I started giggling and kicking my feet the moment I got the email that I was approved for this ARC, and I didn’t stop until I finished the last page.

Katie is a video producer who gets assigned to shoot a promotional video for the Coast Guard, which conveniently gives her an opportunity to highlight the subject for her side project featuring a “Day in the Life” of heroes. The catch? Her “hero” Hutch is her superior’s brother, with plenty of family tension to spare, and despite his incredible good looks, he isn’t interested in any more spotlight. Despite being told that Hutch hates love, Katie and Hutch find themselves getting closer and closer through the filming process, but a series of lies threatens them from the start.

From the outset, the reader knows that Katie is in recovery from an eating disorder so be warned if that’s a sensitive topic for you. I loved watching Katie’s journey to self-acceptance in all aspects of her life and the ways that Hutch supports and encourages her throughout. As Hutch is in the Coast Guard, there’s also a lot of discussion of water rescues so if you’re an anxious person, maybe just don’t read this one on a cruise.

Other highlights for me include the fabulous Aunt Rue and her Gals (who doesn’t love a feisty older family member to shepherd our heroine?) as well as George Bailey, Hutch’s loveable Great Dane rescue. As always, this is a classic Katherine Center mixture of sweet and heartwrenching and I’ll recommend to anyone who has loved her other work!

Katherine Center is a favorite of mine and I gobbled this book up just like all of the Christmas treats I just ate during the holidays! I can confirm that I enjoyed every delicious thing about this book and it was just the balm I needed to face the post holiday doldrums.
Reading this book gave me so much comfort and joy... and I saw myself in so many aspects of the main character: I definitely suffer from chromophobia when it comes to my wardrobe and my decor. Unfortunately like most women, I am body conscious and perhaps a bit to harsh on myself. Katie's (FMC) journey to self acceptance and self love is one so many of us can relate to. Center's characters are as vibrant as the covers to her book and equally as memorable... and who can resist a loveable gentle giant Great Dane named George Bailey?!?

If you are looking for a bright hopeful start to 2025, look no further than The Love Haters.
Thank you to Katherine Center, NetGalley, and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Love Haters will be available on 5/20/2025 and I cannot wait for you to grab a copy and enjoy!

Katherine Center does it again!

Katie Vaughn is a video editor on a mission to save her job, with a merger and certain cuts looming she knows this next job needs to be her best yet. She is sent to Key West to film a promotional video for the coast guard...problem is that she can't swim. She meets Tom "Hutch" Hutchinson who is a humble yet studly water rescue swimmer...who happens to be her co-worker's brother. The man who is described to her as stoic, selfish, and guarded however turns out to be anything but that. Katie and Hutch work together to face their fears both in and out of the water...

I feel like this book is Katherine Center's victory lap! Its cute, spicy, fun, filled with amazing side characters, and overall just a joy to read from start to finish. There are moments of joy, sadness, suspense, and heartbreak. It's a true celebration of the romance genre!

“No one’s born fearless - you have to earn it. Everytime you have to be brave, you get to be a little braver next time. That’s what life is for.”

Katherine Center TRULY never disappoints ❤️

The Love Haters is so much more than a romance novel, focusing heavily on the never ending journey to love yourself and complex family relationships, this book will tug at your heart strings and make you laugh out loud.

Centers’ ability to give you a deep understanding of each characters past and how it has formed them into who they are, while still focusing on their current life and situations never ceases to amaze me.

Also I have to agree with Katie, “You’re like a human hot fudge sundae” might be the greatest compliment of all time.

It’s only January 2nd and I have a feeling The Love Haters will definitely be amongst my favourite reads of 2025!

I absolutely loved The Love Hater! From the charming Key West setting to the captivating slow-burn romance, this book was a delightful and entertaining read. Katherine Center's storytelling never fails to bring me joy. Katie's struggles with body image were, unfortunately, all too relatable, but seeing her overcome them as the story unfolded was incredibly uplifting. And George Bailey, the lovable dog, stole my heart! His humor and happiness added so much warmth to the novel.

While I usually skip the author's note (sorry!), I decided to read this one—and wow, it was worth it. Do not miss this section! Katherine Center truly is a gem.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!! The way that Katherine Center described each emotion and even the visual descriptions was so thorough that it was easy to get drawn right into the story. The characters were so thoughtfully crafted, with their personalities reflecting real family dynamics that were easy to believe. I loved the comedic relief of George Bailey!!

"The Love Haters" is a quintessential Katherine Center book that doesn't deviate from the formula that has made her a master of romance. Katie is a video producer sent to Florida for a job filming a Coast Guard hero, Hutch. There's the usual will-they/won't they with plenty of chemistry and Center's signature humor. This is a stronger comeback from the Rom-Commers (which I think is Center's worst to date) but Katie still lacks the intelligence and introspection I loved in Center's earlier books. Simply put, Katie is not the sharpest tool in the shed and it leads to unnecessary miscommunication which is one of my least favorite tropes. Still a solid, fast read but I do miss the sheer magic from "Happiness for Beginners."

A laugh-out-loud joyride! The Love Haters will pull at your heartstrings one minute, and make you giggle the next. Excellent characters. Fast moving plot. A read you should definitely add to your TBR, this Spring!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC copy. What a treat!

Of all the Katherine Center books I’ve read and loved (all of them), this one feels special. Like in a, I will become an evangelist for this book, kind of way. Read it if you’ve ever looked at yourself in the mirror and been disappointed, even a little. Read it if you hate bathing suit and jeans shopping, or have made the mistake of reading the comments, or just feel like you need a hug in book form. This is going to be one of my favorites of the year, for sure.

Another fun read from Katherine Center to kick off the new year! While I really enjoyed the story and characters, I didn’t love it like I loved some of her other books. Some things felt a little too surface level and wish it would have dove in deeper to the characters and their emotions rather than getting to start to see it and then move to another scene. All in all though it was a fun read and gets 4 stars from me!

Katherine Center does it again with Love Haters! This book is a heartfelt and beautifully crafted exploration of love, resilience, and the complexities of human relationships. Center's writing is sharp, witty, and full of warmth, making it impossible to put down. The characters are so well-developed and relatable that they feel like real people—flawed, funny, and utterly lovable. Love the balance of humor and depth of story. This book will give you lots of feels, but keep you entertained for sure! Love Haters is an absolute must-read. Katherine Center proves once again why she’s a master of feel-good fiction. Highly recommend!

“She’s grateful for the reminder to be grateful. We all need those once in a while.”
Katie is assigned a documentary job in Key West. This is a lady effort to keep her job.
She is to work with the Coast Guard for a training video.
What she finds in key West is so much more! She has to interview Hutch, who radiates hero !

This book was so much fun, so much about living in the moment and being grateful for what you have.
I loved Katie and Hutch, I loved the Starlight cottages and The Gals!
I want to pack my bags and move to Key West right now!!

I don’t usually do this, but I’m writing a partial review as I am 20% into the latest novel by Katherine Center. I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book because I’ve loved every book of hers I’ve read so far. That being said… I hope this gets better.

So far, I haven’t enjoyed getting to know the main female character. I totally support women with body image issues (and it’s certainly relatable), but it feels overdone. I actually feel sorrier for her best friend, who has to constantly build her up and remind her that she is, in fact, beautiful. How many pages can there be about her agonizing over wearing a bathing suit? Please… let this plot thicken as we get to know more about her work assignment, where she’ll be filming a short documentary about a hunky Coast Guard hero.

Okay, I stuck it out, and it finally gets really good right around the time the hunky Coast Guard’s competitive brother shows up and lights a fire under everyone. Not literally.

I really ended up enjoying it. It finally felt like a Katherine Center book to me once the main character let up on some of the self-loathing. It never entirely goes away, but at least she has other things to focus on for a bit! The ending was quite the nail-biter, and I loved the intensity—it was exactly what the novel needed.

Katie has had a rough few years after being cheated on by her now pop-Star finance spiraled her into a state of deep self-hatred. She is also a filmmaker whose job is on the line with pending staff cuts. When her boss Cole asks her to take on an assignment promoting the Coast Guard, potentially saving her job, she says yes. Except this assignment requires her to shadow the infamously heroic (and hot) Pup Daddy- a viral sensation after he rescued a high profile celeb’s dog. The only problem, she can’t swim and that’s kind of a requirement. Once Katie gets to Key West, she meets a crew of retirees living out their best lives led by Rue, Cole (and Hutch’s) aunt. Hutch is surprised to find Katie is the one documenting him rather than his brother Cole but his anger is quickly tempered as he spends more and more time with Katie. As Katie starts to accept more of herself with the not so subtle nudging by Rue, she opens herself up to the possibility that Hutch may actually like her.. or does he?


Thank you St. Martin’s Press for giving me early access to this book! I was so excited to get the email inviting me to read it.

First book of the new year and started it off with such a great message. In the author’s notes, Katherine Center writes: “Love stories make us better at love. In all directions. And getting better at love, of course, means getting better at life.” I have mixed views on romance novels and the inner cynic of me often struggles with the genre as a whole but I think that’s what makes Katherine’s books unique. For one, I enjoy them (shocking!) and two, there’s always some sort of message beyond the love story; whether that’s learning to love yourself as Katie does in this story or leaning into challenging relationships. For me, Love Haters had me going back and forth about whether I actually liked it. The romance of course was cute, the craziness of Katie’s work situation was entertaining and there was suspense towards the end which I won’t reveal here. I think what held me back was the frequent examination of Katie’s view of herself and self-worth. It hit close to home- which is a scary realization when reading what is supposed to be a fun romance. As a whole, the book was enjoyable, made me contemplate on my own self perceptions and had a fun romance with some drama. With all of that said, I’m giving this one 3.5 stars and rounding up.

A fantastic read! I blew through this. I love Katie and her personal story of growth and self-love. The enemies to lovers troupe was captivatingly told with career details that create suspense. Cole’s character had me wanting to skip parts. Although he is integral to the story, I didn’t enjoy him! It still was a book that I couldn’t put down. Rue and The Gals seemed like a lively bunch that I could picture gabbing poolside. It really was a great read!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. What's better than a work trip to paradise (Key West), a group of outrageous senior ladies, a big sloppy rescue dog, and the hottest man on the planet? This should be a dream come true for Katie, but the pressure of saving her job, with holding secrets and a hurricane could put a damper on what should be the time of her life.

I love this book! Katherine Center always brings the crazy characters, impeccable banter, and HEA we all love; this book is no exception. Add into that an actual hero for the MMC and it is everything you could want in a romance.

I had no doubt I would love The Love Haters by Katherine Center. I adore everything she writes, and this story is no different! Katherine knows how to weave the most beautiful stories, and gives her characters so much heart...I already have my physical copy preordered!

Gosh, I really didn’t like this one as much as I’d hoped. I’m a huge KC fan but this book, while fun and cute in the beginning, became outlandish and cartoonish to the point where I just fell out of the story. The part where Cole comes to Key West was just ridiculous and all of the lying was so incredibly frustrating as a reader! I would have much preferred the conflict to be between Hutch, Katie and her now famous ex fiancé. The brothers’ arguments seemed fabricated and unrealistic. I strongly disliked the unnecessary lies and I fast forwarded/skimmed to just get to the end.

I love Katherine Center and all of her previous books, but this one fell flat for me. The story was intriguing and had me hooked at the beginning, but about 75% of the way through, miscommunication happens because of a bunch of lies that are told, and I didn't like the direction the plot took. It did have moments that I loved and had me laughing, but overall it felt like something was missing. For being a romcom, I didn't feel the connection between the two main characters Katie and Hutch. The epilogue didn't even talk about what happened to them after they got together.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

Holy smokes! Katherine Center just keeps getting better with every book and I was already giving her five stars. Can we make an honorary 6 star just for her? I think so! In this novel, Katie is sent to film a promo for the US Coast Guard to save her job. The subject of the promo is Pup Daddy, also known as Hutch, born as Tom Hutchenson. Per Hutch's brother, he is a love hater. Katie, after being cheated on by a pop star, has also deemed herself a love hater. This book had love bursting from the seams! There was the obvious, this book is a romance and the two main characters are both love haters (ha!), but there was also (1) adoption, (2) self-love, (3) family, and (4) friendship. And when I say these were all there, I mean they were all front and freaking center! I nearly cried at the end of the book, and I never do that. I identified so much with Katie. In this one, Katherine Center also leaves a delightfully sweet and charming author's note that highlights exactly what I was feeling. This one is planned for release on May 20, 2025 with gorgeous teal edges. So mark your calendars and/or get your pre-orders placed! This is a must read for 2025! PS- check the content warnings on this one as the backstory is a bit heavier than others by the author! Thank you to St. Martin's Press Early Reader's Program and NetGalley for my copy. This is an honest review.