I always love a new Katherine Center book! This one had me giggling and kicking my feet. As per usual! But it also dealt with self-love and acceptance. Wholeheartedly recommend!

Katie is your average relatable woman with the same insecurities as many others walking around. What she has that I hope every other woman has is a girls girl reminding her of her worth every. damn. This book is not about that BUT wow, how important is it to have that and how great is it that it was highlight throughout this story? I will tell you again, SO GREAT! Katherine Center has done a beautiful job telling the story of a young woman overcoming the scars of unrealistic expectations and brothers battling through their own family demons. Will new love conquer everything? Will family relationships heal?

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. Once again, Kathrine Center proves why she is one of my favorite authors. Her books are so effortless and easy to read. The characters are always phenomenal and you get invested in their lives. I would highly recommend!

“I’m not really a bright colors person,” I said. But Rue looked me up and down. “ Sweetheart, life is short. Let’s fix that.”

Katie lives in grays. Filming is her passion and safe space. It’s her career and hobby. The only spot where she’s able to live a life of color. She’s got a problem though, her current job is up in the air- the company is downsizing, and she needs to show her worth-so when she’s offered the opportunity to film a promo about the US Coast Guard, that could save her from being fired, even though she knows nothing about them, she says yes, and figures she’ll jump right in and learn to swim later-both literally and figuratively here, folks. What follows is a journey of learning how to love herself, and grasp the colors of life around her.

This is my first book by, Katherine center and I was so very entertained. There are so many things to love about this book: the setting is Key West, Katie has fabulous and colorful cast of supporting characters, the MMC, Hutch is swoon worthy, and let’s not
forget, the Great Dane, George Bailey,

There were many laugh out loud moments for me, and I loved every interaction in this book. The romance is sweet, the friendships are sweeter. Altogether highly recommend.

Katie is good at making documentaries and business video that invokes emotion...that is, she can make people cry. Her production company is doing lay-offs, and her only hope of saving her job is doing a profile of a "hero" coast guard rescuer named Hutch. He is the only brother of her boss, Cole. Cole can't do the assignment himself, so he sends Katie to Key West to do an in-ocean shoot via helicopter. The only problem is, she can't swim! Cole lets her stay with his aunt Rue, a feisty fun lady in her 80's with many friends in villas that is part retirement home, part resort. "The Gals" are a fun comic relief from Katie and Hutch's tragic back stories. Hutch is the subject of the documentary, and also Katie's swim instructor.

With witty banter and interesting facts thrown in, we get to know Katie and how she interacts with the world. She has significant body image issues, but isn't afraid to work on them and take responsibility. Katie is mature and agreeable yet likable. Hutch as a main male character is a bit too perfect. For me, what makes Katherine Center books great is that they have such a strong story beyond the romance. The dialogue is funny and engaging. The backdrop usually has some sort of life saving/accident EMT type and a tie to the entertainment industry. The balance of dialogue to description to narrative is pretty perfect.

If you like a sweet romance with life saving themes, read any Katherine Center book, but this is one of her best.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Book to be published May 20, 2025.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center was a fun and entertaining book that for a little while let me leave my snowy hometown and enjoy life in Key West along with Kate Vaughn and Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson.

When she's faced with the catching disrespect from her ex-boyfriends fans about her body and generally feeling like crud, she takes her bosses request to profile his brother, Hutch, or get laid off. She decides to profile Hutch.

Once in Key West she meets a whole group of people who make her feel welcome, become friends and a chosen family for her. As she gets to know Hutch and his dog, George, life gets even better.

The love story isn't just between Kate and Hutch, but Kate loving herself. That's the best part, in my opinion - her journey to self love.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in consideration of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have loved Katherine's other books, so my expectations for this one were high. I was immediately sucked into the story. I felt like the female lead especially was very relatable, especially in her insecurities. I enjoyed the whole story and wanted to finish and not finish both at the same time because I just didn't want it to be over. One of my favorite Katherine Center elements is the reflective life lesson and this one was excellent on that front.

Katherine Center does it again! Another amazing book! I really loved Katie and Hutch. Katie is trying to save her job and gets a crazy assignment with Hutch. They are both self-declared loved haters. This book was fun and sweet.

This book I could not put down loved it from beginning to end. I would highly recommend!! This isn't like something ie read before.

I actually really loved this book until the end. I could not put it down and kept thinking it would be my favorite book of 2025 already… two weeks in. But then I was SO stressed out when Katie was trapped in the hurricane, but I kept thinking “it’s okay because the reunion with Hutch will be fantastic.” But then it wasn’t. I was SO disappointed with Hutch’s lame reaction to saving the woman he loved. After she almost died. After she rescued his dog. And his pennies. I don’t know- I just wanted more. Otherwise, loved it!

𐙚 Grumpy vs Sunshine
𐙚 Forced Proximity
𐙚 Found Family

The Love Haters by Katherine Center offers a heartfelt journey of self-love wrapped in her signature charm. Set against the inviting backdrop of the Florida Keys, the story is filled with humor, emotional depth, and memorable side characters. This story of self-discovery shines in its themes of personal growth and romance.

Rating: ✰✰✰/5

Thank you for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. ・❥・

Another win for Katherine Center. The Love Haters was a light hearted, fun, palate cleansing rom-com. Enough deapth to keep you interested but enough swoony-romance to warm your heart. Such a great beach read, I just may need to pick it back up by the pool this summer! She is always on my auto-read author list, no synopsis needed.

"𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚."

At the beginning of this book, I thought it was going to be an easy 5-star. It has the typical Katherine Center feel - charming & witty characters, funny situations, and a serious subject that is handled in a safe way.

I loved this book….until about the 70% mark. The storyline with Cole made me SO mad! He was just insufferable to me & I can’t believe that Katie would choose to go along with his lies. 100% HATED it and it honestly just didn’t make any sense to me.

That being said, there wear some really great elements to the book. Though I do think there needs to be a trigger warning at the front of the book, I really liked the love story that Katie went on with herself. Her journey of self-love and her growth I thought was handled really well.

Rue was an amazing side character, as was Beanie. I enjoyed every moment we got from them.

George Bailey was obviously another stand-out. Who doesn’t like a goofy but lovable giant dog?!

Katherine Center books are my go-to comfort reads, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me a bit.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁:
🌸set in Key West,Fl
🌸she’s filming him for work
🌸he’s a rescue swimmer
🌸a Great Dane named George Bailey
🌸he teaches her to swim
🌸HILARIOUS moments
🌸body image struggles
🌸learning to love oneself
🌸he defines the color of her eyes
🌸the Gals

*I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley, however all opinions are my own!

I've never finished reading a book more hopeful about myself. KC often has a great tie up to her books that are more than a HEA - like life being something bigger than finding a partner.

What about a book about finding out love about yourself? Cheesy maybe, but holy crap she didn't pull back on doing it so well!

Loved the characters and their arcs - almost as great as my own.

This was so cute! Katie's quirky insecure personality & Hutch and his sweet easy demeanor were an instant match.
I enjoyed 'the fall' between the two of them and the twist that twisted a second time!
This was an adorable rom-com that is sure to melt your heart and have you wanting more.

Katie is a video producer and her superior, Cole, asks her to go to Key West and produce a video of Hutch Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. He is Cole’s brother, there are a lot of issues between them, and he does not want to go himself. Katie does not feel she is qualified, she can’t even swim, but her job depends on this. Katie was warned that Hutch is continually grumpy and does not like the fame when he rescues people. I loved how she tried to stay on his good side and get Hutch to do the video. It was very interesting to learn about the rescue process, the training, and the mindset necessary to do the job. Katie lives in a cottage on Hutch’s aunt Rue’s property and the woman is a delight. She seems to know just what Katie needs. This is a great book; wonderful character, struggles to accept your flaws, surviving a hurricane, and putting others first.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martins Press for the ARC. This is by far one of my favorite Katherine Center books. This follows Katie who’s a videographer from Texas and Hutch who’s a rescue swimmer for the US Coast Guard and also the brother of her manager, who doesn’t have the best relationship with him. Wild.

It was full of twists, although I’m not sure if all of them were needed. This book made me laugh and cry and took me through the motions. It had me engaged the whole time.

This story in my opinion had 3 love stories. It was very relatable for me how Katie felt about her body image which I really appreciated the dialogue especially in this era of social media.

The Love Haters is a quick little read, but it misses some of the charm and lovable characters I expect from Katherine Center.

What I enjoyed:

* The setting. It’s not quite “another character” as the review girlies like to say, but the Florida Keys seems appealing and welcoming and a great setting for this story.

* The plot is bananas in a mostly enjoyable way. It might bother me from another writer, but wild plots are what I know to expect from Katherine Center.

* Aunt Rue. She’s a hoot, arguably the best character. I wanted more of her and the gals.

What I didn’t like:

* FMC Katie. She’s all over the place and her insecurities feel kind of unearned. This is no shade to people’s body issues, but she might be 20lbs “overweight” if I did the math right toward the end. Her remarkable lack of confidence about wearing a swimsuit feel especially odd to this actual plus-sized reader. Plus, the multiple pages discussing her eating disorder including the foods she ate to keep her calorie count below 1000 a day is far too detailed. I don’t know why we need a blueprint for disordered eating.

* MMC “Hutch” Hutcheson. He comes across as vanilla and underbaked. I wanted something else from him: more intensity, more depth, less discussion of Katie’s eyes, and LESS having to tell her he found her attractive. More showing, less telling please.

* The romance isn’t believable. The chemistry is lacking and is stunted by Katie’s body issues and self-doubt, especially since we are experiencing everything from Katie’s perspective. That I didn’t sense any real steam between the two is a huge miss.

* The dog. My god. If I had a dog scarring my chest and knocking me off balance even once, I wouldn’t be back for more or at least would insist on his owner handling him. I know it’s supposed to be comedic and cute, but dang Hutch, control your humongous dog.

In the end, many elements feel underdeveloped and odd. Katherine Center doesn’t write bad books as a rule, it’s true, but this feels kind of phoned in to me. Will I be back for more from this author? Yes, probably, hoping she somehow taps into the magic of The Bodyguard again.

"I'm saying that when I'm not with you, I'm thinking about you. And waiting to see you again. And we've spent all day, every day together for weeks now—and it already feels like it'll never be enough."

kindness and heroism and sacrifice. the best kind of love stories are never just about romantic love (from the back matter).

✨THINGS AND STUFF✨
-key west, fl
-she’s profiling him
-rescue swimmer
-his main hobby is frowning
-body image
-george bailey the great dane
-jumping out of helicopters and blowing bubbles
-he notices her eyes and refines the color 🥹
-hilariously funny!
-forced proximity
-the conga
-#IsThisAKissingBook closed door.

thank you st martin’s press for the advanced copy!

The two main characters Katie and Hutch were very likeable and engaging. How their relationship unfolded in the Key West was very well thought out and was filled with some hilarious moments. It is all the added nonsense and drama that took away what could have been an excellent book. It felt like middle school/high school drama and added scenes that were not needed. Also, the heavy topic of body imaging, although needed in this time and age, did not flow well with the overall romance comedy of the book.

Thanks NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.