Read this book. Katherine Center writes such flawed but loveable characters that you can’t help but fall in love with. This is not a light romance but has so much depth to it as the characters deal with death, cancer, panic attacks, etc... that really drew me and had me emotionally invested. This is a story about love and about allowing yourself to be loved and I could not recommend this book more!

The set up was strong and the banter and dialogue was also strong. It was a lot to juggle between the two characters back stories and overcoming them

I enjoy the way that Katherine Center writes a romcom. It’s a bit different than many which I enjoy and the fast pace really sucks me in. This one has plenty of drama involved and I find it just delightful. Definitely recommend.

A huge thanks to #partner Macmillan Audio for my #gifted audiobook 💗

I just love Katherine Center!! Her books always bring the warm and fuzzies, and this book was no different. The Rom-Commers follows an aspiring screenwriter who gets the chance to work with her idol, a brooding yet brilliant screenwriter who's convinced love doesn't exist.

There's so much to love in this grumpy sunshine romcom: the depth of the story and backstories (this is no surface level romcom!!!), the incredible banter, the loveably flawed characters who undergo the most satisfying transformations, the way Center pulls the reader into the story and keeps you there, invested until the final word, and of course, the swoonworthy romance at the center.

I read this one entirely with my ears as I've read ever Center book I've read, and the delightful Patti Murin knocked it out of the park. She brought the perfect blend playfulness and emotional depth to the story. Pure bliss!

Another winner from Katherine Center! Add this audiobook to your TBR if it's not already there. 💗

📌 Available now!

What a story!! Katherine Center never ceases to amaze me. I always walk away from her stories with a nugget of wisdom about the human condition that makes me contemplate my own life.

“The Rom-Commers” was a hilariously crafted romcom with so much heart and depth. Charlie & Emma were such real and raw characters with difficult pasts that shaped their personalities and views of the world. I truly loved their story and the way they healed one another❤️

Overall, I highly recommend this story if you’re looking for a sweet, closed-door romance with humor, heart, and swoonworthy fun😍 Read if you enjoy screenwriter romances, celebrity romances, and tonssss of witty banter!!

⚠️POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW!!!!⚠️
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🚨TW: grief associated with losing a parent, mentions of a near-drowning incident (past), cancer (past)
🚨CW: infrequent strong/mild language & just kisses!!

Emma Wheeler, was a promising young writer, after a terrible accident leaves her the primary caregiver of her father, Emma puts her dreams aside, putting the needs of her family first. When the opportunity to write alongside her writing idol comes her way, Emma can't pass this up. Leaving her father in the care of her sister Emma heads to LA.
There is a reason people say, 'don't meet your heroes'

In classic Katherine Canter fashion this adorable story had :
1. Great characters, with the right amount of depth.
2. Witty banter that made me smile from start to finish.
3. A full circle, wrapped with a bow ending.

There is a reason this author is one so many peoples autobuy list.
This was a cute, feel good romance that I did not want to put down.

4.5 stars!

I didn’t have a copy of the book until a few days before pub day, but I was going to do the audio anyway because the only way to do KC books is to listen to them. (In my opinion.) Why? Because @pattimurin narrates them and there is no other way in the world I would want to hear the genius character dialogue that KC comes up with than narrated by Patti Murin. I’m telling you, this is going to become a Patti Murin fan account soon. I love her and she did the BEST job reading this really wonderful book. I giggled out loud at times. It put a huge smile on my face. I don’t know how else to describe it - it was just fun and important that crappy things happen, but through all that there can be snappy dialogue and jokes and self deprecating humor full of sarcasm to make yourself feel better. And I live for that.

Bonus: If you loved KC’s book from two years ago (The Bodyguard) a character makes a cameo or two and it’s so great! I loved that book also.

If you need a pick me up, or just something to make you smile - be sure to grab this one and actually grab two so you can give it to a friend. You don’t want to miss it!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the gifted finished copy and Macmillan Audio + Netgalley for the gifted audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: 06/11/2024
Review Date: 06/11/2024

This was sweet! I enjoyed the story. The characters were real and endearing. A perfect summer read.

Emma Wheeler has spent the last ten years of her adult life taking care of her family after a tragic accident forever changed their lives. She dedicated herself to being there for her sister and father. One day, Emma got to work with Charlie Yates, a successful Hollywood writer who wrote a terrible Rom-Com. Her family insisted that she help him rewrite it.

During this process, she and Charlie became roommates. The rom-com is terrible because Charlie does not believe in love. Over the six weeks, Emma helped with the screenplay and may have changed Charlie's mind about love.

Katherine Center's writing is funny and simultaneously evokes deep emotions for the characters. She is one of my favorite authors, and I hope she continues writing these sweet stories. Also, if you are a Katherine Center fan, a character from a previous book makes a guest appearance in this story.

Once again Katherine Center hits it out of the park with a fresh rom-com that packs a lot of feelings into a sugar-coated package. Emma is a screen writer who put her dreams on hold due to a family tragedy. When she's practically forced into a working relationship with her screen writing idol things should be looking up. But Charlie doesn't want to work with her, plus he's got some serious baggage of his own. Sparks fly, but will they be from anger or lust? Let's be honest, it's THE Katherine Center! We're going to get deep in our feels over the plot, but she's going to deliver the perfect, REALISTIC, happy ending that these characters need. Swoon!

Book Review: The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Katherine Center is quickly turning me into a fan of romance novels. I read a lot of romance in my youth and became incredibly disillusioned with unrealistic and toxic relationships that bled into my own personal life. I recall regularly being told “JJ, that only happens in books” frequently as a young adult. I was slightly delusional and fully expected people to become obsessed with me, burn my name into the grass, and all sorts of nonsense. However, I am loving the shift that contemporary romance is taking to focus on healthier relationships and hilight consent, communication, and healthy boundaries. Katherine Center is the first author whose book “Things You Save in a Fire” began flipping my expectations about romance novels on their head. I have since devoured every novel she has written and was beyond thrilled to recieve the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Rom-Commers from NetGalley.
Center’s books are quickly melting my frosty heart and teaching me to believe in, and enjoy romance novels again. The Mermaid is similarly obsessed and is probably a bigger fan of Katherine Center than I am. From Center’s leading characer’s personal triumphs and growth in each book, to her unique writing style making her books feel like a warm hug from a close friend, Centers books are a triumph and should be studied in creative writing classes.

For this review I was fortunate to recieve a copy of the audiobook version, narrated by Patti Murin. Murin has also read many books that I’ve loved, including “The Bodyguard” and “Hello Stranger” by Katherine Center. Murin is an exceptional narrator whose way of conveying the emotional tone of a book is absolutely incredible. I would happily listen to any book she narrates, regardless of the author or genre. She’s that good.

After a camping accident leaves her Father severely disabled, Emma sacrifices her dreams and ambitions to become his full-time caregiver. She takes care of everything she possibly can in order to allow her younger sister, Sylvie, to chase her own dreams. But when her ex-boyfriend-turned-agent calls with the opportunity of a lifetime, Emma is forced to put herself first for once. Encouraged to leave and accept this opportunity by Sylvie and her Father, Emma finds herself in Los Angeles on the doorstep of her favourite screen-writer. Charged with ghost-writing his awful screenplay, Emma has to face her fears to give herself the change at a life she hasn’t dared dream about since the camping trip that changed the course of her family’s lives. Emma’s journey will bring her face-to-face with a writing partner less-than-thrilled with her presence, her own personal struggle with trust, and charged with convincing a skeptic that love is real and romance isn’t dead.

Content Warning: There are very few. Possible triggers for mentions of medical diagnoses and hospitalizations, and some brief mentions of drowning and car accidents.

I would recommend anyone who loves romance novels to devour this book. Anyone who wants to read a novel with healthy communication, consent, and a hint of grand gestures are sure to love this book.

I loved this book. I happily re-read it to ensure I could provide a thorough review, but mostly because it was an excuse to listen to Patti Murin read a Katherine Center book. This book is also in the same universe as The Bodyguard, one of my other favourites. Seeing some of the characters from that book make appearances was like having a visit from a friend you haven’t seen in a while. I’m now on a mission to read through her books again to see if they’re all similarly connected. Center’s books have insane re-readability, and I don’t re-read often!

In my opinion, Emma is slightly more naive than I would like, probably due to severely under-appreciating herself, which results in her frequently doubting herself, Charlie, and especially the romantic undertones that exist between them. I should mention that this is HIGHLY ironic coming from me, whose wife had to literally sit them down and explicitly state that they had been hitting on me all night. SO I should probably give Emma a break. I also have the benefit of the outside view when listening to this book, so in spite of me not being able to see the neon sign above my wife’s head that she’s into me, I can see Charlie’s very clearly. There are elements of this book I struggle with, due to being a bit of a cynic and struggling to believe in romance and romantic gestures. There are elements in this novel, particularly the hospital bits at the end, Katherine Center is convincing in her portrayal of these events. Although, again, Emma is incredibly gullible and naive during this time and I struggled to believe that she couldn’t connect the dots. Again, however, I’m looking from the outside in and who knows? Maybe if I were in Emma’s shoes I would be pretty gullible too. All of that being said, I can’t help but listen to my inner cynic a little bit towards the end of the novel. It was not as satisfying of an ending as there are elements that stretched my ability to suspend my disbelief.

Katherine Center’s ability to use language that previously didn’t feel belonged in a novel masterfully is one of the main reasons I love reading her work. Using “like” frequently is a rule I thought could never be broken but she uses it so well that I genuinely felt like I was hearing a friend telling me about her life. Center is also absolutely amazing at showing rather than telling, my favourite from this particular novel is when Emma is described as “cluck-clucking” around her kitchen. I was inside her kitchen. I have cluck-clucked around my own chicken. I knew exactly what was happening and similar instances of this happen throughout all of her novels.

Katherine Center is an incredible author who I encourage everyone to give a chance. Especially if you’re a cynic like me who had given up on romances. Center will convert you, I promise that.

All in all, I would rate this book an 8/10 purely for the struggles I mentioned previously.

I loved this book! ... Probably my favorite rom-com read this year. I loved that Emma's and Charlie's connection was emotional and intellectual. I actually cried towards the end of this book and had the gasp of my life when I realized it was for no reason. The comedic timing was AMAZING.

The Rom-Commers strikes the perfect blend of humour and romance. With its charming but complicated characters, in true Katherine Center fashion, there was depth and lightheartedness that made this story so memorable.

I adored the female main character, Emma, with her emanating light and seeing the world through a positive lens even though she was placed with many difficult obligations. Charlie was almost as equally lovable but in his own unique way. The back and forth dialogue between the two was so good and I loved both of their character arcs.

The narrator, Patti Murin, did a fantastic job with character distinction and the emotional tones.

A "just ok" enemies to lovers trope. Neither of the main characters won my heart, and the plot line didn't grab me either. Overall, it was fine to listen to, but not one I will be raving about for years to come.

Fun easy read- would be a great beach read! I didn’t fall super in love with the main characters like other readers may have but overall I enjoyed! Also no spicy scenes if you’re looking for a romance without any of that - this is a great choice!

THE ROM-COMMERS by Katherine Center introduces us to two endearing characters.

Emma Wheeler sacrificed opportunities to nurse her father after an accident that led to the death of her mother. Emma freelanced on writing projects until she is given an opportunity to salvage a screenplay for her writing hero. Charlie Yates is only writing a rom-com screenplay to secure funding for the project he actually wants to do. He doesn't believe in love and goes into this editing process halfheartedly, just attempting to buy time for his pet project to be greenlit.

Emma and Charlie must learn to respect each other's skills and be willing to admit they have flaws. They have their respective griefs to process and find themselves depending on the other as a friend and considering whether it's worth sacrificing that stability for the possibility of something more. What is a familiar storyline achieves new life under Katherine Center's capable execution.

Patti Murin as the narrator pulls listeners into the story and keeps them engaged.

(I received a digital ALC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.. This book was not up to the author’s usual par so I did not finish it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Stars
Happy pub week to Katherine Center and The Rom Commers! Thank you to Katherine Center, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen 🎧 to this book for an honest review.

📅 Tuesday, June 11, 2024 was the pub date for The Rom Commers. 📅

🎧The narrators for this audiobook are Katherine Center and Patti Murin.🎧

I loved, loved, loved this book! Kudos to Katherine Center for making me experience all of the feels while reading. I laughed. I cried. I laughed and cried at the same time! The instant connection and care between Emma and Charlie is remarkable. You can’t help but be invested in both character’s lives. The growth of each character independently and together is phenomenal.

Charlie Yates is a well known screenwriter. Emma Wheeler is an author who has never had a major published work. Logan, Emma’s ex and best friend, represents Charlie. Charlie has written his first romcom to appease a director/producer but Logan believes it’s so horrible it stinks! Emma can’t help but agree. She doesn’t find it romantic at all. Logan connects Emma and Charlie in hopes that Emma will rewrite Charlie’s screenplay. Charlie has a completely different opinion though. He sees nothing wrong with what he has written and refuses to work with Emma. Can Emma change his mind about the screenplay, as well as his outlook on love?

Emma Wheeler is an aspiring screen writer and her friend lands her a dream job writing with her idol, Charlie Yates. How is this possible?! Emma drops everything for this opportunity, leaving the care of her father to her younger sister. When Emma arrives at her new job, it turns out Charlie was not as thrilled about this writing partnership. Emma has to come to terms with this disappointment and her strong attraction to Charlie. Can Charlie accept that he truly needs help with the current project? Can he focus on writing and not on Emma?

As always, Katherine Center writes an entertaining story, with some serious medical elements. It will not disappoint!

Patti Murin brings the characters to life in an engaging and entertaining way. Truly a wonderful listening experience.

Katherine Center’s books are like warm hugs. And this book is no exception. It’s a saccharine sweet story in the best possible way. I could not put it down because it was such a sweet story. I loved the cameo from a couple characters from a past book.

Terrific narrator as always!!!