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  • 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?

  • My FIVE Favorite FIVE Star Reads from April 2026

    April was not as big of a reading month for me, but it was a really good one. I read less (and many of the books I did read were shorter read alouds with my kids) but the books I read were great. I only had one read the entire month under four stars and more than half were five star reads.

    In April, I read 16 books and 4,598 pages, with an average of 287 pages per book. I read 11 books by a female author and 4 books by a male author. Of the books I read, I borrowed 8 of them and owned 8 of them. I read 4 eBooks, 6 audiobooks, and 6 physical books and had 4 rereads and 12 new reads. I read 6 middle grade books, 1 YA book, and 9 adult books, and shared 5 read alouds with my kids. I read 2 new releases. I read 1 book that was part of a series and read 6 stand alone books. I read 2 books on my 2026 TBR list, having now read or DNF’d 15 of 33. I read 9 five star reads, 6 four star reads, and 1 three star read, with no 2 or 1 star reads.

    Here are my five favorite reads from April:

    Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

    Only the Beautiful was a beautiful (no pun intended) historical fiction that I could not put down. The first half follows an unwed mother in an asylum due a secret—that she sees colors when she hears sounds. The second half switches to Helen Calvert, a woman connected with the first main character, but who was living in Europe during World War II and is now ready to relocate back to America. I loved the story from the beginning. It was a little jarring for me when it switched perspectives halway through, but then I ended up loving that perspective as well. I also really enjoyed the ending and the way the two perspectives wound together.

    The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

    The Woman They Could Not Silence is a nonfiction book that reads like fiction, following Elizabeth Packard. Elizabeth Packard was committed in an insane asylum unjustly by her husband and spent the rest of her life fighting for her freedom and the freedom of other women. I absolutely loved the book, I could not put it down and learned a lot about the history of the time.

    Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

    I almost didn’t read Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel to The Hunger Games following Haymitch and his Hunger Games. I read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the first prequel to The Hunger Games, and while it wasn’t terrible, I found it to be long and a little boring. That made it so I had little interest in the newest prequel, but then I heard other people talking about how much they loved it (and those same people talked about how they didn’t love Ballad). I decided to give it a try and am so glad I did. I loved it! I think the first Hunger Games was still better (because Sunrise felt long to me still), but I think Sunrise on the Reaping was my second favorite of all the Hunger Games books.

    Messy Minimalism by Rachel Crawford

    I have read a lot of books on minimalism so Messy Minimalism didn’t really have anything new in it for me, but it is now one of my favorite books on the topic. The author is really good at telling stories from her own life in a way that is both engaging and in a way that relates well to the topic she’s discussing. I laughed throughout and left the book feeling remotivated to declutter and focus on the most important things in life.

    The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

    Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors and I was so sad when she passed away last year. Her books tend to be on the edge for me when it comes to sexual content (there is quite a bit of casual talk about sex and her characters do sleep with people off page) and this one was more explicit than her other books that I’ve read so far. That was the one downside for me. I did love The Burnout though. I loved the characters, their chemistry, and their journey in this one. The hotel and all the workers there were quirky and amazing to read about.

    Bonus:

    Charlotte’s Web by EB White

    I don’t include rereads on my favorites’ lists in my bullet journal (if I’m rereading it, it’s because it was already a favorite), but I love to do a bonus each month sharing my favorite reread of the month. In April, that was Charlotte’s Web, as a read aloud with my kids.

    We have been reading the Little House series together, but my four year old wanted to read Charlotte’s Web, so we took a short break from the series. I love Charlotte’s Web, I think it’s such a sweet children’s classic and I love the focus on nature. Even the writing style is slow and nature-like. I really loved how much my kids and especially my four-year-old son loved it. His favorite parts were the ones with Templeton, especially when the egg breaks and when Templeton eats so much at the fair that he gets huge. It was a sweet experience to read it together (and then watch the cartoon!).

    That’s what I read and loved in April! What were your favorite reads in April? What was a book you read and loved recently? I’d love to chat books with you!

  • Brandon Sanderson- Where to Start

    Brandon Sanderson has been one of my favorite authors for many years now. I love some of his books more than others, but I honestly have enjoyed every single book he’s written. Because of that, he is one of the authors I’m constantly recommending to others. He has written a lot of books, and a lot of big books, so it can be overwhelming to know where to start if you want to try his books but aren’t sure where to start.

    That’s what this post is about today! I’m sharing the top 5 books I think are best to try if you haven’t ever read anything by Brandon Sanderson but want to!

    Note: The Cosmere is a fictional universe that many of Sanderson’s books take place in. If a book is a “Cosmere” book, it takes place on a planet in that universe. Think of it similar to Marvel, but with fantasy books. Not all of his books take place in the Cosmere and so far, you can read all the Cosmere books independently, without having to read all the connected books. But, it can be fun to find the Easter eggs in the connections.

    Legion

    Legion is a short novella, making it a really quick read (I think the audiobook is less than 3 hours). It’s more detective and less fantasy, but it still has that magical element to it. The characters are amazing and it’s a fun concept.

    Premise: Stephen Leads has a mental condition that generates hallucinations, which he calls aspects. These aspects each have their own personality and specialty. When he can manage his many aspects, they help him solve cases in a way no one else can.

    The Emperor’s Soul

    The Emperor’s Soul is also a novella, but pure fantasy. It takes place in the same world as Elantris (though you don’t need to read it first). If you are wanting a taste of Sanderson’s characters and world building, this is a low commitment option.

    Premise: Shai is a Forger, someone who can recreate any item flawlessly by rewriting its history with her magic. After she is condemned to death, she is given a chance at freedom by attempting the impossible task of recreating a new soul for the dying emperor.

    Elantris

    Elantris a full length, stand alone epic fantasy novel. It has a unique magic system and some amazing character growth. Because it’s a stand alone, it’s a lower commitment while you also get the full “Sanderson experience”. It’s also a great introduction to the Cosmere.

    Premise: Elantris once was home to demigods, called Elantrians, with magical abilities they used to help others. When the magic failed without warning or reason, these Elantrians became leper-like creatures cursed to live in filth and ruin. When Princess Sarene arrives in Elantris hoping to wed Crown Prince Raoden, she is told he has died, and she is now considered his widow. What she doesn’t guess is Prince Raoden was cursed as an Elantris and is struggling to find a way to survive.

    The Rithmatist

    The Rithmatist is another full-length novel, though considered an upper middle grade book. This is technically the first in the series, but Sanderson doesn’t currently have plans to write the sequel and the plot wraps up well enough to read as a stand alone.

    Premise: Joel desperately wants to be a Rithmatist–someone who can infuse life into chalk drawings. Without that power, though, Joel can only watch as other students learn the art until he is assigned to help a professor investigating crimes involving Chalklings.

    Mistborn

    This list wouldn’t be complete without Mistborn. I personally think this is the best place to start with Sanderson. It’s a bigger commitment, because it is a trilogy, but still not as much as Stormlight. This series has a really fun magic system, lots of new secrets to discover as you read, characters you can fall in love with, and an amazing ending.

    Premise: Skaa live as slaves under the Lord Ruler in a world where ash falls from the sky and no flowers bloom. Kelsier, a half-Skaa, is a brilliant thief who builds a team to not only pull a heist on the Lord Ruler himself, but to take the powerful God-like leader down.

    These are all great books to start with on your Sanderson journey. The first book I read by him actually was Way of Kings, the first book in a series that can be a little overwhelming. He won me over with his characters and the payoff of the character arc, and I’ve been reading him ever since. Whatever book you start with, I hope you enjoy his books as much as I do!

    What book by Brandon Sanderson have you been considering reading? If you’ve read his books, which is your favorite? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!