Member Reviews

Katherine Center's books are some of the only romance books I enjoy and this was no exception! I laughed out loud and finished it smiling.

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I absolutely loved Katherine Center's book, The Bodyguard, so when I had to the opportunity to review this book I jumped at it!

Emma is a struggling screenwriter who has the chance to help her idol, Charlie, fix a horrible romantic comedy that he had written. As she explains the ins and outs of rom coms, poor Charlie's heart starts to open up to her, allowing some of her beliefs in romance to seep in. What began as a professional relationship certainly ended as more.

I truly enjoyed reading this story, inspired by Emma's selfless act of helping her dad and not wanting to do anything for herself to her family pushing her to pursue her dreams for once. And Charlie, while crushed by a past relationship gave up on "love", finds that sometimes it is real and not to push it away. This story was sweet, no spice and I wasn't missing a bit of it. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to review this ARC!

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Katherine Center does it again! I thoroughly enjoyed watching Emma & Charlie grow and evolve.

Emma is an aspiring screenwriter who puts her career on hold to be the sole caretaker for her father. Charlie is a famous screenwriter of action films but is trying his luck at a romcom for the first time - except he doesn't believe in love. When Charlie's agent hires Emma to help rehabilitate his abysmal script, sparks fly in this enemies to lovers, workplace (of sorts) romcom.

Emma and Charlie spar over everything. Their witty banter hides some deeply hidden baggage that each carries inside. Emma learns what it means to be cared for, not just care giving, and Charlie learns what it means to have someone in life who sticks around. I loved their chemistry and Center's writing, as usual, is warm and reliable.

I have to say that I wasn't keen on the ending (pre-epilogue). It didn't quite ring true as someone who's had my fair share of doctors and diagnoses. However, the anticipated HEA is heartwarming - especially for Emma's dad!

But for the ending, this would have been 5⭐️ so I’ll round up a bit to 4.5⭐️.

Note: If you enjoyed Center's earlier book The Bodyguard, MMC Jack Stapleton makes a cameo appearance in the Rom-Commers and is just as delightful as before!

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What a treat this book was! Full of laughter, heartache and love. It was a quick read and even though you know who gets together in the end it was still a magical read. Definitely add this to your tbr if you haven’t read it already.

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<b>"They're just not the kind of flowers you buy for yourself." Charlie was quiet a second, and I realized he was suppressing a smile. "I'm glad I bought them for you, then."</b>

dazzling! emotional! reader, you will WEEP! i loved it sm!

<b>”happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness."</b>

✨THINGS AND STUFF✨
-screenwriters
-la setting
-forced proximity
-oh no! you’re wounded (her)
-three cheers for information gaps
-cuthbert the guinea pig
-birthday biscuit donuts
-oh no! now YOU’RE wounded (him)
-love matters
-family dynamics
-#IsThisAKissingBook closed door. for immersion research. “are you ji chang wook-ing me right now”

thank you st martins press for an advanced copy!

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Thank you netgalley for the advance readers copy of The Rom-commers by Katherine Center.
This is the third book i read from Katherine Center.
I love the MMC and FMC's banter. I love the MMC's character development.
I love the FMC's sister.

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I love the banters between the two main character
what i dont love about the book is the fmc dont have a character development. I hate what she said to her sister.

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Thank you to @macmillan.audio for the audiobook & @smpromance for the digital ARC.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and one that I recommend to lots of friends. Her books are always so full of hope and inspiration. I loved the Rom-commers! This is of course a romcom, so there is plenty of banter, humor, and swoony moments. Because this is Katherine Center, there is also some healing from past wounds, overcoming major obstacles, family dynamics, and so much more. I think it was all balanced perfectly. Emma and Charlie start off not so great and I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop both with their work and in how they care for each other. This might be tied with How to Walk Away as my favorite KC book.

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Ok, I was getting so frustrated in the middle with the love build up, but IT WAS SO WORTH IT IN THE END! Such a sweet, perfect ending with so many profound thoughts about life and love that totally made me weepy in the best way.

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Katherine consistently knows how to get me to enjoy romance books- sweet, not over the top tooth ache sweet, and realistic. I loved this almost as much as I’ve loved “things we save in a fire”, but that one has a special place in my heart!


Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

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This was a fun and cute romance. There was aome good banter between the characters and a pretty interesting and unique background for them. Overall enjoyable read

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Katherine Center has once again written a fun and unique love story. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope used but felt that third act miscommunication to be trite.

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I dare you not to love this enemies-to-lovers romance with the two most lovable main characters of all time. It doesn't even matter that THE ROM-COMMERS was a closed-door romance. There is so much chemistry and heat between Emma and Charlie that you won't miss the smut (okay....you'll miss it, but you'll be okay).

Katherine Center does such a great job of adding quirky to her characters that feels genuine and also makes you love them. And talk about character flaws! Again, Emma and Charlie are able to be very flawed but still loveable to the point where you are dying for them to get their happily ever after.

THE ROM-COMMERS has plenty of snort-laughingly funny moments, but also tackles tough issues without ever feeling too bogged down with grief. This story never felt overly heavy even while exploring these characters' past trauma, health issues, and complex family dynamics.

In short, I loved, loved, loved this book! Definitely add it to your TBR and get ready for laughs, maybe a few tears, and all the feels!

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Absolutely adore everything Katherine Center writes! I highly recommend! From the first page to the last, I was captivated.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

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Katherine Center is always a 5 star read for me and this was no different. She creates these amazingly flawed but lovable characters that I immediately fall in love with and cheer for throughout the novel. And I laugh out loud so many times during her books, that I’m glad I read alone most of the time so I don’t embarrass myself with the snorts I make. She leaves me with a message after each book that keeps me thinking about it for weeks. I found this one full of laughs and deep thoughts. It was perfectly what I needed to read today.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
2024 Publication Date: June 11

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Best Workplace Romance
T.I.M.E. Best Books By Genre | Contemporary Romance
T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2024

"A great rom-com is just like sex... If you're surpised by the ending, somebody wasn't doing their job..." — The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Pages: 325
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sub-Genre: Workplace Romance
T.I.M.E. Jalapeno Rating:️ Closed Door Romance
Time Period: Contemporary
Location: Los Angeles, CA (US)
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

--------------------

All my book reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at thisismyeverybody.com/blog/what-book-should-i-read

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

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Katherine Center has once again delivered a captivating and heartwarming novel with "The Rom-Commers." As my favorite author, she never fails to create engaging characters and stories that perfectly blend wit and pathos. This latest book is no exception and had me kicking my feet in giddy joy and feeling tender-hearted for the characters from start to finish.

In "The Rom-Commers," Center brings together two screenwriters—one famous and one unknown—who must navigate the complexities of both their professional collaboration and their personal lives. The banter between the characters is delightful, and the wisdom interwoven throughout the story reminds us that we have the power to write our own narratives based on our personal outlook.

This story is a testament to Center's talent for crafting romantic tales that are both fun and profoundly moving. I couldn't put it down and devoured it in less than a day. Another winner from Katherine Center, and a book that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Erica Martirano, for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed it immensely!

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THE ROM-COMMERS is another volume of endorphin-releasing pleasure, witty dialogue, and warm, hopeful sentiments from gifted writer and author Katherine Center. Emma Wheeler, a screenplay writer, loves romantic comedies; and like the author herself, she’s good at it. More than good, she’s the best. But she hasn’t had her break and hit it big…yet. Her career seems sidelined by family woes, the death of her mother and a handicapped father. Emma is his caretaker, a task she chose and now puts before any personal ambitions.

Emma is asked by an ex to apply her writing expertise and fix famous Charlie Yates's new rom-com. I’m still not sure why she agreed, but Emma leaves home, bound for LA to work with Charlie for 6 weeks.

Sparks fly at first as adjustments are made to work together and to live together. But we know what’s going to happen, don’t we? You have to love Emma—open and honest, caring and kind, a good sister, and the perfect daughter. She’s not a wallflower, mind you, and she has a snarky side that brings a nice touch of humor. I was prepared to not like Charlie, but I just couldn’t do it. It just takes a little time for him to thaw.

Katherine Center has done it again, penning a story full of clever banter, superbly written narrative, and a touching emotional tone that never fails to move her readers. Her books are sweet without being sappy. And the characters are ones we all know. They’re loveable but humanly flawed. Most of all, they’re believable.

Is it too early to predict another sensational hit for author Katherine Center? I can even envision a film in the future. Yet, this story is different from her previous books, with a deeper feeling, maybe because it’s about a rom-com writer. And that is not only what KC does. It’s who she is. And I hope she keeps pushing her pen across paper and thrilling her devoted readers like me.

Published June 11, 2024.

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I will never pass by another Katherine Center book without buying it. I loved her previous books, but this one hit absolutely all the right notes, and reminded me of what's really important in life. I laughed out loud, I wanted to cry, I rooted for the good characters and abhorred the bad ones. READ THIS BOOK! And, by the way, I don't typically give 'rom-coms" five stars, but I'd give this one six if I could. Thank you, KC, for a lovely, funny, fabulous read.

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I was looking forward to Katherine Center's newest release, The Rom-Commers, which was a sweet, lighthearted read that also had its emotional and deeper moments. The opposites attract trope was so strong in this one, which I loved -- we have grumpy Charlie Yates who is trying to (and not doing so well at) writing a romcom since he doesn't really believe in love and sunshine Emma Wheeler, who is a lover of love and brought in as a ghostwriter to help with Charlie's romcom. The premise was so fun, but I did have a hard time buying into their relationship and getting invested, but one gesture after the next, around the 50% mark of the book, I started really enjoying it. 

The romance wasn't alway the centre of the story as there were other storylines as well, including Emma's family situation and her role as caretaker for her father and Charlie's health. I found myself less interested in some of the side stories than the love story which at times pulled me out of the book. I wanted to focus more on Emma and Charlie at times to get more invested in them, which eventually happened. I did really enjoy the ending of the book though and the commentary around life and how it isn't perfect or easy but to make the most of it with your people. I also really enjoyed the appearance of Jack Stapleton from The Bodyguard (which still remains as my fav by KC!)

Overall, I enjoyed this one and rated it 3.5 to 4 stars! If you are looking for a light yet emotional opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine romance about two screenwriters that also has side stories about family, health, and being happy in life, check out The Rom-Commers!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

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