2.5/5

Thank you for the advanced copy! I was excited for the opportunity, since Katherine Center has written a couple of my go-to- recommendation novels. To be honest, though, this one fell very short of my expectations. I would have DNF’d it at 25% if it hadn’t been an ARC and if it hadn’t been a quick read.

I was just… bored? The plot has so much potential, but it all felt so short-lived and surface-level all the way to the ending. I would have loved more character development and maybe even a heavier emphasis on the tone/banter between MCs. At no point was I excited to see what happened… unless you count the guinea pig?

It could have been a fun spin to have more of a dual perspective - to have gone back and forth between reality and the script they worked on. Or really just to have provided more depth and material.

I’ll copy and paste this to my Goodreads account.

Having read and enjoyed two previous books by Katherine Center (The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger), I requested a review copy of both the ebook and audiobook versions of The Rom-Commers from NetGalley. The story centers around an author/aspiring screenwriter named Emma. Emma has long been a fan of a screenwriter named Charlie Yates. When she gets the chance to help him rewrite a failed script, she jumps at it. However, Emma feels a lot of worry and guilt for leaving her disabled father in the care of her sister while she jets off to LA to work with Charlie.

At first, Charlie is a jerk. He doesn't believe in love, much less rom-coms. Emma is determined to change his mind.

There were a few things that I enjoyed about this book. I have one of the same medical conditions as Emma's father and my husband is a survivor of the same disease that Charlie was recently cured of. I also loved Emma's relationship with her father and sister. The author's audiobook narration was enjoyable as well. The drawbacks for me were that Charlie remained kind of a jerk for most of the book and overall the book was pretty slow-moving for me.

This was a 3.5 star book for me, rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for review copies of the ebook and audiobook versions of The Rom-Commers.

So needed this in my reading rotation after several serious reads. Love Katherine Cente’r’s writing and this may be my new favorite by her. Emma, a screenwriter has been caring for her dad every day for 10 years after a devastating accident that left him a widower with severe debilitating injuries. Their relationship brought tears to my eyes. Emma is given the opportunity to rewrite a rom com script written by her very favorite author, Charlie Yates, and the fun begins. The dynamics between Emma and her sister also rang true. Sisters sometimes have a love/hate relationship.
Their interactions were so convincingly realistic, given their back stories, and I so appreciated the hilarious scenes in the closet, on the diving board, and on the dance floor. Katherine Center had me laughing and crying, caring for both Emma and Charlie and feeling ❤️ throughout this read…something special that so many writers are unable to achieve. I grew to love them both. This is a perfect feel good book to immerse yourself in during these hot summer days on the beach, at the lake, in the pool, or in a comfy chair in an air conditioned house. Do not pass this heart warming read up…it will bewitch you!
Many many thanks to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this fabulous read, to be published on June 11th.

(4.5 out of 5 - rounded down to 4)

Katherine Center's more recent works have hit every other time for me. Example: Loved The Bodyguard; Didn't really like Hello Stranger. And now here we are with The Rom-Commers and she's back on top! This was a quick read and I finished in I think 4 days while also reading other books.

I HATE this cover though - I am so sorry, but it is just ugly to me and doesn't seem to fit with the aesthetic of her other works.
 
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Such a cute story! I really loved Charlie! He was a grumpy guy, and a little bit clueless, but he was adorable.
I fully expected there to be a big tragedy at the end, because Katherine is know to bring out all the tears.
Color me surprised when everyone got their happy ending, though it was a little touch and go for a minute there.
Really great read, with fun tropes like grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, celebrity crush, mental health rep, disability rep, and all kinds of yumminess in between.

✨Book Review: The Rom-Commers✨
Author: Katherine Center
Rating: ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

I’m telling you now…this review is based mostly on vibes and feelings because I absolutely fell in love with The Rom-Commers and and still get giddy AND tear up every time I think about this book.

Last Summer I read Katherine Center’s book “The Stranger” and I liked it a lot. So when I saw the ARC of The Rom-Commers come up on NetGalley I knew I needed to request it. I figured it had to be just as good.
Wrong. It was better.

I read it in 2 days. I devoured it. I took it to work and read it during my planning period instead of putting in grades (shhh…don’t tell). I took actual phone screenshots of passages that I read aloud to my coworkers. I laughed out loud. I cried. I giggled. I sobbed. I am not exaggerating at all.

I absolutely loved the friendship that developed between Emma and Charlie. The amount of emotional support the characters were able to give each other throughout the story was phenomenal. These characters felt REAL. Their journeys to get to the heart of what they were looking for and needed in their lives was amazing.

Do you know what really made the book? The dialogue. The conversations that Charlie and Emma had felt so authentic. It was like watching two “in real life” friends talk to each other. I felt like I was simply an extra in every scene, looking on and watching two people fall into “like” and then fall into love.

Listen…I didn’t even realize there was no “spice” until I sat down and tried to give this book a spice rating, but couldn’t. This book didn’t need spice. There are that many feelings in this book. It is THAT GOOD.

I could go on about this book and how wonderful it was for a long time. But, quite simply, read this book. It’s amazing. Ten out of ten would recommend. No notes whatsoever.

A very grateful thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love that this author’s books are closed door romances. Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a romance that is cute and not super spicy. I’ve read many of her books, but want to work my way through her backlist soon.

Emma trying to teach Charlie about rom coms was absolutely hilarious to me. I was getting the whole grumpy/sunshine vibe throughout. The forced proximity situation worked for me, but wow the miscommunication was very trusting at 80% in. I loved the snippets where Emma was actually talking to us.

I love how Katherine Center’s book always touch on tough and even tragic topics with grace and respect. She writes extremely relatable characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.

I understand why Katherine Center has become an automatic read for many. I enjoyed The Bodyguard (although I didn't need Jack to pop up quite so many times in this book) and once I got into Hello Stranger, I found it entertaining. That said, as many parts of this book I found enjoyable there seemed to be equal amounts of irritants.
Pros:
Fully established characters with important backstories
Numerous points where Center's dialogue amongst the characters shined

Cons:
Charlie was a jerk and his arc wasn't enough to make me want to root for him, especially in the way he treated Emma throughout the book.
Many of the silly scenes didn't hit for me (high dive) and I found myself just speed reading through them.
The ending

In weighing the pros and cons, I didn't ever feel like I wanted to stop reading the book (and I dnf quite a few books) so that equates entertainment to me. I will continue to read the books Katherine Center writes and hope for more pros the next time.

Many thanks to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

Katherine Center never fails to write funny love stories that warm your heart. I was excited to read The Rom-Commers when I heard she was publishing a new book. I didn’t even read the description of the book because she is an auto buy author for me.
In the beginning, I was not a huge fan of the premise of her story. It took me some time to get invested with the characters. By the second half of the book, I was enjoying it and experiencing all the emotions! Her author’s note at the end of the book was the cherry on top and a good reminder why I even picked up this book to read.

🤍Book review 🤍

The Rom-Commers
A Novel
by Katherine Center

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a delightful rom-com that had me smiling, crying, and laughing all in one day. Emma Wheeler dreams of being a screenwriter and gets her big break working with her idol, Charlie Yates. But Charlie is jaded and dismissive of love, making their collaboration rocky at first.
Emma’s journey feels like reading her diary—intimate and real. The characters are well-developed and relatable, especially Emma and Charlie. Their banter is sharp and their relationship progression feels natural, moving from reluctant partners to something more.
The book beautifully balances humor and emotion, with touching moments that brought tears to my eyes. Emma’s dad, recovering from a brain injury, adds depth to the story and showcases the power of kindness and patience.
While not my absolute favorite, I thoroughly enjoyed this heartfelt love letter to rom-coms and will definitely read more from Katherine Center. My favourite still remains The bodyguard!
Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me! Her stories are always touching, funny, and centered (see what I did there?) around finding joy and gratitude. Her words always seem to leave you better for having read them, and The Rom-Commers is no exception!

What would you do if you have the chance to work with one of your idols? Our FMC Emma gets the opportunity to figure that out when she is called to rewrite the script of her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates. Charles certainly doesn’t turn out to be who she expects him to be, and what follows is a story about how they find their way to each other, despite some very real past hurts.

Will you laugh? Yes. Will you cry? Probably. Will you find a million Easter Eggs to the best movie rom-coms of all time? I did. This book was unputdownable, and I am thrilled to give it 5 big stars! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my gifted ARC!

A rom com lover who dreams about making it as a screenwriter gets the opportunity of a lifetime, working with her favorite famous screenwriter on his new rom com movie script... except he's not as charming or wonderful as she had hoped, and he refuses to work with a "nobody"... can she really write this rom com? Emma Wheeler loves rom coms, she's longed to make it as a screenwriter and is good enough to have won contests and even be offered an internship... but she's had to give it up in order to look after her father who was injured in an accident that killed her mother too....an accident she feels responsible for. Emma then gets a call from her manager with the job opportunity of a lifetime, to re-write a script for the famous screenwriter Charlie Yates, the same Charlie Yates that Emma has been obsessed with since forever. This is her dream job and she immediately gets on a plane to go... leaving her younger sister to step in for caretaking duties while Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks. Yet when she mets Charlie she is absolutely shocked to discover he is nothing like she imagined, he in fact is an egotistical, rude, and plain mean guy who refuses to work with a "failed, nobody screenwriter" despite the fact that his script is so terrible it could destroy his career, oh and the fact that he doesn't even want to write a rom com, he just wants a passable script to send off... and the fact that he doesn't believe in love. Emma is determined to change his mind about rom coms and love, despite the fact that he belittles her, treats her like dirt, and is so combative about everything, Emma wants to change his mind. Yet the more time she spends with him the more she begins to fall for him... yet can the same be said for him? Or is this all just to get the script he needs to get funding for his next movie project? This started off with potential... however I just couldn't ever get around to actually liking either character or enjoying their romance at all. I'm going to be honest, I just disliked Charlie overall, he really didn't endear me, he didn't come off as a great love interest after everything, and honestly he just got on my nerves. I really wish I did like this but the character's love story just didn't fit well enough for me and if I'm being honest i got a bit annoyed with both characters throughout the story. Both Emma and Charlie are going through a lot of their own issues but Charlie constantly taking it out on Emma and Emma just being his punching bag just didn't feel that great. It's an okay romance but it's definitely not one of my favorite ones from Katherine Center. I've loved Katherine's other books and will absolutely be reading her future works, this one just missed the mark a. bit for me. If you like opposites attract then give this one a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

Release Date: June 11,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

- Workplace romance (screenwriters)
- LA setting
- Sudden roommates
- Grumpy x sunshine
- Hurt/comfort
- Cynic x hopeless romantic
- Closed door
- Single POV

What to expect in The Rom-Commers:
- A book that will make you laugh out loud before it makes you cry. Like giggling and kicking your feet, and then your heart hurts.
- The best grumpy/sunshine dynamic between the grumpy bigshot screenwriter and the nobody writer who has always had a crush on him.
- Fantastic character growth.
- The MC communicates directly with the reader for such a unique and immersive writing style.
- A love letter to the romance genre (research included 🤭).
- The perfect epilogue.

This book had me smiling, crying, rolling my eyes, and laughing all in the span of a day! This is my first Katherine Centers book, and it will definitely not be my last! I don’t know how else to say it, but her writing style feels so human.
This book felt very much like I was reading Emma’s diary, or listening to her talk about her life on the phone or over coffee.
I thought that the characters had a lot of depth and were very personable (at least most of the time iykyk).
I had tears rolling down my face at a couple parts of it, I recommend reading the tw before starting!
I recommend and I know I will be picking this up again after it comes out!
The banter was so good and I thought the relationship progression was perfect!
There were some things I didn’t care too much for and things that irritated me so I’m not going to say it’s a favorite of mine, but I think it will be a favorite for lots of people!

Thank you to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

First thank you to st martins press and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Emma is a talented writer but her life took a twist after high school. Now she has the chance to work with her favorite writer but it means getting out of her comfort zone.

What I liked: i love watching rom-coms and this book is a love letter to that genre. Emma is a great character in that she has so much potential but letting go and taking advantage of it is not her nature. Charlie is an amazing writer but he protects himself by isolating himself. Emma’s dad had an accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. My mom had a craniotomy which is also a brain injury. Too often only the bad side is discussed in books but Katherine center always shows us the bright side. He is very sweet and patient and teaches his girls lessons. I really like Charlie the best in the book. He is brilliant but emotionally life has been the greatest to him. He builds up walls to protect himself Of course with a title the Rom-commers there has to be romance. I love that their love came from the small moments and grew during their time together from friends to more. It wasn’t all grand gestures. You can always count on lessons from a Katherine. Center book. Please do read this book as we need more kindness and love in the world. Of course laughter always helps too

Rating: 4.5/5

Katherine Center is an instant buy for me! And this book proved why!

I laughed and cried at parts of this and found the overall romance was so wonderful. The characters and their individual development was excellent. And I loved seeing their romance blossom.

Overall, I will definitely be recommending this and look forward to reading more from Center!

A book about writing a script about writing a script about love? YES PLEASE. Even if that confused you just know, Katherine Center did it again and wrote one of the best books I’ve read this year. Funny, witty, inspiring, and uplifting, the Rom-Commers is this year’s summer romance must read!
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

katherine center can DO NO WRONG!!! 🥳 I love everything she writes between her fluffy banter to her sweet grand gesture moments!!

the biggest red flag (and elephant?) in the room for me was the attitude of the main characters… both charlie and emma were … not nice? I love a good enemies to lovers don’t get me wrong, but there’s a difference between banter and straight up slaughter of character 😅😕 if someone said the things to me that charlie said to emma or emma said to her sister, I would simply not stick around for the explanation…

that being said, I did enjoy the exploration of grief and trauma through the stage of grief that is anger. as someone who has experienced all five stages, anger is definitely the one where people alienate themselves from you, and I can definitely appreciate how charlie and emma both took that in a different direction

this was a surface light book and dare I say, I wanted more! I wanted more about emma’s caretaker moments with her father, more with charlie’s ex-wife and their guinea pig babies, more with emma and sylvie’s strained sisterhood due to their childhood trauma… but I am also a 100% contemporary emo romance girlie so that just might be a personal preference

TLDR: I liked it a lot, but it didn’t hit as hard as katherine center’s other books tend to do…

thank you to netgalley and st martins press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: brut champagne

This sweet book felt like Katherine Center’s love letter to all rom-coms 🥰

GENRE: Rom-Com
MY RATING: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4/5)
#gifted @macmillan.audio —tysm!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️ Rom-com movies 🎥
▫️Single POV
▫️ Laugh-out-loud moments
▫️Closed door (no spice)
▫️ Father-daughter relationships
▫️Overcoming family wounds ❤️‍🩹
▫️Tropes: forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, grand gesture

MY THOUGHTS & RATING:
This book was absolutely delightful! 🥹 If you’re already a KC fan, you’ll be so happy with The Rom-Commers! 💖 It was my 3rd one by her and I’m learning that her books are a fun balance of romance & women’s fiction. This one left me feelin’ GIDDY ☺️

When Emma is given the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for the one and only famous screenwriter, Charlie Yates, she can’t pass it up! Although leaving her father for several weeks is difficult since she is his primary caretaker. Once she arrived to do the job, things are not as they were promised 😳🤭

I really enjoyed the themes in this story about being brave and going for it!!! Life is not going to be easy and neither will loving someone fully. The banter was the freakin’ cutest #swoon 🥰 I also enjoyed the heavier side-plot (hellooo, emotional reads are my fav), but do keep in mind cancer is mentioned in this book. The main plot was kinda silly tbh lol, but it was adorable nevertheless. Pick this up for a quick, enjoyable read!

DETAILS:
▫️Publishes: 6/11/24
▫️Pages: 336

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s, and NetGalley for an ARC of The Rom-Commers! All opinions are my own.

Whew lord - great ready to CRYYYYYY!! This book was so amazingly witty and funny and snarky until all of a sudden I found myself sobbing hysterically and genuinely worried about how things were going to end. I got my HEA, thankfully, but whew, Katherine put me through it for a second.

This was such an amazing book, and as my second KC book (following reading Hello Stranger last year), it has absolutely convinced me that I need to inhale Katherine’s entire back catalog. Sorry to all my friends who I recommend this to - you’re going to cry, but it’s going to be worth it in the end.

*Potential spoilers below*

POV: single first person

You can expect: screenwriter MCs, caretaking, forced proximity, roomance, coworkers to lovers, guinea pig dad.

Rep: TBI, Ménière’s disease, soft tissue sarcoma, anxiety/health anxiety, gay side character

Spice: closed door, never goes beyond kissing

CW: traumatic accident (side character), death of a parent, cancer, near-drowning accident as a child