I have enjoyed Katherine's books for the past several years, but this one was a fail for me. I couldn't bring myself to care anything about the characters or the absurdity of the situations they found themselves in. I may listen on audio later to see if that makes a difference for me.

This is an enjoyable read but I did find parts of it to be a bit slow. I didn't feel much chemistry between the main characters for awhile because of how slow the story progressed. The LA setting was fun and I liked the premise of the book! 3.5 stars

4 stars. Let me start by saying that Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and I look forward to her summer releases every year. So I was super excited to get an ARC of The Rom-Commers, which sounded incredible from the blurb. And it was incredible… for like 66%. And then one scene happened that really didn’t jive with me. And that one scene set the stage for other scenes that really didn’t jive with me. And caused me to almost dislike both of the characters. So for me, the first 2/3 of the book are 5 stars. The last 1/3 is 3 stars. Which gives us 4 stars overall.

So… what did I like? The writing. Katherine’s books are written so damn well and are just so damn easy to read. Even when I’m not jiving with the plot or character development, her books are still unputdownable. I also marvel that Center can bring humor to even the saddest and serious of scenes. I can be on the brink of tears, and then her characters will say something and I’m laughing. I truly can’t praise her writing enough. I also love books that are about books (or in this case… screen plays), so the fact that both characters were writers was something that I really found to be a lot of fun. And for at least 2/3 of the book, I liked the relationships (romantic and familial). All in all, this isn’t my favorite Katherine Center book, and in general, it’s also not a bad book. I can see people really enjoying this one, which to be fair, was also mostly the case for me. And I can absolutely say that I will 100% continue to read her books, and I’m excited for whatever comes next from her.

Thank you to Center, Netgalley, and SMP for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (5 Stars)
Steam: just kissing

No spoiler review 👇🏻👇🏻

I was so pumped when I got an ARC of this book. I have read two other books by this author and have absolutely loved them, and this book is not different. This was such a great read! This book follows Emma and gets hired to co write a rom com with her favourite Hollywood writer..the only problem is he doesn’t want to write this movie. It’s fun, close proximity, banter filled and swoony! It is also full of emotion and a story that sucks you in. Katherine Center is one of my favourite authors, and I’m excited to read more from her in the future. This is the perfect read for the summer.

CW: death of family member (past), caregiving of family member, family accident, cancer, medical issues

This was a cute and fun read. I love Katherine Center and her books. This book gives you all the feels and is worth the read. Thanks to netgalley and the publishing company for an opportunity to.read this book.

This was one of my favorite reads this year! I loved the banter between the characters. I was grinning to myself like a fool, while reading. The pacing was great, and I was constantly picking this book up to read more. I loved Charlie (MMC) so much. He’s a kind of a grumpy old man, but I was rooting for him and Emma (FMC) the whole time!
This was well written, imo- with more dialogue than monologue or “telling” which I appreciate.
If you like books about films or Hollywood writers/screenwriters, grumpy x sunshine, and love between colleagues - you would probably really enjoy this one!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book!!!! The best rom-com feel good book of the summer! Emma is a fantastic character - funny, charming & loving! The chemistry between her & Charlie jumps off the page. Couldn’t put the book down!

I had a hard time knowing how to review this book, since I love Katherine Center's books overall. However, this book was just okay for me. I loved the premise of two writers falling in love while writing a rom-com. Some of the highlights of the book for me include the humor (I definitely laughed out loud a few times), the deeper topics (cancer, grief/loss of loved one, caregiving for a parent, etc.), the very realistic conflicts, and the main characters, Emma's personality. Why I didn't rate it higher: I didn't like the way the other main character, Charlie, treated Emma at times (despite later knowing why) and some truly cringey moments (yes, I know it's a rom-com). I did love the classic Hollywood rom-com ending of the book. I would still recommend this, even though it's not my favorite by this author. Some of the best books I've read by Katherine Center include The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, and Happiness for Beginners. I will definitely read her future books!

Oh, how a Katherine center book always hits the spot and makes life a little better. Whenever I need to take a break from life and just enjoy the moment, her books are a perfect opportunity to do just that. I so enjoyed her new book. I laughed, I cried, and savored every moment of this reading journey. Thank you, Netgalley and McMillan Publishers for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Two very flawed people fall in love. That’s basically this book summed up, without any spoilers.

Emma is a woman who has a martyr complex and uses guilt as a weapon to manipulate people into doing what she wants. Charlie is a selfish human, who thinks very highly of himself and very lowly of others (incl the female mc at the start).

Interestingly enough, they both have character arcs that make them better individually and together. By the end I was rooting for them, even if I didn’t particularly like them.

I think this was a cute rom com, with some fun banter and maybe some dialogue that was a bit problematic. I think it was well paced, even if some choices the characters made frustrated me to no end. I didn’t necessarily like how this book was narrated by Emma, like she was telling a story to someone- but it felt like a narrated movie, and I think that fit this book considering the plot.

Overall, I’d recommend you read it if you want a quick rom com read that’s clean and cute.

Emma's passion is writing, but she's sacrificed some major writing opportunities in order to care for her father, who was injured years ago in a tragic accident. When she gets the opportunity of a lifetime - to move to LA short-term and work with one of her favorite writers - her first reaction is to pass. Her dad needs round-the-clock care, and she has devoted her life to keeping him alive. But her sister happens to be coming home from college and can handle caring for their dad while Emma is away. After some debate, Emma decides to go for it. Her other passion is rom-coms, and this gig is to co-write one with her idol, Charlie Yates. Initially, Charlie is a disappointment. He doesn't believe in love, doesn't understand the recipe for a solid rom-com, and he's kind of a grump. Emma is hell-bent on getting Charlie on board with all things romance and rom-com feels. As the two spend more and more time together, sparks begin to fly. Can Emma change Charlie's ways and convince him that true love does exist?

Let me start off with this - I will always and forever read anything written by Katherine Center. I love her stories, her laugh out loud moments, and her perfectly imperfect characters. Her endings are like a warm hug. The Rom-Commers checked off all the boxes for me and was a super quick read that I blew through in two days (it would've been one if I had the time). Katherine Center is a delight who has mastered the rom-com recipe.

I will not be reviewing any St. Martin's Press titles until they address the racist comments one of their employees made in October. See @readersforaccountability on Instagram.

The Rom-Commers is yet another great summer read by Katherine Center that I loved.
Emma is her dad's primary caregiver but leaves him with her sister when she is hired to help edit her screenwriting hero Charlie's first rom-com. But does he really want help? Will Emma's dad be ok while she's gone? Will she finally make the connections she needs to further her screenwriting career?

Katherine Center's writing makes the reading experience such a pleasure - her main characters, the banter, the supporting characters. I became very invested in Emma and Charlie's story and felt as if I was reading about friends. That's why her books are ideal summer reads! But then I'm sad when the story is done.

If you have loved Katherine Center's previous novels, I highly recommend this one too, because you will surely love it.

Many thanks to #StMartinsPress & #NetGalley for being so kind as to provide me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the Rom-Commers!

Katherine Center is one of my absolute favorite authors, and the queen of crafting witty banter and sharp dialogue. Her books take the reader on a journey through all the feels, and are the perfect, absorbing read.

The Rom-Commers delivers with all of the above! The perfect summer read!!

Characters Emma and Charlie, with all of their emotions, quirks, and flaws, are hard not to root for - separately as well as together. Although I’ll admit that through a good portion of the book in rooting for Emma I felt like she belonged with better than a guy who dissed her so coldly and frequently behind her back (defense mechanism or not), Charlie redeems himself in the end in the magical way you hope a “rom-com” will.

The depth of love described within Emma’s family really hit soft spots for me and was a great side plot - the scene where Emma’s dad instructs Charlie (via email) to make her favorite doughnuts for her birthday, and the lengths Charlie went to to make that happen was so sweet.

Best part about this book? The ending and the underlying message. The Rom-Commers is full of wonderful, inspiring quotes and messages. The ending sums it up best:

“It can’t be where you’re going that matters. It has to be how you get there. It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on.

It’s all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it - but how you choose to tell it.”

Words to live by! This book and characters will stay with me long after finishing.

I did not think anything could top The Bodyguard for me, which was one of my favorite reads of 2022, but this has!! By far my favorite Katherine Center book now. This was so so good! It managed to make me feel every single emotion and I loved the storyline.

I have read and enjoyed several of this author's previous books, so I was very excited to receive this #giftedcopy for review. It was a bit of a slow start for me and I was worried this one wouldn't work for me. But then things really took off and I was hooked. This book made me laugh out loud, gasp and tear up a few times. Once you get to know Emma and Charlie you really fall for them and root for them to work things out. There is also a bit of the behind the third wall element that I loved too, when the author is speaking directly to you, the reader. I thought these were very fleshed out characters with some serious issues and dilemmas that they each had to work through. I thought the issues were handled well and in a pretty realistic way. Definitely a romcom with some substance. @katherinecenter is becoming an autobuy author for me and I look forward to what she writes next!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to throw this one in your beach bag! Out June 11, 2024.

To be honest I started this book in March maybe it was February but the point is it took me way too long to finish this book. The first half just did not grab my attention like I would have wanted it to. I found myself reading a chapter a day. I kept watching reviews go up and everyone loving the book so I pushed to read it. So yesterday May 28th I decided to try again and I was at the 48% mark and well I finished the book 24 hours later. Overall it was a good book with a cute love story with some laughable content.

Emma is a hopeful write who finds herself being her father’s care taker after a freak accident during a camping trip with her family that ultimately killed her mother. As an inspiring writer who never leaves her dad’s side an opportunity to write a long side her favorite screen writer becomes available after shes contacted by an ex boyfriend that works for him. The screenwriter is Charlie a divorced bachelor and survivor of cancer. Emma takes a trip to LA to work by Charlie sides but what is a dream come true for her really a nightmare? The two work side by side in a hilarious journey leading to love on the screen and real life.


Overall I enjoyed it even though I thought I wouldn’t.

Just when you think Katherine can't outdo herself, she does. Her books will wrap you up in a hug and deliver some of the most profound and memorable romances you'll ever read.

I absolutely loved this book and the main characters. Even though Emma doesn't have the big Hollywood recognition that she deserves, she's confident in her work, even when her idol Charlie brushes it off when Emma is brought on to save his failed romcom script since he doesn't do romance. Despite his reservation in getting close to Emma as they rewrite the script, watching Charlie let Emma in gradually was such a heartwarming journey, especially after finding out about his health struggles. Emma learning to let others help her in caring for her dad and learning that she can still live out her dreams and overcome the guilt associated with her father's accident was heartbreaking but all too relatable for every caregiver out there who puts their dreams on hold and often experience burnout.

You'll laugh and you'll tear up in this story and realize that Katherine Center just keeps setting the bar higher and higher in the romance genre.

So cute, a little repetitive and I wanted more in the ending. I wanted more time with Charlie and Emma!! I loved the Texas tie into the bodyguard and just found the second half of the book unputdownable!

When it comes to Katherine Center books, I always know exactly what to expect—they feel like a warm hug in the summer sun. The Rom-Commers was no different, and also somehow managed to combine several of my favorite rom-com tropes (enemies to lovers, grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity) into one book. But beyond that, it *also* tackled a number of deep topics such as panic attacks, chronic illness, deferring one’s dreams, and being a parental caretaker in a way that elevated your typical romantic comedy in a way that felt genuine to a fellow panic attack sufferer, heart-felt, and hopeful. Overall? I absolutely loved it.

The Rom-Commers releases on June 11th, so go ahead and pre-order it now—you’ll definitely want this for your summer beach bag!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @katherinecenter for an ARC of such a lovely book!