, I love Katherine Center and have read almost all of her books. She has a way with love stories that gives such a comforting vibe that I just can't put them down. The Love Haters, however, was not all I was hoping. This is a rom com, but it was a little over the top chaotic. Crazy things just kept happening to Katie. She had also experienced trauma in her past that resulted in an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, and I felt that this aspect of the story could have been given more care. The romance had its moments, but I wasn't as taken with it as I have been with other couples this author has written. Overall, I liked it, I just didn't love it. Even though The Love Haters is not my favorite, I will continue to read what Katherine Center writes because I love her perspective on telling love stories and I know she will write more that I will love.

yes, i did indeed cry like 5 separate times!!!

one thing about me, i love a kc book! katherine’s books are so special and just make me FEEL. i resonate so strongly with so many of her characters— she truly captures the human experience so perfectly.

katie, hutch, and the love haters were no different. katie’s self love journey with her body, the brotherly relationship between hutch & cole, RUE AND THE LADIES, GEORGE BAILEY. katherine said it best herself, this book truly is just about all different types of love.

this book was funny, poignant, heartwarming, and had the perfect amount of tropical vibes to start off my summer reads!

AND her author’s note??? katherine just GETS IT. the essence of romance and importance of storytelling. she is so in tune with the ‘why’ of it all. i love her so much.

thank you netgalley & st. martin’s press for the arc!

Katherine Center never disappoints! This may be my favorite book of hers yet. The characters were fun and likeable. I would recommend this book to anyone!

This is the first title I have read by Katherine Center, and I don't think her writing is for me. The narration style is first person, speaking directly to the reader, and is completely telling instead of showing. Beyond that, the story was completely overwhelmed by body image issues and disordered eating. The narrative was so trapped inside Katie's head, it felt like the rest of the story was glimpsed through tunnel vision.

The overarching message isn't terrible, but therapy seems much more reasonable and healthy than Katie putting herself in a life-threatening situation to have the revelation that it's okay for her thighs to touch. Hutch seemed more interesting, but he and the romance were a distant background. Even a toad gets more coverage in the epilogue than their relationship.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Love Haters was such a fun summer romance read! Katie Vaughn is a video producer who was tasked to travel to Key West to film a video for the Coast Guard by her boss, Cole. The issue at hand is that she cannot swim and is not 100% prepared for what filming the video entails. Katie also finds out that the main lead of the video is also Cole's brother, Hutch. Cole and Hutch are currently not speaking to each other. Katie convinces Hutch to prepare her to film the video by offering to connect Hutch with his brother. During this time period, sparks fly between Katie and Hutch.
I really enjoyed this book. It was light and easy beach read. I would give it four stars. I liked the premise of it and the two main characters. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for a free review. Out now!

2.5 stars, rounded down.

I have loved past Katherine Center books, but I just don’t think this one was for me.

Katie Vaughn gets a job filming Hutch and the coast guard swimmers for a promo video. The catch is she doesn’t actually know how to swim.

Very cute premise, the story just didn’t really deliver.

Katie has significant body insecurity following her last relationship that has really morphed into a number of “phobias” now. Which I would have been open to reading about more, but it felt it was never fully addressed and more surface level.

The romance felt very weirdly paced and I never truly bought into their development (felt a bit insta love).

I did love her friendship with her cousin, that was truly beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm a big fan of Katherine Center's books having read all but a few. This one was a fun story as Katie, a journalist, is sent to do a story on a heroic Key West Coast Guard officer who made a famous rescue of a dog. The future of her job is riding on this but she doesn't know how to swim, a requirement. As one knows, you always say yes and figure out the detail later. But, as always, there are surprises along the way - Hutch is handsome and much more talkative than she was told, Katie's boss is Hutch's brother (who turned down the story and opted for one of his team to do it, foreshadowing), and the brothers' aunt is the owner of the hotel where Katie is staying and turns in her fairy godmother of sorts. As with all Katherine Center stories, there is fun, misunderstandings, love and happiness in the end. This one doesn't disappoint.

Sun, salt, secrets, and second chances! This book is the rom-com escape I didn’t know I needed.

From the first chapter, I was hooked by Katie who is funny, self-deprecating, and completely relatable. Facing the end of her job, she says yes to a last-ditch assignment profiling a heroic Coast Guard swimmer in Key West. Small problem? She can’t swim. Slightly bigger problem? She lies about it. And the swimmer is her coworker’s estranged brother and extremely distracting.

What follows is a perfect storm of mistaken identity, sibling rivalry, beach bar chaos, and slow-burn chemistry. Hutch is rugged, guarded, and hiding some hurt of his own, which makes his connection with Katie even more satisfying as it builds.

What I loved most, though, was how the book balanced comedy with real emotional stakes—fear, forgiveness, career choices, and learning to show up for yourself. Yes, there are hurricanes and conga lines, but there’s also vulnerability, courage, and one of the most satisfying romantic I have read in a while.

Perfect for anyone who loves their romance with a little salt spray and a lot of heart.

Katie has to make a video for her coworker's brother, Tom, a coast guard rescue swimmer or risk losing her job. Katie can't swim but fakes it. Things get complicated fast...

It's funny, sweet, romantic, heart-warming and everything that you expect a katherine Center book to be. I have been waiting for her next book for a while and this one doesn't disappoint. Really enjoy it. Aunt Rue was terrific and so was George Bailey. A truly outstanding cast. :)

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Katherine Center, YOU GIRL… you know the way to a girl’s heart!

This book had everything I crave in a summer read: a HOT HOT grumpy male lead, a lovable, overthinking, body-conscious heroine, and a dynamic that’s equal parts hilarious and heartwarming.

I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this one—Katherine Center is easily one of my favorite authors, and she delivered again.

The chemistry between Hutch and Katie? Off the charts. Their banter and emotional push-pull had me hooked from page one. And THE GALS—oh my gosh, the gals!! Their scheming was the cherry on top of this delightfully whipped romantic sundae. Some of the best supporting characters I’ve read in a while!

This book is a breezy, laugh-out-loud, feel-good gem and an absolute must for your beach bag or poolside TBR.

This was my 3rd book to read by Katherine Center and it didn’t disappoint! I loved the MC and the found family aspect. The banter had me kicking my feet and giggling. This is a great book to pick up for a quick summer read.

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

It hurts my heart to give this rating to a Katherine Center book. Normally I love them. Sadly, this one missed the mark for me. The writing is still good and the characters were pretty well formed, I just didn't really like either of them or care about the plot.

Katie is a video producer and works for a company that creates promo videos for businesses. She finds out the company is downsizing and her creeper boss Cole tells her that it will save her position at work if she takes a job profiling Hutch, a hot shot Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Florida that heroically saved a person. She doesn't know how to swim or anything about the Coast Guard, but she doesn't want to lose her job so she goes.

Turns out there is a lot Cole left out about the job. 1. Hutch (a ridiculously hot guy) is Cole's brother and they haven't spoken in a really long time. 2. She'll be living in a cottage in his aunt's community, and 3. She'll have to film a lot of the video on a boat (did I mention she doesn't know how to swim?) Katie does what she always does, fakes it until she makes it. Katie suffers from crippling body image issues and there is a lot of self-hate talk in the book which hits close to home for me, which was a bit uncomfortable.

Hutch acts like he's got it all together, but inside he's dealing with a lot of strong feelings about the rescue. Even though the guy he saved lived, Hutch has a lot of guilt about the rescue (which I won't go into to avoid spoilers). He's totally against the video, but is ordered to cooperate with Katie by his commander. He just wants to get the thing over with and pretty much discounts Katie and everything she wants to do. They do have one thing in common, however - they both hate love (or so they think).

Mid-way through the book another stressor is added to an already difficult situation, as if the couple didn't have enough problems as it is. I'm not really sure what it was about this book, but I just didn't connect with it. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary filler and the "twist" was a bit cringy. I didn't connect with either MC and frankly, didn't care what happened to them. But, that's just me. Others may completely disagree with me.

The bright spot in the book was Hutch's aunt and her friends. She cracked me up and the dynamic she has with her friends has me hoping I can find a group like that to hang out with once I retire. I'll also say that the narrators did a great job and I would have probably DNF'd the book if I hadn't listened to it instead of reading it.

I received a complimentary e-copy and audio copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Cute. A little fluffier than some of Center's other books without quite as much depth, but I still enjoyed it!

I love Katherine Center, but I feel like giving this 2 stars is being quite generous. It started off ok and then just got worse and worse until I was hate skimming just to get it over with. These two characters had about as much personality as a pair of dried up coconuts and I just couldn't bring myself to care at all about either one of them. Katie sounds like a 14 year old most of the time and not someone in her late 20s/early 30s. She needs to go see a therapist and stop talking about how her pinkie finger is her favorite body part. We get it, she's insecure. I don't like my body, either, but I don't want to read about it for 320 pages. And other than having muscles for days, I don't get the appeal of Hutch, either. We don't get to see hardly any dialogue between them. There were huge time jumps where we're told they've spent weeks together and are really liking each other, but we don't get to actually see any of it. Tons of telling and no showing. It felt like an editor had plucked 50 pages out of the book and we missed all of their relationship development. Hutch's Great Dane, Aunt Rue, and her club of quirky old ladies, were the best part of this whole book. If I hadn't committed to reading this as an ARC I would have absolutely DNF'd. I had a hard copy on preorder to go see her on book tour and cancelled it, that's how much I hated it. Such a bummer.

Katherine Center was introduced to me through some of her previous ARCs and is the reason I continue to ARC for authors I haven't previously read before. This is another incredible book written by a stellar author.

Another great feel good romantic comedy from Katherine Center. This book will make a great summer read.

I’m usually a fan of Katherine Center’s books, but I have to say that “The Love Haters” is not my favorite one and I DNFed it about halfway through. The writing and dialog was brilliant as always, but I just couldn’t relate to the character Katie Vaughn. I understand what the author was attempting to do—to draw attention to body dysmorphia. However, it wasn’t just a part of the plot—it was displayed on practically every single page, but in a superficial way that perhaps if a reader actually did have body dysmorphia, it could be make their problems seem like they’d go away if only a man told them that they were “hot.”

The summary of the book made it seem like it would be a really fun read, but I just couldn’t get past the negative focus on Katie’s body. I felt like the author was trying too hard to deal with this, and it showed.

Many thanks to Net Galley and to the publisher for an ARC. I’m looking forward to the author’s next book instead.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This was my first book by Center and, while I can see why people like her writing, the kitschy quality she uses isn’t for me. I DNFed

To save her job, Katie takes an assignment as a video producer for a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch, in Key West. There are two big problems: Katie can't swim and Hutch is the brother of her coworker, Cole, who was requested for this assignment and expected to show up. Katie arrives in Key West with a mess to untangle and a lot on the line.

Katherine Center can do no wrong. Her books are witty, romantic, and genuine. The Love Haters is no exception. Rue is one of my favorite characters of all time. I felt like I was in Key West living this chaotic dream with Katie. This is a perfect summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of The Love Haters.