The Love Haters
- Judith D Collins
- Mar 29, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 30, 2025
By: Katherine Center
Narrator: Patti Murin
ISBN: 978-1250283825
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publicaiton Date: 05/20/2025
Format: Other
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
It’s a thin line between love and love-hating.
Katie Vaughn has been burned by love in the past―now she may be lighting her career on fire. She has two choices: wait to get laid off from her job as a video producer or, at her coworker Cole’s request, take a career-making gig profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in Key West.
The catch? Katie’s not exactly qualified. She can’t swim―but fakes it that she can.
Plus, Cole is Hutch’s brother. And they don’t get along. Next stop paradise!
But paradise is messier than it seems. As Katie gets entangled with Hutch (the most scientifically good-looking man she has ever seen . . . but also a bit of a love hater), along with his colorful Aunt Rue and his rescue Great Dane, she gets trapped in a lie. Or two.
Swim lessons, helicopter flights, conga lines, drinking contests, hurricanes, and stolen kisses ensue―along with chances to tell the truth, to face old fears, and to be truly brave at last.
My Review
THE LOVE HATERS by Katherine Center is a vibrant and entertaining romantic comedy that centers on the adventures of a spirited video producer. When the threat of layoffs looms over her career, she seizes an unexpected opportunity to create a documentary about a dashing Coast Guard rescue swimmer.
Despite her fear of water and inability to swim, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her charismatic subject. As the story unfolds, she discovers that this intriguing man is none other than the estranged brother of her boss, adding layers of complexity and unexpected twists to her budding romance. With humor, heart, and a touch of splash, this novel explores love in the most surprising of circumstances.
About..
Katie Vaughn faces looming layoffs at her job as a video producer. Her boss, Cole, offers her a career-making assignment to travel to Key West and film a documentary-style video about his estranged hero brother, Tom "Hutch" Hutcheson, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer.
Katie accepts the job despite a major catch: she cannot swim and is terrified of the water, a fear exacerbated by past trauma and body image issues. She pretends to be a qualified swimmer to secure the job.
In Key West, Katie is welcomed into a vibrant community by Hutch and Cole's colorful Aunt Rue and her friends, "The Gals". She also interacts with Hutch's large, thunder-phobic rescue Great Dane, George Bailey, who becomes a source of humor.
Enemies-to-Lovers Dynamic: Hutch is initially cold and resistant to being filmed, especially as he expected his brother Cole to come personally to try and reconcile.
Katie and Hutch engage in a tense working relationship that slowly thaws as they are forced into proximity for swim lessons and filming, leading to an undeniable attraction.
My thoughts...
In THE LOVE HATERS, there is sibling rivalry, romance, and tantalizing secrets. The tension between Hutch and Cole is a central subplot, stemming from a childhood car accident that killed their parents. Rue eventually helps orchestrate a confrontation where the brothers confront their shared trauma and survivor's guilt, leading to a reconciliation.
As a hurricane approaches Key West, the community evacuates, but Katie stays behind to rescue George Bailey, who is trapped on Hutch's houseboat. The houseboat breaks free and starts sinking during the storm, forcing Katie to confront her fear of drowning and make peace with herself and her body.
Hutch, defying orders due to low fuel, is the rescue swimmer who arrives by helicopter to save Katie and George Bailey. Will he confess his love for her?
From unresolved issues to new beginnings. After the rescue, all lies are exposed, and conflicts are resolved. Will she move to Key West to be with Hutch and help manage Rue's cottages, finally embracing self-acceptance, color, and love?
The central takeaway of THE LOVE HATERS is that happiness requires letting go of external expectations to embrace radical self-acceptance and courage.
Katherine Center consistently emphasizes the profound truth that learning to embrace and love oneself serves as a vital foundation for the ability to love others meaningfully. Katie's transformative journey serves as a compelling reminder that one's sense of self-worth should be rooted in internal validation rather than dependent on the fleeting approval of external sources, such as the ever-shifting tides of social media or the accolades of professional success.
The title poignantly addresses those who erect walls around their hearts, resorting to a disdain for love as a protective mechanism against the potential for heartbreak. In striking contrast, the resolution beautifully advocates for the liberating act of 'letting oneself go'—shedding the burdens of perfectionism and the desire to remain unnoticed. This release opens the door to living more authentically and vibrantly, allowing for a richer, more fulfilling existence.
Healing within a supportive community is vividly illustrated through the dynamic bond shared by Rue and The Gals. This "found family" exemplifies how nurturing communities can gently guide individuals through the complexities of trauma and body image struggles, fostering joy and an unapologetic acceptance of one another in all their beautifully flawed humanity.
Recs...
Readers who enjoyed THE LOVE HATERS may appreciate other contemporary romance novels that blend humor with emotional depth, often featuring themes of personal growth, found family, and the "enemies-to-lovers" trope.
More by Katherine Center
~Things You Save in a Fire
~Hello Stranger
~Happiness for Beginners
Others:
~Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
~Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
~The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
~Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Special thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for sharing advanced reading and listening copies in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: May 20, 2025
My Rating: 4 Stars
Praise
“Katherine Center’s latest romance is madcap, laugh-out-loud, and adrenaline-packed―but with a tender center: the reminder that our first love story always needs to be with ourselves.”
―Jodi Picoult, #1 NYT bestselling author
“Center’s latest is a charming romp full of all the elements readers have come to expect from her: endearingly guarded characters thrust into a situation that opens up their worlds in the best way.” ― Booklist
"A documentary unites two people who are jaded about love in the sparkling latest from bestseller Center (The Rom-Commers). Fearing impending layoffs, Texas-based videographer Katie Vaughn gamely agrees to an assignment from her supervisor, Cole Hutcheson, to fly to Key West to film a profile of his brother, Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The assignment is complicated both by Katie’s inability to swim, which she failed to disclose to her boss and which makes joining Hutch on rescues impossible, and by her intense attraction to her subject, who, like her, has been burned by romance. The pair grow closer as both open up about their pasts, but their budding romance is forestalled when Cole shows up and ropes a reluctant Katie into a fake dating scheme. Add in the threat of a severe hurricane, and Center builds to a dramatic grand finale. She also surrounds her lovers with a colorful supporting cast, including Hutch and Cole’s Aunt Rue, who’s on a mission to add color to Katie’s dull wardrobe, and Great Dane George Bailey, who smothers Katie with affection. Striking a perfect balance of comedic moments and emotional authenticity, this may be Center’s best yet."
―Publishers Weekly
About the Author
BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She’s the New York Times bestselling author of over half a dozen books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books 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.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, and many more. Bestselling author Emily Henry calls her summer 2022 book, The Bodyguard, “a shot of pure joy.” The movie adaptation of Katherine’s novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is now a Netflix original starring Ellie Kemper. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.
