DNF @ 66%.

I 100% cannot believe I’m saying this about a Katherine Center book, but I hated this so much I had to quit. Maybe I’ll pick it back up again at some point, but the Big Conflict that appeared to keep the love interests apart was extremely off-putting and archaic and kind of gross. And the FMC’s body image and history of disordered eating was… confusingly handled.

Center will always be one of my auto-read authors, but this book was not for me.

Another delightful Katherine Center filled with charming characters, a realistic degree of human brokenness and a swoon able love story.

This time it’s Katie - a documentary filmmaker/journalist on the verge losing her job as layoffs loom and struggling to see anything positive after her rockstar boyfriend cheats on her with a pop star and gets super famous.

Cue her mischievous and badly behaved boss Cole who pushes her to take an assignment filming a recruitment video for the coast guard rescue swimmers - namely his older brother Hutch - in beautiful Key West

Bring on the eccentric and lovable aunt Rue and her posse of island gals and Katie is forced out of her black clothes loving shell and must deal with her fear of color and of life in general.

Hutch adds nothing but tension, angst, lust and a 170lb Great Dane terrified of thunder…which leads to more than one awkward situation for the pair.

Solid read - very much enjoyed it - well done!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc! When I get an advanced Katherine Center I have to drop everything and read it!

Katherine Center is forever the author that got me back into reading especially her book Things You Save in a Fire. And this is my favorite book I’ve read since reading that one. (Does that make sense )

So I adore a book that makes you sob as much as the next book girlie. KC is very good and ripping my heart out and putting it back together again. But this one didn’t get to that level. And I sort of loved it. I think it’s her easiest book to read recently.

As always, Katie has such a great arc. She’s dealing with her douchebag ex fiancé and the possibility of getting fired. And she also has a complex relationship with her body that KC calls an enemies to lovers relationship with herself. Body image can be tricky, but this was treated with such care and was very relatable.

I don’t want to rant or spoil anything else. But just know this is my favorite book of November and definitely a favorite of the year. My freaken heart.

5/5⭐️

Katherine Center is finally back after 2 real stinkers! I loved the whole vibe of Love Haters, and I’m craving a trip to Key West now. I’ll try not to hop on a houseboat during a hurricane though.

I love Katherine Center and she will always be an auto buy author for me… but The Love Haters just wasn’t it. The first half I just felt so bored reading. The slapstick comedy was not for me. They played up this ‘amazing, good looking’ man only to barely have chemistry with the main character.

Katie’s ex was introduced like it was going to be a focal point and then immediately fell into the background.

The lies to keep the couple apart? Ridiculous. Cole in general? Down right disgusting.

Katie’s relationship with her body? Relatable.

The best part of the book? The Great Dane, George Bailey.

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

Did I drop 5 fall releases just to start this one... 100%. There is something so special about a Katherine Center book. Her books are full of a special magic where you become part of the characters. I was laughing and feeling along Katie and her journey. Full review to come but starting with this!!

The Love Haters
By: Katherine Center
Pub date: May 20, 2025
Publisher: St. Martins Press
5🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Center always delivers a cute rom-com and this one made me smile. The perfect way to spend my day!

Katie is a fun and quirky character who is has her own insecurities. When she finds out her company is making cuts she takes a unique job. She is a video editor but her coworker talks her in taking a job which requires her to be able to swim.

Hutch is a rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard and she is going to work with him. Their meet cute is under unusual circumstances.

The training for this assignment is strenuous, but Hutch comes to her rescue.

Thank you St. Martins Press for his advanced copy. I love Centers work and she is a hoot. I have had the pleasure to meet her.
#thelovehaters, #katherinecenter, #stmartinspress, #stamperlady50, #romcom

Not my favorite of this author's but to be fair I think I went in with too high expectations since I loved The Rom-Commers. The pacing of this one was a bit off for me I think...the confession relatively early on left me wondering what was left to happen. Still a fun quick read though!

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I finished it! It has a short of movie magic, where the story unfolds and then sits with you and replays in your head nonstop. I loved these characters and the premise of this story so much! The self growth, paired with the charm of cozy cottage life in Key West, and an empowering narrative about the US Coast Guard... I've never read anything more original or deeply profound. My only drawback is that I wish I got more of a conclusion for this couple. I could've used a few more chapters to sum everything up since the epilogue felt very rushed in my opinion!

I'm so thankful to St. Martins Press for allowing me to view this novel early. I can't wait for others to benefit from this magic!

Okay hear me out. I love Katherine Center. And I was absolutely pumped for this book. Unfortunately, the book itself fell short for me. I loved the cast of characters, the setting, and the banter. I also loved that I could picture Glen Powell in the role of Hutch. However, the ending was much too crazy for me, even for a romance novel. I mean come on. The girl would not have survived a hurricane in a house boat with a 170 pound dog. Also the silly lies that the brother made up drove me absolutely bonkers. The conflict could have been resolved way sooner if the two had just talked to one another. I winded up rating this one three stars. It was worth the read, but just make sure you're prepared for a completely out there ending.

Another very cute book from Katherine Center - I really enjoyed the plot. The book is very focused on body positivity. The topic was not my favorite, but her writing is always a treat. Also, I love how her books are not 100% predictable! Great read.

4.5 rounded to 5 stars!

This book was WILD ! I felt the whole story was highly unlikely and completely unrealistic but damn was it ever entertaining. I laughed , cried , raged . All the emotions! Thank god I buddy read this with someone so that I could discuss with along the way! I definitely felt this was different than KC’s other novels, but it was so good , I will always be a fan ! 👏🏻

Out May 20th, 2025 . Thank you SOOO much St. Martin’s Press for the early copy 🙏🏼

One thing I can always count on with Katherine Center's books is the reason I ADORE her books: they will make me smile.

The Love Haters in short is about two people, Katie and Hutch, who claim to hate love..and possibly themselves. While this book does dip its toes into some dark stuff overall it was just an utter delight to read and get swept up in.

With most books I rarely, if ever, highlight a passage. Every time I read one of Katherine Center's book I'm hitting "highlight" in what feels like every page of the book... and the Author's Notes. If you ever read a Katherine Center book DO NOT SKIP THE AUTHOR'S NOTE!! Some of the best writing of the novel is to be found there without fail.

If you need a book to remind you that not only are you deserving of love but most of all that you should be the one giving yourself that love, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Nothing puts a smile on my face quite like a Katherine Center book. I found this one incredibly enjoyable! Was it absolutely and completely unbelievable? Perhaps. But KC accomplished what she sought out to do and delivered a heartwarming, hilarious romcom with her most heroic MMC yet. I laughed at some parts and got misty eyed in others. The found family aspect and the emphasis on learning to love yourself were my favorite parts of the book. I loved Katie’s relationships with Rue and the girls just as much as her and her cousin Beanie (I hope to see more of Beanie one day!).

Overall, a ton of fun with a powerful message. If you’re a KC fan, you’re bound to enjoy this one. Not my favorite by this author but far from my least.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded down!

Soundtrack: The Song “Heart and Soul”
Best heartwarming moment: The Flowers 🌺🌼🌺
Best Heartbreaking moment: Chapter 22 DO NOT PEEK! 🫣

Whenever I get the opportunity to read a Katherine Center book early, I move it straight to the top of my TBR pile! I love the ✨JOY✨ that her books usually bring. But this one missed the mark just a bit for me!

Katie Vaughn really needs her job as a video producer so to avoid being laid off, she accepts an assignment that her boss Cole offers her-and “omits the truth” about her lack of ability to swim.

The assignment: Profile Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.

The reason Cole offers her the job? Cole is Hutch’s brother and they don’t get along.

So, Katie packs her bags and heads to Key West. She will worry about a swimsuit 🩱 when she gets there. (Katie struggles with her body image, and doesn’t own one).

Getting there is a travel nightmare but fortunately her host, Cole and Hutch’s Aunt Rue is there to greet her . (She and her pals, “the gals” are colorful, scene stealers!)

She will take Katie under her wing setting her up in a cozy cottage at her Inn, and with a weekend of swim lessons. Katie is grateful until she meets her swim instructor-Hutch.

Oops! Can’t keep that secret now!

Sounds cute, right? But unfortunately the first part of the books spends TOO much time on body image, and once swim lessons start, the humor becomes too “slapstick” for my personal taste.

But, where it REALLY went wrong was when Cole arrives in Key West with their boss, Sullivan. He is insufferable and his shenanigans and the lies he tells (and the excuses for them!) seem SILLY at best.

Katherine Center can’t write a BAD book, but this just wasn’t a favorite for me. Still, it has its moments-and a rescue Great Dane named George Bailey.

The author does share in the Author’s Note that she loves to write stories about healing, and in addition to Katie and Hutch having a love story, she also considers this to be a love story between Katie and her body-a kind of enemies to lovers trope where Katie learns to let go of the hate of what she sees in the mirror and learns to embrace what she sees instead.

You have got to love that! ❤️

Available May 20, 2025

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

thank you SMP and NetGalley for the advance sneak peak! This is my first book by this author - and I loved it. It's romance with depth. The messages in this book hit so close to home for me - body image, self worth, confidence etc. Alright, so this book is about Katie. Katie was jilted by her fiancée and on the edge of losing her job filming documentaries. To save her job, she omits some truths and signs up to do a promo for the Coast Guard - mainly on one of their rescue swimmers, Hutch. Tom ("Hutch") is a serious, broody and perfect specimen of a rescue swimmer. Not interested in fame or being filmed, he is hesitant to Katie. But with a meddling aunt and her gals, a large dog and some bad weather - the tide starts to turn. Until someone comes to town who turns everything on its head. Will two "love haters" become believers?

Right when I saw this book up for grabs, I had to get my hands on it. I love Katherine Center and her clean romance books. However, I have to say that this might be a little lower on my list of favorites.
First, I felt like the characters weren’t fleshed out all that well. Second, I was hoping for more chemistry or sparks that’d support any ongoing chemistry between Katie and Hutch. Third, there was quite a bit of drama from Katie’s prior relationship but it was only an indirect issue (regarding her insecurities) and never really became a plot point. Finally, there was a ton italicized writing which personally bothered me.

The storyline is cute and I feel like there is a lot of potential to have fleshed out the characters and the romance more. Idk. Maybe the book was too short? Haha that being said, I think I still read it in 1-2 days and enjoyed it as a quick read.

When life feels chaotic, having a new Katherine Center book to become immersed in is a perfect cure. You know that her characters are going to be facing some real challenges and struggles, but you also know they’re going to make you laugh, make you feel warm and fuzzy feelings, and make you fall in love. They’re also going to find themselves in some of their own chaos, which feels good to experience secondhand instead of firsthand for a change.

Katie was a character that I saw myself in, and she’s one I believe many women will relate to as well. She’s in, as Katherine describes in her (superb, as always) Author’s Note, and enemies-to-lovers trope relationship with her own body image. The love story she ultimately finds with herself was quite possibly the most important romance of the book. As someone who has struggled over the past year to adjust to newly prescribed anxiety medication and the effects it’s had on my metabolism and physical self, I want to absorb the messages conveyed throughout this book into my soul. It never came across as being something that is easy or conveyed in a condescending way. It came across as hopeful.

As for the romance between Katie and Hutch, there was also a lot to love there too. Katherine Center’s couples are always so endearing and heartwarming to me, even as they face interference after interference of the universe simultaneously throwing them together and keeping them apart. Hutch was a golden retriever of a man with a touch of Eeyore (we’re mixing animals here but it’s *fine*) and I just wanted to squeeze him. He also had the greatest Great Dane, George Bailey, who was a great character on his own.

I can’t neglect to mention Rue, who had me in Katherine Center’s DMs to say I loved immediately after meeting her. She was a fantastic character and a special woman. The way she was connected to Hutch spoke to her soul and the way she became a mentor to Katie was lovely.

Katherine Center never lets me down. This book came to me at the perfect time and it was such a wonderful escape. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.