Title: The Rom-Commers
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Romance
Publishes on: June 11, 2024
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 336
Synopsis:
She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?
Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.
Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.
But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?
My thoughts
(Spoiler free)
I started The Rom-Commers eagerly excited to dive into a new Katherine Center book… but quickly found myself not connecting with the characters, which started to give me an existential crisis. Center is one of my favorite romance authors and I was in desperate need of her optimism. While I did struggle through most of this one, I’m happy to report it did somewhat redeem itself in the end!
I have read and loved six of Center’s books, starting with How to Walk Away, the first book I picked up by her, reading every new release she’s had since, and picking up some of her backlist books in between, as well. The Bodyguard was my favorite book of the year the year I read it. Then last year I picked up Hello Stranger, fully expecting to love it, as well. I did still enjoy it, but it wasn’t up to the gushing standards Center’s books typically receive from me. I’d hoped it was just an anomaly, so I picked up The Rom-Commers with all the hope in my heart. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with this one, too.
And maybe, in a way, I started wanting my fantasies about the future to stay fantasies. Right? Because if fantasies come true, they can’t be fantasies anymore.
The Rom-Commers is full of Center’s signature witty banter, great lines I found myself highlighting, but it lacks the polish of her previous backlist books: the great character arcs, the backstories that make me connect with the characters, a believable connection between our couple. The romance felt forced and overly cheesy at times, and I didn’t like the characters much; sometimes their personalities came across as inconsistent. Charlie, our male lead, was not very nice, and not in a cute grumpy way. Emma came across as immature sometimes. I found myself not caring at all. But then I jumped on Goodreads to check out my blogging friends’ reviews to discover they ARE gushing about this one, giving it five stars. So is it me?? Have I become so jaded that I can’t read romance any more?? I’ll save that worry for another day.
I found so much of the plot unrealistic. I’m okay with suspending disbelief a bit in my romances, but this one was one unbelievable thing after another; it was too much for me.
One of my issues was Emma’s adoration for Charlie from afar. Granted, I’m not generally a big fan of the celebrity trope, but I did adore The Bodyguard, so I thought I’d be okay with this one, as well. But Emma was such a fangirl for Charlie that it came across as immature and annoying instead of endearing.
This romance also had more miscommunication or lack of communication, and I’m over that trope. I’d be okay if I didn’t read another book with it for the rest of the year.
It wasn’t all bad! There were things I did like. I mentioned the witty banter before, and Center excels at dialogue. There were some romantic scenes I enjoyed, as long as I pretended that I liked the characters.
“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.”
I did enjoy Emma’s father and sister. And the family’s backstory was heartbreaking, but I didn’t feel as empathetic toward Emma as I should. For me, she has been the main hindrance to her happiness, and at one point I thought she was overly cruel to her sister.
I struggled to rate this one because I’ve never given Center’s books less than four stars, but this one wasn’t for me. If you prefer your romances on the lighter side and enjoy the celebrity trope, The Rom-Commers might be a romance you’ll enjoy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
My Rating:
Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Bookshop | Amazon
My blog reviews of Katherine Center’s other books:
What You Wish For
The Bodyguard
Hello Stranger
About the Author
Katherine Center
BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire, and her newest, What You Wish For. The movie adaptation of her novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix. 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, the Indie Next Great Reads List, and many more. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.
A Song For A Book
I’ve chosen to highlight “Unwritten” by Natasha Beddingfield for The Rom-Commers for the obvious “writing” references but also because it’s upbeat. And the lyrics are kind of perfect for Emma.
I am unwritten
Can’t read my mind
I’m undefined
I’m just beginning
The pen’s in my hand
Ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten…
Will you be adding The Rom-Commers to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
Sorry to hear this didn’t work for you.
Yeah, I won’t give up on Center, though!
I’m sorry you didn’t end up loving this one as much as you hoped. Center has become a favorite author of mine, but not all of her books are as good as The Bodyguard. And I’m not a fan of that miscommunication trope either.
I’m sad to hear you struggled with this one. I loved it, but I understand your feelings.
Yes, I won’t give up on her, but I need to go into the next one with lower expectations. 😉
It’s tricky when you feel like a main character is standing in their own way of happiness. Like, if they would just quit making it so difficult things would fall into place. Sorry to see that Emma was a bit of a struggle.
Absolutely! There needs to be a good backstory for me to buy into with difficult characters. 🙂
Oh no! So sorry you didn’t love this as much as you’d hoped. 🙁 I do prefer nice, golden retriever boys as my MMCs, but I’d be okay with a grumpy guy if he was still nice… so I definitely know I wouldn’t like this MMC. Thanks for the heads up. 🙁
Yes! I like my grumps to be hiding their soft heart. 😉