When I received the opportunity to read a Katherine Center book, I knew I couldn’t say no.

Emma has been a good daughter for 10 years by giving up her life to take care of her father. When she gets the opportunity to rewrite a script by her favorite screenwriter with her favorite screenwriter, she doesn’t turn down the opportunity. Charlie Yates is well known for creating amazing scripts; however, the romcom he recently wrote is terrible. After a lot of confusion, honest conversations, and yelling, Charlie and Emma decide to write a romcom together.

I loved this book. I don’t even want to say anything else because I would give away the story. I got so invested in this book, I couldn’t put it down. I also never wanted it to end. It was so well written and you are taken on a journey with Emma as she experiences everything. She talks to the reader and takes us long for the ride. It’s a book that made me laugh, cry, and gasp. Katherine Center is an amazing author and this is definitely a must read if you want something that allows you to experience an incredible romance.

I received an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

3.5 rounding up! I really enjoyed the dry humor and banter in The Rom-Commers. I also love a good break in the fourth wall, so those points were fun. I didn't entirely love the romance because I didn't love the MMC in the end. I just kind of felt like Charlie was mean too many times, & he was never like "sorry I was a jerk, it'll never happen again". He was maybe a bit too grumpy for my grumpy sunshine trope loving heart. I did have a good time while actually reading the book, it was more in reflection that I was like- do I even like Charlie?

I’m in awe of the way she tells a story, you will find a difficult story wrapped within but you end the journey with a smile full of hope.

Emma gets a chance to work with her idol Charlie Yates, prodigy screenwriter, helping re-write his disastrous rom-com. Along the way Emma is met with a lot of bumps and walls that Charlie has up. Emma is bright and bold and in love with love and she’s up for the challenge to show Charlie how to create a love story.

I enjoyed how relatable and flawed our main characters were. That they both in their own ways had a lot of self discovery to behold.
The breakdown of learning what goes through a writers head while building a story was fun and had me laughing a long the ways that they took moments from a rom-com movie and put it through real life simulation to make a point.

This is my new favorite KC book. Everything is so well done- from developing characters, to compelling story lines, to the research behind the story. I cried, I laughed, I swooned.

Rom-Commers kept me laughing and entertained through out the entire book! I just love reading the entire story from start to first Katherine Center Has done it again and made me fall in love with a story and characters!

Once again Katherine Center delivers!

Emma is in a rut taking care of her disabled Dad without ever having got to go for her dreams, when her friend Jordan drops the job of her dreams in her lap. Rewrite a romcom script with her ideal Charlie.

With some major shifting and planning in the family dynamic. Emma is on her way to Hollywood. Let the mayhem commence.

Again I find myself happily encompassed by Katherine Centers writing.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this experience.

I love Katherine Center, I really do. But something just felt like it was missing in this book.

Charlie and Emma are both screenwriters, but he is wildly famous and her career never got off the ground. Until one day she gets the chance to work with Charlie (who she is a big fan of) on a rom com screenplay that is laughably terrible.

I enjoyed the slow build of their relationship and the forced proximity of course, but it just didn't feel as warm and fuzzy as other books that I have read by Katherine. Maybe it was how hot and cold Charlie was, or it's something I can't quite put my finger on.

This book read just like a rom com, with the most hilarious moments laced with the best kind of tension. And the moments where she overhears him saying something that upsets her? It was just like I was watching one of my fave movies from the height of the romantic comedy era. Definitely one to check out if you loved those movies like I did!

The right amount of pining, sweetness, banter, sappy you can find
I adored how great the characters were. I loved their romance and angst.
I love everything about it

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center was a book I really enjoyed reading earlier this summer. This book is one of my favorites reads so far for the year, but with my crazy summer schedule, it’s been difficult to take the time to post about how much I loved this book!

This rom-com is about two people who fall in love while writing a rom-com for the big screen. Emma always dreamed of writing screenplays. However, she set that dream aside to take care of her father while her sister was out chasing the dreams of her own. Charlie Yates, on the other hand, is a successful screenwriter. But when he’s tasked with writing a rom-com, he falls short of expectations.l, so through a friend, Emma gets offered the opportunity to help Charlie fix it. The pair start out at odds, with Emma believing in romance and Charlie denying it exists. Eventually, they warm up to each other and open their hearts. Will it be worth the risk? Or will it only end in pain?

Overall, I loved this book. Like many of the other books I read by this author, it was beautiful and sweet, even as the characters healed from their own personal tragedies. All in all, a highly enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

Katherine Center is one of my fave authors and definitely an auto-buy author for me. Within the first 2 chapters, I was already alll the way in and wanted to give the book a hug already. Center writes characters that are so real and characters you definitely root for. I feel like she's the queen of realistic romance (realistic fiction + romance) :) Our main character, Emma, has been a caregiver for her father who has a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury). I thought the TBI representation was great and we also get a sense of what caregiving can look like, especially for young adults caring for a parent. I'm not sure I LOVED Charlie, to be honest, but I loved how Emma put herself out there and SHE loved Charlie. I'm always so happy to pick up Center's books but then immediately sad that it's over. This was excellent in print and on audio!

A rom com about a rom com!!

The Rom-Commers centers around Charlie, a critically acclaimed Hollywood writer, and Emma, an unknown writer, but rom com expert. Charlie's manager, Logan, happens to be an old friend of Emma's and when Charlie writes a dumpster fire of a rom com Logan begs Emma to come to LA to fix it. To do so she has to leave the full time caregiving of her father to her younger sister and make the journey from Texas to California. As she teaches Charlie what makes a good rom com we see each of the classic rom com plot points unfold in their relationship.

The only other Katherine Center book I have read is Hello Stranger and The Rom-Commers similarly tackles some difficult topics without weighing the reader down. It still felt like a light romantic read even though there were some parts that definitely brought tears to my eyes. Overall a very enjoyable read that I will be recommending to all my friends. I will continue to anticipate new releases from Center and will now have to go back and read some of her other works.

Thank you St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy of this book.

ARC Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Being her father’s full-time caregiver has prevented Emma from achieving success as a writer. But when she is given the opportunity to ghost write for one of her heroes, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Will her time in Los Angeles be worth leaving everything she knows and loves, or will it come back to haunt her?

The Rom-Commers is Katherine Center’s latest novel. As a fan of her work I knew I would love whatever she wrote, but was blown away by this story. It is a true five star read with lots of heartfelt and poignant moments that will stay with me forever.

This book features:
-grumpy/ sunshine
-forced proximity
-slow burn
-banter

*Be sure to check trigger warnings before reading. As with all of Center’s books this one touches on heavy subjects such as death, sickness, and grief just to name a few.

Special thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Emma Wheeler, a struggling screenwriter, gets a chance to rewrite a rom-com with her hero, Charlie Yates. Despite Charlie’s initial reluctance, their journey is filled with witty banter and a slow-burn romance.

This love letter to romcoms is one of my favorites of 2024! The Rom-Commers is a wonderful blend of romance and humor. The book explores deeper themes like trauma and family dynamics, adding emotional depth. The supporting characters, especially Emma’s family, and all of the little details enrich the story.

Overall, The Rom-Commers is a delightful read that will make you laugh a lot, cry a little bit, and swoon at the end. It is a must-read for rom-com fans!

This is another winner from Katherine Center! It's a stand-alone book but having read The Bodyguard gives someone a little insight on Charlie's background and his friendship with Jack. I loved the growth of both characters along the way and the wit and charm in their dialog. Katherine's humor and writing just make you feel good and enjoy the story. I read this so fast and wish I could have savoured it more! I love Katherine Center's work and this is another winner for me!

I absolutely love Katherine Center and was super excited for The Rom-Commers!

💕He doesn’t believe in love
💕 Grumpy x sunshine
💕Forced Proximity
💕witty banter
💕Slow burn
💕 Single POV


Trigger warning:
⚠️ cancer

Some of my favorite quotes
“I decided that if I just held on, things would get better. I wasn’t sure how much better, but better. And when you’ve seen worse, better is good enough.”

“Here’s another thing I accidentally figured out: happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”


“Eight weeks ago, I was one of those douchey guys who thought love was made up by Hallmark to sell greeting cards. I thought it was an emotional Ponzi scheme. I thought it was a fiction we’d been tricked into believing by the animators at Disney. And I thought our only hope of escape was to unplug from the Love Matrix and see our true dystopic loveless hellscape for exactly what it was.”

“All I can figure is this: it hurts to be disappointed. It hurts so much, we’d rather never get our hopes up. And it’s humiliating, too—right? How foolish are you to hope for the best? How pathetic is it to try to win after you’ve already lost? How naive must you be if you don’t know that humanity is dark and vicious and totally irredeemable?“

I really loved this book! It tugs at heartstrings and holds a mirror up readers. I hadn't cried this much while reading a book in a hot minute. I was totally thrown for a loop at the love confession, but it all made so much sense. This became a new favorite romance of mine. I will be continuing to read Katherine Center's books!

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I have enjoyed other Katherine Center books but this one missed the mark with me. It felt too slick or cliche or not quite engaging as far as characterization? I can't exactly figure out why I didn't enjoy it as much, other than it didn't engage me and felt quite predictable.

The story is about Emma Wheeler, an aspiring writer who has put her life on hold to take care of her disabled father. She gets the chance of a lifetime from her current agent/ old friend when he gets her a gig doctoring/rewriting a screenplay written by her favorite author. Sparks eventually fly between Emma and Charlie, the writer, but it felt anticlimactic and not believable. I was not entranced by the MMC in this. The premise was cute but for the the execution and story fell flat.

my thanks to netgalley and the publisher. This is my personal opinion.

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: After a decade of putting her life on hold to care for her father, Emma Wheeler gets the opportunity to spend six weeks writing with her favorite screenplay writer.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: To be honest, I didn’t like this one all that much despite normally enjoying Katherine Center’s books. I read this with @theofficialbookbestiesbookclub as our July book club pick, and most of the members loved it.

I still laughed and cried at certain parts - Emma’s family backstory was heartbreaking and realistic in many ways, but maybe I was just too cynical when I read this. I didn’t feel like the relationship felt real enough or had enough chemistry to last beyond a hookup from forced proximity.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
🩷like reading about writers and their writing process
🩷enjoy the forced proximity trope
🩷are here for family drama and the struggles of moving on after a loved one dies

💖I feel like most of bookstagram read this one, so tell me - did you like it? Did you buy into Emma and Charlie’s relationship or do you (like me) think it would’ve been over as soon as the forced proximity timeframe was up?

I want to start this off by saying I'm sorry for writing this as late as I did. I got a new job, fell into a reading slump and just got overwhelmed with ARCs in general. I'm working on catching up on them though. It'll be a slow process but I'll get there. Anyways, on with the review!

This book was a letdown to be honest.
I wanted to like this book. Really I did, it had so much going for it. The plot, the writing, the characters, it had it all. Where it lost me though was mmc. Like bro I couldn't tolerate him at all. He's not the worst mmc I've read (all of Colleen Hoover's men combined take that award unfortunately) but he still wasn't great. I couldn't stand most of the stuff he said to Emma. I could've tolerated it if he went through a banger character arc or something but he just didn't. Like halfway through the book he was still an ass. Ew.
Also Emma kept pressuring him and that just gave me the ick. I will say the ending was pretty good though. Just wish that it had been for a better couple. Overall it was fine but man, Charlie was awful. I will read other books by this author but man I hope the mmcs aren't as insufferable as this one was.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

For many reasons, Center may just not be an author for me. I enjoyed How to Walk Away, but have found almost every book since then either a little problematic or just too squeaky clean. I've continued to try, but I believe I'm just not her target audience. I couldn't abide the fourth wall breaking in this one, and I think I just look for something with a little more heart in my romance.