4⭐ The Love Haters is the second book I've read from Katherine Center, and once again, it was once again a hit! It was the perfect romcom to set the mood for summer. And it's even more than just a romcom, I feel like Katie's (FMC) journey to healing and self-acceptance is an important one and is well depicted.

My reading experience was a combination of both the ebook and the audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley, St-Martin Press and MacMillan Audio for the ARC and ALC.

Katie’s life is a disaster. She has been burned by love in the past and is in danger of losing her job. Her coworker, Cole, has an idea to send her to the Florida Keys to profile a rescue swimmer in the Coast guard. The catch - the rescue swimmer, Hutch ,is Cole’s s estranged brother, and since Katie can’t swim, she isn’t exactly qualified for the job.

I have been a been a big fan of Katherine Center in the past, but her newest book fell flat. It’s a rom com that truly isn’t funny or romantic Additionally, Katie has significant body positivity issues, and this was a main focus of the book. I can’t imagine too many women sitting around the pool, the beach or lake, and wanting to read about another woman’s body issues. For me, this was a huge miss. That said, I know many women will want to read this one, so we’ll buy it. I’m eagerly awaiting her next book, hoping she can rebound from The Love Haters.

Thank you NetGalley, Katherine Center, and Macmillan Audio for granting me access to this audio in exchange for an honest review. Patti Murin’s narration was truly exceptional!

Amazing! Katherine Center continues to understand the assignment-there’s a reason she’s one of my favorite authors! Every one of her books holds a special place in my heart, and this one is no exception. I know I say this every time, but this is my new favorite… until the next one comes out, 😂.

Center masterfully handles deeply emotional and sensitive topics with just the right balance of love, joy, and humor. The Love Haters is so much more than a romance! it’s about honesty, facing our fears, self-acceptance, and, most of all, love!

As with all of Katherine Center’s books, I wish I could go back and experience it for the first time all over again. I wholeheartedly recommend this book and it deserves all the stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ !!!!!

“The Love Haters” is a delightful addition to the Katherine Center’s literary universe. As an avid reader of hers since “Things You Save in a Fire,” I’ve always been captivated by her storytelling.

While my personal favorites remain the previous novel and “Hello Stranger,” “The Love Haters” struck a perfect balance as a middle-of-the-road romance. It’s a heartwarming and indulgent tale of love with a touch of unnecessary conflict and a lovable dog. What more could you possibly want in a romance novel?

While this book may not have left a profound impact on me, it certainly brought me a sense of joy and entertainment.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy. 💖

I loved nearly every second of listening to The Love Haters. Patti Murrin does an amazing job of bringing Center's story to life and drawing us into the lives of Katie and Hutch (and Aunt Rue!) On top of the evolving relationship between our two MCs, I enjoyed the arc of Katie learning to love herself, too, even though all of her negative talk of body image at the beginning bothered me a little bit. On top of the relationship stories, I enjoyed the descriptions of Key West, the charming ladies revolving around Rue, and the Coast Guard shout-outs. This was the perfect book to get me hyped for summer reading recommendations and I look forward to recommending it for months! Thank you to Macmillan Audio for St. Martins and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 4.5 stars

First , the audio was fenomenal. I enjoyed a lot and the narrators did a great job in it .
Now the story, this was beyond cute and adorable, omg 😱. I loved this story. I adore that is this two people finding their way back to being themselves and their journey. The romance was cute and relatable. I love all the ild ladies meddling and trying to work their magic on this two . Overall it was a fun , funny and heartfelt book and totally love it .

I really enjoyed this book! Katie’s body image struggles and self-love journey were relatable and added depth to her relationship with Hutch. However, my favorite moments by far were the funny and heartfelt interactions between Katie and Hutch’s aunt, Rue, along with the time spent with Hutch’s dog, George Bailey.

That said, I felt like the pacing towards the end seemed off. I also wasn’t a fan of Cole’s character; the drama he created between him and his brother felt forced, and I believe there were better ways to move the plot forward.

I did listen to the audiobook, which kept me engaged all the way through. Patti Murin did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life.

Overall, I recommend The Love Haters to anyone looking for a quick rom-com to read this summer!

What to Expect:
🌺 forced proximity
🌺 0/5 spice
🌺 found family
🌺 lovable doggo 🐶

⚠️CW: eating disorder, body image, body shaming⚠️

A huge thank you to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Thank you so much to Netgally for the audiobook ARC of ‘The Love Haters’ by Katherine Center!

This was my first read by Katherine Center despite owning multiple copies of her books and I could not have experienced a better first impression of Center! This book was such a fun concept and the absolute perfect summer read!

This was such a fast paced story with the perfect amount of literary fiction and romantic mix. There were heartwarming scenes, funny family drama, and amazing friendships!

The only parts that made me doc it a star was the fact that the brothers fight did seem a little immature and underdeveloped at certain times. It felt very unrealistic that two grown adult men would react the way they did after reuniting after years apart. I also felt like the body imagine issues took up too much time at certain parts of the text!

Sweet romance set in Key West. Katie takes an assignment hoping to save her job and meets Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hutch, his "aunt" Rue, and her group of elderly girlfriends. I loved the inclusion of Hutch's Great Dane named George Bailey! Unfortunately, the attraction between the male and female leads was underdeveloped. I did think the beginning spent too much time on Katie's body image and lack of self-confidence, although it continued to impact the plot. Once they began evacuating for a hurricane, it became predictable but still had a sweet ending.

There is a lot of hate being thrown out already for this book and it is mindblowing to me, but to each their own. This is only my 3rd book to read by Center, and I just love her writing. Her FMC is funny, relatable, and vulnerable. Katie grew up in a household where she was made to feel insecure, so in a lot of this story, we see those insecurities come out and see her work through some of them. As we dig into her story we also are digging into Hutch's story. Hutch is our MMC, though this is told through Katie's POV entirely. she is sent to Florida to do a story on Hutch, who famously rescued Jennifer Aniston's dog and is in the Coast Guard. Katie was sent to make a promo/recruitment video for the Coast Guard, and this left her in the Florida Keys for about a month to research and make videos about the rescues that the Coast Guard does. Katie is sent to do the project because her coworker doesn't want to be around Hutch, and that's because it's his brother and they had a falling out. So she is staying with Hutch's aunt Rue. Rue is a sweet older lady with eccentric tastes and a big heart. Plus, the narrator is amazing and brings everyone to life in such a spectacular way.
What I especially like about Center's books is that not only do we have our main romance plot we also have underlying themes. This one is not only a story about finding love, but different kinds of love, love of your friends, family, dogs, and especially yourself. Center doesn't shy away from the hard things but she does approach them with some humor. I laughed a lot while reading this; I also cried, though I desperately tried not to. I think a lot of people with relate to Katie and her steps in learning to love herself, especially living in a society that tears her down. It can be hard for people to see their beauty when the world is telling us what all of our imperfections are. I think the author's notes are almost as good as the book itself, where Center talks about her inspiration, how important romance books are, and the introspection and happiness that the genre can bring. I know I love to disappear into a book and this one made me very happy.

As per usual, Center writes an emotional, relatable love story. I couldn’t help but fall a little in love myself with our MMC and FMC. I wanted to shake all the negative body image out of our FMC for basically the entirety of the book, but I’m glad our MMC was there to do it for me. The family drama is tiny bit far fetched, but within the context of the story you can understand and excuse it. The premise is fun. And the execution is genuine and enjoyable. I devoured this in one sitting. Would highly recommend as a fun summer read.

A Katherine Center book set in my favorite place in the world? I truly couldn’t resist if I wanted to! This is a love story about a filmmaker and a rescue swimmer, but also a love story about a woman learning to love herself. Katie has been sent to Key West to make a promotional video for the Coast Guard and her subject, Hutch, is the definition of a hero and happens to be a scientifically perfect specimen of a man. She can’t help getting close to him during the interview process, despite complicating factors like not knowing how to swim and her boss’ ulterior motives.

Watching Katie learn to love her body when society and important people in her life have made her hate it was incredibly powerful and I’ll be revisiting those bookmarks a lot in the future! Reading about her falling in love with the keys and with Hutch was honestly just icing on the cake.

The audio was also excellent and I’ll be looking out for this narrator in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the advance audiobook of The Love Haters by Katherine Center. I was really excited to dive into another one of Katherine's novels. The narrator of the audiobook did a nice job. Unfortunately, this storyline didn't quite live up to my expectations. At around the 50% mark, I found the plot to be more engaging and enjoyed the developing relationship between Hutch and Katie. I think getting to hear more about Hutch's past made me more invested in his storyline. However, I was disappointed by the focus on Katie's body insecurities, which felt like an unnecessary addition to the story and took away from the storyline. The ending also seemed a little wild for me, and it felt more of a Hallmark Film. While this book wasn’t my favorite, it won't deter me from reading more of Katherine's work in the future.

AHHHHHHHH so good. Nothing like a friendly broody hero MMC. I’d love to meet a Hutch of my own. This is filled with twist and turns and omg! Cole and Sully?!

Another good read from Katherine Center. While this wasn’t my favorite Center book it was still well done. Great characters and a good plot. While predictable, an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and alc.

The Love Haters may be my favorite novel by Katherine Center yet (or at least right up there with The Bodyguard!). I loved this story and the characters so much!! Let me tell you...be prepared to swoon!!! Patti Murin is back with another fabulous job as the books narrator, and I hope she continues to narrate many more books by Katherine Center to come. Did I mention how fabulous she is?? Overall, I could write an essay about how much I loved this book and I think everyone should add it to their must read list for the summer of 2025! I can't wait for Katherine's next book!

I can always count on Katherine Center to deliver a book with incredible love stories. Her books are full of the most unexpected plot lines and I devour them every single time.

Rating - 3.75/5 stars!
Katie Vaughn is down bad. She’s fighting for a job at her mid-level company as a video producer, still reeling from her ex-fiancé’s betrayal, and her confidence is basically nonexistent. But when a career-saving opportunity sends her to Key West to profile Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson—a hunky Coast Guard swimmer (hello, sir), things start to get interesting.

What I Loved:
- A kooky auntie subplot? Say less. This book was full of fun, chaotic energy, and I was here for it.
- A matchmaking Great Dane that keeps pushing the MCs together? ICONIC.
-The setting—Key West! I took a girls' trip there recently, and it was so fun to be transported back.
- You can tell Katherine Center did her research on the Coast Guard—I actually learned so much.

Katie as an MC:
She struggles with body image—something many of us can relate to—but I appreciated that by the end, she found a sense of self-acceptance.

Katherine Center's Writing:
I loved the premise of this book. It had so much potential with the storyline. But I found it to be very choppy from scene-to-scene. I always felt like I was missing information because the picture hadn't been painted - just retold. I have only read The Bodyguard from KC so I can't be sure if this was book specific or it's just her way of storytelling.

Final Thoughts:
This was an easy, fast-paced read—perfect for the beach with a drink in hand. Fun and flirty!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an ARC of this book. It publishes May 20th, 2025! (less)

This was everything I expect from a Katherine Center love story. We have our two flawed characters brought together in a unique situation that is well written and well researched, an interesting band of side characters, and something crazy and traumatic (for me) happening at around the 80% mark. I was genuinely so freaked out during the hurricane for the FMC, the dog, and the toad!
My issues are first of all, with how quickly the "Gals" fell in love with our FMC, it didn't feel natural or earned and instead came across as too convenient, I would have liked some more steps in building that relationship and secondly with her not immediately correcting Cole when he arrives, it didn't feel believable for the character in the slightest.
Overall I enjoyed this story from start to finish, and will continue to devour everything she writes.

Katherine Center has quickly turned into one of my must read authors, and Love Haters is another book that just solidifies that! This book had me laughing, swooning, and tearing up in all the best ways.

Katie Vaughn’s career is on the brink, and her only shot at saving it is profiling Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson in Key West. But this gig comes with a few complications! For one, she can’t swim, and her coworker Cole (who got her the job) is Hutch’s estranged brother!

Katie’s journey from self-doubt to self-love was so relatable, and her banter with Hutch was the cutest! Throw in a lovable dog named George Bailey, an eccentric but endearing family, and the Key West setting that practically feels like a vacation, and you’ve got the perfect feel good read! There’s humor, heart, and just enough drama (hello, hurricane!) to keep you flipping pages!

This is the kind of book that reminds you to be brave, embrace who you are, and maybe even learn to swim! I loved every second of it! And don’t skip over the author’s note at the end! I felt so connected to Katie and her struggle with self image, and hearing Katherine’s reasoning for that part of the story definitely warmed my heart!💚🩷🧡

⚠️This book does contain a little swearing including a couple MA words, but no spicy scenes!

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook, all thoughts and opinions are mine.