Adorable, fun love story with a charming cast of characters and community. I always enjoy when a pet has a role, and George Bailey was as lovable a pet as any! Katie goes to Key West to save her job, but it turns out it’s not her job that needs saving!

Don’t skip the author’s note! It deepened my affection for romance reads, shifting my perspective from “losing” myself in the story, to finding myself in love and life.

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy!

Katherine Center's novels somehow create the most exquisite love stories full of tension, longing, and pure emotion. Katie and Hutch are such loveable characters - I just wanted wonderful things for them and of course, for them to live happily ever after. The message throughout the book, of the importance of learning to love yourself for who you are and what you look like, was so genuine. I loved every page.

I read a review that said Katherine Center can't write a BAD book and that's true. Her writing style is effortless and feels like you're having a chat with your best friend, you know? The phone calls that were meant to be twenty minutes that end up lasting for three hours and you don't even recall the time passing? That's what reading her books feels like to me. That being said, Katherine's work always tends to lean on the side of unrealistic and cheesy to me. I keep reading her work in hopes that I'll finally find THE ONE that I absolutely adore and this wasn't the one...

This book was about Katie finding courage and loving herself, which it was, but when we're constantly reading about her needing validation it gets a little old. Like this man kisses you senseless and you still have to ask him if he likes you? It just felt silly. The conflict at the end with Cole was so childish. Like what the heck?? I also didn't get the best vibe from Hutch. I understand that he's a little standoffish, but I needed more vulnerability from him to believe just how much he loved Katie. I did however absolutely adore Rue!

Giving this 3 stars as it did keep me reading, but I'm leaning towards a 2.5 rating as I reflect on it.

I forgot to write my review for this while packing. I apologize that it will be short.

I enjoyed reading this one. I loved Hutch and Katie. But the star for me was the great dane. I'm horrible, but I love dogs. And I love when they're included in books. I also really loved Aunt Rue. The romance was cute at times. Overall, I had fun reading this.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for my earc.

Katherine Center novels are like stepping into a bath that seemed hot until you cover yourself with water, and then just feel peaceful, warm, and perfect. This book is certainly a love letter to body acceptance and all women who have struggle with body and eating disorders. The main love story here is Katie with herself. She was such a complex character- everyone needs a Beanie in their life they way Katie did! Hutch was so utterly charming, quiet, solid, yet vulnerable. They were such good compliments for each other, seeing the other clearly, when they couldn’t see themselves. Ugh, I have no words or use for Cole and his needless complications. However, as a therapist, it made perfect sense that there childhoods shaped these men in this way. I am so glad that Center didn’t add Katie’s ex into the equation, I can see the temptation, and am glad she resisted. Because this book isn’t about how the world saw Katie, but how Katie saw herself. Her choices to love. If you liked Things We Lost in the Fire, this book has similar vibes. Utterly readable and likeable. So many smiles given, and a few tears. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. 4.25 stars.

hank you netgalley for this arc!

i LOVED this book. when i started it, i wasn’t 100% sure it was going to be for me but i love hutch and katie and george bailey.

the dynamic was great, the story pacing was great. i even cried tears of happiness at one point near the end.

10/10 would recommend this book. it was FANTASTIC.

I enjoy Katherine Center's books, and this one was no different. Such a sweet rom-com that also included themes of body positivity and loving yourself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and the author's note at the end (a must read!). Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for this ARC, it will be available to everyone on 5/20/25.

This was my first Katherine Center book and can I just say I AM OBSESSED with her writing! This book had me giggling while on an airplane and feeling all of the feels. I honestly didn't want the book to end. This to me, is a true definition of a rom-com and 100% needs to be a movie at some point. The spice level was low, but it honestly didn't need it because the plot was so entertaining.

Hutch works for the USCG in Key West and Katie is a videographer out of Dallas. She is asked to go film a promo video for the coast guard to avoid losing her job, but get this, she can't swim. How is she expected to film these rescue divers if she's afraid to get in the water?? Add in George Bailey, the best Great Dane to exist, and Rue, the coolest and most colorful woman in the city and you can't help but smile!

I also loved that this book dealt with the topic of body image among women. I think this is a topic that most people avoid, but it was refreshing to know that other people experience body issues and are learning to love themselves everyday. The author's note at the end was SO inspiring and a MUST read. I felt it rounded out the book perfectly.

5 stars for me! Katherine, I can't wait to read your other books!

PS... this will be the PERFECT book to read in the summer while you're at the beach!

Katherine Center will always be an auto-read for me! I love her stories and characters so much.

I wish I loved this one as much as her others - but it didn't do it for me. I could absolutely see it doing it for others though!

The set up was all there - a unique FMC and career and challenge: Katie has to take on a new video assignment profiling a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer. Turns out, she can't really swim. Also turns out, the person she's profiling is a hottie - a very moody hottie. The MMC was also pretty interesting. What didn't work for me was the image of him and the reality of him - he just lacked some depth. And I didn't always buy their chemistry.

However - I would absolutely recommend this - it was beautifully written with some deeper themes of body image and self-love - and entertaining as always.

3.5 stars!

I didn't plan on reading this as soon as I did. I downloaded it on my Kindle and couldn't stop reading it! I wish there was a little more and I feel like there is definitely room for it, but overall I still love it. George Bailey, the Great Dane, was wonderful, and Cole was... Cole, Rue was the perfect extra push Katie needed, and Hutch was the gullible lover. I will say though... the end felt rushed. It felt like "and this person was this, then that person was this." (not a fan)

I have loved every book by Katherine Center I have ever read. A four-star from me means I thoroughly enjoyed it. I only rate books five-star if they blow my mind somehow. While this didn't do that, I found it wonderfully written. I love a good rom-com and that's exactly what this book delivered—romance and comedy.

I enjoyed Katie's personal development over the course of the book. As a woman in the US, I've had my fair share of others commenting on my body and appearance. It's been ingrained in my psyche that a woman's body is a large indicator of her worth. While I don't agree with this mindset anymore, I'm still on my journey to loving myself as I am. I could totally relate to Katie in that way and thought her growth throughout the book was remarkable and inspiring.

I also loved her relationships with Hutch, Aunt Rue, and George Bailey. While there were a couple of characters I didn't enjoy, I loved the book overall and read it over the course of a day. Would definitely recommend it to all of my friends who read books of this genre.

I am definitely a fan of Katherine Center books, The Bodyguard really knocked my socks off! However, this book didn't really live up to the hype I had imagined with her other books :/

A true summer romcom set in Key West, this book brought me all of the summery delight that I was craving amid my snowy tundra. This was by far my favorite part of the book. Now, for some of my less favorite parts.

Katie is quite unsure of herself and her body image (which, girl I get it!) but it became so repetitive and lacked progress it just became rather repetitive and boring to read about. Hutch, I love a good swim lesson instructor scene. That is one little micro-trope that will always have me salivating, however I dried up like the Sahara when I read Hutch has a savior complex. However I loved George Bailey!

This book had the right plot, the location was to die for, but this book just didn't do it for me like Katherine's other books! I will continue to read what she writes, but The Love Haters was not for me.

Thank you St. Martins Press and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for the honest review :)

Katherine Center does it again!! Smart, sweet, and a little bit sassy….read this book! A videographer and a rescue swimmer team up to make jumping into churning waters enticing, but instead they fall for each other.

I had butterflies in my stomach the whole time I was reading this. It was like I’m back in high school and just waiting for Katie and Cole to kiss. My feet were kicking in the air with excitement while I read this story. Not only was it fking amazing but you also learn a lot from it. Mostly how to love yourself and view things in a different way.

This was beautifully written and honestly, I want to burn my scale too.

I love how one of the main point in this story is body positivity and the struggle of loving your body. I think the way she wrote about Katie‘s struggles was perfect and I can relate. I’m sure everyone can relate to the inner thoughts of hating yourself for not looking like the “industry standards”.

I’m really happy they never disclosed Katie’s weight too. Thank you for keeping that mystery 💙

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

I just love Katherine Center and her goofy, emotional, HAPPY books. This one was just such a joy that I read it in about 4 hours, and I loved it. You have all of my favorite things here — a grumpy/sunshine moment, a ~manly~ love interest, a redemption arc — PLUS very real issues and anxieties (I related a lot to the body image thoughts in this book). So stinkin' cute.

I love anything Katherine Center does! this was a great romance that had fun twists and turns but also all of the happiness to a happy ending.

This book is the perfect example of a cliche, but a well-executed cliche. Main female character who has body image issues after a well-publicized breakup with a popstar ex-fiance? Check. Forced to confront her fears and worries over and over in a stressful new situation? Check. Best friend who hypes her up and tries to get her to love herself? Check. Wise and gentle older lady who teaches her to embrace color in her life (because obviously preferring neutral palettes means you hate yourself)? Check. Almost perfect main male character who is attracted to her from the start and tells her she’s beautiful? Check. Cute pet that forces her into unwanted adventures? Check.

Lots of cliches, but again, so well-executed that for the most part, I didn’t mind. The dialogue is good, the characters are fun, and I really liked the backdrop of doing a recruitment video for the coast guard search and rescue (that part was pretty unique).

It’s clear from the beginning that the main love story isn’t going to be between the guy and the girl, but simply between the girl and herself. Self-love is always a good message, and I like the way it was handled for the most part, especially when she lists the body parts she appreciates. I found that cute and fun. But at times the story did get very heavy-handed with the message. Eg. appreciating your body while on a sinking houseboat felt excessive.

The actual romance aspect was there, and I could see the connection forming between the two, but it felt underdeveloped. There were parts that felt like summary as we sped over the weeks where they were getting to know each other. I wanted more dialogue, more interaction between the two beyond just talking about their mutual traumas. There’s a tense situation at the end when he rescues her from danger, and I was looking forward to his reaction at seeing her safe, and honestly it was underwhelming.

The conflict that pops up mid-book was also a bit weird, and then never resolved properly. I don’t fully buy into why Cole told Sullivan he was dating Katie. Surely a person in a senior role dating someone in a junior role in the same company is cause for concern? And then, suddenly, that entire subplot of Katie’s job being in peril is handwaved away at the end. It felt lazy, honestly.

And the scene at the bar when the brothers start a drinking game felt very weird and confusing - I did not understand why Cole was insisting Hutch kiss Cole’s girlfriend, especially when Cole knows Katie didn’t sign up for any of it. I think they went too far with Cole’s character there - after that scene I kind of didn’t want to read about him anymore.

I can pinpoint out these negative bits, but I’m finding it harder to articulate what I liked about the story. I guess it was just well-written? Even the cliches were fun, and executed in an interesting way. I liked the main character and her narration/inner monologue. I liked the drama of being on the houseboat during the hurricane. I loved George Bailey, the Great Dane who’s afraid of thunder. So despite all the parts I didn’t like, on the whole I’d say this story is definitely worth a read.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a delightful rom com with heartwarming messages of love not only between our two main characters, but also the love between family members, friends, and love of ourselves.

Katie Vaughn is a documentary filmaker being sent on an assigment to film the US Coast Guard in Key West, and specifically, the heartbreakingly handsome, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, the older brother of her supervisor at work. One catch, she doesn't know how to swim and is terrified of bathing suits. Sprinkle in one exuberant Great Dane, brighly colored caftans, a houseboat, and a hurricane, and Katie has more than she bargained for.

The Love Haters is a lighthearted book with messages of grief, loss, and body image. The Author's Note is at the end is a must read. It was as compelling as the book itself.

I ate this one up and read it in one sitting!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc!

I was so excited when I heard the new Katherine Center novel was on @netgalley because I love her. Everything she writes makes me happy and just makes me feel bouyant. This one was - of course - delightfully the same.

Katie isn't in a great place. When her ex fiance became famous and she became a target for online trolls, she began to criticize every part of her figure. Then she tortured herself, like many women do, in the name of self improvement. For herself... Even though she'd never had a problem before. Now she's about to lose her job when her boss Cole sends her on a project to make a documentary about Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Hutch. The problem? She can't swim. But fake it til you make it, right? How hard can it be to learn in no time?! Katie gets to Key West and find a out that Hutch is truly perfect, just like Cole said. But there's clearly a lot more to this guy that Cole referred to as a "love hater" and Katie will find out.

I love the way this love story seamlessly wove in a story about loving yourself, without being overly obvious. It was as much of a love story between Katie and Hutch, as it was of Katie loving herself. Beautifully done in the way that only Katherine can.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Love Haters is instantly my new favorite book by one of my favorite authors, Katherine Center.

The Love Haters tells the story of our protagonist, Katie, who takes on a challenging assignment for her job as a videographer/producer. Filming what, you ask? A feature about the Coast Guard, & specifically, following Hutch, a broody but sexy member of the USCG. Problem is, Katie can’t swim. Add in helicopters, hurricanes, jealous family, & tragedy, and you have the most beautiful story.

The Love Haters is a growth journey for everyone. From a tumultuous sibling dynamic, a journey in learning to love one’s self, to a complicated love story, & finding a chosen family, Katherine Center’s storytelling is brilliant.