The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center: A Genre I Read Least of, However, Loved this Book (and made me want to read more of (the genre) (well, at least Katherine Center ;).

By Jeneane J. Vanderhoof

I am not a fan of romance but reviewing books for a print column and online I try to give all readers something they would be interested in and can enjoy. So when I saw The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center was coming out, I figured I would see if this would be a book I could recommend to romance readers, as it had been some time since I had given a recommendation in the genre.

After several chapters of The Rom-Commers I paused and realized I was enjoying this book so much- I hadn’t paused to think about anything else (which I often do, or have to do), didn’t want to stop reading the book to think or do anything else- and literally didn’t think I could- the book was that good! And- it was a romance- a genre that is quite hard for me to get into and enjoy. That I was into a romance book- a total shock to me- and something I can say has happened in at least 15 years (or maybe- since I was a teen).

Readers meet some great characters in this book- Emma Wheeler- whose life has been on pause for some time, caring for a parent who can’t be left alone- or they end up hurt- if the worst happens (which seems easy with her father’s issues)- dead. Then, Emma’s love interest- Charlie Yates, Emma’s “personal writing God”- a person whose work she has intently studied and taken apart for years. Oddly, Emma is a romance lover and everything Charlie has done- has not been in the genre. But that has never stopped Emma from worshiping his work as she is a scriptwriter too.

Another character who is involved in the book, but not as intently, is Emnma’s old high school love- Logan- who, despite being disinterested in Emma for love, has always been interested in her work and friendship. As her agent Logan has always tried to keep Emma afloat with work- despite the fact she is stuck as a primary 24-7 caregiver- barely ever able to leave her home. Readers learn, as Emma does, that Logan is very good at keeping secrets- because her agent and friend represents none other than the man that Emma worships as a God- Charlie Yates- and- for the last 3 years- who is in need of help. Knowing the two people well, Logan thinks that Emma- the perfect rom-com lover, is the solution.

That is especially because Charlie Yates has written a rom-com and needs to do so- to make the movie he wants to make (a mob movie). When Logan reads Charlie’s rom-com script, he knows it needs lots of help and when Emma reads it she agrees. The only thing- Logan is keeping some secrets from the two parties involved- one of which, even if Emma is able to get her sister to give up an internship to look after their father, Charlie doesn’t know that she is coming- and if he did, certainly would never agree to it. Because what man ever thinks he needs help, after all?

If Emma is able to help Charlie Yates- she will need to teach him everything about romance. Because of his past, Charlie knows nothing about it- after all, his last relationship was with a woman who he married- who left him, for a divorce, the day he found out he had cancer- which could possibly kill him.

While she isn’t the most evil of people- as, the day Charlie found out, he and his wife both told the other they had something to say- and Charlie let her go first. But once she dropped the bomb and said, “Divorce,” when he went second and told her about the cancer she said she would stay- Charlie just couldn’t keep someone around, even when he had cancer, just because he had cancer. It would be hard to hold someone to you like that- making them akin to a hostage because of a sickness. I don’t think most people could- and if they had to (for whatever reason), it would be a terribly uncomfortable situation to have to live through.

Since I am not a fan of romance, I really never learned alot about the genre- and definitely not about rom-coms. I didn’t even know the difference between a rom-com and a romance (or if there was one). Though this isn’t a crash course book on the genre, through conversations in the book- I was able to learn a lot of fun and interesting things I didn’t know. And this made not just the book- but the whole genre more entertaining. Of course, at the end of the book I cried- even though in a rom-com- to make it a rom- com- the lovers have to meet in the end- and get together- to make the piece true to the genre (readers learn this through Emma).

So to those who love romance- The Rom-Commers is a must to put on your shelf and read. When it comes to those, like me, who don’t like the genre for any reason- this may be a book that you can love- as I did. Not a lover of this genre, really, in any way- I read the book from start to finish, skipped bedtime and read late into the morning when I finished it.

I can’t put my finger- exactly- on why this romance worked- for me- when so many others don’t. But if I had to guess- it would have to be for the fact that I think the romance genre fell out of my liking as I got older- and saw that most romances I was reading- wouldn’t happen the way they were written. And more so, that most of the characters in the books I was reading- never had any problems or better said- “life issues”- that felt true to life- the characters had none of the issues that I thought real people and relationships had.

I can’t say this about The Rom-Commers- even when you have a character like Charlie Yates- a famous, handsome, scriptwriter. If anything, he had the most issues of all the characters presented (and it's not just the cancer he hopes will not reemerge). Katherine Center has produced a story that, while it feels like a great rom-com story, also feels centered enough in real life to be entertaining- very entertaining. She also has the great insight- as to base her rom-com about making a rom-com, educating readers about things they may not know about the genre- and I always love when I get taught things- and don’t even realize when I am learning them- that I am learning!

Again, those of you that love a romance- this book should be a no brainer (if you should read it or not) and I encourage others who read outside the genre as I do (my genre interests lie more in sci-fi, historical anything, thrillers and horror as well as general fiction)- if you want to give romance a try (and I always encourage readers to spread their wings and move outside of reading what they are comfortable with, as you may find more that you like, or love)- at the very least you’ll learn about rom-coms- but you may just enjoy this book- and be unable to put it down until you are done (and yes, it was a real surprise I could like a romance that much- I might even say I loved the book ;).

Happy Reading- The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center certainly deserves the best of the best- above and beyond five stars- but sadly the best I am able to give. If I could though, I’d lasso the moon and the stars to rate this book with them ;)