Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for review copies, and @daniallreads magic giveaway winner picker for choosing me to win this beautiful finished copy!

One might think that reading a book called “The Romcommers” would be just a fun little easy read that skates right by your heart without shredding it into a million pieces. And one would be wrong, because while it has all the funny charm and humor that I love from Katherine, this book also packs several emotional punches. So much so that while listening to the last ~30% of the book, I sat and quietly sobbed on the couch (Brian was cautiously concerned until I told him it was just me being moved by the written word). There were thoughts that Emma voiced about grief, guilt, and holding together families in the aftermath that illuminated deep seeded feelings I didn’t realize I was carrying. There is still so much romance and swoon and my god Charlie should be on the Mount Rushmore of Men Written By Women. In short, this is my new favorite Katherine Center book and while I recommend asking about CWs to take care of yourself, it is a book I don’t think anyone should miss. If you’re an audio lover, Patti Murin is exceptional as always and you won’t be disappointed.

#MacAudio2024 #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress #katherinecenter #theromcommers #romance #womensfiction #fivestarreads

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be devouring Rom-Coms and loving them I would not have believed you. It's quite interesting to me that I am finding myself not only enjoying this genre but seeking it out.

The Rom-Commers has been my favorite Rom-Com to date! The characters are well developed and the story moves smoothly. The enemies to lovers troupe is becoming a fav and Katherine Center knows how to tell a story that will not only entertain you but you keep invested in the characters lives.

Emma Wheeler want to be a screenwriter. She dreams of it but she spends her days as the sole caretaker of her father. Her father is kind, loving and his caretaking regime is complex and Emma doesn't trust anyone to do it. So when an opportunity of a lifetime knocks at her door she is hesitant to take it. It's in L.A. and it's a chance to re-write a script with Charlie Yates a dream that is about to come true!

With plans in place Emma heads off to L.A. but she quickly finds out that Charlie doesn't really care about the script and he doesn't want her help! Charlie isn't a fan of rom-coms. Emma weasels her way but will the saying, "Never meet your heroes. They'll surely disappoint." be a lesson Emma learns.

The Rom-Commers is a fast read. You'll zip thought it in no time. The characters are lovable and cute! Charlie is a bit of a grouch but a delightful one! The banter is fun and entertaining. This book surpassed my expectations.

I was hooked on this story right from the start. Katherine Center is a favorite for me and her books are always so enjoyable. They are a perfect mix of all things you want in a Romance. They are always packed with so much emotion. I really couldn’t put this down.

Emma Wheeler is an aspiring screenwriter. When the opportunity of a lifetime arrises for her to work with the famous screenplay writer (and love of her life), Charlie Yates, she jumps at the opportunity. Charlie has written a romantic comedy that’s beyond terrible, and Emma is tasked with helping him re-write it and teach him a lesson or two about love along the way.

I absolutely adored Emma so much. She was sweet, funny and oh so lovable. A complete spitfire with an infectious personality. She was so much fun to read about and I feel she was the driving force of me not being able to put this read down.

On the other hand, Charlie wasn’t my favorite. He’s was extremely mean to Emma at times, when she didn’t deserve it. It was hard for me to warm up to him because of that. I understand he didn’t believe in love, but it was all so unnecessary for him to be THAT mean to Emma. In the end he did win me over with his sweetness and his grand gesture. I enjoyed watching him learning about true love. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, but even with all that is was still a 4 star read for me. I really liked it. It’s worth a read and I want to thank @smpromance and @netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Such a great book! Katherine Center is one of the best authors of today! There is nothing I love more than a great Rom-Com and all the commentary on the genre was such an innovative way to prove the importance of these stories. The characters were interesting, and their back stories were deep for this type of story. I found myself rooting for them the entire story. Loved it and would highly recommend!

What a stunning reading experience.

I found myself overtaken by the life of Emma, a caregiver for her dad and an aspiring screen-writer. She has major guilt for things out of her control and grief from those things too. She gets the chance to meet her idol Charlie, a famous screen writer whom she has had the biggest crush on.

He’s trying to get a screen play for a romcom picked up but is tragically unable to give a care about romance. Thats where Emma comes in.

Their journey to writing the Rom-Commers is so beautiful and heartfelt and I had the ride of my life with them. I was captivated by Katherine Center’s world building and truly cannot wait to pick up her next one!

Unfortunately, this was not for me. The plot felt nonexistent, the romance wasn't believable, and neither of the characters were likable. The main love interest felt rude and disingenuous, while the female love interest felt more starstruck than actually in love. And while I understand that this was a good representation of caretaker burnout, at times Emma also came across as mean and was framed to be a "not like other girls" girl rather than someone with an authentic experience.

There were too many conflicts and arguments in this book for my liking. I liked the caretaking aspects and the happy endings.

This author always delivers with witty dialogue and an interesting plot, supporting a story of romance, and once again, she delivers in spades. . Her books always makes me happy - I thoroughly enjoy reading them! Emma is a wannabe big-time script writer, but is stuck with mediocre jobs as her main focus is caring for her father. She’s put her life on hold while her younger sister Sylvie pursues her college degree. When her old high school boyfriend calls with an offer to her of moving to LA to help a well-known author with his oh-so-terrible script for a rom-com. As much as she tries to talk herself out of going, her sister and dad basically boot her out the door, believing this could be her big break. Only problem is - best-selling author Charlie Yates knows his rom-com script is terrible, but has not asked for help. Add to the mix is the fact that Charlie is Emma’s big crush. This sets up a situation with some hilarious dialogue, as Emma shreds his script to bits and Charlie stands by his belief that rom-coms are just silly. As they delve more into the script and Emma and Charlie work on rewrites, each opens up to the other of past hurts that affects them and their relationships today. Together they find a way to heal. I flew through this one in just a few days - her books always play out like a movie in my head. This is a perfect read for summer - highly recommend! Out now, highly recommend this one!

Read this book. Katherine Center writes such flawed but loveable characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. This is not a light romance but has so much depth to it as the characters deal with death, cancer, panic attacks, etc... that really drew me and had me emotionally invested. This is a story about love and about allowing yourself to be loved and I could not recommend this book more!

I love, love, LOVED The Bodyguard, but honestly that was the only Katherine Center book I had read!

Until this one! I went in with high high hopes, and unfortunately this book was mostly mid. I didnt feel connected to the characters and am tired of the 'she's not like other girls' trope.

Overall still a fun romcom, but not as great as The Bodyguard

My favorite thing about this book was the first person writing style and it's appreciation of the rom-com genre. Some of it was too far fetched, wrapped up too neat and quick, and tropes became repetitive.
Read this if you like;
✅️quirky well developed characters
✅️ romance without spice
✅️ sweet banter
✅️ Katherine Center's other books

3 🌟

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(This review has minor but vague spoilers) I want to preface this review by saying I have read six (now seven) of Katherine Center's books and consider her my favorite author. The Rom-Commers had all the elements of a great Katherine Center novel, and I would rate it 4 stars, but overall I couldn't help feeling disappointed. I love Center's books because they are love stories with elements of tragedy that make them bittersweet and poignant. This book had those elements, but the execution felt a little off to me. Essentially, the characters would find themselves in new situations and I continually felt surprised that these things were happening. I was surprised by the way Emma and Charlie meet. I was surprised that Emma eavesdropped on not one but three(!) different conversations. I was shocked by what happened when they went to the farmer's market, which was ultimately anticlimactic. But I was most annoyed by the phone call Charlie gets and refuses to talk about until the end of the book. This book made me cry more than once, and while I liked it as a whole once I was finished, I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped and some parts just didn't work for me.

Trying to describe the way this book hit me feels impossible. It's just simply sparkling. Emma and Charlie are so easy to root for and even the third act conflict made sense. I was on the verge of tears at various points in the book. This story is so exemplary of the genre in a way I wasn't necessarily expecting. Charlie relearning how to fall in love, Emma finding herself outside of her family, the ways they're drawn to each other and push each other away. It was all just so...I don't even have the words. It felt like someone was holding my heart in their hands, making sure it was beating to the perfect rhythm.

5 stars baby!!! This book was SO much more than I expected. It had everything I love in a romance... the banter was bantering! The plot was plotting! And the love was blooming! It was a near perfect story for me. Katherine Center always has a good balance of serious topics and humor in her romances and I LOVE THAT! If you want a story that is really cute, very entertaining, super funny, and will tug at your heart strings, this is for you. Also, as a romance reader, I felt like I was in my happy place while reading all of the parts where the FMC is talking about romance tropes. It was SO fun. And there are many quotable lines! One of my favorite things about this book was the FMC was such a good human. She took care of her family, and her relationship with her father was so endearing. I definitely connected to the book on that level. This is my favorite of the 4 I have read by her. I will say toward the end, I had to remind myself that this was a romance so it had to have a happy ending.... <3

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St Martin's Press (Macmillan publishers) for an advanced e-copy of this book. I will have to get a physical copy to annotate and keep in my 5-star collection!

Actual rating: 2.5 stars .... generously rounded up.

This is my first Katherine Center and I must say, it did not really live up to the hype I've been hearing about it. I've heard that Katherine Center books are light and fun, but also have depth to them. I failed to see the depth in this one. I didn't buy the romance at all. Wasn't a fan of the main characters. The male was just ...... No. And the female made some really questionable and disappointing choices in continuously throwing herself at him.

Even though this one was disappointing, I do plan to pick up some of her others to try.

This book was another boy meets girl. They hate one another but do start to work with one another until you know what pops up!!! Of course after many misunderstandings and lots of back and forthing, cupid hits his mark and everyone lives happily ever after. Ta da!

Katherine Center follows a romantic formula that always seems to work for her. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for me.

✨ 𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝗪 ✨⁣
⁣
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮-𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Katherine Center⁣
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣
⁣
This book seriously feels like the warmest of hugs. It’s precious, funny, sad but not too, too sad, and downright adorable. The MCs have such a great dynamic that is so incredibly fun to read! I ate up every second of it!⁣
⁣
Center’s romances are so wholesome and cute. Most of the time, I’d like something a little less wholesome, but she does closed door so well that it really doesn’t even phase me. ⁣
⁣
Do know going into this that it contains things like cancer and death of a parent.⁣
⁣
Thank you so much to @smpromance for my eARC! It was so good that I simply had to buy a copy for myself, especially when I saw those hot pink sprayed edges. 💖

Synopsis:

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―but also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad. She gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction?

Review:

I absolutely loved this book! I found the characters so lovable, even grumpy sunshine Charlie Yates. The love story is such a slow burn and feels so natural and real. I cried so many times with the simple sweet things that they did for each other and how they cared for each other and their families. I loveee Katherine Center - her books and characters always leave a little imprint on my heart.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the digital copy!

The Rom-Commers was a fun, fresh book by Katherine Center. It's about Emma, an aspiring screenwriter who has put her life on hold to take care of her father. She gets a chance to go to L.A. to help super-successful screenwriter Charlie Yates rewrite a rom-com. But it's not all candy and roses. The question is: will she and Charlie be able to work together to get the screenplay done? And is their relationship a rom-com of its own? Kudos to Katherine Center for writing a book that kept me engaged from beginning to end. Highly recommend!

This might be my favorite book by Katherine Center, so far. She writes the most perfect rom-coms and has outdone herself this time. I went through a whole range of emotions from elated, frustrated, sad, hopeless, jealous, pleased and many more. I cannot wait to share this book with others.