The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. If you like fluffy stories, pick this up. If you are a die hard KC fan, you’ll love this. For me, I enjoyed it until I didn’t. Around 89%, I wanted to throw the book. That is almost exactly what I said about last year’s KC book, Hello Stranger.

It was fun to see Jack Stapleton from The Bodyguard make a couple of appearances. But overall, KC is not the author for me and The Rom-Commers confirmed that for me.

Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the advanced e-copy of #theromcommers . This book publishes on June 11, 2024

📝🍓The Rom-Commers 🍓📝

✍️: Katherine Center
✨:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📱: E-ARC thanks to @stmartinspress & @katherinecenter
🗓️: Publishes June 11, 2024!

✨my thoughts✨
Katherine Center is the QUEEEEEEEEN of sweet, funny, perfect little rom coms! Her newest book is no exception. This book had me laughing out loud more than once! It’s everything you want out of a rom-com, some angsty animosity, close proximity, sweet and lovable side characters, I just adored Emma & Charlie & I know you will too! This story was very meta, a rom-com about two people writing a rom-com. but it was so fun to be a part of the making of a story, to watch as Emma slowly chipped away at Charlie's walls, and to watch them come together like you know they will but somehow are squealing with delight as it unfolds anyways!!

Have you read Katherine Center? Do you have a favorite?!

I love Center's writing and this was no exception — this book is a love letter to the romance genre. Emma is an aspiring screenwriter, but caretaking duties have been her priority. When she gets a chance to write a script with famous screenwriter Charlie Yates, she takes it, only to realize he doesn't believe in love or care about the script.

I loved Emma and Charlie — they were authentic characters navigating complicated personal situations, and I loved the shift from enemies to friends to lovers throughout the book thanks to a bit of forced proximity. It's a charming and funny read about love and life and finding joy through the hard parts.

Highly recommend picking it up if you're a fan of romcoms!

I was beyond THRILLED to be honored with an eARC of this! I absolutely LOVED it! It is full of all the witty, juicy banter we love from Katherine. I admire her way of building the characters and overlapping comedy and the romance to it. In this case the comedy rings loud which is so fitting with the title. Also a definite beach read for the summer! Seriously buy it and stuff it in the bag!

What to expect:
⭐ Past & Present Storytelling to tell the big picture of their journeys
⭐️ Overlapping story lines his & hers
⭐ Enemies to lovers that becomes co-workers to lovers
⭐ Forced Proximity
⭐️ LA Vibes
⭐️ Screenwriting a Rom Com (hence the books name!)
⭐ Loss of parent + healing from the grief
⭐ Care giving a parent and putting life goals on the back burner

Other things I loved about this that are so true to Katherines writing style, is she adds romance, anticipation, tension, and heat without taking it to a spicy/smutty place. I like that the story builds over the course of the pages. That we learn about the characters, where they have been, what they are struggling with, the other secondary characters and how they also fit in to the full story. She has a way of putting romance in without it being the focus. Instead the focus is the journey the people take separately and together. And that journey isn't just focused on the main two characters its ALL the characters. In this case that included Emmas Sister + Her eventual husband, Emmas Dad, as well as Charlies Ex-Wife, and both of their managers Logan. Oh and an additional secondary/third character set is a cameo from two of Bodyguard characters (Jack + Hannah) don't worry if you haven't read them!

Honestly if you haven't read even ONE of her books this should be the first one you grab! It was delightful!

So much gratitude and thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this delightful book! I can't wait for her to share it with everyone!

Emma is a romance writer who lives as a full time caretaker for her dad. At the start of the book she is feisty and loyal and I liked her strong confidence in herself. Her friend Logan gets her the opportunity of a lifetime to work with Hollywood writing royalty Charlie Yates, to help rewrite a really bad romcom. Charlies doesn't want to work with Emma and insults her and her talent but she won’t back down to her idol screenwriter and doesn’t cower. She is strong and she knows her value even when he basically calls her a failed nobody.

Charlie really isn't as big of a gruff as he initially comes off, and once he gets to know Emma he softens up to her and together they start to rewrite the screenplay at the same time she teaches him all about the ingredients it takes to make a good romcom.

While it was overall a cute story premise, the love story portion felt rushed and I didn’t really see how they fell in love besides you knew they hung out and ate dinner together and fell into a routine. There was also a lot of miscommunication, a very typical clique for a romcom, in the form of overheard conversations: her overhearing him and Logan at the house, her overhearing Charlie and Logan in the public bathroom and she overhearing Charlie and his Ex-wife at the house. All those times, Charlie is knocking down or diminishing Emma, because he secretly likes her and doesn't want anyone to know? Then afterwards she gets upset, (Fair!) then forgives him after he butters her up and tries to explain himself. She started loyal and feisty but then she flip flopped with her actions and decisions.

Charlie is clearly conflicted. He clearly likes her but for some mysterious reason can’t be with her since he pushes her away repeatedly and that's when she decides to pursue him aggressively. It came off as kinda desperate and not romantic.

The third act situation with her father was a tough one to read. Her sister is taking care of the dad while she's in LA and after an incident involving her dad, she berates her sister and accuses her of almost killing him and then the sister says something snarky back and Emma has the audacity to get upset and ice out her sister? Then, the sister was the one who had to apologize but Emma didn't need to as well for all the mean things she said too? It was an accident and the only reason she accepts the apology is because her sister is getting married. She does it begrudgingly.

She pushed everyone away and always thinks she knows best. Maybe she should do some self reflection and take some advice from her very wise dad. She was a bitter grudge holding Betty by the end. Where was the kick ass, take no pensioners Emma at the start of the story? She started off strong and then lost all confidence. By the end I wasn’t even sure I liked her that much.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Grumpy Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Miscommunication

Katherine Center has always written books that I look forward to reading because they are a good break from the heavier books I tend to read. The Rom-Commers is a light, fun read that didn't disappoint. The plot was a bit far-fetched but had me invested with little effort and left me happy when I was finished.

📖 The Details
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

⏱️ Quick Summary
Emma gets an offer for the job of a lifetime to write a rom-com (her fave) with her screenwriting hero. She has to sacrifice a lot to make it work (caring for her disabled father, leaving her sister and job behind), and then her hero Charlie Yates turns out to rude and a romance-hater.

💁‍♀️ My Take
KC has a formula, and it works. I enjoyed this one - the characters were interesting, the story was unique, the conversations felt real. But it still fell a bit flat for me, especially compared to her other books. I questioned some (ok, most) of the decisions Emma made, and I was super annoyed with Charlie for being kind of a dick. Overall it was a pretty quick and easy read that checked all the rom-com boxes for me. Would recommend for a light beach read or palate cleanser. 3.5 stars! ⭐️

The Rom-Commers I guess is an enemies to lovers romance - although the enemies part is worked out quickly! Katherine Center writes well and develops good characters. Emma is a screenwriter who's made a lot of sacrifices for her family. She is paired with a famous director, who for convoluted reasons must write a rom-com, and they work well together and of course fall for each other. The descriptions of LA life are funny and real.

Oh this one...I haven't read her others and have nothing to compare it to.

I've got both good and bad things to say. The thing I like is when it's serious, it's very serious and very emotional, and I like that the harder subjects aren't made light of.

The comedy is very funny. Kinda goofy, and obvious, but I didn't mind that.

It's very self aware for what it is. They are writing a romantic comedy screenplay together and so as they are hitting the beats in the writing, their story is also unfolding alongside. So that's smart.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the couple and the romance didn't really have me in love. I just wanted to hurry up and finish.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I received a digital ARC of this novel from St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved everything about this novel. Emma and Charlie were fun characters who I felt were my friends. This story is both funny, and, touching. I laughed and cried reading this story.

I absolutely loved this book! I’m majorly crushing on Katherine Center after reading this story. It will definitely be one of my favorite reads of the year. 💖

Katherine Center is an auto-read author for me! I absolutely love her writing, characters, and storyline. The Rom-Commers is my favorite novel by her. I loved the banter, fell in love with the characters, and the storyline. I also enjoy how her novels are more than just sweet romances - there is always a deeper component to her novels. I thoroughly enjoyed Jack Stapleton and Hannah's cameos from her other novel "The Bodyguard".

4.5 stars!

Definitely check out the Rom-Commers when it comes out June 11th.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I haven't read a book by Katherine Center that I have not enjoyed. This one is no different. I laughed, I cried. I felt everything. A cutesy rom com with raw and real emotions. A very sweet and hopeful story.

Emma is finally getting the chance to make her dreams come true & work on a script with famous screenwriter Charlie Yates. Emma has been working & a caregiver for her father but when she gets the opportunity to refresh a rom-com script by the esteemed Charlie Yates, she takes it & moves to his LA home to work on the script. Charlie & Emma have a connection & it grows over time but Charlie is reluctant to take things to the next level.

I liked this book but what I didn’t get was why Emma (chronic eavesdropper) keeps hearing Charlie say bad things about her & she still sticks around.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the ARC.

I received this book for free from netgalley and publisher for my honest opinion.

Charlie is a famous writer who’s going through a writers block and Emma goes to help him fix a romcom he wrote.

Charlie doesn’t want Emma around but he warms up to her quickly.

Honestly I love grumpy sunshine but Charlie was just downright rude at times but then he was super sweet. He’s a sour patch adult.

Also if I’m being honest, I don’t love the “miscommunication trope” like you’re adults.. tell each other you like or dislike each other.

I love Katherine Center books but this one wasn’t my favorite from her. I’m not actually sure how I feel about it but I feel like the ending redeemed itself because I wasn’t overly impressed with how things were going but in the end, I rated it 4 stars because of the ending.

I absolutely adored this book! Full of sexy banter, double entendre wit, and honest to goodness love... love of family and romance. Emma and Charlie were nerdy and imperfect which made them all the more loveable. Katherine Center was on point in how she incorporated the medical aspects of this story, and I was happy to see she acknowledged her numerous consultants at the end. Some authors only write what they know, some authors poorly write what they don't know, and others do the right thing through research and expert validation. Bravo to the author for being amongst the latter!

The Rom-Commers is a book that made me laugh out loud and shed tears of sadness and happiness. It gave me all the feels in the best way!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I •SQUEALED• when I was I received an ARC of The Rom-Commers! Shout out to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for making my reader heart ❤️ so happy.

I love Katherine Center and she’s an automatic must read for me. I’ve been looking forward to reading this book for quite some time!

I found The Rom-Commers harder to really get invested in but when it turned into a love story, I was sold!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#bookstagram #NetGalley #netgalleyreviewer #booksbooksbooks #bookrecommendations #stmartinspress

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts expressed below are mine alone.

My first Katherine Center book was last year’s Hello Stranger and I really liked her writing style. There was witty banter and clever meet-cutes and she had a way of balancing women’s/contemporary fiction with romance to create an entertaining yet meaningful read. The Rom-Commers continued this winning formula and did it even better, in my opinion.

Two writers writing a rom-com together while also being the subject of one? What in the Inception is this? This book is perfect for fans of the following tropes:

- Enemies to Lovers
- Grumpy Sunshine
- Forced Proximity
- Clean Romance

There were many really cute classic moments between Emma and Charlie that I could envision playing out in a rom-com movie - hiding from Charlie’s ex-wife in a pantry, learning line dancing, watching famous kissing scenes on YouTube to perfect their script, writing across from one another with the guinea pig, Cuthbert, sleeping in his plush barn between them. The romantic tension and buildup was well executed. I also enjoyed the side characters quite a bit. There was a twist near the end that seemed a little too far-fetched. Because I had to suspend my disbelief and it pulled me out of the story briefly, I couldn’t give a full five stars. But I still highly recommend this for all my fellow rom-com lovers.

If you’ve been following along, you know that, generally, I’m a big fan of Katherine Center. After not loving Hello Stranger, I’m super happy to report that I absolutely loved The Rom-Commers. As a person who is fascinated by screenwriting (in another life, that’s what I would have liked to have done with my life), it hits all the right notes.

What didn’t work for me

The title: I don’t know why, but the title just didn’t hit with me. If this wasn’t a Katherine Center book, I wouldn’t have given it another look based on the title. These people are movie writers, for goodness sake…and no one could come up with anything better?!

More process: This could just be me because I love it, but I wish we got a bit of a bigger glimpse into their screenwriting process. We got little tidbits here and there, but I wanted to see how they worked together better—and learn more about the project they were writing.

What I liked

Emma’s family: Honestly, they were so cute. Yes, there was a lot of tragedy, as is almost a Center specialty, but they felt honest feelings (and said them out loud), fought and came out on the other side. It was so nice that it was such a developed part of the story. I do wish we learned more about Charlie’s family though, beyond his ex-wife.

The plot: I know this is super vague, but I really did just love the whole story. From the side characters to how the main characters interacted, I really enjoyed it. I could barely put it down…and I paid the price with sleep!

4.5 STARS

“Love stories had lifted me up, delighted me, and educated me on the power of human kindness for years. I knew a lot about love. A lot more, I bet, than all the people who took it for granted.” —Katharine Center, The Rom-Commers

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn’t love a good Katherine Center book? And this one does not disappoint,

Emma Wheeler dreams of becoming a successful screenwriter and Charlie Yates is a successful screen writer but he is writing a romcom and that he does not do well. Emma is hired by his manager to help him out.
As Emma and Charlie get to know each other you are going so root for them. Everything was just so hard for them but slowly Charlie changes with Emma being around.

The story is funny, chaotic, full of love and heartbreak while also having those laugh out loud moments. This even occurred when Charlies was being an ass. End the end will there be heartbreak for Emma or will she and Charlie live and be happy?


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for this wonderful book!