Main Characters:
-- Katie Vaughn – video producer for a mid-level production company in Texas, company director is on the verge of laying off a third of the staff and Katie is expected to be one of them, also creates her own “Day in the Life” videos of local heroes and posts them on YouTube, used to be engaged to now-famous singer/songwriter Lucas Banks
-- Cole Hutcheson – Katie’s work superior who asks her to shoot a recruiting video for the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West as a way to keep her job, also suggests she could shoot a Day in the Life video while she’s there
-- Beanie – Katie’s cousin and best friend, a personal shopper who moved from Texas to New York and FaceTimes with Katie every day
-- Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson – Cole’s “perfect” older brother who works for the U.S. Coast Guard as a rescue swimmer in Key West, went viral after rescuing Jennifer Aniston’s dog and consequently received the nickname Pup Daddy, not interested in any kind of fame
-- Aunt Rue – raised Hutch and Cole, owns a string of cabins that she rents out along the beach in Key West as well as a boutique clothing shop

If you’re in the mood for a fun romance, you can never go wrong with Katherine Center. Her upcoming new release is no exception.

Katie Vaughn works in video production, and the company she works for is on the verge of cutting jobs. Cole Hutcheson, in an effort to save Katie’s job (and his own), suggests her for a promotional shoot in Key West featuring U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Cole doesn’t want to go himself because the “star” of the video is his brother Hutch, who Cole doesn’t get along with. So he volunteers Katie, who also produces her own YouTube Day in the Life mini documentaries of local heroes.

When Cole mentions that he almost gave the job to another colleague, he tells Katie that the reason he didn’t is because the other person can’t swim. Katie can’t swim either, but she figures Cole doesn’t need to know that because she really needs the job. Another facet of the job is that Katie will be staying in one of his Aunt Rue’s cabins, but she can’t tell Aunt Rue why she’s there. So many secrets…what could possibly go wrong?

There are so many past hardships that factor into the character development here that you really just have to read it for yourself. Suffice it to say that Katie has serious self-esteem issues and gets caught in the middle of family tensions because she is terrified of losing her job.

Romantic comedies have a formula. A couple meets, typically under unromantic circumstances, they get together, fall apart, and get back together. The joy of reading a rom-com is the journey to the happily ever after. One of my favorite things about Center’s writing is her ability to create funny and touching dialog that never fails to put a smile on my face. And her secondary characters perfectly round out her stories like Beanie and Aunt Rue.

When Katie describes Beanie’s support after Katie’s horrible breakup a year ago, she says, “…she took my digital scale—aka my closest friend—and wrapped it up in one of Lucas’s forgotten T-shirts, doused it all with lighter fluid, and set the whole thing on fire out by the street.” And when Katie is horrified at the idea of having to wear a swimsuit, Beanie makes her make a list of things she genuinely loves about her body, not things that other people would love about it. Everyone needs a Beanie in their lives.

Then there’s Aunt Rue who just feels like she is everyone’s happy place. She surrounds herself with color and fun and refuses to give in to negativity. When Katie arrives from the airport, Rue comes out to meet her with a hug. When she finds out that Katie’s luggage was delayed, she outfits Katie in colorful caftans and swimsuits, gets her fed and settled in her cabin, and insists on making Katie’s stay as fun and colorful as possible. When Katie worries about what other people are thinking about her (cue the self-esteem issues), Aunt Rue tells her, “It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks if you’re having fun. And all the fun is in color.”

This is a great story about being comfortable with yourself and appreciating the color in your life, all wrapped up in a romance whose happily ever after we all see coming. Set at the beach and just in time for summer….

This is one of my must-read authors, so I expected to enjoy it. Katherine Center did not disappoint. 🌞

At first, I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about the book. I kept reading it and pushing through it. The body image was throwing me off, but I put that to the side and kept going.

I really enjoyed the long list of tropes and mainly the guy coming in to save her BUT and I will say this, WOMEN DO NOT NEED NO MAN TO FEEL GORGEOUS OKAY? There was a lot of body image issues going on within the character in this story but in overall the plot and writing was really well.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: May 20, 2025

Love KC and this was one of my most anticipated spring reads, but it just didn’t work for me. Expected an enemies to lovers romcom and instead, the real love hater was the FMC who loved to hate herself. Zero chemistry between the MCs, with a frustrating cast of supporting characters. Major eating disorder/body dysmorphia TW. Behavior during the hurricane made me roll my eyes.

The Love Haters is a single POV found family romance. Katie’s career is a sinking ship, and in a last-ditch effort to salvage her job, she agrees to film a promotional video for the Coast Guard, omitting the *tiny* fact that she can’t swim! Hutch, the reluctant subject of the film, agrees to help Katie in return for Katie’s help repairing his relationship with his brother. But things get complicated with weeks of being in close quarters, and Katie and Hutch have a lot to work through, together and apart!

I love Katherine Center’s books. I’m not always a closed-door romance fan, but she always gets it right. This book is a romance, but also a book about Katie’s relationship with herself and Hutch’s relationship with his brother. It’s found family and personal growth, and humor all rolled into one. Plus, everything involving George Bailey, the frog-loving Great Dane, is perfect!

Read dates: 04/18/2025- 04/19/2025
Goodreads review: 04/19/2025
Instagram review: 04/20/2025
Blog review: 05/20/2025

Dnf, couldn’t handle the protagonists body insecurities about drove me off a ledge she was SO in her head!! The MMC also just didn’t do it for me.

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️

General Thoughts: I have been wanting to read a Katherine Center book for a long time, so I jumped at the chance to read a copy of this one. First things first, I would not classify this as a romance. I know it has been, but this is not a romance, and I think labeling it that way will set the reader up for disappointment. This is about a woman focusing on and redefining her relationship with herself, changing what's been a toxic outlook into a positive one. There happens to be a guy and love, but that is such a subplot here. If you expect a romance, you'll be disappointed.

This book is much more about friendship, internal growth, and yeah self-love. The romance felt like a very minor part to me. As a lover of romance, I wanted more on that front. I waned more between the main couple. However, that wasn't this book. A friend described this as the "pre-story of how they got to the point they were ready for a romance with each other," and that seems right to me. I ended up wondering where the romance chapters were, and that's when I realized this book had been mismarketed.

Had I known what to expect, I wouldn't have been left confused at the end on that front. Because this book does what it intended to do very well. The writing is great, the characters are fun, and I'll definitely read more. It was well done--just not if you're expecting a typical romance story. I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley.

Spice Meter: Not really there at all. 18+ but pretty tame references.

Warning Self-esteem, body issues, and prior eating disorders described. If this is a trigger for you, please be careful.

Romantic Tropes and Things of Note:
-single POV
-contemporary
-self-love, self-discovery, self-awareness
-body image issues
-friendship
-whatever we call "women's fiction" nowadays
-Coast Guard MMC and videographer FMC
-meddling family
-Key West setting
-grump sunsine

You can read more of my reviews on Insta @mylastromancenovel.

In The Love Haters, Katie needs a win. She's a videographer whose job is at risk of being cut, following her boss' disastrous divorce, and her ex-boyfriend has become a world-wide celebrity from his songs on TikTok. Now she's being offered a job to make a documentary for the Coast Guard by her colleague, Cole, who suspiciously doesn't want to do it himself. She learns that she's meant to follow Hutch, a hunky coast guard with a stone facade and distinct no nonsense attitude. He's also reluctantly famous for saving Jennifer Aniston's dog. The main problem, though, is that Katie can't swim but this gig will require swimming in the ocean and passing a helicopter crash test in the training pool.

So, I can't say I entirely enjoyed this book - not the least of which due to the constant lying. Lying tropes are always hard for me to stomach, but this was just wayyy too much. We start with lies about Katie not being able to swim, but if that was all then that'd be fine since it's disclosed in the blurbs. But the lies ramp from even the first conversation between Katie and Cole - the lies her ex told about their relationship, the lies Cole said about being Hutch's brother... the lies continue with Katie and Cole's occasional phone calls, Hutch and Katie's conversations, Rue and her secrets about her own health, and then Cole ramps all those lies at 67% of the way in by coming out of nowhere to Rue's party and telling everyone he's dating Katie and guilting her into playing along.

Relatedly, the details and logic of the story were hard to follow, since there were long stretches of seemingly just character development, but then the visit with Cole and Sullivan had 2 of 3 days skipped (which could have housed those character development moments), and there were moments I was like "Katie, you don't even like your job and Sullivan already wants you gone, why are you trying to hold on to this terrible thing?". I won't belabor my review, but suffice to say these were the two biggest issues I had.

From a positive perspective, I do want to say it's not terrible like my above paragraph might lead you to believe. The overall plot and pacing (aside from the details mentioned above) was decent and believable, and the main four characters (I'm including George Bailey) were decently fleshed out and unique. It also has some really good messaging about loving your body and appreciating yourself for who you are in the physical spaces you occupy.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Katherine Center is back with another winner! Love Haters is the story of Katie, a struggling videographer who feels forced into taking a job in Key West to film a promotional video for the Coast Guard. Her main contact and subject will be Hutch Hutcheson, a handsome Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer who is a YouTube sensation after going viral saving Jennifer Anniston’s dog in a daring rescue.
Katie must overcome her fear of swimming, bathing suits and color in order to keep her job and convince Hutch to be the next hero of her “Day in the life” videos. Katie finds acceptance at the Starlite cottages owned by Hutch’s Aunt Rue and meets George Bailey, Hutch’s rescued Great Dane who instantly takes a liking to Katie. As Katie gets to know Hutch, she also meets the “Gals”, Rue’s retired friends and besties.

This tropical and laid back atmosphere helps Katie begin to deal with a negative body image and the past relationships that have shaped her views of herself. She learns to celebrate the beauty and strength of her body and feels the freedom of letting go of judgment.

Love Haters celebrates the importance of stories and the people who speak into our lives. These stories help make us better at love and of life. And Katherine Center’s Author’s note should not be skipped!

#netgalley

The Love Haters is Katherine Center’s newest contemporary romance release. Set in Key West, it focuses on Katie Vaughn, a videographer whose boss Cole sends her to shoot a promo video featuring his heroic Coast Guard brother Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. Trying desperately to hold onto her job in the midst of looming layoffs, Katie agrees to head to Key West to film “a day in the life” of Hutch.

But, still reeling from her breakup with a celebrity musician, Katie must face her feelings of self-doubt and body insecurity. She also has to befriend Hutch, who is known to be a “love hater” and refuses to be in the public eye. And she has to figure out how to swim in order to go along with the Coast Guard on their rescues. Along with the help of a few fun ladies and a huge Great Dane, Katie starts on her mission…and learns a few unexpected things about herself and love along the way.

I am a huge Katherine Center fan, so I was really excited to get an early copy of this book. It pains me to say this, but this was not my favorite. I appreciated the focus on body positivity, but it did feel a bit too much in places. I also felt like there was a lot going on plot-wise. Hutch’s brother introduces a conflict that I wasn’t too thrilled about, and that conflict snowballs into more situations. In the end, everything is resolved in quite a climactic and dramatic fashion.

I did appreciate learning more about the Coast Guard, and I loved Rue and her group of friends. Also, I loved George Bailey, the Great Dane. And I did appreciate the theme of finding love for yourself, above all.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this #gifted eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of Katherine Center's The Love Haters in exchange for my honest review.

A captivating 5 stars!

Katherine Center has a way of grabbing your attention from the start and holding it until well after the last page.

She also has a way of making you think without you realizing you're thinking; of giving perspective to what many people would consider trivial thoughts.

This was a fast-paced story with lovable characters, and witty, sometimes snarky, dialogue.

I would love to spend a day with The Gals!

There's also a loveable dog!

This was a cute book. With just enough romance and the plot twist was fun to read. I enjoyed it. I love Katherine Center so I knew it was going to be good so I was happy it didn’t disappoint.

I don’t know how she does it.

Katherine Center consistently astounds me with her creative storytelling, heartfelt prose, and romantic plot lines.

Basically, I would be totally and incandescently happy if I could only read Katherine Center books for the rest of my life.

The Love Haters has heart, humor, and all of the swoony things you want in a romance book. But it also has so much more than that. It has depth of emotion, encouragement, and heartfelt connections between humans.

That is what Katherine Center is so good at. Showing us the connections between people and why they matter.

Katherine Center takes love stories and turns them into reminders that write themselves on your heart and stay with you forever. Reminders like: You are more important than what you look like or what other people think of you. You are worth loving exactly as you are. You matter.

I loved this book. I loved the funny moments and the hard moments and the moments that kept me up late at night. I loved all of it, and I can't wait to see what the next journey Katherine will take me on.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalleyfor my copy. All thoughts are my own.

Wow! What beautiful characters - I was charmed from start to finish.

Katie spent the past year picking up the pieces of her life and attempting to love herself again. Now, on assignment as a videographer, she’s learning that the journey to embrace herself and her body can look different than she believed and that there are many others who love who she is and who she’s become as well.

3.5 This is a hard book for me to rate. I thought I was getting a summer romance/rom-com, and that's not quite what this book is. I think the book is not being marketed quite right. While there is romance, I felt romance was a subplot here, not the plot. I think if you're expecting this to be a capital R romance, you'll be disappointed. Because on that front, this book falls a bit flat.

Let me explain what I mean, this book is much more about self-discovery, -acceptance, and -love. The main character has a lot of insecurities about herself, her body, being seen, and taking up space. She discusses at length a prior eating disorder and a very complicated relationship with her body. As a women's fiction book about those topics, I think this book did a great job. Katherine Center has a very unique writing style, one that I enjoyed. I like her style and how she approaches her books. I'll definitely go read more by her.

However, as a romance, like I said, it fell a bit flat. I am a no spice/low spice romance reader, and I felt like there wasn't enough spark here, romance here. I liked Hutch and I liked Katie. I liked the interactions they did have together. But maybe because of some strange stuff that happens late in the book, I never really saw them as a couple. I never really felt like they had a relationship. This book is more of a "she discovers to love herself" and ends with the "and now she's ready for this relationship" in my mind. But I never really felt like I really saw their romance.

So if you go in expecting a women's fiction book about self-love, you'll likely think the book delivered. If you think it's going to be a romcom Romance where romance is front and center, I think you'll be disappointed.

Again, a very hard book for me to rate. I received a review copy of this book, and I am leaving my review voluntarily. A huge thanks to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Love Haters by Katherine Center. I absolutely loved this book—it's everything I look for in a rom-com: witty, warm, and full of heart. Katherine Center has such a gift for writing characters who feel real and relatable, and I was immediately drawn into their world. The banter sparkled, the chemistry was fantastic, and the emotional moments really landed. While it’s funny and fun, there’s also a deeper message about letting love in, even when it feels risky. The Love Haters is a joyful, uplifting read that left me smiling long after I turned the last page.

✨ARC Review✨

4.5 ⭐ for The Love Haters by Katherine Center

I went into this not knowing if I'd end up liking it or not, as this author has been a bit of a hit-or-miss for me in the past, but I LOVED this one!

I could relate so clearly to Katie's struggles with her body image, it's not even funny. I've had those exact thoughts she has, and it made her so relatable. I loved how she was an imperfect, down-to-earth FMC, with very realistic fears (hello, drowning during that helicopter exercise?! I would NOT have gotten in the water!)

Hutch was the perfect MMC to counterbalance Katie, with his quiet competence and hidden sweetness, I absolutely adored him. I loved their chemistry from the start, and George Bailey the Great Dane was simply adorable!

I will say the last 20% of the book had me STRESSED OUT omg, I could not stop turning the pages because I needed to know how it would all end. I didn't like the Cole aspect, all the lying felt unnecessary and childish, but the reveal about the car accident had me tearing up and I did feel some sympathy for him then.

A very solid romcom, no spice just a bit of kissing, with an adorable meddling aunt and her gang of retirees cheering her on, and some laugh-out-loud moments but also some emotional ones. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this book was just not for me. There were parts of the books I enjoyed - I appreciated the body issues the main character was going through, I enjoyed the romance between the two characters and the love interest being in the coast gaurd was interesting to read. However, I couldn’t relate much to the main character. There was some events that happened around the half way mark that were so out of left field and unbelievable. If you’re looking for a quick, fun book, you may be interested. It was just a bit too silly and over the top for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Another sweet story by Katherine Center. The backstory was really intriguing and hit the heart right on. Aunt Rue and her friends were the best! I wish there was a little more development at the end, but I really enjoyed from start to finish.

The narrator does a GREAT job with the audiobook as well!

Many many thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies of this book.

As to date, I have enjoyed the Center books I have read... a lot. I have pondered this book for days now, since reading the last page and my rating continues to decline. The more I think about this story, the more I dislike it.

The Love Haters is all about Katie and Hutch. Katie is trying to save her job as a video producer by heading to Key West where she will profile the Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Hutch. There are a few bumps in this road as Katie cannot swim, so she's not exactly qualified. But alas, the hunky Hutch will change all that.

On the surface, this is a cute rom-com filled with laugh out loud moments, fantastic banter, and just a hint of attraction. So let's talk about the good stuff....

*George Bailey (Hutch's Great Dane) and the most lovable pup ever
*Katie's cousin Beanie who loves her for who she is and sets fire to her scale (we all need a Beanie)
*Rue - Cole & Hutch's mom who was just wonderful from head to toe
*A glimpse inside the Coast Guard

But Katie is dealing with some heavy stuff....body dysmorphia. This takes center stage throughout the book as she continues to run herself down and feel non worthy in all aspects of her life. And that is where this story goes sideways for me. As someone who struggles with extreme body image issues, this did not sit well with me.

It was the ending of the book, that did it in for me. So let's talk about that....

*Katie could not swim, though she apparently learned with 48 hours and was able to stay afloat in the water, during a hurricaine. Uhm.....
*But most importantly, while floating in the sea during a hurricaine, Hutch descends from the heavens to rescue her and chooses to take his dog, George Bailey first. Telling Katie that she will be fine, they are out of fuel, and he will TRY to come back after her??

What?!?!? In what world is this okay? She is already struggling with self doubt and the man she loves chooses to save his dog?! I don't know any one who would be okay with this let alone go on to live a happily ever after with this man. He leaves her alone in the ocean, with blood filled water, and tells her he will try to save her later. I can't get past this and it ruined the entire book for me.

While I loved George Bailey as his own character, I just didn't understand the purpose of saving him and not her. Did he come back for her? Of course he did, but by then the damage was done. I don't see how this would ever help build her self esteem.

This one just really really missed the mark for me.

3.5 rounded up stars.

I feel really sad that I didn’t love this more. I feel like it had so much potential!!! After reading the rom commers late last year (easily one of my top 2024 reads), I had such high hopes for another top read but this missed the mark a but for me.

First of all, the focus on her body just hurt me physically to read. To be fair, I’m glad I read the acknowledgements where the author talked about the enemies to lovers trope with her body, which helped me dislike it a bit less. But the fact that she could only see the value in her body because of a man and also a hurricane that almost killed her seems so extreme.

I would have liked to see more love growing between Hutch and Katie and it just felt a bit under developed. He just all of a sudden loved her but was like a stone wall to her. I wanted the tension and the banter. Like when he kissed her she still thought he hated her?? The dog had more tension with her than Hutch did lol.

Overall it’s a cute book, but not one I’d pick up again. I would highly recommend the love haters and the bodyguard from Katherine Centre where we got lots of tension and banter and swoony love.

Thanks so much to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!