The Love Haters by Katherine Center

The Love Haters by Katherine Center is a charming and touching story that combines humor, romance, and personal growth. Katie, is on the verge of losing her job when her coworker proposes a plan to save her career. Hutch, his polar opposite brother, is less than thrilled to be involved in the scheme. Hutch is expecting an interview with his brother, not a surprise meeting with Katie, and their funny introduction sets the stage for a story filled with tension, humor, and laugher.

Katie’s journey is shaped by her past, which has left her very vulnerable. As she spends time in Florida, her interactions with new friends and confronting her insecurities, readers see her grow and heal. Katie’s personal struggles are relatable, and Hutch’s initial gruffness paves the way to a sweet and supportive bond.

The dynamic between Katie and Hutch is filled with conflict and connection. The relationship between the grows from misunderstanding and reluctance to something deeper.

Katherine Center’s writing is engaging and uplifting, which was very much felt as I listened to the book. The Love Haters is a perfect mix of lighthearted moments and depth, making it an enjoyable read.

If you’re looking for a book that’s both funny and touching, with characters that feel real and relatable, The Love Haters is definitely worth picking up.

Another KC love story and of course 5 stars! So often I find myself relating to the main character with her struggles and loved getting to see her growth. Again, the wit and story was so fun! I read on my kindle and listened to the audio version, which I could not recommend more!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martian’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review!

The Love Haters is another heartwarming, witty, and emotionally rich story from Katherine Center. The banter, the romance, and the personal growth of the characters made it such a fun and uplifting read. While I’m not sure if the body positivity theme was meant to be a major focal point, at times it felt a bit over-mentioned. That said, I was really glad to see Katie’s journey toward healing—her transformation felt genuine and well-earned. Also, the audiobook narrator was fantastic! They truly brought the characters to life and made the dialogue sparkle. Definitely a must-read (or listen) for rom-com lovers!

Hutch is my new favorite mmc! A real-life hero, yes please. His brother Cole however, is the most immature man baby character I've ever read. George Bailey wins best character in a book though because who doesn't want a dog side kick who is afraid of thunderstorms?!

Thank you to Net Galley and McMillan Audio for the advance audio book! I love Katherine Center and her characters. As always Patti Murin and her narration draws you in, making you feel like you are right there with the characters. Center writes such characters that you want to be friends with.
They have real struggles and are far from perfect, but they are always trying their best. In theLove Haters, the main character Katie is dealing with a lot in her personal life. Her ex, is not exactly a stand up guy, some might call him a douchebag. Her job is in peril due to cuts, and finally she is at war with herself, and her body. As the author states she is in an enemies to lovers relationship with herself. So when romance appears in the form of a equally struggling Hutch. He may not have had the same struggles, but he has sworn off love, forever.

As always KC tackles all of these with humor, a bit of fun and of course a few twists and turns that keep you wondering what will happen. In her latest novel her main character Katie, has a tough work assignment, but that's nothing compared to the personal assignment she's embarking on, to love herself as she is.

4.5….i just couldn’t love Katherine Center more. She writes real, relatable stories with equally relatable characters. They are lovable and you just find yourself cheering them on until the end. The Love Haters was no different. Katie and Hutch…I loved them. (And Rue/tha gals—assuming the spelling since this was an audiobook, ha! And George Bailey 🥰)
But the story wasn’t just about Katie and Hutch…it was about Katie and herself, and that was the most relatable part for me. I loved this story, start to finish…watching Katie and Hutch fall in love (I just could have used a little more of their “story” on the page…it seemed to drop off weirdly with the Cole drama… hence the 4.5) and watching Katie begin to love herself and her body.

The narrator did a fantastic job. Thoroughly enjoyable audiobook!

Well done, Katherine Center! Another hit ❤️

This is such a beautiful story that is more than just a romance. Katie was so relatable in many ways. In this novel, she struggles with body insecurities, which I’m sure many of us have struggled with at some point in our lives. I know I have! I really enjoyed Katie’s vulnerability and forgiveness towards herself. This was such a beautiful journey of healing. I also loved the romance between Katie and Hutch. To me, this was more than just a sweet love story between two people but more so a love story of finding that love towards yourself.

I was granted the audiobook for this advanced copy, and I highly recommend it! The narrator and author did such an amazing job! Literally listed to it in less than 24 hours!

Thank you @katherinecenter @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for an ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Title releases May 20, 2025

Unfortunately, this book was not for me.

Grateful to have had the opportunity to read the audio that is narrated by one of my favourites - Patti Murin who helped bring this lacklustre story to life.

I absolutely love when authors include commentary on very real issues, especially those that are considered kind of taboo to discuss. THE LOVE HATERS centres around body image and as someone who struggles with this herself I wanted so desperately to connect with Katie’s story, however I found her self-love journey to be extremely cliché and unoriginal! It honestly felt like I was reading a manual on body image that they would have regurgitated to us in a middle school health class…

The romance between Katie and Hutch lacked chemistry, the most interesting and heart warming parts of this relationship revolving around Hutch’s dog…

The conflict between the brothers was petty and the resolution felt equally immature.

4.5 stars

I can always count on Katherine’s writing, she is one of my favorite authors!

The Love haters was a super fun read. I loved the chemistry between Hutch and Katie. And I also enjoyed how relatable Katie was. Growing up she had body issues and adults did not make it any easier for her either. But I love in the end how she grew to love herself exactly the way she was.

Overall the storyline was fun, it drew me in immediately, the writing was great. Just what I would expect from this author. There’s always an underlying lesson in her books, but a great story to go with it. I can’t wait for Katherine Center’s next book!!

***Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

5⭐, 0.75🌶️, 4.5🎧

No notes. I adored this book! So much fun! I loved it! Katherine wrote a heartwarming and adorable romance, as well as a moving journey of growth for Katie. It was just perfect. I loved falling in love with Hutch just from Katie's POV and I just couldn't get over how hilarious and quirky Katie was! She was so relatable with her body struggles and conflicts with her ex. This may just be battling Things You Save in a Fire for my favorite Katherine book! 💚

💚Workplace Romance
🩷MMC: Coast Guard member
💛FMC: Quirky, Lovable Filmmaker
🩷Forced Proximity

Patti Murin did a great job with this audiobook. Her narration included bits of humor and sarcasm while just added to the audiobook perfectly!

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillian Audio, and St. Martins Press for an eARC and ALC of this book in exchange for my honest and unpaid review!

I loved the ideas behind this book. Learn to love yourself, stand up for yourself and just BE yourself. The coast guard part was very interesting. I enjoyed learning about water rescue, but it wasn't over the top. I did not care for the Cole character, but in the real world, such a person exists. I did love the whole scenario behind the aunt and her friends and how they loved on Katie from the start!

This was a cute romance about a woman who is sent to videotape a U.S. Navy promotional video. The guy she is videotaping is none other than the famous “Puppy Love” guy who rescued Jennifer Anniston’s dog off of a ledge.
I love the narrator who was chosen and she made it easy to listen to.

I wouldn’t say this is my favorite book from the author, but it was still really cute, with likable characters. I think the miscommunication between the main characters was silly, but it’s ok. Nothing too serious happened in this one, it’s very lighthearted.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for this early release in exchange for an honest review. I really appreciate it!

Really liked this story from Katherine Center. A grumpy/sunshine trope with silly drama and miscommunication. While there were sweet moments, it wasn't too deep but made for a great vacation read. I do wish it had an eating disorder content warning.

I was so excited to receive this eARC- Katherine Center is one of my favorite romance authors- and I've really loved everything I've read by her. The Love Haters, however, felt like it was missing something. It was a cute romance, sure, but I felt like it lacked the depth that made her other characters and plotlines so unique and captivating. I will say this story picked up in the second half, once we learned more about the male main character besides the fact he was hot and worked with the Coast Guard.
The good: I loved the narrator- Patti Murin always does a great job with her books! I appreciated the female lead's growth and journey towards self-love and positive body image. Thank you Netgalley for this eARC!

Overall, The Love Haters is a quick, easy read with glimpses of Katherine Center’s signature charm. While it didn’t fully deliver the high notes I’ve come to expect from her, it may still resonate with readers seeking a lighthearted rom-com with themes of self-discovery and empowerment. I’ll still be eagerly anticipating her next release—every author has an off day, and this one just wasn’t the perfect fit for me.

I read three Katherine center books last month and loved them all. I was stoked to receive an early copy of her new book.
However, this was not it. The whole plot and Katie’s whole personality was her body image issues. While h love the message, I just needed more.
I am still a huge KC fan and will keep reading her books, but this was just a miss for me.

As a new rom-com reader I was totally drawn into the story.. the authors notes at the end said a lot about stories and love stories and how they’d an affect us and change us. This is so true in this book. I felt I was there and want to go to Key West and live like the ladies.

With similar vibes as Katherine’s previous book, “The Rom-Commers” people are going to love or hate this book. It starts with Katie, jilted by her ex (as love hater #1), taking on a video producer job in Key West for a promotional/recruiting video for the Coast Guard. She lies right off the bat because she can’t swim. One of the reasons she can’t swim is horrible body image issues that she slowly deals with throughout this book.

Enter Hutch (love hater #2), a dreamy Coast Guard rescue swimmer who is the subject of Katie’s video, and he is conveniently available to teach her to swim. I love the forced proximity. The hilarious situations Katie finds herself in are great. Other than Rue, the side characters were a bit lacking, especially Hutch’s brother, Cole. At the very beginning, I almost confused him as the love interest, but for Cole to hate such a lovable character (Hutch) makes him unlikable all the way through.

I loved the audiobook version of this novel. Patti Murin does a great job narrating this single POV romance. I enjoyed this book, and I’m sure others will too, even though it is far from perfect, there are some redeeming factors as well as an interesting side plot involving the Coast Guard.

In this book:
*forced proximity
*cute dog
*body issues
*grief/trauma
*humor
*one bed
*Key West
*coast guard

Thank you to Katherine Center, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley for an advanced listening copy of this book.

I was so happy to see the audiobook for “The Love Haters” by Katherine Center on NetGalley. Patti Murin is a must listen narrator for me so I was holding out to request this book till the audio was available. And this did not disappoint. Murin was a wonderful narrator as always. She was quirky and heartfelt.

“The Love Haters” follows Katie who gets sent to Key West to film a video series about the Coast Guard. There Katie meets Tom “Hutch” Hutchinson and sparks fly immediately, but not without complications like her co-worker and his brother, Cole, who has some unresolved animosity with Hutch.

This story is cute and sweet. I thoroughly listening to this book. It was not my favorite Katherine Center book. Some parts of the storyline frustrated me, but overall I did enjoy it. When I went to rate it I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, but I think the narration bumps it up for me.


Thank you NetGalley for this advanced audiobook!

I almost can't find the words to express how much I loved this book. The witty banter, Katie's inner monologues, Hutch's kindness, the information about rescue swimmers, George Bailey (and Lucky), and Katherine's note at the end that brought me to tears. It's fun, it's a little crazy, it's a big nod to the power of being kind, and it made my heart smile. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the fabulous Patti Murin and she is just amazing. This book is a new favorite and I can't get enough.