The Influencer series was one I have really enjoyed my experience with, and I was really looking forward to Melanies story after how good Exes and O's was.

Something about this one just did not really connect for me overall. I really liked the plot and premise of the story, and I liked how it had The Proposal vibes. I liked our cast of characters, and I thought that all of their problems were valid and such- what was missing for me though was the emotionality of it all. Something about this one never really hooked me in the gut and dragged me in and it just kept me on the light and fluffy surface the whole time while reading. Now don't get me wrong- it was entertaining, but it was just missing something I can't quite put my finger on. I just liked. I did not LOVE, which was somewhat of a let down.
3.75/5 rounded up to 4.

Bittersweet to be done with this universe of characters, but I am excited for whatever Amy Lea will be writing next!

Thank you Berkley for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have been a fan of Amy Lea’s ‘The Influencer’ series from the start, and though The Catch wasn’t my favorite of the three (Exes and O’s is by far the best imo) it was still enjoyable overall.

Melanie is a different kind of influencer than her two best friends. The kind you think of when influencers come to mind. Highly edited photos, fashion, travel, etc. She is sort of at a crossroads with her career and goes out of the country to review a resort, but not everything goes to plan.

Mel ends up at an only partially operational AirBnB run by two cousins, Lucy and Evan. Evan is a grumpy fisherman but there are sparks between him and Mel, even if neither wants to admit it. Evan was the best part of this book. I adored him. And his entire family. The fake dating was fun, but some of the third-act stuff made me eye-roll some.

The ending of this book was bittersweet. I was happy with how things turned out for this couple, but I’ll miss these characters!

5 things I love about my human…

1. He leaves the room to fart.
2. He picks up the dog poop
3. He has sat through countless hours of the housewives.
4. He barely complains when I forget to feed him.
5. He does his own laundry.

Happy Saturday my little kittens!

I promised Craig, I would give him my undivided attention last night…

What he doesn’t know is that I put melatonin in his beer 🤫

I received my widget for this book yesterday and I mean come onnnnnn now it’s AMY LEA . Amy Lea literally makes my heart leap out of my chest and the only other thing that comes close to that kind of satisfaction is, well okay, scratch that, NOTHING.

The Catch is book 3 of 3 in the influencer series. You don’t need to read the first 2 books but why would you not want to?

Get ready to fall in love with Mel and Evan, this book will have even the toughest critics swooning.

My eyes swelled with tears witnessing this love story unfold and I just want so much more. I need a life update from Mel 😭

The Catch, releases just in time for Valentines Day and this is a gift any “loved” lady (or gentleman) would enjoy.

Check out this teaser :

A grumpy lobster fisherman tosses a fashion influencer’s impeccably curated life overboard in the next romantic comedy from international bestselling author Amy Lea.

In a last-ditch effort to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? The burly and bearded bed-and-breakfast owner and fisherman, Evan Whaler—who single-handedly disproves the theory that Canadians are “nice.”

After a boating accident lands Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his welcoming yet quirky family, who are embroiled in a long-standing feud over the B&B. In a bold attempt to mend family fences, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content.

Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?

I’m a big Amy Lea fan and loves the previous two books in this series so I was excited to pick it up! I alternated between listening to the audiobook and reading the ebook.

I really enjoyed Melanie and her adventures. She was not expecting to have a hotel mixup and end up in a small town hotel. The animosity from Evan was a little strong to start but it made sense once he explained the background.

I loved how Melanie made a niche for herself in the town and at the hotel. I’m a big fan of the fake dating trope so I was excited to see Melanie and Evan fake their relationship as they developed real feelings. I also loved the grumpy Evan and sunshine Melanie. I also loved the mentions of Tara and Crystal from the previous two books.

Finally found my first 5 stars of 2024! This book was so perfect. I knew I was going to love it because of the small town setting and tropes:

♡ small fisher town
♡ opposites attract
♡ small town boy x city girl
♡ fake engagement
♡ forced proximity
♡ messssyyyy (seriously, very messy) family

Like, seriously, this book was destined to be ✨ It ✨ for me. So, I want to start with Mel. I loved her so much. She deserved to put herself first once and for all and accidentally finding Cora’s Cove and its people was destiny calling her. I could understand her reticence, though, because her sense of responsibility towards her brother was not going to be easy to shake. Evan, Lucy and the Whalers were so amazing as well. They have to be one of the most dysfunctional families ever, but loving them was so easy. Mel fell for them just as hard as she does for Evan, with good reason. The romance was simply top tier. Both of them have huge personalities that clash a lot at first, but that only hinted at how hard they were going to fall for each other. I think they have the best third act I’ve ever read. Pure perfection!

I’m sad to see this series end, but very happy that it ended on such a high note.

Rating: 5/5
Steam level: Open door, 3-4 scenes, high level of detail

ARC provided by Berkley and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

This book was such a cute romcom! I enjoyed the whitty banter, I love grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity and all of this was wrapped up in a nice little bow to complete the perfect romcom story.

This is one of my favorite series! Amy Lea has a way with words. She not only entertains her readers but she makes them swoon and always have a smile on their faces. The Catch is a grumpy sunshine, fish out of water romcom that will leave you giddy! I loved it to pieces!

I loved this book, definitely my favorite of the series.

Its was super fun and cute a perfect heartfelt romcom

Full video review linked below

The Catch is definitely my favorite of the books in this series from Amy Lea that follows a series of female friends who make their living as influencers in Boston. This one reminds me of when we'd get if It Happened One Summer and While You Were Sleeping were combined into a contemporary romance novel.

In The Catch, Mel realizes that her once reliable brand partners are starting to move onto greener (and younger) pastures so when an opportunity to head to Nova Scotia presents itself, she jumps at the chance. When a booking mix up forces her to find the one remaining AirBNB in town which just so happens to be an inn run by Ethan Whaler and his cousin, Lucy. When a boating accident lands Ethan in the hospital, Mel tells the hospital staff she is his fiancé so she can accompany him to the ICU. Of course, his entire extended family shows up and meets his "fiancé" and instantly fall in love with her. Mel and Ethan decide to keep up the façade while the family is in town so that they can get the inn back on track.

I really liked seeing these two get under each other's skin and thought the character development as the story moved along was really excellent. I switched between the printed version and the audiobook, which is narrated by Kelsey Navarro Foster who does a great job capturing all the different characters. The epilogue in Ethan's POV really melted my heart.

Content flags: death of family members (cousin, father) referenced; parental abandonment; adoption (Mel is adopted)

I voluntarily read a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

4.5 ⭐️ 2 🌶️

what an ending to the influencer series! i really enjoyed The Catch and i think this was my fav book in the series yet. this book gives the While You’re Sleeping x The Proposal vibes that we all needed in a book 😍

The Catch pairs well with Tim Hortons (i needed an iced cap the whole time i read this). The fact that I’ll be in Halifax, Nova Scotia next month when this book is published, too, makes my heart so happy 🥹

if there’s one thing Amy Lea does well, it’s enemies to lovers 🫶🏼 i absolutely loved the dynamic between Evan & Mel, i think the evolution of their enemies to lovers relationship with grumpy sunshine was done so well. i’ll forever be sitting here and waiting for Lucy’s book, though 🥺

In a last-ditch effort to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the East Coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? The burly and bearded B&B owner and fisherman, Evan Whaler - who single handedly disproves the theory that Canadians are "nice."

After a boating accident lands Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his welcoming, yet quirky family, who are embroiled in a longstanding feud over the B&B. In a bold attempt to mend family fences, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan's help with her social media content.

Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?

Evan & Mel’s book was just so cozy and romantic, i truly enjoyed every second of their story and I’m sad that we won’t get to see them through another book! like honestly, how do i move on?! 🌊 The Catch was the perfect send off for the end of this series, and I’ll truly miss this friend group 🤍

tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-grumpy sunshine
-opposites attract
-fake dating
-forced proximity
-spice (in public!!)

thank you to Berkley Pub for the ARC, i truly am grateful 🤍

Ahhh I adored this book and the audio so much! It started off a little wonky, but once it picked up I really loved it!

4.25 stars
Huge thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book!

Y’all this was adorable! I felt like I was rewatching a Sandra Bullock movie. It was the perfect mix of classic romcoms like While You Were Sleeping and The Proposal, while still maintaining a unique and modern charm.

I adored both of our main love interests. I am a sucker for a grumpy male main character and Evan did not disappoint. I love how Amy gave us insight on both Mel and Evan’s backstory and didn’t cut any corners on the character development. Sometimes in a romance book it’s easy to make characters one dimensional and Amy crafted an amazing cast that truly had laughing throughout!

I do wish the beginning was a little faster, but once certain things happened, there was no putting this book down for me. Definitely make sure to add this one to your tbr! Also I went into The Catch without reading either of the books prior to this one, and I was NOT confused, so they can definitely be read out of order! But you best believe I’m about to go back and read them asap!

Amy Lea's books have been on my TBR for a long time, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this one. Thank you, @berkleyromance and @prhaudio, for the free book and audiobook of the third book in Amy Lea's Influencer series, available on February 13, 2023.

Melanie is a Boston-based social media influencer struggling to keep her account relevant as the social media tides change. Therefore, she is excited when she is offered a free stay at a Canadian 5-star resort in exchange for her posting content about the hotel. Only when she arrives, there is a mixup with the dates, and she needs to quickly find a temporary place to stay, which is how she finds herself in a very suspect B&B in a small fishing village run by a quirky young woman and her very grumpy (and attractive) cousin. Over the course of just over a week, a series of chaotic events ensue that result in a near-death experience, a fake engagement, a family reunion, and the airing of a lot of emotional baggage.

I usually don't go for the big-city girl/small-town guy storyline in books. However, the madcap humor, quirky family, and how Lea gave the characters more depth and complexity than I was expecting made this one a welcome little surprise. The inn itself and all of the side characters make this one shine - from the story behind the family portrait in the dining room to naming the spider living in the bathroom and how the family pulls back together. Although this was the third in a series, and I have not read the previous two books, I didn't feel like I lost any enjoyment as the central characters from the first two books are incidental in this book.

Title: The Catch Amy Lea

Publication Date- 02/13/24
Publisher- Berkley Publishing
Overall Rating- 3.5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Catch by Amy Lea was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. This is the third book in the “influencer” series which takes a look at the lives and careers of influencers. It’s a series I never thought I would enjoy like I have.

The standout of Amy Lea’s writing that continues into The Catch is humor. If you are looking for a rom com that truly has the comedy element this is for you. I loved our main character, she demonstrated growth while not losing pieces of herself that matter. One of my favorite elements of the story was the “Schitt's Creek,” vibes. Our main character is truly displaced and that really adds to the humor. I had many moments where I was literally laughing out loud. Once you read it, come back and talk to me about the spider conversation because that wrecked me. I felt a lot of joy in the belly laughs.

Now you might be wondering why it’s not a 5 star. I think the more I read rom coms I know the formula and I imagine it has to be so hard to come off that formula as a writer. That’s the main reason it’s not a 5 for me, I really felt the formulaic element and would have liked something a little more different. I do want to own though that authors do their best to come up with unique situations and circumstances. I hope this genre can continue to move forward and create new stories. I think something that would have made this involved or interesting would be more heartfelt moments. That’s a really tough thing to balance with so much good humor but that’s what I felt made it fall flat for me at times.

Read this for the humor, good conversations about influencing, family of origin, being seen, and if you like a good renovation story. I will also say that for once the story gave what it promised it would.

I loved absolutely everything about this book! The grumpy x sunshine relationship, the banter, the spice. I loved how the fake relationship started and then slowly began to develop. This book had all my favorite tropes and delivered them in the best way possible. I enjoyed how Mel brought Evan out of the negative cloud he had been living in from the beginning of the book. This one was sweet and hilarious from start to finish.

2.5 rounded up to a 3.
Even though I've enjoyed other books in The Influencer series, this one fell flat for me.

I don't know if this series is officially over or not, but if it is? This was the pièce de résistance. It has enemies to lovers, fake dating, fake FIANCÉS, and a charming Canadian small town atmosphere. Pure unfiltered catnip y'all. The narration was seamless and it really helped me get in the Coral Cove mindset. I definitely wouldn't be opposed to seeing more books there! Evan is an absolute hunk and Mel really comes into her own - I loved the focus on removing the filter she has over her emotions and her social media. It gave me all the feels and really cemented my love for this series. Overall? This book is a true catch.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the ALC*

Reviewed for Shelf Awareness:
Amy Lea (Exes and O's) takes her followers on a trip to a fishing village in coastal Nova Scotia in The Catch, the third rom-com in her sweet and subversive The Influencers series. When fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen arrives at a resort she's meant to promote and learns there's been a scheduling mixup, she hastily requests a reservation at the only Airbnb available in the area. Lobsterman and innkeeper Evan Whaler is unimpressed when an overdressed city girl shows up at his downtrodden inn expecting accommodations for a week. The inn is not only closed for renovations, it's at the center of a longstanding conflict between his mother and aunt.
The ensuing opposites-attract romance is a fish out of water turned fake engagement story with humor and depth. The two make all kinds of assumptions about each other, which play out to great comic effect as they are forced together again and again. Lea also tests readers' assumptions with a heroine who claims unapologetic ownership of her body and image, including past cosmetic surgery. The Catch is also full of surprisingly poignant moments as Evan and Mel both work to repair complicated family relationships and determine their professional goals.
The brilliance of The Catch lies in the author's ability to enthrall readers with clever twists on expected story beats and complex, lovable characters. This funny, medium-spicy romance is a great fit for fans of It Happened One Summer and Book Lovers.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for my free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

Mel ends up in Canada at a B&B, where she meets Evan. A cute fisherman. Evan ends up having an accident and Mel accidentally tells the hospital that she is his fiancé. Honestly I’m a fan of “fake dating tropes” sometimes if done correctly but this book was very slow. I’m not a fan of slow burns when the spice doesn’t pick up until 55% into the book and it was only in one part of the book. I was looking forward to this book because I loved the other ones but this fell short for me.

I’ve read all these books in this series but this is my last favorite.

It's quite the bittersweet feeling finishing this series! I loved Crystal and Tara's stories, and I had quite high expectations for Mel's. I'm glad to say it lived up to my expectations.

The Catch follows Mel, a fashion influencer, as she finds herself in a small town in Eastern Canada and meets Evan, a fisherman. As a Canadian, I loved the Canadian references! I thought the small town setting was charming and really brought out the best in terms of romantic situations. I thought Evan and Mel had remarkable chemistry, and seeing them fall in love had me squealing like a little girl. This book did cover heavier themes and watching both Mel and Evan navigate these difficult personal situations together was truly what made their relationship stand out to me.

If you enjoy anything by Emily Henry or Christina Lauren, you'll love this book!