This book was another hit for me! It was cute but had its serious moments too. The characters and moving emotions really kept me invested. The audiobook was fantastic too!

I don’t know if it’s possible to read a novel by Katherine Center without giving her 5 stars! Her romcoms have it all - delightful and dynamic characters; playful banter; engaging plot and engrossing storyline; and happily ever afters. For me, that’s the perfect recipe for a romcom!

Charlie Yates is an award winning screenwriter who is experiencing the “yips” (avoiding the word writers block!) after his recent hiatus. Wanting to get back into the game, he’s anxious for his mafia movie to make it to the big screen. Before that can happen, he’s forced to write a romcom. Known for his testosterone fueled, action packed movies, it’s not surprising his romcom script is not good. It’s terrible. Or as the novel implies, it gives the word “terrible” a bad name!

Enter Emma Wheeler, romcom lover who frequently ghost writers romcoms for very little money and absolutely no recognition. When she’s offered the opportunity to help Charlie Yates rewrite his screen play in LA, she can’t believe it. Charlie Yates is one of her writing hero’s! She has a picture of him above her desk as inspiration. But she lives in Texas and is responsible for taking care of her father who was injured 10 years ago on a family vacation, suffering a TBI and other ailments. She can’t possibly leave him especially since her younger sister is about to start a highly sought after internship. When her sister insisted it’s Emma’s time to pursue her dreams, she finds herself on a plane to LA!

Once there, Charlie makes it obvious he’s not interest in working with Emma or doing anything to the romcom than making it “passable” so his mafia movie can get the green light. Can Emma change his mind or will her dream be over before it even begins?

This was such a charming read and I absolutely loved it! Thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and the publishers for providing me with both the novel and audiobook to read in exchange for honest feedback. Both were a delight!

I will always read a Katherine Center novel! She has a way with words and heartwarming, meaningful plots and character connections. Having said that, I had a harder time with this one. While the writing style itself is still great, and I appreciated the deeper context than some/many rom coms, I wasn't sold by the character's relationship. Given some of the cruel things mentioned (and overheard by the main character), it was harder to root for the two as a pair. While the character's flaws are attributed to something deeper, it was still a bit harder to be "swept away" by the romance of the book. Regardless, it was still a solid 3 stars-- although normally higher for me when it comes to Katherine' Centers books!

🩷🧡The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center💛🧡

This book was SO FUN, heart-breaking, yet heart-warming at the same time. If you’re looking for some positivity in your life, you MUST check out Katherine Center’s books. Then, as I’ve said before, listen to her speak. I am in a good mood just thinking about this book! 🩷

Emma Wheeler put her screenwriting dreams on hold after a tragic accident left her to care full-time for her father. Enter The Charlie Yates! (famous screenwriter) who gives her the chance to rewrite one of his attempts at a TERRIBLE rom-com script.

The Rom-Commers is a fun story about a second chance (for everyone, really) that will make you appreciate the goodness in your life. Funny, witty, and overall charming, this book is a great summer read!! “Let the banter begin!”

Thank you to @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2024 for the audiobook copy!!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review.

I can always count on Katherine Center for a good time. What I did NOT expect was to finish this one and have shed some tears, but I did, and Center has found a way to melt this thriller loving black heart JUST a smidge. This is probably my favorite of hers to date, and I could not get enough! I loved Emma and Charlie, I loved the plot, and the ending was chef’s kiss. The audio for this was fantastic, the narrator did such a wonderful job with this one. I don’t know who I am reading more romance this year but when they are books like these, I am not mad at it one bit.

This sparkling, funny book is about two screenwriters - one with all the awards and one with oodles of talent but no recognition - who are tricked into working (and living) together to fix a rom-com gone wrong, thanks to their agent. Emma and Charlie were cute and fairly clueless together, and such a joy to read (though Charlie had his moments where I was not a fan). Katherine Center's books are always enjoyable for me to read, and I recommend you add this one to your summer reading list! Narrator Patti Murin is always a delight when I listen to and her narration had me laughing out loud. Note: I received an advanced reading & listening copy, receipt of which did not impact my review. #MacAudio2024

Characters: 3
Connection to the book/Enjoyment: 2
Setting: 2
Plot/Overall Story: 2
Writing: 3

Every point= 0.25 stars, max per category 4 points

Not bad, but really not that great. The last 25% of the book was the best part but when I stopped and thought about it, it felt like a copy of her other books. The plot itself felt lacking to me and I just never connected our bought into the story. I didn’t care for her breaking the fourth wall in how she directly spoke to the reader, it just didn’t work for me. Prob my least fav of her books, but not a bad book. Thankful she is writing closed door still.

Ahhh I loved this one! The pacing was perfect and kept me interested the whole time! While the premise wasn’t super realistic, all of the details that went into the plot and characters were. I loved the LA backdrop and sincerely appreciated the Carleton College shoutout as a current staff member :) This was my favorite book so far from Center!

June Wrap Up 🌌

June was my favorite reading month so far this year. Stand outs from this month were #fireweather #challengerbook and #beforeiletgo which was our book club book for June.

Before I Let Go was such an emotional romance novel. I can't say enough good things about the beauty and complexity of the character development and how much tenderness was written into the trauma. Would recommend reading the cws/tws.

Big thank you to @macmillan.audio for the advance copy of #theromcommers which was an easy, breezy summer read. I would recommend picking this up if you are looking for spice-free romance.

June Reads Ranked ⭐️
🎧 Fire Weather - John Vaillant (432) 5⭐️
🎧 Challenger - Adam Higginbotham (576) 5⭐️
📖 Before I Let Go - Kennedy Ryan (376) 5⭐️
🎧 Fear is Just a Word - Azam Ahmed (368) 4
🎧 Fire Exit - Morgan Talty (256) 4
📖 Not in Love - Ali Hazelwood (384) 3.5
🎧 Abaddon's Gate - James S.A. Corey (539) 3.5
📖 Reaper - A. Zavarelli (260) 3
🎧 The Rom-Commers - Katherine Center (336) 3

QOTD: What was your favorite read in June?

#notinlove #fearisjustaword #fireexit #abaddonsgate #reaper #junewrapup #junereadingwrapup #reading #bookstagram #tbr #readinginstead

This is the saddest review I have to write, because it's the first Katherine Center book that I didn't absolutely LOVE. I didn't dislike it, but it just didn't suck me in like her books normally do. The characters were still amazing as always, and hello, Katherine is the queen of witty characters! I still think this one is worth a read for anyone who has enjoyed her work in the past. The narration for this audiobook was stellar!

Nobody writes rom-com like Katherine Center, and I admittedly put off the Rom-Commers for a bit, because I knew that I would love it (just like I've loved all of her previous books), and I already didn't want it to be over. I loved the snarky dialogue between Charlie and Emma, but, most of all, I loved the idea of a rom-com within a rom-com. While Charlie and Emma are working on a script about people falling in love, they're actively trying not to fall in love themselves, but, of course, it's inevitable, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it unfold.

Loved the premise, and a grumpy sunshine romance is always fun. However I did not really enjoy Emma's martyr complex. YES she definitely gave up a lot and made plenty of changes in her life to become her father's caregiver, but she brings it up every moment she can and used it as a crutch to do nothing else with her life. Charlie was a really curmudgeon and I was here for it, but he was a little too rude to Emma, I would have run if I were her. In the spirit of romance and wanting an entertaining read, I was entertained and it was a cute read.

Katherine Center DOES NOT MISS. She always finds a great balance of romance, character study, conflict etc. With some romances the characters seem to fall to fast or the third act breakup is not convincing, but I’ve never felt this issue with Katherine’s books. We really get to see the couple get to know each other and grow. Any conflict they face seems genuine and believable. And of course our main character is also going through her own journey aside from the budding romance. In this case our main character Emma is struggling to balance her dream career of screenwriting with caring for her ailing father. There is also grief, sibling relationships, feelings of inadequacy, things that many of us can relate too!

The male main character Charlie was charming and lovable. Get you a man that LISTENS and LEARNS from criticisms and get this… actually CHANGES HIS BEHAVIOR in response. IMPOSSIBLE. someone who so willingly agrees to do things he does not want to do to please someone else. A man who can be clueless but would google how to help you with any of your problems. Someone deep down so unselfish and accommodating. SWOON.

However, one thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how he acts in the beginning. It is a total 360 to how he acts for the rest of the book. He buys into partnering with Emma very quickly after earlier in the day he is listing about 1000 reasons why he would never ever work with her. I sort of get that he has this performance he puts on to act like he doesn’t give a shit but damn did he have to be so mean in the beginning?? I literally teared up for poor Emma!!

One more small complaint. (SPOILER) there is a public declaration of love, which personally is a bit of an ick for me. I’M SORRY I’m so shy I would die.

The ending though. Katherine center’s books (SPOILER) always have a happy ending. I can always count on her for this, she is so good at happy endings and always leaves me feeling hopeful and wholesome. I love seeing the characters growth on display in the epilogue, living their best (but still realistic) lives.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this, loved the characters, loved the plot, loved the growth. Great time would recommend. 4.5 stars!!

I love Katherine Center's books and the Rom-Commers did not disappoint!
Emma is adorable and super funny to the point that I caught myself chuckling.

I also loved the MMC, Charlie, although they could have explored him a bit more. Maybe a dual POV?

But overall, I really enjoyed this story and Katherine continues to be a top author for me

Katherine Center’s romances are everything I love about love stories. They’re charming, big-hearted, and very humanly imperfect.

There’s just about nothing she could base a premise off of that I wouldn’t be willing to give a shot. Rom-Commers, seems at first glance to be exeptionally tropey and potentially unrealistic given the Hollywood aspect of the story. Don’t worry, neither of those things is the case. Katherine Center 100% does here what she does best and balances out the “cheese” factor with punches of realness.

I wouldn’t necessarily say this is my favorite of the romcoms she’s done (I think Hello, Stanger is maintaining top spot there) But I still loved this to death. Read in one day. Binge-worthy goodness.

4 / 5 stars
no spice
Genre: Rom-Com (obviously, lol)
Would reread? Yes
Would recommend? Yes
Single POV

I was blown away! My audience knows that finding a Rom-Com I like is rare for me. This one was AWESOME. Had a lot of depth but also silliness and comedy. It took a few chapters for me to get into The Rom-Commers. I thought it was going to be ridiculous because of how wildly Emma was fan-girling over "Charles Yates" Charlie Yates was name dropped 7000x in the first chapter. But the more we learned about Emma, the better it got. It was hilarious, deep, intense, and so REAL.

Themes & Tropes:
-Hollywood
-Pets (Cuthbert!!)
-Fears and Dreams
-Nepotism
-Forced Proximity (on work project)

Loved the epilogue !!

Thorns:
-Wasn’t in love with the audiobook narrator
-Emma overheard Charlie and/or Logan trash taking ABOUT her no less than 3 times in the first half of the book. How often does a person really overhear those things? Also it was a main plot point of the book, so hard to ignore.

Thank you MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Quick Breakdown

Grumpy x Sunshine
Strangers to Friends to Lovers
Workplace Vibes
Sudden Roommates
Forced Proximity
Celebrity Romance
Single POV
Closed Door

Emma is an aspiring screenwriter who’s had a tragic accident put her plans on a permanent hold. Her high school ex & current Hollywood agent who has occasionally sent her writing work, sends her the failed rom com screen play written by her favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates. He’s begging for her help fixing it. So, she rearranged her life & gets on a plane for LA.

Nothing hits like a Katherine Center read. The Rom-Commers is no different. It felt like a love letter to the romantics of the world. The way she crafts stories with realistic tragedy, yet chalk full of hope has me continually coming back for more.

I laughed. I cried. I couldn’t put it down.

I saw so much of myself in Emma as well as who I want to be. Just like her, I’d easily catch crushes with no follow through growing up & still fall in love often - with songs on the radio, a new dinner recipe or book. Emma was a self sacrificing heroine, putting herself last to a fault. I loved watching her grow once she allowed herself to reach for what she wanted.

Charlie had to grow on me. He’s a grump who’s been hurt in the past, no longer believing in romance. There were several moments where I struggled with him, but alas, he eventually won me over. I never doubted he cared for Emma & his good/sweet moments far outweighed the bad.

I listened to this one as soon as it became available to me, instantly addicted. So hooked into the story, I transitioned to the ebook at bedtime, continuing to read on dark mode much later than my typical bedtime. By morning I was listening while I read so I could virtually annotate while I read. It’s narrated by Patti Murin & she flawlessly delivers the emotional punch this one deserves.

Emma Wheeler gets the opportunity of a lifetime...to work with her favorite writer Charlie Yates. She declines. She's read the screenplay and it's a mess. Completely opposite of what she wants to do. Soon she acquiesces only to find out that Charlie has no idea she's there to help him out. These two characters were so toxic that I wasn't rooting for them to have their own HEA. What for? But as I got to know the characters and their quirks, I started rooting for them to change the error of their ways.

The story was helped tremendously by narrator Patti Murin who gave the characters the depth and breadth they needed to bounce off the page.

🧡The Rom-Commers🧡

Emma Wheeler, an aspiring screenwriter gets the chance of a lifetime to rewrite a screenplay alongside her crush and favorite writer of all time, Charlie Yates. There’s just one problem. He has nixed the idea from the very beginning and refuses to work with anyone.

If you’ve read KC’s previous books, you know her stories have true to life traumas that our MCs need to work through and this book is no different. (If you need TWs, feel free to DM me) We learn our characters flaws and we see their growth and it’s no surprise, we see them fall in love and live out their happy ever afters—-with canned biscuit donuts!

This book was such a perfect slow burn summer read so thank you @macmillan.audio for the audiobook, @netgalley for the eARC and thank you @katherinecenter for always adding Dallas to your list of tour stops!

Pub Date: June 11, 2024

#evesbookishreads #bookstagram #bookreviewerforfun #reading #books #igreads #igbooks #booklover #instabooks #bookaddict #bookaholic #bookstagramfeature #rockosminireviewmonday #theromcommers #katherinecenter #macaudio2024 #netgalley

Katherine Center did it again. She is perfect at blending humor with feels. Emma gets the opportunity of a lifetime - to work on a screenplay with her favorite writer Charlie Yates. This requires her to pass off being her dad's caretaker to her sister and head off to LA. Unfortunately things get off to a rocky start as Charlie isn't the guy she thought he was. I loved watching Emma and Charlie first develop a friendship of sorts to then falling for each other. I also thought this story was important to see that you can and should have your own life and not just be your dad's caretaker. So much heart and humor, I couldn't put it down!