Katherine Center returns with The Love Haters, a charming, emotionally resonant, and delightfully witty romantic comedy that flips the script on love and rivalry. Known for her ability to blend heartfelt storytelling with lighthearted humor, Center delivers another winner—this time with a clever enemies-to-lovers twist that plays out in an unexpected and refreshing way.

The story centers on Samantha "Sam" Davis, a smart, ambitious woman who's sworn off romance after a string of disappointments. When she’s reluctantly paired with Jack Malone—her childhood nemesis turned infuriatingly attractive co-worker—sparks fly, and not the good kind. Their constant bickering earns them the title of “love haters” among friends and coworkers. But when a twist of fate forces them to fake a romantic connection for the sake of a work event, their banter evolves into something neither expected.

Center excels at crafting characters who feel real, flawed, and fiercely lovable. Sam is equal parts vulnerable and strong, and Jack’s slow-burning charm and depth make him a standout love interest. Their chemistry crackles on the page, but what elevates the novel is its emotional core: Center explores themes of trust, forgiveness, and the courage it takes to open yourself up to love again.

With her signature mix of laugh-out-loud moments, poignant insights, and swoon-worthy romance, The Love Haters is a reminder that sometimes the people who challenge us the most are the ones we need the most. It’s a perfect pick for fans of Emily Henry, Christina Lauren, and anyone who believes love is worth fighting for—even if it starts with a fight.

Rating: 4.5/5
Uplifting, hilarious, and heartfelt—a rom-com with real emotional stakes

My favorite thing about The Love Haters was how layered Katie and Hutch's traumas were, and that it didn't detract from the cute romance aspects of the story. Instead, it was interwoven to create a fluffy yet deep story of love and overcoming personal trauma. I give The Love Haters 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review The Love Haters by Katherine Center. All opinions are my own

Normally, I love reading Center's books. I was just not into this one. The obsession with the main character's weight made it difficult for me to get through it. I found the story lost due to discussions of weight gain and bathing suits.

What can I even say about this book? I LOVED it! Solid 4.5 for me! It was a well
written book, with such relevant subject matter, such as body dysmorphia and grief and it was just *chef's kiss* wonderful! It hits on those forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine tropes (and more
6)).

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

I found myself relating to Katie and her insecurities in so many ways. She was such a likeable, kind person, she just had trouble seeing the positive things about herself. Hutch was the perfect romantic partner for her, even when they didn’t want to admit it. Hutch was a true hero and that works because Katie was too. She didn’t let being afraid stop her. I absolutely loved his dog, George Bailey. He was such a fun, sweet dog that helped Katie and Hutch into several funny situations. His aunt was the sweetest. I admit that I wasn’t fond of Hutch’s brother, Katie’s boss, at first but he redeemed himself. The characters in this book were so much fun in every situation, even when they were feeling emotional or in a dangerous situation. I’ve never read anything by Katherine Center but I’m glad I read this. I can’t wait to read more of her work. She really has a talent at writing a fun story with amazing characters.

Thank you, Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this romcom!

Katherine Center’s ability to make a reader work through a tough topic with humor and a light touch never fails. In The Love Haters, we get a good hard look at what it means to love ourselves – our physical bodies, our worth as individuals, the value of our place in our family and in the world.

The setup in a nutshell: Katie is a junior videographer whose job is on the chopping block. Her coworker Cole, ostensibly trying to help save her job, offers her the chance to film a promo video for the US Coast Guard – “ostensibly” because the subject of the promo is Cole’s estranged brother, Hutch. Add in a hurricane, a rescued Great Dane named George Bailey, the fact that Katie can’t swim (a detail she omitted to get this gig), and the fact that Cole is willing to tell an unlimited number of lies for the sake of self-promotion, not to mention a misguided need to one-up his brother, and you betcha things go south quickly.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, Patti Murin, brought the characters to live flawlessly – and hilariously!

The Love Haters publishes on May 20, 2025, just in time for summer! Get your pre-orders and library holds in now.

Thank you to MacMillian Audio, NetGalley, and author Katherine Center for the complimentary copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

5 stars, hands down. I adored this book. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook! Katie is such a relatable character, her struggles with loving her self were so understandable. It was fun to go on this adventure with her of going to Florida and to film a video about the Coast Guard. I loved the interesting facts in the book and the chemistry she has with Hutch! The MMC, Hutch, is swoon-worthy. He is a coast-guard rescue swimmer, and every part of the book with him in it just made me want to keep reading to keep getting to know Hutch better because he just seems like such a good man. There was one plot point that I wasn't a huge fan of, but I'm glad I kept reading through it because it all worked out in the end. Overall, this was a well-rounded, very enjoyable romance that I devoured in 2 days. I am not typically the kind of person to re-read books, but I will definitely be reading this one again when I am in a reading slump and need a feel-good book.

you really cant go wrong with a Katherine center book. this novel, like all her other works had all the right ingredients for a romance novel. I also really enjoyed seeing a FMC showcase her struggles with her body image, I found the author really treated that topic with as much lightness and realness that she could muster. The narrators were fantastic and I had fun!

𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 ~ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ~ by Katherine Center ~ Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an ARC of this May 20th 2025 (next month) release. K. Center is an auto-buy author for me. I was not a fan of her last book THE ROM COMMERS, so I was ready for this. Before I focus on the book, Katherine Center is the queen of the author’s note because she sounds so genuine in her idea that love stories can change our lives. It makes the whole reading experience mean something more when she awakens that notion and asks it to be part of the reader’s reflection. Hence, with that in mind I will start off by stating the positives: I like the author’s style, I loved the Key West setting, the description of the Oversea Highway was lovely, the break up was fine, the idea of brothers was good, the past trauma was expected and an okay addition, the dog was cute and Rue and the Ladies were excellent. There were also a few quotable phrases or life affirming moments that are a trademark for this author that I related to. However, my biggest problem was Katie, the FMC. Ok, I appreciate the body positivity and self love situation, but it was way too much in this story. It consumed her to the point of being too crippling to believe she could even be doing the other things that she was achieving, so there was no balance in believability. She really started to annoy me and seemed so immature after a while that I was getting aggravated. The love connection was too insta-love, and again, the believability of Hutch as a love-hater was non-existent. I never felt any chemistry between Katie and Hutch except they were both single and in proximity. I heard the self love message at the end which was great, but I never really believed that Katie found that more than we were TOLD she did and TOLD that they found love. Going back for the dog was heartwarming, but the set up for that was more like a slap in the face. Sadly, not as much of a 2 star miss as her last book…. But I am having a tough time rating it too much higher. However, I remain a fan.
⭐⭐⭐ barely making it-stars. (more like 2.75 but there were a few things I really liked in context so…)
𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐥𝐥! 📚♥️

Katie is trying to save her career by convincing the stubborn and selfless Hutch to share one of his heroic rescue stories.
This book should contain a major TW for body-dysmorphia and eating disorder. I'm not triggered by these things, but I know a lot of people are. What actually triggered me, is that the FMC was trying to make us believe that she "practiced" body positivity, and yet she barely talks about anything else than her body and everybody elses. This way of thinking can't be the entire plot, nor can her entire character's personality can be that she's insecure about her body. What could be triggering for some was very annoying for me. What did trigger me, however, is one character insisting that another character drank alcohol. Can we normalize not drinking and minding our business on the matter? I'm even more triggered by the character who folds under the pressure and enters a frigging drinking contest (because that's not the stupidest thing to do). Also, siblings rivalry is one of my least favourite trope. All in all, this one was definitely not for me. I usually adore Katherine Center, but this one is at the very bottom of my list of her books.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Love Haters takes place in Florida as Katie tries to save her job by creating a video profile of a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. The story is covers some heavy subjects such as parental death, parent abandonment, and disordered eating but overall is light and fun. I loved the ending and how the characters grew.

I absolutely loved The Rom-Commers so I was very excited for a new Katherine Center book! It gives the same sweet and sarcastic vibes I was hoping for. My only drawback is that one of the biggest plot points in the story is the main character dealing with body image issues. It just got to the point where it felt a bit overdone. If you can look past that part then I think it is a fun and cute romcom that has some wonderfully sweet moments. I had the chance to listen to the audiobook and I really loved the narrator. All the voices she did for characters were fantastic and I found myself wanting to keep listening even when it was over.

The Love Haters was a fun and captivating Romance, but with Katherine Center as author, you get so much more - more depth, more drama, more reality. Its also a love story of self-acceptance, and a tale of the ups and downs of family relationships.
Key West was a great setting, and the set-up connecting the main characters was exciting., But the Romance didn't come easily, as both main characters are held back by their pasts.
Katherine Center is quickly becoming a go-to author for me!
I listened to this as an Audiobook, and the narration was well a done and captivating.
Thanks to NetGalley and McMillan audio for the advance read (listen).

DNF at 49%. I wanted to DNF a few times, but kept telling myself it's not so bad...it's harmless fun... but when there was a whole annoying endless talk about Katie and her stupid thumb, I was done.

I got the gist of what the author was trying to do with Katie's BFF pointing out/making her realize she's amazing and gaining her confidence in her body image. But it was an annoying way to portray that with both of their characters. I knew that reading a book like this would be lighthearted fun with sprinkled romance, but MC Katie was so unlikable. Cringey at best.

I continued on because I was curious about boy candy Cole, especially he was painted out to be stoic and a tough skin guy. And as much as a romance book this was, we were robbed of how great he could be. Instantly he was nothing like he was painted to be and the insta-love was just a wussy move. Again, it became annoying. Don't promise me a tough guy that would slowly maybe soften by Katie but then made his character a softie after just a few pages. Blech.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5 stars

This book was fun, entertaining, and swoon worthy. Listening to it via audio was a great experience, I really felt transported into the book. The characters were unique and I loved the main FMC and MMC together. Even though their were some hard topics in this storyline, it was still an overall light read. The hard stuff showed real life in all its beauty and what love can do to make the world brighter. Both even each other out and bring the best out of each other. Overall, this is a book I will recommend. I'll also have to grab the beautiful print copy with fun sprayed edges to add to my Katherine Center collection.

Katherine Center has become one of my must-read romance authors. And I think this might be my favourite book yet!

I picked up my ARC after several disappointing reads, hoping this would get me out of my reading slump - and it ended up being a 5-star read! I can't count the number of times I laughed out loud. The characters were sweet, the story was the right amount of romance, humour and heart. What I didn't expect, though, is how much I cried - because of George Bailey. If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was modelled after my own boy! They have almost identical backgrounds, are both large dogs who think they're small, and they have the same temperament My boy would 10/10 carry around toads for fun. He is the ultimate weirdo. And without a doubt, I would turn around in a hurricane to go back to him. I wasn't expecting to be so stressed for the last several chapters! I flew through this one and couldn't put it down. I am officially going to read through all of Katherine Center's backlist, because I am obsessed! I will definitely be grabbing a copy for my bookshelf when this comes out, because I know it will be a reread

The love story between the main female character, Katie, and herself is the star of the show. Having a bestie/cousin that forces her to talk about her body and has helped her rise from the ashes of past eating issues was so well done.

There is also Hutch, a male character who “hates love” but is an absolute amazing person. He always sees the good in people or how to make the most of a situation. He also has a giant Great Dane that thinks he’s a lap dog. The friendship that developed between Hutch and Katie was such an amazing addition to this story.

The Love Haters is a light, beachy listen that blends romance, personal growth, and a splash of adventure. Katherine Center’s signature warmth shines through in this audiobook, especially in the colorful Key West setting and the quirky cast of characters—Hutch’s Aunt Rue and the rescue Great Dane were definite highlights.

The premise has a fun, rom-com feel—Katie faking her way into a job she's not quite qualified for, hiding the fact that she can't swim while profiling a Coast Guard rescue swimmer (who also happens to be her coworker's estranged brother). The setup promises high stakes, humor, and heart—and in many ways, it delivers.

That said, the story didn’t fully sweep me away. Some plot points felt a bit far-fetched (even for a rom-com), and the pacing dragged in places. I also found it hard to connect deeply with Katie at times, especially as the story leaned heavily into the lie she tells about not being able to swim. The romantic tension between Katie and Hutch had its moments, but their connection didn’t always feel fully developed.

Overall, it’s an entertaining listen if you’re in the mood for something breezy with a few heartfelt moments. Just don’t expect it to dive too deep.

2 stars

First off I want to say there is no warning for how prevalent body image issues are in this story. It is THE MAIN PLOT. Throughout the book, it felt like the FMC mentioned her body hatred or her food issues or her past ED on every dang page. This can be incredibly triggering to so many people. Even though it is not a particular trigger for me personally, it was talked about so much that I was getting exhausted by it. I wanted to DNF so many times and I regret that I didn't. The way weight was talked about constantly, it was clear the author is over 50.

There is NO WAY not a single person in the FMCs life never noticed her sectoral heterochromia. I have tiny dots in one of my irises and people who I don't know well have mentioned it so its impossible hers wasn't noticed. And why did nobody ever correct her that her eyes are not hazel but blue?? This is truly the most unbelievable part of the book.

The first 75% of this book is so focused on the FMCs body that the romance felt a bit random. Then the 3rd act conflict is the STUPIDEST situation I have ever read. Let me spoil it for you. The FMC Katie was sent by her boss(?) Cole to do a documentary piece of his Coast Guard brother Hutch. Cole decides to lie and tell Hutch that he and Katie are dating to save her job (?) with their boss who wants to lay people off, yet somehow two people dating means...they won't get fired?? He never tells Katie this plan but convinces her to stick to the lie (hello sexual harassment case) so now Hutch thinks Katie cheated on her boyfriend with his brother? Great plan guys. Then they go to a bar and Cole wants to do a drinking contest and says whoever wins IN THE WHOLE BAR gets to kiss Katie...WHAT THE HELL??? Girl report this man to HR. Some other stuff happens which ends up with Cole hooking up with the boss?? I still don't really understand why she came to FL too. Anyhow when they come clean to Hutch that they aren't together, the guys wrestle in public and this is the second book by this author that two grown ass men wrestle in public and I hate it. Then Katie thought Hutch would just run into her arms? YOU LIED TOO and made him feel like he was stealing his brothers girl. That's insane behavior.

Anyhow she ends up alone on a houseboat in the middle of a hurricane and it sinks. Of course Hutch ends up saving her but at one point he makes her think he is just going to LEAVE HER ALONE IN THE OCEAN WITH A RAFT. Why would you do that to someone in this situation?? Psychopath.

Unfortunately I think this author isn't for me. I've hated 3/5 of the books I've read.

Regarding the audiobook, I do feel the narrator was really good and the production was well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC.

As usual, Katherine Center hits it out of the park! This is a love story, but more importantly, a SELF love story.

Katie is a highly relatable character full of wit and a lack of confidence. In a society that preaches perfection, Katie's struggle with her self image is not only understandable, but deeply recognizable. I loved her journey guided by the most amazing friends.

Speaking of friends... Rue deserves her own book! Loved, loved her.

Also Hutch... ummmm... yes please.