If Katherine Center wants to make it her mission to turn me into a romance reader then sign me up. This book was utterly DELIGHTFUL! Center broke the fourth wall, the main character Emma engaged with the reader directly. The dialogue between Emma and Charlie was just adorable. Each of them had experienced hardships and had made choices that impacted their lives and relationships. Even with the times where Emma and Charlie were having those hard conversations, the book's lighthearted tone made this a very enjoyable read. I am definitely going to read more of Center's work.

Katherine Center has done it again. I smiled, giggled, swooned and grinned with glee. While lighthearted and fun, this book had some incredible messages about gratitude and perspective that I wanted to highlight at the end. I loved it!

I loved this audiobook! The story was so well written and the characters relatable. There were real-world problems happening within a relationship dynamic that really tore at your heartstrings. Truly just a fun, witty rom-com that I would read over again in a heartbeat. The narrator of the audiobook was skilled and I enjoyed it, when normally it is tough for me to enjoy a female producing a male voice.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
Narrated by Patti Murin
Standalone Contemporary Romance
4.5 Stars rounded up
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review purposes. Ana’s Attic accepts no compensation for reviews, and all reviews contain my honest opinion. This post contains affiliate links.

I adored The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center . When I finished it I thought it was 5 stars all the way, but as I sit here writing my review and looking at the notes I took while listening, I can’t really give it a full 5 stars. For me, there can be nothing in the dislikes column for a 5-star read, but there were a few little things I didn’t 100% vibe with in this book, which you will see in the dislikes section below.

“If you wait for people to light you up, then I guess you’re at the mercy of darkness.”

Emma Wheeler has spent the last 10 years as her father’s caregiver after he was disabled in an accident. She put her dreams of being a rom-com screenwriter aside and had to turn down some amazing opportunities, but she loves her dad and is devoted to his round-the-clock care. Her sister is now graduating and can step in if needed, so it’s perfect timing when Emma gets the opportunity of a lifetime.

Charlie Yates is one of the most famous screenwriters in the world, and he is also Emma’s idol and celebrity crush. He writes action movies, but was forced to write a rom-com and it absolutely sucked. He doesn’t write with anyone and doesn’t want help even though he needs it. Charlie and Emma share the same agent, who convinced Emma to upend her whole life to come to LA to re-write the awful rom-com with Charlie. But did Charlie know?

"Are you trying to put frozen peas on my ass?"
"It's julienned mixed vegetables," I said, like I beg your pardon.

Charlie was a dick at first, but he won me over. His problem was that he didn’t believe in love or romance, so how could he write it? Well it was up to Emma to teach him. This created some amazing banter, and I love banter in my romance!

“Because love is something you can learn. Love is something you can practice. It's something you can choose to get good at. And here's how you do it. Appreciate your person.
That's it.
Well—first be sure to choose a good person. But we're all good people here.
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."

There was a LOT of emotion and some tragedy in The Rom-Commers. If you have triggers, you may want to check the warnings, It brought me to tears more than once, but I still found myself smiling for the majority of the book. The narrator breaks down the fourth wall several times to explain things to the reader, and I love that, especially in audiobooks. It wasn’t until I finished the book and thought about my rating that I realized it was a closed-door romance. I was so into the story, that I didn’t notice there was no sex!

Likes:
•Brought out every single emotion. I laughed, cried, got angry, got sad, got happy, and more.
•After some initial dislike, I loved both MCs.
•I loved the secondary characters, especially her father.
•Her teaching him about love and romance and him catching on quickly.
•A lot of broken 4th wall
•The way they wrote together.
•Amazing banter.
•A unique pet.
•A cameo from The Bodyguard.
•The bonus scene (audiobook only) from his POV.
•I loved the author note (audiobook only).

Dislikes:
•She pushed herself on him after he said no and she scoffed at consent.
•Emma let him get away with being a douche-canoe too much.
•She seemed to enjoy being a martyr and I didn't like the way she spoke to her sister.
•He was always 'Charlie Yates', not just Charlie.

The Narration:
The narrator sounded like she had a cold in the second half of the book. But she did a good job for the most part. I especially loved the cameo in the epilogue. I think you can either read or listen for the same enjoyment.

The Down & Dirty:
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is one of my favorite books of the year despite a few things I didn’t love. Those few things just weren’t enough to make me dislike the overall tone of the book. Until I looked over my notes to write this review, The Rom-Commers was a 5-star read in my head. I didn’t want it to end and I ended up slowing the narration a little so it wouldn’t end so quickly. I have a feeling there will be a great divide on this book—people will either love it or hate it, but I think most will love it!

Rating: 4.5 Stars, 0 Heat, 3.5 narration

3 Stars

SUMMARY

Emma has spent the past 10 years of her life being the primary care-taker of her father after a rock climbing accident left him disabled and took her mother’s life. She also does some writing gigs here and there to pay the bills, but her dream is to see one of her scripts come to life. When an opportunity to co-write with one of the biggest names in screenwriting, Charlie Yates, for a rom-com script arises, her family pushes her to seize it. With Emma’s younger sister stepping in for the care-taking responsibilities, Emma heads to LA to live her dream. The problem is, Charlie couldn't care less about the rom-com script he’s been commissioned to write. He just wants to deliver a script he knows will never make it to the big screen and move on. But Emma didn’t leave her dad behind for nothing. She is determined to make this script a success.

ROMANCE

For a book all about rom-coms, there was a surprising lack of rom. The blurb on the back of the book mentions how a kiss between them changes everything. Well, that kiss doesn’t happen until over 60% into the story. There was some flirting and tension happening beforehand, but the romance doesn’t really begin until way into the novel, and even then it doesn’t last very long. Katherine Center writes romance so well, though. I absolutely cherished these sweet moments between Emma and Charlie, I just wish there was more.

CHARACTERS

Honestly I lowkey hate Emma and Charlie. Let’s start with Emma. Her whole crutch in life is being her father’s care-taker, and she seems to have a lot of resentment towards her sister for it whether she’ll admit to it or not. When the sister finally does step up, Emma is such a micro-manager about the whole thing. Like, her sister and the sister’s boyfriend are both studying medicine… I think they got this covered. At one point, Emma starts to almost get jealous about how well things are going at home, and then when something does go wrong she takes it as proof that only she can care for her dad. She blames her sister, even though her sister did nothing wrong in the situation, and then the sister does say some awful things back. Afterwards, the sister is begging for forgiveness and Emma begrudgingly gives it??? And then never apologizes in return?!?!?! I guess Emma can never do anything wrong 🙄

Okay, now Charlie’s turn on the chopping block. It might just be a me thing, but I absolutely hate it when a MMC decides what’s in the FMC’s best interest when it comes to their relationship. Instead of, I don’t know, communicating your fears and concerns and coming to a decision as a couple? But I get it, sometimes the male species get their feathers all fluffed and strut around like only their opinion matters. I at least need the FMC to give him shit for it! Make him grovel a little before taking him back! Nah, Emma doesn’t have a fricken backbone. The shit Charlie says to her is so mean, and when Emma is like “That was super rude of you” instead of Charlie apologizing he’s like “I had to do it.” Get out. Also… apparently he eats cereal with WATER 🤢?!!

THE WRITING

The way this book is written is as if Emma is telling us a story. There’s a constant breaking of the fourth wall, things like “By the end of this day I would be so heartbroken” or “Before we move on, I need to tell you about my family” or “Here’s a little good news, since I’ve only been sharing bad news with you. I figured you’d need a reprieve.” Some people might like this writing style, but I do not. It takes me out of the book, prevents me from self-inserting myself into the FMC, and honestly comes across a little cheesy.

There was also an odd amount of times that Emma eavesdropped. It was making me anxious, like damn girl let people have their private conversations! I think it was a way for the reader to learn information since Emma was our sole narrator, but it was an odd choice and set me up to distrust her. There were also moments Emma had when her heart was racing so bad she said her shirt was literally vibrating. Like… no it wasn’t. And she had a moment where she thought there was an earthquake but it was just her heart beating so fast. These two instances were explained as anxiety, but then afterwards it was literally never brought up again. I don’t know, I didn’t like these descriptions and then just the sudden dropping of the topic.

CONCLUSION

It’s easy to point out all the stuff you don’t like in a book, but hard to say what you did like. I hope I’m not coming across too negatively. It’s not like I hated this book. The comedy in this was really great, the dad character was fantastic, and this book was not afraid to have deep emotional moments. I enjoyed the family dynamic and the side characters a lot. It just wasn’t perfect for me, so it lands in the middle of my rating scale.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

So cute!

Emma has given up her life to take care of her family until an opportunity of a lifetime comes along to work with her favorite screenwriter, THE Charlie Yates. After a very rocky start the two slowly fall into a day to day working routine with evenings to cook and hang out together. It seems to be they're falling in love but is that love one sided? Is this a happily ever after story or not?

I liked that the story took its time with them falling in love. Or at least the side of the story I heard. Emma is a great character, she's fun and energetic. This is my second or third Katherine Center books and I have highly enjoyed each of them.

A complimentary copy was provided by St. Martin's Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another entertaining listen from an author who writes great romance novels with depth. This one had some deep topics that offset the will-they-won't-they romance between Emma and Charlie. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this audiobook from a much-loved author!

I’ve been a fan of Katherine Center since I read my first book by her. The Rom-Commers did not disappoint! I loved the banter and how the relationship grew!

The narrators did a fantastic job bringing the story to life and making me feel like I was a part of the story.

I picked this one because of Patti Murin and it was such a good listen! It wasn’t just a romance, but a lesson in family’ and career moves. There were unexpected twists and great stories, and I’ll be reading others by Katherine Center now.

All someone has to say is, “This is a book by Katherine Center,” and I want to read it. Every book she writes makes me so happy, and that is precisely what THE ROM-COMMERS did, too. I laughed. I cried. I laughed some more. And I fell head over heels for Emma Wheeler and Charlie Yates. What an exceptional love story with the bad, the ugly, and all the good!

I love the way Center writes because whoever she uses as the story's narrator grips your heart and doesn’t let go. You can love them. You can get annoyed with them. You can want to hit them upside the head. You can cry with them. But they have such a stronghold on you the entire book that by the end, it feels like you are leaving a friend behind when you close the book. But that’s all the more reason to reread it 😉

For anyone who loves the grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity tropes, Center absolutely nailed them. They are two of my favorites, and I loved seeing Emma and Charlie stuck together! Plus, their banter while being a grump and sunshine is so good!

We can’t forget the fabulous audiobook narration by Patti Murin—one of my all-time favorite narrators! After hearing her as Emma and Charlie, I cannot imagine anyone doing it better. Her voices, cadence, and emotions make THE ROM-COMMERS an exceptional listen!

I’m not sure if you can tell, but I really liked this book and audiobook. Katherine Center writes fantastic books, in my humble opinion. You cannot go wrong reading or listening to THE ROM-COMMERS!

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

Content Warnings: familial death, grief, cancer, injury detail, medical trauma, panic attacks

I thoroughly enjoyed this new Katherine Center book! It was the perfect combination of humor, love and good storyline. I really enjoyed the banter between Emma and Charlie. There were multiple lines that Katherine penned that I wrote down because they hit close to home. Will definitely be purchasing this read!

4.5/5 stars - forced proximity. Grumpy x sunshine.

I love this book!!! I think this is my favorite Katherine Center book. I LOVED the bonus chapter from Charlie and wish we got his POV throughout the book. Charlie is a big Hollywood screen writer who doesn’t believe in love. He’s being forced to write an romcom but sucks at it. Emma is a screenwriter whose main focus is romcoms but she hasn’t had the chance to do anything big because she’s her dad’s caretaker for the past ten years. Emma is kind, funny and force of nature. When the opportunity pops up for her to write with her favorite screen writer she takes it! The book has family drama, relationship drama but focuses mainly on love and friendship. There are some tense moments but they aren’t long.

I absolutely adored this book- it was perfect in every way. The characters are lovable and flawed, their story is sweet and non-perfect, as it should be. The side characters are beautifully built into the story, and create a richness that makes you care about everyone's outcome. I wanted to see Emma and Charlie's movie SO badly- their chemistry is fabulous. I have never been led astray by Katherine Center, but I think this ties for her favorite of mine (with "Things We Save in a Fire"). I will be re-listening again and again!

Katherine Center can do no wrong! She has a way of really making you feel while reading her books. This yet again knocked it out of the park for me. I always love a good grump to sappy story and this did not disappoint!

I have procrastinated on this review of The Rom-Commers. Why? Perhaps because I think I’ve become a broken record regarding Katherine Center’s novels. Novels that put a vulnerable heart on the line and show all the ways that it can get thumped, pounded, pained yet still remain hopeful, caring, compassionate. And how we really need that hope and compassion in a world where it is not in ample supply. Where reading a book like this can bring gentle joy into your life for a few hours but have residual effects. Okay. There. Review done. 😉 Ha!

Years ago a tragic accident happened on the Wheeler family vacation during which the mother lost her life, the father lost use of his hand and more, and daughters were never quite the same. Emma, the eldest, however, became a stellar screenwriter at school and even won an important internship that she had to relinquish when her father needed a caretaker. But now, thanks to an old friend and agent, Emma has a chance to pursue her dreams even if only for a short while. She’s been hired to help Charley Yates, the award-winning Charley Yates that she has fan-girled over forever. But Emma discovers when she meets Charley that maybe “heroes” are best seen from a distance. A very long distance.

So the thing about a Katherine Center novel is that one minute you’ll be crying and then next laughing. Like all things that have real heart and humanity, there are so many feelings in this novel that show themselves early on and continue. But, and I feel this is important, Center does not use sentimentality or angst to evoke those feelings. She uses someone relatable and lets her experience life outside the safety of her niche.

I was not always enamored with Emma but I’ve known women like her who feel the crunch of taking on burdens at a young age that their peers never experience. While Emma is fun and says what’s on her mind, she’s sometimes prickly and demanding especially later in the novel in her relationship with her little sister for whom she’s given up a lot. And like a real-life relationship, the emotions, a little bitterness from everything she’s sacrificed, have begun to show.

Charley is depicted as a grump despite have an extremely successful Hollywood career. Does he have his reasons? Well, let’s just say that I might be a grump too if handed the cards he was dealt. This is what makes the novel feel so real. These aren’t cardboard characters. These characters have depth and history, reasons for their behavior, and the obligatory scars.

The familial and friend relationships in The Rom-Commers ring true to me as well. The misunderstandings, the jibes, the saying of hurtful things that you’d take back in an instant, the love and loyalty.

Yes, there are some fantastical scenes as part of grand gesture but they add to the dreaminess of this love story.

At the end of the audiobook, Katherine Center makes a case for love stories. And, I think she’s right. We all need love stories. The ones in which a couple learn about each other, discover foibles, fall in love maybe a la Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. But having read the romance genre for more than a few decades, I’d have to differentiate between love stories and the lust stories that are prevalent. Lust stories are rarely love stories. But love stories can be lusty. My unsolicited 10 cents.

I have funnily enough begun to equate Patti Murin’s voice with Katherine Center’s, enough so that I’m semi-startled when I do hear Katherine Center (that’s not her voice j/k). Patti Murin brings The Rom-Commers alive. She enhances the heart in this novel and makes all of the lively banter so much fun. I could, probably, happily listen to her narrate any and every book.

The Rom-Commers will be out just in time to add to your TBR beach bag or mountain tote (is that a thing? Let’s let it be a thing.) I hope you fall in love with it as much as I did. And don’t forget the Refrigerated Biscuit Donuts!

Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy.

Katherine Center has done it again! I have never been disappointed with a Katherine Center read and I just adore her as a human. I mean, do you follow her on Instagram?! She is a wise soul and I drink up her wisdom with a straw! The Rom Commers stars Emma Wheeler and Charlie Yates. Emma has spent her life taking care of her father who was in a tragic accident when she was a teenager, the same accident that killed her mother. She is an amazing writer but her life has been on hold for a very long time. Through a mutual friend, Emma is “tricked” into ghost writing a romcom with famous writer, Charlie Yates. Charlie has no desire to write a romcom and doesn’t believe in romance at all. Emma is determined to change his mind and a journey of hilarity, friendship, sweetness and romance ensues.

Emma is one of the best heroines I’ve read in a long time. The way she narrates her story and emotions as if she’s talking to the reader is so personable. I felt like she was taking me INTO her life and experiencing it with her. She was hilarious and felt like a real friend updating me on the antics of her life as they were happening. As crazy as it sounds, I’m going to miss her! Charlie Yates was a grumpy cinnamon roll sunshine. Honestly, he reminded me of Shrek, ala “onions have layers.” The more and more the layers were peeled back, the more and more I fell in love with the guy. AND, one of the coolest things about this book is how Center described the expressions and movements of the characters. I could actually picture their expressions in my own mind and found myself, on more than one occasion, imitating the expressions (sorry to everyone who was around me as I listened to this audiobook). It just added another layer to the authenticity of these characters and a true immersive experience.

Katherine Center did an absolutely fabulous job of creating a true friendship and camaraderie between the two main characters that then transitioned seamlessly into love. As per most of Center’s novels, there were no spicy scenes (just a little steam) but I can say, as someone who loves the spicy scenes, I don’t miss them when I read Katherine Center. She’s a true gem of an author and I always feel a bit smarter and emotionally healthy when I finish one of her novels.

As a side note, the audiobook was awesome, the narrator was perfect, and the speed of the dialogue was great (you know those audiobooks that you have to listen to at 1.25 speed? This was not that and I loved it).


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for review consideration via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I just love all of Katherine Centers books. This is such a heartwarming read with uniquely quirky characters. As always, there’s a serious undertone that needs to be overcome or discovered which just adds a layer of depth to her books that to me sets her apart from other romance authors.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Emma and Charlie are both writers at heart. One problem? Vastly different work experiences and they have been coerced to work together. These two characters will make you laugh with their relatability of mundane circumstances and yet marvel at the fairytale ending. Do yourself a favor and listen or read this book this summer for a good Rom-com fix!

I liked this book but didn't love it, and I know the problem is me.


People are LOVING this book and the ratings are great! Which only proves that not every book is for everyone.


I think I’m not a big fan of the grumpy guy trope.
Also, some things felt a little unreal, and I was kinda mad at the characters hehe So yea, the problem was definitely me.

I loved the concept of this and loved the first 60% of the book. It was a great lead up to a great story and found that both MC were well developed. Then an abrupt halt happened at around 60-70% of the way through and I was cringing through the rest of the book. I needed it to be over and couldn't bear the dialogue and ending. I enjoy KC books, but this was a miss for me.

EMMA and CHARLIE!! YESSSS! Emma is so relatable and precious. I loved the relationship between her and her family. The BEST representation of feminine strength is her choosing her family over and over again. This entire novel was heartwarming and optimistic. Yes, it was easily predictable, but I enjoyed the story every step of the way! I would say this is a 4.5 star book. I LOVE “THE BODYGUARD” EASTER EGGS! I absolutely adored the Dad. Talk about a role model! His presence in the story brought tears to my eyes each interaction he had with his daughters. So pure. Charlie’s growth through the story gives me hope! “Men don’t cry” to *sobs on stage* may be unrealistic but it SHOULDN’T be and that’s the whole POINT! ROMANCE IS NOT DEAD! I will continue to fight for happily ever after with Katherine Center lighting the way. Thank you for this opportunity!!