As one of my favorite authors, Katherine Center continues to nail romance and self-discovery. In the Love Haters, Katie is on a journey to love herself, be present, take up space and find joy once more. She was jilted by her famous ex-fiance and the internet cesspit of haters damaged her already weak self-image. Now, she has to challenge herself by filming a promo video on the Coast Guard - learning to swim, ride in choppers and perhaps open her heart to love once more. The only issue I have is that her male leads tend to fall flat - very show and tell how great or flawed they are - versus the female leads are so complex.

**Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**

I am leaning towards 3 on this one. Overall, I did enjoy the book and can relate to the issues of body image struggles. However especially near the end of the book I was like okay girl..:
However I was never publicly ridiculed online and told myself to go off myself due to my looks so her feelings definitely were on a different level personally.

I liked hutch off the bat. They did have a installed type of situation but they also developed their rapport over weeks. It wasn’t super dived into as a romance and that’s fine but I think from the cover and title I was expecting something different.

The main conflict with the MMC confused me. It just didn’t feel real and I couldn’t take that seriously really. I wish that was hashed out a different way. It seemed so juvenile for grown men. But also the stakes for the fmc- like what?!

I don’t know. Overall, fine and there were times I really thought it could be really good.
There were just so many directions and problems. The pacing was off and the chemistry just didn’t connect completely on page.
I wish it focused more on a few things to make the connection with things stronger.

A fun summer read! I wouldn't go so far as to call it a rom-com, but this is a fun romp of a book following our main character Katie as she ventures on a trip to Key West to capture footage for her job. The trip is a do-or-die, as layoffs are on the horizon. I loved the setting and the character of Rue. Several aspects were quite unbelievable, but the story was fun and kept me turning the page.

Thank you to Saint Martin's Press and Netgalley for access to the eArc. This title is set to release on May 20, 2025.

Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past—now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can.

Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. And they don’t get along. Next stop: paradise! But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but maybe a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two. Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines

Great if you're looking for a light read! One of the things I love about a lot of Katherine Center's books is how well they dive into different themes and how well they explore them. I felt like that was missing a little in this one.

That said, I really did enjoy this story and getting to know Katie and Hutch. The setting and the story were fun, and the characters were believable. If you're looking for the deeper aspect, you might be disappointed with this one, but if you go into it realizing that it's a lighter read, I think you'll enjoy it!

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own. 4⭐

Delightful romp in the Keys! Producer Janie learns to love her body and face her fears with help from her bestie, a group of Golden Girls, simultaneously learning to swim from and do a promo video of hunky Coast Guard rescuer Hank. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced reader copy for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Katherine Center for the opportunity to read this e-ARC!

Katherine Center's books are absolute gold. Her books are automatic-reads for me. Her writing style is quick and humorous and her characters are quirky and lovable. The Love Haters is no exception. I couldn't put this book down!

This was a 5-star read and I absolutely recommend reading it this summer!

Beginning was a bit much, middle was great, ending was soooo dragged out unnecessarily and the reason this became a three star read.

Overall this was cute. The main focus of this story is love in all aspects of the word. Friendship love, family love, new love, self love, and the biggest one of all: body love. The body dysmorphia was MUCH in the beginning of this story but I did like how it played out toward the end.

The romance was sweet but no way those two last past the epilogue. I didn’t get the chemistry at all but that’s largely to do with Hutch having little personality. He had cute quirks and sweet things about him but I kept imagining Zac Efron in Bay Watch. Maybe my own fault.

This is gonna be a book I’ll likely forget I read, but the in the moment read was enjoyable. Not upset that I read it and finished it but wouldn’t have missed much either!

Read if you like:
🫂 body positivity
🐕 DOGS
🌶️ mild spice (1/5 - two REALLY good kisses)
👵🏼 meddling old ladies
🌊 the sea
🛟 rescue heros

This book was way too focused on body image issues (the first 20% were almost exclusively on the topic), and it was written very immaturely and dramatically.

•Romance • Body Image • Rescue Swimmer Vibes•

📘 My take: There were plenty of charming moments—some laugh-out-loud funny scenes and a super sweet dog that stole the show. 🐾 This had the warmth and heart I expect from Katherine Center, but the pacing felt a little uneven and some character moments left me wanting more.

::WHAT I LIKED::
👉 The main character’s body image journey was thoughtfully handled.
👉 There were genuinely sweet and funny moments that made me smile.
👉 The dog? Total scene-stealer. 🐾

::WHAT I WONDERED ABOUT::
👉 The love interest was dreamy… almost too dreamy. I wanted more layers to him!
👉 The main character sometimes felt like two different people—her emotional journey didn’t always match how she showed up in the romance.
👉 The best-friend dynamic didn’t land for me. Their interactions felt repetitive and one-sided.

::YOU WILL LIKE THIS BOOK IF YOU…::
💘 Crave romance with meaningful themes
💋 Enjoy characters navigating self-worth and starting over
🐶 Love a cozy, dog-friendly read
🌀 Don’t mind when things lean more feel-good than fully fleshed-out

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

With each Katherine Center I read, I find myself loving her books more and more. Katie's got many problems - her love life is abysmal, her job is on the line, and she can't swim. Her not knowing how to swim is a big problem because she has to do a career-making profile on Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. I absolutely adore Rue. She gives off fairy godmother vibes with her meddling. The paradise that she runs perfectly showcases girlhood too. Hutch is a grump but oh so dreamy. This was a great rom-com coming into beach read season. The audio was perfection, which I listened to in combination with the digital copy. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.

Instagram post will be liive before or on release day.

Absolutely love Katherine Center books, however I did not like the body image insecurity.

4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for this arc.

It was a fun, bingeable read, definitely a rom-com and less of a contemporary than she usually write! Great for escapism. If you’re looking for an easy, bingeable beach read, this is it the one for you!!!! :))) And as a former army wife, it was nice to read a military romance and already be familiar with all of the acronyms and training drills. Katherine does such a great job of writing romance while dealing with hard/serious topics. In line with her other books, The Love Haters is wowwww! Not enough words in the world can express how great it is! I loved the characters soooo much I literally was emotional with them. I also sat down and could not put this down, so I read it in one sitting! It is such an amazing read!!!
Kate and Hutch’s relationship was so nice to watch grow, and the whole story way so fun and light hearted, it really flies, before it knew it the book was over!!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thank you so much NetGalley and Katherine Center for giving me this early access to read this amazinggggg book!! Loved it so much!

3 stars for this fun, easy to read romance by Katherine Center. I had previously DNF’d her book The Bodyguard and The Rom Commers by her, but enjoyed Perfect Stranger so I wanted to give this a try.

While I still feel like she may not be the best author for my personal taste, I found myself enjoying The Love Haters the most of her novels thus far. .

The MMC Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson had me kicking my feet the whole book. Who can deny a Coast Guard diver with a Great Dane?! Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the FMC, Katie, who I would have like to seen more than just her struggle with body issues. I 1000% appreciate the effort Center put forth in exposing this extremely common issue, but for whatever reason the overall character didn’t largely appeal to me.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was not for me. The main character spent too much time being stuck in her own head, and i could not feel the vibes of their chemistry at all.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center holds all of the normal charm as her past novels and it was a very slow burn + clean/closed door romance that I always appreciate from her. I will be honest and say that a conversation at the end of the book helped make the title make sense because the entire time I was reading I kept thinking to myself that it just didn't fit especially after her last release was titled "The Romcommers".

Center is very gifted in creating characters that you want to be best friends with and Katie, Hutch, Rue, and George Bailey were no exception. I loved getting to enter their world, to hear about their challenges, their fears, their dreams, and more. Each character went through a lot of growth in the book and at times it felt rushed but it all came together very nicely at the end. The setting was perfection and I want to go visit ASAP, but also I really appreciated how in-depth Center went about Hutch's job/position at the Coast Guard and you can tell she was intentional about everything that she was writing and sharing with her readers.

Overall I believe that readers will love this upcoming release by Katherine Center and I look forward to reading and reviewing more of her books.

Typically, if Katherine Center is publishing a book. I’m reading it and I’m loving it. For whatever reason, this took me a while to get into. Center is known for her unique FMCs, and for whatever reason Katie fell flat for me. All that being said, Love Haters is still an easy and enjoyable read like Centers other works (with the addition of an impossible to hate dog). While this is not my favorite Katherine Center book, there is no doubt I’m reading everything she puts out.

These books are just SOOOO cheesy I can't do it. Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I have tried multiple books by this author because people seem to love them, but I just can't do the level of cheese and incompetence of the main characters.

This book was a really good non-explicit romance. I enjoyed the blossoming love of Hutch and Katie, the brotherly love of Cole and Hutch, and the enemies-to-lovers trope of Katie and her body image. This was really well-written, and the conflicts that arose were NOT expected. Katherine did a wonderful job, as usual, writing this book. I also appreciated the fact that she wrote this romance without any open door scenes, as it proves that it can be done! Will definitely recommend this one to others.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audiobooks, and You Had Me At HEA for the eArc and Alc!

The details:

Katie Vaughn is given an opportunity to save her job as a video producer while her boss has been firing people left and right. What better way to do it than get to video the viral sensation “puppy love” who is a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer who saved Jennifer Aniston’s dog. This gig could make or break Katie’s career. Will Katie be able to keep her job? Or will Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson get her fired before it even starts when the video producer he wanted isn’t the one that shows up?


This was my first Katherine Center so I wasn’t sure what to expect. While I enjoyed the book overall, I think the audiobook made it more enjoyable for me. Katie had a lot of growth in the book (TW for body image in case that is a hard topic for you) and I think it was easier overall to complete with the performance of the audio by Patti Murin, who I think did a great job.

I want to read more from Katherine to see how this one compares to her others. Overall it was a fun read but felt more on the cheesy side of romance books (which is not necessarily bad, but might not be for everyone).

Spice: only kisses

3.5⭐️ no spice
this was a fun bingeable read, definitely a rom com and less of a contemporary than she usually writes. This wasn’t my favorite from KC but this was a silly fun time and I enjoyed it! It is unrealistic, funny, and great for escapism. If you’re looking for a easy bingeable beach read, this is it!
Also was nice to read a military romance and already be familiar with all of the acronyms and training drills i’m already used to hearing as a Navy wife.
The Romcommers is my favorite KC novel though I have that one 5 stars!

Really enjoyed the narrorator on this one too

thank you Netgalley for the ARC