I have yet to read a Katherine Center story that didn’t make me giggle. This is no exception - such a sweet, light hearted story.

I loved this book so much. Katie was such a relatable and likable character. I wanted to hang out with Rue and the Gals. I loved Katie’s journey of learning to love herself and how everyone had a part in helping her get there.

Katie Vaughn is in a little bit of a rut, she broke up with her musician ex-fiancé and her job is not on the cutting board. She gets an offer from a co-worker to go out to key west to film a video about the US Coast Guard in order to save her job. Since this job revolves around water and Katie doesn’t know how to swim, she’s in a little over her head but that is until she meets the rescue swimmer she’s supposed to be profiling, Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson.
The Love Haters is a funny, cute romantic comedy. I’ve really enjoyed all of Katherine center’s recent books and this one is no exception. I would highly recommend this when it comes out May 20,2025. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for an Advance copy.

A must read author in my book! I really got into Center’s latest story and connected so much with the main female character. The storyline was interesting and I had a hard time putting this book down! It’s such a captivating self-discovery romance that I’ll remember for a long time. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I wanted to love this so much, but this author is hit or miss and this was a big ole miss for me. The characters were so cringy I just couldn’t focus on the story at all

Katherine Center can do no wrong. I will always recommend her books! This one was just the right dose of cute and sweet without being bland.

I absolutely LOVE Katherine Center, so when I got an email that I was invited to read an advanced copy of this book, I was beyond THRILLED to take St Martin’s Press up on their generous offer (multitudes of thanks to them!).

Katherine Center books are always the perfect blend of funny and poignant, and this book was no different. At first, I didn’t like all of the body image issues Katie had (though it was definitely understandable why she had them) but as the story progressed, I loved seeing her become more confident in herself and get out of her comfort zone. I always love Center’s love interests, and sure enough, I was swooning over Hutch from the moment he was introduced. I loved every scene he was in. I really enjoyed their relationship and their chemistry was fantastic (though this is a clean read with nothing other than kissing).

As a dog person, I loved George Bailey, and also Lucky! The secondary (human) characters were great as well, especially Beanie, Katie’s cousin/best friend/de facto sister. I love stories that have a strong bond between cousins. I also loved Aunt Rue and her gang of friends.

I always like that Center’s books are deeper than just a stereotypical romance. This book made me laugh and it made me cry (in a good way). I was a ball of emotions but overall this book just made me HAPPY.

I loved this book so much. A new favorite of mine from this author.

Naming the dog after James Stewart’s character from It’s a Wonderful Life got me thinking — Katherine Center needs to write a Christmas book! I would love that so much!!!!

Anyway, I enjoyed this book so much. I’m already awaiting Center’s next book and this one isn’t even out yet!

Wow wow WOW!!!! Absolutely LOVED The Love Haters! I can honestly say that from start to finish I was feeling ALL. THE. THINGS.

The love story between Hutch and Katie is so sweet and loved the genuine way they come to have feelings for each other.

I have honestly never read a book that portrayed what it is like to feel big feelings about your body and the anxiety of having others judge your body. Then Katherine went and showed Katie's journey to starting to love herself and her body despite imperfections and it was BEAUTIFUL.

Rue & The Gals and Beanie were the cherry on top!

Katie's point of view was raw, genuine and hilarious and I couldn't wait to hear from her what would happen next.

If you asked me to pick a favorite between The Rom-Commers, The Bodyguard and The Love Haters I don't know that I could do it!

Katherine Center continues to blow me away with not only the romance in her books, but the relationship with other characters and deeper themes!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

Soo many thoughts on this one. I had a bad taste in my mouth at the start with The Love Haters. The main character is recovering from an "eating disorder" and as someone who has a lot of experience with this issue, I was put off that it was handled so flippantly. They make light of it and act as if it's something you can just get over at the drop of a hat. It should have just been that the main character has body image issues. Once I let that go, the story was okay. It was very in line with Katherine's latest books (The Rom-Commers and Hello Stranger). I adored the love interest, Hutch, and his dog. I also loved Rue and her group of old lady friends. The drama in the middle was weird and unbelievable. The ending was also weird and unbelievable. But I was entertained enough and flew through it.

The main message in this book is to love yourself and to live and love loudly. The message was repeated so often that it kind of felt like I was reading a motivational, self-help book at the end. I appreciated that. I just wish I loved it as much as I did some of her earlier work and The Bodyguard.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Love Haters, by Katherine Center.

Katie is a filmmaker tasked with interviewing a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer for one of her co-worker's, who opted to pass this task off to her because the interviewee is his estranged brother. Her co-worker, Cole, warns her prior to the assignment that his brother, Hutch, is a bit of a love hater. Katie arrives in the Keys and meets eccentric Aunt Rue who owns the cottages where Katie will be staying. Aunt Rue takes an immediate shine to Katie and introduces her to her group of friends, "the Gals". This assignment is crucial to Katie's job, but she may have stretched the truth a bit about her skills and ability in the water, so she joins Rue and the Gals for their daily swim instruction with Hutch. As Katie and Hutch spend time together on the assignment, she finds herself catching the feels. It seems like Hutch is on the same page, until Cole arrives and complicates everything. Will Katie be able to make Hutch see things her way before it's too late? As a hurricane bears down on the keys, things grow dire for Katie. Will it be Hutch to the rescue, or has she just re-enforced his hatred of love...

I really enjoyed Katie and Hutch's story!! Katherine Center has become and auto read for me!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for this advance readers copy in exchange for my honest feedback. Another cute fun read by Katherine Centre. A cute slow burn clean romance is what this book offers and I love it!

Katherine Center is an auto-buy for me, and The Love Haters did not disappoint.

Katie and Hutch's chemistry was on point, and Katherine has created yet another book boyfriend for me in the form of Hutch. I loved Katie's back story where she was engaged and her fiance became a huge super star, cheated on her, and then realized he wanted her back. I waffled on if I thought Katherine should have her ex-fiance make an actual appearance instead of in the background, but there was already a lot going on that I think the right choice was made.

Watching Hutch fall in love with Katie silently with some meddling from the older ladies was so fun to read. Katherine always does a good job of developing side characters so well that they work seamlessly into the story, but having read so many books in my life, some authors treat secondary characters as an after thought. I did want to scream at Katie for not correcting Cole when he claimed Katie was his girlfriend.

I thought it was so tender how close Hutch stayed to Katie when she was doing her flip test, and took care of her when she tore the bottoms off her bathing suit. And I totally would have gone back for the dog too like Katie did at the end. And that final rescue? are you kidding me?

Katherine Center remains an auto buy author for me. Loved this one!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center
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Katie has to interview a Coast Guard rescue swimmer to keep her job during a brutal round of lay offs. The Coast is described as a man who hates love. Katie also has had a bad time with love so that is not a problem. The biggest hurdle is she can’t swim.
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What I loved:
-I mean anything that Katherine writes I will read. 💜
-I loved Katie’s relationship with her best friend/cousin. Katie has been through the ringer and needs all the upbuilding so her cousin’s tough love and “pep” talks were so touching to read. (Also I admire my right foot but not my left. If you read this book you’ll understand why I put that here.)
-A grumpy guy with a huge rescued great dane. C’mon.
-Aunt Rue. 💜💜💜💜💜 I desperately want an Aunt Rue in my life.
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I adore Katherine and will read anything she writes. There are other Center books that I loved more than this book so I couldn’t give it the full five stars as it could not knock “Hello Stranger” or “The Rom-Commers” out of their first and second positions. But I did enjoy The Love Haters and cannot wait till the day I can read whatever story Katherine is cooking up at this very minute.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
She’s Really Let Herself Go 🏝️🚤 🚁 🐸 🐕
I LOVED this book. As with all Katherine Center books, it was just so good. The banter, the humor, the side characters. I seriously enjoyed this one so much, I think it’s my new favorite of hers. Now I’d love a Beanie book, with more Rue 🤍
Hutch + Katie
With her job on the chopping block, Katie keeps her inability to swim a secret and takes a job filming a documentary about Coast Guard rescue in Key West. Meeting Hutch and Aunt Rue is definitely more than she bargained for, but maybe exactly what she needs. With the truth behind her coworkers insistence on her taking this job coming to light, she’s feeling stuck. Even worse with Hutch and George Bailey making her feel like her heart is on the line right next to her job. Hurricane on the horizon, will she and her heart make it out unscathed or will they go down with the boat?
Thanks so much to @netgalley for this ARC
Please do yourself a favor and put this one on your TBR! Out May 20, 2025

What is it about Katherine Center and her uncanny ability to write beautiful, moving, realistic characters who also give all the fun, escapism vibes that we’re looking for in books?

I just finished The Love Haters and let me tell you friends, surprises at 92% are not common occurrences but there were surprises (good ones) and I was here for all of it.

Mostly good communication between the leads, a healthy dose of reality and fun in equal parts made these characters relatable and a major part of why I fell into this book like Hutch doing one of his controlled falls off of a helicopter into the ocean.

Katie is on the chopping block at work but her manager Cole gives her an opportunity to save face by doing a project in the Florida Keys. She knows she’s going to have to overcome her fear of swimsuits and swimming but it’ll be worth it to save her job. Right?

Add this one to your tbr ! It will make for perfect beach or poolside reading come summer and hits every note just perfectly.

Honourable mention for the dog. Always the dogs!

Katherine Center is an automatic read for me! She’s just the best!!
This is her latest book that comes out in May. I was so fortunate to be gifted an early copy. I was so excited, I started reading it immediately!!

On the edge of losing her job, Katie is asked by her not so supieror, Cole, to go on a trip to Key West to do a video piece on Hutch, a Coast Guard hero...who also happens to be his brother.
There are just a few minor details Katie has left out when she agreed to go.
-she can't swim
-her knowledge of the Coast Guard is zero
-her broken heart needs to get away and recover

Katie and Hutch need each other more than they realize, but they quickly become allies to help the other get what they want..but can they each follow through and get what the other wants?

This was such a great rom-com that had me laughing out loud and also yelling at the characters (in the nicest way possible, of course!)
If you've loved KC's other books, you will surely love this one just as much!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4 ⭐️ I have very mixed and complex feelings for this book that I am trying to work through. On one hand, I love Katherine Center’s work, she creates these beautifully broken characters that go through emotional journeys and she still pulls off some fun banter but on the other I am not sure I liked how the main theme of this book was handled and it was completely outside of the realm of believability. This book is about Katie, a video production mid-level employee who takes on a video promo project for the Coast Guard in order to save her job, one catch, she can’t swim and the main person in the video is her co-workers love hating brother.

For starters, calling this a romance as its main theme is a stretch. It’s more of a women’s contemporary story with romance as the subplot. Major trigger warnings for anyone thinking of reading this book that has dealt with any type of body image issues, self loathing, and eating disorders. There is a lot of triggering negative self talk and body dysmorphia with our fmc and I’d say the biggest theme of this book is Katie’s journey of self love. I myself have had body issues, having Vitiligo for the past 7 years from the top of my head to my toes, but never have/had any formalized therapy - so I am unsure if how this topic was treated was the healthiest. It may be honest from the authors pov but it also was a lot to read over and over and at times made me uncomfortable. This is also a zero spice book (not even closed door). I felt like the romance and the chemistry between our fmc and mmc took a backseat, so I never got the super swoon for these characters. Many of their interactions took a dive in the implausible with something catastrophic always happening that made it unrealistic - I believe another reviewer said slap stick type of hijinks and I somewhat agree. I still loved Hutch very much, he’s absolutely perfect.

This is my second book in the last two weeks where the mmc (Hutch) is a Coast Guard Rescue swimmer - last year with Rom-Commers it was screen writers. How do these authors have the same professional themes all the time?! I will say, this one was much done much better (The other being Rebecca Yarros - Variation, which I did not love). There was a lot of telling versus showing in this book. I would have rather been in the meat of the action versus being told about events and things that happened. We are in Katie’s head a lot, she’s narrating her story to us and you can tell. Breaks the 4th wall a few times.

The main conflict was so far fetched - once again going into implausible, the same with the last act. Random, but I thought of movie True Lies (a lot crazy action) in the last scene. It also wrapped up too fast, I wanted more of Hutch and Katie!

I absolutely loved the side character of Rue, she has my entire heart and the tragic backstories of all these characters made me tear up several times. I love a book that makes me feel deeply. Also, big props to George Bailey the great dane, I love a book with a great dog. Also, it is a super fast read, I got though it in two sittings. One last chapter before bed ended with me finishing the book hours before my alarm went off, whoops!

Can you tell I had a lot of mixed up feelings? I guess that is why I will rate this slightly higher than if I had just tossed it aside and moved on. I think this will either resonate with the reader or it will be completely off putting, so you decide and ensure you know what you are getting into when picking this up. I will forever be a Katherine Center superfan!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Katherine Center for this advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

I will be sharing my review on social media, goodreads and post on publishing day.

Katherine Center always checks all the boxes for a feel-good romance story. I love her ability to create a heartwarming story and have fully fleshed out characters.

Katie is a somewhat accomplished FMC and isn't a "damsel in distress" looking for a strong male lead. She has flaws that are glaringly obvious, but that's okay because she feels like a real person. Hutch is warm, real, and supremely good. He feels like an actual person and not a romance male lead.

I'm a sucker for books with Florida as the setting and this one didn't disappoint! I loved the imagery of the Florida Keys, the bright colours, and the ocean.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this advance copy of The Love Haters. All opinions are my own.

"𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳."
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 has everything I adore in Katherine Center's books - it's got wonderful characters and focuses on more than just romance. Are there elements of the plot that are completely over the top? Yes, they are. But there's also so much depth to the story that it doesn't matter. Plus there’s a 160-pound “canine yenta” (you read that right!) named George Bailey. He put a smile on my face along with so many things about this one

As Center says in the author's note "Love stories are the best kind of therapy" and I'm so grateful this one came at a time when I so needed it.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the copy to review.

🌟 5 Stars for The Love Haters by Katherine Center 🌟

Katherine Center has done it again – crafting a love story that’s as big, beautiful, and epic as the Atlantic Ocean itself. But let’s be real: is there anything better than falling in love with yourself? If you just so happen to also snag a swoon-worthy, heroic rescue swimmer and his lovable great Dane along the way… well, that’s just the cherry on top. 🍒🐶

We meet Katie, a documentary producer who’s navigating some rough waters (pun intended) after a public breakup, a major confidence crisis, and impending job loss. When she’s sent to Key West to film a promo for the Coast Guard – despite her hatred of water, bathing suits, and swimming – she crosses paths with Hutch, a ruggedly handsome, marshmallow-hearted rescue swimmer who allegedly hates love. Cue the tropical vibes, a motley crew of fabulous women in their 70s, lots of sangria, an unstoppable great Dane, and a series of hilarious, heartwarming adventures that push Katie to confront her fears and fall for the truest love of all: herself. ❤️

✨ Favorite moment? The lesson on fearlessness. It’s not just about saving lives or running into storms. It’s about being vulnerable, taking risks, and embracing who you are. Katie’s journey of self-love is inspiring, raw, and so, so beautiful. Plus, Hutch and that dog? Chef’s kiss. 😍

📚 Read this if you love:
• Forced proximity
• Workplace romance
• Strangers to lovers
• Hot rescue swimmers (yes, please)
• Laugh-out-loud adventures with a side of heartfelt growth

TW: Eating disorders, body image struggles

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!