3.5 Stars. This was a cute, light rom com and while I enjoyed reading it and the setting being in Key West, it wasn't my favorite by Kateherine Center. I enjoyed the banter, and the characters were super different and quirky (Rue!!). However, some moments were just too far fetched and unbelieveable for me, like her boss steam rolling her into all of the lies and Katie just 'rolling with it' and the ending. I also felt like there was too much focus on body image, to the point where it didn't even really seem that relevant to the story and the author was just writing it to check off a box. But i did enjoy the banter and it was a fun little book!
Fav Quote: "No one's born fearless. You have to earn it."

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

Loved it! This book is a warm hug in book form and exactly what I needed. Katherine Center doesn't disappoint, and this might be my new favorite of hers. I really enjoyed the main characters, Katie and Hutch.

I adore Katherine Center's previous books and her newest novel, The Love Haters, lived up to expectations. In fact, this might be my favorite one of hers yet. The Love Haters is the story of video journalist, Katie. Katie has been asked to film a promo for the United States Coast Guard. Enter Hutch, a USCG rescue swimmer. The story completely pulled me in and I finished the book in a day. The thing I loved most about this story was how real the characters and relationships were. I saw a lot of myself in Katie and some of her flaws were my flaws. I highly recommend the newest Katherine Center book. I hope you love it as much as I did! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Katherine Center does not disappoint! This book had it all- a wonderful cast of characters, amazing chemistry, witty banter, and the perfect amount of drama. I absolutely loved this story and could not put it down. It literally made me both laugh out loud and even cry a little. And can I just say that I totally pictured Glen Powell as Hutch?!

I am an avid library/Libby patron, and I have to honestly say that I enjoyed this book so much that I will certainly buy a copy when it releases. It's just that good!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exhange for my honest opinion and review.

I was so so excited to get an advance copy of this one thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press. I love Katherine Center, and this book is definitely one of my favorites of hers. The plot in the second half does become a bit more far-fatched at times, and I enjoyed the first half a bit better. But.....this is a romance, and I get the plot choices that Center made (except for that bar scene which was a total bust for me and kept me from giving this a higher rating). I absolutely loved Hutch and Katie and how their relationship grew. Rue might be one of my favorite Center characters of all time! I loved how Center tackled body image and learning to love yourself (and that author's note totally made me tear up). I also loved all of the "fun facts" that Center scattered throughout the book (and if you know me you know I LOVE fun facts). I highly recommend this one, and I am hoping that Center will be in my area again on book tour for this one so I can give her a shout out in person!

I love everything Katherine does, so it’s no surprise that I loved this book. Characters are always fantastic, story is light hearted yet witty. The only issue I have with this book is the title- it didn’t really go along with the story to me, I could never remember the name of it as I was reading. Other than that, it was excellent as always.

I wasn’t sure how this story was going to go because I didn’t really like Katie in the beginning. But then she grew on me and Hutch was great. However, we needed so much more of Hutch!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Setting: Key West
Videographer / Subject
Forced Proximity
Hurt/Comfort

On the brink of losing her job alongside many other colleagues, Katie is offered an opportunity by colleague Cole that she can’t say no to. The catch? She has to fly to Key West for an extended trip and the subject is Cole’s brother that he’s not on great terms with. Katie is put in a situation where she has to lie/withhold the truth to maintain the accommodations and access to the US Coast Guard base and heroic rescue swimmer she is interviewing, Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson.

You can’t help but fall in love with Katie and Hutch — and his dog George Bailey!
Center does a great job building her MCs out with some help from Hutch’s Aunt Rue and her gal pals. She had me hooked on her every word as she brought these two love haters close together through swim lessons, trainings, helicopter rides, rescues, and family dinners.

Center delivers us some serious suspense that I was not anticipating. I read this in just over a day, I needed to know how it ends.

TW: body dysmorphia.
This book isn’t just about Katie and Hutch falling for another, but also about Katie falling in love with her body and changing her relationship with food.

3.5 stars, will round up because I truly loved this book, (it was so close to being a 5 star read!!), but there are two glaring issues I can’t get past.
1. I am too hung up on the lack of closure regarding Katie and her now famous pop star ex fiancé, Lucas.
2. How she let Katie’s colleague Cole, who is Hutch’s brother, absolutely stream roll her and take control of the narrative by showing up with their boss. I felt she was complicit in hurting Hutch and I couldn’t understand why she would go along with Cole’s lies.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC.

Another great book by Katherine Center! Katherine Center’s The Love Haters was unputdownable! From the moment I picked it up, I wanted to keep reading and forget the rest of the world existed. This beautiful story of complicated characters turned out to be romance in more than the usual way. The main character goes on a self-love journey that she doesn’t know she’s even on, while finding friends and the love of her life. Every detail there makes you feel like you are there in the helicopter, in the water, and watching Hutch do shirtless pushups. This story made me so happy!

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I always get emotional when I read a Katherine Center book because she was one of my first introductions to the romance genre. I knew I needed to end 2024 with a book I would love, so without hesitation, I picked up 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴. This story is emotional, hopeful, and absolutely hilarious. It beautifully explores relationships with siblings, parents, friends, significant others, and, most importantly, ourselves.
I think we will all see a bit of ourselves in Katie, the way we criticize and judge ourselves when what we truly need is kindness and appreciation. If you are looking for your next swoon worthy grump and utterly irresistible book boyfriend, Hutch is it along with his adorable dog George Bailey and his fierce and lovable Aunt Rue. The side characters really bring this story to life.
I could go on and on about my love for Katherine Center, but I will just say this: her Author’s Notes are unlike any I have ever read. They might be my favorite part of her books. I will end with a quote from her: “𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧: 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱. 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🩷Forced proximity
☀️Grumpy x Sunshine
🗣️Witty Banter
🥹Emotional and hopeful
🫶Self love journey
🥰Found family
🚪Closed door romance
🐾Cute dog
☝🏼Single POV

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:death of a parent, body shaming, toxic relationship.

👙𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾👙
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓎. 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓊𝓃𝒻𝑜𝓁𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝒶 𝓂𝒶𝓅, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝒹𝓎 𝒾𝓉, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈.”

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕

This book was so cute. Katie was both a relatable and likable character. Of course, everyone will love to love Hutch and love to hate Cole, two brothers at odds. Katie takes to Key West to film a documentary about the Coast Guard where Hutch will be promoting enrollment. Katie goes to save her job, but really only has the opportunity because Cole refuses to face his brother. Of course, there are all the typical RomCom types of actions where comments are misunderstood, people are falling for each other and people show up at an inopportune time. Having been to Key West many years ago, this book took me back, the gift shop, all the colors, dining al fresco, cocktails and of course water and swimming. Katherine Center is one of my favorites when it comes to RomComs and this one did not disappoint. I highly recommend it!
Thank you to @NetGalley, @St. Martin’s Press and the author for this ARC in exchange for my thoughts.
Publication Date: May 20, 2025
Genre: Romance

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I’m a big Katherine Centre fan and this is just another example of a cute, laugh-out-loud, but thought-provoking read. The MC’s struggles with self confidence, social media and body dysmorphia were relatable and you couldn’t not fall for the MMC and the aunt. My only tiny qualm- I get that this book was primarily about the MC and her relationship with herself, but I wish there was just a little bit more about her relationship with Hutch at the end.

Katherine Center does it again! Center is one of my favorites for a feel good rom-com and she did not disappoint with the Love Haters.

Katie Vaughn, a video producer in danger of losing her job during the next set of layoffs, really needs a win. Enter Cole, Vaughns boss who offers her am assignment she can not give up if she wants to keep getting paid. Only problem? Its following a Coast Guard swimmer (who also happens to be Coles gorgeous brother) and Katie can't swim. No problem, right? RIGHT?!

One of my favorite parts of reading Centers novels is she has the ability to make a far-fetched romance seem realistic.. and she is able to do just that in The Love Haters. I appreciated how she was able to interweave Katies body image issues and how those type of issues can effect a budding romance. The chemistry was palpable but also felt attainable. Hutch was the perfect book boyfriend. And her found family at the Inn? Adorable and a wonderful break from the heavy bits. If only I had my own Aunt Rue perhaps my world would be a bit more colorful (not to mention my wardrobe!). Overall, a book I smiled all the way through.

3.5 stars

Videographer Katie might be losing her job after looming rumours of downsizing. When her colleague Cole offers her a job filming his hero coast guard brother Hutch, she takes it despite not knowing how to swim.

The Love Haters is sweet and charming book about self-love. Katie has low self esteem about her body after being ripped apart by online commenters after accompanying her pop star ex-boyfriend to an awards show. At times I found it excruciating being inside Katie's head as it was filled with a lot of talk about her body as well as her best friends attempts to get her to start seeing it in a positive light. Also the first couple of chapters made Kate to be a bit dim. Romance-wish it was a bit patchy with a lot more telling than showing.

I adored Cole and Hutch's Aunt Rye and the gals and how they get Katie out of her head and embracing colour. I did find the plot with Cole and their boss jarring though and felt this was the weakest part of the book.

Touching and heartfelt, though slightly bonkers.

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

I absolutely loved this book! It was filled with romance and adventure as well as many hidden gems throughout the book that makes Katherine Center one of my favorite authors. I love how KC takes a simple story and adds such dimension and depth to it and fills the pages with such deep life lessons that are uplifting. This book will stay with the reader long after the last page in the book and is not to be missed! Put it on your TBR booklist!Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me an advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

I hate to tell you this, but this is a story about love - in its many forms. Katie sets out to make a video - and save her job in the process - but needs a whole lot of help from Hutch. Hutch is just your average (ahem) rescue swimmer for the Coasties. But as with all people, there is more than just meets the eye (but I can’t tell you or it will ruin the story).

I wanted to give this 5 stars, but I just couldn’t do it this time. There are moments in which I want to slap a few of the characters because they are acting idiotic- but hey is t that the way in life as well? Overall a brilliant story, filled with multiple interesting characters, and lessons to take for all in this game of life. Grateful to NetGalley for the early read!

I wanted to love this book, because the RomCommers was one of my top books of 2024. So when I got this arc I stopped everything I was doing to get to read it. It is a good romance, but I did not fall in absolute love like with the RomCommers, we just had a fling. A really good fling. What works? The MMC is a dream boat, perfection on a page pretty much. I also loved the aunt with her fabulous store and hotel! A fabulous Key West Grandmother. What did I not love? There was a bit too much miscommunication and lying, and those are my least favorite tropes. An really they were not love haters. Also the hurricane storyline, as a floridian, just made me want to shout at everybody.

It’s no secret I ADORE any book written by Katherine Center. It never fails that I fall seamlessly in and grieve when the last word is read, realizing it was a story with an end. This book is phenomenal. Tough topics sprinkled in that could be triggering to some readers but presented with the gentle and loving touch that KC executes. Loving yourself is the overall theme and message but I am walking away with so much more. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC and the opportunity to read before publishing date. I hope I never fall off the email list and the person who keeps me on it has the perfect temperature pillow and drink of choice every.single.day.

Read it in May when it’s released!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Katherine Center, I really do, but this book and her last one really didn't do it for me. The last book felt rushed and this one was better, but I feel cranking out a book a year is a disservice to her writing. As much as I love a new release, I feel like it might help if she slowed down a bit so these books can be polished up some more.
2.5 stars

My biggest issue is that the blurb is mis-leading. Sure, it's a rom-com, but in no way does it indicate that body issues/eating disorders/body dysmorphia, severe insecurity and poor self worth are a HUGE component. I actually stopped reading and went re-read the description just to make sure that I was reading the right book.

Be prepared for some cute rom-cominess, hot guy/hero who is humble, stupid lies to throw off the romance, and fun side characters. But also buck up for a extremely heavy dose of self-help and learning to love your body and yourself. It was just too much for me and it all felt a bit dated.

Spoiler starting here....
Oh, and one last thing...how is it that EVERYONE she knew EVACUATED because of an oncoming hurricane and not ONE SINGLE PERSON thought to get in touch with her? Sure, she mentioned she was off of social media, but she was where they all lived and no one bothered to check in on her or make a plan with her? This book is riddled with unbelievable scenarios for the sake of a story, but this one was the hardest pill to swallow.

I will read whatever Katherine center writes. This book was so good and,in classic fashion, had her character facing some challenges. She brings so much heart to her books and I just love it! Although I really enjoyed this one, it isn’t my favourite of hers but still a great read.