The Rom-Commers, to me, was a fun read. I loved the writing style and the overall premise of the story however I felt like there was no chemistry between the main characters. They felt like genuinely good friends but I did not fall in love with their love, or more specifically, I didn't buy it. I felt like maybe it could've been developed on a deeper level and explained to us better. These characters also felt a little flat, with supports being almost non existent. However, its still a very enjoyable read that doesn't walk on eggshell around serious topics like traumatic injuries, cancer, anxiety and depression.

This was my very first Katherine Center book, and I absolutely loved it! I was a little hesitant going into it because I was worried that the interaction between our two main characters would be almost too parasocial, but Center did a fantastic job.

This book balanced the real life problems that we face everyday, but also had enough elements of a classic romance book. It was cute, realistic, and so much fun. I truly enjoyed seeing Charlie slowly open up out of his shell, and I think the romance developed at the perfect pace. I read this book so fast just because it was easy to read and I had to know more about each of the characters. Center’s writing is completely addicting and now I am ready to read all of her other books! Also, this is a no-spice romance.

Thank you so much Net-Galley for the eArc!

Another winner by this author!

One writer who no one knows her name is friends with an agent who is involved with Hollywood. She has spent the past 10 years, taking care of her dad and completing jobs that pay the bills.

He takes her to her dream job with her dream writer who is writing a romantic comedy. His worst work yet, because he doesn’t believe in love. He job is to try to help him rewrite it.

This is an author where I didn’t read the plot. I will just read her work without knowing anything about the book.

Now, I have to say, for the first half of the book I was going to give this book a 3.5. I struggled with the characters. I still feel like the male main character wasn’t fully evolved. I couldn’t really place his personality type and he had a lot of red flags Morally grey, maybe. Complicated and a mess, yes.

As for the female main character, she is definitely whole. Passionate, caring, insecure, and bossy, but she is brilliant. She is bold, honest, and she knows what she wants.

They argue a lot!

This book is very mild on the spice rating scale. It down right HILARIOUS, when you get over the halfway mark.

Trying not to spoil it so I will just say “suicidal bird.”

There are some twists and turns. Some predictable and some not. There are some super cute scenes in the book, cringe worthy scenes, and some really over the top things that happen too.

I read this book in two days. It completely over took my night tonight. Loved this book!

Thank you so much to netgaller and to the publisher for the arc!!!!

For readers who:
- loved 'The Bodyguard' or 'Hello, Stranger'
- read romance
- need a good, low brain capacity commitment (it's an easy read)
- love completely unrealistic scenarios (like nobody-writer being flown out to fix huge celeb writer's work)

When Emma's sister agrees to take over care-taking duties for their dad, Emma finds herself available to chase her dream - writing the next great romcom! And she even gets to do it with her hero, Charlie Yates. Turns out, her hero isn't so heroic under the cape. And his romcom is AWFUL - so bad she's not sure even she can fix it. And his personality is sorely lacking. But underneath it all... there may be something there that wasn't there before.

My thoughts: I devoured this one. Cheesy dialogue, likeable (and dislikeable as necessary) characters, good plot line. Not quite as good as The Bodyguard, but right there with Hello Stranger. I do love a good Katherine Center romance.

My favorite Katherine Center book so far! I loved the concept of two screenwriters working on a romantic comedy script. Both main characters were so charming and relatable you couldn’t help but root for them. Katherine somehow strikes a balance between dealing with heavy topics, while maintaining an overarching sense of lightheartedness and wit.

I’m clearly in the minority on this one, but it’s getting a low and very generous 3⭐️ from me.

I’ll start by saying I LOVE KC’s books! Love them, I’m still a huge fan- but unfortunately they can’t all be a win and this one was a miss for me.

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 was giving “I’m not like other girls” energy and in 2024 that’s just not passing the vibe check, sorry. What made her so eclectic and unique you ask? She had big, curly, red hair and loved movies.. that’s it! It will be drilled into you now over and over again for 336 pages. That aside, Emma was your typical Type two personality that always sacrifices for her family but she does it in the most unhealthy way because she keeps score and holds it against them. I was so frustrated by the end.. like girl- it would not have taken you 10 years to ask for help. No way. I don’t buy it.

She also had one of the most unhealthy sister fights I’ve ever read and after her sister gave her a sincere and heart felt apology she never reciprocated!!!!!

Honestly her and Charlie deserve one another!
speaking of Charlie…


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.

Y’all. Charlie Yates is so cool.
Except he’s really not. You’re just told that over and over again. To be honest I didn’t feel any particular way about Charlie, which isn’t really what you want for your MMC in a romance novel. Did i enjoy him on the page.. sometimes, when he wasn’t being a colossal jerk that never takes responsibility for his words.. did I like him in the end? Not at all. Which leads me to my biggest issue with this book..

The cancer plot.

Cancer is a big, hard, scary, thing that affects so many people, obviously you can’t avoid it in books, but I do feel like it should be handled with the upmost care when it’s included and I didn’t feel that with this book.

There’s spoilers from here on out.. fair warning! ⚠️

Charlie had cancer 5 years ago..

This plays a role in why his character is the way he is as well as his characters deep rooted insecurities and hurts. People always leave him when he’s sick.

I would have liked a bit more from this plot and character thread.. cancer is a big thing to just use as a footnote, but I was like “okay, sure!” Let’s just roll with it!

But then Charlie gets cancer again. As someone who’s mom had cancer twice in the span of a few years this fell close to home, I was excited to see the relationship grow through this, develop deeper roots, so on and so forth.

Instead he used his cancer as a solid reason to push her away, he was the martyr and he’d sacrifice their love so she could pursue her dreams. Big ick. That’s not appropriate or healthy at all.

Emma then finds out Charlie has cancer again in a video he made FOR AFTER HE’S DEAD. And then surprise! He doesn’t actually have cancer, just bronchitis.

I’m sorry.. what!? At that point it was VERY evident that the cancer was just a plot point used to move the story along and I’m not willing to engage with books that feel that way. I’m sure sensitivity readers were used but maybe cancer specific sensitivity readers should have been utilized. This just felt gross and frustrating to me.

Alas, I would have DNFd but it was also the very end of the book, literally, so I finished grumpily and then angry messaged a friend so I could rage for a bit.

Maybe my close connection with cancer colored my experience with this one, but it’s definitely not one I’ll be recommending unfortunately.

The saving grace? The audiobook! Thank you to Macmillan audio for the ALC!! Patti Murin did phenomenal, so much so I looked up other books she’s narrated so that I could read some of those as well! If you plan to read this one I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the audiobook! 🎉

Emma is a full time caretaker of her disabled dad, and an aspiring screenwriter. When she gets the call from her agent giving her the opportunity of a lifetime to ghost write for her favorite writer of all time, Charlie Yates, she hops on a plane to LA reluctantly leaving her caretaking duties in the hands of her sister. The only problem? Charlie had no idea she was coming.

I love all Katherine Center books but I think this one might be my new favorite. The banter was adorable, the chemistry was so strong, and I loved Charlie’s personality so much. I kept thinking it would be such a cute movie the entire time I was reading.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press for my free ebook copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

My Rating: 4.5
This was my first and not last Katherine Center book!! This slowburner left me feeling all the happy warm fuzzy feelings. I laughed and cried. Emma and Charlie are quite the pair their banter was sweet. They are both lonely in their own lives for different reasons. Charlie is just jaded by love/friendship. Emma is stuck at home at all times caring for her dad, she never get to do what she wants to do. I loved how this once in a lifetime chance changed her life entirely, for the better. Like any good rom com...you see the ending coming from a mile away :)

4.25 out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. I felt like the pacing made sense, the banter was great and I truly see what was stopping the couple from getting together and it made sense. The tension between the characters was done so wonderfully any it left me anticipating their next move. The story had characters with depth and trauma to deal with and it left me with sadness and joy all at the same time.

I will say some trigger warnings may be in order. If you are a caregiver or have lost a parent this might be a difficult read for you so please proceed with caution.

It was a bit hard to get into at first but once I was in it, I was in it. I will definitely be reading more by Katherine Center in the future.

4.5/5 stars.

With a title like this, it better be a love letter to the romance genre. And it was.

Oh my god, I loved these characters. I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved Charlie and Emma, these two lovable, nerdy idiots. Katherine Center has such a gift for writing realistic broken characters who make each other whole. The tension was so realistic, and I loved all the wild hijinks.

So often you read a grumpy-sunshine book that falls into tropes. These two were delightful, with some of the best banter I’ve read in years. There were points where I literally kicked my feet.

Katherine Center is hit or miss for me, but this one was fun. Docking half a star because the twist at the end frustrated me quite a bit, and felt gratuitous.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for this ARC.

Again! I can not stress how amazing Katherine Center is! Every book snags me from the start. This one was no different.
I love how she ties characters from different story lines into her books.
As a self proclaimed movie junkie, the details of the screenwriting process was really fun to read. It was also fun how she utilized actual Hollywood big shots along with her own fictional characters.

I just like how there is enough drama to keep my attention, yet it’s not so over the top that it sounds implausible.

Just do yourself a favor and grab this and any other KC book you haven’t read. They are just good books. You won’t be sad…well maybe just a little teary bc something always tugs at the heartstrings, but definitely not disappointed that you read them!

Ohhhhhhh, okay. I’ll give it a five. It did, after all, make me laugh out loud quite often, as well as making me cry a time or two (or three or nine). I really really love Charlie and I grew to like Emma, though she bugged me with her self-righteousness a LOT! Like, how come she gets to completely trash her sister, like destroy her but then gets to be all butt hurt and expect an apology from her sister when she just says one thing. Bugged me.

But, in the end, I really dug the story and Charlie was enough to keep me moving through it. 💜📚

Katherine Center always knows how to write a terrific rom-com, so her latest novel seems meta in that way.

I really enjoyed it throughout and found myself getting teary-eyed at times. So many great characters with wonderful banter. The situation with Emma's dad was so harrowing, but I loved how good-natured he was despite everything that he had been going through. And I can understand Emma's guilt over the whole situation, as well. I felt frustrated for her in regard to working with Charlie, especially with how everything transpired initially and how long it took for Charlie to actually warm to her presence and allow her to help him write his rom-com. There was a lot going on there too, especially with him constantly running hot and cold and having other complications in his life that kept getting in the way of anything that could form between him and Emma.

The one thing that seemed strange to me was that the types of movies Charlie normally wrote weren't the types I could see Emma really being into, especially since her main focus was romantic comedies. His movies were anything but. However, she was clearly a huge fan long before she met him. It would be like me suddenly saying I'm obsessed with a science fiction author. However, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the novel at all. The will-they-won't-they roller coaster was making my head spin sometimes though.

You only have less than a month to wait for The Rom-Commers to hit shelves this summer and it is worth the wait for sure! Another gem from this beloved author.

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Emma: Hannah Rose May
Charlie: Jack Reynor
Logan: Keiynan Lonsdale
Sylvie: Kirrilee Berger
Emma's dad: Aaron Eckhart
Salvador: Michael Cimino
T.J.: Devon Bostick

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TW: death of parent, traumatic brain injury, cancer

5⭐️

Here’s the 411:
🙌🏼Lovable FMC
👥Forced proximity
✨Grief, loss, illness
🌧️Grumpy MMC
🫶Strangers-to-lovers
📖Screenwriters
🩷Memorable quotes

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: Katherine Center is THE QUEEN of the women’s fiction/romance genre. I DEVOUR EVERY book this woman writes and will CONTINUE to do so until she stops writing, upon which I will cry. A LOT.

Anyway,

The Rom-Commer’s is a colorful and candid novel about learning how to love life — with everything (and everyone) that comes with it. I smiled, cried, and laughed my way through this book…just like every other KC book I read, honestly. The Rom-Commer’s truly is a breath of fresh air in the romance genre, reminding us that love doesn’t have to be ornate displays overflowing with joy; it can be silly moments, sad moments when you’re forced to lean on one another, and mundane moments. It reminds us that to love is to choose: choose to be grateful, to be appreciative, to lean on and be leaned on. I digress. I just love this book too much.

Emma and Charlie are both wonderful characters. I adored my time with Emma and related to a lot of her struggles. Honestly, I related to Charlie’s as well. This book is so relatable.

There are so many amazing moments in this book between the characters. I won’t spoil anything, but I am smiling ear to ear just writing this review because I love this book.

I could go on and on so I’m just going to stop here and say this: everything about this book is perfect and you need it in your life. Because the thing about KC books is that they truly speak to the heart — mine especially◡̈

(Just a side-note because I can’t end this review without saying: CHARLIE🔥🔥🔥🥵🥵🥵)

READ THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY!

This was by far one of my best reads of 2024! The banter between Emma and Charlie was the greatest I’ve ever read and I was hooked from the second I started reading. Katherine Center always does such an amazing job of making the reader feel every emotion that her characters are and The Rom-Commers is no exception. 5⭐️ everyone must read!

3.5 stars

I adore how Katherine Center writes, it’s fun and I end up laughing and flying through the pages.

I did struggle with the female main character though. There were moments where she was unlikable, even when she knew she was being awful or wrong, she never accepted that she was wrong and apologized.

The ending was a tad too unbelievable for me, and everything wrapped up a little too nicely. I feel like most if not all the characters needed some therapy.

Katherine Center is on the tippy top of my must-read and must-buy author list. I highly anticipate every single book she comes out with and devour it the second I have access to. The premise for this one was SO cute. What book lover doesn't want to read about a romance that takes back between two authors? Now that the best premise ever is set, she did a great job developing the characters. I was majorly rooting for Charlie Yates.

That said, this was not my favorite Katherine Center book. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, but at about 30%, I did have to self-motivate myself to continue. I would still give it a solid 4 stars and recommend adding to your summer read!

Review posted on goodreads, all opinions are my own.

So this was my first book by the author and as a romance reader, it should have been exactly what I liked. It wasn’t bad. It had its humorous parts and the swoony parts…but it was so heavy on the “typical” romcom plot, it felt…overdone? A dime a dozen? Not sure how to explain it.

The writing was great, hence the rating, and I enjoyed the storytelling. I just wasn’t a fan of either MC and the love part of the story fell a bit flat compared to the plot, which I find weird for a romcom.

Regardless, I enjoyed it for the most part but I’m not sure I’ll be reading anything else by this author. I guess there’s a reason why I tend to prefer indie authors.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced review copy.

Emma has put her screen writing career on hold to be there for her father and sister. She now has an opportunity to make some good money quickly by helping the one screen writer she admires the most, Charlie who happens to have a case of the yips. Emma has six weeks to help Charlie write a rom-com but first she needs to teach him about falling in love. A very sweet and tender love story. Family and health play a big role. I didn't cry but I could see that happening.

This was my second book by Katherine Center and I'm definitely a fan of her already. I went with the audiobook that was narrated by Patti Murin. Her delivery was spot on. This one was full of laughs which I enjoyed. Such a fun book to read or listen to, but if you can grab the audiobook, it was excellent!

Out June 11.
Thank you to the publisher and Macmillan audio for the gifted copy and audiobook. All opinions are my own.