The Love Haters

I am a late comer to the Katherine Center fan club, but that only means that I have a lot of catching up to do.  I just finished her latest The Love Haters (#1,335) and loved it.

Katie loves her job as a videographer, even if some of her corporate clients aren't the world's most exciting.  For that, she has her own private YouTube channel featuring A Day In The Life, where she chronicles those unsung heroes who step forward when needed to pull a man from a burning car, or dive into a pool to rescue a child.  

But things at her company are not going well, and her own job might be next on the chopping block.  But her superior gives her a chance to film a recruiting video for the U.S. Coast Guard.  Its subject will be a rescue diver who saved Jennifer Anniston's dog after it fell off a cliff.  Hutch Hutchinson is perfect for the poster boy role.  The only problem is that he's stationed in Key West, and in order to fly on the helicopter to film him, she'll have to pass a swimming test.  And she doesn't even own a bathing suit, let alone swim!   

Complications and lies pile on, there's an epic "meet cute" and an amazing dog named George Bailey as she settles into a kitschy cottage hotel run by Hutch's colorful aunt Rue.  Katie not only meets the love of her life, but a welcoming family as well as she works to conquer her issues for a goal that will change her life for the better if she can survive long enough.

When I was discussing this novel with one of my friends who had also recently read it, we agreed on one thing: the reason we love these books so much is that there is an added layer of emotional depth.  They go beyond the "meet cute" and "happily ever after" of other romance books and tackle real issues everyday people struggle with.  How many women out there can relate to Katie's body image sensitivity and online bullying?  Ms. Center offers in her pages some gentle guidance which might help others suffering from these issues in a positive direction.  Their own happy endings?  Wouldn't that be nice?  I found Ms. Center's purposeful inclusion of these story elements in her Author's Note at the end of The Love Haters profound and moving.  More books like these?  Yes, please!