The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

Katherine Center is an auto buy author for me. She writes books that simultaneously make you laugh and make you feel. The Rom-Commers is the perfect example of this and may be her best work yet. Our leading lady Emma Wheeler - romance lover and dutiful daughter - has spent the last nine years putting her screenwriting career on hold to provide around the clock care for her father. When the opportunity to write a romcom with THE Charlie Yates is presented to her and coincides with her sister being available to takeover the caregiving, she flies to LA with the goal to make her dream a reality. What happens next is a chain of events that neither of them expected and poses the question of what a romantic comedy really is, do love stories even matter, and are big romantic gestures the peak of all romcoms?

Read this book if you like:
-grumpy x sunshine
-one liners
-LOL funny
-pet guinea pig
-forced proximity

The Rom-Commers will be released June 11th and if it is not already on your tbr, it should be!

Thank you Netgalley & St Martin's Press for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! I absolutely LOVED this. I had a big cheesy smile on my face, especially for the last 15%. Every character is so likeable, which was really refreshing & a joy to read.

Emma is a wannabe screenwriter, but she's had to take care of her dad for the last 10 years, so she hasn't had much of a chance to try. An incredible opportunity lands in her lap - to rewrite a rom-com script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates (her personal writing god). Once she reads the script, she realizes it's awful. And one thing she knows is rom-coms. What happens between the two is nothing less than heartfelt, awkward, & funny.

Emma & Charlie are so clearly both super nerds, & it shows in their banter together. I loved it so much! The chemistry between them really shines through & even though it starts out rocky at first, even then you can feel something between them. I love a forced proximity trope - so if you love this, & you love rom-coms, don't hesitate to snag this one.

The Rom-Commers releases June 11th! 😍

Honestly, I would LOVE to see this book made into a movie. It was just so. much. FUN!

This is a book about two writers writing a Romcom script based on a fictional cult classic Romcom while simultaneously living a Romcom.

It has forced proximity. It has reluctant allies to reluctant lovers. It has Meryl Streep. It has cuteness and grumpiness overload. It has so much heart and healing together. It's just a beautiful story.

The FMC is HILARIOUS. Well, they both are, but I love her first person PoV. It cracks me up 😆


Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review is voluntarily written and the thoughts and opinions contained in this review are my own.

Katherine Center can do no wrong. Her writing is exquisite; the love and the trauma feel real.

Personally, I could have used a soft-tissue sarcoma trigger warning as that was what killed my father after it spread to his lungs. Other than that, there is not a single fault with this storyline.

Girl gets amazing opportunity to work with her hero but they say you shouldn't meet your heroes.

Boy behaves badly, redeems himself, and does it again.

Both characters are haunted by their personal trauma.

Can they end up together in spite of their pasts?

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Anytime Katherine Center releases a new book, I immediately need to read it, and the Rom-Commers did not disappoint! The story follows Emma, a screenwriter who is currently failing in her career, and Charlie, a renowned screenwriter. When Charlie is forced to write a romantic comedy, Emma is hired to move in with Charlie for six weeks to help him write the movie. When she gets there, she finds out that Charlie hates romantic comedies. Luckily, she has a plan to rehabilitate Charlie's rom-com and his view of romantic comedies and love in general. During the next six weeks, Charlie and Emma grow closer as Emma works tirelessly to change Charlie's view on life (and romance) until they both realize they've jump into the deep end (and not of Charlie's giant swimming pool).

This book's dialogue really shines. You can imagine clearly Charlie and Emma's dynamic through Center's dialogue. The book is laugh-out-loud funny while also emotionally poignant. Emma comes from sickness and tragedy in her family while Charlie has recovered from cancer and a painful divorce. They meet each other and make each other better--what more can you ask for? This book is an exceptional rom-com.

Emma Wheeler has always wanted to be a screenwriter. She fangirls over award-winning writers whose work she idolizes. After college she was offered a writing opportunity but had to turn it down because she needed to care for her father. That lead to Emma staying with her widowed, disabled dad and becoming his caregiver.

Now Emma is being given a chance to help her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, fix an abysmal script. Charlie is a renowned writer who has won many awards. However, he is not a romance or rom-com writer and his attempt to create one is a monumental failure. He has been forced to write in a genre he clearly doesn’t understand and his agent (a friend of Emma’s) thinks Emma is the perfect partner to rescue the script.

As expected, Emma is not welcome as a co-writer. She’s a nobody, a college instructor who failed at pursuing her dream. But maybe there is something she can teach him and she is determined to prove that romance writing has value and is worth getting right.

Emma is adorable. Charlie is pompous and condescending. They are both smart and appreciate the value of good writing. To begin their collaboration, Emma must first be brutally honest with the famous writer and he must listen as his work gets trashed. Things start off rather rocky and yet the focus is on fixing the script. Center uses the plot to put forward a defense of romance writing. It’s clever and fun, a delightful read.
3.5*

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martins publishing for the ARC of The Rom-Commers.

As a hopeless romantic myself but someone who is not a fan of watching RomComs - the whole time I read this book all I could think of was “this would make such a great movie, one I would watch over and over again.”

I see so much of myself in Emma and fell in love with her character instantly. The chemistry between Emma and Charlie was relatable and I was rooting for them from the moment Emma arrived in LA.

This was my first book by Katherine Center and I am really looking forward to reading more from her.

Emma is a writer who has sacrificed her dreams so that she can be her father's caretaker. She receives a phone call from an old friend and agrees to go to LA to assist her favorite writer in re-writing a screen play. Charlie is a writer who has had his own struggles in the 5 years prior to meeting Emma and has been unable to write anything for 5 years. Charlie and Emma work alongside each other for the re-write. The closer Emma gets to Charlie and tries to prove him wrong, the more she ends up proving him right about the nature of romantic moments. Will they be able to find a way to be together despite all of their circumstances that are working to keep them apart?

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I love the way that Katherine Center was able to accurately portray the emotional and physical stressors that come with being a caretaker and how that can affect your life. It was fulfilling to read about Emma finding her happily ever after despite the tragic events she had experienced in her life and that she still hoped for happiness. The banter between Emma and Charlie was fast paced and so genuine, I felt like I was witnessing the tension between the two of them. Charlie was an interesting character. His past and present issues are revealed slowly and it made getting to know him more fulfilling. He is complex and his feelings for Emma are sometimes more obvious to the reader than to her. The connection to Jack Stapleton and The Bodyguard was the cherry on top! Already looking forward to starting from the beginning and reading again!

I was disappointed in this one. As a fan of Center’s other novels this one was lacking in romance. I didn’t feel Emma and Charlie had any chemistry. Emma seemed immature and annoyed me for most of the book. There were some over the top almost death scenarios like the car and diving board incidents that I feel were unnecessary. I enjoyed the screen writing aspects and thought they were interesting as well as the medical struggles of Emma’s dad and Charlie. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a light rom-com with no spice.

I ended up listening to this on audio and honestly, I binged it. Yes it’s all tropes and cheese and yet I loved this love story! The characters were charming and their backstories were great backdrops for learning about grieving, sickness and living life to the fullest. How can you not love love???

This was very funny, but balanced by some truly touching moments. A bit preposterous — but the rom-com-writing-room setting was incredibly fun and it made me laugh out loud a few times. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Also I learned that corduroy pants are measured in “wales” (the thickness of the lines), which I had to google after the MMC’s wide-waled pants were mentioned multiple times.

Heres the thing. Would I read Katherine Center's grocery list? Yes. I absolutely would. I loved this book. It absolutely lived up to my hopes and dreams. I loved the characters, I loved the plot, the banter, the love. It was funny, heart warming and made my heart happy. Highly recommend this one for any Katherine Center fans

After not loving Katherine Center's last couple of releases (sorry!), this felt like a total return to form for me. I laughed out loud, I cried and I fell absolutely in love with both main characters in this delightful novel. The banter and dialogue throughout was great, and I also loved all of our secondary characters (Dad! Lance! Sylvie!). Highly, highly recommend this one - a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy!

“There are endless human stories, but they all end the same way, so it can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there.”

Katherine Center has written another story that absolutely charmed me! It was funny, witty, and had me frequently laughing out loud. The romance between Emma and Charlie was a delight, but also had a lot of emotion and depth to it. I loved the way the story pays homage to romance and romantic comedy.

Emma Wheeler is an aspiring screenwriter whose career hasn’t taken off, as she’s the dedicated caregiver for her father who needs round the clock care.

When her idol, Charlie Yates, writes a screenplay for a romcom that is truly terrible, Emma is offered a chance to help him rewrite it. Her sister steps in to help out, and Emma is off to California.

The dynamic between these two is just so much fun! While Emma is someone you immediately fall in love with, Charlie takes a while to grow on you. But it’s not long before you realize how wonderful he really is.

Being so cynical about love and relationships, writing rom-coms isn’t his forte, but exploring what romance truly is with Emma, and being around this smart, caring, and fascinating woman, wakes up some deep feelings in Charlie and a realization about the beauty of romance—real and fictional.

Through this gem of a romantic comedy, Katherine does a beautiful job in asserting the value, hope, and enjoyment a good romance novel can bring to a reader.

If you’ve enjoyed other books by Katherine Center, I think you’re really going to love this one. I certainly did!

Content: divorce, cancer, death of a parent (past event), closed door, infrequent use of strong language.

Many thanks to Katherine Center, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for a digital review copy. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Katherine Center can do no-wrong. She is consistently an instant-buy for me and I just love how readable and enjoyable all of her novels are.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for my #gifted copy of The Rom-Commers!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★★ (ALL★THE★STARS★)

Katherine Center is the author where you think there is no way the next book can beat the last book she wrote. Like no way possible. But then you read the next book…and you are just speechless. How does this woman continue to write the most amazing books with the most amazing characters. Time after time? It just doesn’t make any sense. Katherine Center, you have once again stolen my heart with this one. This one (along with ALL of the books written by Katherine Center) is a must read!

I want to start by saying that it took me a week to read this book. Not because I was not enjoying it or because I was too busy to read it. For reference, it usually takes me 1-2 days max to read a book this size (less if it’s an audiobook). It took me a week because I purposely spaced it out so that I could savor it for as long as possible. I knew I would only have one chance to read this book for the first time, and I am so glad I got to spend a full week with Emma and Charlie.

Emma Wheeler has always wanted to be a screenwriter and loves romantic comedies. She even won a huge contest. But she’s been the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care. But when she gets the chance to help Charlie Yates (YES, THE Charlie Yates), she finds a way adjust some things and gets her sisters to come home to help so she can spend six weeks in LA working with Charlie. Emma could not be more excited to work with Charlie, but when she arrives in LA, Charlie doesn’t seem too thrilled to be working with Emma. He doesn’t even care about the script, he’s just using it to get a different one green-lit. But Emma did not adjust her entire life for nothing, and she is committed to this rom-com. She is determined to convince Charlie that love stories matter, even if that means breaking some rules during the process.

No words will do this one justice. I literally ugly cried so many times while reading this book. And then snorted because I was laughing so hard. I loved Emma and Charlie. Loved them. It’s such a feel good book with so many good messages. While it’s complex, it had the perfect balance of lighthearted moments. Read this book. I promise you will not regret it.

“𝐈 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭... 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫—𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧—𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩, 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦—𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.”

🩷𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲
🩷𝐆𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲 𝐱 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞
🩷𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
🩷𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
🩷𝐀 𝐩𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐠
🩷𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
🩷𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡
🩷𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

**Posted on Instagram - Mini Review-on or around April 24th, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
Posted on Goodreads on April 22, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around June 11, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on April 11, 2024
**-will post on designated date

I have read most of Katherine Center's books. After reading "Happiness for Beginners" I went through her back catalog. She always serves up a refreshing mixture of romance and comedy, and always with a deeper lesson the female protagonist is struggling with. Plus, she can write a very dreamy male MC. "The Rom-Commers" is no different! This story features a screenplay writer who has dedicated a decade of her life to care for her disabled father, but when she has a chance to work with her screenwriting hero, she has work through thoughts of being selfish and taking chances in order to "write her own good story" and maybe find love in the process. Emma and Charlie are both very relatable and fun and the secondary characters (Charlie's Hollywood connections, including actor Jack Stapleton from Center's "The Bodyguard" and Emma's sweet family) are also fully realized. This book is funny and sweet and swoony. I was very happy to be able to read it,

The title tells you what type of book it is, but there is so much more to the story. Great banter! Truly likeable characters. A story you can immerse yourself in and come out the better for it! It has all the feels and so many moments to chuckle along with the characters. My take away from this book is, life is difficult, but surrounding yourself with the right people makes the hardest trials bearable.

"The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center delivers a delightful blend of romance and comedy that is sure to captivate readers. Center crafts a charming narrative that moves at an engaging pace, keeping readers hooked from beginning to end.

One of the standout features of the novel is its lively and witty dialogue, which adds depth to the characters and enhances the overall reading experience. The interactions between the characters feel authentic and relatable, drawing readers into their world.

What sets "The Rom-Commers" apart is its fresh and inventive storyline. Overall, "The Rom-Commers" is a must-read for fans of romantic comedies. With its engaging plot, charming characters, and witty dialogue, it is sure to leave readers with a smile on their face.

Katherine Center’s books always leave me feeling overwhelmed with emotion and inspired in many ways. They have so much heart and depth and I literally could not stop reading for the last fourth of the book. I stayed up until 2am glued to the story. It was gripping and emotional and frustrating and beautiful. I don’t know how she does it. She is brilliant!

The dialogue was amusing and brilliant and flowed so well. It feels so vivid I can almost hear the characters speaking as I’m reading. There were so many hilarious parts.

There is some discussion at the beginning of the book that was really uncomfortable for me and couple moments later that are out of my comfort zone for what I like to read. I also really wish there was not so much language as it puts a damper on the story for me and makes it harder to recommend to everyone.

🔥: Closed Door with innuendo and sexual discussion
CW: Frequent strong language