While it took me a while to get into, I loved how The Catch ended. It was a very satisfying conclusion to The Influencer series. This book gives Schitts Creek and all that but does it in a new way! Fun, I enjoyed it, quick read.

This is my favorite of the Influencer series by far!! I really enjoyed the small town feel and the wittiness of the main character. It felt like I was talking to a friend.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the small Oceanside town vibes. The family was quirky, but felt realistic. I loved hearing about the inn and everything that made it unique. I related a lot to Mel’s character, and it was so nice to finally get to read about her HEA!! I also loved that we got glimpses into what Tara and Crystal were up to. Overall, it was super cute and I would definitely recommend it to my followers!

Rating: 4/5
Warnings: grief, death of a loved one, depression
Steam: 3/5
Tropes: fake engagement, grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, small town, vacation romance

Thank you to Berkley Romance, PRH Audio and NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Okay, this might have been my favorite of the influencer series! After enjoying Set on You and then not loving Exes and O’s I was genuinely curious how I would feel about the Catch.

This book is the definition of a grumpy-sunshine romance, with a little bit of fake engaged and forced proximity. Giving major the Proposal vibes!

I think the real hero of the story for me was how these two really accepted each other for exactly who they were. It was the little things, like him getting her fake eyelashes because he knew she loved them.

Yes, the timeline was very fast but it worked for me with this book. Did I love the third act? No, but also it was coming and I kinda loved how it ended.

And this quote:

“Having babies out of wedlock is my most favorite sin” -Nana

Iconic, the grandmothers are always the most hysterical part of these stories and I live for it.

Can’t wait to see what new series we get next!

What to Expect:
☀️Opposites attract
☀️short lived enemies to lovers
☀️fake dating
☀️nosey family with no boundaries
☀️an old family owned inn that needs saving

🫶🏽What I enjoyed
The first paragraph sucked me in, and I found Mel to be quite relatable at first. I love Evan’s family dynamics (once their feud was paused), and Nana was the best! Evan’s mom is a sex therapist, and there’s a scene that is equally hilarious as it gives you secondhand embarrassment. A few of my favorite quotes:

“If I were a character in a classic slasher film, I’d be the first to die.”

“My bitch face never rests”

“Having babies out of wedlock is my most favorite sin” -Nana💀💀💀

🤷🏻‍♀️What didn’t work for me
I didn’t feel the chemistry between the two MCs or laugh as much the way I did in Exes and O’s. The high fashion influencer with a burley lumberjack fisherman reminded me a lot of Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer, but the Canadian version. I didn’t care for that book by Tessa, but those who loved it will probably enjoy The Catch.

This is the third and final book of Amy Lea’s Influencer series and my favorite of the three.

Synopsis: 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 local B&B at a small fisher’s town. There she meets the grumpiest fisherman Evan

Thoughts: This book can best be described as The Proposal meets While You Were Sleeping. I loved the influencer angle and how easy it was to fall for not only the two main characters but also all the meddling townspeople. Evan was a major grump but was open with his emotions and did so many little acts of kindness to show he cared about Mel. While the love story in this escalated quickly, I did not mind the instant attraction because all of the forced proximity x fake dating.

Read if you like:
-Grumpy x sunshine
-Fake dating
-Forced proximity
-Lifestyle influencers
-Meddling families
-Canadian fisher’s town setting

Thank you Berkley Romance for the ARC! Pub 2/13

Fashion influencer Mel from Boston and lobster fisherman Evan go from enemies to lovers in this entertaining rom com set on the coast of Nova Scotia. The first half of the book was laugh out loud funny with lots of clever repartees and conversation between the two strangers.

The next half of the book deals with the problems of a woman with obligations in Boston falling for a fisherman in Canada, miles apart. The love scenes are a bit steamy and not exactly to my taste, but it adds some spice to the rom com.

I enjoyed reading about a coastal town with fishermen in Nova Scotia, about the surroundings, and locals making a livelihood from the sea. I was amazed that this area of Canada gets a good share of tourists too.

Enjoyable read overall.

**Review will be published on my site and socials on release week!**

NEW FAV.

Officially my new favorite book by Amy Lea. What a gem.

I was iffy initially on Mel being a fashion/lifestyle influencer. But I really liked how this was approached and it wasn’t heavy handed. Nor did she act ridiculous about getting content and such. I loved watching Mel realize disconnecting from her phone was doing her soul a lot of good.

And Evan was hella swoony. I adored him. That grumpy fisherman has all of my attention. I loved the opposites attract and the slow burn that ignited between them. I was smitten with all of the little smiles and looks and cute things Evan would do to show he cared and how Melanie learned to being open to and reciprocating those feelings and intentions.

The third act could be a little anger inducing but the longer I sat on it the longer I felt it fit the story. It wasn’t an overblown miscommunication. It was an honest to goodness adjustment that needed some thought before big changes. And I liked that both Evan and Mel had the time to process those ideas.

There were major The Proposal and While You Were Sleeping vibes. I also think if you enjoyed The Simple Wild this would be a winner too. A great fish out of water, broken down inn, rediscovering yourself, spicy read.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: 3-4 open door
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: recounting loss of loved ones, near drowning

#TheCatch:⁣
⁣
Thank you @berkleyromance @prhaudio for my gifted copy! #BerkleyPartner #berkley. ⁣
⁣
Listen, we all know I’m horrible about reading a synopsis. Cute cover? Fun romcom author? I don’t think twice. So imagine my surprise when I start listening and I hear Kelsey Navarro Foster yelling MY name. Girl, I didn’t know I was the main character of this book! (Well, just my name, but of course I threw myself as the MC cause… duh)⁣
⁣
Our girl Boston Melanie is an influencer and she’s not having the best time at influencing. She also keeps everyone at an arms length. She gets a week at this luxury resort in Canada, only to find out when she lands, they got their days mixed up. Instead of wasting a plane ticket, she makes it two weeks instead of one. Issue is, everywhere is booked. Except for a little darling place in Cora’s Cove. That’s where she meets lobster fisherman Evan and the rest of the Whalers (I expected them to be a musical group if I’m honest). He doesn’t want her here especially with it in disarray, but she’s determined to make the best of the trip. Long story short, he ends up in the hospital and she says she’s his finance so she can go to the hospital with him, the hospital tells his fam, and now they’re in this fun tangled web of lies. ⁣
⁣
The Catch gives major vibes of Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer x The Proposal (Ryan Reynolds/Sandra Bullock connection) Mel really starts to understand herself and become comfortable in her own right, while still being unapologetically her. Nana was the star of the show, naturally. She gave off Betty White feels. It is a slow burn, but also instalove if that makes sense, and it was very steamy. I loved the family banter and the journey we took. The third act breakup was not bad at all, and I liked how it played out. ⁣
⁣
Trope City:⁣
🦞 Fake Date⁣
🦞 Enemies to Lovers⁣
🦞 Grumpy/Sunshine ⁣
🦞 Big City/Small Town⁣
🦞 Opposites Attract ⁣
⁣
Thank you again for my copy! The Catch releases Feb. 13th!

Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen is a lobster out of water when she stumbles into Evan’s life in Canada. This big city girl meets small town grump story gives fun and flirty vibes comparable to It Happened one Summer and Things We Never Got Over.

While the initial set up for the storyline was well-done, this story took longer for me to get into than the first two books in the series. I found myself struggling connecting to Melanie, and additionally, found her relationship with Evan underdeveloped. Despite her declaration of “Love isn’t on some timeline”, their 2-week-instalove-romance took away from the depth of the story. I will say, I did appreciate the conversations the characters had discussing their feelings and addressing the quick escalation of their relationship.

Overall, my favorite part of this book, hands down, was the side characters. I really enjoyed getting to revisit characters from the first 2 books (so fun!) and a bonus was the phenomenal cast of new characters. Evan’s family was so entertaining and brought all the laughs!

If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, I think this one will be a hit! Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub Day 2/13/24

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series so I was excited for this one. I ended up really liking Evan and not liking Melanie so much. She seemed a bit irresponsible and was annoying at times. But overall, I liked their pairing because I almost always like grump sunshine couples.

This book was a bit too slow for me. I liked the premise and the story, but some of the scenes seemed to drag out too much.

Their HEA got me in my feels and the epilogue from Evan's point of view was *chef's kiss*!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: grief, depression

This book was so funny I had to pause to just take it in for a few seconds. I think Amy Lea really struck gold with this book. The perfect balance of grumpy sunshine meets small town romance and I just loved everything about it! I think this book is going to be perfect for the spring/summer 2024 season!

A solid city girl meets small town romance.

While I’m sure many readers will enjoy this one, I’m beyond sad to report that the romance fell flat for me. I absolutely love the author’s previous books but this one seemed to have no tension or build up. Which meant when the couple finally got together, there was no fizz or spark.

Although I enjoyed the past character cameos and the crazy Whalers, I just couldn’t really buy into the reasoning behind decisions and ultimate reactions.

Also I think this is spicier than past books in this series, and it was awkward? And too basic? Idk

I would recommend this to people. I thought it was a fun and enjoyable read. I read it one sitting so it’s fairly easy to wrap your head around the plot.

Not my favourite of the series, but still cute and hot and worth a read! I would have liked to see the "enemies" aspect of the enemies-to-lovers last a little longer. I did enjoy the bonding scenes they had; I would have just liked more time spent on the development of their relationship. Good for fans of While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock (which I am) and It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (which I also am). Overall, I really enjoyed the Influencer series by Amy Lea and will definitely read whatever she has coming next!

This book cover accurately represents the main characters and how cute their romance is. I haven't read any of the books in this series but I enjoyed this one. The main character Mel is an influencer who lands in a Canadian fishing village where she meets Evan the mmc who is a grumpy fisherman. After a boating accident causes Evan to be in a coma she claims that he's her fiance which leads to them fake dating when he wakes up to help restore Evan's family's relationship and save his Inn. The romance was cute and steamy and I liked that the fmc was a city girl and social media influencer who gets to know and falls in love with a small-town fisherman, I also liked the influencer plot and how the author explores who Mel was and the image she portrayed for her followers on social media. It was nice seeing how her time in the village with Evan and his family opened her up and helped her see how wonderful, lovable, and caring she is. There were some parts of the book that dragged for me and there was a third-act breakup but I didn't mind it much. Along with the romance I thought how the book addressed family loss, grief, and healing was heartwarming and made for a nice rom-com.

Read if you like:
- Small-town romance
- Opposites attracts
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Fake dating
- Family drama

Thank you to the publisher for this copy for an honest review.

I absolutely loved Set On You, liked Ex’s and Oh’s, and unfortunately, was underwhelmed with The Catch.

This started out really cute! The “you’ve booked a room in my decrepit inn but we’re actually not open and you got to get gone” meet cute I LOVED! The town of Cora’s Cove had so much small town personality (if a bit “local yokel” from Mel’s POV). And I loved Evan’s family, meddlesome and in the midst of a feud though they may be.

But for a rom-com, this got heavy pretty fast. I’m not saying a romcom *can’t* address heavy topics, but The Catch never quite got there with any of the things it was trying to comment on. I mean we’re talking grief, parents abandoning their kids, childhood poverty, tragic death of someone’s adult child, and serious depression/anxiety of a side character. And all of those things felt so jarring compared to dick jokes and two grown adults being “enemies” because…well there’s not really a reason other than she insults him for no reason and he doesn’t like her because she’s dressed nice?

Mel is pretty shallow. Evan is grumpy for no reason. And Mel’s commitment to a life she doesn’t seem that enthused about, lifestyle influencing, combined with the first 50% or so being play by play homages to Betty White’s Grammy in The Proposal and Sandra Bullock/Bill Putnam’s coma fake dating scenario made this less than enjoyable. Especially considering how phenomenal and original Set On You was.

If you enjoy The Proposal, While You We’re Sleeping, or It Happened One Summer, you’ll love this one. Sadly, it spent too much time trying to convince me of chemistry that just wasn’t there and reiterating that Melanie couldn’t *possibly* live in the middle of nowhere without wifi or lash extensions or her very empty condo that she’s extremely lonely in and doesn’t seem eager to go back to if it weren’t for her mother role to her grown brother.

Thank you to Berkeley for an ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing a DRC of this title for review.

In this modern spin on While You Were Sleeping, fashion influencer Melanie and fisherman Evan fake date in order to convince Evan’s extended family to forgo selling their Bed-and-Breakfast, finding themselves falling in love in the process.

This was fun! While I don’t know if it hit the highs of the first two books in the series, I would still definitely recommend this book to fans of Lea’s previous works or readers of light-hearted rom-coms. 3.5 stars/5.

A grumpy guy from a small coastal Canadian town and a fashion influencer from Boston looking to increase her followers meet at an inn that's seen better days but has so much potential. The plot is predictable, but fun, and the swoon factor is strong with fake dating, and enemy-to-lover situations unfolding.

The Catch
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to @berkleyromance for the free ebook! #BerkleyPartner

This is the first book that I’ve read by this author and I really enjoyed it!
This was a true rom-com. There were more laugh-out-loud moments in this book than I could count. Also, this contained SO MANY of my favorite tropes.
It is opposites attract in its truest form. Mel is an influencer who loves designer fashion and growing her social media. Evan is a flannel-loving fisherman. They could not be more different, but this combination was wonderful.
This story has a very strong family dynamic and all of the side characters play an important role in the story.
I loved the energy of this small town and the dedication to town events.
I also adored the relationship between Mel and Evan and witnessing how it changes through the story. They have an interesting initial meeting and it’s sweet to see them slowly work through their feelings!
I definitely recommend this! The book will be available on February 13th, so add it to your TBRs now!

Read If You Like:
🎣fake dating
🎣grumpy/sunshine
🎣slow burn
🎣opposites attract
🎣found family