I loved this book!! I give it 5 stars! It has been awhile since I have read a great rom-com that checked all the boxes! I loved the characters' chemistry, their banter with one another, and the humor between them! This is a fabulous read and I will definitely be sharing it with all of my reader friends! I think it will make for a great book club read also. It gives readers a lot to discuss. I can't wait to read more from this author!

I enjoyed this book but I had issues with it. I liked the plot and the dialogue. However, I just didn't like either character all that much. I found Charlie to be harsh and unthoughtfull with his words and actions. Emma seemed spineless. She never stood up for herself or even expressed what was going on in her life to Charlie.

Listened to the audiobook.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

This was....not good - FOR ME. I found some parts cute but mostly super cringe. The plot was also kinda weak, and the characters were not likable to me. A lot of the plot points felt too convenient.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and MacMillan Audio for the gifted audio-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Single POV, coworkers

This one was a little tough for me. The two MCs are pretty unlikable. I really disliked them both. I will probably be in the minority on this one. I wish I loved it. The narration was well done.

Katherine Center's books have been hit or miss for me since How to Walk Away, but I really loved The Rom-Commers. The story had so much more depth than I was expecting from the synopsis and I adored the caregiving representation, and the representation of Charlie's life as a cancer survivor.

This book is written in single POV from Emma's perspective, which made it read a lot more like women's fiction than romance. And I do think the central storyline is really about Emma's identity formation as a daughter, caregiver, writer, and generally person separate from the circumstances of her family. That development - and the backstory of Emma's parents - was really well done by Center in this book. You absolutely understand where Emma's singular focus on her father is coming from, the guilt she carries, how it impacts every relationship and opportunity in her life. Charlie was also really a dreamboat once we got to see more of him. The quiet way he falls in love with Emma was lovely to see. Charlie is approaching his five year cancer-versary which is a big deal for those of us on that journey. He talks about his anxiety with appointments and how he feels about the milestone in a way that really resonated with me as a cancer survivor. I didn't love the "scare" at the end with his appointment, but that was really my only complaint about the book. Finally, I absolutely adored the relationship with Emma and her father in this book.

I listened to about 70% of this book on audio and then finished with a digital copy. Patti Murin does such a great job with the narration (as always) bringing all the emotions of Emma and Charlie to life. I might go back and listen to the ending just to hear how Patti portrays the depth of emotion and development in the story.

Content flags: Emma is a full time caregiver for her father after he suffered a traumatic accident and brain injury; her mother was killed in the same accident which is described in one chapter in-depth; Charlie is a cancer survivor and has a scare after a routine scan

I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I am willing to overlook any criticism for the plain and simple reason that this was such an absolute treat. It was joyous, romantic and funny, and the narration was absolutely stellar. I kept wanting to do things that allowed me to pop on the audiobook for loooong periods of time because I never wanted to put this book down. This is also a love letter to the romcom genre and to allowing yourself to find joy and comfort in fiction regardless of what is happening in your own life.
Katherine Center is slowly but surely becoming an auto-read author for me.

Holy. Crap. I am not exaggerating when I say this may be the best romance book I have ever read, for me personally!!

The Rom-Commers is about two screenwriters in LA (one sunshine, one grumpy, of course) as they attempt to write a rom-com. There is so much heart and soul in this book. Center writes relatable characters struggling with very real things, like grief and anxiety, while also learning how to be a better person. I also really loved that this is set in LA, where I live, so that made it feel extra special to me! The romance is so sweet and believable, and the main character, Emma, was an absolute joy to read and made me laugh out loud at times.

And I legit could not put it down!! I read 40% of it the first night and only got 5 hours of sleep but it was so worth it. I binged it over the next day whenever I could!! And when I started reading it was like I completely forgot I was reading, it was that good. Thinking about it now I feel my heart lift - it's just that feeling you get when a book sweeps you off your feet!!

🌈Queer rep: secondary MM gay couple

Rom-commers is a love story to rom-coms! Can’t help but root for Emma & Charlie to get together through all the complications and struggles in their lives. This grumpy/sunshine couple don’t disappoint, both are extremely attractive yet tragically flawed. This heart warming story has all the feels. Another delight from Katherine Center. Patti Murin is an enjoyable narrator.

Thank you Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Emma, a talented, yet unknown writer gets the opportunity of a life time to work with her favorite screenwriter of all time. So used to taking care of everyone else in her life, she is finally pushed into an adventure of her own. She falls in love while trying to persuade a fellow screenwriter that romance is worth writing about, but things prove to be complicated.

Now I must say that romance is not a genre that I naturally gravitate to. But Center has a way of marrying humor/whit, real life struggles, and the beauty of hope in love all into an endearing story that works. EVERY SINGLE TIME! If you are a critic of stories about love, give The ROM-COMMERS a try, it just might change your mind.

Thank you to the author, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Listen I really enjoyed The Bodyguard so I was excited to try another book by the same author. Unfortunately this fell flat. I liked the main character; she had a real tough situation to overcome which I did appreciate. However, the love interest, Charlie, did not treat her well in the slightest. Yes, he may have said a few cute things and had a health scare, but overall he would pick fights with her, and act like a frat boy any chance he got. Only deli meat in the fridge that he eats rolled up? Randomly comes home drunk? Has meetings with his ex wife? Doesn’t communicate well with the FMC? Well he’s got all those. Oh, he also doesn’t believe in love. It could have been such a sweet story but I couldn’t get over his antics and it took away from any tension I could have felt for them. Also, for a book with “com” in the title, I wished it to be more funny too. Sorry but this one was not for me! Hope others have better luck with it!

THE BEST! I have been a huge Katherine Center fan for yearssssss. They are the best summer books. They make you feel all the emotions! The Rom-Commers was AMAZING! I love Charlie and Emma. I felt like a middle school student, all giddy, listening to this audiobook! I think this is Katherine Center's BEST book. If you loved Happiness for Beginners, than buy this one! I will now be dreaming of the days that this becomes a movie.

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!