Katherine Center’s Love, Haters is a spectacular 5-star read that once again confirms why she is an auto-buy author for me. From the first page, I was hooked by her impeccable ability to craft stories that are not only emotionally rich but also brimming with heart and humor. The characters in this book felt like old friends—so relatable, so real, and so easy to root for.

The protagonist's journey of self-discovery and navigating her complicated relationships was deeply moving, and there were moments where I found myself teary-eyed, unable to hold back the emotions. Center has a knack for weaving profound moments with humor, and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at several parts, too. The balance between heart-wrenching and hilarious moments made this book an absolute joy to read.

Katherine Center has once again delivered a beautiful story filled with love, laughter, and the complexities of human connections. Love, Haters is yet another reminder of why I’ll always reach for her books—they’re a perfect blend of humor, emotion, and pure storytelling magic. Definitely a must-read for fans of heartfelt romance with a dash of wit!

For fans of Things You Save in a Fire by KC. This is another heart wrenching love story that made me ugly cry. It took a bit to get into but it was worth it in the end.

The Rom-Commers was a standout in 2024 to me, which makes The Love Haters all the more surprisingly disappointing. The title feels like quite the stretch (and just feels like it’s playing off her last book). The premise is a bit outlandish and not all that captivating - it also goes off the rails quite a few times so the beginning almost doesn’t matter. My biggest gripe, however, is that I have not hated a female lead as much as I did Katie in a long time. The obsession with her weight didn’t feel justified given the story we were given and just felt unbelievable. I was at a solid 2 for most of the story, until the last third with the fantastical fake bf plot she went along with and the even more ridiculous shipwreck/stupid calls to 911. She came across so immature and I found myself skimming the end. A real miss for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read this if you love...
💚 deep rom-coms
🎀 relatable female protagonists
👙 body positivity

Katie Vaughn's a video producer at a firm with looming budget cuts. When it comes down to profiling Hutch, an internet famous Coast Guard, or losing her job, Katie chooses Key West even though she can't <i>technically</i> swim. Hutch proves to be more complicated than Katie thought because 1) he's her coworker's estranged brother and 2) he and Katie don't get along at all. As she profiles Hutch for the recruitment video, Katie's further drawn into his world of colorful and kooky Aunts, swimming lessons, and helicopter rides. She must confront her own ideas about herself, her body image, and what it means to be brave.

I told myself I'd wait to read this until 2025—it doesn't release until May after all. Believe me, I tried. But when faced with hours in the car, Katherine Center is the obvious remedy.

I've read most of Katherine's books and Katie is her most relatable protagonist. I haven't read
a story in awhile where an adult grapples with her own body image and what it means to love yourself. Opening yourself up to change is hard and Katie goes THROUGH it. She has an interesting job that I enjoyed reading about and a backstory that kept me invested. Her chemistry with Hutch was off the charts. Katherine Center writes sensitive, protective men that are easy to fall for.

This book is sunshine personified. It's bright, colorful, and makes you look at life differently. I truly couldn't put it down! Katherine's trademark writing style makes you feel like part of the story. She has perfected her rom-com formula while still managing to surprise me (I was on pins and needles at one point and I guarantee you will be too!)

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Katherine Center’s books are just so joyful and lovely, and I really liked this one!
I related a bit too much to Katie as someone who also works as a producer and has severe body image issues, so I thought this one would hit a little too close to home. But here Katherine goes, making me fall in love with her and Hutch. Hutch is my type of MMC – a stoic hero type who’s quietly a total golden retriever – albeit an initially skeptical one.
As someone who also grew up in the Sunshine State, Center totally captured the laissez-faire charm and quirkiness of Key West.
This was such a fun read!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Katherine Center writes books that are like a cozy blanket you want to snuggle up with. Her stories are filled with characters that are likable and relatable and does so with humor and emotion.

Katie is a video producer in jeopardy of losing her job. Her coworker Cole offers her an opportunity that could possibly save her job. The job is to make a video profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. What could go wrong you ask? Hutch just happens to be Cole’s older brother and they do not get along. Not only that but Katie can’t swim!

The Love Haters is a heartwarming story that delivers the perfect blend of humor, emotional depth, and romance.

I've read all of Katherine Center's books and this was one of my favorites. I will admit, I think it started out a little slow. The ending?! The last 75%?! Someone HAS to make this book into a movie. Thank you so much for the chance to read it. I'll be sharing my 5 star review on Good Reads for sure.

I’m not much of a romance reader, but Katherine Center’s books are clever and fun with good characters. The Lover Haters follows Katie, a video producer on the brink of losing her job, as she profiles a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

Spoilers ahead: I love Katherine Center so I was so excited to read this book. As with other books she has written, I enjoyed the witty dialogue and some of the inner thoughts of the characters. Some things that I thought could be changed to improve the overall story of the book: I wish there had been some kind of payoff or resolution with the main character's ex. There was a lot of discussion of him and how he was using the idea of her to write songs, etc. and she was bashed a lot on social media by the public. I wish she had either spoken to him or had her own social media moment where she was able to speak to the public about her experience. I also did not love the brother storyline (the main character's coworker). He was selfish and annoying.

I'd read anything written by Katherine Center but goodness, this book was so charming and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I love that Center is able to write complex and conflicted characters, in a way that makes us recognize and confront our own challenges and flaws...but the books are still compulsively readable and lovely. This was among my favorites and I can't wait to see it soar when it's published in May.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for my eARC.

This follows Katie who works as a video producer and is in danger of losing her job. She has one last shot at keeping it - conducting a video profile of Hutch, who is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Unfortunately, Katie does not know how to swim due to a long-standing fear of swimsuits and body dysmorphia. She plans to fake her way through it and get swim lessons as soon as she gets there. She heads down to Key West and discovers Aunt Rue with a love of colorful kaftans, an oversized Great Dane who loves to bound into her, and that Hutch is her boss' estranged older brother.

Katherine Center continues to write delightful rom coms. Thoroughly enjoyed this - all characters felt real and fleshed out, the third act conflict did not feel contrived, and it was overall such a pleasure to read.

Katherine Center has a way of hooking me into a story and characters right away. I am not certain of it was because the main character was a Coast Guard rescue swimmer or if it was the female leads self deprecation that interested me the most. Either way it was a perfect love story with added emphasis on familial love and building your own family with deep friendship. A must read for 2025.

Katie is a video producer in danger of losing her job, but she has been given a lifeline by her coworker Cole with one caveat. She has to be able to swim. The job offered is to interview modern-day hero Hutch and produce a video about his daily life.
One tiny difficulty—she can't swim.
Hutch is a hunky Coast Guard rescuer, who is very upset to find Katie is doing the video instead of his brother - a tiny detail Cole omitted. Turns out the family rift has not been resolved for years. But hey, Hutch has a lot going for him, and the two slip into an easy routine in Key West, egged on by his Aunt Rue and her gaggle of girls.
Katie is very uncomfortable about her body size, and she keeps trying to become almost invisible in the way she dresses. Wearing a swimsuit in front of anyone, let alone hunky Hutch, is scary, but she has to learn how to swim, so the mental battle to do the opposite of what her fear tells her is challenging. Thankfully, Aunt Rue and Katie's best friend give her support and a bit of tough love as she fights through. This part is nicely done without feeling trite.
Towards the end, Cole decides to show up and cause as much aggro as possible, added to by one of the biggest storms Key West has seen and a dog who refuses to evacuate. I loved the dog.
Another enjoyable book by Center. It wasn't as engaging as others, but it has a lot going for it.

As a fan of Katherine Center books, this one filled that aching desire for more. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Love Haters. Hutch is an absolute hunk of a MMC, with such charming traits and impossibly desirable qualities. Katie’s realness with her body issues, self-worth and acceptance really made her character a strong read. Her development is beautiful to read.

Some plot points that I felt seemed confusing, or rushed, were the relationship to her ex-fiance and the aftermath of that, Cole’s lies and the need to urge them on, and Katie and Hutch’s relationship. The ex seemed to keep coming back, but never in a really tangible way. Only through songs and news articles, and I was expecting him to try and win her back to some degree rather than just online groveling. Cole’s lies bottled down to miscommunication tropes, and that took away from Hutch and Katie’s relationship. I would have loved more #Hatie moments, because each one was so perfectly swoonworthy, but still loved this novel nonetheless.

I think The Love Haters might be my favourite Katherine Center book yet.

I love that her books are genuinely very funny — I laughed out loud more than once. They’re also hopeful and the characters feel realistic, even when the situations they’re in are a bit silly.

In The Love Haters, video producer Katie is likely to be laid off unless she takes on a project to profile a Coast Guard rescue swimmer named Hutch. Unfortunately, Katie doesn’t know how to swim.

The peek in the life of a rescue swimmer was fascinating, and I loved the combination of heroic scenes and very silly ones.  Each character also has very realistic trauma to work through.

I read a lot of depressing horror and dark fantasy, so it’s fun to switch things up from time to time with a romance.  Katherine Center’s books are always so optimistic and good-natured in a way that would normally be too sweet for me.  I don’t know how she does it; somehow, I’m completely invested and a little weepy by the end about the goodness of people and the beauty of life.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my review copy.

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center, and while this was not my favorite of hers, it was still a cute read! The love interest, Hutch, was swoon-worthy. The side characters were fun and endearing: the lovable, thunder-fearing dog, sweet Aunt Rue, and cousin Beanie with her body image wisdom! I really enjoyed reading Katie’s journey of self-acceptance. I thought the premise and some of the scenes were a tad cheesy, but this story had a great message. Plus, Katherine’s author's notes always have me choking up ❤️

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the e-arc!

I love Katherine Center! Her books truly make me smile.

When I saw Love Haters I knew I had to jump on it. There were so many things I loooved about this book. I love Katie and I reallllly love Hutch. He can rescue me any day!

This book made me laugh and sob. While there were a few things that gave me the ick and shake my head, especially after Cole shows up, I still truly loved it.

I also loooved the epiphany of loving yourself and the journey it takes to get there. There are a lot of things that I could relate to on this one. Very well done.

Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the amazing opportunity to read this early for an honest review. I can’t wait for it to release to put my trophy on my bookshelf.

Katherine Center checks all the boxes with her writing. I don’t know how she does it each time, but all of her books continue to be consistently perfect. This new title gave me everything: laughter, joy, and tears. The characters were well written and so was the pacing of the book. Not much more to say except this was sheer perfection. Katie and Hutch were so much fun to get to know and to read about- I savored this one, because I didn’t want it to end.

On a side-note, I always look forward to Katherine’s author notes at the end of all her books. Her love and passion for writing always shines through. 💗

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy. 5 big stars!

This may be my new favorite Katherine Center book! The Love Haters is a witty, heartfelt novel about not only finding love with someone else but learning how to love yourself. (Side note, I loved the author's note at the end of the book).

Katie was such a relatable character and I was rooting for her from page 1. Her journey not only to Key West but also learning how to love her body was so real and something I think most women have experienced at some point in their life. I also really enjoyed Katie's relationship with her cousin, Beanie; we all need someone to provide us with unquestioning support and love.

Hutch was a wonderful love interest for Katie; he was quietly supportive and helped ease Katie's insecurities, sometimes without even realizing it. His work for the US Coast Guard was interesting and I really enjoyed reading about their work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an electronic advance reader copy.

Another great read from Katherine Center. I was just telling a friend the other day that she is easily my favorite rom-com writer. The Love Haters is another unique story with engaging characters. Her books are light-hearted and easy-to-read. Can't wait for the next one!