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A review by oxfordcommas91
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First, huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book as an ARC! Any new Katherine Center book is a book I will always beg to read early.
The plot - meet Emma, the “sunshine” of our Grumpy/Sunshine duo who is an aspiring screenwriter stuck in Texas as a caretaker for her chronically ill father. Emma’s pal Logan is an agent for some Hollywood stars, including (unbeknownst to Emma), Emma’s favorite super famous screen writer, Charlie. Charlie is, of course, the grump of this duo who has written a truly abysmal romcom to curry favor from a network exec. Logan brings Emma into the picture to get Charlie’s writing on track, moving her across the country for a six week stint at Charlie’s mansion. Write a beautiful rom com, cash that mega check, and then Emma will be on her way back to her home town. Or will she?
My thoughts - this book was delightfully cliche, and I say that in the nicest way possible. Sometimes it’s okay that something is a cliche - it works for a reason. Grumpy/sunshine is not my favorite romcom trope, and variations on this plot have been done before (Jasmine Guillory’s “By the Book” comes to mind), but this one worked for me, because of course it did. Because no matter how suspicious I am of the plot or the tropes, Katherine Center makes you FEEL things about her characters in a unique way that I think is really difficult to find with modern romance writers. The plot is sickeningly sweet, but I will sign up for the cavities because I love her characters so much.
The one major downside for me was the absolute onslaught of traumatic medical content (more on that below in the content warnings section). It was inescapable and truly there at every turn throughout the book. One of the medical plot lines would have been enough to further the storyline, but the three major accident/trauma plot points was rough. It felt like we were being cracked over the head with a baseball bat to remind us that bad things happen to good people.
Other than that, I feel like there were moments that felt a bit obvious to me and I would have loved a bit more insight into Charlie and what made him tick, but I can’t wait for all of you to read this one. You’ll laugh, you’ll shed some tears, and you’ll walk away feeling just a bit lighter than you’d felt before you read it.
Important content warnings: there is a LOT of medical content in this book, and that’s something you should be conscious of if you’re sensitive to that. There are discussions of traumatic accidents/death, near death experiences, loss of a parent, cancer, and a lot of talk of caretaking for a loved one with a disability/chronic health condition. If any of these issues are weighing on you, I’d encourage you to take a take a beat on reading this right away.
The plot - meet Emma, the “sunshine” of our Grumpy/Sunshine duo who is an aspiring screenwriter stuck in Texas as a caretaker for her chronically ill father. Emma’s pal Logan is an agent for some Hollywood stars, including (unbeknownst to Emma), Emma’s favorite super famous screen writer, Charlie. Charlie is, of course, the grump of this duo who has written a truly abysmal romcom to curry favor from a network exec. Logan brings Emma into the picture to get Charlie’s writing on track, moving her across the country for a six week stint at Charlie’s mansion. Write a beautiful rom com, cash that mega check, and then Emma will be on her way back to her home town. Or will she?
My thoughts - this book was delightfully cliche, and I say that in the nicest way possible. Sometimes it’s okay that something is a cliche - it works for a reason. Grumpy/sunshine is not my favorite romcom trope, and variations on this plot have been done before (Jasmine Guillory’s “By the Book” comes to mind), but this one worked for me, because of course it did. Because no matter how suspicious I am of the plot or the tropes, Katherine Center makes you FEEL things about her characters in a unique way that I think is really difficult to find with modern romance writers. The plot is sickeningly sweet, but I will sign up for the cavities because I love her characters so much.
The one major downside for me was the absolute onslaught of traumatic medical content (more on that below in the content warnings section). It was inescapable and truly there at every turn throughout the book. One of the medical plot lines would have been enough to further the storyline, but the three major accident/trauma plot points was rough. It felt like we were being cracked over the head with a baseball bat to remind us that bad things happen to good people.
Other than that, I feel like there were moments that felt a bit obvious to me and I would have loved a bit more insight into Charlie and what made him tick, but I can’t wait for all of you to read this one. You’ll laugh, you’ll shed some tears, and you’ll walk away feeling just a bit lighter than you’d felt before you read it.
Important content warnings: there is a LOT of medical content in this book, and that’s something you should be conscious of if you’re sensitive to that. There are discussions of traumatic accidents/death, near death experiences, loss of a parent, cancer, and a lot of talk of caretaking for a loved one with a disability/chronic health condition. If any of these issues are weighing on you, I’d encourage you to take a take a beat on reading this right away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness, Misogyny, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Infertility, and Panic attacks/disorders