The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center: My Review

Every romance book reader needs to read Katherine Center’s latest which is a romcom about a romcom. Check out my book review of The Rom-Commers to see what I loved most about this amazing read of 2024!

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Rom-Commers Summary:

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?

The Rom-Commers: My Review

This is my new favorite Katherine Center book! A rom-com about rom-coms that hit with all the feels!

It’s been a no-brainer to pick up Katherine Center’s new romance book each and every year but The Rom-Commers is absolutely my favorite of her work and such a love letter to readers who love romance and movie-goers who love rom-coms.

Yes, I adored Emma’s staunch love and defense of the beloved rom-com in cinema but it is truly the characters and central message that love and gratitude make the world go round that made this one of the best of the year.

I am a romance book lover and rom-com lover at heart and this book felt like such a fun defense of everything that I love about reading and watching romcoms.

Too often I feel like I have to defend this love of the genre to others who feel like it’s an inferior genre so I was cheering Emma on when she was defending and schooling Charlie on the merits of rom-coms and why they are just as valid as a thriller or action movie.

I adored the part where she rips into his screenplay bit by bit starting with the fact that a rom-com MUST end with a happy ending. But she doesn’t stop there in identifying what I love about rom-coms besides the happy endings. It’s also the build-up and slow burn tension between characters and the first kiss that are so important.

And what’s even better is that Center is creating her own romcom and building up the tension between Emma and Charlie as they work on their own screenplay in the story. It’s genius and so well done.

But I not only loved this story for its obsession with romcoms, but I loved it for its amazing characters.

This is told solely from Emma’s POV which makes her the star of the show. I fell so hard for this woman’s love for her family and passion for her work even when she has yet to have any success in her field.

She’s a woman who has sacrificed TEN YEARS of her life to help her father 24/7. But when she’s finally given the chance to pursue her passion and write a screenplay with her idol, several hiccups almost derail the project before she can even get started, but she doubles down and makes it work.

I thought the way Center presented her anxiety and need for control was so spot on in a way that made Emma human and yet not this totally tragic figure but a strong heroine I was rooting for the entire time.

Charlie was an equally compelling hero. You don’t get a full backstory but just enough to understand the jaded place he’s in. Their meet-cute was so “not cute” (poor Emma!) but the moments where he capitulated, softened, and then went out of his way to take care of Emma were just beautiful.

Emma’s father was also such a wonderful secondary character. Center has this uniqueness to her work (at least in this book and Hello Stranger) where she writes characters who have somewhat rare illnesses and Emma’s father is the recipient in this story. But his outlook on life is something that I hope to emulate in my own life and remember whenever times get tough. He is amazing!

Reading this also made me want to rewatch all of my favorite rom-com movies. I have never seen It Happened One Night which their screenplay is an adaptation of, and now it’s on my to-watch list.

I also really wish I had access to Emma’s first kiss list. I’d so love to watch those video clips where she’s teaching Charlie how integral the first kiss scene is and all the different ways you can craft it. There are definitely a few rom-com movies where I’ve rewatched the kissing scene a time or two 😊

I would have loved to have had a scene where you saw Emma and Charlie’s writing process through a scene in their rom-com just to get their back and forth. It would have been a fun opportunity for Emma to “coach” Charlie on rom-com but even without it I loved this book in its entirety. (Maybe that will be a bonus scene to come!).

Center is also known for her closed-door romances and this is definitely a book that is very low on steam with only one kissing scene. I honestly am letting my tween daughter read it because I love the messages it conveys and have no problem with the steam level in it for her.

Thank you Katherine Center for this love letter to romcoms, this amazing slow burn love story, your unique and endearing characters, and the wonderful writing that wraps it all together. I highly recommend this book! One of the best of 2024!

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Listen to my Interview with Katherine:

I was recently joined by Katherine Center on the She Reads Romance Books Podcast where we talked about The Rom-Commers and our love of rom-coms. Take a listen!

More Katherine Center Books:

• Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Related Book Lists:

• Must-Read Summer Romance Books of 2024
• The Best Romcoms Worth Reading
• Top 10 June 2024 Romance Book Releases
• 2024 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees for Best Romance

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