Due to various personal reasons I’ve been unable to concentrate enough to read a book since the end of October. Katherine Center’s upcoming novel “The Love Haters” was exactly what I needed to break me out of my reading rut. I’m a huge fan of her delightful rom-coms. You can always count on intelligent women great banter, and a hot guy. There’s always a serious theme that every woman can relate to. In this case, it’s body image, self confidence and fear. Katie’s journey to love herself was so compelling to me, I felt it in my soul. There were a couple of over-the-top moments but overall, I loved (and needed) this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy.

Katie’s job is on the line so when her boss comes to her with an opportunity to prove her worth to the company, she doesn’t hesitate to head to the Florida Keys to create a recruitment video for the US Coast Guard despite the fact she can’t swim. Her main subject, Hutch, is by all accounts the most scientifically attractive man she’s seen. While spending almost all day together making videos, Katie and Hutch’s relationship grows. That is, until Hutch suddenly goes cold with no explanation.

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center. She’s almost always my answer when asked my favorite current author. However, this book fell apart for me near the ending when some of the events were a step too far for me. Still, the banter was on point. The side characters and small side plots were great so it still is a 4-star read for me.

Are you kidding me??! This book was everythingggg! Hutch and Katie!! Wow! 5 stars! Such a fast paced read.

Katherine Center does it again. Another five star read. Let me just say, I could read about men in the coast guard all day long. This book was so good! I loved the characters and the relationship building. I’d put this book right behind the Rom-Commers (which I loved) and right in front of Hello Stranger and the Bodyguard. Highly recommend!

The level of excitement I had when I opened my email and saw the published offering for me to read this one, is like a kid on Christmas. And it did not disappoint. I'm talking, stay-up-too-late-to-read-more-even-though-you-have-the-stomach-flu kind of did not disappoint.

I loved the self-love in terms of body image plot, backstory, and characterization. Gosh, what woman isn't going to find herself in Katie's journey with that? It had a wonderful message without being preachy about it. Body image issues can be so easy to laugh at, roll eyes at, or just dismiss even though we've all gone through it. I loved that the MMC wasn't the one to "save" Katie from it. She had her own journey and her own conclusion and fight, and that was so wonderful to see.

Katherine Center has such a way with deep, developed characters who are just so real. She has such a way with leading men too, oh my gosh. Hutch is up there with Top MMCs, for sure. The subtleties, the sensitivity and care, the dedication. And that was just the meet cute!

The thing I utterly adore about Katherine Center's writing is the depth she gets to while also keeping the writing short and snappy. I love that she's so dialogue heavy, but I love that she's so dialogue heavy and it never suffers the plot. She does so much with so little and crafts the perfect Romances With Depth and Feeling. Her stories are inspiring and feel like a warm, tight hug after a long, hard day. Just something you can absolutely sink into and get lost in.

The Third Act Conflict was unexpected, hilarious, sad, scary, funny, heartwrenching, and all in the best ways. It wasn't a standard Romance book break up, but was a culmination of everything going in the book before and done perfectly. It was exciting and riveting and you just HAD to know what happened next!

My only complaint would be that it ended too soon!!! The epilogue was nice, but it was lacking in satisfaction because I just wanted to see them together! The epilogue was a standard Katherine Center epilogue in which you kind of get a quick rundown of everyone/everything and they're all always wrapped up nicely. And I don't dislike those epilogues, and in fact, I've liked them in other Katherine Center books. I just wanted mooooore this time.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC, but mostly Katherine Center for writing such a great book that gave me the warm and fuzzies, made me HAVE to keep turning the pages (the stomach flu line wasn't a joke), and made me fall in love.

I adored this book! Such a heartwarming and wholesome story with engaging characters. I laughed out loud, cried, and cheered reading this book. Absolutely a 5 star read! I'll be recommending this to all my friends!

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Katherine Center....I would read her nightly musings, I would read her grocery list, I would read her texts. There is nothing I would not read and ultimately love.

As is the case, AGAIN, with the Love Haters.

Katie Vaughn, after finally piecing her self together a bit after a devastating and very public breakup, heads to the Keys to take a stab at saving her job as a videographer. One little hiccup: the subject of her next video, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, a member of the Coast Guard is a rescue swimmer where Katie doesn't know how to swim.

Katie is thrown into a world of color along with a beautiful cast of characters that make her previous, drab life swing into full bloom.

So many layers, bittersweet, funny, and heartbreaking. Made for another wonderful read by one of my favorite authors.

This book was not for me BUT I think it’s because I’m just burnt out on contemporary romances. They’re all starting to feel the same to me. I will say, as a fan of this author, it’s got her signature humor and charm and the storyline is a unique one. Even though it wasn’t for me, I think it would be for anyone who enjoys the contemporary romance genre.

“You couldn’t hate love, could you? Was that even allowed?”

Katherine Center really crushes it with this upcoming novel!

It’s my favourite of hers to date. I truly appreciated the opportunity to ‘let myself go’ and ‘see myself differently’ and because of this, ‘The Love Haters’ became such a nourishing read for me. What a great story to end the year. Not only do I have a vision for my 2025 journey, but will step into the new year with a positive attitude.

I had a permanent smile while reading this one. Center’s sense of humour was just the best kind of therapy. She encouraged me to love myself, see new ways of understanding things and drew my attention to things I needed to learn.

Confession: I’m a chromophobe.

My closet is half navy, half black. That’s got to change.

I loved the focus on vulnerability and the slow-burn attraction between Aviation Survival Technician First Class Tom Hutcheson and documentary filmmaker, Katie Vaughn. Center invited me into her story, activated my mirror neurons and stimulated personal growth.

I reached for Google to learn about Burma-Shave and brontophobia and decided that 2025 will be about the culture of appreciation and allowing sea breezes to flow through my cracks!

“No one’s born fearless. You have to earn it.”
“Release my thighs out into the wild.”

You MUST read this one. It’s prescriptive reading.

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

I am in my happy place having finished Katherine Center's newest book The Love Haters. Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook.

As always a solid 5 stars for me! Again Mrs Center develops a great story about finding oneself and their place in the world. Our MC is lovable and a bit lost in her life's role. Katie is a video producer whose job is on the line. As a last resort she agrees to a job which challenges her biggest fears. Along the way she meets Hutch who is as puzzling as any man can be, but this one is a hero!
I cannot tell you more other than READ this book! Too disclose more of the storyline would just ruin it for the reader. Follow Katie along on her new assignment in the Florida Keys as she meets new friends and loves, not to mention a very lovable Great Dane!

Cannot wait for her next book, until then I'll just have to re-read all of the others :D

3.75 ⭐️! Thank you NetGallery and Katherine Center’s team for the ARC! This book was really good, I loved the storyline and the characters development. There were parts that seemed like filler content but overall, we stan Hutch and George Bailey!

FIVE HUGE STARS!!

So, I discovered Katherine Center when The Bodyguard came out and it became one of my annual re-reads. I love that book so immensely. It is fun and serious and action-packed and full of well-rounded and slightly flawed characters. Chef's kiss!

Center's subsequent books have been really good and I have enjoyed them all, but perhaps not at the same level as my love of The Bodyguard.

Well, that is about to change because The Love Haters is here and it is right up there with The Bodyguard for me.

Why, you might ask?

Well, The Love Haters has Katie and Hutch and Cole and Rue and The Gals and Sullivan and of course George Bailey. They are flawed and humorous, have pasts that they are dealing with and at the same time are doing what we are all trying to do.... the best they can with what they have at the moment.

The story was great. The setting perfect (I would know I eloped in Key West). And it basically had all of the hallmarks of a perfect rom-com + family drama kind of book. And the body positive aspect -- so perfectly done. It wasn't cheesy, over the top, unbelievable... it was just perfectly done and so realistic.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this book!

PS The author's note at the end -- chef's kiss x two. Katherine Center makes the case for why stories and storytelling are so important and why rom-com books are just so much more than "rom-com"... they can save the world.

Another fabulous read from Katherine Center! While her backlist is great, her last few books have been absolutely incredible!

With The Love Haters, you get some incredible characters. A videographer, a rescue swimmer, a quirky aunt and a Great Dane with the best personality all come through the pages so well in this wonderfully woven story. I appreciate our main relationship so much- the way Katherine went about them felt so fresh and with all of the books out there today that’s a hard thing to do.

The ex-fiancé bugged me- and I know he’s supposed to. But it felt like he either should have been in the story more or just left near the beginning. It wasn’t enough to truly affect my feelings on the book, though.

All in all, this is another one I will be recommending to everyone in my circles!

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

Katherine Center has been really hit or miss for me as I have loved The Bodyguard and The Rom-Commers; however, Hello Stranger was not a favorite and unfortunately, this one was not either.

I thought the story was set up well with an immersive setting and lovable characters, yet I was never able to fully get attached to the characters or the relationships. I feel like this was due to what felt like random plot devices thrown in that were predictable yet a bit ridiculous. I really wanted to love this one and am disappointed that I didn't.

This was so sweet and perfect.
Hutch and Katie’s story isn’t just about falling in love it’s about learning to love yourself. It’s about finding a place to belong that makes a place for you too.
It’s about everything the disappearance of a red hibiscus hair clip means. It’s about exchanging monochrome for a bright red sundress. It’s about a Great Dane that knocks you down every time he sees you until you hold him through the biggest thunderstorm ever and probably save him from sharks. It’s about surrendering to the promise of a kiss when you’re suspended over the ocean and viral videos that somehow show the world how you both fell for each other.

Absolutely poignant.
Heart achingly real.
Full of bittersweet truth and a cinematic, technicolor slice of life.

I absolutely ADORED this book!

To avoid a layoff, Katie accepts an offer from her co-worker Cole to fly out to Key West and create a promotional video for the United States Coast Guard featuring rescue swimmer Hutch. The catch: Hutch is Cole's estranged brother and Katie lied about knowing how to swim. Soon Katie finds herself falling head over heels for the handsome Coast Guardsmen, his massive Great Dane, and his charming aunt. Now Katie must decide how far she'll go to save her job as she finds herself caught between two feuding brothers.

There's no other way to say it, The Love Haters is sappy beyond belief. The entire first half is spent on Katie drooling over Hutch that you are so grateful when some conflict finally arrives. From there, the story settles into your standard cheesy romantic comedy (with no steam) that at least has some plot to move it along. Although Center tries to add nuance by discussing body image issues, it never gets the full emotional kick that highlighted some of her better books.

I love Katherine Center. She is a must-read author for me and when I was granted this ARC, I dropped everything else to read it. That said, this wasn’t my favorite of hers. It’s cute, a little quirky and the setting in Key West is great.

My main complaint is with the heroine, Katie, who is talented but underappreciated by her terrible boss. She was also just dumped by her fiancé when he became famous. Add in almost insurmountable insecurities and anxiety and she’s a mess.

That’s fine, but there is so much internal monologuing about how she hates her…everything, that it got very repetitive. Then, as she’s learning to love herself, it started to feel like a self-help book. After reading the author’s note at the end, I guess that was intentional. It just didn't connect for me like her other books.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Katherine Center has a way of writing stories that will rip your broken heart out and tape it back together as you go through a whole roller coaster of emotions. Katie is such a realistic person with all of her struggles and triumphs, and I really enjoyed her journey. Everyone is deserving of love!

I love Katherine Center and have read all her books. Her most recent releases haven't surpassed her earlier works as my all time favorites but this is really up there. I LOVE the cover, I enjoyed the characters, and it has katherine's signature charm and warm feelings. Highly recommend!

In the Love Haters, Katie has a passion for making "A day in the Life" videos. She does these videos on the side while being a video producer for a company whose boss is on a firing rampage. After a coworker, Cole, volunteers Katie for a video on a Coast Guard rescue swimmer to hopefully keep her job, Katie is faced to go up against her greatest fear, swimming. Katie never really learned to swim and now she has to board a helicopter and go out over the open ocean. They even have to put her through a rescue course of her own (Just in case the helicopter goes down during a mission, yikes!!). Cole left out a major detail of this job, the rescue swimmer is actually his brother. And they do not get along. While trying to build a rapport with Hutch and somehow talk him into also doing "A day in the life" video as well as the other profile video, all the family secrets come out and Katie is caught in the middle of Cole and Hutch. How is she going to navigate all of this and keep her job? And is she falling for Hutch and his goofy dog, who keeps jumping on her? She can't be falling for him...
I say this every time I read a Katherine Center book, if you aren't waiting anxiously for her to put out her next book and then devouring it, you are missing out! She always delivers the perfect rom-com!! Centers has the best back and forth, angst-y, unable to stop reading because you have to see the characters together dialogue. She has you turning the pages long into the night and into the day as well. All of her books should be made into a rom-com movie! I would watch these books/ movies over and over again. I will always read anything Katherine Center puts out and I will always recommend her books to anyone who will listen. Special thanks to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars for me