I’ve always been a Katherine Center fan after reading her novel the Bodyguard. This book is no different and I devoured it in one sitting. It did take a bit for me to get into, and found the first chapter a bit rough, but overall enjoyed it.

While many of these books are often predictable I always appreciate the “twist” the author throws in part way through.

Devoured this beautiful story of a videographer learning to love herself while falling for the Rescue Swimmer she’s filming for a promo for the Coast Guard. Katherine Center did an amazing job of making this a light hearted, beach read with deep, healing undertones. Katie only wears nondescript black and hates everything about her body, ultimately she’s afraid of being seen and rejected, but as she travels to the Florida Keys and meets a slew of characters she slowly accepts herself one body part at a time. The genius of this novel is that Katie isn’t really described, she could be any of us and it doesn’t really matter what she physically looks like, but in how she learns to love herself. Obviously, I loved the main characters, but George Bailey (the Great Dane) and Beanie, her best friend/cousin, who forces Katie to name 10 things she loves about her body; and the colorful, elderly Rue stole the show. Thoroughly enjoyed this one and thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

This book is the kind of book everyone should read at least once in their lives.

We follow the character of Katie, a girl from Dallas who is sent to Key West to shoot a promo video for the US Coast Guard. The person she's interviewing is called Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. As the time passes Katie and Hutch grow closer, but things aren't as simple as they seem. So the question is, will they find a way to be together, or will they let life's plans mess with what they have?

This book made me feel everything. I laughed, I loved, and I cried. The characters were not only funny, and cute together, but they were also relatable, which makes the story a thousand times better.

I feel like when a book manages to make you cry or laugh out loud in the comfort of your own room, it not only shows the incredible writing that the author is able to accomplish, but it also shows how deeply we can immerse ourselves in a story.

I love it when a book makes me feel because then it feels real, it feels like I'm in the story, not like I'm seeing words on a screen or paper, but as if I were another character seeing everything unfold in front of me. And when you want to forget about life for a little bit that's exactly what you're looking for.

This book was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ book. I can't wait for it to come out so I can finally talk about it, meanwhile just know you're going to love it.

Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this ARC.

The Love Haters
Author: Katherine Center
Pub date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

This was such a fun read. This book offered many laugh-out-loud moments when reading through this cute, closed-door romance. The book covered some issues like body issues, and the importance of self love. It read like a love story between man and woman, but also the main character learning to love herself. The sweetest part was the rescue dog and his pet toad!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I really enjoy Katherine Center as an author and this book did not disappoint!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. First of all this book needs a trigger for eating disorders big time. That being said, I really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were creative and I liked the love story between the two main characters. I also really enjoyed the journey of self discovery the main character went on with her body issues. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Let me start by saying, I LOVE a Katherine Center book. I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this was available. But… it was a little lackluster for me. I did find parts really funny and I liked the characters banter. However, the biggest problem for me was the immaturity of the 3 main characters… with the exception of Rue. It’s hard to believe they were functioning adults in the real world with jobs. I also didn’t really buy the romance? Overall, it was okay for me.

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

Katherine Center is an autobuy author for me. She never misses! I loved this story. The Love Haters was just as charming, moving, and witty as I was hoping!

Katie’s very intense struggle with loving herself is so relatable! I really liked that Katie had some learning and growing to do that was an independent journey, outside of the romance part of the story. The message was ultimately very heartfelt and hopeful.

And Hutch! Phew, what a man! He really checked all the boxes for me: hot but unaware, kind, generous, wears a uniform, heroic, pet dad, and loves his family. Swoon!

ALSO I love any book that has a lovable pet. George Bailey fan club unite!

I really enjoyed the promotional Coast Guard video aspect and I could imagine very clearly all the footage Katie was getting. I wish I could go on YouTube a watch it.

I really liked Beanie’s friendship and self-love encouragement but was confused why Beanie kept bringing up Katie’s ex-fiancee (his interviews, his song, the posts about her body) when Katie very clearly removing herself from all that. It seemed counter-intuitive to me.

TW: disordered eating, body dysmorphia, body shaming

Katherine Center is always a must read with her knack for writing a romance with a great buildup. This book definitely dipped a toe into the self help category but it hit the spot nonetheless. This book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange an honest review

Okay, I read everything Katherine puts out, but this book was the top of the top! I finished this yesterday and cannot stop thinking about it. This book had me on the edge of my seat in so many different ways. George Bailey is a perfect character and Hutch is walking perfection. I loved Katie's enemies to lovers internal battle it was great to watch her learn to love herself. As always, the author's note was so beautiful. "So welcome to another installment in my infinite series on why love stories can save the world."

I am so happy I got an advanced copy of this from NetGalley, but I can't wait to buy my own copy as soon as this releases!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

There is a reason why Katherine Center continues to be one of my favorite authors.

Somehow she always writes relatable characters that are soul healing. I feel like among the love story in this book, her other main themes were body positivity and childhood trauma. The main character, Katie is learning how to love herself again and that’s a very real woman to me. The story is heartwarming, hilarious, engaging, and honestly…inspiring. I walked away from this book feeling like I could also love myself more. And my absolute FAVORITE quality about her books in none of the stereotypical love triangles or enemies to lovers tropes. Katherine always has a fresh take, makes a deeper connection to humanities, the good and the dark, for better or worse.

I started and finished this book in the same day, I just couldn’t put it down! The Love Haters will fill that scratch of needing a dose of Joy as well and leave you with something to think about for your own life. Thank you once again for writing an amazing book!

Thank you for this NetGalley ARC of The Love Haters, Katherine and St. Martin’s Press! I usually love his author’s books (meaning: they’re a 5/5 for me), but for whatever reason, I was able to connect with the characters in this story, The Love Haters. Even though the setting is in Key West, I felt like the details were stereotypical. As someone in recovery from eating disorders, I would’ve liked a content warning at the beginning of this book, as this story’s main character has them and they’re blazing. One thing, Katherine Center does well is paint the scene, and she did just that in this book. I felt like I was right there with the main character the whole time. I felt what she felt, saw what she saw, heard what she heard, and smelled what she smelled.

If you can explain WHY this book is called The Love Haters, I’ll give you a million dollars.

I got this ARC of the latest book from one of the queens of The Fluffy Closed Door Rom Com from NetGalley. She’s always been pretty reliable, even if I always feel like she’s trolling me with the sexlessness of it all. The trolling continues. Hard.

OK so. It’s fine. It’s kinda funny in parts, (random-ass) things happen… but are they interesting? Meh. Is there depth? No, sir.

She’s a video producer assigned to the Key West Coast Guard to profile a rescue swimmer. She can’t swim and has insecurities/is recovering from an eating disorder. He is… hot and likes dogs?? Jennifer Aniston is involved in this thing too. I shit you not. Random as hell.

Something that bothered me the whole time: The title of this book made zero sense. There were no love haters here. I thought they’d be commitmentphobes or something? There were no “I’m anti-love” proclamations. She had a public breakup recently, but even that didn’t seem to be a thing that made her bitter or anything.

Why the title? Honestly. I need to know. I think the author just wanted to get a free “research trip” to the Florida Keys, and even that wasn’t that in-depth. Maybe she just watched The Weather Channel during hurricane season.

It’s fine, but I don’t know who I’d recommend it to because it seemed completely without point. All surface level, no depth… maybe for teen girls who want to have some ‘you can be brave’ inspiration? And like big dogs? IDK.

I read a lot of books…. This wasn’t worth my time. Yet was harmless. So… I guess a begrudging-3 about sums it up.

I was super excited to have the chance to read this book early. The story was charming and fun. I like that it included some wholesome elements that aren’t super common to the genre. The side characters usually just seem like they are there so the MC has them to wax poetic to but in this book they were so fun! I want to hang poolside with Rue and the Gals. I enjoyed how this book had a cozy feel but managed to throw in some suspense before we hit the HEA ending. One star deduction due to the initial pacing being a bit slow and the book not drawing me in right away. I am glad I powered through and read the book in its entirety though. Once I got to the point where I was hooked, I stayed up until 2AM to finish it.

Special thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for early access to the book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Summary:
Katie and Lucas got engaged the same night his TikTok went viral. When he blew up she was thrust into the spotlight and the internet was not kind to her. It certainly didn’t help that he cheated on her with another celebrity. Single, a year later, as a videographer by profession, her boss sends her to Florida to shoot a coast guard recruitment promo staring his perfect swim rescue brother, Hutch. While she’s there, she focuses on learning to love her body and seeing herself as others do, including certain member of the coast guard.

Thoughts
With the title, I was expecting and enemies to lovers or a grumpy sunshine troupe. But, instead it felt like the real love story in this book was one of self love and body positivity. The story also took you on some twists that were executed surprisingly well when given the pages dedicated to those plot twists. I found myself laughing and nodding in agreement and overall enjoying the read.

This was such a fun summer read!! I loved how it read like a rom-com. The setting being in key west was also so fun and summery. The mental health representation was a great addition to the story, it added some depth to Katie and it was fun to see her growth throughout the book. Truly such a fun read! 🌺

In a desperate plea to keep her job, Katie agrees to go film a video about the Coast Guard. Turns out the man supposed to be profiled, Hutch, is grouchy and hates love. You can see where this is going! This also has impeccable summer rom com vibes.

The characterization was great. Katie is so relatable being a chromophobe and struggling with her perception of herself. I love that the book took her on a journey to accepting and loving herself as she is. It’s a really wholesome message. Hutch was everything I would ever want in a fictional man. The only thing I didn’t love about Hutch was that he was so hot-and-cold, and Katie even calls him that at one point. That’s more of a personal preference to me, but he was still hot-and-cold even after the plot was more explained later on.

Katherine Center knows what’s she’s doing when she is putting together her stories. They always seem so concise and little things that get referenced come back later on as callbacks. Center also doesn’t shy away from tough topics, and this book covers the main character’s past eating disorder/weight insecurity.

The characters make a huge deal about not dating anyone for a year and that making them “love haters” which is a little ridiculous. I don’t think it fully makes sense other than that being the book title.

I LOVE a book with a dog that has a good story and interesting name. George Bailey sounds so cute, and I loved that he is such a big part of the book.

The ending was so good! I think the more I read, the more I liked the book. Things got pretty intricate and tense at the end.

A very small thing that bugged me was the name “Beanie” for a side character. I don’t know why it bugged me, but I really couldn’t get over it while reading because it is a weird name.

The book offers plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but it also has a lot of heart. It’s not just about finding love; it’s about personal bravery and learning to navigate the messiness of life.

The Love Haters
⭐️2/5
Pub Date: May 20, 2025

From the blurb, I was expecting this to be a book about two people who, burned by love, were adverse to it now, with an FMC taking a job she was unqualified for to avoid getting fired and an MMC who was not gonna fall in love, no sir. I was expecting there to be some lying about her qualifications and that that would likely be the primary conflict.

This book felt nothing like the blurb. The points it highlighted feel like such small aspects of the book in my opinion. There is a lot of body image discussion with the main character (which I’m not opposed to in books of course), but I do think it should’ve been called out in the blurb for how prominent it is to the plot of the book. I was also expecting swimming to be a huge point in this book and it felt barely mentioned. The reasoning for taking on this job and for going along with the coworkers lying felt very weak and not well developed. Their motivations didn’t really make sense to me. I didn’t understand why Katie would be inclined to go along with Cole’s lying. I know on paper it was for the Aunt‘s sake, but it really did not feel like a strong enough reason in execution. Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

Such a cute romance! A film maker who cannot swim is sent to get footage of the Coast Guard and in particular one man who does not want to be on camera. What could go wrong! I loved that both characters were likable but not perfect. And there’s a dog, who doesn’t love a great dog owned by a man who seemingly hates love. It was an easy read and while I felt like r the middle went a bit slow, the HEA was adorable.


I really enjoyed The Bodyguard and I will say something about this book just didn’t hit that same mark. I feel like the characters leaned a little too hard into their tropes/stereotypes which made them feel a little less real and a little less easy to connect to.

I’ve enjoyed every book I’ve read from Katherine Center, but this might just be my all time favorite. I absolutely ADORED every page.

Starting with the relationship between Katie and Hutch, there was incredible banter, chemistry, tension - it had all the things that you want in a romance.

What really took this book to a whole other level though was the relationship Katie had with herself and how that developed throughout the book. Truly healing to read and I love that Katherine Center included that in this story.