The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a fun contemporary romance between Katie, a corporate videographer, and Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer and the subject of Katie’s next project. The book follows Katie as she grapples with fear over everything from her inability to swim, to her inability to love herself.

What I loved about this book? it gripped me instantly. The writing was snappy and fun, the storyline was intriguing and easy to follow, the setting was vibrant and summery, and the romance was palpable and believable. I finished this in under 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down.

I did have some gripes with this book however, namely that there was nothing in the description of the book to signify that there would be such a heavy focus on body dysmorphia. This is not something I struggle with personally, and I even found it a bit triggering to read in the beginning (simply by virtue of being a woman in a patriarchal society).
I think it would’ve been much more effective if Katie was simply dealing with insecurity vs talking about how she wouldn’t eat more than 1000 calories in a day and couldn’t handle it if her thighs touched - this crosses the threshold into disordered eating and should be handled with extra care.

If an author is going to venture into a heavy topic like they need to be prepared to have a serious conversation about it and, in this case, it simply felt like a convenient plot device. For example, it didn’t feel realistic that within a matter of days Katie went from not even being able to put on a one-piece bathing suit in the privacy of her home to wearing an “ultra sexy” and revealing swimsuit in front of a room full of men.

All of this being said, most of this commentary was relegated to the very beginning of the book, and once I got past it, I really enjoyed myself. Reading this made me want to read more of Katherine Center’s books. I like her writing and I think, barring a few of the elements I listed, this could have been a favourite of mine. Being mindful of trigger warnings, I would absolutely recommend this book, especially if you like authors such as Emily Henry or Christina Lauren.

I enjoyed the premise of this book! Katie is in danger of losing her job as a film maker in the documentary industry. A unique opportunity arises that will put her in the limelight and save her job. She is sent to film a short promotion video for the Coast Guard featuring "Pup Daddy"/Hutch, a rescue swimmer that saved Jennifer Aniston's dog and became famous. Unsurprising Hutch is devastatingly attractive and responds favorably to Katie's presence, honestly any reader could tell he was intrigued by Katie from the first meeting. And Katie liked what she saw as well.

While this is branded as a romance, the focus shifted nore towards self love and healing from heartbreak, which was a nice addition. I enjoyed Katie and Hutch together, but longed for something more. The first half of the book felt well paced and exciting, I could feel the longing between the characters and was looking forward to what the second half held. Katie's friend Beanie was a fantastic addition to the story. She is the best friend everyone deserves, someone that helps you see why you are loveable and deserving. Rue was another great addition to the story. Without Rue and Beanie the story would have been dry.

My one critique of the book overall: I think the web of lies and blackmailing got out of control in the second half and pulled from the enjoyment of the small amount of romance in the book. I get that there has to be some type of tension and problem to make the book more realistic and interesting, but it only annoyed me and felt a little over the top.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A quick and easy read that I wished delved a little deeper on some of the heavier themes like body image and grief. It felt like the book couldn't decide if it wanted to just be a breezy rom-com or something deeper which led to a bit of whiplash as a reader. It was still a fun read and perfect to break up some of the winter blues with the Key West setting! I always look forward to a new Katherine Center book.

I loved this book! Katherine Center’s book never fail to leave me disappointed & are a guaranteed feel-good, happy ending story. I loved Hutch & Katie (and George Bailey)! I was wondering where the conflict would come in and really enjoyed the storm aspect. It wasn’t something I was able to predict and kept me on my toes. Really enjoyed :)

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Katherine Center for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I’ve loved many of Center’s books, but this one sadly missed the mark for me. I still enjoyed it, but I was a little bored throughout and couldn’t connect to the characters.

This one follows Katie Vaughn as she travels to Key West to create a profile on Tom Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. This is for her job and will hopefully keep her from being laid off. She meets Hutch, along with his Aunt Rue and rescue Great Dane, and things escalate.

My main problem with this one is that I couldn’t connect to the main characters and didn’t feel the chemistry between them. I agree with other reviewers that have said it’s because there are too many tropes involved and things become jumbled. My favorite character, though, was Aunt Rue - I thought she was so fun and I could really picture her and her store.

A big part of this story is Katie’s relationship with her body and learning self-love. I enjoyed seeing her journey with this, but I thought it was a little heavy-handed and mentioned it A LOT. This may just be a personal issue though!

Despite these issues, I still enjoyed the book, and gave it 3 stars. It would be a fun beach read and I’m sure some people would enjoy it more than I did.

Katherine Center has been one of my favorite authors for a long time, but I was not expecting to fall in love so unequivocably with The Love Haters. I finished it in a day. I honestly couldn't put it down. The story follows Katie, a videographer with some self-esteem body issues after a public break up as she travels to Key West to film a recruitment video for the US Coast Guard featuring Hutch, the estranged brother of Katie's co-worker. Throw in a fear of water (and bathing suits,) an adorable dog, a band of kicky older ladies, and a hurricaine and you have all the ingredients for the best rom-com of the year. Do not wait to read this book.

I dont think this was my favorite Katherine book but I loved it regardless. This was hilarious and romantic. I will keep reading her works.

This book missed the mark for me. It lacked substance, weird twists and turns that just felt forced and were trying to pick up on microtropes to get reviews. I've read her other work and loved them. This lacked restraint and an edited hand.

I’ve read every one of this authors books and this one didn’t disappoint. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I liked this book! It was written well, and it had some funny moments and also kept me engaged from the beginning. I think the author did a good job tying everything together, and making it an enjoyable book

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I ADORED this book! The two main characters were soo cute! And they just felt very real life to me like these are people who actually exist.

I don’t think I’ve read a book that touched on the coast guard so that part was really interesting! Center does a good job of giving you enough information to understand the backstory without being overwhelming. She also infuses so much unexpected humor into her books that they have a lighthearted feel even with turmoil happening around the characters.

So many wild things happened in this book you never knew what the next page held. A lot of ups and downs in this but in a good way!

And of course the star of the show was the Great Dane, George Bailey!

My Rating: 5 ⭐️

I enjoyed this book very much. It has quirky characters, body image/self love, and wonderful banter between Katie and Hutch. A wholesome rom-com from Katherine Center. Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press.

Katherine Center is always a "must read" author for me. I was psyched to read her latest novel "The Love Haters". The story focuses on Katie who is a video producer who is trying desparately to not lose her job. Hence, she takes on an assignment in Key West making a recruitment video for the Coast Guard. With no background on the subject matter and none of the skills required, Katie must work closely with the drop dead gorgeous Hutch to accomplish her goals and maybe convince him to be in one of her side projects. Hutch is everything a woman could hope for and Katie isn't prepared to like him so much or for him to reciprocate her feelings! Katie is lacking in the confidence department. This novel has a wonderful cast of supporting characters that make you chuckle. In the end, this is a story about learning to love yourself and opening your self up to new possibilities.

What a delight! When I grow up like Rue, I want to be just like Rue but I disgress! Katherine Center writes novels where she takes her FMC on a self-journey; In the Love-Haters, Katie's self-journey was about self-love. The characters in this books are characters I would love to spend evening with (except for Cole). I did not particularly enjoy the parts when Katie covered for Cole but in the end it all worked out! Overall, it was a truly enjoyable books with laugh out loud moments sprink;led in here and there!

I absolutely loved this book! It’s not only my favorite KC book but it’s my favorite read of the year!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
This book was entertaining throughout but fell incredibly short when it came to the heavier topics such as body image and grief. I also wasn’t invested in the romance. I felt like the two characters lacked chemistry. We didn’t see them grow and have a meaningful and lasting relationship. Overall, I’m rating this 2.5 stars.

This one felt disjointed; like the events were just thrown together and picked out from a bowl and hoping for the best. I love this author and the book was humorous, but there were a lot of weird plot moments.

More than a love story—as I feel that mostly played a backseat—this book was about friendship and self-love. Not the fun self-love… the self love that takes work. This book was a journey. The love story was just a sweet bonus.

Expect —> Closed Door, Friendship, Grumpy/Sunshine, Learning to Love Oneself, Lies, A Great Dane, Coast Guard

Katie is assigned a job-saving project where she will shadow real life hero, Hutch, as they make a promo video for the coast guard. They’re both love-haters from romantic tragedies from the past but find one another the perfect balm to old wounds.

I will be honest here and say that the level of self-hate Katie has is shocking. It reminds me of my teenaged self when I went through a rough couple of years full or hormones and bullies. So be warned that the way she speaks to herself is vile. However, after discussing with friends, I think there are people who will relate. Helped by her supportive friendship with her cousin and even learning to see herself the way Hutch does. Katie’s growth in this book is staggering.

And Hutch is a sweetie. Every scene with him had me smiling. His brother, on the other hand, made me a little ragey 😆

Thank you SMP for the gifted arc!

Hmmm. I read The Love Haters right on the heels of my first Katherine Center book, the Bodyguard, and I’m afraid that it suffered by comparison. The Bodyguard was a sweet, funny romcom with some more serious threads woven through and overall hit for me. But when reading the Love Haters, it felt like another color way of the same outfit. A career driven, emotionally repressed woman who is unaware of her own beauty and charm, chasing a bristly but quick to warm up famous, hot dude… with a challenging relationship with his brother… because of a car accident. It just got to be too many overlapping arcs, like Center took two stabs at the same basic outline.

The setting and side characters were fun and I think maybe I would have enjoyed it on its own, but as part of her collection, I was let down.

Katherine Center always makes me cry in the best way. This book made me feel, and made me do some self reflection in the way that good books do.

Katie is relatable, which makes this story feel personal and helped immerse me in the story.

I enjoyed this read, and i recommend it to anyone looking for a good, if thought provoking read.

I received a free advance review copy through from St Martins Press through NetGalley and my review is voluntary.