Always a sweet treat to read her books. This one was fun, key west setting, body image conversations, some stupid characters but it was fine. I enjoyed it even if some parts were far fetched.

THE LOVE HATERS is the latest romantic comedy by Katherine Center. It is a charming, heartfelt and entertaining story of love, loss, friendship and self-acceptance. Katie Vaughn is trying to get over a humiliating and very public break-up with her ex, now a famous singer. Her job as a video producer is also on the line. According to her co-worker, Cole, her only chance to avoid being laid off is to go in his place to Key West and profile, Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer that saved Jennifer Aniston’s dog. Although the rescue has gone viral, Hutch does his best to stay out of the limelight. A couple of small problems – Katie can’t swim and Hutch is Cole’s brother. What could go wrong? As Katie becomes involved with Hutch, his family, friends and his beloved dog, George Bailey, we are taken on Katie’s whirlwind journey of self-discovery and learning to take chances. While there is a heartwarming romance in the story, there are also themes of friendship, community and finding one’s self-worth. All in all, this is a warm, funny and satisfying story and I highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

Thank you, @StMartinsPress for my advanced copy.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
The Love Haters by Katherine Center
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 315 / Genre: Romcom
Release Date: May 20, 2025
🥳#HappyPubWeek!🎉

Katie Vaughn is a video producer on the verge of being let go. As her company is cutting staff left and right, her co-worker Cole makes her an offer she can’t refuse. He sends her to Key West to produce a segment on the day in the life of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Said swimmer is Hutch, Cole’s hot, brooding older brother. Before she knows it, she’s learning how to swim, wearing colorful caftans, totally enveloped in the brothers’ family, and fake dating one of them.

This was such a cute and funny love story with great characters. I loved all of it except for the suffocating body positivity messaging, which I’m all for, by the way, but it was just way too much. There were all these long, boring soliloquies about how much she loved her body now and will no longer take it for granted. OK, I get it. Accept yourself, nobody cares what other people think. Awesome. But then I went from agreeing with her to just wanting her to shut up already and get back to living her life. So that turned this 5-star romcom to 4 stars for me.

(Rounded up from 3.5 stars)

Unfortunately, this one fell short for me with regard to the romance aspect. I couldn’t see the chemistry between Hutch and Katie, and much of it seemed forced. I also disliked Cole and most of his decisions.

What I did enjoy immensely was the body positive messaging and Katie’s healing relationship with herself. Aunt Rue and her girlfriends reminded me of The Golden Girls, and they were so fun! I also loved learning more about the Coast Guard.

Katherine Center still remains one of my auto-read authors, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Prepare for a delightfully charming and hilarious read with The Love Haters, a story that gracefully tackles loss, celebrates the bonds of friendship, and emphasizes the importance of self-love.

With her career on the line, Katie's decision to produce a documentary on Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch, despite her fear of water, sets the stage for laugh-out-loud situations. Her arrival in Key West introduces a cast of delightful characters: the warm and welcoming Aunt Rue, her supportive circle of friends, and the captivating Hutch alongside his rescue dog, George Bailey. There was a real found family aspect to this book, which I greatly enjoyed.

Katie's struggles with body image, stemming from a critical upbringing and exacerbated by cruel online scrutiny after a photo with her celebrity ex emerges, resonates deeply with me. Although this book has an exceptional emotional depth to it, Katherine Center’s signature humor also shines through, making this a truly enjoyable and uplifting read.

Thank you to Katherine Center and St. Martin’s Press for the #gifted digital ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’m a fan of Katherine Center, though I’ll admit her books can be hit or miss for me. I’m happy to report that this one was definitely a hit! I buddy-read it with Julie, and we flew through it. We both really enjoyed it.

Katie is going through a lot. She’s stuck in life, in limbo, dealing with trauma and PTSD from a past relationship, but also from her childhood. One of the things I love about Center’s writing is how she tackles serious topics with care, but humor to lighten it up!

I saw reviews about the annoyance with Katie’s body issues/struggles. It is literally the point of the book! Center always chooses tougher topics to explore in her stories. I could relate to Katie in that way. I’ve had my own childhood struggles with weight, especially in relation to my mom. I won’t get into all that here, but it made Katie’s journey feel more authentic to me. Body image struggles are frustrating and exhausting, and I appreciated how much therapy played a role in the story.

I loved so many of the supporting characters in this book. Katie’s best friend is basically every girl’s dream BFF! She’s supportive, honest, and always pushing her to grow. Aunt Rue’s crew of friends were the best!! They brought so much humor and heart to the story, that really helped round out the book.

Hutch was… great. A little predictable, but I could usually figure out what he was thinking. I’m not sure if that’s because I read a lot of romance and have developed a skills for these things. Still, I loved how deeply he cared: about his aunt, his job, his pet. He’s the kind of character who’s steady and dependable!

Even with the tougher themes woven throughout, Center had me laughing out loud a lot. There are so many sweet, joyful, and fun moments that balance the heavy ones out. You just can’t help but fall in love with the characters she creates. I really loved Aunt Rue!! I kind of want to pack up and move into Aunt Rue’s row of retirement homes. 😂

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martins Press (along with MacMillan Audio) for this eARC and ALC.
Another sweet and refreshing experience with Katherine Center. I always feel like I'm going through a therapy session when I read her books, and this was no exception. And I mean that in the best way possible. I always come out of the other end with a fresh perspective on issues that I always seem to struggle with myself. Do you have cameras in my house ma'am!?
The story revolves around a video producer who is doing a piece on a day in the life of a "hero" from the Coast Guard. I appreciated the attention to detail regarding the training and day to day operations. The author did her research!
I enjoyed the grumpy MMC. It's always so fun when you finally get to see that frown turn upside down couldn't help but grin too!
The third act "drama" that made me want to reach inside the book and knock someone out...well, I was patient and karma did its thing
The Love Haters comes out TOMORROW! Make sure you check it out!

Things I loved: Hutch’s cool job and highlighting the coast guard and the work they do, I LOVED George Bailey the dog, loved the setting (especially having just been to Key West myself), Katie as a person and her personal growth and acceptance, Beanie’s self-love antics, The Gals and Rue.

Things I didn’t love: I would’ve liked more chemistry or things to happen. I really couldn’t connect to Cole and didn’t like the decisions he made, and really didn’t care for Sullivan either. I didn’t love Katie’s body image issues and how that was portrayed. I felt it could have been discussed with more care and grace, and felt like it was a huge part of the first half of the book (though extended to all of it). Though in the end she did find self-love, I felt at times the message was that she required external validation, or even male validation, and I just don’t agree with that.

Center does a great job of addressing heavy topics (like grief, family drama, body dysmorphia) interlaced with humor and wit. There were several times I giggled and smiled while reading this book.

Unfortunately, this was not my favorite Katherine Center book, but I still really enjoyed it! I especially enjoyed the setting, George Bailey, and Rue.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Love Haters is a must read for Katherine Center fans. It follows Katie, a video producer sent to Key West to profile Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. Only problem is, she can't swim. With layoffs happening at work she can't exactly confess so she accepts the job and decides to figure it out along the way. Having been burned by love in the past and believing Hutch to be a love hater, romance is the last thing she expects but things are about to get messy.

Katie is very self-conscious and hard on herself which I found completely relatable. Body dysmorphia is a huge theme throughout this book but I personally didn’t mind it. I actually appreciated the focus on self-love and acceptance. After all, a lot of us tend to be our own worst critics so I loved seeing Katie slowly grow to love herself.
I adored Hutch. He was sweet, charming and rescues people for a living. What’s not to love?
I enjoyed the romance even with the miscommunication trope. There’s great chemistry between Hutch and Katie and their first official meeting was hilarious 😂

I really liked the setting, interviews, swim lessons and learning more about the Coast Guard.
George Bailey is hands down, the best Great Dane ever. And Rue was easily my favorite character. Her and her "gals" were absolutely delightful!
There is a conflict that arises later on with Katie’s coworker Cole, who also happens to be Hutch's brother, that I wasn’t too fond of but it all worked out.

Overall, this is a heartfelt story full of love, humor and charming side characters set in the Florida Keys which makes it the perfect summer read!

I love Katherine Center with my whole heart, she writes with so much wit, her characters are very lovable, Katherine write the most heart warming stories with pure intentions, her cover artwork is always so beautifully detailed, so when I saw she had a new book coming out I was jumping with glee, I was so excited to get my hands on it, but unfortunately it missed the five star mark for me. The Love Haters was one of my most anticipated releases for 2025, but this wasn't the authors best in my honest opinion. Katherine has the biggest heart, I absolutely love that she wrote a book about body positivity and loving yourself. I appreciate this trope so much, but I feel like there was just too much body image insecurity instead of the main character actually truly loving her body. Women don't need a man to feel beautiful and to love their body image. I know many women will resonate and love this book, I know I resonated with it a lot, but there was just way too much body image insecurity for me. Even though I didn't one hundred percent love this book, I still recommend it to my girls who struggle with loving themselves, so please do yourselves a favor and mark your calendars for May 20th, 2025. The Love Haters was so deeply inspirational in it's own way and it spoke to me on a personal level. Okay, before I get emotional again, it felt like Katherine wrote this book for my younger self, but again there was just way too much body image insecurity instead of teaching women to love themselves.

🚁 The Love Haters releasing on May 20th, 2025 is definitely a rom-com, but it’s also a heartwarming story of friendship and found family. It’s a departure from Katherine Center’s previous novels, but I’m not complaining one bit.

Katie is sent to Key West to interview Hutch, a real-life hero in the Coast Guard. The twist? She has to work alongside him during the assignment. Katie doesn’t know how to swim, is uncomfortable in swimsuits, and avoids color in favor of beige and black. Enter The Gals and Rue who are vibrant, unapologetic, and full of life.🚁

🩱Though the plot is simple, it carries a surprising depth. The title The Love Haters speaks not just to the romantic tension between characters, but also to Katie’s internal struggle and her love-hate relationship with her own body and self. I found myself reading this through a trauma-informed and IFS (Internal Family Systems) lens. The conversations Katie has with Beanie and with herself mark a profound journey of self-discovery. By the end, every step she takes brings her closer to self-love which is written with such tenderness.

The characters (well, most of them) are endearing, and the setting makes this a perfect beach read with soul.🩱

Thank you to St. Martins Press for this book!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a cute, breezy romance with an unexpectedly thoughtful core about self-worth and personal growth. The central love story is sweet and satisfying, and Center gives readers a few meaningful moments that touch on identity, expectations, and learning to fully embrace oneself.

That said, the emotional resonance is sometimes undercut by a protagonist who never quite feels fully fleshed out. The FMC reads more like a rom-com archetype than a real person, which made it harder to fully invest in her journey. Still, if you're looking for a light love story with a little depth beneath the surface, this one might hit the spot.

Though controversial, I did really like this book and it was a first for my by this author. I found it funny, sweet, easy to read, and overall light-hearted. With that being said, I understand the DNFs and the low ratings. I was lucky enough to have been given a heads up by a friend about the trigger warnings.
I feel as though I have to give the warnings ahead of time since the author did not. TW: body issues, fat shaming, online bullying, and death of family off screen.
Katie's struggles of body dysmorphia, self-worth, and self-love are front and center in Katherine Center's, The Love Haters. I am not making an excuse for why the TWs are not in the beginning, but I feel that Center introduces Katie's struggles in the beginning and is a part of learning who she is and why feels the way she does. As someone who struggles/d like Katie does under the weight of negativity towards one's body, the ending self-discovery while she was on the raft was poignant and something I wish myself and every person that struggles with weight/image/self-love would say to themselves.
As for everyone else surrounding Katie, the friends and found family was perfect. Everyone should have a BFF/cousin like Beanie, a conga line of colors from Rue and the Girls, and a Hutch, who is respectful, protective, and accepting. Also, George Bailey may have been one of the best characters I've read, and he's a Great Dane.
I don't believe this book will be for everyone, but I am happy I gave it a chance. I would just make sure you know going in what the TWs are from other reviews or research you may have found.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The Love Haters
by Katherine Center
St. Martin's Press
5/20/25

The Love Haters was a quick, engaging read with loveable characters that grow individually and together as the book goes on. The end, while a little far-fetched, still comes to a satisfying conclusion. I just know my high school students will enjoy it during free reading time. This side characters are charming and create a lovely found family vibe in the book. I know this isn't Katherine Center's style, but I would love to read books that center on the other characters too if she ever wants to explore the world of interconnected stand alones.

This was fun, light hearted and gave me all the feels! I really enjoyed it, and felt the chemistry between Hutch and Katie right away.
I loved Katie's videos, and her growth throughout the book. I loved the extended family, Rue and her ladies. The setting was a lot of fun too. And there was a dog. Everything about this was good, but it got a little ridiculous in the middle with the addition of a fake dating story. I didn't like that, but the rest was top notch!

Four stars, can't wait to read more from Katherine Center!

I normally love Katherine Center's books but this one gave me several icks... First and foremost, there should have been content warnings for body dysmorphia and eating disorder with flashing lights around them and there was none to be seen. These are sensitive topics and it was disappointing to see it play such a central role for the FMC and yet, readers weren't warned. Actually, the fact the FMC has an eating disorder wasn't even acknowledged as such. I wish I could say she worked through her issues and found peace and love for herself but I think the "resolution" is even worse - she ends up feeling beautiful because a man tells her she is... Really? 😅

I also absolutely hated the scene where Cole offers her up as a reward to whatever sick games he was playing. The red flags with this guy and Katie's underwhelming reaction was just disappointing. I wish she would've stood up for herself more at that point.

The side characters in this book were great - George Bailey (a super cute great dane) and the Gals totally stole the show. The MMC, Hutch, was also a sweetheart. Other than the two aforementioned issues, the pacing and plot were good and I enjoyed the narration of the book a lot, so I ended up mainly listening to the audiobook.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a contemporary romance about a videographer and an AST for the Coast Guard. Katie’s job is on the chopping block when her superior asks her to take his position filming a Coast Guard promotion video. She will be on site with them for three to four weeks getting enough footage to make the video, going on rescues with them and touring their base. The twist is she will be filming her superior’s brother, a brother that he doesn’t get along with, who became famous after rescuing Jennifer Aniston’s dog. Easy, right?

What I really enjoy about Center’s books is how realistic her characters are. The situations they are in may be unbelievable, but the characters’ thoughts, feelings, and actions are true-to-life. Katie is fantastically flawed. She’s highly self-conscious after being cheated on by her fiancé and criticized about her weight in the tabloids. Even a year later, she is still struggling to be comfortable in her own body. Now she has to be in a swimming suit in front of a really hot man. Nightmare!

Hutch, Tom Hutcheson, is Katie’s superior, Cole’s, brother. Cole and Hutch haven’t spoken since an incident the year before (no spoilers here). Hutch pulled strings to get Cole the job he sent Katie on so that Cole would be home for a special day between them and their Aunt Rue. He’s understandably upset when he realizes Katie is doing the job. Despite this, he is kind to Katie. His dog, George Bailey, loves her too.

While the story is a romance about Hutch and Katie, Rue and her gal pals steal the show. I love Rue. She’s an older lady who owns the condo Katie is staying in. She also happens to be Cole and Hutch’s adoptive guardian. She’s spunky and fun and brings color to Katie’s world.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Love Haters. I liked that it was more than a romance. It faced head-on the issues of body image, insecurities, and grief over the loss of a parent. Center has quickly become a favorite author for me. Can’t wait to read more of her books. If you are a fan of contemporary romance or women’s fiction, I highly recommend it.

I love how Katherine Center writes her characters. I always seem to find a little bit of myself in one of the main characters. This remains true in The Love Haters. Katie is a documentary/video producer whose past experiences have made her not like herself very much. Her stepmother was always harping on her to lose weight or to suck in her stomach. Recently she has been raked over the coals by social media by her famous boyfriend's fans. While I have never had either of these things happen to me, I could still relate with Katie on her body issues.

There were some events in this story that seemed very unrealistic. But the interactions of Katie with Hutch and George Bailey (a Great Dane) made me forget those plot points. Hutch was such a good guy who could help almost any woman forget about her personal hang-ups.

I flew through this book and loved how it took me away to the Florida Keys to get to know Hutch, Rue, and even Cole. Katherine Center keeps her place as an auto-read author for me.

Many thanks to #StMartinsPress for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ignore The Haters. Seriously, if one "lesson" can be learned from a rom-com, this is this book's lesson. But also: Seriously, ignore the haters of this book. They're wrong, they know they're wrong, and they can sit there in their wrongness and be wrong. And if they want to come at me, well, I'm a big boy and don't give a fuck what they think anyway, so they can continue to be wrong in their wrongness while I move on to ever more books. :)

This is one of those lighthearted romcoms with a few points, and it is crystal clear that one reason Center wrote this was so that she could expense likely a few trips out to Key West as "business expenses" and have a blast while "researching" this book... And yet even if you want to be so cynical like that... clearly, the research fucking *worked*, because Center absolutely *nails* the entire Key West vibe (particularly the eccentric secondary characters, yes, including the dog who has at least as much personality as anyone else in the book). And while I've never been in the Coast Guard, I've seen them operating enough from being at sea enough (hello, guy that cruises nearly as much as he reads - and he very much has a reading problem ;) ) to have a decent idea of the job, and Center nails that pretty solidly as well. From the standoffish "I don't know you yet" they can project to the closest-friend-you'll-ever-have once they do get to know you - or if you happen to be their brother and share a tragic backstory. ;)

Come for the eccentric Key West vibes. Yes, no matter what the haters claim, they really do permeate the entire book (says the Florida Man ;) ). Stay for the serious looks at both body image issues and hurricane survival. The haters do have *one* thing right - even broke clocks get two a day - in that there is never any true "body positivity", but Center, to me, actually handles these issues in a far more realistic manner, rather than simply glossing over the very real struggles the way so many "body positive" books do. And the hurricane survival bits... again, very, very well done - but Center didn't exactly have to do as much "research" for this, being based in the Galveston region with its history of hurricanes at least as destructive as those that are known to hit South Florida.

And the dog. My god, the damn dog. Seriously, dog lovers are going to love this dog, and even cat people like me will find this dog fucking hilarious. To the level of damn near stealing most scenes he is in. :)

Oh, last note: spice scale: Slightly warmer than a warm glass of milk, I don't think I'd put this up there with even a jalapeno. Maybe somewhere around a bell pepper or so - enough to have some flavor, but also gentle enough that all but the most sensitive stomachs should be able to handle it easily.

Very much recommended.

Trigger warning: Body image discussions and disordered eating.

Oh geez, I tried to get into this one. Really I did. But it was boring. I just didn't like it and instead really enjoyed two other romances I read this past week much more. I think it's just because Center had the character of Katie just doing the Too Stupid to Live (TSTL) thing and I just could not after a minute. Also, I just didn't like all of the body image stuff that was going on and the fact Katie didn't feel "beautiful" until Hutch. I just don't know. This felt very paint by numbers to me and then off in some way that I can't name.

"The Love Haters" follows Katie Vaughn. Katie is a video producer who is about to lose her job through a lay off unless she agrees to film Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The whole thing is really about how Katie starts to fall for Hutch, but she has begun the whole relationship with lies and continues with lying and doesn't know how to stop and just be honest with him.

I just honestly had it with the lies and body image stuff a good 20 percent into this book. I started this way back when I first go it via NetGalley and then set it aside because it was driving me up the wall. I didn't find Katie's "lies by omission" cute and felt exhausted by the whole thing. Who acts this way? Also she mostly just thinks about how hot Hutch is at all times. Her personality (the little she was given) was grating after a bit.

Hutch was blah. There was zero chemistry between him and Katie. I just didn't think the relationship felt real or earned. It just kind of happens. I don't want struggle romances, but there has to be something to make me feel invested in the main characters in a romance. It can't just be, I guess. You want to root for them.

The other characters in the book, Cole, Hutch's aunt, were not given anything to do with, they definitely needed to be more developed.

The writing and flow was just off this whole book. If I really love a romance the book flies by. This one dragged.

The book was supposed to take place in Key West and I think other reviewers clocked it takes a while to get there.

The ending was a HEA (it's Katherine Center people) but it just didn't feel earned. Maybe because I disliked the entire premise of the book and two characters.