#TheRomCommers by @katherinecenter is what I finished listening to today! Many thanks to @macmillan.audio for allowing me to listen to their fabulous production of her work, and for @netgalley allowing me as well to be a member!

**** PEOPLE I LOVED THIS STORY****

I love a story that tells of the process of something, people working on a project, such as : an audiobook or podcast, or in this case: a screenplay. When Emma (who is a complete sweetheart) is called by her agent to work with Charlie Yates (a famous writer/screenplay writer) she is super nervous yet confident that she would help him rewrite a surprisingly bad screenplay. It seems Charlie can make good out of anything except a love topic. Recently divorced he has no mojo for romance. Or so he thinks! I have to say he was one of my least favorite characters because in pushing Emma away, I found him to be so harsh. But mannnnnn when things take a turn!
What I love about Katherine’s particular romcom books is that her characters always have an emotional depth, and she finds a way, even through the tragedies of life, to make her characters be ok in the end. She has these amazing lighthearted banter between the love interests which delights me and makes me literally laugh out loud with the fun of it all, but this one also made me cry. Katherine doesn’t just give you the light, she gives you a bit of the dark just enough to make you engage and root for the MC and becomes hopelessly invested. She shows the intimacy of family life, ripping the bandaid off of bad situations and showing a path to a fix. The scene between Emma and her sister when they had a falling out was brutal, but the forgiveness scene had me crying! I love that her characters find the BEST in themselves and then they GIVE that to their loved ones. It makes me feel hopeful that things that are broke can be glued back together with love and the right words. Maybe. But this is the magic of the romcom - making you laugh, cry, hope, and then it lets you do something that LIFE itself doesn’t always - it lets you put out a huge SIGH of relief!
I’ll always be a fan of Katherine’s humor and the heart of her characters! Coming out June!!

CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE!

Katherine Center has found such a perfect formula for romcoms. They work exactly how you want a story like this to work. Hopeful and silly and melodramatic and filled with characters you can’t help but roll your eyes at while wishing they’d just kiss and confess their love already!

I so thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this and I would highly recommend reading the author’s note. Reading romance is fun and it feels good and there’s nothing low brow or superfluous about it.

When I pick up a Katherine Center book I know I’m going to enjoy it. The Rom-Commers is no exception; I knew by the end of the first chapter this would be a book devoured in a single sitting. The characters are quirky and awkward which fabricates some laugh out loud moments.

Emma Wheeler has a talent for writing, but when tragedy strikes her family she is thrusted into the role of full time caregiver to her father. Now, it’s 10 years later, her younger sister home for the summer, and Emma is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to spend 6 weeks in LA ghostwriting a romcom screenplay with her screenwriter idol. Out of her comfort zone for sure, but this has the potential to change her life. Unfortunately, the screenplay she’s tasked with fixing is worse than terrible, the idolized screenwriter not only doesn’t believe in love but openly dismisses Emma. Emma is a go-getter and manages to find the best in the situation, and who knows…maybe the screenwriter really isn’t so bad?

The tone of this story reads like you’re talking to a friend. It hooks you off the bat and will have you laughing out loud and tearing up. There’s no spice, but the story is very sweet! A 4.75/5 for me 🥰

PS for those who enjoyed The Bodyguard, Jack makes quite a few cameos in this story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

I read this book in 1 day because I was so engrossed in the story of Charlie and Emma...I completely embraced and was enamored with watching their relationship grow.
Stubborn, head strong, yet sweet and charming, Charlie won my heart!
And I could relate so much to Emma always putting everyone else first.
I found watching Charlie fall in love so endearing,..and this book had me laughing...and crying at times.
The side characters of Sylvie, Logan, Emma's Dad, Jack Stapleton and TJ were also entertaining, this book was both a fun, sweet delve into the lives of Hollywood elite, screen writers and a story of getting out of your comfort zone and finding love, and your happy place in this world, but also about moving on from trauma and terrible life events...it balanced the bad with the good perfectly and I loved it!

The Rom-Commers, an ode to the very genre its title pays homage to, is the antithesis of anything romantic and comedic.

I’ve got so many thoughts and I fear none of them are good. There was no aspect to this story other than its originality that I enjoyed, or at the very least, did not completely and utterly detest.

Beyond my feelings as a reader, as a person, there is only so much I can tolerate before I need to stand my ground and say enough is enough. Despite authors being the primary contributors to a story’s conception, it takes a village and it’s time this one got some tough love. Not every person is going to love every book and that’s okay. Not okay is the lack of consideration when it comes to the delicacy of certain topics and the lasting impact they can have on readers. Life doesn’t have trigger warnings, but isn’t that why we read? To escape the unexpected in everyday life? To escape into a world with choice? There are many luxuries in life, and content warnings shouldn’t be one of them. So to all authors, publishers, and individuals alike, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Be mindful of your audience!

Emma Wheeler conforms to the very stereotypes generations of women have spent decades battling. No respectable woman would allow herself to bear claim to the feet of a man who she’s witnessed, on multiple occasions mind you, slander her name. Not just behind her back, but directly to her. I will genuinely never be able to comprehend the pure desperation this girl was radiating. Perhaps the only instance I will ever advocate for bringing back shame! You cannot change a man that does not desire change.

Let’s also dissect her lack of accountability. At her grown age, there is no excuse for the abundance of vitriol toward her sister after the climax of the story. Her lack of a life was due to her lack of communication. She wasn’t resigned to being the sole caretaker of her father, she just subconsciously basked in the savior complex it gave her. She lacks personality because she’s comfortable in her trauma and chooses to bend to its will instead of going to therapy. There comes to be a point where the ‘woe is me’ tone begins to sound more like a way to defend your inability to reflect and grow as an individual.

As for Charlie Yates, he was the catalyst for the feminist movement and you will not convince me otherwise. Should that man escape the confines of fiction, he would actively vote to take away my rights. He must be stopped at any and all costs. Living, breathing proof that all men do is lie, steal, and cheat. He was dragging her by the leash, goodness gracious. Not to mention, the man eats meat by the forkful and I mean that in the most literal sense. That in and of itself is a crime against humanity. If that didn’t deter you, he also eats his cereal with water. It’s 2024 for crying out loud! Why are we still endorsing men who embrace their toxic masculinity and incompetence like it’s a lifestyle to be proud of?

Perhaps it was the structure of the story, but without a dual POV to redeem Charlie, he will always be the antagonist in my book.

Between the two of them, no one is coming out unscathed. There was a lot about their dynamic that just did not sit well with me and it all boiled down to the lack of boundaries. Emma struggled beyond words with consent. While Charlie is by no means a flirtatious person, Emma can’t seem to comprehend his lack of attraction toward her without his lingering gazes and occasional intimate innuendo, much less with them. Initially, I tried to justify it as a difference in preference on my end; but once it became clear that this was going to be an ongoing affair, I became a lot less empathetic in voicing my concerns.

As for the writing, breaking the fourth wall made the story lose any potential magic it could’ve had. Reading a book isn’t as enticing when you feel as though you are reading a book. It’s supposed to be a way to fill you with life, not drain you of it, yet alas.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for providing me with an ARC. As always, all thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

I rated this one somewhere between a 4 and 5 star read. Honestly, one reason for the decrease is simply because I have health anxiety, and some of the heavy health topics were a little bit of a trigger for me. Aside from that, there were a few times when the MMC just felt a little bit too cold. I understand that there was trauma in his past and that he had been hurt very badly, but there were times when it was difficult to cheer for him.

That being said, I'm always a huge Katherine Center fan-- anything she writes, I want to read. I've never rated any of her books below 4 stars because she always does such a phenomenal job.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC!

This is the third book I've read written by Katherine Center, and it may be my new favorite! I experienced all the emotions you would expect after reading book called "The Rom-Commers" to have! I laughed out loud, swooned & even cried. I relate to the main character in many ways, especially in the family issues she faces.

Emma gets the opportunity of a lifetime (so she thinks) to write alongside her favorite screenwriter. Although once she meets them this are far from what she expected them to be. I adored Emma & Charlie as the main characters, and would be so excited to see a follow-up novel or even movie exploring their story.

This book is a must read for anyone who loves love & everything a Rom-Com explores! This book comes out in June, and although I read the e-arc, I've already pre-ordered my gorgeous physical copy!

Katherine Center always delivers such great reads and she didn’t stop with The Rom-Commers. I loved the banter between Emma and Charlie. It took me a little while to get over all the “Charlie Yates” but it did paint the picture of how important he was to her.

Emma Wheeler has the chance to go write a screenplay with her favorite writer. As Charlie Yates says “ he doesn’t need some washed up writer.” Charlie is trying to write his first RomCom and it is horrible! Emma leaves her caretaking duties to stay with Charlie for six weeks to write a Romcom with someone that does not believe in love.

The story was super cute. Katherine Center always writes sweet romances that aren’t spicy.

⭐️magical⭐️

A writer needs to write a romcom, but he only writes action type movies, so his agent enlists another writer to help him. I knew literally from the first chapter this was gonna be good. Some books just have a magic that cannot be explained. This was a romcom about writing a romcom.

There were times I laughed out loud, sad moments, and everything in between. There was chronic illness representation and caretaker representation- which I loved. Death and grief. Divorce, new love, and everything in between. I swear this book had it all. There was 0 spice level to this book, but it didn’t matter or need it.

This is my first ARC from Netgalley that I have given 5 stars. I have had a lot of good 4 star reads, but this one was great! Highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for me e-arc copy! I almost screamed when I saw that I was approved for this book!

I am a huge Katherine Center fan! Anything she writes is solid gold to me. The Rom-Commers is another golden masterpiece!

I want to preface this review by saying that at first, I wasn't a Charlie fan. I thought he was rude and egotistical. However, he redeemed himself in the end.

One thing I always love about Katherine Center's books is the family dynamic. It's not all romance. The Rom-Commers had that in abundance. Emma has been her father's caregiver for nearly ten years when her old boyfriend calls her and gives her the news of a lifetime: to co-write with her all time favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates! She has to leave her father with her sister for six weeks in order to write. When she arrives, she finds out that Charlie didn't know about that she was going to help him and he's not too pleased. But he eventually comes around to the idea and the two begin rewriting a romcom screenplay that he had written...terribly. Emma decides that she wants to change Charlie's cynical views on love while working together.

It was cute, the banter was fun, I absolutely adored Emma. I loved middle of the story Charlie, but beginning of the story Charlie and towards the end Charlie, I did not like much. But there's a reason why he's like that.

Things I loved avout The Rom-Commers:
🤭 The banter
✍🏽 They're writers and we see that a lot in this story
👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Family dynamic
😢This one will pull at your heartstrings
🥺Both characters have big feelings and vulnerability

Once again, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my copy!

Emma has the chance to work with her idol, Charlie Yates. Only, she doesn't realize until she gets there that he hasn't agreed to let her help rewrite his abysmal romcom screenplay. Angry that she left her dad (who requires full-time care) to work with someone who isn't taking the business of writing a romcom seriously, she is determined to make it worth her while. Despite a rocky start, things start to look up and they get into a work rhythm, though things take a turn when she suggests Charlie kiss her "for research." When she gets a middle-of-the-night call from her sister telling her their dad is in the hospital, leaving everything behind - including Charlie. Will they get the screenplay written and will Emma ever get Charlie to truly open up?

It was a delightful story with great twists and turns leading to a satisfying HEA.

.𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕.𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚢.𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚕.𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚎.

Katherine Center's latest novel, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒎-𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔, is a clever blend of romance, humor, and family drama that will leave you feeling a kaleidoscope of emotions. Center's talent for character development shines through Emma and Charlie, bringing the story to life and making you root for the happy ending.

While remaining true to its rom-com beginnings, the novel skillfully intertwines some of life's more challenging realities. As someone who expertly navigates the literary minefield of sad topics, I found myself able to enjoy these issues without triggering my fight or flight response.

This was my second book by Center and I can confidently say I'm hooked on her writing style. I eagerly await her next literary creation!

A heartfelt thanks to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC. As always, my reviews are 100% authentic opinions.

Lovely. Such a fun read. I enjoyed all the emotions of this one. I laughed, cried, smile, frowned, everything in between.

This was a cute one, but I don't think it unseated my top 3 Katherine Center novels. Starting with the good, Emma was adorable and hilarious, and easy to root for. The banter was good, the HEA well done, especially the final kiss scene. Unfortunately the conflict and resolution left me feeling a bit of whiplash. I also had a hard time reconciling the Charlie from the early parts of the book with the Charlie after his redemption arc. Other than that, it was a nice light read that will be great for fans of rom coms.

This was a great story with so much depth and great characters. The story will make you laugh and cry but at the end, you will be very satisfied with the read.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐦-𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬
𝐁𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟔.𝟏𝟏.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑜𝑜𝑛!


Thank you @Macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook.

Thank you @stmartinspress for a gifted digital arc.


I think Katherine Center has cornered the market on “feel-good romcoms,” or at least, that’s what I’m going with. Her books are always full of bright, bold emotions and characters you’d probably want to be friends with in real life.

What’s the saying? Don’t meet your heroes? Well, Emma Wheeler, a screenwriter, finally has the opportunity to meet and work with the award-winning screenwriter Charlie Yates.

Emma must re-arrange her personal life, what little she has. Besides writing, she’s been the sole caretaker to her ill father, and now she needs her sister to step up - just for six weeks while she is in LA with Charlie.

The story takes some funny turns as Emma and Charlie start working on a romantic comedy together. Charlie is a grumpy love skeptic. But Emma and Charlie have hurts, resentments, and fears that they harbor.

As sweet and humorous as this story of two writers trying to find their way is, it also has some heavy emotions. I wasn’t prepared for some of the intense family scenes, but it added so much depth to the story. And Charlie, oh Charlie, he really blossomed through all of this.

𝐹𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑦, 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛.

This was so beautifully written and such a perfect read for me! Katherine Center writes such vivid, realistic characters that I came to root for so easily. I loved reading about the screenwriting profession, as well as learning a little about Meniere's disease. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, and the side characters as well. I have a hard time putting into words how much I loved this book, but it's already one of my top romance reads for 2024!

The Rom-Commers is definitely nothing like I have read before and I loved it. I enjoyed getting to see the other side of writing with this book. The Rom-Commers was written by Katherine Center and this was my first book that I have read from her. I started off reading the ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an honest review, but then forgot that I also requested the ALC from MacMillan Audio, so after I was about halfway through, I went back and listened to the story as well. I enjoyed both versions the same, but Patti Murin did a great job bringing this story alive.

In this book you will find a Grump MMC who is a sci-fi screen writer tasked to write a rom-com. Which he has never done before, and he is also in a writing slump. His Agent takes it upon himself to hire an unknown ghost writer to help him write. Enter the sunniest of all sunshines FMC, who puts everyone else before herself.

This was such a sweet story that I will forever recommend to any romance reader.

Tropes:
Grumpy x sunshine
Rich MMC
Forced Proximity
Anxiety Rep

Though I'm feeling saturated by the number of film writers suddenly being main characters, I really enjoyed this story. I thought the characters were developed and layered, and where the story could have veered to overly saccharine, it stayed well-balanced. I enjoyed the likeable characters and I absorbed the story quickly. No trope felt overdone (for example, there were communication issues but they felt valid). I think this was one of my top Katherine Center books.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, this is a rom-com about those who write rom-coms. The characters, their relationship, the tension, and the banter all combine to create a fun but touching book. If you love rom-coms, pick this one up, it's lovely!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my review copy of this book. I know what my rom-com loving family members are getting as gifts this year.