Thank you to St. Martin's Press for a Netgalley ARC in an exchange for an independent and honest review.

Emma Wheeler has been dreaming of becoming a screenwriter her entire life. She obsesses about every aspect of it. There's nothing she loves more than a wholesome, make you weak in the knees and feel all the feels rom-com that comes complete with the much coveted and non-negatable happy ending. Sadly, Emma's dreams were put on pause 10 years ago when her family was tragically changed forever, and she became the sole caregiver of her father, while she encouraged her younger sister to live out her dreams in college.

Emma lands the offer of a lifetime when her manager (and ex boyfriend) calls to inform her that Emma's all time favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, was in major need of help rewriting his "apocalyptically shitty" attempt at a rom-com screenplay. And what's worse? Charlie doesn't believe in rom-coms, or love, or epic "make time stand still" kissing scenes. He's essentially only writing this move in order to get the green light on a different project he feels more passionately towards. Little does he know, Emma has made it her mission to make Charlie rewrite his view on rom-coms and love, and maybe hers too. In order to make Emma's dreams a reality, her younger sister steps in as caregiver for their father and Emma jets off to LA to have the summer adventure of a lifetime with her long time role model-THE Charlie Yates.

I've loved other Katherine Center novels before, but this one takes the cake-bar none! The witty banter between Emma and Charlie reads like a movie and feels so natural. It's as if the scenes play out before you. I honestly speed read this book in one night simply because I couldn't-and quite frankly didn't want to-put it down. Spoiler alert: I especially loved the sneak peek cameo from Jack Stapleton-a main character in her earlier novel "The Bodyguard."

Rom-Commers pulls at all the heart strings and spreads the feeling of genuine love and importance of family and just simply being appreciative for all that you have. Rom-Commers is set to release June 11th, 2024 and I expect it to be a must read "beach read" this summer. Mark your calendars! You're not going to want to put this one down.

Katherine Center is wonderful. Her books can be over-the-top, but I also love that about them. I didn't find this one quite as wonderful as Hello, Stranger, but it did make me cry. I wasn't clear on the medical possibility of mistaking bronchitis for lung cancer, which bothered me—and I didn't think "saving" Charlie was necessary and the message of the book could have been even stronger if Emma was happy to have him for as long as she could regardless.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! The range of emotions I felt with Emma and Charlie was so fun! I love how she includes medical conditions as part of the story line. And as always there is forgiveness for the characters, which makes it feel so real and relatable. Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this book.

Such a fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone.

When Emma is asked to come and ghost write a rom-com to fix a terrible script written by her favorite screen writer, she agrees, reluctantly. Emma leaves her responsibilities, including her role as full time caretaker for her father, and heads to LA, only to find that Charlie, her favorite writer of all time, never agreed to her help and has a high level of disdain for her choices. Emma makes it her goal to make this skeptic fall in love with love.

Katherine Center's books always find a way to make me cry, and this was no exception. The over all theme is that love is essential, and that finding the joy in life matters. This book was beautiful, and I absolutely recommend it to anyone in need of a reminder that sometimes there is a choice to find joy, even after tragedy.

I received a free copy from St Martin's Press through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

i was super excited for this one because i adore the bodyguard with every fiber of my being but it ended up being a tad disappointing :(

dont get me wrong it had a great premise and the beginning to like 50% or so was promising but the last half was YIKES. this could be the slump talking so don’t let me dissuade you, but there was banter galore and charlie was whipping out *the* most romantic things outta his ass and i WEPT. (ask my roommate, whom i couldn’t stop texting).

this is all to say if you liked her other books, naturally you’ll enjoy this one. i may just have to give hello stranger another shot.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center 4/5 ⭐️
Will be published June 11, 2024

This book was so cute! I decided to read it because I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, and this book did not disappoint! I was looking for a rom com book, and as the title suggests, it’s exactly what I was looking for. There are some romances out there where the relationship feels forced and the characters should not be together- this is the opposite of that. It’s one of the few romance books I’ve read where I really think the main characters are perfect together! Truly such a fun read!

*I received this book as an ARC but the opinions are my own

"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. "

I don't even know how to start with this review other than to say that this book is such a slow build. It's not a slow build story wise, but character wise. I didn't think i'd like this one as much as her other ones but god it snuck up on me. Katherine writes such tragic types of backstories but such hopeful amazing messages filled in between and this is no exception. Emma is the type of character I could relate to so much. Her older sister burden, her trauma, her love for romance and happy endings, I understood and I wanted all of that for her. Charlie was such a complex, cynical character and man he broke my heart. The way he loved Emma in the most selfless way had me bursting into tears throughout reading this book. I don't want to spoil too much, but I adore him. All this to say, I think this story will stay with me for a ong time. It has hilarious banter, notes of trauma and sacrifice, family, and most of all a very heartfelt love story. I definitely recommend it to everyone.
Thank you so much to Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The rom-commers is exactly what it promises to be based on title alone. Cheesy, cute and funny in the best kind of way. A quick, easy read that will leave you feeling light. Definitely enjoyed this one!

Thank you to the publisher for this gifted ARC

Emma is an aspiring screen writer, who gets what she thinks will be her big break. Little does she know she’ll be the star of her very own rom-com. This book made me laugh and cry and I couldn’t put it down.

Katherine Center can do no wrong!! Love love loved this one. The story just sucks you in right away. I finished it in less than 24 hours! Multiples times where my heart was in my stomach. I felt like I was feeling what the characters were going through. Cried right along with Emma.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is the 3rd book I have read by Katherine Center. Prior to this, I read and LOVED The Bodyguard. I also read and liked to a lesser extent Hello Stranger. I was thrilled to get an ARC of her new book, The Rom-Commers.

What didn't work for me was the fact that Charlie was pretty awful to Emma at various points in the book. So was her ex-boyfriend Logan. They said and did some heartless, mean things to her. I didn't really like either one of them and I didn't get the chemistry between Emma and Charlie. I also found Emma's backstory to be pretty sad. Honestly, I felt like she needed to ditch the toxic men and get some much-needed therapy.

What did work for me, though, was the ending. The ending is just as warm and gooey as you could please. One thing that I love about Katherine Center's books is that she often drops some life wisdom in at the end that elevates the book from your typical romance/feel-good story.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book. I didn't enjoy it as much either of the others I have read, but I will continue to seek out her books.

I loved this book. I laughed so hard at parts and then also cried. I loved the humor and the one-liners. Parts of this book really tugged at my heart in the best way. I adored the pet guinea pig so much! I loved the characters, their relationship, the tension, and their banter. Such a great rom-com with a very satisfying epilogue to tie it all together.

I really enjoyed this book! I love the twist in it and the banter! I really liked her family and support and relationships with her dad and sister. He was a character I feel like we don’t see a lot, so sweet and tough. Well done!!

I could not put this book down. The Rom-Commers is an emotional and heartwarming romance and I recommend picking it up when it publishes on June 11, 2024. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a funny book. I laughed so hard at some of the scenes. It’s not all laughs though. There’s a wonderful storyline full of wonderful messages about life. The writing is wonderful. I enjoyed this book so much. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

Emma is a struggling writer that is sent to help a very, very famous screenwriter revamp a romcom script. Emma's friend, and manager, Logan has her fly to LA to stay with Charlie for six weeks, but failed to mention this to Charlie. Eventually, after Emma overhears far too many conversations about her, they get to work.

Emma and Charlie have a lot of push and pull at the start of the process, and they seem to get along fairly well once they settle into a routine. Most of their writing time is actually glossed over and summarized after several weeks. They do things for "research" and it becomes quite obvious that Charlie has a little bit of a thing for Emma, but he doesn't willingly admit feelings and tells her he doesn't believe in love. He also has an ex-wife that's not entirely out of the picture as they share custody of a pet and she stays on top of him about going to the doctor, even though she left him. He's open and honest about some things people might avoid, like his previous cancer diagnosis, but clams up when it comes to anything related to Emma. She really throws herself at him a few times, and comes across as a desperate manic pixie dream girl at times with her crazy red hair, easily hurt feelings, and strawberry sweatshirt.

To be completely honest this felt like Beach Read for screenwriters. Charlie doesn't believe in love, happily ever afters, etc. His wife left him and he was hung up on that. He doesn't have a good relationship with his mother. She's got some family baggage and a dead parent as well. Emma starts teaching him about the genre. She took him line dancing. She gets him out of his comfort zone. She gets to work on something with a more famous and accomplished writer that's outside of her normal wheelhouse. The characters don't feel fresh and new, or like fully formed individuals but more of an amalgamation of characteristics from popular books over the last three years.

"Happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness"
Romantic Comedy books are all about the journey, not the destination.
How a couple ends up falling in love and having a happy ending is where the fun lies.
With Katherine Center's latest novel - The Rom-Commers, we meet Emma Wheeler, someone, after a few tragic incidents, becomes the sole caretaker of her father in Texas. She gave up her entire future as an aspiring writer, in order to watch him full time.

By chance, her long time friend finds a way to send her to Los Angeles, to meet Emma's biggest screenwriting idol Charlie Yates. They end up living together in his mansion, so she can help rewrite his romantic screenplay.
The Rom-Commers is written by a fan of rom-commers and is all about rom-comming. It's your basic, run of the mill rom-com - it includes eating cereal without milk, lots of deli meats, drawers of oscars, an unused Esther Williams pool, all the things that make a rom-com witty and completely again, only a rom-com can do.

Unfortunately, as much as I loved Center's past novels, I found this one to be juvenile and lacking depth. Charlie swears he will never love anyone, and it's up to Emma to show him how romantic he can be. I was waiting for reenactments of the famous deli scene from When Harry Met Sally, meeting on top of a famous tower ala Sleepless in Seattle, you get the idea.

It was more reminiscent of Tessa Bailey or Lucy Score, as opposed to Kristin Hannah or even Christina Lauren. It lacked depth and more character development. Why was Charlie the way he was? Could we have had more of Emma's sister or her BFF who united them to begin with? There's no real reason why they are together to begin with.

I will not give up on Center's books, but this one just missed the mark for me. Perfect for one day summer reads.

Okay, everyone!! Katherine Center has outdone herself. This book right here....is so good I could spit!

The premise is just, PERFECT. The characters are simply, ICONS (especially Cuthbert the guinea pig). The comedy is ELITE. The romance, TOP-TIER. I laughed so hard and just had to sit there in silence sometimes to take in the perfect dialogue. I was in awe of the story she told and it made me want to tell a better story to myself about my own life.

Lighting a candle, praying to an altar, putting out the VIBES that this book gets made into a film.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it restored me.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Have you ever read a book that feels like it was written just for you? I hadn't until I read this book. There were so many elements of this book that connected with me. I understand the importance of being spoiler free, so I can't get into many details, but I just felt so many moments that just hit me hard on a personal level.

Emma Wheeler, lover and non-professional writer of romantic comedies, gets a once in a life time chance to help re-write a horribly written romantic comedy script with the famous, and her favorite, screenwriter Charlie Yates. When Emma finds that the script in question is due to the "down with love" Charlie having a bad case of the romance yips, she decides to show him everything wonderful about rom-con's and that love stories can matter. Will she be able to break into his closed up heart and show him that everybody deserves a Happily Ever After?

My Grade: A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️ out of 5.

The Good:
-Ménière's Disease and Caregiver representation. Thank you to the author for this!
-I absolutely loved the banter between Emma and Charlie. I loved how she gave it right back to him and got his wheels spinning.
-Screenwriting!
-Poor, sweet little Cuthbert.
-Cameo from characters of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.
-Pocket kisses!

The Meh:
-I would have absolutely adored more kissing. I feel that there just wasn't enough. But I can get over it, considering how much I absolutely loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me and others to read this wonderful story!