Genre: Romance
Tropes: workplace romance, celebrity romance, forced proximity

When Katherine Center release a new book, I know that I'll be running to the nearest bookstore to get my hands on it and will immediately read it within 24 hours. I have loved every Katherine Center book I've ever read because of the pure joy that jumps off of the page in addition to the unique twists she puts into what have come to be well known romance tropes. So of course, when The Rom-Commers found it's way to my inbox, I couldn't help but squeal in delight about the guaranteed joy I would be getting from her newest release.

The Rom-Commers, in true Katherine Center fashion, is an ode to the romance genre as a whole which I absolutely loved. The idea that there is a well known, dare I say snooty?, screenwriter who is desperately trying (and failing) to write a romance gave me such a chuckle and felt like the best sassy way to get back at all the romance haters who don't believe romance has any substance. Take that you Negative Nancy's!

But, alas, no writer can hit it out of the park every time. I wanted to love this book so much...I really did. And while I liked it overall, it was a miss for me because of the high standards that I have for Katherine Center. If I'm honest, I just couldn't feel the chemistry between our two main characters and I really didn't like either of them. While I loved the idea of the story, the execution just wasn't there and it fell flat for me.

Don't you worry though, this will not deter me from continuing to jump for joy every time Center release a new book or even teases of her upcoming work. I continue to be a big fan of Katherine Center as well as what she stands for!

Rom-commers is a love story to rom-coms! Can’t help but root for Emma & Charlie to get together through all the complications and struggles in their lives. This grumpy/sunshine couple don’t disappoint, both are extremely attractive yet tragically flawed. This heart warming story has all the feels. Another delight from Katherine Center.

Thank you Net Galley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

A grumpy-meets-sunshine read - and a story that Katherine Center does like no one else. I loved getting to know Emma and see Charlie's journey. Emma is a lovable character, and with her life - caretaking full time after an accident that gravely impacted her family - you root for her as she gets the once in a lifetime opportunity to meet and work with Charlie on his upcoming screenplay.

Their dialogue, character differences, and learning how to understand each other keep you engaged. Katherine did it again!

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Loved the book, as I do all of Katherine Center's books. Great suggestion for a summer read, good suggestion for a customer looking for a lighthearted celeb/normie love story with both comedy and serious topics. Loved the interaction between the characters as they navigated their professional relationship (he the famous screenwriter and she the newbie never been sold script screenwriter) into their love relationship. Funny and interested dialogue between them. As with most romance novels there's always an obstacle to why the two main characters don't like each other/can't be together and this book delivers a good setting and a secret reason revealed at the end. Loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the ARC/ALC!

Emma Wheeler dreams of being a screenwriter, especially of romantic comedies. She’s spent her whole life learning about them and writing them too. But when an injury caused her father to need permanent round-the-clock care, Emma put her career and her life on hold to take care of him. When she’s given the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for her all-time favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, she can’t believe it! She also feels incredibly guilty taking the job, but her sister moves back home to care for her dad and everything seems set. When she meets Charlie, she learns why he is in need of a ghostwriter - his romcom is TERRIBLE! And not only is it bad, but he thinks romantic comedy in general is cheesy and ridiculous. How are these two possibly going to be able to work together?

I absolutely loved Katharine Center’s last book, Hello Stranger, and also The Bodyguard, so I was looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately, this story really missed the mark for me. Compared to the other two books, it felt flat and the chemistry between the two lead characters felt almost nonexistent - until it was forced. I honestly cringed at several parts. To me, the best thing about this book is the love Emma had for her family - especially her relationship with her father. She learned how to deal with grief and how to forgive herself, and that it was okay to be happy again. I found myself wanting to get through the Emma/Charlie stuff just to get back to the parts where she was with her family.

In the audio, I loved the author’s personal note at the end, defending rom-com’s. She is just the sweetest and I would definitely read her next book. “The RomCommers” releases June 11, 2024.

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book!!! This was such an absolutely perfect romance, and I loved how meta it was as a romcom book about writers writing a romcom movie. As always with Katherine Center’s books, we got sweet, goofy, fun romance, as well as deeper, heavier themes, and it was all perfectly balanced and well-paced. This is my favorite of Center’s books yet — 5 stars for sure — and one of my favorites of the year to date!

Wow. This book is amazing. It grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let go until the end. I want more.
I love that way Katherine Center writes her stories. There is no filler. Every word has a purpose and propels the story forward. The characters grow and have depth. This story is the epitome of that.
This is the story of Emma Wheeler, who wants to be a screen writer, but after an accident when celebrating her graduation, is her beloved father's caretaker instead. She dotes on him and loves him dearly, but has no personal life outside of him. But then her ex, Logan, who has been getting her jobs, calls and says that he has a job for her. And that job is with her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates.
What ensues is a delightful story of self-discovery, growth, and love. I don't want to give anything away. Just get this now!

June 11th can't come soon enough for romance readers. I am so lucky to have had the chance to read this delightful book early, and it's one of my favorites of 2024!

I have been a fan of Cathrine Center for a while now, and whenever she releases, I am there for it!

This book is just perfection. The characters - Charlie and Emma are the perfect rom-com couple without being a typical rom-com couple.
There's a bit of the enemy-to-lovers vibe at first, but it's not really - Emma has been a super fan of Charlie and his writing for years, and now she can co-write with him - a rom-com. Only one problem- Charlie wrote a rom-com, and it sucks! Charlie isn't too happy about being matched up with Emma to rewrite the screenplay. We also have a little grumpy meets sunshine going on- Katherine Center has put it all together in a book you won't want to put down.

The back-and-forth between these two was perfection! There were highs and lows, and there were times when my heart skipped a beat and then broke in two.

I foresee the beaches this summer - full of readers falling in love with Charlie and Emma!

Emma and Charlie, what can I say? I love Katherine Center. She has not disappointed me yet, and certainly not with this gem. Emma lives with her father who was disabled in a tragic accident when Emma was 18, and now needs almost 24 hour care. She is a writer and due to her longtime friendship with a former boyfriend, she has been writing reviews and just getting by financially. Emma is a talented writer who has won awards and knows rom-coms. When Logan calls to ask her for help with rewriting Charlie Yates first attempt at a rom-com, Emma is in. Emma is also a HUGE fan of Charlie Yates. The catch is that she has to go to Hollywood to work with Charlie, so she enlists the help of her sister who is home from college to take care of their dad while she heads to Hollywood.
Charlie Yates is however not a willing participant of this plan. I loved the banter between these two as Emma quickly realizes she is not welcome by Charlie.
As a lifelong Rom-com fan, the discussions between Emma and Charlie, about what make a movie a rom-com were fascinating, and hilarious.
This book is a definite re-read for me. I wasn't ready for the book to end as I wanted to stay in Emma's and Charlie's world just a little longer.
I also enjoyed the descriptions of LA locations as I have been there many times, so it was easy to visualize the locations.
Must read for any romantic comedy and romance novel fans.

4.5 stars

Katherine really knows how to write a book! I really enjoy how she incorporates real life issues into her stories. It makes they relatable. And the characters in The Rom Commers were easy to like and root for.

Overall this story was extremely fun to listen to, I switched between reading it and listening to the audio. The narrator did a great job with the audio! I highly recommend this book!

***Thank you NetGalley and the publisher***

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center. She is one of my favorite authors. However, this one fell flat for me. I did not feel emotionally connected to the characters at all. From the very beginning it felt like they didn't like each other, and they just never really remedied that for me. Even in the ending it felt like they just settled for each other. I didn't find their "chemistry" satisfying. I also just really disliked some of the things both of the characters did throughout. I wish there had been depth to their characters.

All that to say, I will always continue to read her books. This one was just not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc. Let me start by professing that I am a BIG Katherine Center stan, and I love her writing. She is able to wring out all sorts of emotions from me, laughter, tears, chuckles, etc. I love her main characters, her side characters, and the plot(s) she has them living. This story focuses on Emma Wheeler, a struggling screenwriter who has put her dreams on hold to take care of her ailing father, and to allow her younger sister the opportunity to live her childhood and go to college.

Just as her sister graduates from college, Emma gets the opportunity to ghostwrite a rom com script from the screenwriter she idolizes, Charlie Yates. Emma reads the rom com script Charlie has written, and she is aghast. It’s terrible, and she can’t allow him to release this script into the world, both for his sake, and for the sake of film-goers. Emma feels that she needs to instruct Charlie about rom coms, more specifically, the power of love and romance in the world. The resulting interplay is a delight. Emma’s knowledge of rom com films, romance novels, and her frustration with Charlie’s lack of knowledge is hilarious.

Although there is a lot of humor in this story, there is a heavy theme of grief and handling illness, namely parental loss, long-term paralysis, and cancer. This is how Center gets me every time: her balance of heartfelt joy mixed with real world uncertainty on handling life’s challenges is so poignant, it gets uncomfortable. But then, she brings it all around, and you’re thrilled and happy at the end. I love her books.

Received the ARC for this book from NetGalley
First of all I am a huge fan of Katherine Center. How to Walk Away is probably one of my top 10 books.
Let's just say I was excited to be able to read one of her books before the release date.
I really enjoyed this Emma and Charlie's story. The slow burn Chemistry and each battling their own past battles.

As with many of Katherine Center's novels, once I actually cracked the cover on my NetGalley copy of The Rom-Commers, it was a single session read. I started this last night and could not put it down. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me roll my eyes a little, but mostly, it gave me all the emotional flutters.

I did find it read a little differently than some of her other works. There were even times that I didn't like Emma or Charlie very much... and times that they made me swoony. Plus, if you've read The Bodyguard, there's a cameo or two. It was an overall win for me, and I enjoyed it very much! If you're a fan of the rom-com in general, I'd say add this to your TBR.

Emma wheeler is a screenwriter. But her main focus is her father who after a tragic accident needs a full time caregiver. Emma has given up a lot for her family to take on this task with pride for the last ten years. But in the mean time her younger sister has gone on with her life with little help. But then she gets a call from a long time friend with a job opportunity. That she can not resist. To not only rewrite a screen play but with THE CHARLIE YATES. So Emma agrees to the job after her sister promises to come back and take care of dad for six weeks. It’s going to be a lot of rewriting to make this screen play work but Emma is excited for the challenge. But did she know what she was really getting into.

I'm giving this book 4 stars. It's not my favorite katherine center book, but it was highly enjoyable.. the writing was phenomenal, and it was easy to follow along because you get sucked in by the characters. I wanted the characters to end up together. They went back and forth up until 90% mark.

I usually don't read rom coms, but I always read Katherine Center. Her books are fun, feel-good reads with depth. Unfortunately, this book was not one of my favorites. I did not feel the necessary "spark" between the two main characters that makes me want to turn pages. That being said, will I read Katherine Center's next book? Of course, I will.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

If you got the chance of a lifetime to live your dreams that have been sidelined for years along side your idol, would you do it? This was the premise of The Rom-Commers and I was excited to read it! After putting her dreams of being a rom-com screenwriter aside to care for her ailing dad, Emma finally gets her shot when she is asked by her childhood friend, Logan, to assist famous screenwriter Charlie Yates in re-writing his rom-com. The only problem, Charlie doesn't want help nor does he believe in love, an essential part of writing a ROMANTIC comedy. Now, Emma's got weeks to change his opinion and convince him to write a rom-com to beat all other rom-coms.

With a chance for grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity gold, I was excited to read this but the connection between the characters felt absent for a majority of the book. From the initial description of the characters and their first interactions, I had a hard time believing their "love story". They spent most of the book disliking each other and without feeling an underlying palpable chemistry, their love story fell flat. Also, this book included some heavier topics which tend to reel me in however, I felt they were dealt with in a more immature dialogue between the characters than I am used to with Katherine Center's other books. As with many of this author's books, I always find a real life lesson; however, with this one, the message felt more disheartening than uplifting, which I was was unprepared for and could definitely circumstantial for me more than others.

Please know that I have read many of Katherine's other books and LOVED them! How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire are two of my favorites! This book just didn't hit the same way for me but could be someone else's fave. It still has the same excellent writing you expect from Katherine Center so, if your intrigued TRY IT! That's the best part about reading is we don't all have to love the same stories.

2.5 (rounded down)

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

My new favorite Katherine Center book!! I loved it so much! I’ll definitely be shouting about this book for a long time!

Emma has dedicated her life to her family. After losing her mom at a young age, and her dad having health issues that required around the clock in-home care, she puts her own life goals on hold. When her lifelong friend calls her and says he has the opportunity of a lifetime- to rewrite a screen play with her hero Charlie Yates- her family rallies together to send her. When she arrives, she is given a less than warm welcome. In fact, Charlie has no idea who she is or why she is there! He hates rom-coms and refuses to work with her or anyone on the screenplay. Emma does not back down easy, she is determined and honest. When Charlie let’s her in a little, the whole story transpires into something beautiful.

I am a huge Katherine Center fan, so when I was approved for this book I squealed with joy! This is a cute and quirky story, and was quite different from her other novels. I enjoyed it, but it was not my favorite that she has written. It was her usual heartwarming storyline, but the ending felt rushed and I did not feel that “spark” between the two main characters. Thank you so much to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!