Katherine Center is an auto buy for me. I think the Bodyguard is one of my favorite rom coms ever. I have never not had a great time. This time was a first. It was extremely confusing. There was a lot going on with a the main character who has several side tropes going on at the same time. At some points it was more interesting than the main focus. I have been and will continue to be a loud and proud Katherine Center fan but this book is not it for me. She is from Houston and she knows what hurricanes are actually like!

needed this book in my life, I haven't been able to truly sit down and read a book in a long time, but here I was, truly unable to put this one down! I laughed out loud multiple times, swooned quiet a bit and had so much fun!

First off, "Pup Daddy"?! I knew within the first 15 pages I was going to be obsessed. Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson is a coast guard rescue diver, after having saved Jennifer Aniston's dog, he was nicknamed "Pup Daddy." He actively avoids any kind of fame related to what he does, but finally agrees to an interview with smaller company.

Queue Katie, who isn't exactly qualified for the position, but does it anyhow, in hopes to save her career and get her job off the chopping block.

Problem number 1: she can't swim, she is expected to follow this man into rescue scenarios and potentially save herself if the helicopter goes down.

Problems 2-10: If something can go wrong, it will.

Katie is someone I can relate to, she is awkward, she is goofy, she is incredibly self confident, and apparently has a black cloud following her around.

I got annoyed many times at a side character, because of all the lies they wound themselves into, but it was fun (sometimes frustrating) to see how everything played out! This book has lots of romance, but no spice!

Tropes:
✔️Forced Proximity
✔️Coast Guard
✔️One bed
✔️Caretaker MMC
✔️Family meddling
✔️Workplace romance
✔️Miscommunication

When Katie’s company starts downsizing and she’s offered an opportunity to save her job she jumps at it! This crosses her path with Hutch a hero coast guard officer who is the subject of her videography, While these two “love haters” start to rethink love, Katie is also on a journey to reclaim her self love.

I loved the found family aspect and the relationship growth Katie had within herself. Hutch was an amazing main male character with the most integrity,

My least favorite part was when I felt like Katie’s inner monologue got concerned with more frivolous things and needy in the last 20% of the book. Some of the things she thought just felt cringy. I was really vibing up until that point and still loved the book overall.

Swimming lessons, a hot coast guard rescuer, Key West charm, plus a 160 lb great dane? The Love Haters by Katherine Center has a recipe of elements perfect for a sweet and bubbly summer cocktail of a read. Featuring a fun and light-hearted plot with a bit of added substance from heavier topics like body image and public scrutiny, The Love Haters delivers a solid romcom experience, despite being a bit formulaic and predictable. Although I had a few minor nitpicks regarding the overall pacing and how the novel executed some of its more dramatic moments, I still found it very entertaining and worth reading.

Mixing the tropes of a fish out of water (or in this case, surrounded by water) with the disheartened and romance skeptic, Katie’s story is one that’s both fun to read as well as one that’s quite relatable. Apart from the main plot involving Katie trying to produce a promotional film featuring an unwilling real-life hero in an effort to keep her job, there’s a secondary storyline involving body image and self-acceptance. While the former serves as the main hook, it’s the latter that I found pleasantly surprising and effective. While the two storylines seemingly have little to do with each other on paper, they both gradually begin to play off and eventually compliment each other, providing great character development as Katie discovers her own self worth next to the unsmiling yet perfect Hutch. Rather than merely settling with just being funny, Katie’s time in Key West quickly becomes a journey to self-appreciation and love, adding additional intention and depth to the story, albeit executed in a casual manner without the ambition or finesse to make it a standout feature. I went into The Love Haters having previously read Center’s The Bodyguard which I considered to be an excellent romcom, and unsurprisingly got a few good laughs in this book as well, though the humor isn’t quite as funny here (Hannah is a more amusing and entertaining MC). However when compared, The Love Hater’s back-half definitely had a bit more substance while The Bodyguard was mostly just a good fun time.

Immediately obvious from the get-go, one of The Love Haters’ highlights is the sunny and pastel-tinted portrayal of Key West and its far-removed, relaxed feel. Despite only one sentence of the synopsis advertising the story’s setting (along with the Coast Guard, another element incorporated well), I found Center’s choice of Key West to not only be a great narrative choice given its proximity to NAS Key West, but also for flavor and quite literally extra color. Having lived in “paradise” for the majority of my life, I’ve become accustomed and quite tired of how generic and all-encompassing tropical vacation locations like Key West are often portrayed in media. In The Love Haters however, Center’s approach and descriptions of Key West goes much further than what I was expecting for the story. Obviously romanticized for the feel-good nature of the novel and genre, I consistently found the descriptions and movements around the island to feel truly lived-in and well-researched, particularly Key West’s signature building style and distinctive colorful fashion. While not necessarily being the most lyrical or poetically beautiful descriptions I’ve read, Center captures the lifestyle and image of the island perfectly and many important plot elements simply could not work without the Key West location and warm portrayal.

Another aspect of The Love Haters that I enjoyed was the portrayal and inclusion of the Coast Guard rescue operation that was cleverly integrated into Katie and Hutch’s story. Although it provided a lot of great slapstick comedic material and a narrative reason for pairing them off outside of “work”, I was impressed how Center was able to connect the military angle back to Katie’s personal demons. Aside from the obvious and overdone inability to swim element (providing plenty of Hutch eye candy scenes), I found a particular rescue helicopter flight protocol requirement very cleverly utilized for Katie’s self image storyline, particularly it’s takeaway message. While stereotypical, Hutch’s Coast Guard background also worked in the story’s favor as an understandable layer to his resistance to initial attraction, rather than merely being another generic standoffish aloof love interest. And while completely predictable and almost obligatory for the genre, the rescue motif near the conclusion also provides excellent romance opportunities if you know what I mean.

While I enjoyed reading the novel which went by very fast, upon completion I felt that pacing and the overall focus of the story to be a little misplaced. While the first two thirds of the story was entertaining enough and Katie/Hutch had good chemistry, it mostly felt like fun in the sun slapstick fluff. That may seem like an odd thing to point out considering some of Center’s other novels mostly consist of quality, yet still slapstick content. However, once the novel hits the 60% mark, the real meat of Katie’s character story begins. The final third of the story abruptly shifts the tone and focus, which felt quite jarring compared to how relaxed the rest of the story felt. Additionally, the “lies” highlighted in the book’s synopsis and character relationships honestly started to feel quite chaotic, particularly nearly all of Katie’s coworker Cole’s character motivations and the conflict with his older brother Hutch. Their strained relationship, uncomfortable reunion, and all the conflict that follows felt quite manufactured and unusually forced due to a lack of foreshadowing or context clues (the exact same note I had with the love interest and familial discourse featured in The Bodyguard). The deceptions and plot progressions felt progressively more over the top, not to mention rushed and out of left field. To Center’s credit, the progressions were unexpectedly twisting and certainly amped up the story, invoking the worst thing that can happen trend. I fully believe that the plot and developments in the back of the story could’ve completely worked if more of Hutch/Cole/Rue’s backstories were incorporated into the first half of the story instead of revealing all of the cards in the moment, or if this narrative shift occurred far earlier in the story. Its current placement causes the chapters before it to feel like wasted pages underutilized while everything afterwards rushed and excessive.

While Katie is given good character growth potential which culminates in a dramatic and unexpected ordeal with Hutch’s great dane George Bailey (while the good, it could’ve been great with more time), Hutch on the other hand didn’t feel as developed. While there’s a lot of interest revolving around his Coast Guard career and image-breaking moments with his dog and Rue’s gal pals, I was a bit disappointed that his character ultimately ended up simply being Mr. Perfect and morally flawless. The novel’s entire setup revolves around the world finding him attractive and perfect after a rescue video he’s in goes viral (much to the ire of Cole), but I was surprised that the story didn’t actually capitalize or twist that public image for narrative purposes and greater depth. While that’s slightly to be expected given the story’s feel-good tone and genre, this is again another point of criticism I had with The Bodyguard and its love interest Jack Stapleton; both male love interests felt too perfect and by extension, bland and forgettable.

The side characters are another area that I felt hindered the novel’s enjoyment and the author’s ambition to be more than just a romcom (see Center’s extended author notes). While I found Rue to be lovely, decently developed, and having great character moments with Katie and her worries, Katie’s relative and friend Beanie (forgot what their relation was, perhaps a sign of what little impression she left) felt noisy and distracting to the story. Their girl talk gossipy phone calls about Katie’s time in Key West constantly felt like interruptions to the flow of the story and didn’t feel like they added anything of value. I realize how this sounds given I’m a male reader criticizing gal pal banter, however other reviews by female readers also share similar opinions of Beanie and her phone calls. Beanie’s narrative purpose in the story was clearly intended to be a foil to Katie’s self-image doubts and to help her reframe her opinion of herself, but the execution of their conversations felt underwhelming and lacking depth, given the weight of the topic. This is made all the more noticeable when Katie finally has her “ah-hah!” moments which feel less than satisfying when her support from Beanie all feels so trite. I almost would’ve preferred if Beanie was axed completely and her contributions to Katie’s growth were left solely to Rue, or less predictably, maybe even Katie’s boss Sullivan (the one who may fire her constantly). There’s a perfect opportunity near the end of the story where Katie and Sullivan have a brief heart to heart that could’ve strengthened both Sullivan’s character and the story considerably had it been fleshed out more. The same could be said about Cole whose lies and motivations felt all over the place. While the plot developments and conflict technically make sense on paper, the actual execution and my reaction to them while reading ranged from bafflement to confused amusement due to the lack of setup. The ARC version obviously may be different from the actual published version, but the ebook copy is not very long and certainly could’ve been longer if it allowed greater development to make Cole’s actions more believable. As it currently is, Cole becomes the scapegoat for every plot twist that feels like a narrative stretch under the guise of “I had to do it for you to keep your job”. The story falls back on this explanation far too many times, particularly since the initial reason for Katie taking on the Key West job in the first place is for that same repetitive reason.

Despite some concerns about the pacing and side characters, I found The Love Haters to still be an entertaining read and an above average romance novel that’s awfully close to being an excellent one. The vibe and content is very much on-brand for what readers have come to expect from Katherine Center’s novels. The vibrant Key West setting and constant swimming-related events paired with a sexy tall Coast Guard also makes it a perfect summer vacation read, likely intentional given its announced late May publication date (also on-brand for me reading the summer story in Winter much like my Xmas themed reads in July). Overall, The Love Haters is a very easy book to pick-up and is a safe recommendation for most romance or chick lit readers.

This book really had all the ingredients for a fun romantic comedy. It was sweet and I loved all of the characters so much! Katie and Hutch were so cute, but George Bailey stole my heart. ❤️ I loved learning more about the Coast Guard. I was slightly surprised when I realized that the author was also going to be tackling some heavy topics within the context of such a light-hearted feel to the book. Tackling grief and overcoming body image issues are two topics that take time in real life. I am not sure it was believable for the FMC to go from having major body image issues for years to overcoming them within a few months. It also bothered me that she essentially used the attention of a man to help Katie overcome these serious issues. I would have liked to have seen Katie dig a little deeper on her own. However, this did bring awareness to a very serious topic, so I will give props to the author for tackling it. Overall, this was a wonderful read for anyone not wanting to think too deeply into serious topics. The author made me want to meet up with the main characters, as well as “The Gals” to have some fun in Key West!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Publishing Group for my advanced copy (eARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a fun and heartfelt read! Katherine Center has done it again with another silly rom-com full of lovable characters and a strong message that is sure to resonate with every reader. The back and forth banter and precarious situations that Katie kept finding herself in had me giggling through the entire story. Rue was the eccentric, fun loving aunt we all wish we had and Hutch was the perfect brooding counterpart to our sunshiny FMC, Katie.

The Love Haters is the perfect book to stash in your bag on your next beach getaway. Center’s writing was so immersive that she somehow managed to transport me out of my freezing, snowy, Idaho winter right into the heart of sunny Key West. I spent the entire book craving key lime pie and warm beaches.

I loved so many things about this book but my favorite was the message that Center set out to convey and that is we need to stop hating ourselves. Why is it more of a social norm to hate things about ourselves than to love things about ourselves? We so often pick ourselves apart to a point of genuine self loathing when in reality we should show ourselves love and gratitude. Life is too short to put it on pause because we feel insecure what others may thing about us or our body. There is a point towards the end when the message clicks with Katie and I think the reader will experience that moment for themselves as well.

A great big thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Katherine Center and NetGalley for an ARC of The Love Haters. I truly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to add it to my bookshelf when it is released on May 20th.

Oh my goodness, I loved this one! Key West, fabulous older women, and hot rescue swimmer? Yes please! It's not just a romance between Katie and Hutch, but also Katie and herself. I'm not normally a fan of self help books, so many of them feel preachy, but the way Katie learns self care and how to be nicer to herself was done so well. There is discussion of eating disorders, so be cautious if that could be a trigger.

I am a big fan of Katherine Center's uplifting and fun romance novels, so jumped at the chance to read this one early. Cinematographer Katie gets sent on a job to Key West to document the life of Coast Guard rescue swimmer Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson. It's a little more complex than meets the eye however, as the supervisor sending her on the job is Hutch's estranged brother, and doing well on this assignment could mean Katie keeping her job. Did we mention she can't swim and that's literally a requirement for the job?

This book delivers what it promises -- fun and Florida sun, found family, healing familial wounds, plus a whole lot of will then/won't they between Hutch and Katie. Are there some far fetched elements? Sure. How Katie ends up in the Florida Keys for WEEKS seems a stretch (how long does filming a 6-minute promotional video take anyway?), but if we suspend reality for a bit this book just ends up being a lot of fun. There are themes beyond the romance between the two main characters, including a whole lot of body acceptance and self-reflection, which adds some depth to the plot.

If you are a Katherine Center fan, this book will be right up your alley for a fun summer romp.

Overall, it was a quick & easy read. Katie was likeable, Hutch was fun to get to learn about, and Rue was a perfect addition for the story.
Also, the cover is perfect for Katie’s chromophobia! The story was on point for the rom com genre, but the extra pieces lacked a little oomph. Cole was intolerable, her job sounded terrible & though her body image was consistently a major piece of Katie’s thought process, I felt it was handled too.. lightly? Same with grief. I thought the descriptions were well done, and I was fascinated with the role of rescue swimmers with the coast guard. The ending was a little thriller-y and I loved it! Katie’s self reflection and growth was another favorite part.

George Bailey was my favorite, hands down!

After reading the authors note, I love her attention to the ‘love story’ between Katie and herself!

Another great book from Katherine Center! I really enjoy how fun this book was and how it hit my emotions in all the right spots. Katherine Center has written many amazing stories, but this one just might be my favorite so far!

Bee: Katherine is simply so good at what she does. Everything I’ve ever read from her has become ones that I easily recommend to others. This story is no different. maybe I’m bias due to my own experiences that line up with this book but a uscg flight suit will always be 👀 to me LOL! But really, this story was so much more than a romance. it was about a friendship developing that turned into a romance and that was even sweeter.

Nik: I LOVED this one with all my heart. From the beginning to the absolute end, Katherine had me crying, laughing and giggling. her stories always feels like talking with a friend. I wanted the best for Katie and hutch was it. The pacing was perfect and watching these two dance around each other was *chefs kiss* just a 10/10 and another one that I’ll be adding to my trophy shelf!

Katie + Hutch

I thought this was a great read! A swoony coast guard MMC? Say less? I read this book in one sitting. It was easy to get into and hard to put down. I thought Katherine Center does a great job on giving you depth for both the main characters while writing in just one POV. personally, I really appreciated the body positivity that was a theme throughout the book through the voice of Katie's best friend/cousin?

Also the humor was well laced throughout this story and omg the ending was INSANE! what a high stakes ending!!

Another hit from Katherine Center! The banter and the slow build had me kicking my feet, while the story hit me right in the feels.

I was SO excited to read the eARC for this book!! It was on my top 2025 books to look forward to and it didn't disappoint! I loved the characters, the family aspect, the romantic tension. I was actually laughing out loud in a few spots, which rarely happens to me. I absolutely loved the MMC. I already missed him before I finished the book. The only reason this isn't a 5 star for me is because I didn't like the fake dating scene in the 3rd act - I understand why that is in there but I wish there was another way it could have been written without her having to lie to the MMC.

Katherine Center is one of my auto-buy authors and I have read all of her books. Her books are always feel-good, funny and include relatable characters. The Love Haters was quirky and charming - I loved the mix of humor, friendship, self-acceptance and romance.

Katie works as a video producer, but to keep her job, she has to film a video about Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West and the brother of her superior. According to his brother, Hutch is grumpy and doesn’t believe in love - needless to say that does not prove to be the case. As Katie gets drawn into Hutch’s daily life in the Florida Keys (including his fabulous great dane, George Bailey, and a wonderfully colorful cast of elder ladies know as “The Gals”) she is forced to confront some of her own greatest fears and insecurities, ultimately learning to love all of herself along the way.

This is a wonderfully charming story about loss, friendship and learning to love yourself as much as you love others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I usually love Katherine Center books, but this one was just not for me. However, there were parts of this book that I really liked. I loved all the shenanigans caused by George Bailey to bring Hutch and Katie together. I liked the relationship and dialogue between Katie and Hutch--it felt very natural and was funny at the end of the day.

However, there were some things that were just a bit off to me and kept me from really enjoying the book. It somehow felt too slow and too fast at the same time, and although I loved Rue and Hutch (and George Bailey of course), and I grew to like Katie and appreciated the development she went through in appreciating her body, but I just did not like the other side characters (especially Cole). They all just rubbed me the wrong way. Some of the things that happened just got brushed aside with not much explanation or apology.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am a Katherine Center fan through and through! Was this book a masterpiece, no, but it was relatable in a tangible way and not many books can do that. This examination of self hate and how we can grow that into self love really hit home for me. I honestly couldn’t put the book down. I could definitely use a book two and a whole lot more of George Bailey ;)

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy!

This is a book that hit me right in my elder millennial, eldest daughter soul. Crazy enough also share a name with the main character. I struggle with a lot of the same things as she does so It was really cool to read her inner workings and healing about her body image. The story wasn't really an enemies to lovers but it was along those lines maybe? The two main characters are amazing to read into. Katherine Center is an auto read for me every single time and she never disappoints. Cannot wait to buy this and wait for her next great story.

*4/5 stars*
First off love the concept of a rescue swimmer. I thought that was very unique and not something you read about all the time. Katie was fake it til you make it all the way and I loved her character for it. Overall this was a nice, quick read. I really enjoyed Rue and the girls of Key West. Then of course, the star, George Bailey who this story would’ve have been the same with him. My only drawback, that was made this 4 stars, was the whole “lie with me” scenario. I understand why, I just wasn’t a fan of how that stopped Katie and Hutch’s romantic interest for a couple of chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book! This novel comes out on May 20, 2025 & I think it’s definitely worth giving a try.

My feelings about this book are so complicated. I’m bouncing between a 3.5 & a 4 star rating, probably landing at a 3.75. I want to preface everything I say by stating that I had a great time reading this book & I really did love it for the most part.

I went into this book knowing that it was marketed as a romance, so I expected to love it as much as I loved The Rom-Commers. That being said, the romance didn’t feel like the main plot of this book. It’s definitely a key element of the plot, but I don’t feel like I saw enough of the couple together to fully adore them.

Though I felt like the romance was lacking in parts of this, the romance that was provided was well done & enjoyable. The side characters were well executed (begging to be one of The Gals) & the role of family & friendship was something I admired. More than anything, I love how this book explored one’s relationship with themselves & their own body image. I found Katie to be highly relatable & the self-help aspects of this story were great.

Of course I expected something to do with water & rescue due to Katie being unable to swim at the start of this novel & Hutch being in the Coast Guard, but I felt as though the last quarter of this book was slightly too unrealistic & dramatic considering the tone of the rest of the novel. While I loved the growth it provided Katie, going from not being able to swim to surviving a hurricane on a boat seemed like a stretch.

While I may have sounded critical of this story, I really did love it & eat it up. It was entertaining, page turning at times, & reflective in the best ways. I would give the acknowledgements five stars if I could.