Emma put her life and career on hold to care for her sweetheart-of-a-dad when tragedy struck. Now she gets the opportunity of a lifetime to help re-write a rom-com screenplay with screenwriter Charlie Yates, Emma’s idol, but the job isn’t exactly as described.

I absolutely loved The Rom-Commers! I laughed, I cried, and my heart soared with joy! Hard to go wrong with Katherine Center. There’s always layers, with the characters and with the story. I don’t want to break everything down, because I feel it’s better to go in and experience all the lovely for yourself, but it’s a definite 5-Star recommend!

I alternately read and listened to an audio version of the story, and I can recommend either version. Patti Murrin narrates, and she acted her heart out, bringing out all the emotions, making each character come to life! So wonderful! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

Y'all there is SO MUCH to love about this book. I honestly really enjoyed most of this book but there were a couple of things that brought it down for me and it just didn't hit as hard as Katherine Center's other books (this was my fourth read by her). What I didn't care for was Emma's personality. She was a hot headed redhead for sure. However, I did love the concept of a grumpy action script writer pairing with the queen of romcom writers to, not just improve a romance script, but to learn to love in real life. This wasn't just long distance correspondence. This was close quarters house sharing and writing on a deadline. I loved seeing the two put their judgements aside and learn to get along and get to know each other in order to accomplish their task. Their were funny moments and sweet moments and so much to love.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

I don’t think this author is for me, which is a surprise to me as she is a well loved author. This is my 3rd of her books and they all fall, unfortunately, in the just okay category.

It took me a while to figure out why I didn’t love this one but I think it’s a couple things. I did not like how the narrator talks to the reader, it took me out of the story and I found it distracting. It was also missing the hilarious banter I look for in my favourite romances. And the last thing that lost me was Charlie. I simply did not like him. Overall it felt long and I was eager to be done with it.

Not to say I will never read anything else by this author, but I do think 3 books is enough for me to say we don’t click.

If you’ve read this or love this author I’d love to hear all the reasons you love her! Convince me!

It sure does have a gorgeous cover. Thank you to @stmartinspress for my early copy. This one is out on Tuesday and I have no doubt I am in the minority and it will be popular.

Looking for the perfect summer read? Might I recommend The Rom-Commers? It’s sweet and quirky and heartwarming.

@katherinecenter knows how to write banter and these MCs banter constantly.

Therefore, come for the banter, stay for the deep conversations on caregiving and grief.

Special thanks to @macmillan.audio for the ALC.

Charming story filled with humor, angst, and creative writing. Audio narrator was excellent!
About the forced collaboration of 2 script writers (one romance vs one action) in order to create a better Rom-Com screen play.
My only complaint was the much used word, mansion.
Will recommend to romance readers.

Another 5-star read from Katherine Center. Possibly one of the most on-brand rom-coms you could pick up. It was swoony and hilarious and I could have spent hours more with these characters. By far the best of the best Hollywood setting, grumpyxsunshine, forced proximity, slow burn romances that I've encountered. I finished this book in one day and I want to revisit it and love and laugh with these characters all over again.

Do yourself the favor of listening to this one on Audio. Patti Murin does a phenomenal job narrating. this first-person, single POV. I could listen to her bring characters to life every day for the rest of my life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC.

I have such mixed thoughts about this one.

Both MCs have an incredible about of trauma they are working through and, as a result, their protective mechanisms cause them to keep others at a distance. For Emma it manifested as catastrophizing and a need to control everything about her life and her father's care. Things started to improve half-way through, but then at 80% Emma became a jerk again. The way she treated her sister was unwarranted. It was like all of the self-reflection and improvements she made didn't even occur.

For Charlie, his coping mechanism was the need to keep everyone around him at arms length. I enjoyed reading along as he discovered what romance was and there were some super cute moments where he really tried with Emma. But then he got THAT phone call and it all went down the drain.

Overall, I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't get there for me in the end. The last 10% was so emotional and so good but I think it took too long to get there and show us a more likable side to Emma and Charlie.

I have liked other releases from Katherine and I think I'll try her again with another release. The Rom-Commers just wasn't for me.

That said, I thought the audio was really well done. Patti Murin did a great job voicing Emma and made her so real. I think that's why my feelings on this book are so strong. I would recommend the audio to those who already have this on their TBR and are interested in reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Katherine Center for an early listening copy. These are my honest thoughts.

SCREAMING, CRYING, NOT THROWING UP BUT CLOSE. It's been a while since I haven't been able to put down a romance and it is EASILY a 5-star book for me. This book reeled me in from the very beginning. The character development is great, there are two main characters and a few supporting, which made it super easy to keep on track and connect to everyone. You'll laugh and cry alongside Emma and Charlie as they learn to navigate being forced to work together by a mutual friend/manager. If this is on your TBR do not hesitate. I'll now be binging all Katherine Center's books!

I am a huge Katherine Center fan, but true confessions.....I struggled with last year's release of Hello Stranger (I didn't hate it but I didn't love it as much as I have her others). I was a little nervous to pick up this year's newest, but there was no need to worry. I loved it! I see the book has gotten some mixed reviews, but I am here to tell you that I enjoyed the underlying premise of the book (two screenwriters working together on a rom-com when one of the writers does not believe in love) as well as the way the plot unfolded. I loved the characters and how they developed throughout the story. I loved the relationship between Emma and Charlie as well as Emma and her dad. I would not be sad to see these characters make another appearance in a new book!

I really enjoyed this. Patti Murin has become a favorite audiobook narrator. It starts slow so give it a chance--picks up after she gets to LA. My personal preference is more spice, but if you are a reader who prefers a romance without explicit sex scenes then this one is for you. I didn't realize I was missing it until the end so you don't need it. Author's note at the end also a bonus. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the AAC and the opportunity to share my review.

"The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center is a must read, with a perfect blend of humor, romance, and heartfelt character development. Personally, I felt deeply connected to Emma, who undergoes significant personal growth throughout the story. Especially as an older sister, I found myself relating to her journey. Center's ability to create such an understandable and engaging character made the story feel incredibly personal and touching.

The humor in this book is simply unbeatable. I found myself laughing out loud countless times, only to be swept off my feet by the romantic moments that followed. The way Center masterfully balances humor and romance creates a delightful rollercoaster of emotions that keeps you hooked from start to finish. It’s rare to find a book that can evoke such a wide range of emotions, but "The Rom-Commers" does so with grace and finesse.

The narration in this book, as with all Katherine Center books, is absolute perfection. Patti Murin brings the characters to life and makes the listening experience so enjoyable.

Katherine Center has truly crafted a gem with "The Rom-Commers." It’s a must-read for anyone who loves a good laugh and a heartwarming love story. This truly is a perfect reminder of why we love rom-coms in the first place.

What to expect:
Strong Female Protagonist
Family Dynamics
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Laugh Out Loud Moments

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and Katherine Center for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Interesting story. What happens when you have put your life on hold for everyone else and you suddenly get the chance to work with your screenwriting hero? Your family gives you the opportunity to go and you take off for Hollywood. Great characters with a fun storyline.

This was my first Katherine Center, and I can see why she’s so popular. Everything was very cute. But at times, I felt like the light-hearted cuteness of it all conflicted with the heavier themes Center was trying to pump in, such as parental loss, disability, illness, etc. Those two aspects to the story, the light-hearted putting-it-all-out-there for love and the real-life sadness that can get in the way of love, felt in opposition to one another. I’ve seen it done well (Kennedy Ryan, Emily Henry, etc), and this didn’t quite feel right.

I also just… didn’t care for the FMC. Like at all. She was exasperatingly naive for a fully grown, college-teaching, screenplay-writing woman. She also felt superficial. Like aside from her stubborn commitment to her belief in the concept of love, I don’t think there was much to her. And maybe that was on purpose. By making the main character more of an idea-on-legs rather than a person, Center allows every reader to put themselves in the role of leading lady.

All that being said, I enjoyed the book. I liked the forced proximity and the grumpy/sunshine dynamic. I liked two artists sharing their love for their craft. I liked the mutual respect, the banter, and the slow burn. I liked the small-town-girl goes to Hollywood story. And I actually didn’t mind that this was closed door. The tropes were really really well done.

Overall, I think this book is intended for a reader who’s more of an optimistic idealist than I am. Therefore, I expect this one will be really, really popular.

Katherine Center has done it again! I absolutely adore this story. I listened to the audiobook and really loved the narrator as well. I really love reading about people in the book world, weather it's a reader, publish or a screen writer.
The plot was super cute. A famous cute screenwriter who writes a really bad rom-com, and gets forced to get a "ghost writer" for help with it. What could go wrong? Or Right.

I love stories like these that have multiple stories within them. It's not just a "rom-com" but a slice of life with other members of the family too. I like the family aspect even tho some times it can be a serious or sad situation.

I am very new to New Adult/ Regular Fiction stories. I tend to read mostly thrillers of all kinds, horror, and non- spicy romance / rom coms. This was my 3rd by this author and now I can say with certainty that she is a favorite author.

The only slight thing I wasn't crazy about was the MMC name, Charlie Yates. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't written out sooo much. The first 4th of the book, his name was written in full way too many times. But once she met him, she didn't have to be so excited about him anymore. LOL

This was a bit disappointing and forgettable to be honest. I didn’t connect with the characters and Charlie was kind of a jerk throughout the whole book. The fight between Emma and her sister at the end almost made me DNF the book and the big reveal at the end was not realistic or swoony. Just skip this one.

Emma Wheeler dreams of being a screenwriter, specifically of romantic comedies, but being her dad’s caretaker is a full time job. Her friend, Logan, presents her with a once in a lifetime opportunity: rewrite a script for her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates. Emma is reluctant to leave her dad, but her sister steps in to take over caretaking duties so Emma can live out her dreams. Except when Emma arrives at Charlie’s door, he wants nothing to do with her or her writing. He doesn’t even care about the script or romantic comedies. But Emma is determined to show Charlie the power of love and rom-coms.

I really like that both characters had a lot going on in their lives outside of just falling in love. Emma has her dad and his health issues while Charlie is in remission and getting over his ex-wife. These circumstances largely impact their character development and how they view love and relationships. However, I don’t enjoy romances where men are dicks but women fall for them as soon as they show any semblance of kindness, and that’s exactly how Charlie acts in this book. It’s also too much of a slow burn for me. I like the premise of the story as a whole, and I don’t think it’s a bad book by any means, but it’s just not what I prefer in a romance. Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Katherine Center for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

For ten years, Emma Wheeler has sacrificed everything to care for her dad in the aftermath of a serious accident. When her high school best friend, Logan, reaches out to ask her to take a job helping renowned screenwriter Charlie Yates fix a rom-com script, she hesitantly rearranges her life to accept, only to find that Charlie doesn't actually seem to want her help, or to care about the movie at all. That is, until he discovers her writing skills are actually exactly what he needs... and maybe that's not all he needs from Emma.

Like every Katherine Center book I've ever read, this was a delight. I loved both Emma and Charlie right away, and I was so invested in their enemies-to-lovers journey. I loved the way the author invented her own celebrities but also name-dropped Meryl Streep, and it was fascinating to get a peek into the world of screenwriting. This book made me laugh and cry actual tears, and I couldn't stop listening to the audiobook narrated by Patti Murin. The audiobook also includes a bonus scene and an author's note read by the author that I really enjoyed.

While this isn't a clean romance by the strictest standards because of language and some innuendo, there is no spice on the page. There was one joke I didn't love about a character's name, but if you went to public middle school, it's nothing you haven't heard before. This is still very tame compared to a lot of what is out there now.

Thank you @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and listen to this fantastic summer read. Romance readers will not want to miss this one!

Good Vibes

Katherine Center surprised me with her captivating storytelling. Despite my initial doubts, this book left me in a delightful book hangover—I’ve tried other reads, but nothing quite sticks. I can’t believe it took me this long to discover her! Her name has been all over BookTok, but I didn't think her books were my style. How wrong I was! I finished listening to her book this morning, and nothing else compares. The narrator masterfully holds your attention, and the story is an absolute joy.
Years ago, a tragic accident on the Wheeler family vacation forever changed their lives—the mother lost her life, the father lost the use of his hand, and the daughters were never the same. Emma, the eldest, channeled her grief into becoming a stellar screenwriter, even winning a prestigious internship she had to forfeit to care for her father. Now, thanks to an old friend and agent, Emma gets a fleeting chance to pursue her dreams. She’s been hired to assist Charlie Yates, the award-winning screenwriter she’s admired for years. However, upon meeting Charlie, Emma realizes that some heroes are best admired from afar—a very long distance afar.
This novel will take you on an emotional rollercoaster, making you laugh one moment and cry the next. Like all truly heartfelt stories, it evokes a wide range of emotions from the start, keeping you fully invested until the end. It’s almost like an emotional cleanse—you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll come out feeling rejuvenated.
The book is sweet, fun, funny, heartwarming, agonizing, surprising, and highly entertaining. Katherine Center proves herself a spectacular Rom-Com writer, with at least 50% of the novel being dialogue—something she masters brilliantly. I laughed out loud many times and adored her impactful one-word paragraphs. Center has a talent for crafting wonderful characters that readers can’t help but love and root for. Plus, there’s a fantastic twist that caught me by surprise—bonus points for that. How many Rom-Com authors can write truly surprising twists?

Unfortunately, it will probably be another year or two before Katherine Center finishes her next masterpiece. Luckily, I have plenty of her other books to dive into while I eagerly await her next release.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio through @Netgalley for the ALC of Katherine Center’s The Rom-Commers. And when I say thank you, I mean THANK YOU! All opinions are my own.

We need a new word for wonderful for this book. 5/5. The end.

Okay, you want more details? Katherine Center loves to write and you feel it on every page. She loved writing it and I loved reading it. It flowed so nicely and could easily be a one-day read. There were special connections throughout the book that felt so easy, yet they must have been difficult to come up with and write.

Emma Wheeler has had to give up a lot in her life and gets an offer she either can (or can’t) refuse, which is to help screenwriter Charlie Yates with his step into rom-com writing.

You will learn insider writer information such as immersion research and pen identity issues like ink color, fine-point or bold-tip. You will see how to lose a conversation, question how many days it takes to fall in love, and want to take note of Emma’s list of kissing categories. In many KC books you will learn about an illness or physical problem, and this one is no different. Like life, there is happy and sad in her books but there is also resilience. There were so many scenes and quotes and learning moments that I highlighted but they would surpass the character count if I added them here. One short one that I relate to: “I don’t have anxiety. I just worry all the time.”

Narrator Patti Murin is a great voice for this book. She gets the humor, the touching parts and the romance. Her voice simply agrees with me and I always know that when she is involved, she will take an already excellent book up additional notch.

The audiobook includes a bonus scene (Charlie’s POV) read by the author.
Both the ebook and audiobook have acknowledgements, but the author reads them in the audio and adds a bit more.

This book publishes today, June 11, 2024. Grab it with both hands and don’t let go!!!

5/5 stars
11 hours 21 minutes at 1x on audio
Locations: Texas and Los Angeles, CA

Another great novel from Katherine Center! Emma is a writer hoping to land a sweet deal for her screenplay draft. Charlie is a successful screenwriter who Emma idolizes. Emma’s future is in flux as she cares for her father who is disabled. When her friend, Logan, gives her a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with her idol, Emma can’t pass it up. How will Charlie respond to a collaboration with an unknown? Can they find success together? How will this project change their lives? Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. This is my honest review.