Katherine Center does it again! I've loved all of her releases and this new one isn't an exception. If you're a fan of rom-coms this romance is perfect for you! Imagine meeting your idol, someone you looking up to for their work, and then trying to help them on a new project of theirs (that they may have utterly tanked...). That's exactly what Emma is getting herself into when you agrees to help her screenwriting idol, Charlie Yates, rewrite the worst rom-com she has ever read, and she'd know because she is completely smitten with rom-coms. Add in that this little agreement was never actually agreed upon, some family strain, and of course an ex or two and you've got a recipe for a hit rom-com all on it's own in this new release! If you are a Katherine Center fan or a rom-com fan this read is for you!

Katherine Center's 'The Rom Commers' is a delightful romp through the ups and downs of love and friendship that had me laughing, swooning, and rooting for the characters every step of the way. With her signature blend of wit, charm, and heart, Center crafts a story that feels like a warm hug on a rainy day. The camaraderie between the characters is infectious, and I found myself eagerly cheering them on as they navigated life's unexpected twists and turns. 'The Rom Commers' is a read that reminds us of the magic of love, and friendship. If you're in need of a pick-me-up, this book is sure to leave you smiling from ear to ear.

Five solid stars. I laughed -- a lot -- I cried, I fell in love with both Emma and Charlie. Absolutely stunning banter between the two characters. Couldn't have been better.

This is masterclass chick-lit perfection.

HUGE thanks to Netgalley and the publisher (St. Martin's Press) for allowing me to read/review this ahead of publication.

What a fun book! This was my first ever NetGalley read and I was so excited to get the chance to read one of my favorite authors, before this book comes out. The Bodyguard was one of the best romcom’s I’ve read and I felt like The RomCommers captured so much of what I loved about that book.

I thought the writing style was fun and engaging and loved that she at times paused to talk conversationally to the reader. I thought the dialogue was clever and at times reminded me a bit of Emily Henry. The family members were great and the book was really touching and heartwarming, making me tear up several times.

I loved the main characters and how they worked through issues together. I had a couple of small quibbles with how a few things were dealt with, but other than that thought it was a great read and highly recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC copy provided through NetGalley.

Katherine Center does it again - another beautiful slow burn rom com. Her words really resonated with me - the words were so exquisitely chosen. Both Emma and Charlie have baggage and it takes a screenplay and friendship to move them forward personally and romantically. The story they will tell will be one of triumph, happiness and love. Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC. The opinions are all mine.

What a lovely story. I feel like I learned more about what it means to be human and experience love, which sounds so odd for what could be described as a "rom-com", but wow, this was excellent. The characters are imperfect, but they each have enough depth to be relatable, lovable, and interesting. The ending made my face scrunch up with tears in the best way possible. I would recommend this to folks who like authors such as Emily Henry and Talia Hibbert.

If you love love, read this book. If you love characters you can root for, read this book. If you want insights and beautiful life lessons, read this book. If you want you laugh and cry, read this book.
Katherine Center does it again... hitting all the feels, writing witty and engaging dialog and exploring a whole new setting for love to transpire. This does not disappoint... for anyone who loves her books or is new to her... Rom-Commers is a perfect read!

I am deceased. This was my first Katherine Center and my God. Perfection. I cackled. I cried. It has been so long since a book has held me like this. Very reminiscent of The Happy Ever After Playlist (Abby Jimenez).

The banter. The tension. The falling in love. The showing of love. My God.

5 shining stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4.5 stars - I really enjoyed the Rom-Commers. The premise of the story has the leading lady and the leading man (and her writing idol) working together to revise his truly awful Rom Com script. So there are lots of nods to the trope and the mechanics of what makes a good one work and then also works those elements into the writers' interactions as she bit by charming bit wins him over. And of course, the story fulfills the ultimate promise of a great romance with a satisfactory HEA. The leading man was very sweet under his initial "don't believe in romance" exterior and it was nice to see the leading lady realize her potential and break free from guilt after all her dedication to her family. I also liked all the bonus love in the ending and epilog. But the ultimate testament to my enjoyment is that I am hunting down the author's blacklist since the other two books I've read by her (The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger) were also winners for me.

ARC courtesy of St Martin's via NetGalley release date June 6 2024. This is an unpaid review.

First of all, I inhaled this book!! I started reading it in the evening, stayed up too late reading, then woke up early and finished reading in the morning. I laughed, I cried, and I only wish I had more time with Emma and Charlie!

One of the things I appreciate so much about Center's books is that she writes real people with real issues and challenges. Both Emma and Charlie experienced a lot before they meet each other, and while it doesn't excuse some of the crappy behavior on Charlie's part in the beginning of the novel, as more and more is revealed about his history, it's more understandable the reasons he reacts the way he does.

Emma in particular grew throughout the novel, recognizing how life events shaped her behavior and taking steps to change for her own benefit. I appreciated how her relationships changed not only with Charlie but also with her family grew and evolved as she became more aware of her own stuff and the impact her actions were having.

One of the other things I found particularly delightful about this novel was the unabashed defense of the rom-com, and romance in general. Emma challenges Charlie about his beliefs about love and romance - namely that it has to be "real" in order for him to write about it effectively - in a delightful scene that I won't spoil any further.

Katherine Center became a quick favorite after reading “The Bodyguard” and I’ve since consumed almost all of her books. So when I learned that she was releasing a new book called “The Rom-Commers” I knew I would be hooked!

As an avid consumer of rom-com books and movies as I started the book I began to see how the book could play out and while occasionally what I thought would happen played out for the most part Katherine Center melts me on my toes. I would think the story was going one way and then she would surprise my so delightfully that I would gasp or laugh at the unpredictability of it all!

I was utterly charmed by both Charlie and Emma and seeing how they both grew and developed throughout the book. And I loved seeing the rom-com stereotypes being analyzed by both Charlie and Emma and then seeing those same stereotypes played out between them.

If you need a fun and happy book look no further than this one and run to your nearest bookstore/library!

Thanks to Katherine Center and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read an early access copy of this book!

I loved this book so much. I laughed, cried,, and felt pretty much the whole range of human emotion while reading. Katherine center is one of my favorite authors of all time and I will definitely be recommending this to everyone!

Thank you to Netgally for this ARC. I enjoyed this book. I read it pretty quickly, it’s easy to breeze through. I liked that the characters made me actually laugh at times. The book is dialogue heavy and I read it very fast speaking. I loved the development of the characters and that they really drive the plot.
With any forced proximity rom com book we always know how it’s going to end, but I think the author did a great job of still keeping the readers on our toes and surprising us.
It was also different to read a book where the narrator talks to the audience kind of breaking the fourth wall.

WOW. 3 hours. I sat and demolished this book in one sitting yesterday afternoon!

The Rom-Commers has all the things we have come to love and expect from Katherine Center! The banter, the flirtation, the hilarious dialogue, the real life struggles of family and work, and main characters that make you feel the feels!

Two writers are forced together to write a rom-com. Emma has been looking forward to working with her idol forever. Charlie just wants to get back in the game after life has thrown him curveballs. These two end up living together and exploring the elements that make rom-coms enjoyable. It's hilarious! Emma and Charlie also grow and learn to find happiness in the unexpected and kindness and healing from life's hurdles.

Read if you like:
♡ forced proximity
♡ hilarious banter
♡ opposites attract
♡ clean romance

Ages 16+ for some sexual references and mild profanity

Every single story that I read by Katherine Center is just…delectable. The characters are flawed but endearing, the romance is swoony, and there is humor, heartbreak, and profoundly beautiful (but hard) human truth.

When I finish her books, I just sit there and bask in the glow of it all with a stupid smile on my face - savoring it giddily. Maybe it’s just that she writes the prefect story *for me*, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she knows the secret to writing the perfect story, period.

Forget movies - her books are the ones I come back to and reread over and over again when I want to feel delighted, get out of a slump, and/or admire the execution of storytelling done really well. Emma and Charlie’s story, I know, will be no exception.

Rating: 5 ⭐️

I like Katherine Center because she writes romances that have a little extra "oomph" (and by that I mean they're smart and with emotional depth...not that they have a ton of extra bonus spicy scenes). Emma is recruited by a longtime friend to travel to L.A. to work with famous screenwriter Charlie Yates on his latest project. While Charlie is immensely talented at just about any genre, it seems that he's stumped by the rom-com, which just happens to be Emma's specialty. Emma and Charlie don't start off on the best foot but as they bring their script to life on the page, they grow closer to one another in real life.

This book is super enjoyable. The banter is there, the character growth is there, but I'm knocking off a star for how completely predictable it is. Even in a rom-com, I like a few things that catch me off guard (usually something I think Center does well) and I predicted every plot point in this one way too easily.

Side note: The cover is terrible. Why, with a character who is given two highly distinct outfits of a strawberry hoodie and a green tropical print dress, would you put her in neither on the cover?

Loved this book! 5 stars. A great story of forced proximity -what happens when a woman has failed-to-launch in life as a screenwriter is forced to pair up with one of Hollywood’s most successful screenwriters? Hijinks and witty repertoire of course. The book has some truly touching and funny moments.

Even though I delved into reading this knowing I’ve loved the last two Katherine Center books I’ve read -Hello Stranger and The Bodyguard- I also had a heavy level of skepticism this time around: would I be able to suspend belief and enjoy a book about people working in the entertainment industry in LA? I’ve lived in LA my whole life, grew up around the industry, have friends that are in the industry, and regularly get sidetracked by book details that aren’t right. But I only got minimally sidetracked here, which I would consider a success. Despite looking up certain locations in the book on maps to verify details (btw, the thing that happens on Mulholland Drive in the book is totally plausible, we really do tackle canyon and hillside driving like it’s no big deal), it was well researched enough that I didn’t get totally hung up on the small stuff. Look, there are holes -why couldn’t the MFC’s dad be taken places in a wheelchair- I was willing to believe that there were reasons that just weren’t explained because I was rooting for the main characters. And making you root for the main characters takes a tremendous amount of talent.

I loved the character development of Emma especially; how she wasn’t a wallflower, her perseverance, her awkwardness, and how she overcame the obstacles she put in her own way. I loved the build up of tension between her and the MMC, like you could see them falling for each other. Definitely was rooting for them to get their HEA.

The book also felt like it was written tongue in cheek about writers and their process. Even though KC isn’t a screenwriter, the process of writing scripts isn’t so different from writing a book from what I understand. I loved the habits, the banter between the writers, what felt like poking fun at neuroses and maybe stereotypes within the writing world. I’d love to see this made into a movie. A movie about a book about writing a movie, that would be very meta.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC. I have a feeling I’ll be reading it again. And again. And again.

Katherine Center does it again! She can do no wrong in my opinion.

This book hit allll of the rom-com notes for me. The witty banter, the opposites to friends to lovers storyline, the heart wrenching scenes and the as-it-should-be ending. I loved it all.

The Rom-Commers delivers everything I’ve grown to anticipate with Katherine Center’s books, and more. She gives us excellent characters, witty banter, and hilarious scenarios, while simultaneously guiding us through heavy topics and challenging situations in a beautiful, realistic, and hopeful light. The experience of reading this was so delightful. Emma and Charlie, their story, I just loved it all. My heart was all over the place, in the best way. She delivers so many emotions through her characters and writes in a way the reader can’t help but feel them too. I also really love her perspective and message about rom-coms and “happily ever afters.” The Rom-Commers, like many of her books, offers us all some hope, one Charlie Yates at a time. Another solid 5/5 stars for me!

Katherine Center has outdone herself with this one! The chemistry and tension between Emma and Charlie is masterful and the depth of the characters and the character development really helps drive the story and a deep connection between the reader and the protagonists. This book made me cry multiple times (which is not an easy feat) and stay up late into the night to find out how the story ends. The crossover with the Bodyguard was a fun nod that readers of Center's other books will appreciate.