While You We're Sleeping meets The Proposal in the best way in The Catch. Amy Lea is truly a forced to be reckoned with when it comes to having influencers in her books. Normally, I shy away from books with influencers because they feel very contrived, but each book in this series had me wishing the fmcs were real people I could follow. When Mel ends up stuck in an abandoned BnB with Evan and his cousin, she thinks her only chance at breathing life back into her socials is ruined. Evan is grumpy, judgmental, and hates her. Yet, after a boating trip goes awry she finds herself to be the only person there to make sure he's taken care of in the hospital. So what if telling hospital staff that she's his fiancée leaves the two stuck in a fake engagement arrangement?

Character wise Mel is very much a mirror ball girl. She is doing whatever it takes to keep herself relevant in a social world that is leaving behind her private nature while also worrying for her brother after the previous death of their father. She is a caretaker by nature; though, many don't look past her socialite seeming exterior. Obviously, I loved her.

Don't even get me started on the Mel x Evan slow burn romance!! I was obsessed from their meet cute. I love opposites attract especially in a small town setting. It's always so much fun, and Amy Lea definitely served up a tension filled, hot romance between the two. I also love that she made it clear that Evan liked Mel for who she was with her love for fashion and beauty. He liked seeing her dressed up! And obviously his feigned hatred for Mel was deliciously revealed to be a lie. Chef's kiss imho!!!

I love how Amy Lea demonstrated the different ways that grief can affect people. Grief isn't a clear cut, one size fits all scenario. This showed not only in Mel and her brother but Evan and his family. It made it all the more authentic when reading.

Another series I'm sad to say goodbye to :( But I know that big things are in store for Amy Lea and I can't wait to see them.

This was such a fun read and I loved that it's set in Canada. The FMC was my favourite kind: mouthy and sarcastic while also being a big ball of smoosh inside who just needs love. I also love this kind of rivals to lovers dynamic with the grumpy MMC (he HAD REASONS).

I think this is my favorite Amy Lea book yet! I loved the grumpy hero who of course turned out to be a total softie, and I really loved watching Mel's growth as an individual, along with watching their growth as a couple. I also really loved the family dynamics at the inn, it gave me all the While You Were Sleeping vibes, they were hilarious and so fun!

I was excited to finally read Mel's story after getting glimpses of her life in the other Influencer books. I I love a fake dating trope and the fact that there was a little inspiration from While You Were Sleeping (what a banger of a Sandy B film) was a delight. I thought Mel's struggles with her social media were the most relatable - feeling like you need to put all your thoughts and feelings out on the internet to gain or keep a following, that hit of dopamine when someone likes something you spent time and effort on, but then feeling let down or exhausted from how draining it is to put that much of yourself out there all the time. I thought her growth and learning to open up to her friends and family was well done.

While this was pretty good overall, I did wish that there was more of a buildup to Mel and Evan actually having feelings for each other. It felt like it switched from loathing to loving in an instant and it was a little jarring. I really wish this was a dual-pov story - it would explain some of Evan's actions in the beginning and would have helped with this transition. Other than that, I did enjoy reading this one and thought it was a fun, quick story!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the push and pull of Evan and Melanie. His gruff to her proper was a great mix and had be hooked. I loved how first impressions were put into question. I loved the longing for found family and enjoyed how it was accomplished. being inside of a Melanie’s head felt authentic and vulnerable. Her worry about her brother and financial situation made complete sense and helped her feel like more of a whole human.

So cute!

Adored Melanie & Evan in this grumpy x sunshine + smalltown boy x city girl.

I love Amy Lea’s writing style & this book is no exception. Fun, lighthearted romance with a goofy family that reminds me of my own.

Tropes:
Grumpy x Sunshine
Fake dating
Forced proximity
He falls first

I’m SO SAD the Influencer series is over, but I’m so pumped for more books by Amy Lea. Her writing is phenomenal, and this book was so cute!

Mel is a fashion influencer who has always struggled with feeling financially stable enough in life- even when she is. When she is offered a trip to a spa in Nova Scotia, she takes it- but after a scheduling mishap, she has to grab a last second air bnb in a small fishing village.

Evan is part owner of the inn she ends up booking at, and definitely doesn’t welcome her warmly- he’s grumpy, he’s judgy, and they don’t start off on the right foot.

But after an accident in the water, Mel suddenly becomes fake engaged to Evan- and somehow, the lie becomes more complicated and Mel isn’t sure how to feel.

Seeing Mel and Evan grow closer was a treat, and I loved the way they ended up compromising as two very stubborn people in a new relationship. I loved this book so much, and I can’t wait for the everyone to read it!

This is my favorite of the Influencer Series. I enjoyed it so much! I loved the animosity and banter between these two enemies to lovers. There were several tropes thrown into the mix; forced proximity, fake fiancé, save the family business, city girl/small town, grumpy/sunshine… and I ate it all up. As well as some nods to “While You Were Sleeping” that I would love to give examples of but I’ll restrain myself. No spoilers.

I love Amy Lea’s messaging about social media, influencers, and in this case, beauty and aesthetic… which boils down to, I think, what works for one doesn’t work for all, nor does it need to, but if it’s your thing, own it. I specifically love that Melanie gets to be high maintenance. She gets to own tricking herself out and wearing false lashes and isn’t made to change that part of herself… just grow and embrace different surroundings and ways of life.

There’s some great focus on past traumas and family issues. Death of loved ones (off page/ in the past) and grief. Watching Evan wake up and, sort of, come out of his funk, was lovely to behold. His personality blossomed and worked so well with Mel’s and their relationship changed and grew. There was a great arc.

And the secondary characters were fun. I wish we got more of them! What felt off, though, were the interactions with Mel’s brother. I understand what the author was going for but it was an inconsiderate step too far. And their conversations were too unrealistic. The perfect insightful therapy-like talk needed some work.

Overall, though, I loved this one. It was a lot of fun to read and I flew through it.

I was excited about this book-- it sounded like a While You Were Sleeping spin, and I feel like you don't see many stories happening in Nova Scotia. However, it just fell flat for me.

Enemies to lovers has to be really well done for me to enjoy, and this was not it. I didn't feel a ton of chemistry between the two of them, just plain annoyance. I honestly got pretty bored by it, and it was not enough to get me over the conflict-adverse part of me.

There's beauty in holding on . . . as long as you're not trapped in the past.

Brief Summary
When Mel, a social media influencer, ends up in Nova Scotia on the wrong weekend, she has no choice but to shift her plans and stay at a hotel surrounded by local fisherman. There she meets the grumpiest fisherman Evan.

WHAT TO EXPECT:
🦞small town romance
🦞city girl x small town guy
🦞grumpy x sunshine
🦞fake engagement
🦞forced proximity
🦞third act breakup

🦞TW: death of parent, death of family member, grief, depression, estranged parent, family strife, near drowning,

My Thoughts
I really didn’t care for the FMC and the MMC I think both of them were in sufferable… but it was easy enough to read without having to think too much. although the book as a whole did feel a little flat for me. The pacing of this book completely threw me off everything happen within two weeks. I do want to check out this author other books because I hear so many great things. Maybe I just had high hopes for this one.

I would recommend this book to the right audience. I think this series has a wide appeal.

“You're never alone in this world while I'm in it, Mel." There's a conviction in his words that makes me feel grounded, tethered in a way I've never been able to grasp.”

All the stars! The Simple Wild meets the Bellinger Sisters duo. Standalone in an interconnect series. The romcom girlies will love The Catch!

✨ THINGS AND STUFF ✨
-nova scotia, canada
-forced proximity
-loathe to love
-jarvis 🕷️
-city girl 🤝🏼 small town grump
-fried pickles & lobster poutine
-oh no! you’re wounded (him)
-fake finance
-would you rather…
-family dynamics
-lobster festival
-#IsThisAKissingBook: open door. “I've never wanted to kiss someone again so badly in my life, and I don't like it one bit.”

thank you berkley romance for an advanced copy.

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleyromance @berkleypub for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

✨ARC REVIEW ✨

𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕓𝕪 𝔸𝕞𝕪 𝕃𝕖𝕒

Synopsis: A grumpy fisherman & a fashion influencer on the brink of irrelevance lives are tossed overboard in this new romantic comedy from international bestselling author Amy Lea. Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a fishing village on the east coast of Canada where she meets the burly & bearded bed-and-breakfast owner & fisherman, Evan Whaler. The B&B is under fire & Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content. But of course with their long hikes and campfire chats, exposing in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. Will Mel be willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in Boston for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?

I FINALLY finished “The Influencer” series!! This book gave me all the vibes of Sandra Bullock’s movies ‘While You Were Sleeping’ & ‘The Proposal’ & packed with banter, some swoony lines, and a bit of spice. 🌶️ I really loved Mel & what she stood for—finally getting her backstory after reading the other two books was really nice to see. Now Evan, he had to grow on me a bit, but at the end I wound up not disliking him as much as when he first showed up. Overall, I think this was a good book.

ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ:
• ᴡɪᴛᴛʏ ʙᴀɴᴛᴇʀ 😂
• ᴀ ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢ ꜰᴍᴄ 💅🏾
• ᴀɴ ᴏᴜᴛᴅᴏᴏʀꜱʏ ᴍᴍᴄ 🎣
• ɢʀᴜᴍᴘ x ꜱᴜɴꜱʜɪɴᴇ ☀️
• ʜᴀᴛᴇ ᴀᴛ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ꜱɪɢʜᴛ 🤬
• ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ 🫂
• ꜱᴍᴀʟʟ ᴛᴏᴡɴ ᴠɪʙᴇꜱ 🏠
• ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

I’m glad I took the time to read the first two books in the series and I think if you want a fun, low stakes series to read that has some LOL moments, this may be the series for you.

Thank you to @netgalley @berkleyromance @berkleypub for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

#TheCatch #AmyLea #TheInfluencerSeries #Netgalley #BookReview

When I began reading this book, I didn't realize it was the third and final book in a series by Amy Lea. I loved The Catch so much that I'll be going back to read the other two books ASAP.

The Catch has two of my favorite romance tropes, enemies-to-lovers and fake dating, both of which are well executed. Melanie and Evan are both stubborn characters with dominant qualities and it leads to great banter and opposites attract chemistry. Mel has had a hard life and keeps everyone at an arms length distance, never showing all of her cards or letting anyone in to protect herself. Evan comes off as a grumpy asshole, but turns out to be more of a cinnamon role than anything.

Evan's family is a hoot and they help keep the plot rolling in dynamic ways. Their tiny Canadian fishing village is a lovely, charming character itself and reminded me of a coastal Stars Hollow. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a grumpy fisherman romance, but The Catch hooked me and reeled me in until the very end.

3.5 ⭑ hot lumberjack book boyfriends are gonna do it for me every time!!

this was fun! there was a good mix of witty banter, heavier topics, and tension. my attention wasn’t wholly captured, but I still had a good time. this was also too insta-love for my personal taste, but the chemistry between melanie and evan was still there and very hot & entertaining!

I really liked both of Amy Lea's other books and think her writing is so fun and funny! She has the perfect blend and her books are true rom-coms in my opinion. This third and final book of her Influencers series pairs Mel, a fashion influencer from Boston with Evan, a small town fisherman trying to fix up his family's inn. After a boating accident turns into Mel lying about being his fiancee, Evan and Mel decide to keep the lie going in order to get his family to come together after a years long conflict.

Read this for:
- Fake Engagement
- City girl x small town guy
- Asian FMC
- Opposites Attract
- A small town Inn

I really had a fun time with this one! I really liked the small town setting of Cora's Cove and was glad basically the whole book was set there. I really liked all of the characters, including side characters and loved that we got to see glimpses of the two previous couples from the series. It definitely has some laugh-out-loud moments but also some emotional ones as well - I loved how much Evan really saw Mel and also accepted her even though she considers herself a bit "high maintenance" .

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

2.5 ⭐️ Sadly, this was not for me.


"Fake dating always leads to true love. Fact. I don't make the rules."


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ small town romance
✨ a not so meet cute
✨ she’s a big influencer from Boston
✨ he’s a small town fisherman in Nova Scotia
✨ city girl x small town guy
✨ dislike to lovers
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ fake engagement
✨ forced proximity
✨ opposite attract
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ third act breakup
✨ HEA
✨ POC rep - FMC is Chinese
✨ cameos from characters in previous books
✨ TW: death of parent, death of family member, grief, depression, estranged parent, family strife, near drowning,


*There are some slight SPOILERS in this review so read at your own risk*


My Thoughts:

After reading the previous books, Set On You and Exes and O's, I was really excited about Melanie’s book. And while the premise is fun, I was ultimately disappointed.

This type of story has been done so many times and I was bored with how it was done here. So here's the thing, I really did like the premise of a high maintenance, big city influencer going to a small town where she's roped into becoming the fake fiance of a grumpy fisherman who lives in a dilapidated inn. However, this really gave me It Happened One Summer Vibes by Tessa Bailey. And while, yes, I know the details of the stories are different, it just didn't feel that original to me.

My biggest issue is that I didn’t really like either MC, nor was there any chemistry between them.

First, let's talk about Melanie. She is just so overly dramatic. For example, she has a phobia of spiders (and any other bug really), and the way she would react was childish. There's a moment where she's freaking out about a spider and says "the eight-legged monster can't escape and plant eggs in my face." I have phobias and I know there isn't always logic to them, but surely a grown woman can realize spiders do not plant eggs in human faces. Also, her referencing horror movies 10 times throughout the story was overkill. We get it, she would not survive a horror film scenario. Again, she's just being dramatic.

Now, onto Evan. Look, I really tried, but I just did not like him. He's a grumpy fisherman who plays guitar and struggles with grief. That's his whole personality. He was such an asshole and the reasoning wasn't good enough. And his anger and irritation towards Melanie felt so forced. I also didn't understand why he softens towards her eventually. Because she's 'charming'? The girl who legitimately says she doesn't connect with people and has a hard time making friends and has a resting bitch face is . . . charming? Doesn't make sense. I feel like this story would have been better if we got his POV.

There was no chemistry between Evan and Melanie. It's all 'I hate you' for the first few days and then when he takes her to go hiking, they actually talk to each other like regular human beings and suddenly, everything changes. What? This guy was such an asshole and now, because he got you to open up (which you never do) you go, hmmmm maybe there's more to this guy. No babe. No. And even when they talk, there's no spark. It's just conversations anyone would have with someone they're spending time with. I did not feel any chemistry.

At the end of the day, these characters were just too opposite from one another and mean to believe that in a week, they went from immensely disliking each other to lovers. And by lovers, I mean feeling like they were 'the one'. Their relationship is just so ridiculous and far-fetched.

The Whaler family was fine at first but then it got weird. They're way too in each other's business. But what gave me the ick was when Evan and Melanie do the deed, and then shortly after the family comes into the room, sits on the edge of the bed while they are naked and sweaty, and proceeds to chat with them. WHAT??? So gross . This family has no boundaries, oh, and they hold massive grudges. I would legit be running for the hills if this is the family of the guy I was screwing. Sorry, but dysfunction isn't cute or charming.

Melanie's child stalker was so creepy and should have been left out of this story. This twelve(?) year old lives in her building, is in love with her, follows her around, stalks her IG, writes her poem, and tries to flirt with her. And what was weird is that while Melanie also finds this creepy, she puts up with it and sometimes find amusement with his infatuation. Someone makes a joke about how she might need a restraining order against him but then she laughs about it. But really, it's not funny. It's weird. This kid is so inappropriate. I would ignore this kid and have a serious conversation with his father where I'd threaten to get an actual restraining order against him.

What's even weirder, is that Melanie has her breakthrough moment of realizing she wants to be with Evan while having a heart to heart with this child! Seriously? Melanie doesn't open up to people ever but she's going to talk about her love life with a child stalker? WTF? I just . . . I don't understand why this kid needed to be in the story AT ALL.

I was a full time travel influencer and photographer for six years, so I’m very familiar with that world, and there were a lot of things that happened that weren’t 100% realistic or didn’t make sense.

1. Melanie getting an offer for an all expense paid trip would not have been a shock. She has 500k followers. If anything, she would have laughed at the offer because someone with her amount of followers would be getting paid an insane amount on top of the free trip. No lie, influencers with 500k followers charge anywhere between $5,000 - $10,000 per post (depending on engagement)! So yeah, her getting a free trip and being excited about it is ridiculous.

2. Melanie decides to stay in Cora's Cove because paying for another flight would have been too expensive. But I'm here to tell you that flights from Boston to Halifax would not be more expensive than staying at an Airbnb for an entire week. In all honesty, it probably would have been more expensive.

3. When Melanie moves Evan's boat equipment for the shot. I know there are influencers who might do this without asking but the fact she asked, he said no, and still decided to move it didn't seem realistic to me.

4. Melanie canceling her work trip to just stay with Evan did not make sense. She says she needs this job, but this hard working girl is going to throw that all away for some guy? No, this doesn't align with her characters.

I also want to note that the writing itself was perfectly fine. The story was easy to follow and well-written. However, I did end up skimming a lot of the non-dialogue just because I had lost interest in the characters and overall story

I have preconceived notions in my mind of what it’s like to be a fashion influencer. Like most people out there, I think of them as vapid and shallow people who put artificial beauty over quality. With this book I enjoyed how the main character challenged my biased ideas by giving me a look at behind the glossy and well edited pictures. She humanized Mel by giving the reader an understanding on why a person would chose this as a career and the ups and downs a person would have with social media.

This was such a delightful read with chemistry pouring out the pages. The beauty of this book comes from the slow burn of this romance which provided the strong foundation for Melanie and Evan. Though they only spent 2 weeks together, the author did a great job in developing Mel and Evan's relationship by creating a meaningful emotional bond. Their connection felt just as authentic and genuine as a couple who had been dating for years.

This book was the perfect ending to this series. It had laugh out loud moments to tender heart to heart scenes. It truly felt as if Nana was hugging me throughout this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC

**3.5 STARS**

Content Warning: mention of parental abandonment, parental death, depression

+ I didn’t read the first book in this series yet but I read book two and loved it. So when I was offered to join the book tour for this book I was excited to do it. Amy Lea is fast becoming a must-read author for me.

+ Evan is grumpy and I can’t say Mel is actually miss sunshine but she is confident, she’s a go-getter and the two of them do not hit it off at first. Which makes this story so fun! The story is set in a small fishing town where everyone knows everyone but the people are nice and it’s the first time Mel gets to feel a sense of community and family in her life. Evan’s family drama is a big part of the story which leads to a fake dating/engagement scenario.

+ The romance is fun because Evan and Mel do not get along but there is something brewing underneath the surface of their arguments. When they finally do something about it, the scenes are sweet and spicy. I like that Mel is a social media influencer and we get to see her perspective on her job – which people thing isn’t a job, but through Mel we do see it is work, no matter how frivolous some people find it to be. I also like that Mel isn’t perfect but is always striving for perfection because of her job to be on social media and how Evan shows that he likes her even in her most natural state. 

~ It’s insta-love. Evan and Mel barely know one another and she’s at this airbnb for only a week.

~ I felt like Julian’s story wasn’t really complete. He is Mel’s brother and mental health and depression are tied to his story. He gets introduced to us in the beginning and then barely anything throughout the story, except for Mel’s thoughts about him, then everything is okay for him at the end. I did like the themes about family – for Mel it was Julian and Evan has his close cousin, Lucy and then his family drama.

My Thoughts:

I thought this was a cute, small town romance with grumpy and sunshine characters who start off as enemies and move onto lovers…kind of fast! There romance is a bit spicy and sweet which was nice. I liked the themes of family and Mel finding a place that she could experience family and community and I also appreciated her confidence. Overall, I didn’t love this as much as Exe’s and O’s but it was still an entertaining read. I look forward to reading more from this author!

⭐️: 4/5

When fashion influencer Mel’s sponsored trip to a five star resort goes awry, she finds herself in a coastal Canadian fishing village, staying in an AirBnB owned by two cousins, the bright and lively Lucy, and brooding fisherman Evan. When an accident leads to Mel being mistaken for Evan’s fiancé, they decide to keep up the ruse in order for Evan to mend some familial fences and Mel to get some good wilderness content for her socials. Amidst their forced proximity, real feelings start to emerge, but is Mel willing to sacrifice the image she built so carefully for a life in the wild?

I guess this is part of one of those rom-com series that follow a group of friends or otherwise interconnected acquaintances where a side character from a previous book ends up getting their own book. Although I know the previous books were meant to be read first, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything terribly pertinent, so this definitely functions as a standalone. It was very clear who the other two main characters were though, since their presence and personalities and relationships with their significant others was explained just badly enough but harped upon enough that I knew I was supposed to just know their stories already. As far as the actual plot of this book goes, I’m definitely such a sucker for “city girl meets country boy.” It’s probably one of my favorite tropes, so this one was perfect. The caveat however is that I’m not the biggest fan of contrived accidents as plot points, I think it’s a little lazy and too out of the realm of possibility, even for a rom-com. This one in particular I felt took a really roundabout way to get to the fake dating storyline. There was also some element of instant love going on, which can be irksome, but since we only get one POV for the most part, it was handled a lot better than it could have been. Which brings me to the fact that we only got one POV for the majority of the book. I definitely prefer my rom-coms as dual POV. I really liked the story overall though, and the relationship was so cute, and it was great to see the characters evolve and grow throughout. One of my favorite things about this book was the representation though. I’ve never read a book that came anywhere close to feeling similar to my experiences, since most stories that feature trans-racial adoptees center either on their search for their birth parents or at the very least, despite not knowing where they fit in, how they felt so ~wanted~ by their adoptive parents, which isn’t always the case. It was nice to see a different sort of representation.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for this free eARC!!

I was happy to be back in the world of Amy Lea's influencers and the grumpy men who fall for them. Add in a bearded, Canadian, Lobster fisherman and I was sold. This is a fun fake-engagement trope with sweet family elements tied in.