4.5 stars!!

Got a chance to read this ARC and just 😘 ! @katherinecenter does it again in this funny, charming, light, but full of heart romance. And the big ticket issue this time is love - finding the one that makes your heart flutter, but also finding love within a found family, and the hardest is learning to love yourself - who you are inside and out.

I read this one so fast because Katherine center is an auto-buy author for me. Her characters are so perfectly imperfect. I can’t get enough! Hutch is swoon worthy, but the show stopper was Rue and The Gals. Rue’s kindness, open heart, and penchant for bright colors and patterns was just beautiful.

Can’t wait for the rest of the world to be able to read this one!

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the #arc of #thelovehaters by #katherinecenter !

I really enjoy all Katherine Center books and this one was no different! The main character falling for the person she’s doing the documentary about was perfect. And I loved the side story of the brothers and their “aunt”. Where I slightly got lost was in the details of the work relationships and the things that spun out a little too much for me. The rescue scene was amazing and definitely could be turned into a movie or tv series in the future!

So I started this at the gym on the treadmill thinking “this will be a light read”, fast forward to me 3 hrs later with it finished. 🤣

We meet Katie Vaughn burned by her ex (tw: healing from a ED) at crossroads. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West. The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim—but pretends that she can.

Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers?!!! (Ngl: I ate this part up 😝)

Hutch and Katie have a fun dynamic and the tension does continue throughout the whole book. Slow burn final boss essentially.

All in all, I feel like this will be a fun summer read when it comes out.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
0/5 🌶️
1 🐶
1 sniffle 🤧


Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I wanted to love this so badly and it just fell a little short. The last chapter did make me sob and I thought the last like 30% of the book was so good but the beginning really dragged for me and it makes sense how things ended up happening at the end but just wasn't my favorite. Still a fun unexpected romance with okay side characters

I like Katherine Center's Rom-Commers and Happiness for Beginners so I have high hope on this one.

Videographer Katie had trouble with love, and now job on the line, she really have to face her fear of not knowing how to swim. Luckily, hot guy Hutch, to the rescue, though she's been warned he's a Love Hater. I would love an Aunty Rue in my life, and yes we all need a Hutch in our lives too. Hutch is an honest hero, but he's doing it more for redemption than hero-complex. His misunderstood brother, Cole kept having a complex about having a perfect brother. Love at first sight for Hutch, but Katie got tangled in lies that is not of her doing. But most of all, we all love a best friend like Beany.

More importantly, it's important to see that Katie had such body issue that is very disturbing. But Beany is a great cheerleader to get her towards her to love her body. Truly, if this is any kind of love story, it's really the journey of love for Katie to be ok with her body. To go from trying to cover everything up to slow love and appreciate every little part of herself. Life is short, and at the traumatic event, she realizes that is one thing she needs to be ok with and be grateful for.

I love how the dialogue flows, the pacing is good. The author always have a knack for making it so real and allow you to be the witness of the conversation and it all flows. My only complaint the cliffhanger hang on a tad too long. The epilogue feels like it was written by two people, part preserved the 1st Person's POV, but the recap felt like another voice.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Loved the characters - Rue, Hutch, George Bailey. Loved that it was a love story yes but also a self love story. Katie learning how to love her body and herself was so heartwarming and incredibly relatable.

Why I didn’t give it 5 stars:
- Cole gave me the “ick”. I know he wasn’t the romantic interest but something felt underdeveloped with his character. I wanted to want to be happy for him at the end mending things with his brother, etc. but he still just annoyed me.
- No spicy scenes. :( I didn’t need anything open door but would have like at least one closed door sexy scene.

Katherine center doesn’t again folks. I binged this book so fast. I loved that it wasn’t only a story of two people falling in love but a story of a woman falling in love with herself and fixing her way of thinking about herself (no thanks to other females in her life, media, and having been a fiancée of someone famous.) throughout the whole book you felt her fall back in love with herself with her body until the big climax.

Truly an amazing read. No notes. 5 stars.
Can I have my own George Bailey?

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this charming and empowering story. Katie Vaughn’s journey captivated me from start to finish, and I couldn’t get enough of the sweet banter and undeniable chemistry between Katie and Hutch.

From the moment Katie and Hutch crossed paths, their dynamic was electric. Hutch’s care and attentiveness toward Katie were evident in the small gestures and moments of support, making their connection all the more endearing. Despite his tough Coast Guard exterior, Hutch had a gentle way of encouraging Katie to embrace her true self without judgment. Their playful exchanges and growing trust made every interaction between them feel real and relatable.

Katie’s personal journey of self-love was truly inspiring. She’s a woman who has faced heartbreak and insecurity but found strength in embracing who she is—body and all. Watching her push through every trial and tribulation with determination was nothing short of heroic. She didn’t just survive; she thrived, discovering her own bravery in the most unexpected of places. Whether it was facing her fear of swimming, navigating family dynamics, or standing up for herself, Katie proved that true courage comes from within.

And then there was Rue—Hutch’s vibrant, colorful aunt who lit up every scene she was in. Her wisdom and humor added so much warmth to the story, and she felt like the heartbeat of their found family. Plus, Hutch’s rescue Great Dane was a delight, adding even more charm to an already unforgettable story.

The vivid setting of Key West came alive with every page, and the blend of swim lessons, helicopter rides, hurricanes, stolen kisses, and unexpected truths created a whirlwind of adventure and romance. Katie and Hutch’s love story wasn’t just about finding each other—it was about finding themselves, facing old fears, and choosing bravery over comfort.

This book is a beautiful reminder that even when life feels messy and uncertain, love, self-acceptance, and a little adventure can lead to unexpected happiness. I loved every moment of this journey, and I’m excited for others to fall in love with Katie and Hutch too. Highly recommended!

maybe my favorite KC yet???

Katherine Center has a way of telling the cutest, fluffiest romance books that also have the best, extremely important messages. The love haters is a love story, but it is also a love note written to yourself and your body. It’s about two people finding love for each other, but also about Katie learning to love herself, which is the most important love someone can find for themselves.

The banter, the fluff, the romance, the swooning— I will read anything and everything Katherine Center writes for the rest of forever!!!!!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️2.5/5
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Like all of Katherine Center’s books, this was a very cute and light-hearted romance with humor and an anxious FMC. KC writes anxious FMCs so well, their anxiety is palpable.

A huge part of this book is the struggle that the FMC, Katie, has with body dysmorphia and a lifelong struggle of disordered eating. The way it was portrayed was very accurate to what so many people, including myself, have gone through with body dysmorphia.
There was an entire chapter of Katie being afraid to get into a swimsuit (like legit fear/phobia, physically incapable of putting on the suit) and it either was too real or just to much for me (like it was a whole chapter and it felt like a lot) but it made my skin crawl it was so frustrating and I almost just skipped it completely.

As always in Katherine Center’s books, there’s lightheartedness and some comedy. But there were some heavy topics of disordered eating and grief but because the tone was so lighthearted, I feel like it wasn’t explored to its potential.

I thought the ending was very underwhelming and definitely was not explored to its potential. There was also A LOT of miscommunication trope in the end and that was beyond frustrating.

Spoiler:

The ending. I seriously thought “that’s it?”
She saves his dog and almost dies on his houseboat and when he rescues her, he says practically nothing and just gives her a kiss as the helicopter pulls them along?
I wanted more emotion in that moment. It’s an emotionally charged thing to see someone you love not only risk their life to save your best friend and then have both of them sinking in the middle of the ocean? Like there should have been anger and relief and SOME EMOTION and it was so blase. And that’s the main reason I rated this low and that this is my least favorite of Katherine Center’s books.

LOVED this one! the ups and downs, the lying, deception, obsessed. I was stressed for George Bailey the whole time but ugh i loved it. I wish there was more time where Hutch and Katie were together longer, like I wish I could've seen more of their romance play out.

This is such a cute book. This is a love story between two people but also a love story between Katie and her own body.

I loved this part.

"..I bullied you. I picked on you like the meanest mean girl in the world. I made you hate yourself. I sucked the joy out of everything-walking down the street, or eating a BLT, or just sitting in the sun. I should have taken you swimming and let you float in the water. I should have let you relax. I should have stood up for you. I should have admired you, and enjoyed you, and kept you company, and celebrated you."

Everyone needs to say this to themselves. We are too hard on our own bodies. Be nice to yourself and your body!

Such a sweet book.

Listen. I’ll read anything Katherine Center writes. I love her!! This just missed the mark for me. Everything I read by her is 5 stars, but I just couldn’t connect to these characters? That’s no fault of the writing necessarily. Though I do feel like the character development was a little less than previous books? I found myself struggling to be drawn into the story which never happens with Katherine’s stories. Anyways. Think water fearing, can’t swim FMC decides to take on an opportunity to profile a US Coast Guard rescue diver. I love Hucth! I’m so happy for their ending, I just don’t love it as much as I usually do. This story definitely has many high points including learning to love yourself the way you are, overcoming fears, and understanding the power of the truth.

Emojis this book made me think of: 🌺 🐶🥧👁️🐸👙

I am somewhat ambivalent about the latest rom-com by Katherine Center, The Love Haters. With her recent success with such hits as The Rom-commers and The Bodyguard, there’s no denying her status as a fun and engaging writer of fiction. Unfortunately, though, this latest starts out slowly, eventually building ground but still ends somewhat predictably. Fans of Ms. Center will, nevertheless, enjoy her writing style and her very likable characters, but this novel falls a bit short compared to her other smash hits.

Katherine Center never disappoints! Gosh, I loved this fun story- kept me interested the entire way through. I finished it so fast and was so sad when it was over!

I thought this was a fun, enjoyable, and easygoing romance about two people who have been hurt in the past and now supposedly “hate” love. I didn’t think that this title really was a great fit, but it didn’t bother me. I liked both main characters and the chemistry that was described and shown, but I felt like I wanted more. No, I’m not talking about needing saucy bedroom scenes (this was spice-free), but I would have liked to see more of their banter and love develop. So much of it felt like it happened off the page.

I’ve read a few of Katherine Center’s books now. I never really have a ton in common with the female main character’s inner main struggle, but I like to see the thought process behind it and how the character strives to overcome. I think this book was effective in building my capacity for empathy with someone with a body positivity challenge, but I felt like it was suddenly resolved too tidily and perhaps unrealistically. In the ways her main characters relate to the side characters, Katherine tends to have them extend a lot of grace instead of leaning heavily on overblown drama, big blowups, and cold turkey relationship endings. I think this is sensible and find it comforting that Center, like her characters, acknowledges that humans are flawed and faceted. It’s refreshing to see characters that can find ways to work through the ways they wound each other.

Other things I liked:
- Cute dog
- Military (Coast Guard!) story
- A colorful aunt
- Easy chemistry
- Key West retirement community living (can I move there please??)
- A memorable kiss
- Underrated amphibians

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy- my opinions are my own.

Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for the eARC of “The Love Haters” by Katherine Center. I haven’t read a Katherine Center book I didn’t love and this one didn’t disappoint. A fun Rom Com centered around two people that have struggled in relationships in their pasts, thus the title origin of love haters. They become acquainted through a professional contact that blossoms after a time into friendship. Their community of friends and family added to the storyline so much and to their relationship as well. If you want a feel good, quick read by an amazing Rom Com author, I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC of The Love Haters.

This one is tough. I loved the Rom-Commers so much and was really looking forward to this new release, but something missed the mark, and I'm not sure what. I wished the tense was present instead of past. Because of that, it took me a bit to get into. I liked the MCs but I didn't see enough chemistry. It wasn't a terrible book by any means and I know many people will enjoy it, I was just hoping for more

Katherine Center is my go to author when I want a light, feel good rom-com to brighten my day, and the Love Haters is a new favorite.

Katie is a corporate video producer that must prove herself with her next assignment to keep her job. The next assignment? Embedding with the Coast Guard's viral hero Hutch to film a Coast Guard recruitment video. Hutch just happens to be her boss's estranged brother. To make things even more complicated, Katie can't swim, an important skill when embedding with the Coast Guard. What ensues is an adventure that brings color back into Katie's life after years of trying to fade into the background.

Once again, Katherine Center has written a rom-com with depth. This a story that reminds readers that falling back in love with ourselves can be just as wonderful as falling in love with someone else. The author's note is the cherry on top, reminding us that reading is the best escape.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC of "The Love Haters" by Katherine Center. This book was perfect for what I needed and for what it was- an adorable (spice free) romance between two people who have been hurt in the past and are now "haters" of love. Katie, who has also not treated herself as loveable in the past, learns to not only tolerate the things she dislikes about her own body but how to love and appreciate herself in a whole new light. This was a very fun and quick read which also included "George Bailey" a perfectly lovable pooch as well for any dog lovers out there.