While I thought that Katherine Center cleverly defended romcom books and movies here, I wasn't completely enthralled with the story. I found it to be very dialogue heavy, and I was craving more in the way of plot.
Also, I didn't buy that the two main characters were really in love. Charlie, especially, seemed not very appealing as a male MC.
Overall, this one was just okay for me.

Emma is a hopeful screenwriter but put her life on hold after her dad suffered an accident and needs full time care. When her friend offers her a job helping her longtime screenwriter idol, Charlie Yates, rewrite a script, she has her sister step in her place. Charlie is surprised to find Emma has come to help him. He does not want to rewrite it and only wrote it so he can get his next action movie made. Charlie reluctantly agrees to have Emma stay and help with the rewrite. She challenges Charlie to getting his feet wet, line dancing, and an amazing kiss. Justin must overcome some past traumas before the screenplay is finished and hopefully get over his writing draught.

I found this book to be a fun read, but the book moved slowly until the second half which is why I gave it 4 stars. The characters were funny and likeable. If you want a clean romance book to recommend your mom, this one is it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of The Rom-Commers in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! I have never read a book from Kathrine Center but I will be sure to pick up more! The writing was great! I enjoyed the story, it wasn’t like anything I have read before and that isn’t easy to come by these days so I thoroughly enjoyed the read! The character building was just enough for me to be invested and I enjoyed seeing names that are well known that was a nice touch!

4.5 stars for the feel good beach read vibes. The rom-commers has so much of what I love: books about writers writing things, in this case screen plays, when grumpy met sunshine vibes, and romantic comedies. I was rooting for Charlie and Emma from page one and loved the journey their story took them on. The epilogue was also an incredibly satisfying wrap up which was the icing on the cake for me. This is the perfect beach read of the summer!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

All of Katherine Center's books are spectacular and this one did not disappoint. I love that she writes the perfect Rom Com with a balance of depth. All of her characters are real & relatable. Her books are always filled with laugh-out-loud moments and will leave your heart fluttering every single time. She's one of the most talented authors of pulling at your heartstrings.

Emma has put all her dreams aside after her family was devastated by a tragic accident. Emma has spent most of her adulthood as the sole caregiver to her father who has several health issues related to the accident. Before the accident, Emma dreamed of becoming a screenplay writer, and ever since then, she has been studying, and perfecting her romantic comedies. She's a romcom guru and has even won competitions for her writing. Her ex (and agent) calls to let her know she's finally gotten the big break she's been hoping for, and that's to help Charlie Yates with his new screenplay... a romcom! Charlie, a science-fiction masterpiece creator, doesn't typically write rom-coms, and the one he has written is a total disaster.

Emma is determined not to blow her chance at this opportunity, but there's just one challenge - she must go to LA for SIX weeks; the question is, can she trust anyone else to care for her dad while she is away? Emma's younger sister graciously offers to step in and take over the duties while Emma is out.

When Emma arrives at Charlie's LA mansion, she realizes he has no idea that she's been hired to help him. He refuses to admit that he needs help on it, especially from a "failed screenwriter". Not only that, but he doesn't even believe in love - he thinks it's an emotional Ponzi scheme. Charlie is bitter & jaded due to the circumstances in his own life. Emma being the rom-com junkie that she is, takes a stand and does everything in her power to convince him that rom-coms do matter and that "love wasn't just a concept created by Hallmark to sell greeting cards." After a lot of convincing, tough love, and critiquing his work, Charlie agrees to work with her.

I loved Charlie & Emma's relationship. It started off as enemies-to-lovers, and then turns into my favorite friends-to-lovers. Their romance is filled with witty banter, fun plot-twists, and hilarious scenes. One of my favorites was with the biscuit tube - omg I was LAUGHING & CRYING for a good 15 minutes. The birthday biscuits - mean come on! The way these two came together, conquered their fears, with a lot of laughs and tears in-between - this one will leave you giddy for sure.

Like I said earlier, Katherine Center writes such tragic backstories with amazing hopeful messages. Her books usually have an overall theme of showing the bright side of things, no matter how dark it is around you. This book explores tragedies, loss, grief, guilt, but through all of that, it teaches you to always be grateful and to try to focus on what people are doing right in your life, not so much on what they're doing wrong. It reminds you that every life has heartbreak and sadness, and it's more about what you do to face those circumstances. You cannot predict what life will throw your way.

If you liked The Bodyguard, you will also like The Rom-Commers (and not just because there are Jack Stapleton cameos👀)! The Rom-Commers has a celebrity MMC (Charlie is a famous screenwriter), there is forced proximity, and the SLOWEST of slow burns!
Because this is slow burn, there is a TON of chemistry and tension between Charlie (MMC) and Emma (FMC) and you are just on the edge of your seat the ENTIRE time to see when they will finally get together!
There is also a very interesting element to this book, it has some very literary/meaningful topics that are discussed and Katherine Center really displays her beautiful, flowery, and powerful sentiments like talking about life, death, loss, and grief all while STILL focusing (most of the time) on the light/happiness.
I don't know what it is but Katherine Center's cartoon cover books just hit DIFFERENT and I am so glad that I was able to get an early copy of this book! Thank you so much St. martin's Press for an e-ARC of this amazing book!💖

I read everyone of Kathrine Center's books, but I didn't love all of hers works. This story is somewhere in the middle, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. At times I found it a bit childish and slow.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The best, funniest, saddest, most touching book. I loved every second of this one- I just wish it was longer! So good!

I’m obsessed. Quite literally. Let me set the scene. I started reading “The Rom-Commers” during a long car ride while my husband drove. Three chapters in and I tell him “I’m going to like this book”. Chapter after chapter I’m squealing, grabbing his arm, telling him what’s sending me to the moon. I don’t care that he’s trying to drive or listen to his audiobook in peace, I need him to know how this book is making me feel. He’s on this journey with me whether he likes it or not.

Emma Wheeler is an expert in romantic comedies, even if nothing romantic is happening to her. She’s the sole caretaker for her dad (who is a literal ray of sunshine) who needs full-time care. When an opportunity to present itself to work with world renowned screenwriter Charlie Yates, she’s over the moon. Emma’s family steps up to help make her dreams come true, and with her sister stepping in to care for her father, Emma journeys to L.A. Upon arrival though, she discovers that not only is the romantic comedy Charlie wrote TERRIBLE, but it’s just a favor to get his passion project made. Oh, and he doesn’t believe in love! Can Emma work with Charlie to write something they can both be proud of and believe in?

This book. It’s everything. This is the first book I’ve read by Kathrine Center, and I will absolutely be a fan for life. Honestly 5++ stars. At first the title seemed odd, but after reading, I love it so much. I want to be best friends with Emma! Her relationships with her family feel so authentic and relatable. Her sense of humor is to die for, and I love that she stands up for herself. Charlie, I just love him. He's perfectly imperfect. I don’t want to spoil anything so just read it. The synopsis online and the one I just wrote don’t do it justice. Just read it!

The Rom-Commers is out June 11, 2024.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The dialogue, the banter, the wittiness!! I could scream to the rooftops how amazing this book was from start to finish. I was laughing and smiling like an idiot while reading it. The rhythm was great, it kept me engaged the whole time and I couldn't stop reading. The characters had amazing chemistry and were phenomenal together. There's a lot of build up to their relationship and the tension is strung throughout the story but, there's plenty of hilarious moments and charming characters to get us through. This may be my favorite book of 2024.

Aspiring writer Emma gets the chance of a lifetime to write a rom-com screenplay with THE Charlie Yates. Charlie claims he knows next to nothing about love, but Emma might be able to teach him a thing or two.

I really enjoyed this book. This was only my second book by this author but I'm convinced that I want to read everything she's written. The characters in this book were well-written and likeable with good development. The plot was cute with funny scenes and good side stories. While the outcome was predictable, I didn't enjoy reading it any less and loved how Emma and Charlie's relationship developed. This is a great story about forgiveness and living in the moment, and I would recommend it!

I really enjoyed the ARC I read of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, so I immediately requested this new title. I couldn't connect with the story or the characters, unfortunately. There was no chemistry, and the spice was closed door. All in all, not my cup of tea, sadly.

Katherine Center does it again! I’m just a crazy big fan of everything she writes and this is no exception. Delicious in every way a rom-com should be!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Katherine Center Books! They never fail to disappoint in humor, heart, and hope. The Rom-Commers is a love letter and manifesto to what makes a Rom-Com. It is so easy to love Emma - to root for her to find her Happily-Ever-After.
In true Katherine Center fashion, you leave the pages of her book feeling a bit homesick. I fell in love with Emma’s family and her and Charlie’s relationship. I want to go line-dancing, be better at appreciating the lovely people in my life, and invest in a monstera leaf patterned dress of my own!
“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that will be true.”

Another charmer by this author. I was really enjoying this one, but the conceit of the male protagonist thinking he was being noble by hiding something from the female protagonist felt icky to me. It's supposed to be a great sacrifice, but the lack of honesty felt like a betrayal. So, I wasn't fond of that plot point. However, the characters were well drawn and there was a lot of humor throughout. Library patrons should enjoy and may be more forgiving than I was.

Kathrine Center is one of those authors that I'll read a book by her without knowing what it's even about. She's a phenomenal author and the Rom-Commers was just delightful!

I really liked Emma in this book. This book touches on so many topics that I think so many of us can relate to and that's what I think makes this book that much more enjoyable. Emma wants to be a screenwriter but needs to care for her dad. She's gets a break and gets a chance to write for a world renowned screenwriter. However, Charlie Yates doesn't do lovey dovey stuff. Her sister steps in to help and take care of their dad while she's in LA for 6 weeks.

This book was just everything. If I could pick one adjective that would be it.

A big thanks to St. Martin's Press and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Okay so here’s the thing. In my opinion - this book was just meh. It wasn’t a great book but at the same time, there was nothing I can pinpoint that was wrong with it. I just think I didn’t personally connect with this book. I do think other people will connect and love this. It felt a little slow paced and the tension just wasn’t there. The end picked up and got better but wasn’t enough for me to rate higher.

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

Kathrine Center knocked it out of the park with this one. I felt all the feels .I enjoyed it so much.I am a big fan of her work already but this one really hit the mark! Opposite attract, slowburn, heartfelt and humours at the same time. I wish i could rate it more than 5 stars. Her best work yet and my personal favourite!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review*

I absolutely loved everything about this book! There is just something about Katherine Center’s characters. They are never flat or one dimensional and they are so well rounded. This was a very kicking your feet while smiling and giggling kind of book sure to make a bad day good!

This was my first Katherine Center book, and I am totally obsessed! The writing was so easy to follow and was so fast paced. I read this book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down! Can we talk about their banter!! I’m not the biggest fan of miscommunication but this is one of the first books that I think did it right!