The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center is a fun read that will have you smiling from ear to ear and laughing out loud at times. This was my first Katherine Center book and it did not disappoint!

Writing: 5/5
I really enjoyed the flow and pacing of this book. I liked that at times I felt like Emma was talking directly to me. It felt like we were friends and she was telling me about her experiences..

Plot: 4/5
I enjoyed the premise of this book. I liked that there were multiple parts to this story such as Charlie and his ex-wife, Emma's family, Emma and Charlie's relationship, Emma and her sister, etc. There was some heavier topics that were explored really well.

Characters: 5/5
Emma was a great FMC. She was vulnerable but also brave and had determination. She was relatable and I felt like I wanted to be her friend. Charlie was unlikable at first but as we got to learn about him I understand some of his words and actions. They both had depth and character growth in the story. There were side characters that I enjoyed as well such as Emma's dad and her sister.

I also listened to the audiobook of this book. Narration was by Katherine Center and Patti Murin. I enjoyed the narration and would recommend the audio.

Overall, I am a fan of Katherine Center and will definitely be reading more of her books.

This audio will be published on June 11, 2024. Make sure to listen to this book if you are fan of romantic comedies!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC. I voluntarily read and listened and gave an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the ARC/ALC!

Emma Wheeler dreams of being a screenwriter, especially of romantic comedies. She’s spent her whole life learning about them and writing them too. But when an injury caused her father to need permanent round-the-clock care, Emma put her career and her life on hold to take care of him. When she’s given the opportunity to be a ghostwriter for her all-time favorite screenwriter, Charlie Yates, she can’t believe it! She also feels incredibly guilty taking the job, but her sister moves back home to care for her dad and everything seems set. When she meets Charlie, she learns why he is in need of a ghostwriter - his romcom is TERRIBLE! And not only is it bad, but he thinks romantic comedy in general is cheesy and ridiculous. How are these two possibly going to be able to work together?

I absolutely loved Katharine Center’s last book, Hello Stranger, and also The Bodyguard, so I was looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately, this story really missed the mark for me. Compared to the other two books, it felt flat and the chemistry between the two lead characters felt almost nonexistent - until it was forced. I honestly cringed at several parts. To me, the best thing about this book is the love Emma had for her family - especially her relationship with her father. She learned how to deal with grief and how to forgive herself, and that it was okay to be happy again. I found myself wanting to get through the Emma/Charlie stuff just to get back to the parts where she was with her family.

In the audio, I loved the author’s personal note at the end, defending rom-com’s. She is just the sweetest and I would definitely read her next book. “The RomCommers” releases June 11, 2024.

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this book!!! This was such an absolutely perfect romance, and I loved how meta it was as a romcom book about writers writing a romcom movie. As always with Katherine Center’s books, we got sweet, goofy, fun romance, as well as deeper, heavier themes, and it was all perfectly balanced and well-paced. This is my favorite of Center’s books yet — 5 stars for sure — and one of my favorites of the year to date!

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

I listened to the audiobook versions of "The Rom-Commers" by Katherine Center, and let me tell you--this is the way to do it. As someone who almost went into the film, it's very hard for me to enjoy books about people working in the industry. I was nervous that I would check out when reading this, because of the liberties romance writers need to take to write a compelling love story in a cut-throat, stressful work environment. But lucky for me, Center's hero and heroine are two screenwriters, and they are relatively believable at that. When I started my listen, I really appreciated the almost diary-style quality of Emma, the heroine's, voice. She speaks directly to the reader, foreshadowing and giving away the ending of each climactic plot point, as if she's a friend telling the story after the fact. As an audiobook, this made it really easy for me to pop on and listen because it had this quality of oral, informal storytelling. Now, I realize that Center probably made this choice because Emma, being the writer she is, would of course pen her story this way. Overall, I thought the romance was fun and easy to fall into. There is always a suspension of disbelief when it comes to reading a good rom-com, but I was really into the balance of humor and heart. There is a lot of hardship and sadness that follows these characters--maybe even a little too much--but at the very specific juncture I'm at in my life, I found both of them really interesting (i.e. cancer and rock-climbing are both major themes in my life right now). This is just a fun romp and I'm so glad I got to have a little sneak preview. Definitely one of my favorite new romance releases so far during this first quarter.

I have throughly enjoyed every Katherine Center book I have ever read. With that said I LOVED this book. It made me laugh out loud, it made me cry and it the narrator made me feel as if she was truly Emma.

I am a sucker for a good rom-com and this truly exceeded all expectations. Emma has been living at home for many years taking care of her father and gets the opportunity of a life time to work with Charlie. There is animosity, longing, high diving and just maybe falling in love.

4.5 stars

Katherine really knows how to write a book! I really enjoy how she incorporates real life issues into her stories. It makes they relatable. And the characters in The Rom Commers were easy to like and root for.

Overall this story was extremely fun to listen to, I switched between reading it and listening to the audio. The narrator did a great job with the audio! I highly recommend this book!

***Thank you NetGalley and the publisher***

SOO MUCH BETTER THAN 'HELLO STRANGER' (SORRY PEOPLE)

Emma Wheeler wants to be a screen writer, but she is sucked into all of her family tragedy. She is the main caregiver to her dad and she can't think how she would ever leave him, until the perfect opportunity arises to re-write a manuscript with Charlie Yates...and if you are a fan of romantic comedies you know what happens next!!

I love how it has comedy, family drama, and romance. It's perfect for the summer.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy.

Katherine is an auto-buy/read author for me because her stories are not only always light and fun but mainly because there’s always a strong inspirational messages weaved throughout. Have you ever read her epilogues?!! Those alone could packaged as posters to be hung up somewhere for the sole purpose of encouraging folk.

Emma desperately wants to be a romantic-comedy screenwriter. But she's also the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care. Before she knows it, she gets the chance in a lifetime to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates (her crush)…y’all know where this is going lol!

Read if you love:
🎥 romantic comedies
🎥 light-hearted stories
🎥 grumpy/sunshine

I first read the ebook on my kindle when I first got my hands on it and then when audio because available I had to reread to see which I preferred between the two and I’d have to say audio! I think the narrator did a great job, where the story was brought to life more for me. I heard the funny elements and the emotional moments that made me feel like I was in the middle of the story.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this audiobook ARC of The Rom-Commers. I am a huge Katherine Center fan and I have been anxiously waiting for her next book. It didn’t disappoint! I love Emma Wheeler, the main character. She is smart, funny and true to herself. I loved the banter between Emma and the lead male character Charlie. I do think some of the tropes were a bit cliche at times, but I was never bored and wanted to watch the romance play out to the very end. My only disappointment was that there was basically zero spice. Like half a 🌶️, but not all Katherine Center books have spice and I still absolutely love them. Great read and if you are a KC fan you’re in for a treat!

Absolutely loved this book!! I have been anticipating another Katherine Center novel and was really excited to have the opportunity to listen to an ARC. Charlie is a super famous award winning screenwriter, who Emma adores. Emma dreams of being a screenwriter but her career has been put on hold to care for her father. The opportunity of a lifetime is presented to her to rewrite a romcom script for Charlier as ghostwriter. She goes back and forth with the idea and ultimately says ok and leaves behind her responsibilities in the capable hands of her sister.

Emma and Charlie were fantastic, their chemistry was incredible and I was rooting for them the whole time. She believes in love and happily ever afters and he does not. Such a fun listen!

I really enjoyed the narrator. Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC.

This was such an incredible read!! I’m so grateful I was able to listen to the audiobook. The narrator was excellent!! I am obsessed with Emma and Charlie ♥️

I'm giving this book 4 stars. It's not my favorite katherine center book, but it was highly enjoyable.. the writing was phenomenal, and it was easy to follow along because you get sucked in by the characters. I wanted the characters to end up together. They went back and forth up until 90% mark.

Katherine Center is the queen of Rom-Coms! I know when I pick up one of her books I will be filled with happiness and fall in love with the characters — and the Rom-commers did not disappoint! I loved how the main characters were both writers, so we got to see a little bit of the behind the scenes of perfecting a book (or in this case, a screen play). I also always love Katherine’s author notes, and her credibility and research that she does to make sure she is representing the characters and scenes in the best way. So make sure you don’t skip those at the end of the book (or audio, in my case). As long as she keeps writing, I will keep reading her books!

Katherine Center has done it again! The Rom-Commers is a delight from start to finish. I loved this rom com about love, life, and chasing one’s dreams. This grumpy sunshine novel made me both laugh and cry thanks to its wonderful mix of humor and heart. Not to mention, the audiobook brought the story to life in wonderful ways thanks to a fantastic narrator. I cannot recommend this book enough and will definitely be rereading it soon.

*Thank you Netgalley, Katherine Center, St Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for an arc copy. All opinions are my own.

This book made me so happy. The banter, the romance, the family drama, the cast of characters all 20/10. Cannot emphasize how good this book was. New favorite book for sure! Felt like I was watching a rom com while reading this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook arc of The Rom-Commers. Spoilers below!!

I have read and listened to a few Katherine Center books and I’ve liked them all, but this has definitely my favorite. I loved the 2 main characters! Emma was quirky yet sure of herself and what she needed to do in life, and non apologetic for her love of romances. She was a writer who chose to take care of her father after an accident left him needing care.

Charlie Yates is a very famous screenwriter with writers block. He is the grump in this grumpy/sunshine novel.

These two were flawed and funny and had chemistry right off the bat! I love how they met and how their relationship (professional and personal) grew with bumps along the way.

The narrator did a wonderful job. I was hooked from the start and it’s hard for my mind not to sometimes wander during audiobooks, but I would listen whenever I had the chance to sneak some of this in. One of my very few 5 star ratings this year, I highly recommend this book!

What an absolutely wonderful romance. I simply can't say enough good things about this book. It's like Christmas morning, birthdays and Valentine's Day all rolled into one! Pure delight!

I love Katherine Center’s books!! She knows how to weave a fun story that makes you feel happy while reading. This book filled me with joy as I listened to this audiobook. The narrator did a wonderful job with keeping me engaged while listening!!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillianaudio for the opportunity to listen to this gem!!

I love writers who are writing about writing. Katherine Center is passionate about romance stories and her love of them comes through in this book. Emma Wheeler was destined to become a screenwriter until life got in the way. Instead of a very prestiges Warner Brothers opportunity a family tragedy has her being caretaker for her dad for the last ten years. Her high school best friend is now a successful agent and is able to send occasional writing work her way. Now he comes to her with the opportunity to work on a script with her personal hero Charlie Yates. Charlie is a multiple award winning screenwriting legend. But he doesn’t care about the rom-com he needs to write. He just needs to get it presentable so the studio will make his mafia movie. But he wasn’t counting on Emma busting into his world.

The story is told entirely from her POV (except for one bonus scene at the end of the book). It is opposites, living in forced proximity, working together. Lot’s of tropes at work here. Their banter is fun but Charlie continually shuts her down romantically. In fact, that was one of the things that bothered me in the story. Other than the one kiss he isn’t encouraging there to be more. Yes, they fall into domestic life but it wasn’t leading me to think will they or won't they. There is also the power and wealth imbalance. She has to deliver a final script to even be paid for her time. The fact he is her idol and can quote from his every script and interview also gives him too much power. She has effectively been sheltered for a decade. It is odd that she is so confident even when he turns her away continually. I felt I was given only a limited view of Charlie. I didn’t understand why he was so jaded or even his love of his shared custody guinea pig.

Of course this is a romance and I won't spoil how it reaches its HEA. There are a few side characters that add to the story but the bulk of the interaction is between the two MCs. It is clean for on page intimacy. I waffled between really enjoying the story to it being just okay. I listened to the audiobook with narration by Patti Murin whom I liked. I believe it is the author who reads the bonus chapter and ending notes. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audiobook via NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)

4.5⭐️

When I think of the greatest champions of and advocates for love stories, Katherine Center is always at the top of my list. Center’s stories are so deeply human and while they touch on the pain and tragedy that inevitably arises in life, I love how the focus is on the immense joy, laughter, love, and hope that can be found in the midst of heartbreak and suffering. Her stories speak to our humanity and remind us of the goodness that is at our core… how love is woven into the fabric of our beings and how sharing stories of hope and joy is an act of bravery and should be celebrated.

Gosh, I can’t tell you how many times I teared up while reading this story. My heart ached over the tragedy and suffering these characters experienced, and while they have every right to allow the immense pain to eclipse their lives, they ultimately chose to tell their stories a different way. Emma and Charlie faced the unthinkable alone in their pasts, but together, decided to chase after a future full of light and gratitude.

The entire cast of characters was so endearing (with the exception of TJ), and I especially loved the seeing the interactions between Emma, Sylvie and their dad - how they encouraged, championed, and fiercely loved each other. Some of their conversations were heart-wrenching, but seeing the forgiveness and healing that took place was breathtaking.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have read this story with both my eyes and ears, and I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. Patti Murin’s narration was superb and had me both laughing and in tears as she brought Emma and Charlie to life, but hearing Center read her author’s note was such a joy and an absolute delight!

Center’s beautiful, heartwarming storytelling will fill your heart with warm fuzzies and butterflies and leave you feeling all mushy and sunshiny inside… and all the other gooey cliches you can think of!