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A review by paperbacksandsketchbooks
The Love Haters by Katherine Center
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC!
I gotta say.... I'm a bit disappointed with this book. I LOVE Katherine Center and think she comes across as such a sweet person and her writing is phenomenal and I can really tell that she loves love stories. But this one missed the mark for me.
It was a bit jarring going into a book with a pretty heavy focus on our FMC Katie's eating disorder right at the beginning with no trigger warning. I personally think this needed a TW because a detailed journal entry of her calorie counting is present and she explicitly mentions starving herself and states the exact calorie number she restricted herself to. There's also mentions of a scale being her best friend. She details this along with how she hated her body because of internet trolls, and how she is now on a journey to learn to love herself. The author's note also did not mention anything about eating disorders or give any resources if anyone is struggling, and I think in this case it should have. The author's note only stated (and I'm paraphrasing here) that this was a book about learning to love yourself. Interpret that how you will.
Aside from that, this book did have some swoon-worthy moments, and I liked Hutch as a MMC. There was just something missing. I did not feel connected to these characters. A spark was missing between Hutch and Katie, I think. It felt more lust than love at times.
Some parts of this book also seemed disjointed and didn't really fit with the rest of the story. The part about Katie's coworker and boss showing up in Key West seemed very far fetched.
I think it goes without saying that my favorite character in this book was the dog, George Bailey. He was such a sweetheart.
Overall, not horrible but missing an important TW imo and not as big of a focus on the love story as I wish there was. If you enjoy Katherine Center's previous works, you may be disappointed with this one or you may love it. Find out for yourself when it publishes in May!
I gotta say.... I'm a bit disappointed with this book. I LOVE Katherine Center and think she comes across as such a sweet person and her writing is phenomenal and I can really tell that she loves love stories. But this one missed the mark for me.
It was a bit jarring going into a book with a pretty heavy focus on our FMC Katie's eating disorder right at the beginning with no trigger warning. I personally think this needed a TW because a detailed journal entry of her calorie counting is present and she explicitly mentions starving herself and states the exact calorie number she restricted herself to. There's also mentions of a scale being her best friend. She details this along with how she hated her body because of internet trolls, and how she is now on a journey to learn to love herself. The author's note also did not mention anything about eating disorders or give any resources if anyone is struggling, and I think in this case it should have. The author's note only stated (and I'm paraphrasing here) that this was a book about learning to love yourself. Interpret that how you will.
Aside from that, this book did have some swoon-worthy moments, and I liked Hutch as a MMC. There was just something missing. I did not feel connected to these characters. A spark was missing between Hutch and Katie, I think. It felt more lust than love at times.
Some parts of this book also seemed disjointed and didn't really fit with the rest of the story. The part about Katie's coworker and boss showing up in Key West seemed very far fetched.
I think it goes without saying that my favorite character in this book was the dog, George Bailey. He was such a sweetheart.
Overall, not horrible but missing an important TW imo and not as big of a focus on the love story as I wish there was. If you enjoy Katherine Center's previous works, you may be disappointed with this one or you may love it. Find out for yourself when it publishes in May!