I truly enjoy Katherine Center's books, and this one did not disappoint. I liked how the main character addressed her self-image, the hero/military aspect, and how characters confronted their pasts. The characters are relatable and fun. As with any audiobook, the narrator can make or break the enjoyment aspect, and this one hit it out of the park. This is a wonderful addition to Center's works!

**I received an advanced listening copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Center combines humor with timely topics in this latest release. Body positivity, self love, guilt, fear, and realizing ones dreams are themes in the novel, which follows Katie on assignment to direct a video for the Coast Guard. Her subject, Hutch, is less than thrilled about the video. Mayhem ensues with some off-the-wall escapades and some unbelievable moments. Yet, its Center's writing the propels this novel. Center has an ability to encapsulate a thought in a profound and poetic way. Readers who enjoy collecting quotations in books will find plenty of opportunities in this one!

Patti Murin as voice actress sparkles yet again in her narration of a work by Center. Murin's tone for characters conveys the appropriate mood and attitude throughout the novel.

Add this to the summer's beach read pile!

Absolutely loved!! Katherine Center can do no wrong! Thank you NetGalley!! I have read all of Katherine centers books and they are all so good. Her writing is just perfect!

I enjoyed the narrator for this book! The plot was fun and a good read. I liked the main character but didn’t feel like her and Hutch had a real connection. I understand she had an eating disorder in the past and so there is a lot of body talk and how she views hers. I wanted to know more about the Coast Guard and feel we didn’t get much information on what she was doing with them. I loved Rue and her group of girlfriends and of course, George Bailey! This is a good summer read and I will read more by her, I love her books! 3.5 stars!

I am so lucky. I have been given the opportunity to read and listen to advance copies of Katherine Centers’ newest books. The most recent one being The Love Haters.
I love this book 💗. Just like her others, this book brought me such joy and the opportunity to escape into the world of the amazing characters. Katherine Center continually writes books that make me laugh, cry, swoon and think. Also, the narration by Patti Murin is always outstanding. The characters come to life via her voice and talent!
You can read the blurb and even Katherine’s own review lol 😄. What I want to talk about is the sense of power this book evokes. In these questionable times I believe it is more important than ever that we all feel we have a voice. Whether it be a group of senior citizens or a young woman who doubts herself and her body. When Katie realizes her own power to overcome obstacles and feel thankful for her strong, beautiful, body, I could not help but be moved. I wish this is something everyone can achieve.
Katherine Center writes with such grace and charm and we are fortunate she lets us into the worlds she creates.
I cannot thank her
@katherinecenter @macmillanaudio, and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and listen to these wonderful books 💗
Please put it on your to be read list! You also always get the treat of hearing Katherine share the background story of the book 📕
#thelovehaters #katherinecenter #romancereads #arcreader #newbook #bookstagram #audiobookstagram

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, so I was thrilled to receive both an ALC and an ARC of her latest novel, The Love Haters.

The book is narrated by Patti Murin, and I really enjoyed her performance.

The focus on body image felt a bit overdone, but overall, I really enjoyed the book.

Publication date- May 20 2025
#TheLoveHaters #netgalley

First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!

I loved The Love Haters!! This was my favorite Katherine Center book to date and I absolutely inhaled it. I loved the characters, I loved the secondary characters, I loved the setting, I loved everything about this book. It was such a fun summer read that left me feeling warm and fuzzy. I thought the narration was excellent and I was really rooting for the main characters!!

4.5⭐️

The Love Haters is a love story, but it’s more of a love story where you are learning to love yourself first. Her main characters have been through a lot but together and they work so well together. I love the interesting plot that Center develops and the characters are developed with depth and so real to life. The secondary older generation characters are a delight and seem like people you want to hug!

The MMC, Hutch is sweet, kind, and caring, not to mention so hot, and, of course I loved his dog!

Oh my good golly ms Molly. I absolutely loved the premise of this book and the narrators KILLED it! The entire plot was definitely done before but the way it was executed in the book was magnificent. I can’t say enough good things about this one! Katherine Center is also an autobuy so I may be bias but I don’t think I am. 🤭

The Love Haters is my second book by this author and I enjoyed it. It was a charming, lighthearted romance, that also included some heavier elements inclusive of body image and how you view yourself.

The story follows Videographer Katie who has to go Key West to produce a promotional video for the Coast Guard. She has major body confidence issues and I loved seeing her growth throughout the story as she faces her fears and learn to accept herself.

She has to interview Hutch, one of the Coast Guard's rescue divers who hates the spotlight and hates love due to past experiences.

These two were wonderful together. They were both likable and I was rooting for them to get together. Their story was filled with unexpected twists, heartfelt moments, humor and witty banter and I couldn't put it down.

They are surrounded by a delightful cast of secondary characters and I especially loved Hutch's Aunt Rue and George Bailey.
This was a well-written, captivating tale and I would definitely recommend it to romance lovers.


🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧
The audiobook was narrated by Patti Murin, who was perfection as this audiobook’s sole narrator. She made these characters come alive and was able to easily convey the insecurities and vulnerabilities. Her voice was clear and understandable and it was a pleasure listening to her narrate this novel.

THE LOVE HATERS by Katherine Center is warm, witty, and full of heart. Katie heads to Key West on a career gamble, fakes her way through swim lessons, and finds herself surrounded by a hot rescue swimmer, a giant dog, and a quirky island crew.

It’s more than just romance—there’s family, friendship, and self-discovery. Uplifting and fun with just the right emotional depth. I alternated between reading and listening—Patti Murin’s audiobook narration is spot-on. And don’t skip the author’s note!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you @stmartinspress @bookswithnopictures @just_reading_to_my_shelf for the opportunity to read the traveling ARC! If you get the chance to read one, you should take it! It’s so fun to see everyone’s comments and doodles. This is also one of my favorite covers for summer reading!

Katherine Center’s books are always so fun to read- a mix of romance and women’s fiction with a lot of heart. The Love Haters was another good example! I really enjoyed learning so much about Hutch’s job on the Coast Guard Rescue team.

Katie gets a job filming a coast guard rescue swimmer in Key West, but there’s one small issue- she can’t swim! It also turns out that her subject is the brother of her boss and they don’t get along. Hutch is grumpy after first, but soon begins to warm up. This is a very slow burn, but worth the wait. Hutch has an adorable Great Dane named Georgetown Bailey who is the best character in my opinion. I also loved Hutch’s Aunt Rue. The story takes place in Key West; one of my favorite places in the world.

I will say that there were parts of the FMC issues with body image I didn’t love, but it was easy to push past that. I have my own personal hang ups in that area which is probably the reason I didn’t love.

Patti Murin was amazing and the narrator for this book. She brought a lot of emotion to the story.

While the final outcome was not surprising, you don't read "beach reads" for major twists. This book was a fun ride, and the opportunity for Hutch to use his skills to save Katie was a nice addition to the usual format. I did enjoy this book and will commend it.

**Thank you to @netgalley , @katherinecenter , @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for a free ebook and audio ARC copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

Loved this feel good story, the tie ins with the It's a Wonderful Life and "Heart and Soul" references. Any reference to my all time favorite Christmas movie is just chefs kiss. The last little bit of this story was honestly my favorite. The character are easily lovable. I'm also a sucker for a main character pet with personality.

If you like grumpy vs sunshine, forced proximity, and comical main character pets then this is for you! I highly recommend the audio version, I often love my romances in audio version ^_^

I absolutely loved this audiobook! It was a little funny, sad but mostly it was a beautiful story about self-love and self acceptance. It was truly so enjoyable to listen to. The narrator did a fantastic job and I found myself hooked pretty quickly. A really great light hearted audiobook.

This was a GREAT story to listen to! AWESOME narration! Great main characters. The plot was easy to find. The story was engaging and easy to follow. Will be purchasing this book. Shout out to Netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story.

4 STARS!

3.5 ⭐️ (rounded up)

The Love Haters started off slowly for me, but things picked up around the 25% mark — and from there, I was hooked. I found myself eager to keep reading, mostly just to swoon over Hutch. I laughed out loud multiple times!. Yes, a few lines were super cheesy, but honestly, they worked in context — so I just chose to forgive them and even enjoy the charm.

The central conflict definitely had me shaking my head, though. It gave me mixed feelings, and I ended up with a love-hate relationship with the book overall..

Katie’s body image struggles felt a bit heavy-handed at the beginning. I empathized with her self-talk and her issues with the scale, but it felt like the book lingered too long on this theme early on. At the end, the message was clear though. Katherine drove home the importance of loving and valuing our one and only body..

Now, Hutch. Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a US Coast Guard rescue diver, stole the show. The minute he entered the story, I couldn’t stop reading. He’s the kind of MMC who’s both loveable and swoon-worthy.
The chemistry between him and Katie was great, and I really appreciated the uplifting, hopeful tone of the book. Despite my few hang-ups, that emotional payoff made me really enjoy the journey.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of the audiobook for a genuine review! ☻

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced copy of both the book and audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Read if you like:
💕 Contemporary Romance
⛈️/☀️ Grumpy Sunshine
🤏 Forced Proximity
👱‍♀️ Body image struggles

1️⃣ POV
📍Key West, FL

“But I hadn't thought I hated love. I'd thought I was just recovering from it.”

Katie works for a marketing firm and her boss has initiated a round of layoffs. Katie wants to keep her job so, when Cole asks her to produce a recruitment video for the coast guard with Hutch, a coastguard rescue swimmer stationed in Key West, she jumps at the chance. The problem is, she’s completely unqualified for this gig, she can’t swim but pretends she can. So she goes to Key West, works with grumpy Hutch, meets Aunt Rue and “the gals”, and she tries to keep all the lies straight but everything comes to a head when Cole and their boss show up to see Katie’s video.

Like all Katherine Center books that I’ve read (this is my fifth), by the end of the book my heart was happy and I felt like the book just gave me a big hug. Katie was not my favorite FMC but I loved Hutch and the star of the book was Aunt Rue and the geriatric “gals” that live in the same condo complex. One of the things I love about KC books is that her FMCs have to deal with real issues and this one is no exception. Katie struggles with body image issues (so take care and check the specific content warnings if you need) and while I don’t have severe issues myself, this book was a good reminder to love your body because it’s yours and it does amazing things.

Another charming, heart-warming romance from Katherine Center. This time the story centers around a young women, Katie, who is desperately trying to not get fired from her job. She finds herself agreeing to do a job that requires her to be around and in the water—the problem is she can’t swim but decides it is best if she leaves that small detail out. She is going to be working with a handsome, seemingly standoffish Coast Guard, Hutch in the Florida Keys. She finds herself in way over her head as she has to untangle the lies, complete the job, not drown all while denying her attraction to him.

Center’s books always guarantee a great romance that leaves your heart happy. They are fun, happy and optimistic. This one had a little more serious under current as Katie struggles with her self esteem. Still a good read but not my favorite. There are some really cute parts and I loved Aunt Rue and the Great Dane!! The ending was a little over the top but overall a sold story, perfect for summer.

3.5 ⭐️

This is my second read by Center and unfortunately, it didn’t work as well for me as the first one did. I was not ready for how much focus would be on Katie’s body image issues. I think it’s an important topic to discuss and feature, I just had different expectations for this book based on the blurb. I enjoyed learning more about the Coast Guard, though, so that was a win. The best part of the whole book for me was one of the side characters, Rue. I enjoyed Hutch’s character as well, but I wasn’t really interested in the romance between Hutch and Katie. I did enjoy the audiobook narration. I felt Patti Murin did well matching her narration to the tone of the scene. The narration was one of the main reasons I decided to stick it out and finish the book.