Hello Stranger was one of my favourite reads last year; The Rom-Commers will be one of my favourite reads this year! If you love a good rom com, grumpy x sunshine, or just Katherine Center in general, this one’s for you.

The banter between Emma and Chris is spot on and will keep you laughing (line dancing scene anyone??); Chris in general will have you swooning; Emma and her dad will be tugging at your heart strings. It’s a book that has a little bit of everything and in my opinion, is in true Katherine Center style.

I’m so glad I got a chance to read this one. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for this eARC!

This is my third Katherine Center book. Hello Stranger was one of my favorite 2023 reads and I have been so excited for The Rom-Commers. The Rom-Commers has everything I loved about Katherine Center – the witty dialogues, the way the characters tug on your heart, and the grand gesture at the end. It has a grumpy/sunshine trope going on, with Emma trying to fix the rom-com script, written by Charlie who doesn’t believe in romance.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley, for providing a digital ARC for my honest review!

Emma Wheeler lives with her father and is his caretaker - he has multiple health issues and needs someone with him at all times. One day she is given the opportunity to help out her favorite screen writer. Emma's younger sister steps up so that Emma is free to leave.

Emma arrives at Charlie Yates' house to find that he had no idea that she was coming. He is not in the mood to write, or to have a bubbly personality around him, and it turns out that he does not want to write a rom-com (and doesn't believe in love) - which shows in the awful script that he has written. Emma is flabbergasted at how bad it is, and Charlie challenges her to improve it. The two of them begin to work on the script and along the way, learn more about each other. Charlie is not a spoiled rich man, and Emma is not an eternally optimistic airhead.

I adored this book. The characters, the backstory, everything about it. I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

I love when I get the opportunity to review a novel by Katherine Center. Each of Center’s works focus gutsy yet quirky women, who typically have some sort of adversity to overcome. Usually some romance is sprinkled in as an extra special treat.

Emma is one such protagonist. Emma writes romantic comedies, but dreams of being a screen writer. Yet, when she gets a chance to work with Charlie Yates, a screenwriter she adores, she is thrilled. Unfortunately, Charlie has been tasked with writing a romantic comedy, and he doesn’t believe in love. Naturally, Emma wants to prove to him that love does exist.

Yes, parts of this plot could fall into predictability but as a fan of Katherine Center, you’re going to enjoy the story so much, you won’t bothered because, like any romantic comedy, the plot will have a certain structure but it’s the characters that make the story memorable.

My thanks to the publisher, Katherine Center, and Net Galley for this whimsical book.

The Rom-Commers has left me speechless in the best possible way! It's a story of two writers, one a lover of rom-coms and the other... not. They end up working together to write none other than... you guessed it - a rom-com! It'll make you feel all the feels while also laughing out loud. I've never highlighted anything in a book before but the writing in this one was so profound and impactful that I had to write several lines down just so I can read them over and over again.

I loved The Rom-Commers and the grumpy x sunshine trope. Emma is an aspiring screenwriter who put her dreams on the back-burner when a tragic accident happens to her family. Charlie is an award winning screenwriter who has a serious case of writers block. When he is asked to write a script for a rom-com it is absolutely horrible. Emma is hired to help him re-write it. Can they pull it off within 6 weeks? Full of witty-banter, forced proximity and a life lesson of living in the moment.

This was my first Katherine Center novel and I loved it. I have a new romance author to add to my auto-buy list.

I am OBSESSED!!! I knew from the moment I read the description I would love this book adn I'm so glad I was proven right. Really well done and I will be forcing my book club to read!!

Katherine Center returns with another great read that contains a powerful life lesson. Emma has spent the past ten years caring for her father and sister forcing her to put her career as a screenwriter on hold. She's basically been doing penance and denying herself even small joys. When the opportunity to work with her idol, Charlie Yates, drops into her lap she can't turn it down. Unfortunately, working with Charlie is not all she thought it would be. It's difficult to write a rom-com with someone who doesn't even believe in love. It took me quite a few chapters to begin to like Charlie. In the end, Emma learns a lot about herself and her relationships with her family. I don't want to spoil one of the best parts, but late in the book, Emma and her dad have a heartfelt conversation that makes it clear why Center dedicated this book to her father. I look forward to putting this book in the hands of my patrons.

Of course @katherinecenter newest book is called The Rom-Commers! It feels so perfect that my favourite RomCom writer wrote a book that is basically a love letter to RomComs and all the reasons they are wonderful.
Emma cares, about her family, writing, and love stories. She has spent most of her life caring for her father and sister,putting her own dreams of being a writer on the back burner. But when an opportunity to help her all time favourite action writer, Charlie Yates, write a romcom in LA emerges she (with some serious encouragement and tough love from her family) takes it. Unfortunately Charlie, doesn’t believe in love, thinks romantic comedies are trash, and doesn’t actually care what the finished product looks like. Emma will only have six weeks to show him exactly why love is important and why romcoms need to exist.

I had an absolute blast reading this. Filled with tributes to all of our favourite tropes, both paying homage to and poking fun at, with characters who I was instantly able to fall in love with, and a love story that was perfection, this was everything I wanted it to be and then some. I was also so happy to get a cameo of one of the leading stars of The Bodyguard.

Unfortunately this book still has a few months until it’s June 11 2024 release date, but I promise it’s well worth the wait.
Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing me with an advanced copy for review.
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Katherine Center’s newest book, The Rom-Commers, is the perfect romantic comedy! Center has a beautiful way of weaving romance into the storyline, and the way she intersects the comedic lines, makes for the perfect blend of what a rom-com should be.

Charlie has a big ego and needs help. Emma has no ego but has talent. Putting these two in a room together is wonderful, and makes for a very enjoyable read. I have to add, I couldn’t help but think about which actors would be best suited for the roles if this were to become a movie – one that I would definitely watch!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this e-ARC.
#stmartinspress #NetGalley

I am a new fan of Katherine Center! This is the first of hers I’ve read and I cannot wait to read more. It had incredible grumpy x sunshine banter, build up, and even a sneak behind the curtain of writing processes (my favorite). The book was filled with nerdy writing jokes and smart humor. I loved this love story to the romantic comedy genre.

This book was a breath of fresh air and exactly what I needed after feeling slumpy this month. It was fast, sweet, and fun.

The plot was SO engaging. Writing a screenplay together about love while falling in love?! Yes pls. It was different than what I have read before and was so fun.

The FMC was genuinely so likable and pure. I just loved her! And the MMC was DROPPING one-liners like no other. HOT HOT HOT.

This had the classic sweet and enchanting rom-com vibes while still being utterly realistic which i loved. Because that’s life!

4.5 because I didn’t get the full five star feeling but honestly wouldn’t change much about this book. It was exactly what I needed when I needed it.

Have you ever sacrificed your dreams for someone else? Or had such a good friend they won’t let you put yourself last any longer?

These are the questions Emma, our main character, must learn the answers to.

Emma suddenly finds herself with a once in a lifetime chance to work with her legendary screen writer, Charlie Yates, after putting her life and dreams on hold while taking care of her father.

The two main characters each have their reasons for wanting to complete this screen play. He wants another script to be made into a movie. She wants this rom-com to be the best it can be because it is her dream to be a screenwriter. Can she convince Charlie to give it his all?

The reader follows Emma as she grapples with the decision to reach out and chance failing or say goodbye to the hope she’s always had to be a writer. Is it worth keeping it a dream?

Admittedly, it’s been awhile since I’ve read a Katherine Center novel. “What You Wish For” is the last of her novels I’ve read. To say I was surprised by this author’s growth would be an understatement. She had now become a must read author. “The Bodyguard” will be on my next month’s TBR.

The tension between the main characters can be felt from the first sight. Center made the characters feel so real. Real grief, real fears, real dreams.

I know the epistolary writing style doesn’t work for everyone but the way Center is talking directly to the reader through Emma just works well.

If you love romance novels and rom-coms you should give this book a try. After all aren’t Rom-Coms about falling in love?

I love a Katherine Center novel. Her books are well written. They make you laugh, cry and fall in love with the characters. The Rom-Commers gives you all the feels. Loved the story and the characters. A fantastic read.

Emma is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime to work with her screenwriter idol on workshopping his attempt at a romcom.. The Rom-commers is so meta but in an unpretentious way. Charlie is determined to keep his mindset that love doesn’t really exist, but working with Emma has him trying all these romantic situations to write with true emotion. The Happily Ever After in their screenplay needs a lot of work… how will this writing project bring Emma and Charlie together?

I was so pleased to read this advance copy of The Rom-Commers after being such a fan of Katherine Center over the years. As a big rom-com fan to start, I knew before I read the premise that I would enjoy this book.

It follows the formula, which is delightful and often necessary as a reader. I want to say it’s predictable but that sounds like it comes with a negative connotation—it doesn’t! Although the story itself is pretty clearly laid out, the character development and descriptive language is top notch. I was rooting for these characters immediately. Highly recommend!

3.5 stars

I'm conflicted about this rating, because on one hand, I loved parts of this book. The plot/hook was great and I liked the dynamic between the main characters.

What I didn't love was some choppiness in the writing (where it felt like first draft dialogue/exposition that needed some work) and the fact there were some major assholes in this story (including the main characters at times) and it all got forgiven for sake of the rom-com vibes. Also, the fact cancer was used more as a plot device than dealt with with care/compassion did not sit well with me.

Thank you NetGalley and St Marten’s press for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I will preface this by saying I’m a reluctant romance reader. I say this because I keep gravitating toward this genre recently even though these books almost always drive me crazy. They are so absurdly impossible and yet that’s what makes them appealing. Maybe I’m becoming a convert after all.

This book has a similar trajectory. Emma is an unknown screenwriter who lives for a Romantic Comedy. She knows them inside and out but her life has been anything but comedic. She has spent the past 10 years caring for her father after a tragic accident left him incapable of living on his own. When the opportunity arises to help her favorite screenwriter of all time salvage his disaster of a rom-com her life becomes one of the stories she loves so much. Is the story predictable, yes. Is it a fun read, also yes. If you like a good rom-com then this is one you should definitely pick up.

I love a good Katherine Center book and honestly I think I’ve just read my new favorite book of hers. She’s done it again and this is a MUST READ!

Emma is consumed with Love, at least in her writing, maybe not in her actual life. Charlie Yates is the biggest screen writer name in Hollywood and Emma’s all time favorite writer. However, when she reads his latest work, his first rom-com, she is horrified by how terrible it is. Charlie Yates can do no wrong, so how is this possible. Emma is determined to enlighten Charlie on all the key elements needed to write a perfect Rom-Com, which proves to be challenging since Charlie doesn’t believe in love

One of the things I love about Katherine Center’s books are the real life moments she builds into her stories. Sometimes when authors write these difficult moments into books, it can really weigh the story down but her stories always leave me uplifted and inspired. It adds real depth to her love stories.

You will laugh. You will cry. You will want to highlight/tab excerpts from this book because Center imparts some real life wisdom on these pages.

Special Thank you to Katherine Center, NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced reader copy of this book and the opportunity to share my true thoughts/feelings about this book.

“It's all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on.
It's all about writing the very best story of your life.
Not just how you live it-but how you choose to tell it.”

“We don't get to know the whole story all at once. And where we're headed matters so much less than how we get there.”

“But it was one thing to live your dreams in theory—and it was absolutely another thing to clumsily, awkwardly, terrifiedly do it for real.”

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a rom-com being written inside of a rom-com. When Charlie, an award winning writer known for his zombie and action screenplays, fails at his attempt to write a rom-com, Emma, an unknown rom-com writer, is called upon to save the day. After caring for her dad for 10 years, Emma leaves him in the care of her sister so she can fulfill her writing dreams. While you can’t have a rom-com without miscommunication, literally falling into each other’s arms, and life getting in the way, the writing and story is so heartfelt and intelligently aware of being a rom-com, that it’s perfect! I have really enjoyed Katherine Center’s novels and this one was no exception. The Rom-Commers would be a fantastic beach read which coincides nicely with it’s June release date. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!