This book quite literally failed to live up to its title. I loved the premise but the execution fell flat.

I was hoping with a title like Love Haters there would be a lot of internal conflict within the main leads and there was, for Katie. The story starts off strong with Katie reluctantly cajoled into taking on a new videography project from her coworker that leads her to the Florida Keys and a colorful crew of old ladies and attractive, stoic, coastie Hutch. It was wonderful to see Katie grow past body dysmorphia and low self esteem following a public breakup and it seemed like the author spent none of that character development on Hutch. He was too perfect and, aside from being single, did not in fact hate love or seem reluctant to the idea of falling in love at all! It felt a bit instalove to me. I wanted more of a slow burn and tension. The book does feature Center’s classic humor and has no spice whatsoever for better or worse. Worth reading if you’re a fan and there are cute moments but ultimately might leave you a bit wanting.

This book had so many wonderful things in it! I LOVED learning more about the Coast Guard and rescue swimmers. Seriously, it was so interesting! I also loved our FMCs journey to accepting and loving her body. This was something I think all women can relate to at some point. The tension between our two main characters was so good and I was just dying for it to snap…. But it just was a little lackluster for me at the end and felt very rushed. All in all, I enjoyed this book immensely!! Katherine Center never disappoints!! ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

3.75 stars rounded up to 4
Really over the moon happy to have gotten an early release copy of this new one from Katherine Center out in May. I love how easy and enjoyable her stories are but this one wasn’t my favorite from her lineup. I DID love the characters of Hutch and Rue and the witty, relatable commentary by the main character as she interacted with the full cast of characters. But I just wanted more character relationship depth and less then this happened oh and then and this happened, bit too outlandish at times. But the internal monologue of Katie was truly spot on for this mid 30’s reader.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this early copy!

While this book wasn’t “bad,” it definitely fell flat for me.

The author’s near-constant use of rhetorical questions was distracting. The characters, their story, the “conflict,” all too contrived. The humor was a bit too cheesy slapstick.

The idea of an enemies to lovers trope with the FMC and her body is excellent! It was handled in an odd way, and could have been explored better.

As a Florida resident and military spouse who has spent time in Key West, I wanted to see more development with the setting.

I will still read anything Katherine Center writes! This one just didn’t work for me.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center
This was AWESOME! What a phenomenal love story with a brilliant dog included!
Katie is between a rock and a hard place. Her career is teetering as her company downsizes. Her co-worker Cole offers her a project that could save her job and get him out of interacting with his brother Hutch. It's a promotional video about the Coast Guard and his brother is front and center. The catch, it requires swimming skills, which Katie doesn't have, so she fakes it.
When Katie gets to Key West, she finds a bright welcoming community and Aunt Rue. Rue runs everything in town including building a family with her friends and community. She is as colorful as the clothes she wears and she warms everyone's heart with her personality. Sparks fly when Katie meets Hutch and she literally flies when she meets his giant dog, George Bailey.
I loved this story! It has self reflection and teaches some lessons on perspective and self appreciation. Katherine Center amazes me every time! She is truly a gifted storyteller and will always be "must-read" author. I will read everything she writes! This is a beautiful creative love story that will stay with me, it made me laugh and I was with the characters, in the story. The writing is just that good, like you walk right in and just become part of the story - the best kind of book! Of course it has a brilliant dog at the center, I love George Bailey!
To quote Katherine Center, " In the best stories, you're in it. It's happening all around you - and to you." That's exactly how i feel about books. That's why Katherine Center is an excellent author. Read this one and don't skip the author's note, it's phenomenal too!
I would like to thank NetGalley for the wonderful opportunity to review an ARC of this book. 5+/5⭐

Thank you for the advanced copy of The Love Haters. I’m a huge fan and follower of Katherine Center, and it was exciting to see the request come through!

My first piece of feedback is that I wish the ARC had provided a content warning about the body shaming and disordered eating. These are huge themes in the book, and as someone navigating ED recovery… I would not have actively chosen to read the novel. There was no mention of the disorder in content warning format or in the book description.

The above put me off to the story, but I was able to begin enjoying the writing about halfway in. Center doesn’t make her characters as bantering and snarky as some other recents books I’ve read; however, the exchanges and dynamics were still fun. I also appreciated the bits of information provided about the Coast Guard.

A quick summary: about a year following a uniquely public breakup and in an attempt to save her job, Katie travels to Key West as a video producer intent on profiling an otherwise hard to nail-down rescue swimmer Hutch. The latter has made headlines before but does not lean into the “hero” title or spotlight. The org chart for these characters is interesting - Hutch is the brother of Katie’s coworker, Cole, and she stays with their Aunt Rue. There should be another chart for all the lying that goes down too - Katie can’t swim, Cole is quick to fib, and the readers will absolutely be angry about the lack of communication to clear things up. A series of filming and other events leads to a final hurricane situation, which was also somewhat predictable but handled very well by the author.

Again - it’s important to note that Katie is navigating all of this while also navigating a journey to body-acceptance and appreciation.

I’ll rate this 3.75 rounded up to 4.

Keeping this short because I am a big KC enthusiast.

Katherine Center books are usually an automatic 5 star read for me. The Love Haters surprised me by being very very mediocre. Why are there so many different plot points that don't all add up? Why was there so much ED content in this? Why and how did a house boat in the middle of the ocean survive? It did have cute moments and gave me a couple laughs, but this is probably not the first book I would recommend to someone by KC. If you love hallmark movies, this is for you.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this arc!

** spoiler alert ** 1.5 ⭐️🫣 but rounding up

I tried so hard to like this. So hard that I read literally every page of this book. I hate that I dislike this so much, cause I’ve enjoyed other books by Katherine Center.

Spoilers ahead cause I don’t know how to write this review without going into detail.

I just couldn’t relate to Katie at all, so it made it hard to root for her. Katie lies like she breathes air and literally feels no remorse and constantly justifies it..? Who goes on a film job where you’re working with the coast guard and you can’t even swim and lies about it 😭 come on. She could literally have died. She asked at work to do a profile piece on an unsung hero named Hatch. Hatch is her coworker Cody’s older brother, and because Cody is insecure and immature and not as cool as his older brother, he asked Katie to go make the video. Having a fear of swimsuits, not knowing how to swim, and having to lie to everyone about why she’s there, she’s like SURE WHY NOT.

Even though she gets thrown into so many lies because of Cole, she had SO MANY CHANCES to come clean to the dude she’s “in love with” and she just doesn’t. SPOILER REMINDER AGAIN- She starts “fake dating” her crush(Hutch)’s brother(Cole) and still tried to make a move on Hutch multiple times because she’s “technically single, and their conscious should be fine.” MA’AM. This wonderful and loyal brother in question does not know this arrangement is fake! Why are you making a move!!?😂👏🏼 Why are you mad he ain’t kissing you!? Why are you lying to him!? The characters were just soooo so immature to me. Hutch deserved so much more than all the lying. I could never trust someone after all of that. I literally feel like they had 3 mini break ups because of the lying and they weren’t even together.

Speaking of, this book was nothing like the title or premise suggests 😂 Hutch is not some quiet anti love dude. He’s a heart throb, falls instantly inlove with the main character, and is literally the nicest man alive. Like his brother jealously said, he was TOO perfect. He didn’t feel real at all to me and was pretty one dimensional. The author did a lot of telling rather than showing when it came to Hutch and also his developing relationship with Katie in the first half of the book. Like.. why are we speeding through establishing their friendship and dynamic 😅 He had good quotes, but I wanted him to drop this girl, I’m so sorry.

Half of this book was Katie having an inner monologue with herself. The story was also written in past tense and she’d say things like “knowing what I know now” and “get this”, which made it feel like I had accidentally picked up her diary. Side note- A lot of her story is about negative self talk and internalized body shaming, which WAS interesting and different to read about. Maybe it’s just me, but it started to be difficult to read because she just thought about it constantly and it almost seemed like it’s a normal part of the female experience..? I guess i don’t usually read about someone being so critical about themselves and for most of the book I wasn’t seeing her get any help to get better. She does have growth specifically in this area of her life towards the end of the story, which was awesome to see. We love self love.

What I liked in the story was the family dynamic and drama haha. I love a good grandma/ old lady relationship in a story. I want to be Rue’s best friend and get invited to her sangria nights and have pool exercise parties with her 60+ year old ladies 💃🏼 I also love when there’s a dog in the story. George Bailey gets an entire star in this story. Although why he decided Katie was one of the only people he loves is beyond me…

All right, I’ve ripped this book apart. I do feel so bad and hate leaving low reviews, but it’s just my honest thoughts. Thanks Net Galley for letting me read this regardless!

I just finished The Love Haters by Katherine Center, and I absolutely loved it! As a huge fan of Katherine Center, I was thrilled to dive into this one, and it did not disappoint.

What struck me most about this book was how refreshing and different the story felt. While it’s about love, the real heart of the story is about self-love—learning to embrace and prioritize yourself—and that theme was incredibly relatable to me. It’s not your typical love story, and that made it feel so much more meaningful and impactful.

Katie, the protagonist, felt like a reflection of all of us at one time or another. Her journey was beautifully written, and her struggles and triumphs felt real and deeply resonant. The character development in this book was outstanding—not just for Katie but for the entire cast. Every character was thoughtfully crafted, powerful, and brought something unique to the story.

Overall, The Love Haters was moving, empowering, and so well-written. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a story that’s as much about finding yourself as it is about finding love. Katherine Center continues to deliver incredible, heartfelt stories, and this one is no exception.

5 /5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I thought we as a society were past the era of giving step by step instructions on how to starve yourself, but unfortunately that happened in chapter two. And that's just the START of how I became a Love Haters hater.

I did appreciate the journey of self-acceptance and body positivity, how it can be super slow-going and how difficult it is to overcome the obsessive nature of disordered eating. But it went about it all wrong. For one thing, the marketing and the blurb for this book show NOTHING about how detailed the ED behavior is. THERE WAS NO TRIGGER WARNING. All of the marketing for this book makes it comes across as a cute and quirky little rom-com, but it's not. Not to mention that behavior seems to just...end when her relationship does? While her body dysmorphia persists, the disordered eating just gets resolved after her break-up? But then that entire chapter is just kind of glossed over in favor of childhood trauma regarding her body. Not the YEAR of disordered eating.

(Also the disrespect of sobriety was appalling. Side point).

That's just the tip of the iceberg with this book. Besides Katie and (somewhat) Rue, all of the women are presented as one-dimensional caricatures, including Beanie. I get that the story is supposed to focus on the romance, but you don't have to hate all other women in the process. Hutch was also a caricature, but I can forgive that because most MMCs are (though I hated the development of their relationship, I could not figure out why Hutch loved her other than his own gross savior complex).

All of the lies of omission were exhausting. The absolute WHIPLASH I felt when the fake dating plotline is dropped in randomly in the second half...it wasn't entertaining. It was pointless. And resolved very quickly considering how dramatic everyone was with it. Especially since then there was a 911 Lone Star level of drama with her...being stranded on a houseboat with a dog? A dog they rescued FIRST instead of the human? Where no one in the Coast Guard forced her to evacuate when she's a citizen?

So yeah. I'm a Love Haters hater. Sue me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Since I started reading this book, I have been telling EVERYONE they need to put it on their radar.
I LOVED this book and I think I say that because I really resonnated with Katie's character. Not only do we have similar jobs, but we both struggle with body image and feel insecure in our own skin. Katherine Center did a beautiful job navigating the struggles and challenges of body image and wrote it in such a way that didn't make me feel like I was alone in this struggle.
The connection between Katie and Hutch... chefs kiss! The banter, the denying themselves of their feelings for eachother, oof that's what I love about romance.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read one of my new favorite books of all time!

「 ✦ The Love Haters ✦ 」
୨⎯ Katherine Center ⎯୧
Publication Date: 5/20/2025
“I was afraid of being seen.”

✰ star rating:
★★★★☆

✰plot:
Imagine this: Glen Powell as Hangman in top gun saving Jennifer Addisons dog from drowning. He also saves people for a living. Oh and he’s a sweetheart grump. Katie is currently getting over and somehow still being dragged through a very public breakup, but hey, it couldn’t get worse. Think again. Katie’s job is also now on the line, with a new boss firing everyone in her eyesight, Katie could kiss her job goodbye. But by some miracle, Cole her colleague, gives her a little sense of hope with a plan to save her job. All she has to do is film a commercial for the Coast Guard, about Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, the guy who saved Jennifer Aniston dog, aka “pup daddy”, oh and did I mention that he is also the older brother of Cole. While all of that sounds doable, there is only one slight problem. Katie can’t swim.

✰tropes:
・❥・Forced Proximity
・❥・Body Positivity
・❥・Only One Bed
・❥・Touch Her and Die
・❥・Unique Jobs

✰thoughts:
My first book of the year did not deliver and I needed a good pick me up. The only other book that I read by Katherine Center was The Bodyguard, and I absolutely loved it. This book was an actual emotional roller coster. I stayed up until 1 am to finish this book and that for me is a rarity. Overall this book was a great rom-com with a great message in it. If you get the chance to read this book, I hope you love it as much as I did.

✰characters:
Katie: miss girls humor was sensational! I 100% related to her story and I love her. Not all hero’s wear capes, they also wear a life vest. In my mind Katie looks like Camila Mendes.

Hutch: “he’s not a big talker, but he’s great at first aid.” Oh morally grey men can sweep me off my feet anytime they want. In my mind this man looked liked Glen Powell.

George Bailey: THE MASTERMIND.

Rue: she is the type of person who makes everyone feel like they have a place in this world. I aspire to be rue when I am older. Jamie Lee Curtis is Rue and there is no doubt in my mind.

✰playlist:
♪ jealousy, jealousy, Olivia Rodrigo
♪ Take My Breath Away, Berlin
♪ Danger Zone, Kenny Rodger
♪ Risk, Gracie Abrams
♪ Butterflies, Kacey Musgraves
♪ Packing it up, Gracie Abrams

✰thoughts throughout the book:
~ why is this so true. The way these are woman’s body goals truly horrifies me. Great topic though, glad to see this topic be brought into the light
~ I NEEDED A GOOD ROM-COM AND THIS IS DELIVERING
~ KATHERINE CENTER YOU GOT ME KICKING AND GIGGLING MY FEET AND WE ARE ONLY 19% INTO THIS BOOK
~ If what is about to happen later in the book happens I will melt into a puddle
~ OH. MY. GOD. *dramatically faints*
~ WTF HUTCH!!!?!??
~ ahhhhhhhhhh
~ nope. Homie would’ve gotten milly rocked. Right there in front of EVERYONE.
~ WHAT IS GOING ON??? WHY IS MY HEART POUNDING? IM SCARED YALL
~ omg save them 😭😭

Thank you Net Galley for the arc. The review above are all my own thoughts and opinions.

This read like a cute, fun rom com movie for me!

Katie is sent on a work assignment to do a YouTube day in the life of Hutch. Hutch is her coworker Connor’s brother and they have beef. If she can’t convince hutch to do the day in the life, she’ll be fired by her boss.

The characters had great chemistry and I liked reading Katie working through her struggles with weight as a result of dating a celebrity. She had mostly heeled before meeting Hutch but he did help push her the final steps. I’ll also never complain about a dog being an important character. George Bailey the Great Dane was an important character. We have some fun tropes like “only one bed” and forced proximity (swim lessons). I recommend it if you are looking for a beach read!

I always love reading Katherine Center’s books! The main characters in this book are so likable and relatable. Some intense action parts in this one that I couldn’t put down. Definitely recommend!

This was a cute, easy romance read. If you're looking for spicy, this isn't it but if you're looking for a sweet book with your favorite tropes, look no further. I enjoyed the characters overall even if the FMC did make me want to shake her sometimes with the self-sabotage and self-criticism in her head. I will say I'd be more than happy to move to Key West and live at the Starlite with Rue and the Gals though! They seem like a lot of colorful fun.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC ebook!

Yes, folks, Katherine Center has done it again! She's delivered a sharp, witty rom-com filled with grief and drama and complicated family history. There is quite a heavy emphasis on body image, as the main character Katie struggles a lot with that (some early reviewers haven't loved this aspect, but I thought it was handled well). I loved the deep dive (pun intended) into the lives of Coast Guard rescue swimmers, and Hutch is definitely a swoony hero. Katie and Hutch have cute chemistry, but there is a rich cast of characters to round the two of them out. "The Gals" are a fun-loving group of elderly ladies Katie hangs out with, including Hutch's Aunt Rue. And honestly the dog, George Bailey, kind of steals the show at multiple key plot points! All in all, it's a fun and adventurous read.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC of The Love Haters!

3.5 stars rounded up for The Love Haters. This is a cute rom-com with a little Top Gun flair. Katie is a videographer hired to film a promo on the Coast Guard. Hutch is on the Coast Guard rescue team who went viral after rescuing Jennifer Aniston’s dog. Will there be a spark between the two or will a stack of lies, the threat of losing her job, and Hutch’s brother come between them? We also meet Hutch’s Aunt Rue and her friends. They were a delight and my favorite part of the book! Trigger warning for disordered eating as there is a theme of body negativity throughout the book and a blatant chunk on disordered eating at the beginning. While there is growth on this and it is not looked at positively, it still might be tough to read if this is something that you have struggled with. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC!

I loved this book. Thank you for sharing. The character development was well done and the story was interesting. I loved the parts that seemed inspired by IFS therapy.

3.5 Stars.

The Love Haters is equal parts romantic comedy and women's fiction. I've read a few Katherine Center books before, and true to her style the characters are flawed yet lovable, and the banter between the male and female main characters is on-point for most of the book. I especially liked that the plot centered around the U.S. Coast Guard, as I learned a lot about their mission by reading this book. Katherine did a great job of representing them well.

Plot: Main female character Katie is a videographer tasked with making a promo video for the U.S. Coast Guard in the Florida Keys. She must follow her primary subject, Coastie male main character Hutch, around all day every day to get the shooting coverage she needs. Enter forced proximity! In order to complete the video, Katie will also need to learn to swim and pass a swimming test. Hutch becomes her new instructor and helps her overcome her fear of swimming. Through lots of self-talk and encouragement from her best friend Beanie, Katie also overcomes her fear of wearing a swimsuit and exposing the body she is self-conscious about. There are some endearing side-characters and even a cute dog named George Bailey. Toward the end, there is lot of drama with Hutch's family and both a metaphorical and real hurricane occurs. Katie learns to face the storms of life with bravery, both internal and external.

This was on track to be a 5 star book for me until about 75% the way through when I felt like the plot fell apart. There was lying/deceit, an implosion of drama, and lack of healthy communication. The book proceeds to flip from a mostly forced proximity trope to almost no interaction between the male and female main characters the last 25% of the book. In my opinion, the side plot of body image issues for the female main character takes the full stage and outshines the love story in the end.

Content: Light use of strong language, kissing only, anxiety, body image/weight issues.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the complementary copy of this book. My review is my opinion and is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.

I love Katherine Center books!!! This one was so fun and cute and I would highly recommend it. Her writing draws you in and I enjoyed the whole thing.

Thank you NetGalley and Katherine Center!