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This is the perfect romantic comedy. I will die on this hill. Between the laugh-out-loud funny dialogue, the absolutely believable romance and relationship with just the right amount of miscommunication and crossed-lines to build tension but not frustrate, the sheer adorableness of (as a writer who once fell in love with another writer through words alone and lived to see it end disastrously, this felt very heart healing and hopeful) two screen writers falling for each other as one grumpy meets sunshine create together and maybe learn something about life and love in the process.

There was everything I adore about a good romcom—fleshed out and developed side characters, people you really want to root for, pearls of wisdom, and just the type of story that makes you feel giddy, makes you tear up, makes you really invested in these characters.

I’m not the type of reader to fall for fictional men—BUT IF I WAS—Charlie Yates would be the one for me. And, actually, Emma Wheeler too. I’d happily join this as a throuple. This is what Beach Read by Emily Henry SHOULD have been but wasn’t (sorry). There was nary a cringe or badly placed description in it.

The Rom-Commers is about Emma Wheeler who has been taking care of her disabled father for years when her stagnant career gets a boost with an opportunity to ghost write famous screenwriter Charlie Yates’s first foray into writing romantic comedies, something he is terrible at and she excels. Except he sees this as a means to an end (getting a “serious” movie of his made in exchange) and she sees it as her one true break, life’s calling. Hijinks abound, sparks fly, it’s a whole ass cinematic masterpiece. I particularly loved how Katherine Center used this book to make a case for the worth and place of love stories in our pantheon. Swoon.

This book was wonderful. My first (but not last) Katherine Center read. I predict it will be THE book of the summer and hopefully will be made into a movie, too.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is out June 11, 2024.

#bookreview #romcom #romance @katherinecenter

I will read (and often re-read) anything written by Katherine Center! There is just something about her stories that speak to me and I love her humor. I enjoyed this one!

Oh Katherine...you are just the best. I have read every single one of KC's books and love this one so much. Katherine writes a book with people who have a struggle. They have growth. Good, solid, on page, this makes sense kind of growth. It's always real and honest and relatable in a way that I rarely see in other books. The Rom Commers is a light hearted fun romance that loves on romance. But it's got the heart that we crave from her other books.

This book is for readers who love rom coms. It's for those of us who love sharp, witty banter. It's for all of us who anticipate and crave that HEA and love romance in books and in movies. It's about family and friends and finding your own self and letting others do the same. It's everything I needed when I picked it up.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙣, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙮! 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙧𝙤𝙢-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩-𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 -- 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮!

𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙖 𝙛𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧! 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙 (𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚!) 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙤 𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙥. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙨. 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚.

Charlie Yates does 𝙣𝙤𝙩 understand the secret to good a romantic comedy. One of Hollywood’s most acclaimed screenwriters, he is a fan of action, twisted plots, and the surprise ending. But he is 𝙣𝙤𝙩 good at writing rom-coms.

Emma Wheeler is 𝙣𝙤𝙩 an acclaimed screenwriter, though she’s dreamed of just that since she was young. She is, however, an excellent rom-com writer. So good, in fact, she is hired to help Charlie re-write his own disastrous attempt. Leaving the care of her sweet father, who needs constant supervision due to an accident, in the hands of her younger sister, she packs her bags and jets off to LA for six weeks. And that’s where the trouble begins…

Charlie doesn’t believe in love anymore, and it shows in every line of his manuscript. But he’s not having a “failed, nobody screenwriter” tell him how to do it.

Emma has idolized Charlie for years, but when the two meet she finally understands the old saying “don’t meet your heroes.” But Emma is no shrinking violet: she believes in her work, she believes in love, and she believes in all the reasons millions of fans love romantic comedies (𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙩: 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜! 😉).

Between worry for her father, Charlie’s oversized ego (I mean, what normal ego would toss all of those awards in a drawer??), and an ex-wife who shows up at all the wrong times, Emma must find a way to make Charlie believe in what he’s writing.

Enter 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑲𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

You know, the one that is just supposed to help him write a better scene, but — wow! — did that just become something…𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚?

I recommend you toss this one in your beach bag when it releases on June 11 and find out!

Thank you to @katherinecenter @netgalley @macmillan.audio for the complimentary advance copy! It was my pleasure to write this candid review.

#TheRomCommers publishes on June 11, 2024.

3.5 stars. This was cute, but definitely not my favorite Katherine Center book. I really liked the premise or the story with the main characters coming together to write a rom-com, but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me. I didn’t feel like they had a lot of chemistry, and it was all a little cheesy for me. On the other hand, I do think she really leaned into these tropes because that’s what a rom-com is all about. I didn’t dislike it by any means, and have already ordered a copy for the library.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Katharine Center for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story, and the expert narration really added to my experience. This was very enjoyable and easy for me to recommend to almost any women's fiction or romance reader!

I really enjoyed this book! It was the first I read of Katherine Center and it was very enjoyable. I look forward to reading more in the future!

I don't want to say I'm Katherine Center's biggest fan, but she does make me kinda fangirl. She writes the BEST books and The Rom-Commers was no exception. The narration was spot on and the dialogue! She's the Queen of dialogue. I laughed, I cried. I cried a lot, but it was okay. I loved the ending, the bonus scene and the author's note. I loved everything about this title, even Cuthbert, and considering I have an aversion to rodents, that's saying a lot. It's a must-read for anyone who needs just a really good book.

THE ROM-COMMERS 3 stars
Author: Katherine Center
Format: Audiobook
Hours: 11 hours 21 minutes
Goodreads: 4.43

Summary:

Emma Wheeler desperately wants her romance writing career to take off and become a famous screenwriter. So, when her long-time best friend/ex-boyfriend Logan, sets her up with a job to help rewrite a very poorly written rom-com by the very famous, very handsome Charlie Yates, Emma cannot believe her luck. While Emma’s younger sister Sylvie steps in for their father’s caretaking duties, Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. Except… when she arrives, Charlie makes it very clear he doesn’t want to write with anyone. And he definitely didn’t give Logan the go ahead, to send Emma all the way here to stay with him. He’s broody, ungrateful, and worst of all, he doesn’t even like rom coms! Emma decides she will do whatever it takes to show Charlie that true love is real and does exist. But what happens when in the midst of all this ‘research’, Emma ends up falling for the one man who does not believe in happily ever after...

Thoughts:

THANK YOU MacMillan audio for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!!!

This was just not it for me. The reviews I had been seeing were great and the Goodreads rating was very high, so  I thought I was going to totally love this!? However, I just felt like I couldn’t wait for this to be over. I felt like Emma was so oblivious, naïve and wayyyy over the top (*in a million different circumstances*). Charlie was also just a complete a**hole. He was mean and the number of times he said or did hurtful things to Emma should not have been redeemable. There was truly not any point I felt that the two had good chemistry. I also feel like nothing really happened in this whole book?! This was just a huge miss for me, (also I am wondering if I really just also disliked the audio version??)

Every time I read a Katherine Center book I always think wow this one is the best one. Her newest book that releases at the beginning of June is no exception. I absolutely loved and devoured this book.

Emma is a writer whose life was altered with an accident that left her taking care of her ill father. As soon as her sister graduates from college, she is given an opportunity to trade her places and work toward her own dreams. She’s travels to California to work with her idol of screenwriting. 

After a rocky start, she and Charlie begin working on a failed romcom that Charlie has already started. She works not only fix the screenplay, but also to fix Charlie‘s opinion about love and the power of a good romcoms.  

The narration was done very well and I loved the voices that she did for each of the characters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I initially LOVED 'The Rom-Commers' but I wasn't a fan of Katherine Center herself as a narrator. Not for me.

What a delight!! So much heart in this story. I love how Center writes complex families and weaves her characters’ worlds together.
I was wary of this after finding the FMC in Hello Stranger difficult, but I was rooting so hard for our screenwriting, strawberry hoodie wearing heroine Emma! I loved the forced proximity as she worked along side her idol/hero/crush writer Charlie and they learned from each other.
I was a little frustrated with some of the later miscommunication (or lack of communication entirely) towards the end but the grand gesture absolutely paid off.
In all, this was a joyful story with the core belief that our relationships don’t complete our identities, but they can change our lives.

Must listen! This one yanked my heart out several times & then put it back together. I didn't read the trigger warnings, so that's my own fault and the story hit too close to home for my own personal experience, yet I still LOVED it! Emma & Charlie were so similar that it shouldn't have worked, but it did. Their story just clicked for me. It was a myriad of emotions portrayed in this book and I felt every emotion that Emma and Charlie felt. The narrator was adequate for me. I struggled with her British accent, but it definitely wasn't a deal breaker. She made up for it with the emotion and expressionism she delivered for Emma and Charlie, so the side characters were an afterthought at the end of the day.

I can't wait for this one to be released!

This book made me laugh, angry, giddy, and it made me cry (just a little). I was immersed in this beautiful and messy story of Emma and Charlie, a story of conquering fears, finding hope, and, of course, love. I enjoyed the whole journey. It’s a rom-com masterpiece.

**I really recommend the audiobook!

Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan audio for the ARC! This book releases on June 11, 2024.

Katherine Center has been an author I have really enjoyed and now after finishing The Rom-Commers she has become a must-read author for me. It’s a close tie for which one is my favorite by her between this book and The Bodyguard, right now I will say The Rom-Commers is the winner.

The story follows Emma who wants to be a screenwriter but she feels she can not leave her home in Texas because she takes care of her father. There was an accident when Emma was younger that took the life of her mother and injured her father. You learn more about this accident throughout the book and it is truly an emotional ride.

Emma gets an opportunity to help rewrite a script with one of her favorite screenwriters Charlie Yates. Charlie at first wants nothing to do with Emma and does not want any help, but with the help of a mutual friend and Emma's agent, Charlie accepts the help.

I went through a lot of emotions in this book and most were brought on by Charlie. You will love and hate him throughout the story. With Emma, there was never a time I did not love her.

At the time of writing this, The Rom-Commers is on my short list for my favorite book this year. Do not miss this one!

This was my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint. Equally laugh out loud funny and vulnerable. Extremely likable FMC that I was rooting for from the very beginning.

Thank you NETGALLEY for the advanced copy.

Katherine Center's romcoms always have me giggling away and this was no exception. I read this one on audio while walking my dog, so the neighbors probably think I'm a bit batty now but I was enjoying myself too much to mind.

Charlie was hard to love at first. He's crabby (which I didn't mind - grumpy/sunshine is my favorite romcom trope) but more notably he seems to be doing some underhanded things that I didn't love. But this is a romcom, so he redeemed himself in the end, of course. Poor Emma has been through the wringer with her life, but I liked the growth in her character as well as the way her family role and the relationships she has with her sister and dad grew.

The banter was great but the story did veer into the overly dramatic and unlikely a couple of times which I didn't love. Overall, this isn't my absolute favorite of Center's romcoms to date, but I had such a blast with Charlie and Emma that I'm not mad about it.


A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I hoped the title of this book meant it’d be a perfect rom com and that it was! Loved the celebrity component, the family drama, and the perfect ending of a rom com just hits. Read this one if you like Emily Henry and ROMANTIC COMEDY by Curtis Sittenfeld. Nothing novel here but just a good slam dunk you’ll enjoy it romcom

GIRL BYE!!!!!! This was my first 5 star read or listen of 2024. And I mainly read dark romance books. The darker the better. But for what ever reason this one spoke to me. It was a great audio book and I enjoyed the narrator. I even relistened to a certain line over and over again so i could write it down. I even loved it so much that I bought the physical signed copy of the book. ITS A MUST LISTEN OF 2024.

Another amazing book! I did enjoy the audiobook on this one!

This one was funny, witty and sad at times but that seems to be a normal for her stories! I did enjoy all the characters and the story line! At first I was a tad worried it might be boring but once it picked up it was hard to stop listening! Usually when books involve obsessions with movies, films or that sort of thing for some reason that makes me loose interest. I think its the constant repeating of information that makes me loose interest but this quickly changed after a chapter or two.