A true winner by a favorite author!

Emma Wheeler is a screenplay writer. She loves romantic comedies and she is amazing at it. Too bad she is not famous. Her career is stagnant due to her personal family troubles. Emma has been the sole caretaker of her father who is unable to live by himself. Emma chose him over her own career. However, now her sister is coming back home after graduating and Emma gets the opportunity of a lifetime. She is asked to "fix" Charlie Yates's new rom-com. She just needs to leave home and fly to LA for six weeks to do it.

Emma has her work cut out for her. Charlie Yates doesn't want help with his rom-com. He only wrote it to be able to get another project approved. He doesn't believe in rom-coms. He doesn't believe in love period. Changing his mind is going to take all of Emma's time.

Will she be able to do it?

I love Emma. She was down-to-earth, half-full-glass type of person. She was sweet and a nice daughter. It took me longer to love Charlie. He was so standoffish at the beginning and it did bother me when he rejected Emma time after time. Yet, I ended up loving him.

Another favorite from Katherine Center. I hope she writes many more.

Cliffhanger: No

5/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one was funny, heartwarming, and the perfect grumpy/sunshine rom com!

Emma catches a break and gets to write with superstar Charlie Yates. The man she ADORES! She quickly learns that he does not feel as lucky as she does and she soon realizes that maybe she shouldn't have flown across the country to work with this rude guy! But Emma Wheeler is NOT a quitter so she works with Charlie to improve his disastrous rom com script.

Charlie does not believe in love or doesn't think it really exists and we get to see how writing together just might change his thoughts on this!

The Rom-Commers is a delightful new offering from much loved author Katherine Center about a blocked, emotionally distant screenwriter and the romance author called in to ghostwrite his terrible manuscript. (According to our heroine rescue-writer, the screenplay is so terrible that terrible is not a terrible enough word to describe it.) Naturally, the screenwriter rejects help from the romance writer whom he deems unqualified. And the romance writer, unrenowned for compelling reasons of her own, steps firmly into the fray. Soon, protective layers between the rom-commers begin to peel off, revealing humanness and humor.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I have so many of the author’s other novels. (Check out my reviews of Hello Stranger and What You Wish For.)

Why do I love Katherine Center novels so much? Partly it’s her characters. But as lovable as her characters are, what brings me back time and again to Katherine Center’s books is voice. There is a continuity of voice in her novels. The writing is flowy, personal, impassioned, and often self-deprecatingly funny.

Katherine Center novels make me feel…dare I say it? Centered. Warm and gooey and centered.

While writing this review, I returned to The Rom-Commers to refresh my memory because I actually love reading books more than I love writing reviews about them. Imagine. And then because of the flow-worthy element of The Rom-Commers, I was caught up all over again and spent that day’s allocated book-review-writing time re-reading. Enter aforementioned warm and gooey sensations. And no regrets.

All of that to say that I loved this book. And you will, too, if you love characters that make you smile and situations that make you think and stories that make you sigh out loud.

I received a copy of The Rom-Commers from NetGalley.

2.5 stars
No one can say I haven’t tried with Katherine Center’s books but I need to give it up. On the surface, I should have loved this book. There were moments where I actually did. Emma was such a great character. Some of her scenes were so emotionally compelling. All the feels! But our main male character, Charlie needed as much of a rewrite as his first draft script. He was a jerk at the beginning of the book and even when we were supposed to be melting for him over the course of the book, his secrets and lies in the last half just made it worse. How can you root for a couple to have a HEA when it’s non-stop toxic behavior?

Let me start by saying I absolutely love Katherine Center. She writes such happy, feel good books and this one is no exception.

In The Rom Commers, Emma’s high school friend sets her up with a gig to help Charlie Yates, big time Hollywood writer, rewrite his most recent project. Charlie is a star with a big ego who doesn’t need help and this doesn’t go over well because Emma had to give up a lot to take on this opportunity.

Emma is everything we love in a Katherine Center protagonist. She is quirky, funny, an underdog, and ultra caring. Charlie has a heart that has been hardened by wounds. I loved these two together. The dialogue between them had me smiling and even laughing out loud. Both characters have flaws and have overcome serious past hurdles.

At times I thought that Charlie got away with mean things he said or did a little bit too easily, but this is my only complaint. Both characters check each other and say things in the heat of the moment which I felt made them relatable. This book has a large overall theme of forgiveness of self and others.

I will absolutely (have already saturated to…) recommend this book to my audience. It is a fun and very sweet read that will leave readers feeling good. Thank you KC for another hit!

Pros: Katherine Center has become a dependable author of rom coms for me, and I thought this book was a fun meta-commentary on and celebration of the rom com genre. One of my favorite things about the author’s books is there is often a Houston setting. I also love when, like in this book and The Bodyguard, she uses the famous person-normal person trope. I especially enjoyed the Jack Stapleton cameo in this book as The Bodyguard is my favorite of the author’s books.

I read this book in both ebook and audiobook formats . . . and accidentally read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I really like when authors use the same narrator for multiple books, and Patti Murin reads Center’s books so well.

Cons: This is not a con but is one thing that puts the book at a disadvantage--I compare all the author’s books to The Bodyguard, and it remains my favorite of hers.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center and SMP for a digital ARC of The Rom-Commers in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a huge Katerine Center fan & was thrilled to have an early listen on The Rom-Commers. And that cover is STUNNING!

I loved this story, although, I was a bit disappointed in one portion of Katherine’s writing that I will get to in a minute.

Emma is a fabulous, but not known, screenwriter who gets the opportunity to help her idol screenwriter, Charlie, rewrite his first ever romance script, which just happens to be the worst script in the history of ever. Emma is stoked, but Charlie, not so much. What makes matters worse is that Charlie is only using this script to get to write a different script that he desperately wants, so he doesn’t even care about.

This was a classic & fabulous enemies to lovers, slow burn rom-com. I will definitely be recommending it as it was a 4/5 Stars for me.

My one & only beef with this book was the tone deaf, stereotyping of people who wear cowboy hat, line dance or just generally give off a Southern feel. I’m from the South. I don’t wear a cowboy hat or line dance, but to stereotype someone who does as a hillbilly was extremely offensive. I don’t offend easily – like hardly ever, but this one really pissed me off. And then to say “that guy rode here on his lawnmower crunching corn nuggets” – Katherine, I love you & I love your books, but this was not funny.

Book Title: The Rom-Commers
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press
Genre: Women’s Fiction. Romance
Pub Date: June 11, 2024
My Rating: 3.7 Stars Rounded up
Pages: 336

Aww although not a romance fan- I am a Katherine Center fan
~BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.”
I have enjoyed her laugh-and-cry out loud books.
She’s the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, and Things You Save in a Fire.

In the Rom-Commers, Emma Wheeler a twenty something English teacher wants to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies.
She’s also been the sole caretaker for her dad, who is only fifty-five but was in an accident that left him with Traumatic Brain injury” and paralyzed on one side.
Emma’s ex-boyfriend Logan is also her agent, and offers her the opportunity she has dreamed of that is to work on a rom-com with a Charlie Yates: the screenwriter she adores. She knows she has to turn it down as she has to care for her father. However, Sylvie her sister just graduated from college is willing to help to take care of her father and even her father wants Emma to take advantage of this amazing opportunity. SO she is off to Hollywood.

When she meets Charlie she discovers that he does not believe in HEA In fact, he swears he will never love anyone; Emma is on a mission to show Charlie that romance isn’t a bad thing.

I love a good audiobook and I did listen to this story. However, Charlie’s swearing as well as sweet Emma’s nasty language got in the way of my enjoyment. The problem with an audiobook is that I cannot ‘unhear the nasty words.
So I found reading this was far more enjoyable as I am able to skip over them and often don’t remember them.
As for HEA- As Emma would say ‘and they built a life together and looked after each other, and made the absolute best of their lives.”
However since there aren’t initials for all of that I’ll stick to HEA knowing it is something you have to work at.

Personal Note: I love to line dance and go to classes three times a week and attend as many dance events as I can so I just loved that Emma went to line-dance classes. In Ms. Center’s Acknowledgements (which I love and it is a story in itself) she gives thanks to her many supporters.
I especially liked that she thanked line dance instructor Britt Beresik of Line Dance Houston for not shaming her in class. I know Britt as she is not only an instructor but a Choreographer as well.

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin's Press for granting me this pleasure of this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 11, 2024

Emma Wheeler always wanted to be a screenplay writer but life got in the way. She has been her father's caretaker for the past decade and has just been given the opportunity to work with her favorite screenplay writer of all time on his new romance script. Her sister insists on taking over their father's care and Emma cannot believe her luck... the only problem is that the screenplay is absolutely terrible.

I really enjoyed this one and really felt for both Emma and Charlie's situations. They were really well developed characters and felt so real, imperfections and all. Katherine Center knows how to draw a reader in and I was totally immersed in this story.

I do, however, have a few critiques. I thought this book was a bit wordy - it often took multiple pages to get to the point. There was a lot of "suspense building" in the writing, but it felt like a ton of "I have something to tell you... I really want to tell you... ok I'm gonna tell you... here it goes..." and it got repetitive at times. I also wish Emma stuck up for herself more when Charlie was being a complete jerk; she often walked the line between being empathetic and a doormat, sometimes crossing over to the wrong side. I also thought she was WAY too harsh on her sister at the end, considering her sister basically just said back to Emma what Emma had said to her, and in my opinion what Emma said was way worse. Yet everyone tiptoed around Emma and thought she was the only one who deserved an apology? That part didn't make sense to me and I wanted more of a mutual apology there. I did love how everything wrapped up in the end, it made my heart happy.

Overall I did really enjoy this one and definitely will be recommending it to all the romance lovers out there! I'll also definitely be adding a copy to my Katherine Center shelf, feels weird to have one without flowers! It's a beautiful cover nonetheless.

4 stars from me. Katherine center will always be an instant read from me. Her last one was a miss for me but I'm happy to say this one is much better. I loved Emma and Charlie's stories and how well developed they were. It wasn't a 5 stars can't put down book for me (like her others have been) but I enjoyed it very much

Katherine Center does it again!!

I absolutely loved this book. Emma was such a perfectly written character for this story, because you can't help but just want the absolute best for someone who gives up 10 years of her life to care for her father and still be as amazing as she is. And Charlie - oooooof - was just as amazing in his own way. He is the character we hate to love at first, and then get the chance to better understand why he is the way he is, and then we actually love to love him!

I knew at some point, as all romances do, that the conflict would break them apart. And yet, I was so into this story, that it hurt so bad when it happened! This speaks to how well written the story is!

I would read this story again in a heart beat. It is such a happy, feel-good story! Definitely a must read!

I absolutely adored this lovely story, it’s a solid 4.75 stars for me. How refreshing is it to simply love and be loved in a completely fantastical and unapologetic manner. I had love Hello Stranger so when I saw this KC title was up for review, I jumped and crossed every finger and toe. I’m so glad that it lived up to the first one and then some for me.

Thank you to @smpromance for my #gifted ALC. This book will be published June 11! Pattti Murrin is a longtime narrator for KC, and she nails this book as well, but I also love that Katherine narrated the epilogue and her author's note!!

Emma is a teacher and aspiring screenwriter, but an accident left her to be her father's caretaker. She is an expert in rom-coms and can quote many line by line. She is called to help ghostwrite for her favorite screenwriter.

I have read all of Katherine's books and she writes just such happy feeling books that put a huge smile on my face! Emma is such an endearing character and I loved seeing her development throughout. I was so excited to see her go after her dreams and be able to lean on others for support. I also loved Charlie's journey to face his fears. Katherine's writing is well paced, witty, full of smile inducing banter, and just so sweet!! This is a heartwarming and delightful story that will put a smile on your face! I also loved the tie-ins to The Bodyguard!

I *wanted* to read this book, but after my Goodreads/Instagram friend Stephanie Howell basically DEMANDED I read this book, I dropped everything and started reading!

And I am so very glad I did!!!

Was this book a romantic comedy? Yes, yes it was.
Was this book a quick read? Yes, yes it was.
Were the main characters likable and fun? Yes, yes they were.
I could go on and on…

This book was SO much fun! Not only did I adore Olive and Charlie, I loved their banter. Katherine Center is not an author I’ve read before but you can bet I’ll be reading whatever she has written and whatever she writes in the future! The book was bright and sunny, family-oriented (what an amazing daughter and sister Olive is!), and it was real. The way the author wrote about feelings - I laughed when they laughed, I cried when they cried, I hurt when they hurt… Get the picture?

I can’t say enough about this book. Read it! #highlyrecommend

Thanks to St. Martins Press for the free galley. All opinions are my own.

As the title suggests, this novel is an outstanding rom-com. If you like improbable scenarios and witty banter, The Rom-Commers is for you. Unexpectedly, what I loved the most is the heroine's relationship with her dad. I found their deep love and the way Emma cared for him incredibly sweet.

Emma is looking for her big break. Charlie is an idolized screenwriter. When Emma and Charlie begin to work together, she realizes this romance writing guru actually doesn’t believe in any of it! Emma sets out to fix the script and also flip the script on Charlie and convince him that true love does exist!

The best grumpy meets sunshine storyline I’ve encountered in a while! 5/5 for Katherine Center’s newest!

Another solid read from Katherine Center! I am on a mission to read every one of her books, so, many thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for a copy of her latest.

The Rom-Commers follows Emma Wheeler as she gets the job opportunity of a lifetime to re-write a screenplay with her favorite screenwriter. Due to a family tragedy, Emma has been at home with her dad for the last decade as his caretaker, and is overjoyed to finally have her chance. But unbeknownst to Emma, the screenwriter she secretly has a crush on, didn’t even know she was on her way to work with him. The story unfolds as Emma and Charlie learn to work together to re-write a rom-com and maybe find their own happy ending.

Katherine Center does an amazing job of balancing the serious and the tragic with lighthearted fun. I think this is why she’s one of my favorite authors. I know I’m going to get a story that will make me think, make me feel, and make me laugh. The Rom-Commers was no exception. It covered family guilt and grief, cancer and divorce, and six foot Italian cowboys giving line dancing instructions. A strange combination that totally works and I can’t wait to read what Katherine Center writes next.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center was a wonderful story. It had all the parts needed to live up to its title. I loved the banter between Emma and Charlie, I couldn’t put this book down. It was heartwarming and endearing and I will definitely recommend it to others!

Emma has been working to become a screenwriter for years, all while being the caretaker for her father after his disastrous fall. Emma loves rom coms. Like LOVES them. So when she gets a call to help her favorite screenwriter try his hand at writing a rom com, she immediately jumps at the chance only to be disappointed when it requires her to be in LA. Her sister does not let her say no however, their dad will be just fine in her hands. Only one problem remains. Charlie does not want her help, doesn’t believe in love, and doesn’t want to fix this script.

Can Katherine Center do any wrong? NOPE. Not even close. This book was as fabulous as we have come to expect from Centers books and I loved every second. I did audio for this one while finishing the library and it was the perfect story to work to. I adored Emma, and even Charlie, though he certainly had some curmudgeonly moments. I really enjoyed following along as they wrote the screenplay, almost faced death, and tried to ignore the chemistry that was sparking between them! This book was so fantastic and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

This was such a fun book! I really loved Emma our protagonist, she was quirky, interesting, and relatable. Taking care of her ailing father for the last ten years made Emma put her life on hold. Now with the chance to write a movie script with none other than Charlie Yates, Emma’s writing talents can shine. Unfortunately, the mega famous screenwriter doesn’t believe in love, leaving Emma to cover more ground and make him believe in the magic of a romcom.

Emma and Charlie had such cute banter, she was super funny, determined to make her dreams finally come true, with a little turbulence on the way. Adorable shenanigans and situations made this book so enjoyable - line dancing, pool diving and a little guinea pig. I loved the cameos from Katherine’s previous book The Bodyguard and overall this was a fantastic spring/summer read!

I loved Patti Murin’s delivery of this book, it was lively and entertaining. She did a great job showcasing Emma’s upbeat personality and Charlie’s gruff but sweet demeanor. The additional bonus chapter and note narrated by the author added a personal touch that I really appreciated!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the review copies - out on June 11th.