The Love Haters

A Novel

By: Katherine Center

Narrated by: Patti Murin

“Patti Murin skillfully narrates this engaging romance, capturing a wide range of emotions…Murin deftly adapts her narration to match the shifts in tone.”—AudioFile

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating in the newest laugh out loud, all the feels rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center.

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 pretends that she can.

Plus, Cole and Hutch are brothers. 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 maybe 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.

“[Patti] Murin's portrayal...is captivating—a blend of sass, humor, and empathy with impeccable timing and nuances.”—AudioFile on The Rom-Commers

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2025 Katherine Center (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“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

"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

Late to the party but glad I’m here!

First, Patti Turin is … a genius. Period the end. Second, this book is quite literally laugh out loud funny. And not just in one or two spots — I downright guffawed a LOT. I’m delighted to have stumbled onto the Katherine Center bandwagon (thanks for that 100% goes to the “Vitamin Sea” worthy cover design) and anticipate spending a whole lot of time with her prose this summer!

Great beach read

The Love Haters : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ love this author from Texas I’ve been waiting for this to come out!!! This would be a great beach:vacation read… you sort of see what’s coming, but a nice easy read ❤️ heart filling read💗💗💗💗💗

Whimsical and fun… your perfect summer read

Katherine center is simply lovely. Quick fun read. Devoured it in 1 day. If you like her books, you’ll love this one too.

Colorful characters, smart and funny writing and tidbits of wisdom sprinkled throughout

Katherine Center’s latest kept me on the edge of my seat. The main characters are fun, and of course there’s some romance to be had, but the voices of some of the side characters — Rue, Beanie and the unforgettable George Bailey — kept me chuckling all the way through!

So delightful!

A perfect read for summer or when you’re longing for the beach- loved everything about this book.

The relationships between all the characters

I loved this story. It made me chuckle/lol and had some great characters. What a story of family dynamics and romantic coupling. You need to read this book it took me in right in the beginning.

Second 1/2 was worth the wait

Short answer- cute story but hijacked by a need to express a body positivity message. The first 1/2 of the book was slow and felt like a body positivity, self help book instead of a novel. It was REALLY tedious. As Katie stopped constantly obsessing about her body, the actual story could come to life. It was a unique story with great characters. It would’ve been even better without the body image obsession but it eventually gets there. Even the dog was a fully developed character. The reader does not need to be CONSTANTLY hit over the head with the body positivity message - we would’ve gotten the point with a much subtler treatment. If this is the way young women today approach their body image, this is really discouraging. I grew up in the age of Kate Moss and heroin chic models - we knew we didn’t look like that and did not expect to do so. (They also told us to eat more carbs because they were fat free, so no wonder we were curvy🤣).

Great Story

Couldn’t stop listening. Main characters were fantastic! Loved George Bailey the most, what a great sidekick.

Great narration. Vivid imagery. Lovely depictions of older female friendships.

Why did the author pose so many questions? Why rely so heavily on questions? Who talks like that?

I didn’t want it to end

Loved it! The story, the romance, the wisdom….it was all so good! I’d love a sequel!