There's something about a story where the FMC and MMC are opposites that just does it for me. This book was the perfect blend of lighthearted and emotional. I adored the humor, the care-taking elements, the self-discovery, and the ending. A love story to love stories!!!! I love this book so much!! I love Katherine Center!!

Loved this book. The audio was very well done. Great summer read and a true rom com. It was so cute and fun to read.

***Katherine Center offers a writing-focused story in which forced proximity, past secrets, complicated life circumstances, and a fear of vulnerability complicate the professional and personal lives of an unlikely writing duo.***

Emma Wheeler writes romantic comedies, and she longs to be a screenwriter. But her life in Texas is complicated: her father requires a full-time caregiver, and Emma is it.

When, due to her promising talent and her best friend from high school (who's now a high-powered agent), Emma gets the chance to rework a script by the famous screenwriter Charlie Yates (whose works and quotes are posted all over her room), she bends over backward to make it happen. Her sister steps in to help with their dad at home, and Emma moves to Los Angeles for six weeks of inspiring, career-building, lucrative, and life-changing work.

Only, the last thing Charlie Yates wants is someone changing his (terrible) script. He doesn't even believe in love, and he's quite certain that Emma is not a solution to any of his problems. In fact, he seems determined to undermine any potential progress on the script, which puts Emma in a terrible position.

Oh, and because of several (ahem, rom-com-type) issues, Emma is living in Charles's house for the duration of the project. And Charles's documentary-filmmaker ex-wife is showing up unannounced, seemingly protective of Charles.

Can Emma make Charles believe in true love long enough for them to create something wonderful? Or will the growing obstacles in their path keep them not only from building a great script, but from each other?

As in all good rom-coms, there's a conflict keeping the potential couple apart, and I appreciated the nuances of this one. Center doesn't rely on a miscommunication trope (my very least favorite), and I could see where both sides were coming from emotionally within their prolonged heartbreak of having to be apart.

There's a romantic gesture centering around a script, and it didn't quite sit right with me (regarding who wrote it, who is credited, etc.). But I loved the book's focus on writing, the peek at L.A. life and the movie industry, and that Emma and Charles are both fish out of water who only find peace and success both professionally and personally when they are true to themselves.

I listened to The Rom-Commers as an audiobook courtesy of NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

Katherine Center is also the author of Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard--check out my reviews on Bossy Bookworm, the blog--and other books.

I love rom-coms, I grew up on the early 2000’s movies - forever chasing that nostalgia and hence, why I wanted to read this story! This was my first Katherine Center book I’ve listened to/read and I enjoyed the story overall. I liked her writing style. Therefore, I will continue to explore the author’s works and read more from her! I appreciated the emphasis given on rom-coms - that they are a respectable story that deserves as much love and attention as any other movie works!

The issue I had from this story was that I could not connect with the FMC or MMC. I found them one dimensional, their relationship surface level. I was wanting more comedy to come out of the rom-com aspect. I found the heavy handed inclusion of his full name “Charlie Yates” bordering on irritating - it was too much. I thought his personality could’ve been adjusted better, I found him just grumpy, kinda mean to FMC and was written in a way that he was made out to be a bit of a sloppy loser?

I just couldn’t believe in his character. He only had beer, lunch meats, olives and cereal? The cereal he uses water bc he has no milk?? There’s just no way. He was written like he was a bit antisocial and completely clueless to any emotions. I just didn’t understand why the FMC was in love with him, he didn’t have endearing qualities.

The narration for the audiobook was okay, but not great. I didn’t care for the attempted male voice by the female narrator for Charlie.

I found that the Epilogue and the bonus chapter of Charlie’s POV were not necessary, didn’t add much to the story for me.

Thank you MacMillan Audio & Netgalley for an ALC!

The Rom-Commers is a quirky romance about two writers who fall in love while writing a rom-com together. The witty banter between Emma and Charlie Yates was a lot of fun to experience and I felt like I was in the kitchen, sitting at the messy table, writing with them.

Charlie and Emma have emotional baggage from their past that makes them both believe that they are incapable of being in a long-term relationship. I felt that Emma went through a greater character arc than Charlie, and I appreciated her growth and willingness to grow and change throughout the story. I felt that Charlie did not go through the same.

I would recommend for those readers who want to learn more about the writing process and like slow-burn, closed-door romance.

Okay this took me a long time to get into but once I hit the halfway point I was definitely hooked! And there was a very emotional moment toward the end that actually had me sobbing and I was not ready.

Katherine Center weaves the most beautiful stories together with the most emotional and high stakes moments while also making you laugh throughout. I’m not sure how one can feel all those feelings in 300 pages but KC manages it every time! This book was no exception and now will be one of my favorites by this author.

The beginning seemed a bit jumbled and forced, which I didn’t love. I almost gave up on the book at one point but very glad I decided to keep going. The screenplay aspect was so much fun and as a romance reader/lover I loved all the research they did for the romance genre! And then things got very tough for some of the characters with a lot of will they/wont they and a teeeny bit of miscommunication but I can look past it for how everything was revealed.

Read if you like:
✍🏼 writing
🥺 emotional reads
🫂 family
😤 grumpy/sunshine

An aspiring screenwriter is begrudgingly gifted the opportunity of a lifetime, to help her all-time favorite screenwriter rework a romantic comedy script. Charlie doesn't usually write rom-coms and has no idea what he's doing, and Emma is working hard to convince him of the genre's merits. Sparks fly between them along the way...

I was all set to love this book because I really enjoyed a couple of other Katherine Center novels. But this one was underwhelming for me. It started off so strong and I really thought that Charlie and Emma were a lot of fun to get to know. They also have really interesting backgrounds that make them great main characters. But about 75% of the way into the audiobook, my attention started to wander as the story felt like it was stalling a bit. There was sooo much happening by the end with Emma's family and Charlie's health that I just felt kind of overwhelmed.

The narrator of the audiobook was delightful, though! This book had potential, it really did. Maybe it just wasn't for me. But as someone who has only recently embraced romance novels, I do appreciate Center's defense of the genre.

As a big fan of Katherine Center's books, I was very excited to cuddle up in my cozy reading chair and listen to her newest release, The Rom-Commers. The delightful cast of characters had me invested from the first couple of pages. The story was fairly realistic in a Hollywood-type way. The plot moved along briskly and kept me entertained. There was a good amount of humor as well as other emotions portrayed. I quite enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all lovers of the romance genre. I listened to the audio and the narration was lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the audio publisher for an advanced copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I found this to be an incredibly sweet and fun read. I do very much enjoy the enemies to lovers trope and workplace settings are always fun for me - so I did really like this book.

The MC was so sweet and selfless (even to her detriment) and the male MC was a total douche-canoe at first but ended up being a nice man in the end so it all worked for me.

The book also made me feel things.. Which as my close friends know I DON’T LOVE THAT… but this book was an exception.

If you are looking for a nice summer read, I would pick this one up. No spice really though so if you are looking for that - you won’t find it here.

This is my seventh Katherine Center novel and she never disappoints! I always enjoy her characters and their stories. In addition, I appreciate the way in which she always weaves in some element of hardship (disability, mental health issue, trauma, etc.) that has impacted the lives of one or more characters, yet does not *define* them. She is a beautiful writer and she is an auto-buy author, for sure!

I have a print copy of The Rom-Commers but, when I discovered that Patti Murin was the narrrator on audio, I could resist listening to at least some of it! The audio is fantastic - highly recommend - and this is such a wonderful read. I think Things You Save in a Fire is my favorite, but I love them all!

The Rom-Commers was a fun romance which defends the value of reading romance within its pages. It is well paced, and delivers well on its promised premise.

Katherine Center does it again. I loved this book so much!! Emma and Charlie are so cute together and their chemistry is so good. This is such a cute forced proximity rom-com. I loved every second of it. This book made me laugh multiple times, and cry as well. 5 star in my book! The narration was perfect and made me feel even closer to the characters

I love Katherine Center books so much!!


THE ROM-COMMERS
● Emma & Charlie Yates
● ghost writer / screenwriter
● Emma has been taking of her dad for the last 10 years
● Emma is hired to fix “Charlie Yates” screenplay
● Charlie doesn’t want a writing partner but his agent is forcing him
● enemies-to-lovers
● forced proximity

Audiobook source: Netgalley
Narrator: Patti Murin
Length: 11h 21m

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC.

Katherine has done it again! She really does write the best romcom books and The Rom-Commers is no exception. This is a perfect blend of happiness, laugh out loud moments and moving past grief.

Emma and Charlie were so wonderful together and I loved the cameo of Jack Stapleton (from her book The Bodyguard)!

3.5 rounded up to a 4. I have loved Katherine’s pervious two books so much them being my favourite reads of the summer and I was so excited about this one but I have to say it fell a little flat for me and that had to do with our main characters. I did like Emma at first but as we went on she just wasn’t likeable to me, and the way she handled some conflict later on in the book and continued to carry on and make her self the victim when she was just as much in the wrong too, really bothered me! Also Charlie was okay in terms of a MMC boyfriend but he had a lot of issues that he needed therapy for and why I felt for him, I think it created so much miss communication between the two. I did love the story line tho characters aside I loved how they made the movie and all the side characters where great too especially her dad!. I really loved the connection to the body guard with Jack Stapleton! Over all this one was kinda of a miss for me but I still look forward to any book Katherine centre will put out, and still do recommend this to all my friends who love her because I think I am the odd one out not loving it as much as the others! I did the audiobook and thought the narration was done really well. I did feel transported into the story as I listened on!

I am a fan of Katherine Center and she is an automatic read when she releases a new book. This one was very good, but definitely not my favorite of hers. I enjoy Center's writing, the banter back and forth between characters, the one-liners that make me laugh out loud. The writing is The Rom-Commers was good, the characters were charming, and there were funny sections. I just didn't really connect with the characters. I wasn't a fan of Charlie's treatment of Emma, and felt like the spark between them was forced. I did love Emma's attachment to her family and the close knit connection between them!

I was privileged enough to get this audiobook as an ARC and I’ll start by saying I love audiobooks because hearing the author talk about their book - to me is so special!
I’ve read every Katherine Center book and appreciate her closed door TENSION heavy book. For a girl who loves tension and banter , this is it!
Her humor is wonderful and the characters Emma and Charlie’s story together was unique , much like I’m finding all Centers books to be.
If you want a fun novel with cameos from some of her other work look further , The Rom Commers is the book for you!

Loved loved loved this book from the very beginning. This was my first time reading a Katherine center book and i can say that it has lived up to the hype ive heard about her writing style. From the very beginning the story has you hooked and this was the perfect beginning of summer book to read if you want something that is full of connection between the characters, over coming obstacles and finding love in the face of hardship. I loved how the story talked about illness in a way that made you connect with the characters and I appreciated that their backgrounds were not just something that addressed in the beginning and then forgotten about. I am definitely going to be picking up her other two books because i love her writing style.

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.

Somehow I'd never been aware of Katherine Center's books until a couple of years ago, when I read The Bodyguard. It was, to use a rom-commy phrase, insta-love. The Rom-Commers has cemented my insta-love into perma-love. (If that's not a thing, it should be. Just sayin'...)
I so enjoyed this story of a woman who's always dreamed of being a screenwriter, but a tragic accident has left her as the sole caretaker for her father. When an old friend offers her the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to write with her screenwriting idol, she reluctantly gives in to her father and sister's demands that she take advantage of her opportunity. She ends up moving into the writer's mansion for six weeks to help him rework his amazingly bad script for a rom-com. I loved these two characters together. They were funny and imperfect and real. They'd both been through some stuff, their reactions and outlooks on life were very different in many ways, but all informed by the stuff they'd experienced. One of the truisms of reading a romance is that we know where the two main characters are going to end up. It's just a matter of the road they take to get there. And this journey was thoroughly enjoyable for me. I listened to the audiobook, and Patti Murin's narration was perfect, hitting all the right notes for all the different emotions involved.
Now bring on Katherine Center's backlist to keep me happy until her next release!
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.