For fans of It Happened One Summer & While You Were Sleeping! This book reminded me a lot of the book and movie but this has its own charm to it.
Melanie is a character a lot of people will relate to and root for. She’s down on her luck and takes an opportunity to turn her life around. Evan was a wonderful character too. I fell for him hard like Mel did! They had wonderful chemistry and I found a lot of their scenes to be sweet and romantic. The romance developed at a great pace and was believable.
I also loved all the side characters. Evan’s family was a lot of fun and brought heart to the story.
A fantastic romcom filled with humor and heart.

This enchanting story reveals a gradual and dazzling romance between Evan and Mel, who start off as enemies but eventually fall in love. It is a tale that is sure to capture the hearts of readers, just as it did mine.

A fashion influencer finds herself staying at an inn owned by a grumpy lobster fisherman and his family... and despite their polar opposite personalities, there might just be love on the line for these two. Melanie Karlsen is a fashion influencer and deciding to give her brand a boost, she decides to go visit a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada to get content. Yet when a mixup with the dates at the hotel she's suppose to be stay in leaves her stranded she finds a room at a bed-and-breakfast owned by a burly and bearded grumpy fisherman, Evan Whaler. Evan and Mel don't exactly get off on the right foot but when an accident lands Evan in the hospital, and Mel in a panic to make sure he is okay, lies to the hospital and tells them she is his fiancee... only to have his entire family come down to see him and this new "fiancee" things are about to get complicated. Mel and Evan decide to pretend to be fake engaged because it's bringing his family closer, and because they are beginning to grow closer... yet can Mel stay? Will Mel sacrifice her picture perfect life in Boston to be with people who have welcome her into their home like she was family... or will is it too soon and too big of a change? This was a really cute book, and despite it being the third and last one in the series, you can read it as a standalone ( I did and didn't have any problems following it at all). It was a really charming read and there was some spice, but overall I loved how Hallmark-esque it was with the cute bed and breakfast, a grumpy male lead, and a very charming family. I loved how much Evan adored Mel and how they were so smitten for each other. I enjoyed reading this one and would absolutely recommend it for anyone looking for a sweet and fun read.

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group,

The Catch is Amy Lea's third book in The Influencer series. Melanie Karlsen is a Boston fashion influencer whose branded trip to a resort in Canada is mischeduled and ends up having to book alternate accommodations in a small fishing village B&B. When Melanie arrives, owner Evan Whaler is less than welcoming. Thankfully his cousin makes up for his grumpy attitude. With the story we get enemies to lovers, as well as fish out of water, and fake engagement tropes. I liked how as the story progressed the author slowly revealed to both Melanie and Evan the others true personality. As they learn to not judge each other by their first impressions and preconceptions, they grow closer. The story is very cute and I especially liked how the author wrapped up the story. The book can easily be read as a stand alone.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Books for the advanced copy. This is my honest review.

I really loved the setting of the book and how the connection between the characters formed. I wish that the time span of the book was longer but would definitely recommend.

I adored this entire series and The Catch was a perfect way to end it. In The Catch, we get to see Mel's story unfold as she heads to coastal Canada for a promo trip to a spa and when she arrives, she discovers they messed up the dates for the stay. She scrambles to find another place to stay and ends up at the Whaler Inn, where she meets Eric and Lucy.

When I tell you I couldn't put this story down, I mean it. I loved everything about this book. The topics it covers, the characters, the location - it's all pretty perfect.

If you haven't checked out this series, I highly recommend it. All the books work as standalones as well, but it helps to know all of the characters going into each one as they all make appearances.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A nice portrayal of Nova Scotia and a sweet East Coast town. I could really picture some of the places I've visited out there with the setting descriptions, and they helped to pull me into the romance.

my emotions while reading this book: 😂😫💕🥹🫶🏼
such a cozy romance about being vulnerable with the people you love and the unimportance fancy, material things

Amy Lea's books are just always so much fun! I can't say enough good things about The Catch - it is just thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. Melanie and Evan can't stand each other and it is so fun to watch them go from their awkward interactions to so much more. Loved it!!

Goodness this book is delightful in all the best possible ways. This is the last book in The Influencer series, and like most rom-coms, it can be read as a stand-alone. But Amy's storytelling abilities are outstanding, and I would highly recommend reading the other books in the series. You won't be disappointed. This book was a lot of fun to read. Melanie and Evan's journey to their HEA was full of fun (and funny) twists and turns and plenty of romantic moments. I really enjoyed watching these two different worlds coming together or clashing together. It creates plenty of opportunities for entertaining and hilarious moments. I adored that this book is set on the East Coast of Canada. It's an area in Canada that is often overlooked and forgotten, and it really shouldn't be. Amy did a fantastic job capturing the heart of East Coast Canada. The sense of community and belonging is such an important aspect of life out there, and Amy brought that to life in her book. All of the descriptions in her book were lush and vivid and transported me back to the time when I was out east. I also love all the wonderful nods to Canadian culture or experiences. It made my Canadian heart sing.

As I said, this story is a lot of fun. I am a huge fan of fish out of water and grumpy sunshine romances, and this book perfectly captures the essence of those tropes. Melanie's experiences out in the countryside were hilarious. She is a city girl, and her fear of creepy-crawly things often gets her into embarrassing situations. I soaked in all those funny moments and loved that this book made me laugh multiple times. I was surprised at how much was packed into this book. Amy takes her readers on this journey that is really delightful and engaging. It has all those things that make a rom-com great, but it also deals with tougher issues like grief and complicated family dynamics. She balances out the lighter, fluffy moments with these more serious, deeper ones and creates a delightful reading experience. I loved all the characters. Evan's family is delightful in the best possible way. They are all so quirky, and even though they spend a lot of time-fighting with each other, it's evident that they care for one another. All the townspeople added that extra charm to the story, and I enjoyed spending time with them.

Melanie and Evan were fabulous. Melanie is a city girl, and she is proud of it. There were definitely times when she could be a bit much, but her heart was always in the right place. Melanie's character struggles with letting people in. Her childhood was filled with financial hardship and grief. Her family didn't have a lot, and that need to be financially secure is a huge stressor and motivator for how she lives her life. She wants to make sure that she has enough money to live. Not only that, but she also feels pressure to take care of her brother. There are a lot of walls around her heart, and it will take a gorgeous, grumpy lobster farmer to break them down. At the beginning of this book, Evan's character is grumpy, and I mean incredibly grumpy. He really dislikes Melanie and isn't afraid to show that dislike. I will admit his grumpiness towards Melanie even surprised me. I didn't understand why he was so mean to her. It just didn't seem to make sense. But it turns out Evan's grumpiness is just a cover for his growing attraction for Melanie. I enjoyed the fake engagement twist Amy threw into the story. It was the perfect way to ensure these two characters spent more time together.

The romance between Melanie and Evan happens fast and furious. It is a vacation romance so that pacing is to be expected. I did find myself at times questioning how these two characters would fall madly in love with each other in four days. Amy does a job developing their relationship in a way that mostly makes sense. There are things that happen between these two that would only happen in romance land, which is fine for me. I really don't need my romances to be realistic. For me, it's all about those feelings that the story gives me, and this book gave me so many fabulous feelings. There were so many delicious moments between Melanie and Evan. Their real and fake relationship has plenty of bumps in it. Amy would build us up to a spicy moment, and then something would happen to stop that moment. It was torture in the best possible way. I loved these two together and really loved their ending.

The Catch is a warm and enjoyable romantic comedy perfect for bookworms who love fish-out-of-water and grumpy-sunshine romances.

The Catch was an "enemies" to lovers, small town vacation romance between Mel, an influencer from a big city, and Evan, a fisherman from a sleepy small town. At first I couldn't see how they could possibly ever find some common ground but I ended up finding their love story to touching and sweet. This was my first Amy Lea book and although I know this was part of a series, I didn't find it confusing at all to read as a standalone. Even though they fall in love rather fast, I didn't find it to be that unrealistic and I really enjoyed the side characters and how they all were part of Mel and Evan's love story. The comedic parts of this book definitely hit right in my opinion and didn't take away from the story or the serious nature of some of both of their struggles and feelings. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🔥🔥
 
Quick Breakdown:

Vacation Romance
Disklike to Love
Opposites Attract
Fake Fiance
Small Town
Single POV
Open Door – Mild Details
 
Thank you so much @berkleyromace for the gifted eARC and finished copy & @PRHaudio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion #berkleypartner
 
Mel travels to Nova Scotia for work as a lifestyle social media influencer. But when there is a reservation  mix up with the resort she’s been hired to work for, she’s stuck for an extra unexpected week without a place to stay. It’s fishing season & everything is booked. The only thing available is The Whaler Inn, a run down Airbnb an hour away where she meets the grumpiest of fishermen.
 
I’ve been a lover of Amy Lea’s influencer series from the beginning & that love continues with The Catch. One of the biggest things that worked for me was the pacing. It’s a vacation setting, insta love romance set over the course of 2-3 weeks, BUT nothing about it felt rushed to me. Insta love that doesn’t feel instant? That alone should be applauded!
 
Mel & Evan are total opposites who butt heads from the get go, but watching the pair slowly work from strong dislike to mutual respect to so much more was truly heartwarming. There was this P&P vibe where both MC’s were judging each other by the personas they chose to show the world when deep down they are so much more similar that they realized. Amy did such a good job intertwining a more serious conversation about how we use social media into a romance.
 
The fake fiancé twist to the story was enjoyable, too. Evan’s family were so endearing with their kookiness. Her family baggage & desire to find a home made this insta love all the more believable.
 
I read most of The Catch on audio & I’d recommend the same. It’s narrated by one of my favorites, Kelsey Navarro Foster. Her voice really got me hooked into the story. Once I started listening I had a hard time reading anything else, finishing in less than two days!
 
Make sure to add this one to your TBRs, romance lovers. The Catch releases Tuesday February 13th!

Such a charming end to this series! I didn't feel like we really got to KNOW Mel in the previous books, but she was a fantastic character with great depth in this one, and Evan was the perfect companion for her. The city girl and country boy, grumpy-sunshine charm was on point and the warm family environment, plus continuing Crystal and Tara's stories, made for a great plot.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that this book looks a bit too much like Tessa Bailey's books, but it doesn't. It has the same vibes but not the same feel. Let me explain.

Off the bat, Melanie and Evan both knew that they didn't like each other. They weren't going to change their feelings, even though they both live together in a cozy cottage hotel. It wasn't going to change. I like that for them because they both knew that they were the total opposite of each other. There was no way for them to form a connection until recent events.

It's kind of laughable when you think about it. Out of nowhere, they became engaged to each other, aka fake dating to the extended families, when Evan trips over the boat and ends up in the hospital. In Melanie's mind, she needs to be there for him even though they don't like each other. So she told a big lie to the hospital staff about being his fiancé and to his family as well. It kind of works out because Evan needs help convincing the extended families not to sell the cozy cottage hotel.

You will think that this arrangement will work out perfectly for them. I will remind you that forced proximity is a thing for romance books, which means Melanie and Evans will spend more time together. And once they do, they soon realize that even though they are opposites, they have great chemistry.

Be warned; there aren't many spicy scenes in the book. Just a bit mild.

- Opposites Attract
- Small Town
- Fake Dating
- Fashion Influencer & a Lobster Fisherman
- Dislike to lovers
- Single POV

Melanie is a fashion influencer from Boston who takes a trip to Nova Scotia in an attempt to create more content for her dwindling social media account. But when she arrives to find out the resort has booked the wrong dates for her trip and now is sold out she scrambles to find a place to stay in the mean time. Enter Evan, the burly, grumpy lumbersnack who helps run a small town dilapidated airbnb.

I thought this story was relatively fast paced, had some great banter, and I loved the character development and the found family vibes. This is the third and final book of The Influencers series, but can be read as a complete standalone. I had not read the other books prior.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🔥.5

This is the 3rd book in the #theinfluencer series by Amy Lea.
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The Catch is set in Canada, Nova Scotia specifically. Mel is an influencer who is sent to Canada to feature a new resort on her social media platforms.
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After a booking disaster, she ends up at a bed and breakfast in desperate need of a renovation.
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🎣grumpy x sunshine
🎣opposites attract
🎣fake engagement
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This book has several funny moments, but also touches on difficult topics. I thought it was a good mix of funny and heartfelt.
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This book releases February 13th!
Thank you netgalley and Berkeley for the opportunity to read this book!
3.5 stars

This book was like While You Were Sleeping and The Proposal smashed together. Which wasn't a bad thing, but I feel like there were too many surface level characters and themes/tropes smashed together. I wasn't completely sold on the characters chemistry either. It seemed a bit forced in places. Overall, it was a cute enemies to lovers story that I recommend if you are a fan of that trope!

3.75⭑

Tropes;
- fake dating
- grumpy x sunshine
- small town romance
- single POV

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Amy Lea is so obviously a contemporary romance fan - her writing is fresh, her characters are relatable, and the spice is 👍🏻👍🏻

I saw this book comped as The Proposal meets While You Were Sleeping, which really fit. The whole book felt like a walk through a quiet coastal town.

I liked Melanie and I thought most of us can probably relate to her struggles with social media and image. She an Evan had a great opposites attract dynamic. Their friendship and banter kept me hooked (sorry, it was right there).

Fake dating always requires a bit of suspended belief in my opinion, but I love it regardless and I thought the motives here were pretty well intentioned and believable.

This ended up being a 4-star read for me, and now that Amy has finished her Influencer series I’m excited to see what stories she writes next!

3.5 stars - rounding up to four for the realistic and lovely conclusion.

Melanie, a lifestyle social media influencer finds herself stranded in a Canadian fishing town, at an inn with less-than-friendly proprietors and questionable conditions. However, the eternal optimist, Melanie decides to make the most of her stay and finds that the curmudgeonly owner Evan might not be quite so cranky after all.

The book is the third in Lea's Influencer series but stands up on its own merits. Her depictions of family dynamics and balancing privacy with closeness lead Evan and Melanie to fake an engagement and as the two spend more and more time together, they realize their feelings might not be so fake afterall.

I really enjoyed Melanie's character arc and growth in realizing that there might be more that makes her happy beyond her phone screen. Evan's grumpy protectiveness was swoon-worthy and the conclusion of the two opposites merging their lives was sweet and surprisingly realistic.

I received a copy of the book from Berkley, all opinions are my own.