Another super delightful romance from Katherine Center, whose mantra is “Read for Joy”!

This time we have Katie, a videographer who can’t swim, doesn’t know a thing about the military, and only marginally knows where Key West is, accepting an assignment to film a training video for Coast Guard rescue swimmers. Recruiting her is her sort-of supervisor Cole Hutcheson (who doesn’t want to go to Florida). Both of them are working for the same video company that is about to layoff half of its employees. Cole’s offer to Katie might keep her from being fired and might help her with her side gig of creating 6 minute documentaries of everyday heroes. But there’s a catch: the Coast Guard hero she would be profiling is reluctant internet sensation “Pup Daddy”, rescuer of Jennifer Anniston’s golden retriever who fell off a cliff, and Cole’s brother Tom, known as Hutch. Hutch is absolutely gorgeous and ogle-worthy, but he’s a terrible interviewee, and Cole has warned her that his brother is devoid of close relationships, that he’s a “love-hater.” She initially observes “He’s all rules and no heart! He’s all action and no reaction! He’s all body and no soul.” But Katie keeps observing — those shoulders, those arms, that chest, and also that all-around kindness.

Katie is also, self-admittedly, a love-hater, too. She was jilted by her fiancé after he became a YouTube-famous singer (who is now, via a new song, regretting dumping her publicly) and is still feeling the jealousy of his awful fans who once mocked her before, contributing to anorexia and body-shaming (which she is still conquering with Aunt Rue also working on Katie’s chromophobic black wardrobe.)

As her assignment proceeds, Katie feels that there is also something not quite right between the estranged brothers and she no longer feels comfortable about doing her “Day in the Life” documentary about Hutch that might save her job. And when Cole does arrive in Key West, everyone’s lives get messy.

Oh, did I mention George Bailey, Hutch’s thunder-phobic Great Dane who keeps launching himself onto Katie and picks up cane toads in his mouth?

Katherine Center writes the absolute best rom-com dialogue — you’ll hate it when Hutch goes into one-word responses and frowny faces. But, as usually, this is a delightful, joyous story that you’ll wish doesn’t end! 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): MAYBE There’s a long discussion about eye colors, and Katie seems to think she has brownish-green hazel eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO The brothers have a nice tradition of handing out flowers on the anniversary of their mother’s death.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Full disclosure - I adore Katherine Center. I’ve read everything she’s written and she is an auto-purchase author for me. The Love Haters is a clear example of precisely why that is! This will now be the book I suggest to anyone who hasn’t read her stuff before, to get them sucked in.

This book had everything. All the feels of a much needed Key West vacation when it feels like the world is on fire. All the leg kicking, pillow squeezing and squealing of having your first crush confirm they like you back. A warm hug of a book. As refreshing and delightful as that first dip in the pool on the hottest of summer days.

Hutch is the ideal cinnamon roll book boyfriend. A sexy, heroic coast guard swimmer with a heart of gold? Yes please.

Katie is that dear friend, when all you want is for them to see how wonderful they are, and to love themselves half as much as you love them. You will root for her every step of the way.

Aunt Rue is all of our favorite sweet angel baby grandma, and must be protected at all costs.

If I had to find any fault at all, I wanted more about Katie and Hutch in the epilogue! But even without it, this book is truly lovely. I devoured it, and I’m sorry - I’ll brb, because I need to go immediately read it again now!

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a beautiful novel that’s cheeky and funny and doesn’t appear to be about love but really really is.

It’s about Katie, a videographer who agrees who agrees to shoot a video about a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer, Hutch, for her boss, Cole Hutchinson, his brother, who has requested Cole for the job.

When she gets to Key West, Florida from Dallas, Texas for the job she is treated like a Princess by Rue, their aunt, and like a pariah, by Hutch. Hutch is furious that Cole isn’t there.

But he agrees to give her private swimming lessons and not tell anyone that she doesn’t know how to swim which could cost her the job. Also to not use Rue’s car, they commute together to the job site and get to know each other.

Katie learns about the Coast Guard, passes an underwater test, interviews Hutch, and films him from a helicopter doing an ocean rescue.

Katie learns on the internet that her former fiance has written a song about her saying he still loves her and there’s an old photo of her with negative comments by other women. Feeling awful, she runs away and ends up in Mallory Square at sunset. Hutch follows her and tells her those other women are just jealous of how pretty she is. They end up kissing and it’s glorious.

Cole wants her to do one of her Day in the Life videos that she posts on YouTube and is well known for so she spends 24 hours on Hutch’s houseboat filming him doing his laundry, walking his rescue George Bailey who is taller than he is when he puts his paws on Hutch’s shoulders, cooking dinner, and other everyday activities. Hutch is not as friendly as he has been but Katie doesn’t know it’s because Cole told him Katie was his girlfriend.

Cole and his and Katie’s boss Sullivan come to Key West and Cole pretends Katie is his girlfriend and Sullivan tries to go after Hutch.

It doesn’t work. Cole and Hutch and Rue go out to dinner on the anniversary of the death of Rue’s husband and the brothers’ parents and invite Katie.

Afterwards the brothers who are quite competitive get into a fight and iron out some things. Hutch finds out Katie and Cole are not a couple.

Then Hutch disappears. But a Category 4 hurricane forms and everyone evacuates the island. She tells Hutch goodbye at the Coast Guard station and has driven to Islamarada when Rue (who is on the way to Phoenix)
calls and says George Bailey is alone on Hutch’s houseboat. So she turns around.

Will she and the dog and the houseboat survive?

Will Katie and Hutch fall in love?

What happens to the videos?

I guarantee that this funny sad happy quirky incredibly love filled novel is definitely worth reading!

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 📚
4⭐️
𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓉𝒾ℴ𝓃: 5/20/25

@katherinecenter when I checked my email a few days ago to find this book it was the best early Xmas gift ever. Thank you😍. I really enjoyed the crazy plot. There were so many deeper subject matters here as well such as body shaming, savior complex, cyber bullying and grief to name a few. The old saying opposites attract should be the logo for the two main characters. They couldn’t be more different. Katie is withdrawn. If self hate and sabatoge was person it would be her. Huck is the poster child for the good ole American boy. Handsome, dog lover, military and genuinely nice. Fate steps in to save them from themselves in the form of a dog named George Bailey. I swear I think this dog was smarter than most of the people around him. Kate is a film maker and huck is a swim rescuer. Chaos explodes when Kate takes the job to do a film on the coast guard with huck as the lead. Everything starts spiraling bc the strings of this operation are being pulled by hucks younger brother Cole. I really didn’t like Cole. If selfish and absorbed was a person he’s it! The family element of the story was so heart warming and gave me all warm fuzzies needed. Rue and her girlfriends are living my dream of retirement. Rues character was one of a kind. The chemistry between Katie and hutch was great. At times I wanted to knock some sense into both of them but luckily they figured it out.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my ARC.

🏷️#booklover #bookstagram #bookcommunity #booksofinstagram #readingtime #ilovebooks #bookblogger #bookblog #booknerdigans #bookishfeatures #bookphotography #yalit #yabooks #currentlyreading #igreads #instaread #bookworm #booknerd #bookdragon #romance #coastguard #swim #greatdane #beachlife #christmastree

The Love Haters by Katherine Center was like catching up with a good friend. Easy and good for the soul. The book manages to cover some heavy experiences while keeping a light hearted tone. I also appreciated the lesson on self love, which as a woman can be hard sometimes. I’ve loved all of her books and this is no exception. The characters were so well developed and I adored every single page. Katherine’s writing is so consistently wonderful. Wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy!

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 is a classic Katherine Center novel, featuring a character at a low point and growing through her struggles with a mix of humor and a dash of romance. It's short and sweet, and it leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

Katie is desperate to retain her job amidst vast company layoffs, so she jumps at the chance to film a hype video for Hutch, a coast guard swimmer in Florida. But she can't swim, and her colleague, Hutch's brother, didn't exactly fill her in on details - especially the reasons why Hutch doesn't want her there.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 is a story of self-acceptance, unexpected friendships, and an adorable Great Dane who is terrified of thunder. It's an adventure of swimming lessons, surviving a hurricane in a houseboat, and choosing the red dress over the black dress.

It would be a five star read, but I loved Katie and Hutch so much that I would have enjoyed more of their development and interactions. There was a bit too much of Katie's internal struggles while we were being told about car conversations, workplace interactions, and dinners with Rue, but we weren't able to be a fly on the wall for those crucial moments of their relationship, and I would have loved to experience those moments along with them. For this reason, I'd categorize it more as Women's Fiction over Romance, but it is a wonderful blend of both genres.

Katie is a film producer working at a rinky dink agency in Texas. Recent cuts have put her job on the line, but Cole, her superior not boss gives her an opportunity to prove herself. The catch? It’s supposed to be his assignment but he doesn’t want to go for personal reasons. So Katie takes off to Key West to film Cole’s coast guard brother for a promo video. But she can’t swim and hates wearing bathing suits… But maybe Hutch will prove to be a good enough distraction that Katie won’t even mind?

This book was full of twists and turns. And pacing was good, a little fast but I enjoy that. I thought the characters were all super sweet. Minus Cole he was a turd. But Hutch, the mmc, was very sweet. Katie was funny and a bit of a head case. And then the old ladies were a fun crew. While I absolutely adore Katherine Center, this wasn’t her best work. It was still a great read, fantastic writing and super fun plot. But some of her other novels are much stronger.

Great Dane
One bed
Forced proximity
Lost at sea
Hot coast guard man

Thanks netgalley and St. Martin’s press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you so much to the publisher, NetGalley, and especially Katherine Center for the early chance to read and review “The Love Haters.”

As soon as I received my copy of this book, I immediately dropped *everything* to read it and it was totally worth it. I loved the characters - Katie and Hutch were both so likable and the reader roots for them from the first minute. The secondary characters were also memorable and multi dimensional - especially Rue and Katie’s BFF Beanie. The setting and premise - the Florida Keys and the Coast Guard background - was interesting and set the book apart. And Katie’s emotional personal journey, apart from her romantic one, was moving and powerful. I laughed and cried throughout this one and I completely whole heartedly recommend it! 5 stars!

I loved The Love Haters (punny) and how unexpected and unique this book was for me. I never expected the action scenes that this book gave. The fact that she was literally stranded in the ocean was a WILD plot turn that made the book that much more intriguing. Rue and the gals also kept me laughing the whole time and was such a nice touch. There were also heartbreaking elements to the story like the story about what happened to bring Hutch and Cole to Rue and what actually happened in the crash that had me in tears. Katherine Center is always so good at mixing comedy with romance with a sprinkle of emotional elements with this book showcasing that perfectly. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to have been able to read this early and think it will be a hit come its release in summer! Also the gorgeous physical copy is going have to end up on my bookshelf once it’s published, the design is so good!

Genre: Romance
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️
Spice: 0/5 🧼

Summary: Katie was betrayed by her fiancé and now her position at work is in question with layoffs looming. So, she takes a gamble and accepts an assignment she’s not exactly qualified for, filming a promo video for a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. Katie conveniently forgot to mention one small detail: she doesn’t know how to swim. She takes on some swim lessons and is shocked to find out her instructor is the rescue swimmer she’s supposed to be impressing.

Thoughts: I immediately knew, chapter one, that I was going to love this book. The only thing that could have ruined it for me was if there was no happily ever after but Katherine Center would quite literally never.

Katherine has the most unique and refreshing approach to writing. The banter is so quick, the humor is so dry but the stories have such a warmth to it. There are just no other books out there like hers.

This book was truly a treasure. It provided me a chance to laugh, a chance to cry and a chance to evaluate how I treat myself on so many levels. There were so many important lessons brought forward in this book but it never interrupted the entertainment.

I am so honored I was sent this book. My thoughts are shared voluntarily and with complete honesty.

This book was both laugh-out-loud funny and so tender hearted. Pretty much all Katherine Center books are, but I can’t remember the last time one gave me actual belly laughs! It was definitely a needed shot of joy!

I loved the way Katie’s relationship with her body and her self-esteem evolved throughout the story. It felt so authentic to what many of us go through as women. And Hutch was such a loveable (literal) hero. Swoon times a hundred!

I have a special place in my heart for Rue. Her storyline was so beautiful and surprising. May we all have gals to grow old with! And an extra shoutout for George Bailey, the best matchmaking dog of all time.

If the book didn’t resonate with me as much as previous KC books, it’s mostly just because I have a hard time with certain kinds of family drama, and this story definitely has that.

But genuinely, Katherine Center has showed us once again why she is once of the best rom-com writers in the game!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

The Love Haters is the 5th Katherine Center book that I have read, with 2 hits and 2 misses, and this was the tie breaker. I'm happy to report, another hit! I loved so much about this story, the optimistic, hopeful and playful tone was the highlight for me. Another winning point for me was that the female main character has sectoral heterochromia and so do I! This is probably the first time I have read that in a book, hopefully not the last. The story is heartwarming, inspiring and easy to get through, the romance was sweet (except for Cole), and who doesn't love a large goofy dog thrown in the mix?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I appreciate getting the ARC so much, Katherine’s last 2 releases were 5 stars for me and I’ll always read what she releases.
Unfortunately this one was a miss for me.
We spend a lot of time in Katie’s head and reading about the body image issues again and again is exhausting.
The secondary cast is cute and lovable but Hutch, a main character, felt underdeveloped and the love story was very much tell with no show.
There was such little chemistry I felt confused where it was going.
In the last half when Cole shows up the story really went off the rails for me.
There were some fun and cute elements that I wish had been explored more.

Words cannot express how much I loved this novel! Center always delivers heartfelt, laugh-out-loud stories complete with meaningful messages that are relevant and truly uplifting to the soul. She knows just how to represent a woman's psyche and lay all of our insecurities on the table for display. The FMC in this book suffers from body image shaming and lack of self-love. I think many of us women have felt the same at some point in our lives, not living up to the world's view of beauty standards and hating our bodies. I can certainly relate, but after reading this story, I feel so much better about myself. I think all women who need a boost of self-confidence should read this book. The characters were charming, especially Rue and "The Gals". I can only hope that I'm that carefree when I reach their age. I fell in love with George Bailey. The humor, as always, was on point. The salad tongs had me laughing hysterically. The ending was bittersweet and made my heart so happy. This was the perfect book to make me smile and worry less about myself. I highly recommend this one! It deserves to be read and devoured!

Huge thank you to St. Martin's Press for gifting me a widget via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Wow what a page turner!
It hooked me from the very first page with its beautifully drawn characters and a plot brimming with emotional depth, this story explores love, heartbreak, and the messy yet magical process of healing.

The witty dialogue and heartfelt moments kept me completely engrossed, while the romance was both tender and captivating. Center’s writing has a way of making you laugh, cry, and cheer for the characters all at once.

I couldn’t put this book down—it’s a compelling, feel-good read that stays with you long after you’ve finished.

I immediately dropped what I was doing to start reading this. It is a sweet and exciting love story!

The first two-thirds of the novel are so engaging and Katie and Hutch are lovely together (though Hutch has no discernible flaws and some of their connection is told not shown). I did not enjoy the conflict that was very silly and unnecessary to advancing the story. This twist made it harder to root for any of the characters. Still, this is a charming romance that also tackles self-esteem and body image issues. 3.5 stars

Thank you very much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

4.5 ⭐️

First, thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for this advanced copy.

Somehow, Katherine Center has managed to turn a novel into a diary; expelling the FMC's deepest fears and insecurities. This felt like talking to a friend in the best way possible. It was a little rambling and disjointed, but the best parts of life are. The vibe is everything you love in a good rom-com and so much more.

Our FMC, Katie, is dealing with some deep-seated body image issues and eating disorderment that feels profoundly real. Our MMC, Hutch, is dealing with grief and regret that makes him shut down. Somehow, you're rooting for these characters while also yelling at them to get out of their own way. This author has a way of making you laugh, cry, and rage all at once, and this was an unforgettable read.

Katherine Center can do no wrong! I adored this one. The story of learning to love yourself… omg I want to have a closet full of tropical bathing suits. The side characters were great. The Gals! I want to be their friends. and Hutch… we don’t deserve you! George Bailey! Read it!

I love Katherine Center and was so grateful to receive this ARC. And she does it again with The Love Haters.
This book feels like a warm hug, the kind you would probably give to yourself. Yes, this is a romance book, but it's first and foremost about Katie's in-depth journey to loving herself and body positivity. Katie's past relationship led her to develop an eating disorder, but throughout the book, she works to change how she views herself. I absolutely love Katie and after all she's been through, I just wanted the best for her. She has the most humorous inner monologues that made me laugh out loud with some self-deprecating humor that was really relatable. By the end, I was really proud of her progress and how she evolved throughout the book.

Hutch is the absolute best book boyfriend and is perfect for Katie. Yes, she spends a lot of time ogling him and his "perfect" features, but I felt like it was a reflection of herself and her body image issues and what she went through with people judging her by her looks.

Shoutout to the side characters, namely George Bailey (the MVP in Hutch and Katie's relationship), the Gals, and especially Beanie (!!!). They all were so unique and fun characters to read about. But honestly, I took off a star for Cole's character, who was honestly kind of annoying and a jerk. I didn't really felt like he added MUCH to the plot (felt like the book would have been just fine without him creating conflicts), and even though I did come to feel bad for him (Chapter 22), I felt that all his dramatics/lies were totally unnecessary.

Overall, I felt like this was another great book by Katherine Center, who's quickly becoming one of my automatic-read authors. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Katherine Center writes these books that I can envision perfectly. Her details conjure up such clear pictures of the characters and the events of their stories. THE LOVE HATERS is no exception. This is as much a story of self-growth as it is a romance. I really loved the first person narration, finding it a welcome reprieve from the many romances that are dual POV right now. There’s something about only knowing what one person sees that makes the story feel much more relatable!

Spoilers ahead!

Katie and Hutch are vibrant (but not always colorful!), and their feelings grow organically for each other. I will note that Cole is a truly unlikable character, even if his presence does serve an important point in the plot. Katie’s personal struggles with body image are difficult to read, so if you are someone for whom that would hit too close to home, please read with care.