Rating Katherine Center’s Books

Katherine Center is a very popular romance author and one that I have loved for many years now. Once I read one book by her, I immediately went to her backlist and worked my way through it. I love her characters and the relationships they have and I love her dialogue. She is an insta-read author for me with her new releases.

Now that I have caught up on all her books (just in time for a new release!), I wanted to share a post all about Katherine Center and include how I rate her books, my least favorite to my favorite.

What and Who for:

Katherine Center writes romantic comedy novels that are full of quirky characters and often have some depth to them. While her relationships have great tension, her books avoid sex scenes and are a good option for closed door readers. They are great if you are wanting a romance novel with a little bit of fluff, a lot of character growth, snappy dialogue, and of course, a happy ending.

My First Read:

The first book I read by Katherine Center was What You Wish For and I loved it. I actually listened to it (the audiobooks for Kather Center’s works are all excellent) and I have memories of decorating for fall and Halloween and cleaning out our garage while I listened.

Probably Most Famous For:

Katherine Center is probably most famous for one of her earlier books, The Lost Husband, which was released in 2020 as a movie, or for her novel The Body Guard, one of her most popular books.

Latest Release:

Katherine Center released The Love Haters in 2025. The book follows a video producer who takes a job profiling a member of the Coast Guard, but she can’t swim and he doesn’t want her there.

Upcoming Release:

Katherine Center’s next book is coming out in May of this year and is called The Shippers. It is a friends-to-lovers romance, where two childhood friends attend a cruise ship wedding together (but not together). It has all the makings of a romcom I will love and I can’t wait.

Rated from Least Favorite to Favorite:

12. Happiness for Beginners

In Happiness for Beginners, we follow a recently divorced main character who is talked into going on a wilderness survival trip. There is a lot of personal growth as well as a sweet romance.

I am not big on survival books, which is probably why this is my least favorite. The majority of the book’s plot revolves around their survival trip. I liked the characters and the romance but found myself bored during a large part of the middle of the book.

This one was made into a Netflix original movie.

11. Get Lucky

After losing her job, Sarah moves home to Houston and decides to become a surrogate for her sister who is struggling with fertility.

The premise of Get Lucky is intriguing, but it didn’t click with me. The two main emotions I felt while reading were boredom or annoyance. There were good parts too, but something about the overall book didn’t work for me.

10. The Lost Husband

After living with her mother for two years post-divorce, Libby jumps at the chance to live and work on her aunt’s farm. And, of course, there’s a handsome and rugged farm manager.

I enjoyed The Lost Husband while reading it, but it didn’t really stick with me afterward. It felt a little generic and while I did enjoy it, it wasn’t one I simply couldn’t put down. My least favorite part of the book were the parts where she is trying to contact her diseased husband on the other side. My favorite part of the book was the character arc.

This one was also made into a movie.

9. Everyone is Beautiful

Everyone is Beautiful felt almost like a bridge between her first books, which felt more like chick lit, and her newer romcom books. It had a big emphasis on finding yourself again after kids and a great character arc around body image.

I enjoyed the book more than her first novels, as I love the way she does romcoms and humor. I didn’t love it as much as her later books, still, though. This one also had more language (especially the f word) and more talk of sex (no explicit scenes), which detracted from the experience for me.

8. The Bright Side of Disaster

The Bright Side of Disaster one follows a woman whose fiancé leaves her right before their baby is due. She faces labor, delivery, and a brand-new baby alone. When he comes back, she has to decide between getting her old life back and the new one she had started to create without him.

I loved this one, but some parts drove me crazy, specifically the hospital scenes and how things play out when her fiancé show back up. However, even during those parts, I was completely hooked and I loved the rest of the book. I especially loved the romance and the love interest, and the motherhood sections were very relatable.

7. The Love Haters

The Love Haters was Katherine Center’s 2025 release and it was a fun one but not one of my absolute favorites. It follows Katie Vaughn, who can wait to be laid off or go out and produce a video with Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson of the Coast Guard. Many complications later, includingthat Katie is not qualified and cannot swim, Katie finds herself making new friends, falling in love, and getting caught up in some lies.

The Love Haters was a fun book and had a great ending, but something about it didn’t spark with me the same way my favorite books did. Everything was solid, but not exceptional, for me.

6. The Bodyguard

The Bodyguard has a fun and unique premise, as it follows a female body guard assigned to covertly guard a celebrity, who of course causes some sparks to fly.

I loved the main love interest, Jack. There’s fake dating, a terrible ex boyfriend you love to hate, and a strong family element. The main drawback of this book for me were the times that the bodyguard portion felt unbelievable, it pulled me out of the story. The rest of the book, though, was amazing and I loved it.

5. Things You Save in the Fire

Things You Save in a Fire follows a female fire fighter who moves to help take care of her mother and transfers to a different fire station—one a lot less accepting of her gender difference. The only plus of her new workplace is a handsome rookie, who she can’t risk dating because she doesn’t want to jeopardize her place as a fire fighter.

This book had a lot of fun elements, with the forbidden romance and the main character’s fight for a place doing what she is passionate about. My favorite part of the book, though, was the subplot around her relationship with her mother and the theme of forgiveness woven throughout.

4. How to Walk Away

How to Walk Away was a heavier book by Katherine Center, in an amazing way. The main character Maggie experiences an accident at the beginning of the book and has to struggle her way through what that means for the rest of her life.

I loved this book, but the romance felt like the subplot for me. It was cute, but the book’s focus on Maggie’s journey and on serving others even when, or maybe especially when, your life is turned upside down made the book a powerful emotional read for me.

3. The Rom Commers

The Rom Commers is one of Katherine Center’s books and also one of my favorites. The book follows an aspiring screen writer Emma who gets the chance of a lifetime to rewrite a script with a famous screenwriter. The catch? He is not interested in rewriting it with anyone, much less a nobody screenwriter. Emma fights for herself and romcoms and along the way, of course, a romance begins to blossom between them.

This was one of my favorites by Katherine Center. It was just the right mix of light and fun with a little more serious. I also loved the romance in this one, I really enjoyed both the love interests and felt they had a lot of chemistry.

2. What You Wish For

What You Wish For follows Samantha, who loves her job as a school librarian. When her new principle is her old unrequited crush, but also acts completely different than he did when she knew him before, her life and the school she works at get turned upside down.

This was my first Katherine Center and for a long time, it was my top favorite book by her. I love Samantha as the main character and her quirkiness, I love the heavier topics balanced by the light hearted humor, and I love the romance and the growth of the characters as their relationship moves forward.

1. Hello Stranger

Hello Stranger was such a ride for me! It follows Sadie, who is a portrait artist. When she has a minor surgery, she comes out of it diagnosed with a condition known as “face blindness” and each face looks like a jumble to her now. As she works through what this mean for her career as well some family issues, and take care of her dog, she starts to have feelings for not one but two men.

This book hooked me from the very beginning. I loved Sadie and was very invested in all the problems she was facing. I loved the romance, there was great chemistry and I also loved ending. It was such a great plot twist for me and a complete surprise, but looking back, the foreshadowing was all great.

That is all about Katherine Center and how I rate her books! Have you read any books by Katherine Center? What is your favorite or least favorite? Do you have a romance author you love?