I liked this one so much even though it was so weird! So much second-hand embarrassment. I hate that, but also props to Center for being so effective at making you FEEL things. Just not the feelings I really want to feel.

Besides the second-hand embarrassment, this book make me feel profound sadness, happiness and validation for my love of romance.

Charlie was a bit of a jerk, but that's how I like 'em. I really feel like we could have learned even more about him, but I'm glad that he was actually mean and it wasn't all just a simple misunderstanding. I would be annoyed in his position, too.

It's a silly book with lots of dark, emotional moments. Also lots of eavesdropping which usually annoys me but for some reason in this novel it didn't bother me. Maybe because it was so juicy every time?

There's no on-page sex, and there are mentions of cancer, chronic medical conditions, caretaking, and death of a loved one.

I have enjoyed all of Katherine Center's books and this one especially. I think I read it at the right time for me. I'm in a bit of a romance rut at the moment so it was exactly what I needed. I really enjoyed it. Emma gets an opportunity to help Charlie, her favourite screenwriter, to rewrite a rom-com script. He's the typical grumpy guy. She's the fun one. I just loved the humour, the focus on what makes a good rom-com and the emotional stuff too. There are some difficult situations in the book. But it's a romance so always a happy ending. I definitely recommend.

I LOVED this book (but is that any surprise, I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Katherine Center)! It’s about a very famous screenwriter (Charlie) who attempts to write a romcom and it’s terrible, so a completely unknown and semi-unemployed screenwriter (Emma) has to step in and help him, despite his protests. It’s hilarious and adorable and such a perfect summer read. There are so many swoony moments, and I loved Emma and Charlie so much 🥹 all the other characters were so great as well, and I loved the ending. I love Katherine Center’s books because they make you laugh and cry and reflect, and they’re all about romance, but also finding who you are and stepping into that. In conclusion, I loved this book, and you need to read it so that you can love it too!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. THE ROM-COMMERS is out now!

"The Rom-Commers" is an enchanting and captivating novel that artfully intertwines humor, romance, and personal development. Katherine Center masterfully crafts a compelling story around Emma Wheeler, a protagonist whose fervor for screenwriting and unwavering commitment to her family makes her incredibly relatable. Her odyssey is one of self-exploration, tenacity, and the pursuit of aspirations, is captivating and just already fun. The Rom-Commers really makes you want to dream big. Her best one yet.

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own. I have however purchased my own copy.

I will not be giving feedback at this time but I have written a review and am ready to post it to socials/goodreads once the st martins press boycott is over! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

Katherine Center is known for writing stories that are heartwarming, endearingly- flawed characters, joyful love with a dash of magic. I adore her backlist and was so excited to receive the advanced reader and listener copy for The Rom-Commers. Thank you Macmillan!

I went in looking for my next favorite read and unfortunately The Rom-Commers fell flat for me.
The main character Charlie Yates, was rude to the main character Emma. He came across as a bully and I couldn’t root for him. It was hard to watch Emma go after a man she had romanticized for a long time without seeing him for who he was showing her. I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them, even when they went on romantic excursions, the dynamic didn’t feel loving. Thankfully the narrator, Patti Murin was fantastic. I listened at 1.8x and she did a great job at both the male and female voices, it flowed nicely.

The story was about rewriting a Rom Com movie and I felt like the recipe that Katherine alluded to was missing in this book. I wanted to love it but I don’t. Perhaps it was a me thing. To me The Rom-Commers was missing that Katherine Center sparkle.

CW:
Death of a parent (described on page), Caregiver, Parent suffering from brain injury, parental abandonment, near drowning, car accident, grief, cancer

Katherine Center can do no wrong. Her characters are lovable, unique, flawed, relatable, and you can't help but root for them. Loved the plot, loved the humors, loved the fake-dates. So so good.

4.5/5

I was SO excited to read this book. The cover is gorgeous and I love the look of the sprayed edges. The book was so much fun and I really enjoyed the style of writing. I ended up missing my download window but ended up purchasing the book anyway. I know she has published quite a few books in the past and this was my first time reading this author. I definitely recommend.

Title: The Rom-Commers
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. 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.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. 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? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

Like all of Katherine Center’s reads, this was stellar! I don’t even know how many times I laughed out lead reading this. Emma’s voice is fantastic and her and Charlie together are so much fun. I loved the style of this novel and found it drew me in from the very beginning and made me part of the story. This would be an excellent beach or weekend read.

Katherine Center is a bestselling author. The Rom-Commers is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Absolutely loved this book!! I have been anticipating another Katherine Center novel. Charlie is a super famous award winning screenwriter, who Emma adores. Emma dreams of being a screenwriter but her career has been put on hold to care for her father. The opportunity of a lifetime is presented to her to rewrite a romcom script for Charlier as ghostwriter. She goes back and forth with the idea and ultimately says ok and leaves behind her responsibilities in the capable hands of her sister.

Emma and Charlie were fantastic, their chemistry was incredible and I was rooting for them the whole time. She believes in love and happily ever afters and he does not.

Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.

Katherine Center is becoming a must read author for me. I put her right there with Emily Henry and Christina Lauren.

The Rom-Commers takes on the grumpy/sunshine trope and enemies to lovers in an almost endearing way. The main characters make genuine efforts to listen and understand each other while overcoming obstacles that keep them apart.

There is a tiny bit of misunderstanding conflict, but it's done very well. The main characters keep silent on a specific issue due to the other character's engrained traits, which were well established within the story. Just read it and you will get what I'm talking about.

Is this story an epic work of great fiction?

No.

Is it light hearted, funny, and a little unrealistic?

Sometimes.

Is it a must read for romance lovers?

Hell Yes.

This was soooo fun! I loved the screen writer aspect with forced proximity. Katherine Center will never disappoint.

THE ROMCOMMERS review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

✍🏻Katherine Center is an auto-read author for me! She can do no wrong and all of her books are just so dang good! THE ROMCOMMERS was no exception! 💕 This book had me invested immediately and I kept thinking about it every time I put it down!

✍🏻Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Emma is trying desperately to make it as a screenwriter when she gets the call of a lifetime. World renowned screenwriter Charlie Yates needs a cowriter for his first ever romantic comedy and Emma has been chosen for the job. Romcoms are Emma’s favorite genre and she’s thrilled to have such an amazing opportunity. Until she finds out Charlie hates everything about romantic comedies and is only writing this script to fulfill a contract requirement. Emma is determined to make Charlie understand just how amazing romcoms are, by any means necessary.

✍🏻The premise of this one was so cute and I loved reading about the screenwriting process! There were several crossovers from KC’s other book THE BODYGUARD that were super fun to pick up on! This book felt like a big love letter to romantic comedies as a whole and honestly gave a new perspective on them (for me personally). Some of the scenes with Emma’s sister were hard to read because of the way the siblings talked to each other. Although it did feel true to life (sometimes people say awful things in the heat of the moment). Otherwise I really enjoyed this one and would highly recommend it! Now I need to finish the rest of KC’s backlist. 🤓

✍🏻Thanks to @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for my digital copies!

Emma's dreams of becoming a screen writer have been put on hold while she is the primary caretaker of her father. When she receives a call from her agent with an opportunity to work with famous screen writer , Charlie Yates, to rewrite his first romantic comedy it seems like her big break. Emma's sister steps in to help care for their father and Emma heads to L.A. to work with Charlie. The only problem is Charlie doesn't want her help.

This is another sweet and funny romance from Katherine Center to add to your summer reading list. I would recommend this is anyone who enjoys characters working through grief and trauma, enemies to lovers and closed door romance.

I have read a few Katherine Center books, her stories are heartwarming and cute! Needless to say I was really looking forward to this one!

The Rom-Commers is a cute, warm and fuzzy kind of read, about two writers coming together to write a rom-com. I thought the premise was sweet and was looking forward to an unsuspecting love story, created while working on a rom-com…. Sounds cute, right?! But it was a little too predictable…I had the ending all figured out early and then began to lose a little interest. Some of the circumstances that arose felt unrealistic/forced, or perhaps it was because it moved on quickly, not enough build up…that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I did! Once I got going, I finished it quickly! But, compared to some of Center’s other novels this one was just a little too fluffy and I didn’t love either of the main characters.

I am obviously the odd one out here because plenty of others have LOVED it!

I’d recommend this to those romance fans looking for an easy, quick, feel good read!

I've now read everything that Katherine Center has published, and I can say with certainty that she is one of my very favorite authors.

Everything she writes is so sweet, witty, and clever. Her characters are easy to fall for and the situations they get themselves into are so outrageous and lovable.

I really loved Charlie and was rooting for him, even when it was hard to do so. I also thought the setting, having it amongst stars and famous writers was such an interesting experience.

Talk about a slow burn, but in the best possible way!

This was my first Katherine Center book, and I was excited to be approved for this book since I've heard nothing but great things about her books. There were times I did genuinely enjoy the reading experience - some of the bantering was very cute - but I didn't enjoy the book overall. It's kind of enemies-to-lovers, which I'm usually fine with, but Charlie was too mean at points that I couldn't bounce back. I generally liked Emma, though I was frustrated at the end when she and her sister say horrible things to each other and somehow the sister ends up being the only one who needed to apologize. Since the majority of my dislikes are specific plot points, I think I'll give Katherine Center another try.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I find Katherine’s books easy to read and feel good books. However it missed something and I’m not sure what. I expected more between Charlie and Emma…not this constant I have feelings but we can’t be together. I also expected it to have more humor? I did like how he turned their journey into a story. That was pretty cute. But I was very shocked that his cancer went away just for him to have cancer again just for it to be a false alarm. I didn’t entirely feel like that was necessary with everything going on with her dad. I did really enjoy the close knit family part. My stomach was in my throat when her Dad fell and then crying when the pilot waited for her. All in all, I really enjoyed it!

Two screen writers- Charlie, a mega star screen writer who hates rom coms, and Emma, one who is unknown but OBSESSED with all things Rom Com, get thrown together to right a rom com. Can they live and work together, while dealing with their past/ current trauma AND write together? This book is definitely a fun read!

Overall, I enjoyed this one. However, for a book with Rom-Commers as the title, I thought it'd have more humor to it. There were aspects I liked, for instance: trying to break the MMC out of his rut, educating him on rom coms, and the pair's trial and errors and experimenting with things they included in their screenplay. What didn't hold up for me was the couple's chemistry together. I just didn't feel it. Their dialogue felt stiff and awkward. I hated that he was resistant to look at her, touch her, or kiss her. The awkwardness of her throwing herself at him was uncomfortable. I think someone with neurodivergence could understand/relate to this story. I, unfortunately, didn't.

I'll still recommend it. Just chalk it up to not being my fav of Katherine Center.