I love this author, and I have loved all of her books that I have read. I will continue to read whatever she writes given the way she writes uniquely beautiful stories and characters. I offer that framing as I also offer this one wasn't for me. My struggle was the heaviness of the content. I recognize that this was part of the why Katie and Hutch were indeed love haters. However, it caught me offguard as I began reading. There were so many layers of emotion/trauma and just so, so many things that happened. The cover and description led me to believe this would be lighter fare. There were still some great moments and quotes I loved, but a harder read for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I seriously cannot get enough of Katherine Center! She is the QUEEN of rom-coms. I will never not read something by her. The characters were great, love story was great, the setting was wonderful and made me want to travel to Florida right this minute and as usual she had a powerful message in her book about body image. I laughed a ton while reading this. Readers are going to love this one.

This was my first Katherine Center book.
So I was blissfully unaware she wrote single POV 🤣

But this was cute!
And it is a Rom-com. It’s meant to be cutesy goofy funny and it was just that.

Katie, the video gal sent to shoot a promo video of Hutch
Her enemies to lovers vibes with her body was a real big plot point to this book.
And it was impeccably relatable.

Hutch, the hot Coast guard rescue swimmer
Who also has a giant dog
Slightly frowny

A cool group of older women

Key west setting
Maybe a hurricane 🤷🏼‍♀️

Arc review ✨

To no one’s surprise, I absolutely loved "The Love Haters" by Katherine Center! As always, Center’s characters are sweet, funny and wildly entertaining—yet still manage to feel completely relatable. Even when the storyline takes a bit of a leap, her writing makes it all feel so believable. That’s the magic of Katherine Center! I’ve loved every one of her books, and "The Love Haters" is no exception. A huge thank you to Katherine Center, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC—I’m so grateful for the chance to read this sweet story!

Katherine Center has quickly become an “auto-buy” author for me.

Her books are not only entertaining, they have great banter, fantastic characters, HEA & are basically just fun books to read.

What I also appreciate is Katherine’s way of writing real life problems/struggles/etc into her characters that are relatable, thought provoking & engaging.

The Love Haters had it all - and for me, as someone who has struggled with self esteem issues for a very very long time, I felt seen & validated.

“Within six months of marrying my dad, Angela had put me on a diet. I was twelve. Looking back at photos from those years, I’m always shocked at how much I looked exactly like all the other ordinary kids.”
-The Love Haters

Rarely do I read the authors notes (sorry authors) but Katherine’s note at the end of this book was like she’d called me up, put the tea on & we had a chat about her inspiration. It was the cherry on top of a great book.

“The Love Haters, has, I hope, a very delicious romantic love story going on between Katie and Hutch—in addition to all kinds of extra love stories between friends, and siblings, and parent figures. But it also has another type of love story. One between Katie and herself. Specifically: Katie and her body—in a kind of enemies-to-lovers trope.”
- Katherine Center


Honest review given in gratitude for this wonderful ebook. Thank you NetGalley & St Martin’s Press.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is another wonderful novel by one of my favorite authors! There were times reading this novel I was laughing so hard my husband asked me to read him what I was reading so he could laugh to! Ms. Center is a gifted novelist and allows her characters to learn to love themselves as they are, and we love them too! Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

KCenter, what have you done! Another win from what is becoming an auto-read author for me. Well done!

I know this is a very popular author, but this is my first time reading one of her novels (I have a few on my bookshelf as well speak waiting to be picked up). That being said, I don’t know why it took me so long to discover the genius of her writing! I absolutely adored all of the characters, the setting was beautiful, the plot was so relatable, and it had a cute dog! This may have been my first, but will definitely not be my last.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Love Haters!

I’ve always been a Katherine Center fan after reading her novel the Bodyguard. This book is no different and I devoured it in one sitting. It did take a bit for me to get into, and found the first chapter a bit rough, but overall enjoyed it.

While many of these books are often predictable I always appreciate the “twist” the author throws in part way through.

Devoured this beautiful story of a videographer learning to love herself while falling for the Rescue Swimmer she’s filming for a promo for the Coast Guard. Katherine Center did an amazing job of making this a light hearted, beach read with deep, healing undertones. Katie only wears nondescript black and hates everything about her body, ultimately she’s afraid of being seen and rejected, but as she travels to the Florida Keys and meets a slew of characters she slowly accepts herself one body part at a time. The genius of this novel is that Katie isn’t really described, she could be any of us and it doesn’t really matter what she physically looks like, but in how she learns to love herself. Obviously, I loved the main characters, but George Bailey (the Great Dane) and Beanie, her best friend/cousin, who forces Katie to name 10 things she loves about her body; and the colorful, elderly Rue stole the show. Thoroughly enjoyed this one and thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

This book is the kind of book everyone should read at least once in their lives.

We follow the character of Katie, a girl from Dallas who is sent to Key West to shoot a promo video for the US Coast Guard. The person she's interviewing is called Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. As the time passes Katie and Hutch grow closer, but things aren't as simple as they seem. So the question is, will they find a way to be together, or will they let life's plans mess with what they have?

This book made me feel everything. I laughed, I loved, and I cried. The characters were not only funny, and cute together, but they were also relatable, which makes the story a thousand times better.

I feel like when a book manages to make you cry or laugh out loud in the comfort of your own room, it not only shows the incredible writing that the author is able to accomplish, but it also shows how deeply we can immerse ourselves in a story.

I love it when a book makes me feel because then it feels real, it feels like I'm in the story, not like I'm seeing words on a screen or paper, but as if I were another character seeing everything unfold in front of me. And when you want to forget about life for a little bit that's exactly what you're looking for.

This book was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book. I can't wait for it to come out so I can finally talk about it, meanwhile just know you're going to love it.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this ARC.

The Love Haters
Author: Katherine Center
Pub date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

This was such a fun read. This book offered many laugh-out-loud moments when reading through this cute, closed-door romance. The book covered some issues like body issues, and the importance of self love. It read like a love story between man and woman, but also the main character learning to love herself. The sweetest part was the rescue dog and his pet toad!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I really enjoy Katherine Center as an author and this book did not disappoint!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. First of all this book needs a trigger for eating disorders big time. That being said, I really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were creative and I liked the love story between the two main characters. I also really enjoyed the journey of self discovery the main character went on with her body issues. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Let me start by saying, I LOVE a Katherine Center book. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this was available. But… it was a little lackluster for me. I did find parts really funny and I liked the characters banter. However, the biggest problem for me was the immaturity of the 3 main characters… with the exception of Rue. It’s hard to believe they were functioning adults in the real world with jobs. I also didn’t really buy the romance? Overall, it was okay for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center is an autobuy author for me. She never misses! I loved this story. The Love Haters was just as charming, moving, and witty as I was hoping!

Katie’s very intense struggle with loving herself is so relatable! I really liked that Katie had some learning and growing to do that was an independent journey, outside of the romance part of the story. The message was ultimately very heartfelt and hopeful.

And Hutch! Phew, what a man! He really checked all the boxes for me: hot but unaware, kind, generous, wears a uniform, heroic, pet dad, and loves his family. Swoon!

ALSO I love any book that has a lovable pet. George Bailey fan club unite!

I really enjoyed the promotional Coast Guard video aspect and I could imagine very clearly all the footage Katie was getting. I wish I could go on YouTube a watch it.

I really liked Beanie’s friendship and self-love encouragement but was confused why Beanie kept bringing up Katie’s ex-fiancee (his interviews, his song, the posts about her body) when Katie very clearly removing herself from all that. It seemed counter-intuitive to me.

TW: disordered eating, body dysmorphia, body shaming

Katherine Center is always a must read with her knack for writing a romance with a great buildup. This book definitely dipped a toe into the self help category but it hit the spot nonetheless. This book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange an honest review

Okay, I read everything Katherine puts out, but this book was the top of the top! I finished this yesterday and cannot stop thinking about it. This book had me on the edge of my seat in so many different ways. George Bailey is a perfect character and Hutch is walking perfection. I loved Katie's enemies to lovers internal battle it was great to watch her learn to love herself. As always, the author's note was so beautiful. "So welcome to another installment in my infinite series on why love stories can save the world."

I am so happy I got an advanced copy of this from NetGalley, but I can't wait to buy my own copy as soon as this releases!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

There is a reason why Katherine Center continues to be one of my favorite authors.

Somehow she always writes relatable characters that are soul healing. I feel like among the love story in this book, her other main themes were body positivity and childhood trauma. The main character, Katie is learning how to love herself again and that’s a very real woman to me. The story is heartwarming, hilarious, engaging, and honestly…inspiring. I walked away from this book feeling like I could also love myself more. And my absolute FAVORITE quality about her books in none of the stereotypical love triangles or enemies to lovers tropes. Katherine always has a fresh take, makes a deeper connection to humanities, the good and the dark, for better or worse.

I started and finished this book in the same day, I just couldn’t put it down! The Love Haters will fill that scratch of needing a dose of Joy as well and leave you with something to think about for your own life. Thank you once again for writing an amazing book!

Thank you for this NetGalley ARC of The Love Haters, Katherine and St. Martin’s Press! I usually love his author’s books (meaning: they’re a 5/5 for me), but for whatever reason, I was able to connect with the characters in this story, The Love Haters. Even though the setting is in Key West, I felt like the details were stereotypical. As someone in recovery from eating disorders, I would’ve liked a content warning at the beginning of this book, as this story’s main character has them and they’re blazing. One thing, Katherine Center does well is paint the scene, and she did just that in this book. I felt like I was right there with the main character the whole time. I felt what she felt, saw what she saw, heard what she heard, and smelled what she smelled.

If you can explain WHY this book is called The Love Haters, I’ll give you a million dollars.

I got this ARC of the latest book from one of the queens of The Fluffy Closed Door Rom Com from NetGalley. She’s always been pretty reliable, even if I always feel like she’s trolling me with the sexlessness of it all. The trolling continues. Hard.

OK so. It’s fine. It’s kinda funny in parts, (random-ass) things happen… but are they interesting? Meh. Is there depth? No, sir.

She’s a video producer assigned to the Key West Coast Guard to profile a rescue swimmer. She can’t swim and has insecurities/is recovering from an eating disorder. He is… hot and likes dogs?? Jennifer Aniston is involved in this thing too. I shit you not. Random as hell.

Something that bothered me the whole time: The title of this book made zero sense. There were no love haters here. I thought they’d be commitmentphobes or something? There were no “I’m anti-love” proclamations. She had a public breakup recently, but even that didn’t seem to be a thing that made her bitter or anything.

Why the title? Honestly. I need to know. I think the author just wanted to get a free “research trip” to the Florida Keys, and even that wasn’t that in-depth. Maybe she just watched The Weather Channel during hurricane season.

It’s fine, but I don’t know who I’d recommend it to because it seemed completely without point. All surface level, no depth… maybe for teen girls who want to have some ‘you can be brave’ inspiration? And like big dogs? IDK.

I read a lot of books…. This wasn’t worth my time. Yet was harmless. So… I guess a begrudging-3 about sums it up.