I thoroughly enjoyed The Love Haters! It included many of the things that I love about a cute, summery rom com, and as a bonus, it was a clean read. This book made me laugh at some of the scrapes that Katie got herself into, some by her own doing and some based on the circumstances. It also had a sentimental thread with Hutch and his backstory. Most importantly, it had characters that were enjoyable and well written. I loved the growth that Katie had from the beginning of the book to the end. Hutch was the perfect MMC… his character combined with his epic job made him so pleasant to read about. Rue was also a wonderful addition the the story. I loved her excitement for life and color, plus she offered some great wisdom along the way. Cole drove me crazy as the book went on, but I think that was how it was supposed to be. Katherine Center has a way of writing characters that you connect with and enjoy reading about.

Were there things in this book that were a little bit unbelievable at times? Sure. Did I still enjoy it anyway? Absolutely! I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quick and sweet, summery romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Listen, I love Katherine Center, but I fear that this book just was not for me. While there was nothing inherently bad about this book or the writing style, the plot just felt very disjointed and not as refined as a usual Katherine Center book. The setup was great, and very typical of a cute summer rom-com that Katherine Center is known for; however, the execution just didn’t hit the way I would have hoped.

This book follows Katie Vaughn who is facing some struggles in both her personal life and her professional life, and when she gets an opportunity that she simply cannot refuse she finds herself in paradise with a certified “love hater” as she attempts to fake it until she makes it. While I was so excited for this premise, the overall execution just fell flat. The stakes that built the foundation of the whole conflict/premise of the book were not as serious as the description made it sound, and the way everything played out had the book basically wrapped up around 60-70%. While there was the introduction of a secondary conflict, it just felt so late in the story and therefore made the ending feel rushed as it resolved so quickly. Overall, while I still enjoyed my time reading this book, this was unfortunately not my favorite book by this author.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I liked this book. It’s perfect for a summer read, heartfelt, funny and a little over the top. I appreciated the narrative around body image and self doubt and related to that a lot.

This is not my favorite of this author's books. I struggled for the first quarter or so with trying to like the main character, Katie. It's not that I didn't believe someone could be insecure about her body or the other self esteem issues that Katie seemed to struggle with, but that I didn't buy into the way those things impacted this specific character. It was less relatable and more annoying. But Katherine Center is a favorite author, so I stuck it out, and that was the right call. The second half of the book really picked up for me, and I was completely invested in the couple from then on. I did really like the hero, Hutch, and the coast guard stuff was fun to read about too.

Katie Vaughn’s love life has taken a hit, and now her career might be next . To save her job, she agrees to profile Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West—despite not knowing how to swim ... and pretending she does.

For me this book was slow, the pacing just felt off and it wasn't till I was well past the halfway mark that I really started getting into it.

I'm not sure what it was, but I didn't really feel much of anything for this couple... like she could have ended up with the brother and I might have been ok with that.

This book was wonderfully written. A major theme of this book was forgiveness - of ourselves and others.

Another major theme was being comfortable with and loving your body, as it is, because it’s the only one you’ll ever get.

Far too often we care what other people perceive us to be when they look at us but what’s most important is that we love who we are and whoever doesn’t think we’re perfect the way we are, doesn’t deserve to know us.

While there were very cute moments between her and her love interest, I felt like the focal point of that book was about her falling in love with herself and being unapologetically her.

I enjoyed this book and will remember bits of this for very long to come.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advance reader’s copy of this book!

George Bailey is the best wingman there ever was.

More story of self-love than a romcom, The Love Haters felt so real and raw with little snippets of fun thrown in. My first Katherine Center and it won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

You can never go wrong with a Katherine Center book. This one is just the same. I always love the sense of adventure mixed with a bit of realistic danger. This book was no different.

Katherine Center always writes the most fun rom-coms that then punch you in the face with some seriously deep emotional baggage to work through. The Love Haters is no different. This book has plenty of charm and laughs, but also delves deep into issues of body image, self worth, and moving on after toxic relationships. This book also touches on topics of alcoholism and the death of a spouse/parent. Most of these topics I felt were written extremely well, though I sometimes struggled with Katie's self-talk relating to her issues with eating and body image. Overall, I really appreciated this book and thought Hutch was one of her best MMC's yet. Aunt Rue and George Bailey were exceptionally great side characters (Lucky too, IYKYK!)

Patti Murin provides her signature style on the audiobook which I thought fit Katie's personality well. For some reason, I always picture Ellie Kemper when I hear Patti Murin's voice in a rom-com.

I absolutely love @katherinecenter and her books and this one was no exception! I love that it follows a video producer and a coast guard and his day to day as a hero.
Cole, his brother, and Aunt Rue have a really sad backstory, but I love how Katie softens them each and brings them all back together. This was such a fast and easy read for me and I really enjoy Katherine's writing. Definitely pick up this cute summer romcom!

Spoiler alert: I am a big fan of Katherine Center. I enjoyed The Love Haters, which revolves around a documentary profiling a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The story moved along quickly, and I enjoyed Katie's growing relationship and the cast of quirky characters that seem to be a staple in Center's books.

For me, summer starts with a Katherine Center book—and The Love Haters was the perfect way to kick off the season. I’ve loved every single one of her novels, from their cheerful, unmistakable covers to the deeply emotional, always-uplifting stories inside. And with their traditional May pub dates, her books have become a kind of warm-weather ritual. While Happiness for Beginners might still be my forever favorite, The Love Haters comes very, very close.

This sun-soaked, witty rom-com follows Katie Vaughn, a video producer whose career is teetering on the edge—until she’s offered a dream assignment in Key West: profile Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a grumpy and gorgeous Coast Guard rescue swimmer. There’s just one problem: she can’t swim. Oh—and Hutch is her coworker’s estranged brother. Cue secrets, swim lessons, sizzling chemistry, a massive Great Dane, conga lines, hurricanes, and more than one life-changing truth.

What I loved most? Katherine Center has once again written a romance that is not only swoony, adorable, and refreshingly healthy—but also surprisingly profound. Katie’s internal journey is as compelling as the love story. Her struggle with body image, fear, and self-doubt was portrayed with such honesty and warmth. Center doesn’t just write romance—she writes healing. This book felt like a hug. A joyful, technicolor, life-affirming hug that gently unravels the lies we tell ourselves and replaces them with kindness and courage.

The pacing is tight, the dialogue sparkles, and every side character is vividly alive. Aunt Rue, in particular, stole my heart. And Hutch? He’s not just hot—he’s kind, flawed, honest. Real.

The Love Haters is full of humor, heart, and heat. It’s about facing fears, telling the truth, falling in love, and learning to live bravely. I adored every minute of it. Easily a five-star read—honestly, make that six.

Highly recommend for fans of heartfelt rom-coms, body-positive heroines, grumpy-sunshine dynamics, and stories that celebrate real love, real growth, and real joy.

Katherine Center hits it out of the park again with her newest novel. Her characters are delightful and relatable. I enjoyed reading this one from start to finish and hope her next one comes out soon.

Katherine Center is a genius! I do not know how she does it, but I absolutely adore all of her books. She does such a thorough job with her research, and it shows. Her characters are likable, but also believable as they are flawed and in no way perfect. I adored Katie and Hutch, enjoying the way their relationship progressed. I loved Rue and her friends and the way they just took care of each other. Rue's connection to Hutch was phenomenal and all I will say is WOW! Her stories have so many layers. As for the antics they got into, I loved the humor and laughed out loud many times. I will read every book Katherine Center writes from here on out. And if you have never seen her in person, you are missing out. She is absolutely HILARIOUS and will have you cracking up! The story of how she met Josh Duhamel is absolute gold!

I have loved everything I've ever read by Katherine Center and I will continue to read everything she publishes. However, I'm not sure "The Love Haters" really landed for me.

I'll start with the things I liked about this book, because it was overall an enjoyable read. More than anything else in this book, I loved Katie's character. While this book was a romance in the traditional sense, a lot of the story really focused on Katie's relationship with herself, particularly with her body. I loved this element of the story and thought it was a really true-to-life depiction of how these issues can affect and consume people. I loved all of the supportive people in Katie's life who helped pull her out of her funk, especially the supportive women.

I think that the romance here just didn't quite sell me. I've said before that Katherine Center does a phenomenal job at writing emotion in her romance novels. Compared to her prior novels, I didn't really feel the connection between these two characters. We're told that they're connecting and growing together, but we're not really shown it. (<spoiler>This especially includes the end, where Hutch literally has to rescue Katie from a hurricane and approaches the whole thing with almost cool indifference. We're told he was frantic about the whole thing, but on the outside he sure is stoic </spoiler>). The book is called "The Love Haters" but that's not even really the plot. There's maybe two throwaway lines about it. If anything these two have very instant lust/chemistry.

3 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

The Love Haters was a sweet, forced proximity that touched on deeper topics. With a beautiful found family, I was completely enamored with Katie, Hutch, Rue, the gals, and George Bailey! This felt like a book I would want to bring to the beach.

Katie was her own worst enemy at times. She could be so negative and hateful to herself. And while her internal monologues went on longer than I would have liked, I loved watching her grow. Her journey to finding peace, positivity, and love with herself and her body was a fabulous one! And Hutch was someone I loved right away. He could be so quiet and serious, but he was also kind, caring, and so sweet. I wanted to know all of his thoughts! Plus, his dog was the cutest! I would love to steal George Bailey from the pages!

Watching Katie and Hutch work together, while the tension simmered, was a lot of fun. But their path wasn’t easy. Thankfully they had Rue and the gals cheering them on. They were such a hoot! Closing this story, I loved Katie’s journey with herself. I loved Hutch and his dog George Bailey. And Rue and the gals!

This book was, unfortunately, just not for me. I can see why others might like it, and I enjoyed the Coast Guard aspect of it, but the "romance" just wasn't working for me. I didn't really care much about the FMC storyline (trying to save her job), the "romance" at times just felt forced. I might just be in the minority.

Heartfelt Journey of Self discovery

A meaningful narrative about self love and personal growth. This story was engaging and while not my favorite Katherine Center story- I did like the character drive and development.

<b>2.5 stars</b>
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Katie Vaughn is worried about being fired, so she lies about being able to swim, and is persuaded to go to Key West to film a recruitment video about the coast guard. There she meets Tom "Hutch" Hucheson, the seemingly perfect older brother of her co-worker Cole, who has not been informed that his brother has weaselled out of filming the video. Katie is also pretty much adopted by Hutch's "Aunt" Rue and her vibrant and colourful gang of pensioners who hang out in the apartment complex that Rue owns and manages.

Katie is a "love hater" because her boyfriend cheated on her and broke up with her right as his career as a musician took off, so she's pretty much done with men. Now her ex's songs are playing on the radio constantly, and his most recent hit is literally called "Katie" and seems to be all about how he messed up and wants her back. Katie also has self esteem, a very complicated relationship with food and because of fat shaming by her stepmother early in life, she pretty much hates her body. She literally has a near-panic attack when she has to put on a swimsuit.

Hutch isn't really a love hater, it's just that his brother Cole doesn't really know his brother at all, he just seems to be jealous that his brother is easy-going, kind, very handsome, has a very impressive job (and became virally famous briefly for saving Jenifer Aniston's dog). So anything he says is likely to be untrue. Hutch agreed to have his work featured, because the coast guard really does need new recruits, but he wanted his brother to do it, so they could spend more time together, and more importantly, with Rue. Nevertheless, he adapts without too much complaint and also agrees to give Katie swim lessons.

Obviously they catch feelings over the course of the book, but now, about a month after I finished the book, I can't actually remember what it is that complicates matters and makes it so that they can't be together. I'm guessing it's probably that Hutch lives and works in Florida and Katie is from somewhere else (again, no memory of where)? The first half of the book is slow, and while I can sympatise with a heroine with some quirks, some of Katie's issues are clearly serious enough that she should have been (and probably still be) in intensive therapy, rather than just have her supportive bestie try to talk her down whenever she has a wobbly. When they dominate the story quite that much, it would be nice if there was some sort of resolution over the course of the story. But there isn't. Although she learns to appreciate colourful clothing and doesn't freak out when she has to wear a bathing suit, so that's good enough, right?

The second half of the book, especially the last third, is when I seriously considered just giving up. If I had a physical copy of the book, I would have been tempted to throw it at a wall. Cole suddenly shows up out of nowhere and pretends that he and Katie are dating. Their boss, who is bitter after an acrimonious divorce, also shows up, and the fake relationship has to happen or Katie and/or Cole might get fired? I think Cole is meant to be charming, I found him to be human garbage. There's also a whole thing about a hurricane and needing to evacuate and Katie making incredibly stupid choices.However, I persevered, hoping that maybe the story could be saved - alas, it was not to be.

I've only read one book by Katherine Center previously, <i>The Rom-Commers</i>, which I liked enough to rate it 4.5 stars, despite a rather shaky final act there too. This, I can only give 2.5 to, and that's mainly for aunt Rue and her Golden Girls-esque group of friends, and the fact that being a coast guard is a more unsusual profession to give your hero. If this had been my first attempt at Ms. Center's writing, I would not read any more of her books, despite owning several of them as e-books. I did really like <I>The Rom-Commers</i>, though, so I will give her at least one more chance.

<b>Judging a book by its cover:</b> I have no idea what's going on with this cover, but it doesn't in any way fit with the contents of this book. This makes it seem like it's about people lazing about and enjoying themselves on vacation, which isn't the case at all. Katie gets an anxiety attack just having to put on a bathing suit, there is no way she'd ever display herself so openly on a pool floatie. Hutch is a professional rescue swimmer who doesn't seem to have time for this sort of leisurely relaxation.

I unfortunately had to DNF this one. The plot was interesting and I was curious to see where it was going to go with the whole lifeguarding thing. That being said, I cannot read anymore about the heroine and her personality. She had an eating disorder when she had her breakup and has a lot of struggles with body positivity. I hated reading how she wouldn’t try anything. Just not for me. Would really advise everyone to check the trigger warnings for if some of these things are ones you want to avoid reading.