When Cole, Katie’s coworker, offers her a gig profiling Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, there’s just a few problems: she can’t swim, she knows nothing about the Coast Guard, and Hutch is Cole’s brother. But she takes the gig to save her job. Plus, who would pass up a trip to Key West?

Hutch’s brother may think of him as a love hating robot with no heart but he’s anything but. He’s a protector with a difficult past and a secret softie. He’s a hero but incredibly humble. And he definitely doesn’t hate love.

While this is a love story at its core, it’s more about loving yourself. Katie has had a hard few years and she’s forgotten how to treat herself with respect and love. I love the way Katherine Center writes about Katie’s struggles with body image with so much hope and emotion and playfulness too.

This book had me laughing endlessly, tearing up at moments, and even gasping at the unexpected turns it took. I didn’t expect to go on such an adventure with these characters but I’m so glad I did. As always, Katherine Center wrote an author’s note that made me appreciate this book even more.

Read this book for:
-fun old ladies
-Key West
-adventure
-forced proximity
-a really big dog
-closed door, kissing only

This is hands down, without a doubt, my favorite book of 2025, and my new favorite by Katherine Center.

It’s brilliantly funny and heartfelt, but the part that resonated the strongest with me was Katie’s journey of healing from an eating disorder and body image issues.

This has definitely been the most raw and healing approach I’ve seen a book address eating disorders with. It did not glorify them, it didn’t shame or ostracize them, but instead focused on the journey of recovery and self-love. It was eloquent and beautiful and offers the realest advice that I will be implementing in my own life as I work through my own journey of loving myself more.

As for the love story between Katie and Hutch? It was beautiful. His unwavering support for Katie is what everyone deserves from a partner. The plot twists—both mid-way and at the end—were completely unexpected and kept me hooked.

This story is about healing, self-love, and being truly seen—and it’s told with incredible heart. I devoured the book in five hours and wouldn’t change a single thing.

100% recommend ❤️

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭:
🎥 Video Producer FMC
🚁 Rescue Swimmer MMC
🏝️ Wise & fun grandmother/aunt figure
🎤 Famous ex-boyfriend
👙 Exposure therapy
👯‍♀️ Emotional Support Guru BFF
🐾 Great Dane who thinks he’s a Chihuahua

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

And an even bigger thank you to Katherine Center for writing this masterpiece.

5 ⭐️

@Katherine how is it that every book I read from you is my new favorite!? I was hooked from the very beginning with absolutely lovable characters, a fantastic audio narrator and the promise of excellent banter.

Throughout Katie’s story, we found SO much love. My favorite, though, was the love she was eventually able to give herself.

I was laughing so often, but I also shed A LOT of tears. George Bailey, you owe me, buddy.

Although a little predictable, I never could have guessed all of the inner monologue that would happen during *the big thing*. That was my absolute FAVORITE part of the whole book. Also, Rue. Rue is my favorite.

Huge thank you to @macmillan and @netgally for one of my new favorite books from one of my already favorite authors. This one releases 5/20 and if it’s not in your cart yet, please remedy that.

When Katie makes it to Key West to film a promo for the US Coast Guard, she meets her subject, Hutch. Hutch’s brother is Katie’s boss and he described him as cold, grumpy, and shut off. When Katie meets him, she finds someone very different.

As they get to know each other, they find themselves falling, but then Cole tells Hutch that they’re dating to get him to do a short documentary film with Katie. Will Katie and Hutch find their way past this big bump in their relationship?

I absolutely adored this book! Katie and Hutch were SO good together, and I LOVED George Bailey. I’m a dog girlie through and through, so if you throw a dog into the plot, I’ll be hooked! When Katie went back for George Bailey, I was a wreck. And no spoilers, but when Hutch shows up at the end, I MELTED. This book just brought me so much joy. The way Katie learns to love her body and color again was amazing!

The Love Haters is out May 20th (TUESDAY) and you HAVE to read it! This is my favorite Katherine Center book that I’ve read yet.

🛟 Y’all, this book! In true Katherine Center form, it radiates joy and fun. It was the first book I’ve read this year and thought, “this belongs in everyone’s beach bags this summer!” This is out tomorrow! Thank you to @stmartinspress and @youhadmeathea for the sneak peek.

🛟 Is this a bit silly? Goofy? Out there? It sure is. And if you can loosen up and enjoy the fun of it all — I think you’ll love it!

🛟 This one gets bonus points for…
- excellent side characters (I’m moving to the Keys with Rue and The Gals and nobody can stop me)
- a bestie for the restie in Beanie
- a beast of a sweet thunder-fearing pup
- an action-packed final scene
- and some love for the Coast Guard— a branch of the military rarely represented

🛟 And it’s not ALL fun and games either. There are some deeper themes here about body image and self-love that I just adored. Center really sends them home with her author’s note at the end.

🛟 If you’re looking for a vacation or poolside read this summer that’s sure to put a smile on your face- I don’t think you can go wrong with this one. Just remember to embrace the goofy!

Content warning (because there is NO mention of this in the description)- This book is HEAVY on the theme of the FMC hating her body and talking about it A LOT. It is arguably the main plot, certainly the secondary plot. If you can get through that, you’ll find a typically Katherine Center quirky closed door romance with an FMC who can be insufferable at times, ‘doesn’t know how pretty she is’, and has sometimes obnoxious sometimes fun banter.

I loved this book from the first page to the last. It addresses how self image is fragile but building it back up again isn’t easy or fast. I enjoyed how Katie has Beanie. Even though Hutch tries to save her multiple times she ends up saving herself in different ways.

I certainly have gained tools from this book as to how I can start to love myself more and shut out the noice. Katherine Center is certainly one of my favourite authors and my go to for closed door romances. I felt so many emotions and healing was one of them. Honestly no notes. I loved everything about this beautiful book. I disliked one of the characters but they grew on me at the end. They were just playing their part in creating the story.

I enjoyed reading this arc and I’m excited for it to go into the world.

You know that feeling when you read something so profound that you look inward and something about the experience is life-changing. Well this story definitely was a catalyst on a new perspective for me!

I felt like I fell into this story and became a part of it! I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I felt like I was merging into these characters and experiencing their emotions, loving their passions, hoping for their dreams, and yearning for their desires.

This is Hutch and Katie’s journey and it brought All the feels! These two were magical when they were together! Their intensity, the longing, the excitement, the palpable anticipation of what would happen next between them! It all had me swooning and squirming in my seat.

“My wish for you,” Rue went on, “is a vibrant, bright, glorious life. That’s why I keep bringing you these vibrant, bright, glorious swimsuits.” “So am I your pet project or something?”

And then there were the secondary characters who added so much to this story. Between Katie’s best friend, “Beanie”, and her pushing Katie out of her comfort zone as well as Rue and her lady friends adding vibrancy and laugh-out-loud moments that helped bring these two together. But my favorite was Hutch’s dog George Bailey!

The Love Haters was a book that helped me change my perspective of how I looked at myself, and how I looked at other people in my life. Reiterating to me, to always look for the best in each other and ourselves!!!

I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

4.5 stars

Consider this the pool read of the summer!

After a very public end to her last relationship, Katie decides she's better off behind the camera and throws herself into her work as a video producer. When a scorned higher-up decides to go scorched earth on the company, Katie has no choice but to take an assignment making a recruiting video for the United States Coast Guard featuring the celeb dog rescuer of the hour, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. Her lack of swimming skills may make her the least qualified for the job, but she's determined to make the best of it. However, things become way more complicated as she learns that Hutch is actually her boss' brother and the two do not get along. As Katie gets tangled in a web of lies, she'll have to learn how to be brave and fight for what she wants.

I absolutely adore Katherine Center's writing, and this book is no exception. I sat down with it one evening and devoured it in one sitting. There's just something to be said for a low-stakes, fun romance. Not to say that this book didn't have plenty of drama, but the beauty of romcoms is that you can take comfort in the fact that the couple is going to end up together.

I can only imagine that all of the talk about body image in this book won't be for every reader, but as someone who has always struggled with this and has finally been able to settle in a place of neutrality, I actually enjoyed it. I thought it was a very real portrayal of what it's like to want to dissociate from your body and how hard it can be to let go of old insecurities. However, I did appreciate that Center never actually stated Katie's weight, and that by the end of the book Katie was able to love her body for both what it could do and how it was uniquely hers.

Let this book be your reminder to wear the dang swimsuit this summer. You can be bold and take up space.

*Content warnings for discussions of an ED, food restriction, and calorie counting*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for the opportunity to read and review this title.

This is my first Katherine Center book but it won’t be my last, I utterly adored this one, the plot, the vibes, the characters and so much more just made this book so addicting and so entertaining! Hutch and Katie have a fun, banter that isn’t really enemies to lovers, but comes from annoyance of not following safety protocols which just leads to some hilarious moments between the two, and Hutch just having fun with it while also being incredulous at the situation. Katie is on a work assignment to video Hutch safe someone from a helicopter as a member of the coast guard, but also can’t swim so she is trying her best to fit in, really faking it till she makes it, but she also becomes super close with everyone she meets while on this work assignment.

Katie will also find out that this work assignment is actually supposed to be a family thing her boss was supposed to go to, but instead sent her, and those story lines are quite emotional, and where this book moves out of the romantic comedy area and into more of a contemporary romance. I feel like this book feels very similar to the move Anyone But You in some ways, and is overall just a good book that will have you sitting and reading whenever you can!

This was a a fun and really interesting read. I really enjoyed the Coast Guard angle and thought that added depth to the story and helped me understand Hutch has a character. Beanie was such a great secondary character, however I had some trouble connecting with Katie. She didn’t seem to be a reliable narrator and I always have a hard time with that in books (I like to see the entire picture!). The writing was excellent and if you have read Katherine Center’s other books you’ll enjoy this one! She has become an auto-buy author for me and I’m looking forward to gifting this one to a friend or two when it is released!

Plus, as someone who likes to collect fun facts this book was chock full of them, which was a nice added bonus!

Katie Vaughn is a video producer and worried about keeping her job. Recently, a new manager has joined the team and has been firing lots of people. So, when her work colleague, Cole, offers her an amazing opportunity to shadow a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West, she says yes without understanding what the job entails. She will be profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, who has already become famous rescuing a celebrity’s dog. Plus, she finds out that Hutch is Cole’s brother; and they don’t get along. In addition, Katie fails to mention that she doesn’t know how to swim. So, Katie heads to Key West with the intention of getting some swim lessons in before her assignment starts, but that becomes a humiliating situation. When she finally officially meets Hutch, it’s another awkward situation. However, she finds friendship with Hutch’s Aunt Rue and her gal pals. Also, Hutch’s rescue Great Dane loves her. I thought this book was really funny, with a few laugh out loud moments. Also, Rue and her friends were strong, fun characters. There are some scenes with Cole and the manager that don’t fit with the rest of the story, but the story ends in a satisfying way.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance readers copy.

I have come to adore Katherine Center, and her newest novel did not disappoint. This one takes place around the Coast Guard, with producer Kate stuck between a rock and a hard place. I love how much research Katherine does for her novels, and truly felt like I was right there with Kate experiencing life in the coast guard first hand.

Center’s latest has everything I love in a vacation read: characters with depth, a pet to enjoy, laughter, plot twists and a satisfying HEA. The question of how we perceive ourselves, compare ourselves to others, and whose opinion really matters is universal and infinitely relatable. The main characters careers - a rescue swimmer and a videographer - are interesting. The Great Dane had me laughing out loud and who wouldn’t enjoy time with Aunt Rue and The Gals. Come for the rom-com, stay for the heart. Expect high demand. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.75 Stars!

First and foremost, a huge thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of The Love Haters. Not only was this my first ever ARC (such a dream moment!), but it ended up being a highlight of my reading month.

Katherine Center’s writing is just so easy to fall into—descriptive yet light, humorous yet heartfelt. I honestly had no idea what this book was about going in, and I loved being surprised by the entire journey.

As someone from Key West, I immediately felt connected to this story. The way the author described the drive down, the quirky roosters, the iconic Duval Street—it all made me feel like I was right back home. Those details alone earned this book some serious brownie points for me.

The story follows Katie, who takes a job in Key West working in Coast Guard recruitment, while also running a viral YouTube series called Day in the Life of Heroes. I really loved how real and relatable her character felt, especially with her body image struggles and her complicated relationship with food—though I do want to mention that these themes appear early in the story and could be sensitive for some readers.

Being with someone in the military myself, I loved the dynamic between Katie and Hutch—especially Katie navigating the world of military rules and culture as a civilian. It felt very authentic and personal.

I appreciated the slow build of their relationship and all the chemistry they shared, though by the halfway point I felt like a lot had already happened emotionally (it gave a little insta-attraction). Around the 50-60% mark, the plot shifts into heavier territory, revealing the rift between Hutch and his brother, Cole. While the family conflict added drama, I found myself slightly frustrated by the miscommunication trope, especially since it revolved around a health scare that felt like it could have been cleared up with one honest conversation between the characters. This did take a little bit away from my enjoyment.

That said, I enjoyed the ending. Yes, it was a bit predictable, but it felt right for these characters. As a dog parent, I have to shout out George Bailey, who added so much charm and personality to the story. The epilogue was a little long for my personal taste, but it wrapped things up nicely—and honestly, I could read another 100 pages of Katie, Hutch, and George Bailey living their happily ever after.

Overall, this gave me 5-star feelings almost the entire time, with just a few small things in the later chapters that dropped it to a 4.75 for me. Still, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone looking for a heartfelt, funny, and relatable romance with just the right touch of drama.

Thank you again NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press - you made a book lover feel SO special!!

I enjoyed the story of Katie and her adventures. I can see where she might be difficult to relate to for some people, but her issues with self-esteem are pretty spot on. I liked Hutch as the counter for her. Rue and the Gals were fantastic side characters. Cole was a bit much but everyone needs a foil. This is a good summer read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

This was a nice change of pace for me as I typically read mostly thrillers. This was a light hearted, funny, and relatable read. I thought it was a nice easy ready that was well written. This was my first book by Katherine Center and will be reading more. Thank you to Netgalley and Katherine Center for the ARC!

Katherine Center's characters are always so perfectly imperfect that you immediately fall in love with them - and Katie is no exception. This was the perfect book to get immersed in when I needed a reprieve from life feeling heavy, and I found this to be an easier read/less heavy than some of her other more recent books. I adored Rue - and think she needs her own book! Overall this was a quick, easy read with KC's usual signature charm.

I’m going to start by saying I usually love Katherine Center books. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t jive with me. At 30%, I gave up.

Katie was quite honestly annoying. I couldn’t see how she would end up with Hutch, which is how I assume this would go. He seemed like he was way more interesting than her.

I’ve tried for days to get into it but couldn’t. So here we are. However, I’ll definitely give Katherine Center’s next book a try.

They were the biggest love haters before meeting and in the end they became love haters together! I don't even know how to describe this book, it's just perfect. It had a little bit of everything: self love, found family, romance, sibling drama, everything. I love that it wasn't focus solely on romance. Katie was able to fall in love with herself and have that with her throughout everything she went through. Tears were shed. Laughing was done and giggles were giggled. This book is truly perfect and I will protect it for the rest of my life. Hutch is literally perfect. George Bailey is perfect.