Thank you to SMP Romance and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

I adored Hello Stranger, and my review especially raved about the Author's Note and its full-throated cheerleading for the romance genre. In many ways, this entire book felt to me like it delivered on all the promise of that note. The Rom-Commers is a romance about romance and the entire rom-com genre. And thus, we get such great insight into the writing process and what makes romances so fabulous.

In this book, Emma Wheeler's agent matches her with multiple award-winning screenwriter, Charlie Yates. He's never written a romance and doesn't have much respect for the genre, so she will be his co-writer to help him deliver. And maybe make him believe in love along the way.

I laughed uproariously and had to share the dialogue with my family who also started laughing, no context necessary. We're still talking about some of the scenes. And reading them entirely from Emma's voice with her very conversational style made them even more fun.

But I also cried more than I have while reading in a long time. There's a storyline about Emma serving as the caregiver for her father, and it made me feel so seen. And I felt hope and joy. I'm not someone who often messages authors, but this book inspired me to write to Katherine Center to thank her, twice. And she was so sweet and gracious.

I can't say enough about how amazing this book is. And Patti Murin was an excellent narrator.

I really enjoy Katherine Center's books and this was no exception. This one battles Hello Stranger for my favorite Katherine book! I really enjoyed Emma (FMC) she was dealing with so much but had such a great attitude. I think Katherine does an amazing job in dealing with serious/depressing topics and still leaving you feeling optimistic. I have listened to all her books through audio and I really enjoyed the narrator! She did a great job capturing the story.

Emma is obsessed with Charlie Yates. She's idolized him as the best screenwriter around, which is why she jumps at the chance to help him revise his movie script, even though it means leaving her father, who needs constant care. Soon Emma is a fish out of water, leaving Texas for LA, only to discover that Charlie doesn't want her help. But certain events change their relationship, and soon they realize that they gel not just professionally, but personally. Can they move past their traumas and beliefs about life in order to grasp the love they've never dreamed was even possible?!?

I ADORED this book. The main characters were flawed, but realistically so, and their growth made the ending that much more satisfying. I laughed out loud numerous times, enjoying the narrator's creative dramatization of the story. I have to buy the physical book, however, because the words of wisdom, especially in the third act, are begging to be highlighted and read over and over.

Katherine Center provided an inside look at what writers are like, as well as how it feels to be a part of the industry. It was fascinating! This book leans into how the stories we tell ourselves impact our relationships and ourselves. The physical aspects of love were left largely out of the story in order to better feature the bond of two people who respected each other, and how that grew into affection, and ultimately, love. It was beautiful, and sometimes shocking, to read. I ADORED the selflessness, meditations on love and romance, and the grand gestures. This book made me look differently about my own life, which was perhaps my MOST favorite thing of all!

Trigger warnings: grieving the loss of a mother, caretaking of a paraplegic father, overcoming cancer, potential cancer diagnosis, near drowning/fear of drowning, parents divorcing, feelings of abandonment by parent

I'd like to thank MacMillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the eARC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

The Rom-Commers is such a fun novel! Emma is a struggling screenwriter who has had to sacrifice career opportunities to care for her disabled dad when she gets the opportunity to re-write a rom-com script with her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates. However, Charlie Yates, doesn't know anything about writing rom-coms, doesn't believe in love, and definitely doesn't want to work with an inexperienced screen writer. Emma's six-week writing experience with Charlie transforms both characters personally and professionally.

Narrator Patty Nurin delivers again! If you loved Hello Stranger, or The Soulmate Equation, you'll love The Rom-Commers. Nurin's expression, tone, and pacing makes it an ideal audiobook for summer travel or relaxation.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest novel by a favorite, Katherine Center, narrated by the amazing Patti Murin, with the author reading an extra scene and the author's notes. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

Emma Wheeler has put her dreams of being a screenwriter on hold to take care of her dad. But when she gets the chance to rewrite a screenplay that her idol, Charlie Yates, wrote, she's beyond thrilled. Charlie Yates is famous for writing big action movies, but his latest is a rom-com, and it's terrible. Emma knows rom-coms and knows she can fix this script, but working with Charlie, who doesn't believe in love, may be too much for both of them.

Katherine Center has done it again - I seem to love each of her books more than her previous one! She writes with such heart and it will make you feel all the feels, without falling into the sappy zone. She tackles difficult subject matters without making the book depressing; in fact, it's just the opposite. She shows you the good that can come from the bad. I fell in love with these characters and this book, and Murin's narration just topped it off. Center's author note at the end is a must read too. Do not miss this one - out just in time to add to your vacation book list!

The Rom-Commers, is written by Katherine Center and narrated by Katherine Center and Patti Murin. These two narrators do an amazing job of bringing the story to life! This is a uniquely themed romantic comedy story about a rom-com screenplay writer who teaches a famous blockbuster action writer about love, romance, and happily-ever-after in order to write a rom-com of his own.

Emma Wheeler is a writer who unexpectedly receives a chance of a lifetime to work with one of her all-time favorite screenwriters, Charlie Yates. The catch is, she has to move to LA for the six weeks, and up to this point, she has been a full-time caretaker for her father who suffered a tragic accident years earlier, something she blames herself for. Emma holds her responsibility as caretaker very seriously. In fact, this role has taken over her life, and though this is an exceptional opportunity, she’s reluctant to hand the reigns over to her sister, whom she helped raise.

To make matters worse, Charlie is unaware that Emma is coming to help him rewrite his one-off romantic comedy, something he is highly unskilled at. This disastrous rom-com is more of an obligation than a project he truly cares about. But Emma’s name will be attached to it and since it’s a remake of one of her favorite rom-coms of all time, she wants it to be a success. After a good deal of pushing and prodding, Charlie reluctantly agrees. Now Emma has to help him believe in love and experience romance in order to more effectively write a rom-com hit.

This story was entertaining and sweet at times, but there were elements that felt a bit silly and unbelievable. Ultimately, I really did not like either of the main characters for various reasons. I found it hard to buy into how out of touch with any emotion Charlie was and overall, he just didn’t seem very kind. His treatment of Emma was not very healthy or rational, and Emma’s treatment of her sister at a climatic moment was uncaring, hurtful, and unfair. And sadly, she never even recognized it. I have loved many of Katherine Center’s books, and will continue to read them. Her dialogue is always witty and fun, and while the Rom-Commers was enjoyable, it just wasn’t a favorite.

💖💖LOVED this!

"Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that's the one that'll be true"

This was my first novel by Katherine Center and let me just start off by saying yes, I will be reading everything else by her that I can get my hands on.
The writing, plot, and characters were amazing. The characters were so loveable. I love the relationship that blooms between Charlie and Emma, I love her dad, and I adore the relationship between her and her sister.
I might actually give this a 4.75* only because there really was a lot of cheese at the end, we went off on a weird unrealistic scene (view spoiler). There was also some medical stuff that didnt make sense to me (I am a nurse and I dont necessarily think a non medical professional would pick up on this)-though this didnt ruin the story by any means, it was more of a "thats not what would happen" moment.
Overall I would 100% recommend this to any fans of rom-coms or rom-dramedies, there was some more serious themes in this, but mostly it was just fun, funny and lighthearted. I would recommend for fans of Emily Henry and Carley Fortune.
I listened to the audiobook read by Patti Murin, her narration was impeccable! Loved the voices, tone, and emotion portrayed in this narration. I will definitely check out more of her works.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and MacMillan Audio for early access to this audiobook.

The Rom-Commers was the type of book that you love so much, it makes you laugh and cry and pray it never ends!

Katherine Center outdid herself with this beautiful perfection of a book.

Emma and Charlie are complex, lovely and are a delight to read with SO much swoon!

Read. The. Book. ❤️

A true winner by a favorite author!

Emma Wheeler is a screenplay writer. She loves romantic comedies and she is amazing at it. Too bad she is not famous. Her career is stagnant due to her personal family troubles. Emma has been the sole caretaker of her father who is unable to live by himself. Emma chose him over her own career. However, now her sister is coming back home after graduating and Emma gets the opportunity of a lifetime. She is asked to "fix" Charlie Yates's new rom-com. She just needs to leave home and fly to LA for six weeks to do it.

Emma has her work cut out for her. Charlie Yates doesn't want help with his rom-com. He only wrote it to be able to get another project approved. He doesn't believe in rom-coms. He doesn't believe in love period. Changing his mind is going to take all of Emma's time.

Will she be able to do it?

I love Emma. She was down-to-earth, half-full-glass type of person. She was sweet and a nice daughter. It took me longer to love Charlie. He was so standoffish at the beginning and it did bother me when he rejected Emma time after time. Yet, I ended up loving him.

The audiobook narration by Katherine Center & Patti Murin is completely on-point and added to the experience of the story.

Another favorite from Katherine Center. I hope she writes many more!!

This was another enjoyable book by Katherine Center. She makes my tear in the best way possible. Not only does this story make you feel good, it gives you hope that people can change their opinions and not have life be over.

The narration was fabulous. Patti Murin is great. I love her voice.

The Rom-Commers is about two screen play writers who are matched together by their agent. One needs to break into the industry and one is seasoned but has lost their mojo. They are put together for a 6 week period to write a screen play for a romantic comedy movie for a producer who will make an action movie if this task is completed. While together, the FMC tries to teach love to the MMC. Of course they have a good time together and create a bond.

I loved the characters, even the sub-characters. I can picture the coffee shop that a few scenes talk about, and I loathe the backwards cap man so much I don't even want to repeat his name. Katherine Center writes phenomenally and I cannot wait to see what else she brings to life.

Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion.

Katherine Center is the romance author I never knew I needed in my life. Although this is a clean romance, it is intense with incredible chemistry. Emma has experienced intense tragedy in her life and has proclaimed herself the caretaker of her family. Her BFF helps her weigh an experience of a lifetime and Charlie becomes everything she want looking for. I devoured this story from beginning to end.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this and provide an honest review.

I loved everything about this book, which was filled with funny moments and heartfelt, emotional turbulence as our main characters found their way to each other. I was rooting for Emma from the beginning and enjoyed cheering for her at all of her courageous moments. Patti Murin's narration was superb and do not miss the author's note at the end!

REVIEW: The Rom-Commers ⭐⭐⭐

“You had to maximize joy when it fluttered into your life. You had to honor it. And savor it. And not stomp it to death by reminding everyone of everything you'd lost.”
― Katherine Center, The Rom-Commers

I’m a huge fan of rom-coms, so I was excited to start The Rom-Commers. Emma is a striving rom-com screenwriter who is also a caregiver for her dad. She gets an opportunity from her ex-boyfriend to help rewrite a rom-com screenplay with Charlie Yates, a famous thriller and action writer. When Emma shows up in LA, things go differently than planned, and Charlie isn’t expecting her.

First of all, I like how this story is written. Katherine Center writes it in a way that seems like Emma is talking to you as her friend. There are many times when Emma addresses the reader, making the book feel like a personal conversation. This voice, paired with the great narrator, just really helped make the story more compelling. I also liked the theme that so many people think lowly of romance or rom-coms, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. Katherine Center even had an author's note about it at the end of the book. I thought having the main characters be screenwriters was also a unique view.

I loved this story as a fun rom-com until about 70-75% in. Then, there were so many unnecessary conflicts, and the ending was unrealistic. There were conflicts between Emma and Charlie and Emma and her sister that just made me cringe. Plus, throughout the book, I struggled to like Charlie. It was hard to root for him when he wasn’t someone I particularly liked.

Thank you, Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press, for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

#bookreview #bookrecommendations #arcread #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookish #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #igreads#bookaholic #bookcommunity #igreads #readingbooks #bookishpost #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #reading #alwaysreading #audiobook
screenwriter

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my complimentary eARC, and to MacMillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Katherine Center has done it again. The Rom-Commers was a delightful look into the very hectic and chaotic life of a Hollywood writer. Though it was tough at times for me to read, I pushed through and was rewarded with a heartwarming read. Emma and Charlie make a great team, even though it takes Charlie a while to realize it.
I enjoyed the shout out to Jake and Hannah from The Bodyguard.

I paired the audio and as usual, Patti Murin did a phenomenal job. Her voice is very east to listen to and her different character voices make it easy to follow the story.

Katherine Center does it once again. Though I feel like this one is women's fiction with a strong romantic subplot. Emma grows so much throughout this book. And though she's obviously a huge fan of Charlie as a writer, and has a crush on him, she doesn't let that lead her throughout the book. She interacts with him as if he's anybody else and doesn't change herself to be someone he would fall for.

As for the things that Emma has been through, and blames herself for? That has to be such a tough load to carry. While I've never had to care for someone as intensely as she does, I understand how making your whole personality into a caregiver - even without the guilt - is so easy to do. I was so proud of her sister and father for making her go to LA.

Now, the ending. I thought this was going to rip me up like Me Before You. I almost wanted to quit listening because I was so afraid of that ending. The ending (and the last few chapters really) is still really emotional, but I won't say anything more in case it gives it away once you've started reading it.

After listening to The Rom-Commers, Patti Murin is still one of my favorite narrators. I really need to make it a priority to see what other books she's narrated and download them from the library or Hoopla.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress #macaudio2024 #partner for the gifted copy of the audiobook.

Can you believe this is my first Katherine Center book?! I will absolutely be adding more to my TBR after reading this one!

Hear me out though…as I was making my way through this book I was enjoying it but not 100 loving at first. I kind of thought the main character Charlie was kind of a jerk. He was rubbing me the wrong way….a little too aloof and I just didn’t like him. BUT THEN….the ending happened and I was like….oooohhhhhh now I get it. I can’t tell you why but the ending made up for all of my annoyance with him during the rest of the book. I can’t tell you why as it will be a spoiler but trust me it’s well worth the wait!

I can now appreciate his standoffishness-grumpy-attitude. Is this what y’all mean when you say grumpy sunshine?! 😂 This thriller obsessed girl is learning about this romcom life and although I don’t know the ins and outs yet, I am HERE FOR IT. This book is refreshing, endearing, tackles a hard, complicated topic and I think it is done flawlessly. I even shed tears in this one!! What is happening to me?! Anywho, this book I would absolutely add to your summer reading list! It is so well done and the good thing is it comes out this week so you don’t have to wait!

The Rom-Commers
Katherine Center
Pub: 6/11/24
5☆

ALL the stars!! Katherine Center is the absolute Queen of Rom-Coms and the Rom-Commers was another gleaming example! Quite possibly my favorite KC read thus far.

I loved this one so damn much! It is was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I already cannot wait to reread with the audiobook! I laughed, I cried, and I swooned so damn hard. I seriously could not get enough of Charlie and Emma. They were beautiful, goofy, and their struggles felt so real and relatable. I could survive forever off the banter alone between these two. 😆 Although I couldn’t control myself whatsoever while reading, I did NOT want this book to ever end.

Reading a KC book always feels like the biggest hug. You get the best characters, the best stories, and the most amazing HEA’s. I thought I might break my iPad I was smiling and squeezing it so hard when I finished reading. SO GOOD!! 😍

What I loved;
💕 LOL Humor
💕 Grumpy x Sunshine
💕 The “Research”
💕 ALL the feels
💕 The Cameos
💕 Personal Growth

I went back and did a reread with the audiobook, and though I didn’t think it was possible, I loved it even more. Patti Murin’s narration was absolute perfection. Her voice and KC’s words were made for each other. KC’s recorded note at the end was so great! I’d love to come over to the fun side and hang out on the hill of love stories with her!

The Rom-Commers is an absolute must read and will without a doubt be one of THE books of the summer. Add to your TBR, your cart, request from your library. Do all the damn things becuase you 💯 need this book in your life.

All my love and appreciation to Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC in exchange for my honest review.

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I’m a sucker for romcoms. This book was the perfect blend of book romcom and movie romcom. Katherine Center never disappoints and this book is no different. This book is for those who love romcom movies and who want to laugh. I loved it.

Amazing Read

I received an advance review copy for free from Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, Katherine Center for the opportunity to read your book. This was an incredible read. In this book, we meet Emma Wheeler. She is the caretaker for her father after he suffered an accident. Her former boyfriend, Logan offers her a job to rewrite a screenplay written by her favourite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, for six weeks. I thought this story was amazing. It was full of laughs and I loved every moment of it. The characters and plot were amazing. I thoroughly loved Emma as the heroine because despite everything she went through, she still saw the best in everything she does. Also, I loved her family. Her dad was a sweet character. I loved her relationship with her sister, Sylvie. I thought it was sweet that they would be supportive of each other’s dreams. Charlie Yates was another fantastic character. He was sweet, sexy and smart. I thought the romance was fantastic. I love how Katherine Center writes her stories. This is my third book that I read from her and she never disappoints. She keeps making me laugh, enjoy and love reading romance comedy. I cannot wait to read more books by Katherine Center and more romance comedy authors. Overall, an amazing read.

I was blown away by this book! I’ve always been a Katherine Center fan, but this one is by far my favorite. I laughed out loud so many times, and the ending had me wiping away tears. Charlie and Emma’s banter was fun, flirty and frustrating, and I loved every second of their developing relationship. Emma has a huge heart for others, and Charlie is confident and driven. They made each other better and it was really fun to follow their romance.

Thank you so much for sharing this audiobook with me! The narrator did a great job! It’s going on a bunch of my recommendation lists and I can’t wait to tell my reader friends about it!