I loved the characters and the plot—especially the awards scene. It made me think of Notting Hill and The Holiday in the best ways. The narrator was great. I especially loved the bonus material and author’s note at the end and read by the author. Brilliant touch.

“I’ll take it! And I’ll spray-paint it bubblegum pink and write my name on it in red Sharpie with little hearts! And I’ll tell everybody I won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for a rom-com so rom-commy it was called The Rom-Commers!”

“He felt real.
But more than that: he made me feel real.”

The Rom-Commers is a triumph of PURE JOY! Katherine Center dazzles with an adorable story oozing with love and hope and kindness. Reading it is like cozying up in a warm blanket… I always have a smile on my face reading her books, and this one is no exception.

Charlie and Emma, two writers, wind up working together on a rom-com screenplay. Along the way Charlie discovers what it feels like to be in love and they both learn how to give themselves permission to be happy. They each bring anxieties and baggage to the table. Just two souls figuring out that “Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that will be true.” It’s funny and charming and also brought tears to my eyes. My favorite kind of book…it delivers all the feels.

I was so excited with the Easter egg of finding Jack Stapleton from the Bodyguard in this book. These are FICTIONAL characters, and I found myself actually HAPPY that Charlie had Jack as his true friend. That’s a great writer… Katherine Center somehow makes me care about Charlie enough to be happy that he has a genuine friend that I feel I KNOW because I read all about him in The Bodyguard. Well done!

KUDOS on another gorgeous cover! And please never lose Patti Murin as the narrator of your books….she has a perfect voice for these books, just adds warmth and joy and absolutely brings these characters to life.

Thank you, Katherine Center, for your passion for the rom-com! Your words in the authors note are sooo true… we do find the stories we need to read, they call to us from our hearts. I will continue to “hang out with you on your hill of love stories”… you keep writing, I’ll keep reading!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!
#netgalley #theromcommers #romcom #katherinecenter #pattimurin #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress

I wasn’t sure about the narrator at first but she really grew on me. I loved that Katherine did the bonus scene and author’s notes..
“Appreciate your person. Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids - and then appreciate the hell out of that person. Train yourself to see their best, most delightful, most charming qualities. Focus on everything they’re getting right. Be grateful- all the time - and laugh the rest off.” - Emma’s dad

I love Katherine Center and everything she writes. You can feel her love for romance novels as her words jump off the page. I love the way she takes complex, made-up characters and forces you to see yourself in them or to empathize with them.

In this story, Emma is a wanna-be screen writer who hasn’t followed her dream because she has been taking care of her dad for the last 10 years. She has turned down opportunities and dream jobs so her sister can live her dreams. But now an opportunity of a life time has fallen into her lap and she gets to take it! The opportunity is writing a rom-com with her hero: Charlie Yates.

Problem is the whole saying “ don’t meet your idols” may be true in Charlie’s case. While brilliant he doesn’t like rom-coms, he doesn’t know how to write one and he doesn’t believe in love (typical). So it is Emma’s job not only to help him fix the horrible script but to show him what love really is.

You can never go wrong with Katherine Center and with The Rom-Commers she brought her usual punch of a cute and quirky romcom but this one also packs some depth.
As you first start to read this one you may think oh I’ve hear this before, enemies to lovers, grumpy guy turns romantic, will they won’t they, why don’t the see how good they are…and then there’s so much more.
Katherine Center adds to Emma & Charlie’s romance with elements of family, being a caretaker, tough medical situations, grief, divorce, and mental health. This adds so much relatability and depth to what could be simple tropes. It makes the story so much more believable and builds the reader’s connection and feelings for the characters. It’s easy for a romcom doubter to think romance is just a fairytale and nothing ever happens so perfectly, but with this one it’s not perfect, their love is flawed and complicated and that’s what makes a story like this universal and hopeful.

Admittedly, I was a bit hesitant to dig into this story as the first chapter or two didn't peak my interest. I'm so so glad I kept listening because I found myself squealing during adorable parts, laughing in public during the comedic blunders, and rooting for the main characters until the very end.
I really enjoyed Katherine Center's ability to write a "rom com" with such a unique twist, as the characters are reliant on one another to succeed in their own careers. I appreciated the realistic aspects of the characters' lives, such as being a caregiver for your parent, having a few strings still attached to an ex, and feeling lost on your own path in life! And how FUN that the author narrated her own adorable story!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
This was a really enjoyable story! Unknown cheerful writer being set up to help a grumpy famous writer rewrite a horrible rom-com he had written and not quite an enemies to lovers romance, but close, with a lot of funny bits thrown in. This was somewhat comical at times and while not spicy whatsoever, was very well written and a quick, fast paced and entertaining read!

I’ve loved every Katherine Center book that I’ve picked up and this one was no exception! I found Emma to be a very relatable and likable character and really enjoyed her point of view, wit, and quirkiness. 5 star read for me.

The Rom Commers by Katherine Center was a sweet love story and much more. The main character deals with grief, guilt, and anxiety over losing her mother and then caring for her father after a freak accident. The narrator did a wonderful job with both Emma and Charlie's voices. I enjoyed the way Emma spoke directly to the reader. This gave the reader more insight into why she made some of the decisions she did. The lack of communication between Emma and Charlie was a little frustrating but of course everything worked out in the end.

This was my first Katherine Center book and, unfortunately, it will be my last. I went into this book with pretty high hopes. My initial reaction from the very beginning of the book was even positive and I was excited for the experience. However, I do think this had a lot of problems that started surfacing pretty quickly and continued throughout the majority of the story.

One of the first things I noticed was the repetition of certain narrative devices. For example, there are at least three scenes early on where the main character overhears crucial conversations. This repetitive eavesdropping felt like a lazy way to move the plot forward and ended up feeling pretty silly. Something else that repeated throughout the entire book was Emma's habit of echoing whatever anyone else said. I don't have any highlights, so I'll just give a silly example - if Charlie were in the kitchen eating a banana, Emma would walk in and ask him what he was eating. Once he said "A banana", I can guarantee you that her response would be "A banana?". Every. Single. Time. This element was incredibly frustrating and definitely made the interactions feel stilted and unnatural.

I also didn't love our main characters - individually or together. I didn't necessarily hate either of them overall, but they both had elements that made it impossible to love them. Emma was mostly ok but at the end, she was really horrible to her sister. Then, when her sister kind of clapped back, all Emma did was focus on what her sister said. But she never acknowledged that she also said really hurtful things and never apologized. It was absolutely unbelievable.

Charlie was not a well done character. He's very rude to Emma and also kind of awkward and out of touch with basic human emotions and behaviors. Firstly, his rudeness was not really justified or explained away. He does apologize for some things, but there are a lot of things that he never addresses or apologizes for. Maybe the author thought this situation was enough of a justification, but it wasn't. His lack of interpersonal communications skills were also not explained very well. I think his situation was again meant to shed some light on that, but I didn't find it believable. I really thought we might discover that he had some form of neurodivergence, but that wasn't the case nor was there anything that satisfactorily justified some of his behaviors. It just made it very difficult to see him as a real person.

There was also a huge lack of chemistry between Emma and Charlie. We saw a few moments where one of them, mostly Charlie, would do something nice for the other but it was all so stilted. There was absolutely no emotion in me when Charlie touched her arm or tucked her hair. I felt NOTHING. We were mostly told that they were developing feelings rather than every shown any of it. I was not invested in them at all and their romance was very lackluster.

I was originally going to give this book a 3 star rating because, despite my issues, I did find it very easy to read and I did find myself compelled to read it. But, the more I put my thoughts on paper, the more I talked myself down to 2 stars. This is not a book I would describe as something that I like. I also find these issues to be more substantial with such an experienced author. I know that most people adore this author and her works, so maybe it's a me problem. But, this one didn't work and I don't plan on picking up any more of the author's works.

Thank you, NetGalley, for access to an ALC in exchange for my honest option

I've listened to several books by this narrator and she does a good job, however I struggled with this one because her intake of breath before EVERY. SINGLE. SENTENCE. Audio producers, beloveds, you have to edit this out. Or the narrator should be editing this out if that's included in their package. If it's delivered in this state, it has to be fixed. I'm sorry. It's so painful to listen to.

I'll start my actual review of the book by saying I have read several Katherine Center books and I am usually not a fan, but I decided to give her one more chance and I'm pleasantly surprised! This book was much more my speed. I was cautiously optimistic throughout this entire book. It's not perfect, but I truly enjoyed it!

Some issues I felt very strongly about...

I feel like the first kiss was trying to be the Nick Miller/Jess Day scene where they're locked in the room and their friends wont let them out until they kiss and Nick shouts "Not like this!"

Except that wasn't how this kiss came across. Instead the man says no, no no, and she keeps advancing, forcing herself on him. And then when she has a moment of clarity, that a man is saying no, and she's trying to pressure him into something, she feels awful for about *checks notes* 0.001 second before she feels bad about <i>herself</i> that a man doesn't want to kiss her. Girl that was not the takeaway from this.

Then later he says they cannot sleep together, and he is not giving consent, and she keeps trying to pressure him. Honestly, if this wasn't part of the plot I would have very little negative to say about this book.

There's a twist to this and honestly I thought it was going to end up being a little bit of a heartbreak and I was here for it.

All in all, I'll give this a 3.5 stars. I'd recommend it to people and it might have been enough to prompt me to give other KC books more of a chance.

Emma and Charlie, Charlie and Emma; no matter how you say it, they are beyond interesting together and mismatched as hell (at first)! Emma takes care of her elderly dad but is a talented writer and pretty nice. Charlie is a famous screenwriter but as prickly as a cactus. Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever like Charlie. I don’t think we are supposed to love him in the beginning but what do you know? I ended up happy they got together.

These two are thrust together by a mutual person they know. Neither was happy about it but it turned out just fine. The secondary characters were pretty cool too. Center’s writing is phenomenal and seems to have everything I love: wit, fun, turmoil, happy ending, and keeps the story interesting. Yes, there were a few spots that kind of linger but I find this to be true of most books.

This was fun to listen to and I hope others will check it out and make it one of their summer reads. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this audiobook. I am so glad I listened to it.

This is my first Katherine Center book, and I loved it. It was emotional, funny, raw, real, and happy. I love the emotional ups and downs for this story and the absolute realness that she brings to her story. Also..... I really love a super grumpy MMC.

I received the audiobook from netgalley in exchange for honest feedback, so I want to explore the audiobook narration as well, which really matched the FMC. The narrators tone really matched what I feel Emma would have sounded. Emma was so real and so human, but also so frantic and scattered. The tone of voice that was utilized really matched the character, and I absolutely loved that.

I definitely recommend snagging the audiobook, which included a special chapter from Charlie's POV and a note from the author.

Emma Wheeler desperately wants to be a successful screenwriter, but she has put that on hold to take care of her father. Charlie Yates is a famous Screenwriter, one of Emma’s absolute favorites, but just wrote a horrible Rom Com. How could he write a good one without even believing in love? Can Emma help rewrite his rom com and potentially rewrite her love life as well?

Katherine Center is quickly becoming a favorite of mine! The Rom-Commers is an enemies to lover + grumpy x sunshine romance with well developed characters, great backstory, witty engaging banter, humor and heart. Despite being a romance limited in spice, these was still a lot of heat and tension between the two main characters that was honest, believable and shall I say realistic. Since this is a book about two writers writing, there is a lot of unique behind the scenes looks at how the book with play out, which I found fun. Overall a great read to take to the beach or read on a cold night by the fire.

This was such a delightful, feel good story that was like 2/3 romcom and 1/3 self-help. The dad had such good advice! I was literally jotting down notes at a couple of points.

The FMC and MMC were both good characters. I really liked them separately and together, even if they were sometimes jerks. The plot maybe was a little illogical, but I just went with the flow. I really liked how the fourth wall was kind of broken ocasionally.

This is my third Katherine Center novel and I'm looking forward to making my way through all of them.

The narrator Patti Murin is also great. Maybe a weird comment, but I really like her tone of voice? Anyway, I've listened to her a couple of times before, but planning to make my way through her work as well.

Two lovely quotes:
"Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”
"Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that's the one that will be true."

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, so I was super excited to check out The Rom-Commers early!

Emma wants to be a screenwriter, but her dreams have been set aside to care for her father, who suffers from paralysis on one side of his body after an accident years ago. When she is hired to help star screenwriter Charlie Yates revamp his rom-com script, Emma is thrilled yet hesitant to leave her father in her younger sister’s care.

There were things I enjoyed here, and things that drove me bonkers. I loved the casual banter between Emma and Charlie, loved the concept of the story, and thought some of the physical comedy was funny. And I absolutely loved seeing the characters from The Bodyguard in small cameos!

However, the main characters were not my favorite. Charlie was kind of a douche instead of an amazing book boyfriend, talking trash about Emma time and again and then pushing her away in a ridiculous scenario. I was on Emma’s side until she got in a nasty fight with her younger sister, acting very martyr like and above everyone else. I felt like pretty much every character in the book needed a good therapist, and instead they all just decided to think happy thoughts and hope for the best. Panic attacks by our main character were basically brushed over with no real care or representation.

I’m very much in the minority on this one, as plenty of people are absolutely loving it. While this wasn’t my favorite by the author, I’ll still be excited to read whatever she writes next!

The audiobook was narrated by Patti Murin, who did a great job delivering the humorous banter. Her pacing kept the story moving along well.
Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

"The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center is a delightful rom-com filled with witty banter and endearing characters. Center crafts a charming story of unlikely collaborators, Charlie and Emma, whose shared passion for storytelling leads them on a journey of self-discovery and love. However, while the novel is enjoyable with its humorous moments and heartfelt romance, it falls short in delivering a truly original plot. Despite its shortcomings, "The Rom-Commers" is a light and entertaining read, perfect for fans of the genre. With its blend of humor and heart, it earns a solid three out of five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

I really loved this story for the first 75%. It was such a cute premise, the main characters had fun, flirty banter, and there were sweet, romantic gestures. It was giving me <i>Romantic Comedy</i> vibes, and I was here for it!

But what was that ending?! It was SO weird and awkward, and I was SO disappointed, because I wanted to love this book so much! I unfortunately lost interest when Charlie rejected Emma for the upteenth time after she confesses her feelings...and Emma came across as cringy and desperate with all of her begging. It just killed all of the chemistry. And then for everything to wrap up so nicely at the end with Charlie's secret after all the rejection and dishonesty, it just didn't work for me.

The Rom-Commers captured my attention from the get go and I gobbled it up in two days. I did the audio version and it felt like a friend filling me in on her life after having not been connected for a while. I enjoyed that aspect of the story telling. There were moments where you knew you were being told the story and others where you were watching the story unfold. Seamless transitions and the narration was good. There were times that the accent threw me off -- sounded more mid-western than Texas and where I wondered if the narrator had a cold (sounded stuffed up) BUT it totally worked during the parts of the book where tears were involved. It is a Rom-Com after all.

Emma's role as caretaker for her dad hit close to home in many ways, and that feeling of personal connection definitely drew me into the book in a deeper way. There are so many different themes within this story, without being crowded, that it will be easy for a vast number of readers to find a deep connection (sisters, grief, sacrifice, love, rejection, etc) within the book. This isn't to say that it's also just a nice little brain break where you can get lost in the story.

There were a few hooks that I figured out early, but maybe that's just because I read so many murder/mystery books. This didn't take away from the book though. The rom-com resolution scene was a bit over the top/unrealistic as compared to the rest of the story. You see it coming, you want it to happen, but would it really happen that way in real life?

This is my 3rd book by Katherine Center...and it was fun to have a cameo in The Rom-Commers from dreamy Jack Stapleton from The Bodyguards. Love a little surprise like that. Center has made her way on my go to list for books when I need a breather from madness and mayhem. Summer publish date is ideal for a beach/pool read, no doubt. The rom com is more complex that it seems and The Rom-Commers is an insightful look inside.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance copy. Loved the opportunity to get an early peek!

A new Katherine Center book?! Sign me up!

Emma wants to be a screenwriter but is the caretaker for her father after a rock climbing accident left him with health problems and killed her mom. Her best friend/ex from high school just got her her dream job co writing a script with her dream guy and everyone’s favorite screenwriter Charlie. He just wrote a romcom (not his usual genre) and it’s terrible. Hopefully together they can write a hit.

I was very excited to read this book. It’s probably more of a 3.5 star for me. I really enjoyed the first part, the fmc annoyed me a little but she got to the point of me actively cringing and hoping she would just stfu. 😆 she felt borderline problematic… I may be in the minority feeling this way… it definitely had some great parts and all full of a spectrum of feelings. I’m still a Katherine center fan and love her writing especially how every book I’ve read has a medical aspect and swoony moments.

Thanks to netgalley and st martins press and Macmillan audio for advanced reading copies.

I loved this book! Emma Wheeler, a talented screenwriter whose career never took off due to familial obligations, is offered the deal of a lifetime by her high school ex-boyfriend, now a manager. Charlie Yates, a successful Hollywood screenwriter and another one of Logan’s clients, has written a terrible rom-com. Logan tasks Emma with stepping in to assist Charlie in rewriting the story. This requires Emma to leave Texas for six weeks and her father, for whom she is a full-time caretaker. The two partner to rewrite Charlie’s script, and Emma takes on the challenge of converting Charlie into a believer in love. They say to never meet your heroes, but what follows is a delightful story filled with forced proximity and grumpy x sunshine banter.

I adored Charlie and Emma. Their banter and Patti Murin’s delivery had me laughing out loud. Patti Murin was an amazing narrator. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.