Katie is a videographer in danger of losing her job, Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer Katie was assigned to shadow and make a recruitment video for. Only problem is Katie will be required to swim and well, she can’t. She doesn’t even own a bathing suit. This was a fun book with a great cast of characters, I’m looking at you Rue and The Gals and let’s not forget Mr George Bailey. Katie has major body issues stemming from her ex fiancés (famous musician) fans and seeing her growth throughout the book was pretty great. Her coworker Cole who also happens to be Hutch’s brother definitely throws a wrench in things thinking he’s helping I guess? I laughed, I got teary and the vibes were pretty good, I had a good time reading this. Be sure to read the authors note at the end! Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was the perfect rom com! I loved just about every moment of it. I did honestly laugh out loud in many parts.

I loved the characters in this book and how they interacted. Rue and her friends playing match maker in this book really made me giggle. Hutch, oh Hutch. He was an undercover golden retriever but outwardly Mr. Grump and I was here for it. He had such a wonderful personality, but his downfall is wanting to be a people pleaser and helpful. I guess that may go along with his job though. I loved Katie's inner monologue and how sometimes those thoughts came out with her realizing! It is something I would totally find myself doing.

Hutch is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer and his brother Cole is supposed to come and make a promo video, but instead he sends Katie so he does not have to confront his past. Katie is on the verge of being let go due to downsizing and takes this job in hopes it saves her. She is also struggling with a recent break up with a popular pop singer who has released a song about her and their relationship. She is struggling with self image and a recent article comes out about how she has let herself go. She decides to take the job to save her job and escape the scrutiny of the press.

During this book Katie definitely finds herself and I love to see the growth! She is such a confident and strong individual and everyone around her sees it but herself. I highly recommend this book!

I wanted to crawl right inside of this story and live there forever. This is a book I stayed up way too late at night to read because I was just having so much fun with Katie and Hutch, getting all the butterflies and enjoying their interactions so much ! I just wanted more and more. This is my favorite Katherine center book thus far! My only complaint is that with the whole big lie, I was frustrated that Katie didn’t nip it in the bud right away. Why would she go along with that for any amount of time?! So frustrating when you’re yelling at characters to see how badly this will turn out for them; but also the fact that you are so immersed in their affairs means that the author has done a great job, right?! So good!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors! Unfortunately, I had trouble connecting with the characters and story. The mains characters lacked chemistry. I also found the FMC to be annoying. At times I felt the story was bogged down with too many coast guard details. Overall, this wasn't my favorite KC book but I highly recommend all of her other books.

This is my first Katherine Center book and I absolutely loved it! I now have to binge read her others as her writing style draws you into the story and makes you want more. I easily could binge read this book on a weekend. The characters are very relatable and I think many women are going to see themselves in Katie. I have already told my friends in book club that this is a must read

First I love all things Katherine Center. All things. This book included.

I mean FMC TAKING BACK her life?! Here for it. Misunderstood brooding MMC whom does water rescues?! Hello Glen Powell cast for anyone else??

This characters have had tragedies in their past dealing with grief, guilt, shame, toxicity, etc, but I loved going from beginning to end with them.

And Cole. I mean honestly. Seriously. This guy. The worst.

BUT RUE. and The Gals. Are the actual best. Love them.

There is A LOT of body image insecurity in this book, just know that going in.

But anyway. I really enjoyed this, not my favorite Katherine but still so good.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Katie is afraid to lose her job since her boss decided to cut back on employees so what did Katie did? She decided to take a job out in Key West about promoting the coast guards. The job needs someone that knows how to swim. Can she swim? Nopeee but she has to figure it out how to make it work or else she will lose her job. When she gets to Key West, she met Hutch, a famous coast guard, that hopefully will teach her how to swim and hopefully help save her job. What happens when they start falling for each other?

This is so cute. This is a romance but not necessarily about relationships but also about yourself and family. Its a very slow burn between all three kinda of love and its so wholesome and so cute. I truly enjoyed this! I couldn’t stop reading! ❤️ I just wish the epilogue was longer!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC ❤️

A huge thanks to St Martins Press for my complimentary copy . All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Firstly Bailey is just a favourite (he is the most adorable Great Dane ever) . The story is follows Katie who is on the brink of getting laid off from her job until her coworker Cole sends her off on a ‘mission’ . The mission is to profile Hutch a Coast Guard Rescue swimmer in Key West. There is one catch tho lol Katie cannot swim but thankfully Hutch is not just a hunk .

The book touched on self love ,sibling relationships and love.

First I would like to thank Netgalley, St. Martin’’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and early audiobook.

I really wanted to love this book. I loved The Rom-Coms so much but this one didn’t work as well for me. There were so parts of this book I really loved. I loved all the early interactions between Katie and Hutch. I thought there banter worked really well and I was rooting for them from the beginning.

What didn’t work for me was all the focus on body image. I’m all for overcoming body image issues but it just felt like a running commentary in Katie’s head and I just felt like it got a little repetitive.

I also really enjoyed the story until Cole showed up and I really, really didn’t like the turn the story went. I didn’t understand Katie’s decisions. That just didn’t feel like a response that Katie or any rational person would make.

I mixed both the book and audio and I thought the narrator was fantastic.

3/5 stars

I want to thank Netgalley for the ARC as well as the author!
I started this book, and the writing was absolutely great, I have read 2 other of her books, and her writing is my favorite for sure! I really had very high expectations for the romance between the FMC & MMC!! Like they had chemistry but at 50% I think it started going down, because for me there was no way they could be together, not because of lack of chemistry but there were other things going that they kind of were put to the side. I think them ending together was so rushed, like we could have had more of them as a couple. The scenery was AMAZING! Again, her writing just made me be inside the book, which was 100% so nice.
I really loved RUE, I want to be in one of her cottages for sure, the DOG! Omg he was the best too, and now every time I see a penny I think of this book!

The Love Haters is about Katie, fearing losing her job, traveling to Key West to shadow and interview Hutch for a Coast Guard promo video. But Hutch, expecting his brother, is not initially excited that Katie showed up instead…and to top it off isn’t qualified as she can’t swim. Hutch agrees to help Katie prepare for the job in exchange for her help getting him to reconnect with his brother. As the two spend time together, love grows….but the most important love to found is Katie’s love for herself. When she finds herself in a dangerous situation, it’s time to face the truth about how she truly sees herself and how she’ll treat her body going forward.

I wanted so badly to like this book. I’d heard some concerning things prior to reading it but still came in with an open mind. Unfortunately, the things I’d heard were true.

Let’s start with what I did like. I liked Rue, the owner of the place Katie stays in the Key West - and Cole and Hutch’s beloved aunt. I liked the gals, the group of old woman Rue also housed. I loved George Bailey, Hutch’s thunder-phobic, toad grabbing dog. And as for the story line…the dangerous ending wasn’t too shabby.

Unfortunately, those things can’t save the book for me. One thing that I’m not sure I would have seen had it not been pointed out is how it handles talking about an eating disorder. For starters - they never call it what it is. Also, it feels as though she justifies it by saying it was a way for her to be in control - without ever addressing how harmful that line of thinking can be. I definitely think this is a topic that can be in romance - but I definitely think it wasn’t handled correctly here. This was most notable for me when Katie discovers she’s scared of bathing suits and her friend basically makes fun of her for it (“you know it’s crazy to be scared of a swim suit.”).

What I definitely would have noticed on my own is how centered around physicality the whole book is. I don’t feel as though there was enough seeing Katie and Hutch emotionally connect. But how perfect he is, and fit, and attractive? That’s not stop. It’s constantly how embarrassed Katie is of her own body, and how perfect Hutch’s is. The second time Katie experiences the internet weighing in, all I could think was “90s diet culture called and wants its romcom back.”

What really sealed the deal for me on the low rating though is the scene at the bar between Cole and Hutch emotionally connect- where Hutch is coerced into drinking based on a lie…and Katie LETS IT HAPPEN. This disgusts me. This kind of peer pressure for such a serious thing isn’t funny and shouldn’t be used the way it was. It’s one thing to have coerced him into playing pinball, but you don’t coerce someone who doesn’t drink into drinking. It’s just not okay, and Katie basically let it happen because that’s what she needed to feel worthy? Ew.

At that point I stopped wondering how I’d rate the book. Without that scene, I might have been at a 2 (with the extra star for Rue and the Gals) but as it stands I have to consider this book entirely too problematic for anything other than a 1 star rating.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️

This was a cute and easy read. I really enjoyed the FMC and her love interest, as well as the other fun characters (not you, Cole). A lot happens in the last part of the book/epilogue, and I wish that had been spread out a little more. Still a fun, warm, and witty book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for new Katherine Center to read ahead of pub! I've become a fan of this author's stories over the last few books. This one is no different, I loved Katie and Hutch's story! Anticipated pub: May 20th!

Let's start with my progress updates because they tell a lot about how I felt while reading this:
May 5, 2025 – 21.0% "OMG as a Great Dane Mom x2 I'm crying listening to Hutch tell George Bailey's story 😢"
May 5, 2025 – 26.0% "mini story time: My "Oddly Specific Bookish Ick" (as the wife of a helicopter pilot) is when authors refer to helicopters as 'choppers' -- this character just did but the Coast Guard guy schooled her that they don't call them that and it made my grumpy little bookish heart SO HAPPY. THANK YOU FOR THAT KATHERINE CENTER."
(After reading the Author's Note it seems the thanks also goes to the Coasties that worked with the author during her research for this book. My husband is AF, not CG but they still call them birds :) They actually use a lot of the same terminology and acronyms so that part was fun to read already knowing a lot of those things.)
May 5, 2025 – 81.0% "OMG KATHERINE YOU HAVE ME SOBBING thinking about George Bailey being all alone and scared on the houseboat in a storm 😭😭😭"

So, let's just start with how much of a heartbreaker this was for me (don't worry, no harm comes to any animals, including the toads, lol). I found myself crying reading this more than any book I can remember in recent history. SO GOOD and the narration brought out all those emotions even more as the narrator did a great job of conveying those too.

This story was also really fun. I laughed out loud so much during parts with Rue and The Gals, when Katie first meets Hutch (the mannequin thought was toooooo funny), the bathing suit 'incident' -- HILARIOUS. Katherine Center is always good for making a story heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure.

My absolute favorite aspect of this story, though, was the relationship between Katie and her body. The GROWTH at the end of this was honestly amazing and wonderful and inspiring and made me want to be more like Beanie <3

I want to like Katherine Center books so badly but they always fall flat for me. I loved the premise of this book but ultimately didn’t connect with the characters or the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this charming and inspiring story.
The book centers on Katie, a video producer who agrees to film a promotional video of the Coast Guard in the Florida Keys, despite the fact that she secretly can't swim. The video will focus on the star rescue swimmer Hutch, who happens to be the brother of Katie's boss Cole.
As Katie and Hutch spend more time together, they fall more for each other. However, when Cole shows up, things become more complicated than ever.
The book felt both light and still had depth. The topic of self-love was impactful and moving. Katie learns to love herself and all the colors of life. Hutch was charming and brooding. Cole was frustrating and endearing. Rue Hutch and Cole's "aunt" is admirable and hilarious. I loved the complexity of Rue, Hutch, and Cole's relationship. The Great Dane George Bailey was wonderful, as all dogs are.
I had a fun time reading this. It was relaxing and cozy. The romance is sweet and heartwarming. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more by Katherine Center!

Katherine Center has done it again!! I absolutely loved The Love Haters. I finished it in one day because it's just impossible not to. The writing is fast-paced and fun, which really makes it hard to put the book down. The romance is just chef's kiss. The chemistry, the tension, the yearning, all of it culminated into a delicious romance. The side characters deserve books of their own because they're amazing as well. I cannot wait for her next release.

Thank you to the publisher for the e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read, I had the best time reading The Love Haters. It was filled with so many cute/funny moments between Katie and Hutch and I was rooting for them from the beginning. I also adore an endearing and charismatic side character so Aunt Rue was everything. Set in Key West, FL this book made me feel like I was on vacation watching a romantic comedy. Katherine Center has done it again, The Love Haters was so wonderful and delightful!.
Special thanks to NetGalley for the advance readers copy! Available to the public on May 20th.

I read an ARC for this book thanks to NetGalley. I have read 2 other books by Katherine - one I’m still obsessed with and another I didn’t like as much. In this one, the plot, characters, romance, and relationship twists were all top notch! There was a huge focus on the FMC and her relationship with herself - her body, fears, and self-esteem. It was a unique approach to addressing those issues and how she worked through them. I enjoyed this book so much. I am still processing how I feel about this one.The research for this was amazing and added to the story. But what about George Bailey?! 😍

I love Katherine Center's books and this is is no different. A laugh out loud, romantic comedy with colorful side characters.

DNF at 50%

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

No chemistry, boring MCs, and an extremely drawn out convoluted body positivity arc that is stronger than my will to finish this story.

This is the first KC that hasn't hit for me so I'm sad but gosh there wasn't a thing that could keep me going, not even Rue.