Katherine Center has truly perfected the balance of romance/comedy/heavy real life topics and The Rom-Commers is no exception. I get so giddy when I get to read a new book of hers and am always afraid that means I will be disappointed. Well, that hasn't happened yet. I really adored this book from the characters to the setting and highly recommend it if you're a fan of Katherine Center!

Laugh-out-loud moments, witty dialogue, ridiculous situations, romantic tension, and happily-ever-afters– a good romcom will have all this and more. Katherine Center’s newest book, The Rom-Commers, not only checks all of the boxes but goes beyond to make for an incredibly enjoyable read which begs for a film adaptation.

Emma Wheeler is an aspiring screenwriter stuck in a difficult situation when she is offered the chance of a lifetime: ghost writing to help legendary screenwriter Charlie Yates, who just happens to be her idol, overcome a less-than-stellar attempt at his own romantic comedy script. Arrangements are made and shenanigans ensue, leading the reader through a sweet, sassy, and thoroughly readable novel.

As with the author’s previous release, Hello Stranger, this novel is more than a typical romance. Center manages to weave in difficult health issues without overwhelming the reader and detracting from the romantic aspects. Center’s writing is extremely “highlight worthy” and gives the reader some great quotes, including such memorable lines as “She doesn’t know sh*t from a shoelace.”

This book is perfect for any romcom fans and is relatively clean (PG rating). Those who enjoyed Center’s The Bodyguard will appreciate a character crossover as well, though this is a stand-alone book. If you need a great read for your vacation, I highly recommend The Rom-Commers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Absolutely enjoy Katherine Center and her touching yet romantic books. The Rom- Commers was yet another hit!! She can always seems to satisfy all the feels in all her books. Highly recommend this upcoming title, for I enjoyed the development of characters and storyline.

I knew as soon as I saw Katherine Center’s name that I had to read this book! I liked the first two thirds of this book but I loved the last third!! The beginning and middle were kind of slow and I got a little bored but I knew that Center wouldn’t disappoint with the ending and I was right. I loved all the character development and all the characters were lovable, except for TJ. Overall a great read!

I was a little nervous about this book when I received the eARC. I had only read one other book by this author, and while she is widely loved, I didn’t care for that one and hadn’t yet tried again. But I believe that just because one book from a particular author didn’t jive with me doesn’t mean another can’t. Second chances and all that, and I am SO GLAD for that second chance. This was such a delightful read!

I loved the characters (both main characters and side characters), the banter, the witty writing and the nuggets of wisdom. It’s such a hopeful book, full of heart, light, and healing, it’s like a therapy session in a book. It hit me in the feels multiple times but made me laugh out loud just as often, if not more often. I enjoyed the way Emma’s POV broke the 4th wall, talking straight to the reader. I found her likable if a little immature toward the end, but she redeemed herself for the most part. Watching Charlie’s arc from pessimistic, jaded Hollywood type to head over heels in love marshmallow was just so good. He started out as a bit of a jerk, but I think Center did a great job illustrating that as a coping mechanism.

Also, I loved that the two main characters were writers. For any word geeks out there, you’ll love this. It reminded me of Book Lovers by Emily Henry a bit in this respect. Where that was a book for book lovers, this book has writing for writers, if that makes sense.

If you enjoy clean, sweet romcoms with a hopeful message, put this on your list!

I enjoyed this story about Emma Wheeler who gets the chance to team up with her screenwriter idol to work together on his screenplay. I really liked the story overall. At times though, I wanted to bang my head against a wall at how clueless Emma and Charlie both were regarding their relationship. They just needed to communicate! But overall, an enjoyable read.

I did enjoy this but I felt there were some parts that did not work for me. I thought Charlie was low key pretty mean to Emma. I felt like he said some things that were totally out of pocket and I was questioning what she saw in him. There were definitely enjoyable parts that had me smiling.

Charlie and Emma are the most adorable characters, but still have their flaws that they need to overcome. Their interactions are just the cutest, you'll be swooning one moment, and then frustrated by their decisions the next.

I ended up listening to the audiobook for this one and the narrator was absolutely perfect for this book!

Probably Katherine Center's best book yet!

(I do think Emma owes Sylvie an apology as well!)

This book was a fun and heart warming read! I definitely found myself staying up late to find out what happened next!

[Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.]

I really adored this book. The story had me laughing, crying, smiling... I was emotionally all over the place and I never knew what would happen next. Center made what could have been a simple rom-com into something so complex and beautiful.

This is a single POV, through Emma. Throughout the book, we learn about the tragedies and suffering each character has experienced but it's done slowly over time, with little pieces here and there. Emma is very much telling her story (she's an aspiring screenwriter, after all!) but it feels like she's talking to you as if you were close friends. It's done in such a way that reels you into the story.

Every character (minus T.J.) was charming. They show how many ways grief can change people. Emma was easy to love but it took me a little bit to warm up to Charlie. By the end, you're really rooting for him and Emma.

I do think the ending could frustrate some people but at the same time, Center/Emma told us very early what the ingredients of a rom-com were.

You NEED to read this book. I read it within 24 hours. I could NOT put it down.

It's cute, heart-felt, romantic, emotional... all the elements you want in the perfect romance are in this book!

Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am convinced that Katherine Center cannot write a romance without an overarching medical theme in the background that ultimately leads the characters and controls most of their actions.

With that being said this one was a little bit less heavy than the past couple it's not effecting the budding couple directly and instead in a more indirect way. So grain of salt with my conviction.

This was a cute close-proximity, enemies to lovers troupe and the language was appropriate without being over the top. A quick summer read with the classic third act break up that seems insurmountable and then alas everything is fine because the characters overreacted.

My only comments to change would be the over the top, and then, and then, and then after the conclusion of the conflict. It was the epilogue that never stopped going. I think this one would have been better left to the reader to interpret without continuing to go on and on

As a general rule, I love Katherine Center's novels. They are full of humor and heart, with endearing characters who usually have obstacles of their own to overcome before they can find their way to love.

This one has some of the elements of a typical great novel of Katherine Center's, but they did not all combine the way they usually do for me. Emma and Charlie, the protagonist screenwriters, are both quietly suffering from the effects of their own individual sad back stories. As a result, it is not easy for them to start a new chapter with each other, literally and metaphorically.

Charlie, in particular, is tough to like initially. He is mean and dismissive of Emma at different points. She seems to just keep trying to write the rom com script with him, despite his off-putting attitude. They eventually start to find a rhythm together.

For whatever reason, this rom com just struck me as not as fun as Katherine Center's others. At the same time, I devoured the last half of the book in one night, staying up late to find out what happened. I think the bar is just so high in my mind for her books, that it is not always possible to reach it.

This is overall a worthwhile read and I will be certain to pick up anything Katherine Center publishes in the future. Thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital review copy.

I was excited to get this as a read now on NetGalley and absolutely devoured and loved the first half of this book. The analysis of what defines a romcom was so fun, and I enjoyed all the movie industry talk. The first half was fun, funny, and unputdownable.

The premise was good—struggling writer gets a six week job revising a romcom script with a legendary screenwriter, who doesn’t believe in love. It felt like the author didn’t know where to go once the basic set up was established. I hated the reasoning at the end that’s revealed for why the male lead acted the way he did. The female lead shouldn’t have let him get away with all the things he said to or about her. I can’t reveal more without spoilers, but I think there could’ve been a different third act conflict that would have made for a more satisfying and romantic story than what we got.

I feel like Katherine Center has started writing the same characters and themes in each of her books—just with a different plot. Some may like that as kind of a comfort cozy read where you know what to expect, but it’s becoming frustrating for me. Why is the female lead always a doormat who gets into the cringiest situations and reads like a cartoon character? Why is there always some crazy medical condition? Why is there always some kind of extremely superficial and one dimensional “villain” character who never really contributes much to the plot? Why is the theme always about finding joy in the midst of tragedy/loss/life? I know she’s capable of more. I’ve seen this in Happiness for Beginners, The Bodyguard, and Things You Save in a Fire.

Overall, this was just ok to me. If you love all of Katherine Center’s books, then I think you’ll love this one too. It was a quick read that was pretty fun for a while.

3.5-3.75

this was such a cute and interesting concept. i really do enjoy katherine center’s books and have fun reading them and am so grateful to have this be the second ARC i’ve received from her. i am still intrigued and wanna read more of her older books, however, besides these ones in this era that are sorta interlocked and with these kind of covers ! <3

overall, i was pretty interested in the main characters. i’m not really sure how to describe the aspects i didn’t like but i feel like they shined more in the last 1/3 of the book. i had less fun or interest in reading this book at that time. it was also just something with the characterization of the characters and more stuff we got revealed and repeated in that section.

however, i really enjoyed this book ! thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc :)

As someone who has always just been lukewarm on Katherine Center I was utterly charmed by The Rom Commers.

The banter! *standing ovation

I could not get enough of these two characters the dialogue was snappy, fun, quick, both characters so deeply loveable. I adored their journey and the messages delivered.

A fave romance of the year.

Emma - a selfless daughter and a somewhat failed screen writer- meets Charlie- the darling boy of Hollywood screen writers. Together they will write the next great rom-com! Maybe. If Charlie accepts her help.

I loved the friends to lovers vibe and the quirkiness of each of the characters. I’m convinced every man needs a pet guinea pig and every woman needs a strawberry hoody- without these two accessories there is no success. KC has the amazing ability to write characters you feel like you know or could meet on the street and I love that about her books.

This book was really cute. An overall fun read! I enjoyed the references and cameo from The Bodyguard! I loved the dynamic between Emma and Charlie too. I highly recommend this one! 🩷⭐⭐⭐⭐

Katherine Center has done it again. She is a go-to for me and I always like her books and occasionally I love them. This one is a solid strong good for me. I love how there is always real life situations/drama with romance that builds.. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The ROM Commers

By Katherine Center

This might be my favorite Katherine Center book yet, and I have loved all of the other ones!

Two screenwriters are forced into the same house… to write a romcom together… what could possibly go right?

A few twists and turns within the story allows for growth, movement, and excitement in the story. Yet it all ties up neatly at the end - just like a romcom should, right Katherine?

Very clever and snarky banter, I devoured it in a day.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This is a review of an ARC. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.