Ignore The Haters. Seriously, if one “lesson” can be learned from a rom-com, this is this book’s lesson. But also: Seriously, ignore the haters of this book. They’re wrong, they know they’re wrong, and they can sit there in their wrongness and be wrong. And if they want to come at me, well, I’m a big boy and don’t give a fuck what they think anyway, so they can continue to be wrong in their wrongness while I move on to ever more books. 🙂
This is one of those lighthearted romcoms with a few points, and it is crystal clear that one reason Center wrote this was so that she could expense likely a few trips out to Key West as “business expenses” and have a blast while “researching” this book… And yet even if you want to be so cynical like that… clearly, the research fucking *worked*, because Center absolutely *nails* the entire Key West vibe (particularly the eccentric secondary characters, yes, including the dog who has at least as much personality as anyone else in the book). And while I’ve never been in the Coast Guard, I’ve seen them operating enough from being at sea enough (hello, guy that cruises nearly as much as he reads – and he very much has a reading problem 😉 ) to have a decent idea of the job, and Center nails that pretty solidly as well. From the standoffish “I don’t know you yet” they can project to the closest-friend-you’ll-ever-have once they do get to know you – or if you happen to be their brother and share a tragic backstory. 😉
Come for the eccentric Key West vibes. Yes, no matter what the haters claim, they really do permeate the entire book (says the Florida Man 😉 ). Stay for the serious looks at both body image issues and hurricane survival. The haters do have *one* thing right – even broke clocks get two a day – in that there is never any true “body positivity”, but Center, to me, actually handles these issues in a far more realistic manner, rather than simply glossing over the very real struggles the way so many “body positive” books do. And the hurricane survival bits… again, very, very well done – but Center didn’t exactly have to do as much “research” for this, being based in the Galveston region with its history of hurricanes at least as destructive as those that are known to hit South Florida.
And the dog. My god, the damn dog. Seriously, dog lovers are going to love this dog, and even cat people like me will find this dog fucking hilarious. To the level of damn near stealing most scenes he is in. 🙂
Oh, last note: spice scale: Slightly warmer than a warm glass of milk, I don’t think I’d put this up there with even a jalapeno. Maybe somewhere around a bell pepper or so – enough to have some flavor, but also gentle enough that all but the most sensitive stomachs should be able to handle it easily.
Very much recommended.
This review of The Love Haters by Katherine Center was originally written on May 19, 2025.
