I have been a big fan of Katherine Center for a long time. Her books always put a smile on my face, make me shed a few tears and surround me with characters who I wished I knew personally. The Rom-Commers was no exception. In fact, I felt like it was my favorite book that she has written so far. I always enjoy the easy banter between the characters Catherine Center manages to get just right and the anticipation of romance that she brings to her books. The Rom-Commers possessed all those elements and more. I listened to the audiobook of The Rom-Commers that was narrated so well by Patti Murin. Her narration clearly distinguished between the many characters and easily drew me into the story. The Rom-Commers took place mostly in Los Angeles, California but also in Texas.

For the last ten years, Emma Wheeler had been her father’s primary caregiver. It was a twenty four hour, seven day a week job. Emma’s father was in a very serious accident that had left him partially paralyzed on his left side. He also suffered from Ménière’s disease. Emma had pledged at the time of her father’s accident that she would sacrifice her own plans for attending college and any career aspirations she might have had so that her younger sister, Sylvie, could live her dreams. The plan that Emma had devised all those years ago called for Sylvie to switch places with Emma in ten years.

Now almost ten years later, Sylvie had just graduated from college and she had secured a very prestigious internship. Emma was busy preparing a celebratory dinner for Sylvie when she received a phone call from Logan, Emma’s former boyfriend from her high school days and who was also her manager. Over the years, Emma had written many rom-coms that Logan had helped her enter in contests. She had even won some of the contests but Emma’s real dream was to write a screenplay. Logan had called Emma to offer her the chance of a lifetime job. Emma was offered the chance to work with screenwriter, Charlie Yates, as a ghostwriter. She was needed to help Charlie Yates rewrite a rom-com script. Charlie Yates was Emma’s idol. She admired and loved everything that he had ever written. How had Charlie Yates come to write a rom-com though? It was not his style at all. Of course Emma wanted the opportunity to work with Charlie Yates! She was totally on board until Logan told Emma that she had to go to Los Angeles to work with Charlie Yates in person for a minimum of six weeks. How could Emma leave her father for all that time? Who would take care of him the way she does? How could she not take advantage of this once in a lifetime chance, though? Sylvie gladly stepped up and insisted that Emma go. She would assume the role of caretaker for their father. In a matter of days, Emma found herself boarding a plane bound for Los Angeles to meet Charlie Yates face to face. If everything went according to plan, Emma would soon get to rewrite a rom-com with Charlie Yates. She had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming this. Emma was more nervous than she had ever been in her entire life. What would Charlie Yates be like? She worried about his reaction to her curly red hair that had a mind of its own. Would Emma be able to accomplish everything that Charlie would require of her to rewrite the rom-com? Would Charlie Yates prove to be all that Emma had hoped he would be? Would her writing be good enough to make an impression on Charlie Yates? Would Emma’s father be alright without her?

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center was everything I had hoped it would be and then some. It was funny, sad, frustrating at times and had the promise of romance that I have come to expect in Katherine Center’s books. I really enjoyed Emma’s and Charlie’s characters. They were both flawed but so endearing at the same time. From the beginning there so many unexpected moments that played on my various emotions. The Rom-Commers was the perfect beach read. I didn’t want it to end. Without any hesitation, I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Rom-Commers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It’s been forever, but finally sharing my review of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest (and LONG overdue) review!

I have yet to read a Katherine Center book that hasn’t been delightful and charming and bittersweet. This book was like if Katherine Center’s “in defense of rom-coms” manifestos were made into, you know, an actual rom-com. It was great. It would’ve been very easy for a storyline like this to turn overly saccharine or rely on a parade of tired microtropes, but trust Katherine Center to deliver on vibrant, lovable, flawed characters who feel very much like people who exist in our own lives.

I love that Emma was hopeful and optimistic despite her circumstances, but also that she had some very real darkness born from childhood trauma and near-debilitating guilt. Charlie was aggravating but lovable in a Harry Burns sort of way (in fact, a lot of Emma and Charlie’s dynamic reminded me of When Harry Met Sally), and the resolution of his character arc was sweet and satisfying. I loved how their relationship developed organically in the smaller, quieter moments they shared during their daily writing routine. I loved that Charlie actively respected and listened to Emma and eventually got over himself enough to compliment her openly (even though he was supremely shitty at apologizing, most of the time). And I appreciated that Emma frequently challenged Charlie’s arrogance and stubbornness, but also that she had the insight to know when and how hard to push his buttons productively. I also loved Emma’s family, especially her dad.

There were a few minor things I wish had happened, certain apologies and moments of self-reflection and redemption that would have been nice to see on the page (leaving it vague to avoid spoilers), but not having them didn’t detract from the overall message of the book: that life is messy and tragic, but love is essential.

And, of course, I loved the author’s note at the end, essentially a sequel to Katherine Center’s author’s note in Hello Stranger—and she brought in SCIENCE this time.

It’s not nothing to witness acts of goodness. In fact, it creates an expansive, uplifted, physical feeling in our bodies that psychologist Jonathan Haidt calls “moral elevation.” It impacts us—and changes us. This is documented.
Witnessing other people doing good makes us want to do better ourselves.
And don’t forget: We learn by watching.
Researcher Helen Fisher has studied love scientifically—most notably by doing brain scans of people in love as they look at photographs of the people they’re in love and she concluded that romantic love is not an emotion. It is a human drive, like hunger or thirst.
It’s not just something Hallmark made up to sell Valentine’s cards. It’s not a construct of the patriarchy. It’s a deeply embedded, essential component of the human experience.

I love an enemies to lovers story! Of course, this one starts off with Emma being so excited to have the chance to work with Charlie Yates- her favorite screenwriter! Things do not stick to the plan when Emma overhears Charlie expressing how much he DOES NOT want to work with her. Cue forced proximity work environment turned romantic!

I liked the journey this book took, however I do feel that the two MCs were very immature at several points of this book, but I do understand drama is needed to carry a enemies to lovers book to the end.

Overall, 4 stars from me!

This is only my second Katherine Center book, but both have been 5-star reads for me, so I think I can safely say that she's becoming a new fave author. There's something about her writing that just automatically clicks with my brain, and I could easily picture everything that happened as its own little movie in my head.

I absolutely loved every bit of this. The banter betwen Emma and Charlie was great. It was the perfect amount of slow-burn that I like in my romances, and besides just being a silly little rom-com, it also contained emotional depth. Basically, I laughed, I cried, and I swooned over Emma and Charlie's relationship.

I loved reading The Rom Commers. It was such a cute and uplifting story. I loved how positive the end was, the message was something I needed to hear now with life being so difficult.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing the chance to read and review this. I will try to post review soon.

Katherine Center is fast becoming one of my favourite authors! This book is amazing! The character development between Emma and Charlie gives you allllll the emotions. Laughter, heartbreak, hope, romance. I highly recommend this book!

Katherine Center has become an auto buy, auto read author for me! I absolutely loved this book.
I loved the character growth, the banter and the romance.
I feel like this book was written by a group of friends sitting around and talking about real life. I feel like you got to really know each character, and grow to love them.
Can’t wait for her next book!

I love anything and everything Katherine Center writes and the Rom-Commers is one of her best novels yet

Oh my god, this book. Emma Wheeler is a (realistically!) eccentric writer who loves a good happy ending, and has swapped her big dreams of screenwriting fame for big dreams of making sure her dad doesn't eat too much sodium or hit his head on anything sharp. Charlie Yates is the Glen Powell (by which I mean he's young-ish and hot and wildly successful - that is probably where the similarities end, but I couldn't think of any real famous screenwriters to compare him to that aren't like. A thousand years old or the worst people you've ever met. Or both.) of action movie scripts with a fear of water and also human connection. Despite both of their okay-est efforts, they wind up living together in Charlie's giant LA home to rewrite his god-awful romcom script that he's doing for less than stellar moral reasons. Charlie goes from kind-of-an-ass to down horrendous for Emma in truly record time. Emma does an insane amount of accidental eavesdropping that does not go well even one time. There's love! There's drama! There's a guinea pig with depression! There's a super sweet callback to The Bodyguard (another phenomenal Katherine Center book) that I did not pick up on until the literal end and then felt like an idiot for not clocking sooner! The video game PowerWash Simulator is mentioned? So much happened here, and I loved every second of it.

Another good book by Katherine Center. Enemies to lovers. The grumpy guy becoming a romantic. Super cute story line that had me laughing and tearing up. I recommend this one!

Sadly, this one is a miss for me.

The romance was not very believable to me and I was struggling to be invested in the story.

I considered DNF’ing a few times and probably should have.

I enjoyed this one! I think I might've expected too much out of it so it sort of felt a little flat? It wasn't bad though. I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would.

It took me a bit to see Charlie's appeal. He just didn't seem like the swoony MCM I've been reading about lately so it was hard to see why Emma adored him so much. Emma was fun! And I really loved the story of her dad. I don't often encounter Menieres in the books I'm reading so I always get very excited to see it featured since I have it (luckily mine is VERY mild), so it was very relatable for me regarding the sodium intake and all that fun stuff.

I did enjoy the slow-burn romance between Charlie and Emma and how it all came to be. I did get frustrated with Charlie but I think that's fair for anyone to feel.

Overall, it was a good romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

February is for Rom Coms and Katherine Center 💕

I was very excited my book club picked this for February! This is my second book by Katherine Center and won’t be my last. She has the perfect amount of cute, side stories, and family storylines. Time to read some more romances 🥰

I've always been a big fan of Katherine Center and this book has only made me love her even more!

Center does a great job pulling you in with her romances and I read this book in almost one sitting! There's something about her writing that makes me want to stop everything and just read as fast as I can. Maybe it's something about how we really get to know the characters, and their struggles.

This is a must read!

The term auto-buy author gets tossed around a lot - but Katherine Center is truly a drop-everything-to-go-to-the-bookstore-to-get-her-new-book kind of author for me. Her books just make me run the emotional gamut - she'll make you swoon, cry, and laugh all in the same book. The Rom-Commers is no exception - it's heartfelt, adorable, and so, so good. I loved Charlie and Emma - they were so entertaining from page one and I couldn't help but to root for them! The opposites attract vibes, the banter, the head butting about romance - they were just perfect. Their story was impossible to put down - definitely a read in one or two sittings kind of book. If you're looking for a great romance to read in February, you should definitely add this one to your TBR!

I LOVE Katherine Center, and I devoured this book, as per usual, in a day. It's funny and romantic and hopeful and sad in all the right parts. Highly recommend!

I will love everything this author does. The feels, the vibes, the laughs, the tears. Gah the books just make ya feel all the things. All the stars.

Cute story! I listened to the audio version of this one! Katherine Center never disappoints! Wasn’t my favourite book of hers, but I still really enjoyed it.

This was one of my top 12 reads of 2024. It started slow for me but quickly captured my attention. The story was so relatable and realistic. The characters are the kind of characters you hate to love but you absolutely do love them. The banter is everything. Could not put it down.

I get so excited whenever a Katherine Center book gets released as I know it is going to be a great one! The Rom-Commers a bookish novel, following an aspiring screenwriter who gets hired to fix a rom-com script written by her hero Charlie Yates. She ends up moving in with Charlie to help him with the script and along the way both of them find themselves. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!