Thank you to St. Martins Press, Netgalley, and Katherine Center for an Advance copy of The Rom-Commers in exchange for an honest review. Emma (our MC) desperately dreams of being a screenwriter but her ultimate dream is to write Rom Coms. Luckily for her, a friend from her past calls her up to ask her to write a fantastic, award-winning rom com with Charlie Yates. As she heads out to LA, we find out that Charlie didnt know she was coming... chaos ensues but in the best way possible. It was so fun to watch these two work together, explore rom com topics, and just learn how to work together. As always, Center weaves a beautiful story that goes deeper then just a love story. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. If you're a rom com lover, this one needs to be on your summer reading list. You can pick up your own copy of June 25th, 2024!

What a joy! I loved both of these characters SO much and highlighted SO many funny or deeply touching parts in this galley. I do NOT like the cover at ALL. I loved her covers with the flowers on them. These cartoons really give a different vibe from the hard, moving, amazing story here.

Holy cow this was bad. I don't even know everyone. I love most of Center's stuff. But this was so boring and just chemistry free throughout that I kept going why and why throughout it. Also, I straight up started to loathe the main character, Emma Wheeler. She's a martyr and it was exhausting acting like no one could ever have a life and her sister had to give up everything. Shove off Emma. We finally do get tension (between Emma and her sister) but felt like everything was wrapped up too quickly.

"The Rom-Commers" follows Emma Wheeler who gets a once in a chance opportunity to save a script with famous screenwriter, Charlie Yates.

I refuse to even go beyond basics cause the book isn't worth my time. Look, you follow Emma to California and she meets Charlie. He's awful and then quickly reverses himself and then he and Emma "work" on a romance script. It would be funny how though Emma goes through the elements that are needed to make a great rom-com this book was cringe throughout. Emma comes onto Charlie multiple times, he rejects her multiple times. I guessed at the reason, but didn't care because Emma and Charlie have no chemistry. I am going to say this again. This book drags because I didn't care about the HEA which is not great when you are reading a romance. I was indifferent and then hoping it would not happen.

And Center takes too long to reveal things about Emma's father, her mother, etc. The whole book just took too long. I know it wasn't that long, but I felt it.

The flow was just bad. Emma's thoughts started to bug and I didn't care anymore what she said about anything.

The ending was a whatever.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Rom-Commers" and all opinions expressed are my own. I listened to the audiobook. Not one of my favorites by this author, I found the story just ok. I have really enjoyed her past books and I would say she is a go to author for me but this one just miss the mark.

I LOVED this book. It was exactly what I needed and an absolutely perfect story that I hope to someday see turned into a movie. If you want a fun, adorable, quick romantic story - choose this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

I have not been disappointed by a Katherine Center book thus far, and The Rom-Commers was exactly what I expected (in a good way.)

The story of an aspiring screenwriter, Emma, who gets the opportunity to work with her writer hero, Charlie. But Emma has spent the last ten years caring for her father, and putting her dreams to the sideline. Emma moves to LA to work with Charlie, re-writing a bad rom-com that he penned. Charlie may be a great screenwriter, but he is not an expert on rom-coms, and Emma definitely knows this genre. Can she get through to Charlie to embrace the rom-com and the possibility of love?

The book has a lot of what you would expect, but also what you want. It is definitely a bit of that rom-com cliché, but it is the comfort that you expect.

Katherine Center is a go-to author for me. And I loved the nod to The Bodyguard.

I would definitely recommend The Rom-Commers for your summer TBR.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Katherine Center for the ARC of this book! This was my first ever Katherine Center and if you have been around for a bit, you know my bestie LOVES Katherine Center's books and has been trying to get me to pick one up for AGES.

Well thanks to Netgalley, my besties dreams came true LOL

I have to say, I am not a romance reader, I generally am an eye-roller at "cliche" romance stories, and no I am not in any way calling this book cliche. I was actually surprisingly pleased by this book. This book made me feel things which if a book can make me feel emotions, it's a win for me.

I loved the budding relationship between Charlie and Emma and the emotional rollercoaster that this book took me on, really kept me wanting to find time to pick it back up and read again. I definitely have a different view on romance books, especially if they are written by Katherine Center.

Katherine Center does it again.

This novel, about a couple of screen writers, is in itself the perfect rom-com. The characters are real and relatable, the dialogue is honest and witty, and the story was a joy to read.

There's a reason this one already is at a 4.51 rating in Goodreads. Keep it up Katherine Center, will read literally anything you write!

I really enjoyed this grumpy/sunshine romance between two screenwriters who have had wildly different careers. Even though both characters have quite heavy backstories, this felt like a light and funny read. I loved the Hollywood setting, the banter between the main characters, and the wholehearted defense of the power of happy endings (mostly of the fictional variety).

This was my first book by Katerine Center and I look forward to diving into her back catalog. Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Really wanted to like this book, but you can't have a romantic comedy where both protagonists are insufferable. I must say, I liked the concept; the idea of a lesser-known screenwriter working with her admired one on a rom-com script caught my attention. The beginning was okay, but it didn't improve from there.

Starting with Charlie, he's rude, tiresome, and dull, always finding fault with Emma or outright rejecting her. By the time his reasons were explained, it was too late for me; my perspective of him was already low.

Emma, I don't understand her. I genuinely don't understand how she was constantly mistreated yet kept coming back, or how she claimed she'd act indifferent and did the opposite. Couldn't stand her. And what she said to the sister?? Terrible.

Overall, I didn't see any real chemistry between them; it was always awkward or one-sided from Emma, and the back-and-forth was very dull. By the end, I was so tired of them that I even hoped they wouldn't end up together.

I'll come back to this review when the book is officially released to discuss other things with spoilers, but yeah.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

With every book, Katherine Center keeps getting better - How is that possible? Truly loved this book. She truly honored the Rom-Com genre with this one. I loved the set up - the unconditional love of family caring for family. I loved the father's outlook on life (such a realistic portrayal of a parent). Loved that there was no shying away from tragedies that occur in every life in one form or another, balanced with the fantastical romance of it all. This is escapist fiction in its best form - an escape that makes you feel better and helps you face whatever is coming when you close the book. Chef's kiss.

This was the first book I’ve read by Katherine Center and it won’t be my last! I usually run away from books with a Hollywood setting but I learned so much about screenwriting and rom-coms through this one. Emma and Charlie are the perfect grumpy sunshine pairing. Their banter had me pining and at the same time, I wanted to cry for both of them going through so many painful struggles in life! I think I needed a romance that showed me there can be glimmers in life even if there’s a lot of really heavy, unfortunate stuff to deal with too. This story is full of heart and I fell hard for their slow-burn romance. Stylistically, I enjoyed Center’s interjections into the story. It felt very casual and helped the reader get to know Emma like you’re just reminiscing with an old friend.

Alright , this was cute, really cute, loved the book. Enjoy Emma and Charlie immensely. The whole i dont want to write with you to be actually grow into the story is so nice. I like how it developed, and how she had to find her way, the almost ending got me worried and cry a bit , but thanfully everything got resolved 🥳.
Overall very cute rom com

I absolutely loved this book! This is the first book I've read by Katherine Center and I can't wait to add more to my TBR list. She masterfully navigates the balance between emotional and relatable topics while bringing in humour we all know and love in romantic comedies.

Emma Wheeler, a woman with the dreams of becoming a successful screen writer, has put her life on hold to look after her father. After 10 years of putting her life on hold, Emma is given the opportunity of a lifetime to work with her favourite screen writer. Emma works through the pain of her past and finds that it is possible for her to find joy, and potentially even love, and to look after her own needs.

The characters in this book come to life with the author's writing. Emma is a relatable character brought to life with the wonderfully descriptive writing of Katherine Center. I was completely wrapped up in this book and didn't want to put it down. I am so thankful I was given this Advanced Reader Copy in return for an honest review. I highly recommend this book so anyone who love romantic comedies.

Aspiring screenwriter Emma Wheeler gladly gave up some of her dreams to take care of her father after he is never quite the same after a traumatic brain injury. He survived the rock-climbing fall during a family vacation; her mother didn’t. Emma’s guilt (the camping vacation was her idea) has put her life on hold for the past 10 years, raising her younger sister, teaching English at a community college, living at home, not dating, not living. Logan, her high school ex who happens to be a screenwriter’s manager, has been feeding her writing gigs out of his own guilt for breaking up with her in college, but it’s a bit of a shock when he asks her to help ghost-rewrite a terrible draft that Hollywood legend Charlie Yates—THE CHARLIE YATES!—needs to produce so the award-winner can move on to his next pet project. Emma’s newly graduated sister Sylvie agrees to cancel her internship so Emma can have this six-week opportunity of a lifetime, but Charlie is less than enthused when Logan drops off Emma at Charlie’s mansion, with “I’ve brought you a writer.” In spite of his reservations, they click, and manage to work well together. Emma is willing to overlook his threat to Logan that he’s playing along but has no intention to actually take this project seriously. She cooks for him, helps him overcome his fear of water, and gives him crash-course in romance.

I love when novels really have fun with a trope; The Rom-Commers goes brilliantly meta, with Charlie claiming that people literally crashing into one another isn’t fun or sexy—until it happens naturally to them, more than once, and arguing while Emma explains that in a rom-com, the main characters eventually have to stop fighting and fall in love. The insider view of the process of writing is akin to another favorite of mine, The Roughest Draft. For this creative writing major, the writing scenes, obsession over words, passion for and defense of the romance genre, and the breaking of the fourth wall are icing on the proverbial cake, and I didn’t even mind the occasional predictability. Of course when Charlie’s stage directions are a simple “He storms in. They kiss,” Emma has to make him watch hours of best kisses and then offer to kiss him… for science. It turns out their wonderful chemistry isn’t limited to writing. When Emma gets called home for an emergency, is this the end of a beautiful partnership?

As with other Katherine Center novels, medical issues–not just Emma’s dad’s–play a significant role, but it’s the character development that is central to the story. Tiny details like Emma’s dad Etsy shop and Logan’s license plate add to who they are. Charlie’s behavior is mercurial with dash of Kevin Smith and a smattering of warm-cinnamon roll. He tends to tell people what they want to hear, and Emma is disappointed every time she accidently eavesdrops and hears Charlie’s truth, but he is also genuinely kind and kind of quirky himself, (co-parenting a sad guinea pig with his famous ex!) as well as skeptical, bitter, and when it matters, a romantic with the understanding of a grand gesture, after all.

The brisk narrative reminds me a bit of Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy; it’s almost documentarian, moves the narrative at a fast and fluid pace, lends an immediacy to the series of events. I also listened to the audiobook version, and discovered a few details I’d missed the first time around, brought to life by the excellent narration.

I received a free advance reader’s review copies of both the audio and print editions of #TheRom-Commers via #NetGalley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio.

I just loved this book!! I was so excited to get it early, and I had the best time reading it. So so good!!

I love a self-referential rom com and that describes this novel to a T. Female main character Emma Wheeler is a writer, teacher, and unpublished (but very talented) screenwriter who is pretty much as far from Hollywood as possible. She lives in Texas, caring for her father who, after a rock climbing accident, has paralysis on one side of his body and Ménière's disease, meaning he requires 24/7 care. But when her best friend from high school/sort of pro bono agent calls her to offer her the opportunity to work with Charlie Yates, her favorite screenwriter of all time, she coordinates with her younger sister and heads off to LA for 6 weeks to help Charlie fix his, apparently unbelievably horrible, rom com screenplay. The problem is that Charlie doesn't know she's coming, doesn't really want to fix his screenplay, and doesn't want to work with her (or anyone). It turns out that Emma insulting the screenplay is what brings Charlie around, and she ends up staying in his guest room while they try to rehab his remake of It Happened One Night. This was really funny and charming, and I absolutely loved the things that Center did to point out structural elements of the genre that aligned with what was happening in the story. Content warnings for several things: past death of a family member, serious injury of a family member, and cancer. Somehow Center works some magic to balance all that heaviness with enough levity and humor, making this the third book of hers in a row that I've really loved.

Katherine Center’s books are always an auto read for me. I loved most of this book and the story stayed with me for awhile. There were a few things I struggled with around Charlie’s behavior and how he treated Emma (and Emma’s response or lack of response to his behavior). 3.5 for me due to some things that were a little too glossed over for me.

Katherine Center has done it again 🥺

Emma Wheeler is a screenwriter who lives and breathes Rom-Coms. These are her absolute specialty and something she is so passionate about. For 10 years she has been her dad’s full time caretaker after he suffered a terrible accident so her dreams of making it big have been put on hold. Her friend, Logan, offers her the chance of a lifetime to re-write a screenplay by none other than Charlie Yates— Emma’s favorite screenwriter. He only wrote it in order to get another screenplay project approved. The only problem? He wants nothing to do with rewriting it or Emma even though this screenplay was terrible!

Charlie just doesn’t believe in love at all and Emma is the exact opposite, so she has her work cut out for her to change his mind and make him believe!

I just loved every single character. They were quirky, funny, and lovable but also had a lot of depth due to life experiences and current things happening to them. I was so invested in this story from page 1!! It took me a bit to love Charlie but by the end I was obsessed with him! Emma felt like she could be my friend. I LOVE how Katherine always makes you feel like you know the characters!

There was so many funny one liners, swoony scenes while Emma was trying to get Charlie to believe in love, and the grand gestures at the end were just chefs kiss 😭

Also, I loved Cuthbert. You’ll have to read it to find out who that is 😉

A big thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this incredible ARC 🫶🏻

This story was amazing!! This is truly Center’s best work.
First- the pacing and plot make total sense. It’s one of those books you never want to end, but everything in the story has a purpose. She didn’t ramble or not include too much. It was a great length!
Second- the dialogue. The dialogue was so witty and funny! It has real life issues without it weighing down the plot so much that you don’t get to laugh and giggle
Third- the characters. Omg I fell in love with them both. They are both just good people and so much fun to read about. I love love love this book!