𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:

This book is a 10 star read for me! I always love KC books but this one just sucked me in and fed my soul. I loved everything from the location, to the found family, all the dog shenanigans, the FMC working through her body image issues, the brother’s relationship dynamics and of course all the drama and adventure. I think the only thing I didn’t like about this book is that it ended. I didn’t want to give up these characters that became apart of me. It was such an amazing read.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:

Katie is facing a layoff and she has two choices lie and keep her job or tell the truth and loose it. That is how her coworker convinced her to take this videography assignment with the Coast Guard in Key West. So she’s now driving the 7mile highway over water when she can’t even swim!

Hutch was expecting his brother but instead Katie showed up replacing him on this assignment. He quickly gets dragged into the chaos when his Great Dane tackles her and he finds out she can’t swim. He also realizes she’s a beautiful woman that he wants to help.

Hutch and Katie will be forced together basically every moment of the day for the next month while they work together. They will get to know each other very well. But Katie gets trapped in Cole ( Hutch’s brother) lies and disaster strikes.

Check out Katie & Hutch’s story when it Releases
May 20th, 2025.

𝙁𝙖𝙫 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

“I’m saying that when I’m not with you, I’m thinking about you. And waiting to see you again. And we’ve spent all day, every day together for weeks now—and it already feels like it’ll never be enough.”

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Video Producer FMC
* Hero Coastguard Swimmer MMC
* This Job is to Save Her From Layoffs
* She’s Doing a Promo Video For the Coast Guard But She Cant Swim
* Her Co-Worker is the Brother of “Puppy Love” and They Are in a Beef
* She Struggles with Body Image - Working on Body Positivity
* Found Family & Overly Friendly Great Dane
* Key West, Florida

🚁🌊🌴🐾🐸 🚁🌊🌴🐾🐸

don't have the willpower to finish this .i'm bored listening to this dnf at 33% i ust cant be brother to finish it.

thank i got the audio arc

I normally LOVE Katherine Center's books, but this one missed the mark. Almost as it it were written by someone else. The characters just weren't there for me. The dynamic was lacking as well. The narration was also meh.

THANK YOU to Macmillan Audio for the early copy of one of my most-anticipated books by one of my most-loved authors.

One thing about me is that I LOVE a Katherine Center book. I think I've read all but one and I have never not enjoyed them. This one was no different, her writing ultimately just makes me happy. She shouts her goal creating the perfect HEA (happily ever after) from the rooftops and I truly think everything she touches turns to happiness. I've had the absolute honor of meeting her and she is a truly wonderful person.

Right off the bat, I was sold by the adorable cover and the title. The Love Haters? Sign. Me. Up.

I already knew that if these are Katherine Center characters that think they hate love, they won't be hating it for long! As is typical with KC books, there were quirky characters, deeper-than-the-surface themes, complicated character pasts, and an ending that made me smile.

If I had to be picky with this one, the one complaint I'd have was that there was SO much going on. Usually this is something I love about her books, because they're never boring, but I always want details and trauma of the past to be fleshed out and to serve a purpose in the story other than dramatic effect. While an argument could be made for most things, some of it just felt too over-the-top for me personally. Some will struggle with the lack of believability in this story, but I'm not one typically bothered with that since I'm reading for enjoyment solely and am more than happy to turn off my brain for a rom-com.

Overall, a fun and short read you'll be able to fly through in a day!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me a chance to listen this book

Spice-0

This book was absolutely amazing and I had so much fun listening t it. There are some laugh out loud embarrassing moments and of course a lot of drama. The drama was very fun and created just a little bit of tension but not too much to cause any angst. More just frustration.

It is a really quick story.

But grab your flippers...sorry fins. Head to Key West and enjoy the ride

As for the narrator. She was good! Much better than others I have listened to in the past

First I want to thank both Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the early listener copy of this audiobook.

This is the perfect summer rom-com. Katherine Center has hit it out of the park again. This was fun and a quick listen. I consumed it in one day.

I am giving it 4 stars rounded up to a 4.5. It would of been a 5 star, but I wasn't a fan of the way the body positivity was presented. I almost felt like she was too in her head about her looks and weight. As someone who has delt with weight issues most of her adult life it bothered me. That being said make sure to pick this up as quick beach read this summer.

Expected release date 5/20/2025

Katie is sent to film a piece on the Coast Guard, where she meets a vibrant and entertaining cast of characters—including Hutch. Throughout the story, we watch Katie work through her negative body image, slowly reframing her mindset and learning to love herself as she is. Hutch, meanwhile, is a quiet and steady force, dedicated to his job and spending his free time teaching his elderly aunt and her friends water exercises at the pool. He’s also the proud owner of George Bailey, a rescue dog who spent the first few years of his life in a puppy mill.

This book was adorable. The banter between Katie and Hutch? Absolutely top-tier. Their conversations had me giggling and kicking my feet. And Aunt Rue? A queen. We should all be so lucky to have an Aunt Rue in our lives.

The only character I didn’t love was Hutch’s brother, Cole—he was kind of a douche. But, to be fair, once he explains his behavior, it does make sense in context.

I laughed. I even cried (okay, just two tears, but for someone who never cries, that’s a big deal). Overall, I had an amazing time with this book.

If you’ve never read Katherine Center before, let this be your sign to start with The Love Haters. And if you’re already a fan? Do yourself a favor and pick this one up—easily my favorite book of hers yet.

✨Book Review✨

The Love Haters - Katherine Center

📖 Katie has been give two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcherson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West… except she’s not exactly qualified because she can’t swim, but she omits that fact and if on her way to Key West. What could go wrong when Hutch doesn’t want her there? Katie finds herself trapped in lies and will have to figure out how to tell the truth and face old fears.

📚 Katie is a lovable main female character who has body image issues that she needs to work through. She’s got a best friend/ cousin-basically-sister named Beanie who is the girl champion we all want on the other end of our FaceTimes. Katherine Center did a great job breaking down the vastness of the Coast Guard to make it accessible to the reader. This was a sweet story that had swim lessons, helicopter flights, congo lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses. Overall a fast and fun read!

🌟 If you enjoy closed door romances with humor that also have a bit of seriousness to them then you’re going to want to pick this one up! It hits shelves May 20th!

Shoutout to Katherine Center and @NetGalley for the advanced reader and listener options! I loved having the chance to review this before it was officially published.

#BookReview #KatherineCenter #NetGalley #TheLoveHaters

The Love Haters
Katherine Center
Pub: 5/20/25
4.5☆

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.

Reading a KC book always feels like the perfect, much needed hug and the Love Haters was no different. I adored the heck out of it.

Katie and Hutch’s story was grumpy x sunshine perfection. They had me laughing, swooning, and rooting for that sweet KC HEA we all know and love. I loved George, the Gals, and every single other side character but the ways in which I was fond of Rue… OMG she had my whole heart.

It was part romance, part adventure, and an abundance of beautiful growth. Absolutely would recommend.

What I loved;
💖 Grumpy x Sunshine
💖 Forced Proximity
💖 LOL Humor
💖 The Gals
💖 Body Positivity Message
💖 George Bailey
💖 That KC HEA!

“I just love all of my… everything… because it’s mine’”

I read this with both my eyes and ears, mostly listening because I just absolutely adore Patti Murin’s narration. Listening to hear voice read KC’s words just makes my heart and ears so happy.

A huge thank Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy and for allowing me to be an early listener..

This is Katherine Center back at the top of her game in a moving, heartfelt love story about learning to love yourself, body positivity, grief, healing and forgiveness as documentary filmmaker Katie gets sent to the Florida Keys to do a feature on her colleague's estranged brother, Hutch, a coast guard air rescue swimmer.

Full of laugh out loud moments, a great cast of side characters, a super swoony male lead, a neurotic great dane, an epic survival/rescue moment and so much more. I loved it soo much and especially fell for Katie and her journey of self-love. The audiobook narration by Patti Murin was fantastic and you don't want to skip the author's note at the end either!!

10/10 recommend!! Interestingly enough it's also the second stranded on a houseboat love story this year so if you want another, check out Swept away by Beth O'Leary too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

TW: death of parents off page from a car accident, loved one with terminal illness diagnosis

FAVE QUOTE (from the author's note):
"The best love stories are never just about romantic love. They're always about so much more than that: kindness, and joy, and belonging, and safety - not to mention growing, and changing, and healing from the past. They are always master classes on how we find the best in each other - and, by extension, ourselves."

I love Katherine Center’s books. This book was a fantastic mix of realistic, romance and depth. The narration was great it was as if I was watching it all unfold. Great characters. There is some mix-up trope mixed in which isn’t my favorite but still a good book.

This book was so much more than a boy meets girl love story. This was a girl learns to love herself love story! Those were the meat of the book for me! So many quotes in this book hit him. Self-image is a struggle and Katherine Center pens a novel that will really open your eyes and allow you to fall in love, or back in love, with your body. I enjoyed the love story between Katie and Hutch tremendously! It was definitely a Rom-Com...but again, so much more.
Rue is the aunt that everyone wants, followed by a Great Dane, George Bailey, that will make you want to go out and rescue a dog!
Don't skip out on The Love Haters! Learn to fall back in love with yourself!

Not my favorite KC but still very enjoyable. Some of the side characters ended up being my favorites of the book. I also appreciated the typical KC positive self-love message embedded in the love story. Narration on the audio was very well done-- although only one narrator, I felt like she brought all of the characters to life.

Katie has no desire to risk her heart again. But now she has to make a choice, get laid off from her job as a video producer or follow a friends advice, and profile gorgeous Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. Hutch just happens to be the brother of her friend. Just to make things interesting, the two brothers don’t get along at all, Hutch hates the idea of romance even more than Katie does, and he has an eccentric aunt and a great Dane. This is a lighthearted, feel good read, something we all desperately need right now.

Absolutely obsessed with this audiobook! The Love Haters had me hooked from the very first chapter, and I could NOT stop listening! Every spare moment, I had my earbuds in because I needed more of Katie and Hutch’s adorable, swoony romance.

The narration was excellent—the voice, the emotion, the banter—it all came to life so perfectly! The chemistry between Katie and Hutch was off-the-charts cute, and I was giggling nonstop at their back-and-forth.

The side characters added a "cherry on top" to perfectly round out this story! George Bailey, Hutch’s lovable Great Dane - ADORABLE! Rue and the Gals - Nothing but a good time! Beanie - the never ending support and encouragement! I don't think I have ever fallen in love with so many side characters in a book before!

The self-love journey woven throughout the story was very empowering and beautifully done.

Katherine Center delivers another heartfelt, feel-good romance, and the audiobook made it even better. If you love a great slow-burn romance with humor, heart, and outstanding narration, this one is a must-listen!

Katie Vaughn is still getting over the trauma of her very public breakup with her now-famous ex. Desperate to keep her mid-level video production job, she agrees to do a profile on the perpetually frowning Tom “Hutch” Hutchinson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who happened to go viral saving Jennifer Aniston’s beloved pup. But as Katie gets entangled in Hutch’s daily life in the Florida Keys, she is forced to confront some of her greatest fears and insecurities, all while not getting fired.

Let me start by saying that my favorite character in this story is the very gentle giant, George Bailey, a Great Dane rescued by Hutch and a dog who is hard not to fall in love with. He pretty much stole the show in every single scene he was in. And having just watched It’s a Wonderful Life over Christmas break, the name definitely put a smile on my face every single time I read it. The second star of the show? It’s easily The Gals as they are so fondly referred to, a group of retirees who swim, drink cocktails, and mettle, but who are the group of friends everyone needs in their life.

While this book didn’t necessarily blow me away like some of Katherine Center’s others, it’s still a wonderfully charming story about loss, friendship, and learning to love yourself as much as you love others. Katie is a solid MC who is so easy to relate to (I am pretty sure I have had many of the same self-conversations), and Hutch is a total sweetheart. What stands out about this book is the laugh-out-loud humor, including one scene involving a big dog, splinters, and Katie’s haunches (IYKYK) that made me laugh so hard I cried. I usually save KC’s books for when I need a life pick-me-up, and this one did not disappoint.

🎧 Patti Murin is, of course, perfection as this audiobook’s sole narrator and one of the reasons I always choose to reread books she has narrated once the audio is released.

Read if you like:
▪️coast guard hero
▪️quasi-Hollywood romance
▪️grumpy x sunshine
▪️forced proximity
▪️dogs named George Bailey
▪️fun side characters
▪️romcoms with heart
▪️Key West setting

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.