The Rom-Commers

by Katherine Center

She's rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma has big dreams, though she hasn't let herself think about them in years. Until her big break comes along: she's offered the chance to write a screenplay with none other than her hero, Charlie-freaking-Yates! And it's a rom-com! It's the dream... Until reality sets in.

Charlie is a bonafide Hollywood movie-writing legend. He's also, as it turns out, kind of a jerk. He's only writing this movie to get a Mafia movie that he actually cares about made. And that's not even the worst of it: Charlie doesn't like rom-coms because he doesn't believe in love.

But Emma's not going down without a fight. She's determined to finally make her dreams come true by helping Charlie write a kick-ass screenplay. But first she has to make him understand rom-coms... And the more she tries to teach him about love, the more real it all starts to seem.

Can Emma really write her dreams into reality? Or was it all fiction after all?

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Rom Com

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 2024

About the author

https://katherinecenter.com/about/
https://www.instagram.com/katherinece...

BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, Things You Save in a Fire, and her summer 2024 book, The Rom-Commers. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books: bittersweet romantic comedies about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” The Netflix movie adaptation of her novel Happiness for Beginners—starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes—just hit the Global Top Ten in 81 countries, and the movie of her novel The Lost Husband was a surprise Netflix sensation in 2020, hitting number one and landing in their top 25 movies for the year. Her books have made countless Best-Of lists—at Audible, BookBub, and Book of the Month, as well as Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and Amazon's yearly Top 100 books. Emily Henry calls The Bodyguard “my perfect 10 of a book,” and Jodi Picoult says of Things You Save in a Fire, “Just read it, and thank me later.” Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two almost-grown teenagers, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.

Reviews

[Lit with Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

writing: solid | plot: what's that ? | ending: *frisbees kindle across the room*

my opinion

*KICKS DOWN DOOR KOOL-AID MAN STYLE* IT'S ME!!! BUMMER WITH LEIGH!!! HERE TO SHIT ON A BOOK THAT EVERYONE IS VIBING HEAVILY WITH!!!!!!!!!!

I issued the banger alert for The Bodyguard but what the FUCK was this? It had very similar energy to Hello Stranger which I aggressively dnfed. Why didn't I dnf this? Well, I fell victim to a silly little thing called hope.

Anyways. Let's start with the fact that she wrote "wah-lah" instead of voila... TWICE. But then later in the book, she uses voila so??? What's happening here? I re-read the section where the criminal offense occurred, but I don't think it was done ironically? Idk but when I read that... creative... version of voila, suddenly the US national anthem started playing and an eagle screamed MURICA before dropping an AK47 in my lap.

Ok, now let's discuss one of the worst MMCs I've encountered in these romcom streets: Charlie Yates.

1. His full government name is used a whopping 137 times. *screams into pillow*
2. Idk what his vibe was supposed to be but I kept picturing a middle-aged, sloppy, partially bald guy with a goatee who's always wearing a stained white tee under a blindingly bright Hawaiian button up.
3. Katherine Center could bang on all day about how sexy and famous and ~*~quirky~*~ Charlie mfn Yates is but I would pepper spray that guy if he even so much breathed in 100 yards of me. He gave me basement dweller energy.
4. HE WAS AN ASSHOLE. Argue with your mom for raising you wrong because this guy was the biggest douche canoe on the St. Lawrence River. The number of times he said something offensive or condescending to Emma completely unprovoked was shocking. And I'm supposed to forgive him just because he threw $$$$ at Emma's problem and had the big C (no, not cock)? Fuck. Out. My. Face.

*deep breath* Ok now onto Emma:

1. I understand Emma had to give up her life to take care of her dad, but part of me feels that she gets a lil turned on being the martyr.
2. Girl how many times can a man insult every fibre of your being before you've had enough? Stop tryna be Bob the Builder and fix a GROWN ASS MAN who has the money to get therapy. It was honestly painful watching her be insulted by Charlie, swear to herself she's done with this job and leaving asap, only to stick around and be a glorified, unpaid therapist. FFS.
3. The things she said to her sister............... wow. I'm glad the sister clapped back like she did because who do you think you are???? The hypocrisy was fatter than Meg thee Stallion's ass.
4. She's not like other girls... she's got frizzy, thick red hair that can't be contained!!!!!!

Honestly, because I wanted to physically fight the MCs, it's tough to say how the rest of the book was. I did like the insider look at the writing process and I'm always down for a Jack Stapleton appearance. HOWEVER... the third act "breakup"????????? Yeah, let me send you my location so you can come CATCH THESE HANDS.

pros & cons

pros: quick read, lil peek at writing process

cons: Emma and Charlie Yates have to be one of the most insufferable couples I've encountered recently, repetitive, trying too hard to be "quirky"

(idk why I'm giving this two stars instead of one)

tysm SMP for the arc

__

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[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear friends, i just typed an article about first part of my favorite romance recommendations of 2024! It also includes “Rom-Commers”. You may click to read: https://medium.com/@niluferyozmekik/v...

And here’s my Rom-Commers review:

I absolutely adore Katherine Center’s books! I could wear t-shirts imprinted with my favorite quotes from her books, organize fangirl clubs, and reread passages with other devoted fans while we slurp our Chardonnays and weep like babies at the sentimental parts. She's a talented heartstrings player who knows how to make you smile deeply while also drying your happy tears from your face.

Did I enjoy "Rom-Commers"? I didn’t just enjoy it—I fell in love with Emma & Charlie. Their enemies-to-lovers beginning that turns into friends-to-lovers at forced proximity, with sunshine-meets-grump tropes, captivated me. The deep message of the book realistically approaches life itself with its tragedies, losses, and messiness. But through those dark moments, there is always sunshine from the cracks to help you find your way, and eventually, you’re fine with your own path.

This is not a swoon-smile-repeat kind of book, even though there are moments like a grumpy guy turning romantic by tying your shoes, sharpening line dancing skills, or cooking donuts in a mess, ruining his kitchen with chocolate stains and confetti. There are also many heavy themes in this story that make you feel like glass pieces are stabbing into your heart at each turn: death of a parent, guilt, paralysis, Meniere’s disease, cancer, hypochondria, panic attacks, and more.

Center’s way of not sugarcoating but also not harshly handling these subjects, her objective approach, and her ability to show the bright side of things even when they're wrapped in dark corners resonates perfectly with readers who have experienced similar tragedies.

Honestly, even though reading some parts of the book ripped my heart away and the last twist stirred me with frustration, I still loved everything about Emma and Charlie’s not-so-perfect, flawed, complicated, but poignant, honest love story. Nothing can be perfect in real life without a little sadness and heartbreak. But eventually, happiness finds its way through the barriers we build and the emotional baggage we carry for years, allowing us to live fulfilled lives.

Let’s recap the synopsis: Enter- Emma Wheeler: English teacher, 24/7 caregiver of her father for 10 years, delaying her plans to become a full-time screenwriter even though she created a few notable romance screenplays and passed her opportunity in a WB internship to take care of her family, still dealing with the guilt of her mother’s death in a climbing accident and her father’s paralysis. She became the caregiver of her father, guardian-mother-big sister of her 23-year-old little sister, who is about to graduate to chase her dreams in medical expertise as she keeps procrastinating her own life, trapped in a place with guilt, sadness, and longing.

When her ex-boyfriend, who is also her agent, offers her the opportunity of her life to work on a romcom with Charlie Yates: the screenwriter she’s been fangirling over and harboring a longtime platonic crush on, she barely says no, especially since her sister promises to take care of her father and even her father pushes her to take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And let’s not forget, Charlie can create masterpieces in science fiction or crime thrillers, but the romcom he wrote is a disaster, and she may help him save the script.

She has to be in LA for six weeks to live with Charlie, finishing the script in the best condition to return to her old life. It seems easier said than done because when she arrives at Charlie’s Los Angeles mansion, she realizes he has no idea she’s hired to work with him and has no intention to work with an amateur writer whose none of the projects have been produced. He even tells her incompetencies to her face. And guess what, this man doesn’t believe in love and is still bitter after his last divorce. How can she work with a man like that to create something hopeful, engaging, and sunshiny to connect with the viewers?

But Emma has no intention of going back to her life without saying her piece: she tells him what’s going wrong with his script, and Charlie listens, reconsiders, and surprisingly decides to hire her. What can go wrong if she says yes to work with him? What if the risk is not only creating an engaging love story, which is doomed to go to garbage without seeing a chance to greenlight for production? What if she may also lose her heart to a man who is grumpy enough to reject real love and the possibilities of life?

Overall, this is absolutely one of my favorite romances of the year, and I highly recommend it! It’s freaking amazing!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest opinions.

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[Jayme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katherine Center is an author that always goes straight to the top of my toppling TBR list! 📚

And, her latest may be my new favorite from her, yet!! I know, I said that last time, but it’s true! She has outdone herself AGAIN.

Emma Wheeler has spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—and she is actually VERY good at it! But as the sole caretaker for her dad, who needs full-time care, her dreams to become a screenwriter have been on hold.

Until she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—the screenwriter that she has always obsessed over.

He has been coerced into writing a ROM-COM and it is terrible-“ So terrible that there needs to be a new word for terrible.”

Because he doesn’t believe in LOVE.

But, Emma is the type of girl who always makes lemonade out of lemons. And, she is determined to stand strong and convince him that Rom-Coms do matter, and “love wasn’t just a concept created by Hallmark to sell greeting cards!”

When you read this author’s work you always feel like a friend is telling you a story. And, you will wish this friend was actually a friend of yours.

You will want to be adopted into the family you are reading about, and you will want to start dancing. Because her books ALWAYS include dancing! 💃🏻

Her stories aren’t at all spicy-but they are always sweet. This one reminds you to focus on the things the people in your life are doing RIGHT, instead of what they may be doing wrong-and to always be grateful.

Yep-I loved it!

Watch for cameos from Jack Stapleton and Hannah, from her book the “The BodyGuard”.

Available NOW-just in time for your beach bag!

A buddy read with DeAnn and Sheyla! Be sure to watch for their amazing reviews! 💖

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

[♥︎ Heather ⚔ (New House-Hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 3 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

ೃ⁀➷ ꕤ 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓬𝓴 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂 ꕤ


Emma Wheeler is a screenwriter who hasn't been working in her field as of late. Her father has some health issues and she has been dedicating all of her time to being right by his side to make sure he stays in the best health possible.

When Emma's agent calls her with a project - she immediately declines, her agent persists because this is not just any project. It's the opportunity to work with/for her favorite writer, Charlie Yates. Out of curiosity she takes a look at the screen play and is horrified to find that it's a total mess.

She breaks down and agrees to take the job working with Charlie, leaving her sister in charge of looking after their dad. But when she arrives in Los Angeles, she discovers that Charlie has no idea about this plan to work together.

ೃ⁀➷ ꕤ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼 ꕤ

Oh boy. I am out here on outlier island again. LOL. I briefly skimmed over a couple pages of reviews prior to starting to draft mine and the majority are 4 and 5 star ratings. I do want to say that a 3 stars - from me, is not a bad rating. I just didn't love it as much as I thought I would and so it was pretty average for me.

On paper it's a great set up for a rom com and has all of the makings of something that I should have loved. I just never really connected to either Charlie or Emma.

Charlie - I didn't like him at all. He came across rude to me. I didn't like the way he treated Emma for a good portion of the book, it really turned me off and he never (for my own personal feelings) got an arc that redeemed himself for those earlier actions/treatment.

There were areas of the story that just dragged for me a bit - ugh. This is just didn't work for me personally, I liked it well enough to finish it but I never got 'the feels'. Again, I do seem to be in the minority - majorly, so I'm sure most people will pick it up and love it.




A huge thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Katherine Center for the complementary audio copy in exchange for my honest review! 💐

[jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute, light-hearted, with a happily ever after, this story is everything you could possibly want from a romance.

from a plot, romantic connection, and general creative idea standpoint, i have no notes. all of these things are done well and i think any fan of the genre will see this story as a real success.

the thing that prevents me from full on adoring this is there is something about KCs writing that really bugs me. i just dont connect with it and, at times, im annoyed by it. its like she has a very high opinion of her own writing and that ego comes through on the page. its like shes trying so hard to show how quirky, yet amazing, she is as a person, that she forces it down my throat through her writing.

but besides that, this is absolutely a fun story. i just dont think that KC is the author for me.

↠ 3.5 stars

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A fun romcom with an entertaining premise, but mixed feelings about the lead characters as they are so toxic. Liked the secondary characters much better than the main pair. The first half is much stronger than the second half. Slightly outlier review coming up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plot Preview:

As Emma Wheeler is the sole caretaker for her dad, she has willingly put aside her dreams of becoming a screenwriter for more than a decade. But when her friend and agent calls her with the opportunity of a lifetime, and a chance to work with her idol, acclaimed screenwriter Charlie Yates, Emma cannot resist. With her younger sister Sylvie stepping into the carer’s role, Emma flies to Los Angeles, hoping for the chance of a lifetime to convert into a memorable work experience. What she didn’t expect is that Charlie Yates didn’t even know about her arrival, and is adamant that he doesn’t work with amateurs. Never mind that the romcom script he wrote was garbage. After all, that script is just a filler to get another pet project greenlit, a project far more important than romcoms. Emma, of course, can’t accept this. Die-hard fan or not, she will not allow anyone to tell her that romcoms are useless, or to mess with the only career-transforming opportunity she has received in ages.
The story comes to us in Emma’s first-person perspective.

Bookish Yays:
💖 The secondary characters are mostly memorable. I thought Sylvie would be a bit self-centred as is typical in this genre, but she was so sweet, as was her partner Salvador. Barring one, no one is an outright jerk. And all have at least one flaw, so they are realistic as well.

💖 Witty banter that adds some entertainment to the story. Also, some genuinely funny comic situations.

💖 All the positive advocacy about romcoms. So many readers shame romcoms and romcom readers, so it was great to see this book give it back with vehemence. Also loved all the observations on books and writing and reading choices.

💖 No insta love, no outright steamy scenes. Yay for me, might be a Nay to others.

💖 Cuthbert the Peruvian Guinea pig, even in his minimal role, is adorable.

💖 The author's note, which roots so strongly for romance novels to be accepted. Appreciate it!


Bookish Mixed Bags:
💓 The book started excellently, and I began dreaming of hitting that elusive 5 star. But soon, the main characters began revealing their true selves, and the potholes of this genre started making the story a bumpy ride. This made my rating slide beyond control. The first half of the book is still okay and has many lovely moments; the second half is nonsensical. One cliched drunken scene towards the end goes so unbelievably farfetched that I couldn’t stop my eyes from rolling. There is one scene where Emma goes ballistic at Sylvie over something the latter said. I just didn’t get that! How are we supposed to feel sorry for Emma when Emma herself was the first to say something equally bad, or possibly worse, to Sylvie!?

💓 Emma is a huge fan of Charlie Yates. This means that almost every time she sees him or talks about him (which is a whole load!), she keeps referring to him by his full name. (If I didn’t have the audiobook, I would have actually counted the number of times “Charlie Yates” appears on the page.) Why is this a Mixed Bag and not a Nay? Well, if Colin Firth comes in front of me, you might see me shouting his name with equal gusto hundreds of times, so I do understand Emma to some extent. 😆

💓 It is nice to see a story with screenwriters; rarely do we get to see this profession in romcom fiction. However, we hardly get to see Emma and Charlie hash the script out together. After the initial discussions, it was more like they were typing side by side while working independently.

💓 The ending is pretty good for the genre. It is still hyperbolic, but compared to some other scenes in the book, it is still decent. Liked the epilogue even better.


Bookish Nays:
💔 Emma and Charlie – Sigh… What tiresome characters for a romcom! Charlie goes in circles, promising Emma something but actually lying about it, again promising something but lying yet again… Not at all appealing behaviour! He is quite mean and selfish at times. This should have made me feel sorry for Emma, but she too isn’t great. She constantly bullies and guilt-trips Charlie so that she can fix him and win him over to her thinking. Not done! In fact, some of her thoughts and actions are so bad that if a male character had done the same, readers would have red-flagged him. We can’t ignore manipulative behaviour just because it is by a female character. In a way, I suppose they deserve each other. They both redeem themselves to a certain extent by the end but it is not easy to ignore their overall toxic behaviour.

💔 Emma has a tendency to break the fourth wall in her first-person narrative. But whom is she speaking to? Us? This writing choice just didn’t make sense in the story.

💔 There’s a health scare in the book that might be triggering for some readers. The trigger itself wasn’t an issue for me, but the way it was (mis)used in the final section was unbelievable. I don’t want to go into spoilers, but I’ll just say: it was ridiculous, both in terms of writing and execution.


🎧 The Audiobook Experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 11 hrs 21 min, is narrated by Patti Murin. If it were not for her, I would have been far more annoyed at the book. She was okay at voicing Charlie, but she more than made up for it by her performance of Emma’s first-person narration. So much enthusiasm and expression! I could feel every emotion through her voice.
We audiobook listeners rarely get to hear the author's note, but this audiobook has not just the author’s note but also a bonus scene from Charlie's perspective, both narrated by the author herself. A nice double surprise.


This is my first book by this acclaimed author, so I am slightly disappointed to see how it went. It wasn’t a total disaster; I did have a lot of fun as well. Plus, this had a balance of rom and com in equal measure. I was looking for a light read, and in that sense, this offered plenty of feel-good moments.

However, when we read romcoms, we love to root for the couple to be with each other. And we know that if there is ever a sequel or a spinoff, we will see the couple happy with each other. Not in this case. I predict a divorce for Emma and Charlie within a couple of years, unless they kill each other first.

In short, the problematic characters and a couple of really stupid scenes in the second half messed up what could have been an enjoyable book. The audiobook narrator deserves a chunk of the credit for saving the experience. In fairness, I am no longer a regular romcom reader, so I don’t have that much tolerance for OTT scenes. This might work better for the right reader who loves mushy emotions and comic connections.

If you still want to read this, I do recommend the audio version, provided you can toss out your brains and just enjoy the silliness for what it is. Not a must-read though.

Do note that mine is an outlier review as most readers seem to have enjoyed this book. So please go through other opinions and then take a call.

2.5 stars. (which could easily have been upwards of 3.5 stars had the second half been more sensible and the main characters more loveable.)


My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Rom-Commers”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Content warning: Cancer.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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[Whitney Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It really pains me to give a Katherine Center book such a low rating, but this was unfortunately only a 2.25 star for me. 🫣 All of Katherine's other books have been homeruns so I am surprised and bummed that this one didn't work well for me. I strongly disliked the characters in this book! Charlie Yates, Charlie Yates, Charlie Yates! So much about how wonderful of a screenwriter he is but he was obnoxious and grumpy and all around unappealing to me. There was nothing swoony about him and there was no chemistry between him and Emma. I felt zero sparks! I didn't care for Emma's character, either. She was so rude to her sister, and I found her character to be boring. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read by any means, but I just could not get into this one. Even though this one didn't work for me, I am looking forward to reading her next one!

Thank you, Net Galley, and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in return for my honest review.

[Val ⚓️ Shameless Handmaiden ⚓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timing really is everything…

And this was exactly the book I needed right now. It was sad and wistful and joyful and happy and, in my opinion, just the right amount of sappy. It exemplified why I love this author even when some of her books don’t land for me. Cause when they do, it’s all worth it.

The characters…
The angst…
The amazing banter…
The balance of sadness and hope…

I loved every second of this.

[Jolie McAdoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yea this was genuinely so good. My favorite by Katherine Center by far. This was the first romance book in a long time(ever?) to make me cry. And not even because it was sad, it was just the overwhelming joy I felt for the MC’s. These characters did not leave my head the entire time I was reading it(which granted wasn’t very long because I binged it in under 24 hours). I’m going to miss Charlie and Emma so so much. I will be rereading over and over again🥹❤️

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I struggle endlessly when it comes to reviewing books by Katherine Center, and here’s why. She writes insanely lovable, flawed, relatable characters you cannot help but want to know; her plot lines will capture your attention from page one; her love stories the best of the best. How can I properly do her beautiful, heartwarming, joyful, inspirational stories justice? I simply cannot.

I will leave you with this - read this book. If you are someone who is like me, and struggle with anxiety and overwhelming sadness at times, pick up this book. If you are also like me and suffer from chronic pain from a degenerative illness and have moments of hopelessness, pick up this book. If times are hard and you need a warm hug, PICK UP THIS BOOK. No matter what, you will never regret it.

And if you have already read and loved this one, like I know you will, pick up any of her numerous others.

🎧 I did a reread via audio thanks to my friends at Macmillan Audio. Patti Murin does a masterful job voicing these characters and this story. I think the best way to enjoy this one would be to do an immersive read, listening along while you read.

Read if you like:
•Hollywood romance
•books about writers
•grumpy x sunshine
•forced proximity
•workplace romance
•quirky characters
•joyful books
•swoony romance

Thank you Katherine Center, Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copies.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma Wheeler is a wannabe screenwriter hoping for breakthrough success while spending her days caring for her dad, whose medical issues need constant surveillance. When her ex-boyfriend/manager, Logan, presents her with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help her screenwriting hero and Hollywood rebel, Charlie Yates rewrite a script of his - her sister makes sure she goes! Too bad no one checked with Charlie first. He’s not having it. Well … not at first, at least. Will their story be stranger than fiction or a match made in heaven?

Katherine Center is a treasure. There’s not one book she’s written where I haven’t been charmed by the witty banter or impressed by her writing talent. She’s so good at hitting that sweet spot in the emotional tone of her stories, never letting the romance become too cloying or the more serious aspects of the story too depressing. She writes characters that are believable and not always at their best, but you’d still want to know them. She also has the extremely good fortune of Patti Murin narrating many of her books. Murin brings the characters to life perfectly!

Having said and meant EVERY word of that, I will say that just a tiny bit of the shine was missing for me with this latest book, and I can’t tell if it’s the book, a touch of genre burnout with rom-coms/romance lately or both. The writing was still as stellar, ALL the characters still as complicated and charming, the plot was unique and the humor was pitch-perfect. Honestly, it’s a rom-com lover’s dream! I did enjoy it - especially the humor and Murin’s narration. Even if I didn't LOVE it as much as her other books I've read, it's still a very good story!

If I had to pick the one thing that kept me from falling completely head over heels for this book, it would boil down to chemistry. Emma and Charlie were both great characters with a healthy mix of good and less desirable traits, and I laughed frequently at their sarcastic and funny banter, but for reasons that utterly elude me, I just didn’t feel that magical spark between them quite as much as with Center’s other literary couples. They made me smile and feel good in that “Aww, that was nice way”, rather than the “I’ll love this couple until the end of time!!” way. Emma’s story with her family was so touching and sweet, and I loved her dad and sister, Sylvie. If that was the story, this would be an easy 5 stars.

I recommend this to those who love a clean romance, fun, snappy banter, complicated characters, a great family story and, for audio lovers, some fabulous narration!

★★★★

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and author Katherine Center for the digital ARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC to honestly review. It’s due to be published June 11, 2024.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have heard so many great things about Katherine Center's books that I was thrilled to score an arc for her latest novel.

With it's 4.49 star rating here on Goodreads what I'm about to say will not be making me many friends.

With the exception of a couple of laughs early on, this book was a total miss for me.

In a rom-com I absolutely must like the main characters. That did NOT happen here.

Here we have Emma, an unsuccessful writer with plenty of trauma drama, and we have Charlie, a super successful screenwriter with plenty of trauma drama, and the two are forced to team up to write a rom-com script together and over the course of this writing venture they will fall head over heels in love with one another.

Could these two be any more unlikable???

Emma is so immature and just annoying in general. For example:

◾ When she gets back to her room only to realize her flip flops are on the wrong feet. Like, oh silly and quirky me. What a dingbat! A person knows when they have their shoes on the wrong feet - especially in flip flops. 🤨

◾ Or, say, when she explains to us readers how her mother died tragically in a fall and then in the very next chapter she's joking around about falling off the high dive and squishing her internal organs. Really? 🤔

◾ Of course she's got this lions mane of unruly auburn curls which she always ties back in a ponytail - and if she called it her pom pom one more time I was going to chuck my kindle across the room. She's supposed to be a grown woman but she also could have been 12 by the way she's written. 🙄

Then there's snobby and arrogant Charlie who is constantly mean to Emma but because she worships the ground he walks on she's willing to overlook anything he says and does.

That does not give this reader warm fuzzy feelings and I skimmed quite a bit of this just to be done with it. Even the cover annoys me. 2 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my complimentary copy.

[mimi (depression slump) · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re looking for an old-school, epic, gut-wrenching love story that is gonna redefine your idea of love, this is the book for you.
If you aren't, let me ask you: why don't you like fun?

I don't know if every Katherine Center’s book is so easy to read but, if it is, I may have found my favourite author of the year. I mean, as soon you've opened it, you blink and it’s already over.
I should warn you that you’ll experience every type of feeling in the meantime - I’ve mostly giggled and silent-screamed and cried my weight in tears, but I don't exclude you might go through something else.

Also, it's not only a love story. Of course the two fall in love with each other but, during the process, the author basically schools us on what romance is as a genre, and how to properly make it.
And she has the right to do so since she's obviously mastered this topic.

Last but not least, as a movie junkie, I just loved the fact that they're not the usual actors who fall in love on set - not a pair of actors and directors, for that matter.
When we think about writing, it’s common to think about book authors or journalists, but we don't give screenwriters enough credit for their role.

What else can I say to make you read this book? Ah, I know: for my fellow happily-ever-after lovers, there's an epilogue at the end of the book that should be nominated best epilogue of the century for how much it's good.
Now I have your attention, haven't I?

↠ 5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

[✨Julie✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

✩ 4.5 stars ✩

“I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we are looking for- adventure, excitement, emotion, connection-we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with- sometimes ones so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them- we look for answers in stories.”

What to Expect:
➼ Grumpy x Sunshine
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Writing Partners
➼ Cynic & Optimist
➼ Suddenly Roommates
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Fun & Witty Banter
➼ Kissing Only/Clean Romance
➼ Single POV

Katherine Center has done it again! And friends, this may be her best book yet! I have read and watched A LOT of “rom-coms” in my life, but very few have been this laugh-out-loud funny. Emma & Charlie were such a good time - I adored them both and absolutely loved their dynamic. Their romance was a very subtle slow burn romance but I loved all the ways they supported each other and how they continually showed their love for one another through their actions.

It was good that Charlie’s actions were usually so on point because he sometimes needed them to offset his words. Emma must be the least petty person on the planet because she overheard him belittling her to others not once but TWICE and both times, she just very maturely moved on without even confronting him. I would have walked right in to get my purse and glared daggers at him mutely the whole way. 🤣🤓 I understood his reasoning in the end, but it took a while for me to root for him again after those slights.

Life has not always been kind to our MC’s - both have experienced more than their fair share of struggles, so be prepared for an emotional read! Going to leave it at that to avoid spoilers, but just trust the process. 🙃

If you’d like to read a little excerpt, here is my favorite passage from the book. ❤️

“Well, you're lucky. Because love is something you can learn. Love is something you can practice. It's something you can choose to get good at.
And here's how you do it. Appreciate your person.
That's it.
Well—first be sure to choose a good person. But we're all good people here.
Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids—and then appreciate the hell out of that person. Train yourself to see their best, most delightful, most charming qualities. Focus on everything they're getting right. Be grateful—all the time—and laugh the rest off.
And that goes for kids, too, by the way—and pets, and waiters, and even our own selves. There it is. The whole trick to life. Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: Love the premise! Really hope this lives up to the hype!

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 out of 5 stars!

Katherine Center knows EXACTLY how to make me happy with her books.
_______________________
I’m absolutely obsessed with Katherine Center’s books. I can’t wait to read this one soon!!

[benedicta · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ funniest book I've read this year 😅🥇

nothing like line dancing to force you to confront that you never fully mastered your left from your right. the romance was satisfying and the comedy was even more satisfying haha I didn't expect the latter to be so literal. the chemistry and witty banter was everything ❤️‍🔥

inexperienced screenwriter and Texan, Emma gets a job to move to LA to write a romcom with her favorite celebrity screenwriter. she has to leave her dad who is need of full time care in the hands of her sister for six weeks of writing with her cinematic hero.

Emma works hard at everything, has a kind heart, is effortlessly hilarious and comes of a bit bossy. Charlie is nerdy and adorably smart but has more to learn about romantic comedy than he could have ever imagined and the pair is on a mission to rewrite a classic romcom.

***

this cover is horrendous so I'm probably going to be obsessed with the book 😌😅

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I don't think marriage is hard. I think, in fact, if you do it right, marriage is the thing that makes everything else easier."

This was a really nice, super cute romcom. Emma was hysterical and I found myself belly laughing several times, both at her actual dialogue and her internal monologues.

Charlie definitely had his moments too, but I feel like his character wasn't explored enough. A lot of their time together was described with Emma's internal monologues, so we missed a lot of their time working on the script and just going through life. So because of that, everything seemed to move kind of fast, so if we could have seen more scenes with the two of them, it would have cemented their development more.

But overall, I really enjoyed this story and hope to read more of Katherine's stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Keya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

“There it is. The whole trick to life. Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”

This book was so good 😭 it made me swoon, laugh out loud and had an ending that had me sobbing. I did not expect it to get so emotional. Some of the things in this book was so bizarre and outlandish 🤣🤣 no way anything even close to it can happen in real life but maybe that's why I loved it more. A pilot halting the entire flight for you because you got late?? Yeah, good luck with that but it happened with Emma Wheeler.

Coming down to our main characters, first up- Emma Wheeler Her father met a horrible accident and needs 24/7 care so our main lead is resigned to let go off her dreams and take up the full time job. She is a doormat and a pushover, in other words, ME. She got classy humor, worries all the time and is a hell bent overthinker.
And omg I almost forgot, HER OBSESSION WITH OUR MMC'S NOSTRILS. I'm not kidding, the way she describes it, I'll quote - “It’s that teardrop shape they have, and how they kind of lean back against that tippy-top part of your upper lip, like they’re James Dean about to smoke a cigarette."

The happy ending, just before they are about to kiss, you know what she tells him? How much she loves his nostrils-
please someone help 😭😭🤣🤣

Now, the great Charlie Yates A legendary screenwriter who keeps his awards stuffed in a drawer and the same person Emma fangirls so hard over.
The only problem? I cannot for the love of god, like this man.

-> It started when I gravely misunderstood him to be 50 instead of a 35 year old main lead. How was I supposed to know he got early success?? and no I don't read blurbs.

-> He kept calling his ex wife as his 'wife' literally every single time which I'm sorry but is screaming red flag 🚩👀

-> He WANTED drama. This man would purposefully create miscommunication. He says he might get back with his ex wife and when the fmc starts obsessing over it, he goes back and tells her, he said 'MIGHT' and he was never gonna get back with her 🙄 dude, seriously?

-> He's all nice in front of her and then proceeds to insult and humiliate her behind her back. And this didn't happen once, but TWICE. He has called her a nobody and failed writer so many times, even to her face. Believe me, the urge to slap him was VERY VERY strong 🥰🥰

If I'm being honest, I didn't care one bit of the romance, didn't like Charlie that much or felt any strong connection between the characters. The ending however, wooh, I was on the edge of my seat. And I was crying. It took a very dark turn suddenly. It's all bright and sunshine one moment and raining the other. I didn't even realize I was crying till I was and then I was laughing and then crying. The ending saved this book and I loved it so damn much.

There were these hard hitting phrases that were thrown so randomly like this one-
"That’s the opposite of how life is. You don’t get everything you want! You get a few tiny, broken pieces of what you thought you wanted and you tell yourself over and over it’s more than enough!"

It's weird to say this but the romance felt really flat for me but I somehow still enjoyed this book? Does it even make sense lol? It passes for a good light fun read you want to read at the beach or on a flight. It was funny, it was enjoyable and does its job perfectly as a rom com.

So, do I recommend it? Sure.

Thank you so much Tanu for buddy reading with me. It was genuinely so fun 💗💗

***

My first Katherine Center and I'm so excited 🤭🤭

[aira {vacay ia} · Rating 3 out of 5]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 3.25/5

“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that's the one that'll be true.”

Just a super short review....this was kind of cheesy, but it low-key worked I guess, or maybe I was too stressed to tell the difference. I've barely read this whole week, so this was the only thing that I did reading-related and it was only because I listened to the audiobook (which I recommend by the way).

Oh, and then Jack Stapleton made his appearance....I wasn't going to be complaining because he was my favorite from The Bodyguard.

The amount of times Emma says "Charlie Yates" bothered the ever living fuck out of me. I heard it so much that I actually memorized his name - for the first time since I usually have to go check what the character's last names were. I wish she said it a few less times because I felt like I was hearing his last name a little too much for my liking.

Overall, yeah I liked it and yes, I'm glad I picked this as my audiobook.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“If you wait for other people to light you up, then I guess you're at the mercy of darkness.”

“happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”

“We don't get to know the whole story all at once. And where we're headed matters so much less than how we get there.”

-------

I was going to listen to funny story as my audiobook this week, but I'm not in the mood and I really want to listen to this instead.

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

pre-read:

this is like the third time i’ll be giving katherine center a chance, but this time, i’ll be buddy reading it with nina bae! wish us both luck y’all 🥹🤞🏼

[skylar ₊˚⊹♡ [busy] · Rating 5 out of 5]

°🌷͙୭˚ 𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 . ᵎᵎ 🎀

જ⁀➴ “I had a theory we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we’re longing for—adventure, excitement, emotion, connection—we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with—sometimes questions so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them—we look for answers in stories.” 💌

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCHHHHH!!! i get the katherine center hype now guys. she writes love and banter and connection SO WELL and she’s so funnyyyy. i looked like a crazy person laughing in my room alone like i was talking to the voices in my head or something. the concept of this story is just so inherently romantic that i have a feeling that the words just came to her. props to our bbg katherine center, you have my heart 🫶 i was literally reading this and just thinking: “i love this.” no matter how cliché or cheesy some of the scene were, it was great. like i feel like the whole point of reading a rom-com is to have those moments, and if you hate them then maybe you’re in the wrong genre. it was aware of itself too! i mean it’s in the perspective of a rom-com writer, it’s gonna have those moments where they acknowledge the story (like when she notes a joke progression from act 1 to act 3).

⤿ emma was an amazing lead to follow. she was relatable, funny, and smart. to be honest, it’s rare when a character in a romance can read the other so well. like those moments where there’s some huge misunderstanding and they overhear something wrong? she’s the type of character to actually think about it and say: “he probably didn’t mean that because ___” you know? it’s really hard to explain, but it made her a great character for these kinds of books. she’s not dumb. i also love her journey in finding purpose other than for taking care of her dad, and her lingering guilt over her mom’s death. i’ve heard a good part of katherine center books is that there’s amazing romance but they can also deal with grief and good character struggles, and that’s right! it added a lot to the story, especially because charlie is basically what she wishes she could be. emma bbg i love you 🤭

જ⁀➴ “There is absolutely no way to predict the infinite random forces in the world any of our choices will expose us to. How paralyzing would it be to even try?” 💌

⤿ charlie is mine actually. what are you talking about. ok no but this man…he is amazing. like genuinely everything he did for emma was so romantic LIKEEEE HOW COME HE WASN’T A ROM-COM WRITER THIS WHOLE TIME??? he’s built for it. he’s made for it. he is everything. he bought her her favorite flower and he knew which was her favorite flower how? by seeing her stare at them when they were at the store. THE OBSERVANCE?? the speech he gave at the end…literally worth crying for. i get you emma. AND THE WAY HE LOVED HER COOKING SM!!! THE WAY HE TIED HER SHOES FOR HER!!! EVERYTHING HE DID FOR HER DAD!!! ugh where is he irl. also his own struggles with being sick and not really knowing what real love was is so good. um so my last name is yates now, not related to his name at all! heh.🤰

જ⁀➴ “Because everything had been better with him somehow. Swimming had been more fun when he was sitting grumpily on the steps. Writing had been more fun when I was sparring with him about love. Grocery shopping had been more fun when he was making me watch him juggle oranges. He just…lit me up.” 💌

⤿ emmacharlie was SO GOOD. their banter and just overall connection made me so happy!! charlie was so obvious about it that i’m sorry emma my girl but how did you fall for that lie?? but whatever. THEIR MOMENTS !!! the line dancing, when they fell on each other, when she fell in the pool, her birthday, THE CONFESSION, just everything!! i can name out every single moment i loved between them but that would be way too long and i don’t wanna torture you too much. (you’re welcome 💗)

જ⁀➴ “I’m so sorry, Emma. I would write a hundred happy endings for us if I could.” 💌

⤿ bottom line is that you should already have this book in your hands by the time you finish reading this review what are you doing??? HUSTLE AND GET IT BB 😚

────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────

💐┆𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝
⤿ the rom-commers by katherine center

sooo i traumatized myself with you’ve reached sam!! hopefully this is a good, fun read to combat that heartbreaking book. guys be proud of me i chose a fun book for my sanity instead of trying to read another sad one! wowww who knew i could do that?? anyway i’m excited! 🤍

[Ash S. H. · Rating 1 out of 5]

PLEASE NOTE: One of the trigger warnings may be a spoiler, but I wish I had known it so I could have avoided reading and preordering this book.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: terminal lung cancer fake-out, past mentions of cancer, maternal death

Yep, you read that right. Terminal lung cancer fake-out. I usually like to keep my reviews organized, but this one is going straight into the ranting, because this was truly the most egregious, cheap, lazy “twist” I’ve seen in quite a while.

“Turns out, on a screening test, it’s hard to tell the difference between a concerning mass in your lungs and plain old, everyday congestion. That’s the news I just got. Better imaging gives a much clearer picture.”

Here, our MMC Charlie is explaining how he was misdiagnosed with metastatic lung cancer, when all he had was bronchitis. And I have oh so many issues with this.

1. Most doctors would not diagnose a patient with terminal cancer OVER THE PHONE.

2. A doctor would not diagnose a patient over the phone WITHOUT ADDITIONAL IMAGING IF IT WAS TRULY SOMETHING THAT COULD BE THIS MISCONSTRUED.

3. In what motherfucking world would a screening test like this one be used, when it is apparently so poor quality that it makes it easy for a medical professional with 12+ years of schooling and probably decades of experience to confuse METASTATIC LUNG CANCER with BRONCHITIS????? IF there is a concern after a CT scan for lung cancer vs. bronchitis, there is always a biopsy or additional screening required to potentially rule one of those out. In fact, Charlie mentions after he finds out it was just bronchitis that he had one such appointment scheduled to rule out other potential diagnoses. So why did the doctor tell him he had terminal cancer without being sure? Plot convenience and lazy writing. For a doctor to call a patient and deliver news of a terminal cancer diagnosis over the phone without any additional follow up is laughably unrealistic and shows me just how little research Center did in order to incorporate this manipulative plot twist. I can do nothing but condemn her for laziness and callousness in writing about such an emotional thing that affects millions of real people in such a disrespectful way.

I have to say that I truly fucking loved this book for the first 75%. I was having so much fun. But this was such a betrayal for me. You do not get to use cancer as a fake-out plot twist to emotionally manipulate your audience. You do not. When Charlie’s persistent cough kept coming up on the page, I was reminded of the hacking that punctuated my late uncle’s speech. Then, when it was revealed that Charlie was diagnosed with lung cancer (and metastatic lung cancer at that), all of the memories of losing my uncle and watching him waste away were dredged to the surface. I literally broke down into tears.

Let me be clear, this turn of events wasn’t cool with me. I didn’t pick up a romcom to be tricked into a terminal cancer tragedy. I’ve had enough of that in real life. Terminal cancer itself is not a fucking plot device you can use to make a big reveal in the third act to keep your readers guessing. I’m actually so livid that I can’t even properly write a trigger warning for this section without prefacing that some may consider it a spoiler. Terminal cancer should not be a spoiler. Yet Center frames it that way by setting it up as a plot twist. To me, that’s despicable.

But even knowing this, I kept thinking to myself, She has to lean into this. If this is what Center has written, the only thing she can do to hang onto her integrity is to let this character have lung cancer. If she retcons it, that would be the most fucked up path she could take. So despite feeling catfished by a romcom that turned out to be a terminal cancer tragedy, I still didn’t want it to go the way it very obviously did. Because that would have been so much worse. That would mean that Center used cancer to do the work for her of manufacturing tension and emotion into the story because, clearly, she couldn’t come up with either on her own. Then, when it suited her, she took the cancer away so the MCs could have their HEA. Thus, it was all just bronchitis.

And what really pisses me off is that she did this to drum up a third act conflict. That’s all. She had to give Charlie a reason not to jump into a relationship with Emma. This was that reason. Now, terminally ill, he would be all too ready to push her away. But, like Emma had said earlier, every romcom must have a happy ending. So Center threw the terminal lung cancer diagnosis at us for a single scene before immediately reneging on it to explain away Charlie’s atrocious behavior.

This is laziness to the nth degree. Charlie couldn’t have had ANY other reason to push her away? Or hey, maybe we could have had a different conflict altogether? Maybe Charlie and Emma do get together, but Charlie’s rude ass behavior that kept coming up throughout the book starts cropping up again and maybe Emma refuses to put up with it anymore? Or maybe Emma abandons Charlie for a false alarm with her dad, causing him not to trust her while also triggering his abandonment traumas from his mom and ex-wife, and thereby requiring Emma to make amends by learning the lesson that this book had been building toward—that her whole life does not need to be caregiving. She can let other people (like her sister, brother-in-law, and Charlie) help her.

Literally Center could’ve done ANYTHING else and this would’ve been a 4 star review.

Warning: the rest of this review contains spoilers not strictly related to the lung cancer fake-out.

And speaking of the lung cancer diagnosis, Charlie did something I feel can almost qualify as gaslighting when he got the phone call with his terminal diagnosis. Emma asks him if he’s sick, and the following happens:

Charlie gave me an Olympic-level eye roll that involved not just his face, but his neck and shoulders, too. Then he said, “Not everybody is dying all the time, Emma.” There was a bitterness to his voice I hadn’t heard before.
“I know, I just—“
“Let’s not add your paranoid hypochondria to this situation, okay? It’s bad enough without you backing up a whole dump truck of crazy.”

So not only does he flat out lie to Emma, but he proceeds to manipulate her by using her self-confessed anxieties about health problems as the reason she’s reading into the situation, and then calls her crazy.

Does he ever apologize about this? Nope. In fact, at the end, he is so unapologetic about all the lying that, when Emma says to him that he would rather “feed [her] heart into a wood chipper” than tell her he was sick again, he says, “Correct. And I would do it again, too, because I was not going to be another person ruining your life…You can’t be trusted to do the right thing for yourself.”

I’m sorry. Lying to her was the “right thing” for her? Gaslighting her? Leading her on and shutting her down? Hurting her again and again? That was all better than the alternative—simply telling her the truth and letting her make her own choices?

Sure, this all ties back to his shard of glass—the lesson he needs to learn. His mom and his ex-wife both abandoned him at different points in his life when he was sick and needed them most. But he never really learns anything from that. Emma just tells him that she was ready to be with him before she knew his terminal diagnosis was made in error and not much in the way of Charlie’s development is explored beyond that.

To add insult to injury, Emma’s character growth was also poor. She is characterized as someone whose anxieties controlled her life so much that she’s taken to making her role as a caregiver for her hemiplegic, medically complex father her whole identity. She doesn’t have a life outside of him.

When she goes on this adventure to LA, she anxiously leaves her father in the hands of her younger sister, Sylvie, who hasn’t lifted a finger to care for him since he was injured ten years ago. Sylvie was also a literal preteen when the accident happened, so I can give her grace for that.

Yet, when Sylvie leaves their father alone for one night and he falls down the stairs and ends up in the ICU, resentment and rage tear through Emma so thoroughly that she tells Sylvie she will never forgive her if her trip to the beach kills their dad. Sylvie shoots back (SPOILERS AHEAD) that they would be even then, because Emma’s trip to the mountains killed their mother. This is a touchy subject for Emma and she instantly vows to never speak to Sylvie again, all the while never recognizing that what she said to Sylvie was equally as fucked up.

I get saying things in anger. In fact, in a moment of high emotion, when your anxieties are eating you alive as your father goes into emergency surgery from which he may never wake up, I can see myself saying the same fucked up things. However, character growth would mean coming out of that emotional stupor, realizing the error of your ways, and fucking apologizing for them.

What happens instead is Emma continues to ignore Sylvie, clinging to the moral high ground of “wow that was so fucked up of her to say, I’m literally never speaking to her again.” As I said before, Sylvie only parroted back the exact thing Emma had said to her. So the fact that she NEVER recognizes how fucked up it was for her to say that, and especially, that she never apologizes to Sylvie for it, while Sylvie herself has to grovel on her wedding day for Emma to forgive her, just made me absolutely despise our FMC. Center bungled her characterization. Just like she bungled everything else at the end.

And for what? This was a fun book up until the 75% mark. I was having a grand old time reading about two flawed screenwriters going on romcom research dates. Patti Murin’s narration was especially quippy and her comedic timing had me literally laughing out loud. But then it all fell apart in the last quarter. The characterization of the two MCs and the terminal cancer fake-out plummeted my rating from a respectable 4 straight down to a 1 star. I am utterly disappointed by the lazy manner in which this was wrapped up and betrayed by the blasé, yet emotionally manipulative way Center trotted out terminal cancer like a show pony just to go, “Sike!”

OVERALL RATING: 1 star.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Happy publication day!
2.75⭐
Genre ~ romantic comedy
Setting ~ California
Publication date ~ June 11, 2024
Page Count ~ 336 (31 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 11 hours 21 minutes
Narrator ~ Patti Murin
POV ~ single 1st
Featuring ~ mentions of cancer, forced proximity, slow burn, no steamage

Emma is obsessed with Charlie’s work and is thrilled when her friend gets her a job working with him on a screenplay.

🏝️can you see me over there on outlier island all by myself? I think what didn’t work for me the most was how mean Charlie was to Emma. He was truly awful, repeatedly. And when we find out why it was too late for it to be redeemable in my eyes. I wasn’t feeling their chemistry, perhaps due to the meanness. She’s been an obsessive caretaker for her father since the accident that (I can't remember if this is early knowledge, so I'll hide it just in case) took the life of her mother, so that made you feel for Emma, but I can’t say I really enjoyed her character. She was even mean to her sister at one point. I absolutely did not like her drunken night by the pool, so dumb. There were some funny bits, but nothing that had me rolling like I like my rom-coms to be.

Overall, it was okay, but not great for me.

Narration notes:
She did fine for Emma, but she didn’t really work her tone too well for Charlie.

*Thanks to the author, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

[Kaceey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can you teach someone how to love?

Charlie Yates, Hollywood Screenwriter Superstar decides to change genres, leaving action/apocalyptic/zombie movies behind for a rom-com! Not a good idea Charlie! In fact it’s so bad it could ruin your career.

Enter Emma, longtime friend of Charlie’s agent, Logan. An aspiring writer for years, Emma had to put her career on hold to tend to her family. Well guess what Emma… now it’s your time to shine!

The question is, can she teach Charlie how to write a rom-com? How to feel love? What an HEA looks and feels like?

This was a charming read about life and love. Chocked full of life lessons one can take away. No tears here…just good insight how to enjoy what’s right in front of us. Maybe even finding light through the darkness we all sometimes experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You want me to take it?" I said. "I'll take it! And I'll spray-paint it bubblegum pink and write my name on it in red Sharpie with little hearts! And I'll tell everybody I won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for a rom-com so rom-commy it was called The Rom-Commers!"

I was intrigued by the idea that Emma, an amateur yet aspiring screenwriter, would assist Charlie, a well-known screenwriter who also happens to be her idol, in rewriting a script in a genre she knew well because she loved it. Charlie, on the other hand, wasn’t remotely equipped to write it because he couldn't write about love when he forgot what that felt like. beach read anyone? It wasn’t like it but the idea of helping him write something opposite of what he wrote was similar

“I get it now.” “Get what? I asked. “Why we’re rewriting this story”

That said, seeing them work together during the writing process was pretty fun and it made it easy for it all to play out like an actual rom com movie in my head. I truly enjoyed seeing Emma open up Charlie to the confines of romance and love and sparring with him as it allowed him to come to the realization of what that could look like. “everything you say is not romantic is romantic”

Some of the acts of service and kinda getting one another out of their comfort zones was pretty sweet but I loved when emma humbled Charlie given the nonchalant and entitled demeanor he gave off initially as it bothered me. I get it, he's a grump who doesn’t believe in love for reasons understood besides another factor ensuing to cause that. he was a bit rude how he came across and I just wanted him to speak up at some point. I thought he was ironically selfless by the end

“I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we're longing for-adventure, excitement, emotion, connection-we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we're struggling with-sometimes ones so deep, we don't even really know we're asking them-we look for answers in stories.

This was more than a romance and how to write one as it also dealt with elements that molded Emma into the person she is and I honestly liked and maybe preferred that much more over the romance--especially as I found the role she assumed early on relatable to my own life experience. It made this feel more real and somewhat heartfelt and i felt proud of Emma for still choosing to believe in her dream and take charge of her narrative since for much of her life—it felt unlikely that anything was possible. To my surprise, I enjoyed this despite some issues and can say it was filled with fluffy/cheesy moments and witty banter aside from some introspection--all of which set up this story that revolved around two writers who unbeknownst to one of them--would fall in love in the process of rewriting a rom com. the ending felt pretty wholesome btw. kinda undecided on 3.5-4 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review

other quotes

“Stories exist for the emotions they create—and you can't write them if you can't feel them.”

“Maybe staying so busy was a lifeline out of my own grief. But I willingly made myself a supporting character in my own story.”

“Real life doesn't come with warnings," Logan argued, half-assedly. "That's why fiction," I said, "is better than real life."

"Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that’ll be true.”

[Jess Conte · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[lydia ‧ ia · Rating 4 out of 5]

❝ I would write a hundred happy endings for us if I could. ❞

emma and charlie 🥺💞 this book was basically perfection. the only reason I’m not rating it five stars is because one, it ended; two, it’s not quite on par with katherine’s other books (to me); and three, the cover hurts my eyes. BUT I STILL LOVED IT SO MUCH!! it was literally the cutest and most heart-healing thing ever <3

⤷ what are you doing if you’re not reading katherine center books??

❝ if you wait for other people to light you up then I guess you’re at the mercy of darkness. ❞

[Mary Gael · Rating 1 out of 5]

am i on glue or was this truly so terrible

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Once again Katherine Center brings the laughs, the feels, and the heartwarming moments. This book was so special to me. I adored The Rom-Commers.

Emma Wheeler just got the break of her life. After spending the past decade caring for her father, her sister is taking over temporarily so she can write a screenplay with Charlie Yates. Yes, that Charlie Yates. Things don’t go as planned when she arrives, but Emma is adamant about making it work.

Charlie Yates does not want to write a rom-com. It doesn’t matter if he has help or not, he doesn’t want to do it. But here comes Emma catapulting into his life and changing everything. I loved both Charlie and Emma so much. At the start, I was worried I wouldn’t feel the love between these two. It was a slower burn, but once I did- I really did.

Emma was such a relatable character to me. Optimistic, a caretaker, the oldest daughter. And Charlie… he was just a delight LOL I mean, not at first, but with time I loved him so much! I loved how he didn’t want to fall in love with Emma but couldn’t quite help himself. He was endearing and kind and honestly my favorite.

The Rom-Commers had me in tears a time or two, made me laugh out loud, was witty, smart, and a whole lot of fun. This will most assuredly make my top favorites list of 2024 and I highly recommend it!

Audio book source: Netgalley
Story Rating: 5 stars
Narrators: Patti Murin
Narration Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 11h 21m

[ella ˚୨୧ ⋆｡. (interactive hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve decided to keep this review short and sweet, since it is an ARC review. Enjoy <3

❥・This was my first Katherine Center book and guys… I GET THE HYPE NOW 🤭 I’m not exaggerating when I say this is the best contemporary romance novel I’ve ever read, and one of the only ones I’ve rated 5 stars! I’m honestly super surprised by how much I loved this, and can’t wait to check out more of Center’s books in the future!

➷ The Rom-Commers had it all. There was humor, lovable characters, and a cutsie romance. But the author also included some more serious elements that really gave the story depth. I was invested from page one, right up until the very end where I cried like a baby. Charlie and Emma have my heart, and I'm so glad they both got their happily ever after 🥺.

❥・This was my first ever ARC, and I’m so happy it was such a good one! I can’t wait for the release date so all of you guys can enjoy this masterpiece. Thank you, NetGalley, for granting me an arc in exchange for an honest review. I owe ya one 😉

~Ella