What can I say about this. I’m speechless - in a good way. The best thing I can say about this is that Katherine Center tells a beautiful love story, and also tells the story of Katie and Hutch. The truest and most endearing love story in this book isn’t between the two main characters, it’s all about Katie and how she feels about herself. Katherine Center has become my newest favorite author, because she emotionally wears me out every time I pick Up one of her books. If you need a little coaching on loving yourself, this the book for you.

Okay, first of all, this book had me laughing, swooning, and wishing I was on a beach with a drink in my hand. Katherine Center nailed that perfect mix of chaos, charm, and feels that makes you want to devour the whole story in one sitting.

Katie Vaughn? Relatable AF. She’s juggling a messy career situation, past relationship baggage, and pretending she can swim (girl, same — except I don't lie about it). Enter Hutch: a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who’s like... annoyingly attractive but also kind of grumpy? The tension is 🔥, and their banter? Chef’s kiss. Plus, throw in his hilarious Aunt Rue and an oversized rescue dog, and you’ve got a whole chaotic vibe I was fully obsessed with.

But what really got me was the heart behind all the hijinks. It’s about facing your fears, being real, and learning to take a chance on yourself and love — even when it’s messy. Katie’s journey felt so real and made me root for her at every step.

If you love rom-coms with strong female leads, hot coast guard guys, tropical chaos, and a side of emotional growth, do yourself a favor and pick this up. Trust me, it’s a whole vibe. 💛🌴

What happens when you mix a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, a body-image journey, and a dash of slapstick humor? A love story that’s as messy as it is heartwarming. 💕🌊

Read if you like:
✨ Forced proximity
✨ Enemies to lovers
✨ Love-hating with a side of healing
✨ Small-town charm
✨ Big-hearted dogs who steal the show 🐾

Katie Vaughn needs a miracle—or at least a career-saving gig. When her boss offers her the chance to profile a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, Katie jumps at the opportunity… conveniently forgetting to mention she can’t swim. 🏊‍♀️ The catch? Her subject, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, isn’t just a love-hater—he’s also her boss’s estranged brother. What follows is a whirlwind of swim lessons, hurricanes, and stolen kisses as Katie faces her fears, embraces her flaws, and learns to let love in. ❤️‍🔥

Katie is a relatable mess, wrestling with body-image insecurities and trying to keep her head above water (literally). Hutch is the “scientifically good-looking” brooder with a soft side buried beneath his gruff exterior. 🥵🐚 Their banter is electric, but their emotional growth is the real highlight.

Katie and Hutch’s chemistry alternates between sizzling tension 🔥 and tender vulnerability 🥺. Their romance feels authentic, filled with stolen moments and heartfelt confessions. While the humor occasionally veers into slapstick, their connection brings depth to the story.

Aunt Rue and her crew, “the gals,” are pure joy—bringing Key West’s vibrant charm to life. 🌴🍹 And let’s not forget George Bailey, the rescue Great Dane who will make you laugh and swoon. 🐶💖

Katherine Center blends humor with heartfelt moments beautifully. While the focus on body image and slapstick humor might not hit the mark for everyone, the story’s underlying theme of self-acceptance shines. 🌟 Her ability to craft characters who feel both flawed and lovable keeps the pages turning. 📖

Though not Katherine Center’s strongest book, The Love Haters offers a unique twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope by pairing a love story with a journey of self-acceptance. It’s a lighthearted read with moments of emotional depth, perfect for fans of quirky romances and heartwarming endings. 💘✨

QOTD: If you had to take lessons in something you’re secretly bad at, what would it be? 👀

#KatherineCenter #RomComReads #TheLoveHaters #CoastalRomance #EnemiesToLovers #BodyImageJourney #Bookstagram #RomanceReaders #ReadingCommunity

This story will make you laugh, sigh, and cheer for every step toward healing—proving that love, even self-love, is worth the leap. 💫

This book takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster, filled with highs, lows, and every feeling in between. The protagonist, Katie, is deeply scarred by a painful breakup that does more than just make her sad—it shatters her self-image, leaving her feeling empty and afraid to embrace who she truly is. Her journey takes her to Key West for a video assignment, where she meets Hutch, a Coast Guard swimmer who becomes the focus of her story. Their immediate connection helps Katie see herself in a new light as she navigates this transformative chapter.

I was captivated by the depth of the characters and their emotional growth throughout the book. The supporting characters were equally delightful and added richness to the overall narrative. While romance isn't the central theme, it remains a subtle and ongoing thread throughout the story. Katherine Center has a remarkable ability to craft stories that leave a lasting impact, changing the way you see the world as you read. I highly recommend this book.

First, let me say I feel bad for leaving this review because Katherine Center is one of my all time favorites. However, this was a miss for me. I just could not relate to any of the characters and really disliked Katie and Cole. I know Cole was supposed to be unlikable, but he was awful. I can appreciate the struggles with her body and confidence that Katie was working through, but I felt like the story leaned too much into that piece. I mean, toward the end during a very big event, Katie was more focused on her body image than surviving. It was too much. Not sure what to say about Hutch. He was made to be perfect, and kind of was. Would have liked to see more push and pull within for him and maybe some of his perspective. This was really a self-love story. I do think the epilogue helped and broke down the learnings from the book and that was nice. For me, this is a library rental.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I aboslutely devoured this book! KC has a way with words for sure, and this one is that excellen slow burn romance with plenty of "woman getting her groove back" brilliance.

I love any book by this author...but I have to say 1 of these characters really tested my patience. That's why I can only give it a 4 star. The storyline is witty. I laughed out loud at places and felt other emotions at places. I left this book feeling both relief, happiness and changed. The author's notes were some of the best I've ever read. These make it a 5 star. I highly recommend this book. Like her others, you're guaranteed a ride of emotions as you read. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #TheLoveHaters

I love Katherine Center’s books, and this one did not disappoint! I was so excited to read this one and put aside other books to get it done. I’m happy I did! I loved the characters in this rom-com. There is a funny and strong female main character, a hot male love interest and his quirky dog, and older female friends with Rue and The Gals. Katie’s voice lends humor and self-awareness to tough life topics such as low self-esteem, online bullying, and learning to love herself again. When a work assignment takes her to Key West where she encounters a hunky coast guard rescue swimmer, she is faced with a few problems such as she doesn’t know how to swim and she doesn’t know if she can deal with hard things. Through this heartwarming story, we watch Katie grow and evolve to view herself in a positive light and live the life she loves. This was a great read! Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the eARC.

4.5 stars FMC and MMC were complex and developed further throughout the novel.

Overall, it was a sweet romantic comedy that had added depth and insight.

Seeing the journey that the FMC goes through as she experiences emotional trauma regarding her weight and appearance adds both depth and heartbreak to the plot. This heartbreak leaves space for others to react to her trauma, increasing depth and complexity of MMC and FMCs cousins/beat friend as well as the “villain” of the story, her ex boyfriend.

Reading through the emotional trauma journey of the FMC may be helpful to those experiencing this same type of abuse. I needed to apply the transformative power of storytelling to myself.

When I began to read, it changed me as a person, and a parent. I found that I could overcome trauma by reading and finding hope in the stories of others who had also experienced trauma.

Through the story, the reader is able to see not only the perspective of the FMC but also varying reactions of others in her life. This may alter the perspective of the reader and actually empower her/him.

The FMC states at closure of the novel that she appreciates the contrast between her past self and who she became by the end of the novel. She acknowledged that she became resilient.
“People are resilient. We keep going. We find all kinds of ways to thrive anyway”. The FMC goes on to reflect on support from her best friend, Beanie.

Thank you for sharing this ARC with me. I really enjoyed it!

This book was an easy palate cleanser romance that I finished it in two days. The type of book that brings you joy, an escape from reality and maybe erring on the side of make believe.

The very high level overview of the book is that the main character, Katie, is sent on an assignment to shoot a promotional coast guard video. The subject of the video is a handsome and kind hero, who also happens to be the brother of her superior at work. She flies to location to spend all of her time with Hutch (the main romantic interest) and how could they not fall in love if they spend all of their days together? It's hard to tell when she has an untrustworthy co-worker and an ex-boyfriend who happens to be a famous pop star who writes a song about making a mistake in breaking up with her. There is no spice in this book, just a sweet romance story.

The main character is relatable to most millennial women who grew up in the age of almond moms. At first I found her to be a bit insufferable, but later in the book it redeems her for me. I appreciate her journey to self acceptance and love to see that sort of positivity modeled in books for women, at any age. Meanwhile, Hutch as a character is dreamy and seems way too emotionally mature to be a real person. He's almost too likable! And Rue - she reminds me of the Aunt in "Don't Forget to Write". I liked her character along with "The Gals" in this story.

There are a few plot lines that left me wanting more (spoilers):
- Her ex-boyfriend. He is mentioned a lot but if he was so upset they broke up that he wrote a song about it and released it, why did he never make contact? I almost wish he showed up instead of the Cole situation.
- Cole. I could have done without the drinking challenge & prize. That felt very ick but I suppose you are supposed to hate him.
- The storm situation seemed a little too much and totally unbelievable. I think maybe that was the point?

There were parts of this book that were predictable, a few things that surprised me, but overall, a sweet book that I had fun reading.

Katherine Centre always brings heartwarming stories, full of love, light-hearted banter, laughter, and character growth.
If you want a book that will make your heart smile, this is the one for you.

The Love Haters is absolutely fantastic and I’m sure will remain one of my top reads of 2025. The characters are well thought out and really come to life in the pages. My favorite character, of course, is George Bailey. I’m a sucker for a giant dog with a giant heart. I love that this love story was not only between two people but also between Katie and herself. Katherine Center has become one of my top one-click authors. If she writes it, I’m immediately going to read it, no questions asked.

This book is fun and quirky with just enough heart to make it interesting. The Bodyguard is still my favorite from this author but this is probably 2 or 3. Also I really love George Bailey and Rue.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for any early copy.

3.25 stars

I love reading Katherine Center so I was so excited to read the eARC of her newest novel, The Love Haters. I grappled with the review of this book. While I adore her previous novels, by 39% of the book I thought to myself - What else can happen? It still has 60% to go and it seemed to be going on forever. Normally I would read a book like this in 1-2 days but it took me almost a week! I liked Rue and The Gals - they were so cute - and Hutch was swoon-worthy (but how doesn't he know he's so hot?!) Learning about the Coast Guard and the rescues was interesting. I also yearned for more romance between Hutch and Katie.

The problem I had with Katie was two-fold: Firstly, her famous ex-boyfriend - I was expecting him to come back into the picture - so I was a bit disappointed he didn't. Secondly, the inner dialogue Katie had with her body issues and various phobias was exhausting. I skimmed a lot of it because it was the same thing over and over. I understand about hating your body and having fears but it was too repetitive and overdone. However, I enjoyed how Katie grew as a person and how far she had come by the end of the book. I did not like Cole at all. The whole lying fiasco was so far fetched; I do not think that Katie would have gone through with it. I was mad that she did (very unlike her character by that point in the book). Cole was a (very) unlikable jerk that caused so many issues - which made me roll my eyes and mutter 'as if'. While it wasn't my favourite Katherine Center novel, I enjoyed it for the most part.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

First and foremost, thank you to the publishing company and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

What a fun little romance.

My favorite part of the story is the lovable sidekick, George Bailey who is a goofy Great Dane.

I know you’ve heard me say it before- I’ve never met a Katherine Center book I didn’t like! The Love Haters had a fun mix of people with big personalities, even if it made them less than desirable people. The story had some curve balls, some laughs and some ugh moments. I never know what to expect from a Katherine Center book, I rarely read what it’s about before I open it- I just know it’s going to be a good read!
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed this book as I do all by this author. However, I found one of the characters (Cole) absolutely terrible and found myself getting very annoyed and angry with his character in the book. I understand the need for an antagonist but his character was a bit too unbelievable for me.

Anything that Katherine Center writes, I will read as soon as it’s released. This book was no different and is a must read!

I loved the depth of the book and how the characters evolved throughout. I loved Katie and her growth and the romance was very sweet as well. I do wish there were some more chapters and interactions between her and Hutch. The secondary characters were also great and really added to the story with funny moments and adding to Katie leaning to accept herself. As so many people struggle with body issues, the book handled the topic in a really sensitive way.

I also loved learning more about the Coast Guard through this book too!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Katherine Center gives a wonderful romance that transforms into such a deeper beautiful book. On the surface it’s a rom com like book but once you dive in it because about self love, self strength, relationships with parents, siblings, cousins and friends. It’s a book about life and ultimately how books can save you, can help you.

THE LOVE HATERS is a must read by Katherine Center a book that is fun and hilarious but deep and you finish this book with a love story you didn’t expect, a love story with yourself !

The authors note literally made me fall even more in love with the book. It was all the words I couldn’t think of myself in describing what reading has meant to me in my life. Thank you NetGalley for this book!

This book is for all the people told to "suck it in" when they were growing up. I really loved this book. While it was a romance between Katie and Hutch it was also a love story between Katie and herself. I loved Beanie and the support she was to Katie. The only thing this book was missing for me was a few more scenes between Katie and Hutch - specifically one more before the epilogue.

*arc received for free in exchange for an honest review*