THE ROM-COMMERS by Katherine Center is a sweet, funny story about overcoming grief, survivors guilt, illness, caretaking, and putting your life dreams on hold after tragedy. I know, sounds hilarious, right? It's told in Center's usual gentle, optimistic way. The first person, fourth wall breaking writing helps make it all more charming and touching.

She’s done it again and of course I knew she would. I loved every minute of this book. I didn’t want it to end and that’s how you know it’s special. Center created a world where the characters are all so vivid and clear, the setting was a place I could clearly picture in my mind, and the struggles and conflicts felt authentic. I was completely enthralled. ❤️

Of course, this had a romantic element to it, but it also had a strong family arc and a sister storyline to love. It will make you laugh and smile and dare I say, shed a tear or two. 💕

And if you read The Bodyguard, you’ll love the Jack Stapleton cameo!!! He’s fantastically woven into this story. Perfect.

This book comes out in June and I hope everyone preorders it so you have it on pub day! 🎉

Thank you StMartinsPress and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. And thank you Katherine Center for the joy and fun you bring to us with your work. ❤️

Katherine Center has quickly become one of my must read authors. This book lived up to everything I have come to expect from her books. The grumpy sunshine trope was done to perfection.

This book teaches that tragedy in your life doesn’t have to be the end. You can still have your happily ever after. Katherine even sneaks in a cameo from one of her other books. It’s all amazing.

If you’re a fan of well done romcoms do yourself a favor and read this one when it comes out in June.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I'm grateful I got to read this book before it was published. I was a great read that I could not put down. I love how it all tied up. It's def a great Rom- Com

Complete and total perfection. Nobody sparks joy quite like Katherine Center. All the stars for this wonderful book!

Another 5 star read!! I love that there was a gues appearance from bodyguard and all of this makes me want so much more out of this universe Katherine Center has built. I could tell I slowed myself reading this one. It was just too amazing to read in one sitting like I always do.

I discovered Katherine Center‘s books last year and she is now a permanent addition to my must read list. Additionally, she is the author, I continuously recommend to friends and family. Nobody does witty banter between love interests like her. Sometimes banter in books can come off as cheesy or try hard, but that never happens in a Katherine Center book. Her banter is flawless! Emma Wheeler is a delight of a lead, and her POV was absolutely charming. Charlie Yates grew on me. (I didn’t always like how mean he was but I came to understand his reasons why). If you are a romcom girlie, this book is for you. I loved all the inside jokes about romcoms and the movies. And thank you so much for the Jack Stapleton cameo.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for it on this review

Katherine Center is an author that always goes straight to the top of my toppling TBR list! 📚

And, her latest may be my new favorite from her, yet!! I know, I said that last time, but it’s true! She has outdone herself AGAIN.

Emma Wheeler has spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—and she is actually VERY good at it! But as the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care, her dreams to become a screenwriter have been on hold.

Until she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—the screenwriter that she has always obsessed over.

He has been coerced into writing a ROM-COM and it is terrible-“ So terrible that there needs to be a new word created to describe terrible.”

Because he doesn’t believe in LOVE.

But, Emma is the type of girl who always makes lemonade out of lemons. And, she is determined to stand strong and convince him that Rom-Coms do matter, and “love wasn’t just a concept created by Hallmark to sell greeting cards!”

When you read this author’s work you always feel like a friend is telling you a story. And, you will wish this friend was actually a friend of yours.

You will want to be adopted into the family you are reading about, and you will want to start dancing. Because her books ALWAYS include dancing! 💃🏻

Her stories aren’t at all spicy-but they are always sweet. This one reminds you to focus on the things the people in your life are doing RIGHT, instead of what they may be doing wrong-and to always be grateful.

Yep-I loved it!

Watch for cameos from Jack Stapleton and Hannah, from her book the “The BodyGuard”.

Available June 11, 2024 just in time for your beach bag!

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

This book started off really slow for me but it got better in the second half. I hated the MMC in the first half, but he redeemed himself. Maybe that was the author’s intention, but there were points when the dialogue was just plain mean. The ending was perfect and made the rest of the book worth it.

Emma is the sunshine everyone needs but has let life's burdens overwhelm any sense of self. Feeling responsible for her disabled father and much younger sister has taken over. A chance of a lifetime to work with THE Charlie Yates abruptly changes her life. Emma flies to LA with the encouragement of her family and the hopes to fulfil a dream.
Equal parts romantic as it is funny, The Rom-Commers epitomizes a romantic comedy. I could easily see this as a fun and flirty film and it will remain a beloved book that I'll re-read just for the joy of it. There's one sentence that I will never forget and never stop cracking a smile at. I about died laughing.
Emma and Charlie are main character goals. I love them individually but most especially together. The dialogue between the two is fantastic.
Thank you to SMP and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Absolutely loved this read. I am a sucker for characters with great banter and this book delivered! Emma and Charlie both showed great growth throughout the story and it was fun to see their relationship develop. A must read for all rom-com fans!

Katherine Center's books to me are like taking a big bite of cotton candy. Light, fluffy, sweet, and a special treat. As her main character in "The Rom-Commers" explains, people read and watch romances because they want to see a happy ending, and she understands that to the letter in all of her books I have read.

In "The Rom-Commers," I enjoyed following Emma to L.A. where she meets a young and famed scriptwriter who has no idea what makes a rom-com work, but has to write one as part of a deal that will allow him to eventually make the movie he really wants to make. Though he doesn't want Emma's help, whatsoever, they end up start a begrudging partnership that quickly unfolds in multiple layers.

"The Rom-Commers" is the kind of book you can easily speed through when you're in a funk and just need something to take your mind off the real world for a little while, with a spunky protagonist, a fun premise, and a cute annoyances-to-love romance.

Katherine Center does it again!! She somehow writes everyday, difficult situations and leaves you filled with hope and joy. This story is hope-filled and delicious just like a good rom-com should be. The characters are captivating and our heroine Emma dazzles. Our brutally honest and often grumpy Charlie turns out to be an onion with deep layers. I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down. These characters and this story will stick with me.

If Katherine Center writes it, I’m going to read it. And I’m going to mark and highlight and ruminate on every last word even the Acknowledgments.

Thank you so much to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this book!

This was my second Katherine Center book and it was so fun! This book follows Emma & Charlie - two screen writers who work together to co-write a romantic comedy. Center's writing is just so fast paced and intriguing and I picture her books as movies the whole time I read them.

The main issue I had with this book was the male main character, Charlie. He was such a jerk through the whole entire book, yet we're supposed to want Emma to fall in love with him anyway. Towards the end, he gets his positive character arc, but it just made the majority of the book hard to root for them as a couple.

Overall, this was such a fun and quick read even though it wasn't my favorite from Center!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced readers copy of The Rom-Commers

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. Emma is finally going to get her chance at writing a screen play. Her friend Logan has set it all up for her. One problem is she has to go to LA. The other problem is the writer she will be working with doesn’t want to write with her. Katherine Center has written another great story of love and romance. This was a light hearted quick read that everyone will enjoy. I do think the cover could be more inviting. But, don’t judge a book by its cover!

Katherine Center's books should be classified as narcotics. They always leave me on such a euphoric high, so blissfully happy and hopeful. I don't know how she does it.

Meet Emma, a writer who has spent the last ten years looking after her dad after a tragic accident. She gets the opportunity of a lifetime helping her idol, Charlie Yates, a dramatic screenwriter who has won all the awards. She has to help him with his rom-com, which is terrible. Let the shenanigans begin.

I love that Katherine Center wrote this whole book as a defence of romance and rom-coms. The characters are wonderful, and when they are together, it's absolute magic.

Thanks to Netgalley and St.Martin's press for the advanced reader copy. I look forward to June 11, to get a physical copy of this book, with it's absolutely gorgeous cover. I love this book and highly recommend it!

Emma, a gifted but unknown writer whose life revolves around caregiving for her disabled father, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to go out to LA and collaborate with Charlie, an award-winning screenwriter who certainly has his own demons and dark corners. Their unlikely partnership starts out rough and blooms into much more.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🚫

Katherine Center books are always unique. This book about writing was a bit on the nose in terms of talking about the industry. Some of it felt like insider baseball but I enjoyed those bits. Her characters are great and likable, even in their annoying traits.

My one criticism of this book was the use of three separate instances where Emma eavesdrops to her own peril. Using that device three times to drive the plot felt unnecessary.

I usually like a little bit of steam in my romcoms and this one was quite devoid of it, but it worked really well. This book built emotion better than many I’ve read lately.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy! This book publishes on June 11, 2024.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center focuses on two screenwriters attempting to fix a bad romcom screenplay. So, since there is some stuff here about writing, I feel I shouldn’t use cliches to describe it. However, I just can’t help it. I absolutely must say that I laughed out loud and had tears in my eyes at various points in the book. I also have to say that this is the best romcom I have read in a very long time. So, please forgive these lapses as I rhapsodize about this novel.

First, the book has so much heart. The reader roots for the main characters from the beginning. They are all good people. Second, beneath the swoons and banter, there are some life lessons here. For example, we know that a romcom, as well as life, will end the same way. “So, it can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there.” Also, “Love is something you can practice. It’s something you can choose to get good at.” And finally, humor is present throughout, even though the characters face some tough challenges. Human dignity and resilience prevails and there is so much joy.

Normally, if I think a romcom is fun and well-written, I give 4;stars because, well, you know, it’s just a romance. However, because this book checks all the boxes of a really good romcom, AND there is more here that the reader can carry into his or her own life, it earns 5 stars.

Katherine Center can do no wrong. Last year at this time I had never read her, and now I’ve read everything she’s written and am waiting impatiently for more. She’s one of those writers who delivers a happy ending, but she destroys you emotionally before you get there. Up there with Emily Henry and Kristan Higgins, she fools you with the sparkly covers and adorable banter, and before you know it, you are sobbing and it’s 3 a.m. Emma and Charlie’s story is sweet, sad, and beautiful. You should read it.

“I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we’re longing for—adventure, excitement, emotion, connection—we turn to stories that help us find it.  Whatever questions we’re struggling with—sometimes ones so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them—we look for answers in stories.  Love stories had lifted me up, delighted me, and educated me on the power of human kindness for years. I knew a lot about love. A lot more, I bet, than all the people who took it for granted. So it was fine. I knew who I was.”

How does Katherine Center always seem to know the exact words I need to hear or need to express my own feelings. To say I love her books and her writing is a vast understatement. So I can’t tell you how excited I was to receive an early copy of her upcoming novel The Rom-Commers! (like fangirl excited!)

The Rom-Commers follows Emma, who dreams of being a screenwriter as gets her once in a lifetime opportunity to help re-write a rom-com script (her favorite type of story) with the famous screenwriter (and her own personal favorite writer) Charlie Yates. Once small problem. Charlie doesn’t want to do this project as he doesn’t believe in rom-coms or even in love for that matter. So how can she convince him that not only does the world want the typical romcom, but that love is real.

This book was everything. I was the perfect grumpy vs sunshine story full of witty banter. I was full of swoons, and laughter, and heavy moments, and love. It was a perfect example of a typical romcom and the joy they can bring to our lives because: “Real life doesn’t come with warnings.” “That’s why fiction is better than real life.”

Mark those calendars now, this one comes out June 11, 2024!

Thank you so much to @katherinecenter @stmartinspress @smpromance and @netgalley for this early copy of this wonderful story!