I absolutely loved Amy Lea's latest romantic comedy, where the clash between a Boston fashion influencer and a gruff lobster fisherman in a quaint Canadian village provided a delightful escape. The story's exploration of the fish-out-of-water dynamic was both humorous and heartwarming, as Melanie navigates the challenges of rural life while maintaining her impeccably curated online persona. The author skillfully weaves in tropes that add a layer of familiarity to the narrative, making it a joy to follow the unexpected romance that blooms between the protagonist and the rugged Evan Whaler. The fake engagement plotline adds a charming twist to the story, creating moments of both hilarity and genuine connection. As a fan of romantic comedies, I found myself thoroughly entertained by the witty dialogue, quirky family dynamics, and the question lingering throughout—will Mel choose the wild and unfiltered love she discovers in the coastal village over her picture-perfect city life?

I read the first book in this series from Amy Lea featuring online influencers but missed the second. This one looked cute, so I grabbed it, and I'm glad I did. It was like a combo of the Sandra Bullock masterpiece rom coms While You Were Sleeping and The Proposal with a bit of Tessa Bailey's It Happened One Summer thrown in for good measure. Fashion influencer Mel Karsten gets stuck in a tiny Nova Scotian fishing town after a booking issue with a brand trip. The only lodging is a small, rundown inn, whose gruff and grumpy manager Evan overhears Mel complaining about the state of the inn and takes a major disliking to her. Of course he's a hot, flannel-wearing fisherman that Mel begrudgingly finds attractive. He runs the inn with his bubbly cousin who wants to take advantage of Mel's social media marketing expertise to help get the business back on its feet, but all of that is interrupted when Evan falls off his boat during a whaling tour with Mel and hits his head. In the hospital, she lies and says she's his fiance so that she can see him, and the news quickly gets back to his family, including his mother and aunt who haven't spoken in years because they disagree about what to do with the family inn. His aunt wants to sell, his mom doesn't, and everyone else is just trying to figure out how to keep the family together. Evan's accident (and surprise "engagement") brings everyone together, so his cousin convinces Evan and Mel to pretend to be engaged to keep the tentative peace. I liked that Mel, despite being a fashion influencer, is not portrayed as a vapid, spoiled material girl. Her backstory - adopted, raised in a family that lived far above its means and then lost everything, and eventually raised by her father, along with her younger brother. Both Mel and her brother are still grieving the loss of their father a few years prior, and Evan is grieving his own cousin's death, so we do get to see lots of layers to both characters.

I enjoy While You Were Sleeping (just rewatched it, in fact), but I haven't yet found an example of that plotline working in a novel. Here, it felt flimsy, kind of lifeless and uninspired. Evan and Mel made a bland pairing and I didn't find the book funny at all, which was weird because I thought Exes and Ohs was hilarious! I liked the tourist vibes of Cora's Cove, but overall this was a disappointing follow-up.

I loved every second of this. This book? It's exactly how I feel. Like where do I even begin??

First off, I can't believe Amy wrote a book where I fell in love with a blonde man who fishes. I never knew it could be done and yet here we are.

I found myself smiling at my kindle like a fool because I, yet again, have fallen in love with another set of characters. Melanie is a fashion social media influencer and has a paid opportunity at a resort in Canada. However, after realizing the resort had mixed up the dates, Mel has no other options than to book a room at an airbnb in a small fishing town. But when she notices how rundown the place is compared to the photos online, her and the one of the owners, Evan, don't start on the right foot. Cue the enemies to lovers 🤭

One day, Evan is volun-told to take Mel out on the water, but that quickly escalates to Evan falling overboard and rushed to the hospital where Mel informs the doctors that she is his his fiance just so she can go in the back with him. From there, the two are stuck in a fake engagement to bring Evan's family back together to fix the airbnb.

Look, if I'm swiping on a dating app and see a guy holding up a fish, it's an immediate no from me. But if I saw a picture of ✨Evan✨ fishing, I'd insta-super-like him with a rose because WOW. He's your classic grump (for certain reasons that we learn later on), but is super soft inside and falls first and hard.

Although Evan and his family are struggling to come back together to restore the airbnb, they're comforting and welcoming towards Mel. For once, she doesn't feel alone and has a home where she feels loved and cherished. I loved watching her walls come down and accepting people into her life.

“You’re never alone in this world while I’m in it, Mel.”

Like...c'mon!! Ugh your honor, I love them.

All of that being said, this would have been a five star for me if we had a longer time frame to develop Mel and Evan's relationship because two weeks was not enough in my opinion. And of course the third act break up, which irked me because had Mel's brother just communicated with her, all would have been fine. I will say, I really loved the way Mel and Evan compromised in the end!

Overall, a wonderful way to end the series! Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an e-arc for my honest review! Now I'll be patiently (not really) waiting for February so I can get my hands on a copy.

Tropes:
-enemies to lovers/ grumpy x sunshine
-fake engagement
-small fishing town
-they're both dominant 👀
-it's giving The Proposal movie vibes

Adorable rom com with great characters. I loved and related with the MFC and would read anything by this author in the future. The cover pulled me in and the romance kept me in. Cute read!!!

I have a feeling this book is going to go absolutely viral. For fans of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey, this book is perfect if you miss that seaside town. Don't even get me started on the spice. Amy Lea is one to watch for sure.

I’m not going to lie, this one fell pretty flat for me. I liked Set On You and really loved Exes and Ohs, so I was hoping for more from this series finale. The character and plot development fell pretty flat for me, and I also struggled to feel immersed in the settings. Cora’s Cove had so much potential! I love a seaside down and ocean adventures. And Boston is my hometown, so some of the inaccurate descriptions of the city and places that don’t actually exist pulled me out of the immersion of the story. I’m still excited about other books by this author, but this one was not my favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

Amy Lea has quietly become one of my new favorite contemporary romance authors after Exes and O's, so I was expecting to enjoy <i>The Catch</i> since it loosely follows the same circle of heroines and their respective journeys to an HEA. What made this stand out for me (apart from the familiar conceit of grumpy fisherman + privileged influencer) was the <i>While You Were Sleeping</i> element, which Lea manages to pull off with a fun variation on a tried-and-true trope. Melanie and Evan's evolving dynamic hits the right slow-burn beats, to the point where you might be screaming at your e-reader for these two to kiss as often as I was! This book was the perfect blend of funny + steamy + sweet, and while I'm a little sad to see this series end, I'm definitely going to be checking out whatever Lea writes next.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a wonderful slow burn of a book. Thank you Net Gallery for the sneak peek. The characters were likable and three-dimensional. I loved the setting of Nova Scotia and the small-town feel.

The ensemble of supporting characters, comprising the beloved couples from the previous two books and Evan's family, added an enjoyable dynamic to the narrative, and I found their presence thoroughly entertaining.

However, my only reservation pertains to the rapid development of Mel and Evan's relationship. Their connection seemed to progress swiftly within the span of two weeks, and as you know,

I've never been fond of instant love scenarios in literature. Personally, such instances often make the relationship feel hurried and somewhat lacking in depth.

<b> Thank you to Amy Lea, Berkley and Netgalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review. </b>

When a date mixup leaves social media influencer Mel stranded she hastily books a week at a rundown Inn in charming Cora Cove. But this fashion and lifestyle influencer is out of her depth in this rural fishing town that doesn't even have high-speed internet. To make things worse Evan, one of the innkeepers, a grumpy lobster fisherman, hates her on-site. Desperate to save her brand from every looming irrelevance, Mel tries to make the best of a bad situation - offering her marketing help in exchange for sightseeing and photo shoot opportunities. But when Evan lands in the ICU in a coma, and Mel can't reach his family she claims to be his fiance in hopes of keeping an eye on him. But as such things always do this little lie quickly spirals out of control and throws (a now awake) Evan and Mel together in hopes of saving his family Inn.

This fake fiance, enemies to lovers, grumpy meets sunshine, and small-town romance will appeal to all those who secretly (or not so secretly) harbored the fantasy of being swept away by a grumpy fisherman. (Fans of Tessa Bailey's "It Happened One Summer" and those who are looking for more books with that vibe will love this). Evan is really the whole package, rugged, loyal, responsible, always says the right thing (when he wants to), and has the voice of an angel to boot. Sadly the relationship between the two main characters felt a little off until 2/3rds through the book. Mel herself felt a little too surface level and maybe this was the result of her as a character keeping everyone at arm's length all the time and presenting herself as a brand instead of as a person but as it was a single POV book it did make the read a bit difficult. What I did love <spoiler> was the third-act breakup. The fact that it didn't stem from a misunderstanding but a mutual understanding of the issues of a long-distance relationship (and Mel's trust issues) and the heartbreaking goodbye scene between the two characters, </spoiler> really made this book for me.

3.25/5 stars.
2/5 steam.

Note: Instagram story was posted today. Instagram posts will be posted ~2 weeks before the expected publication date.

Can’t go wrong with anything Amy Lea puts out. Her characters are always charming, their dialogue fun and the love scenes spicy. This one did not disappoint. Loved it!

This book is very middle of the road for me. A grumpy (for absolutely no reason whatsoever except to be tropey) fisherman and an influencer end up together for a week in Canada with some While Your Were Sleeping and The Proposal vibes. This book has some rom com moments and the fisherman isn’t grumpy for long and there’s a little bit of swoon, but it wasn’t mind blowing. I’m personally not a huge fan of rom com retellings. Like, let this book be a nod to it, not the exact same scene and vibes and I’m literally just reading a scene from that movie. That’s frustrating to me.

I was also distracted the entire book by the inevitable third act hovering over the book like the grim reaper. It’s not enjoyable for the book to be so predictable that I can’t enjoy these two being together because the break up is glaringly obvious and talked about on page so frequently. And I hate third act break ups so much, it’s ridiculous.

I have more thoughts but they just seem very complainy and rude that I’ll just keep them to myself (and for me to text my book bestie about later 🤣)

Reading an Amy Lea novel is like a balm to the soul of the finicky reader that I am, and each new book of hers only reaffirms my undying devotion to her work. The romance, the characters; everything was pure perfection.

I loved the conclusion to this series! This was nice and spicy, which I come to expect with this author. But, also had a lot of depth with elements of healing and found family. Will highly recommend for Romance bookclub! Thanks for the chance to preview this one! I loved it!

I’m not a huge social media person, but I love a good fish out of water - city meets small town trope. In this case, Melanie is a big city gal and social media influencer for fashion and beauty. Through some mishaps, Mel finds herself unexpectedly in the small fishing town of Cora’s Cove, where she encounters grumpy, and less than welcoming fisherman and B&B owner, Evan. An unexpected series of events lands the two dislike at first sight in a faux-mance, that might just lead to more…

You know, I just really had a good time reading this one. It was a fast, engaging read that kept me flipping the pages, I read the first half in one evening and the second the next day. I enjoy good romcom vibes and this one had a sprinkling of Schitts Creek meets While You Were Sleeping meets The Proposal vibes - an odd combination but one I really enjoyed.

Mel and Evan were great mains and I enjoyed their evolving relationship to one another from forced acquaintances, to faux-fiancé(es), to more. They had some great banter, and I definitely laughed out loud at some of their petty, one-up-man-shipping 😅 The secondary cast though not as central were certainly a memorable crew. I love a found family element, so it was lovely to see that here.

Though the romance itself kind of evolves quickly, I didn’t mind it here. Not generally my thing, but how it played out in this context felt right. It does have some open door steam stiff happening, which I know preferences vary around. (For those who prefer not, it is easy enough to read around).

I was pleased with the wrap up to the story which I felt came together in a sweet, and satisfying way. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read an early copy! 💜

✨I want to build a home inside this book and live there forever and ever and ever with a hot fisherman and cozy b&b and all the poutine I could ever eat and a charming if slightly dysfunctional family and fresh air that smells like pine trees and maple syrup and lobster. God so much lobster. I’ve never wanted to move to Canada so badly. The “what is health insurance?” joke hurt just a little bit too much. Nova Scotia I will be inside you.✨

Anyways, The Catch was such a fun blend of While You Were Sleep meets The Proposal in the best way possible. It embodied romcom humor SO WELL. I could pick out similar scenes from each of the movies while reading, but it was completely its own thing. (For those who don’t know, Lea’s Woke Up Like This is a YA 13 Going on 30 masterpiece!)

I know there will be more books and new series (and I will be SAT!!!) but how am I to move on??? Especially when Evan and Mel were so lovely and the book so atmospheric. Again, I just want to live in it! My favorite part was just the chosen family—similar to how Sandra Bullock craves it in both While You Were Sleeping and The Proposal. But it was also definitely the hottest book in the series.

So while I’m so sad to see this series end, what a lovely send off it was. We saw brief cameos of all the past characters, and I feel such an attachment to their patchwork friend group. I cried a few times, but I definitely cried just knowing the series was over because I’m become SO ATTACHED to the way Lea writes such soft and sexy romance. I think you could read this without reading the first two, but I think the emotions will emotion the best if read in order!


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️.75*/5

*Multiple open-door scenes, language was sometimes vague and sometimes explicit. Great dirty talk and various locations.


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

An addictive read about a city girl stranded in a small fishing town. Chaos and misunderstandings ensue as Mel, Evan and his family come together to discover who and what is family.

I found out only after reading The Catch that it is the third in Amy Lea's influencer series, but it works well as a standalone.

Melanie is a Boston fashion influencer who is told that her content may be getting a bit stale. So she jumps at the opportunity of an all-expenses-paid week in small-town Nova Scotia, photographing Canadian local color for her blog. But thanks to a booking error, she finds herself staying in a rundown hotel with Lucy, a welcoming front desk clerk and Evan, a definitely NOT welcoming hulk of a lobster fisherman.

Mel has always kept things inside after her mother abandoned her and her younger brother Julian and her father passed away--wary about making new connections so she can avoid more loss in her life. Even her close friends (protagonists of the previous books in the series) don't know everything about her.

The story focuses on Melanie's initial reluctance to meet the challenges of a new environment, not to mention a hostile man. This is a romance, so we can guess what happens, but it's a lot of fun getting there. Evan, the fisherman (and so much more), is a terrific romantic foil. Lucy and Evan's relatives are embroiled in difficult family dynamics, but they can be a hoot as well. Julian turns out to be a surprising character, and Melanie's friends in Boston are cute and supportive.

I thought Melanie's background could have been enhanced a bit more, but overall It's a faux romance story that evolves delightfully into something else entirely. Now I'm thinking seriously about looking for the first two books in the series.

My thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

"" You want to be my power of attorney?"
"Of course I want to be your power of attorney." I think this is the single most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.""

If you don't like sassy, smart mouthed, stubborn people, who actually have good hearts, accidentally falling in love, this one may not be for you. I, however, absolutely loved this book!

Melanie, Mel, is a smart mouthed fashion influencer from Boston who is desperately trying to keep her follower numbers up. Lately all they seem to do is fall. A mistake has her arriving at her next paid gig a week early with all the rooms booked. It's tourist season so she is forced to drive an hour and a half away to the only available airbnb in a small town in Nova Scotia. There she runs into Evan, a grumpy, sour, Mel-hating man, wisecracker who has a mouth of his own.

Realizing that the airbnb is actually closed (they forgot to take down the listing), Mel negotiates her stay by offering to help with their marketing, since Evan and his cousin Lucy are desperate to try and save the little in. When a boating accident lands Evan in the hospital Mel fakes being his fiancée in order to stay with him until his family arrives only to be mistaken by them to be his actual fiancée. Lucy begs her to keep up the charade and help her family mend old fences. Mel, being the soft hearted person she truly is, agrees and together they pull Evan into the charade, when he regains consciousness that is. Queue the silent struggle for dominance in the 'relationship.' And cue a lot of snickering from me.

So, what did I think?

Well for the most part I found it to be a pretty entertaining book. I snickered enough times (I read this while camping), that I had to read out several pieces of the book to explain why I was quietly chuckling/snickering. Mel and Evan were just so...competitive and petty. I love me a 'good' petty person. The banter back and forth along with some pretty ridiculous situations, I couldn't help but laugh. The bathroom scene...lol I read that whole bit out loud for people cause I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Ridiculous, but not out of the realm of possibility. I know a person or two who would probably have the exact same reaction.

Despite their bickering and personality clashing, Mel and Evan grow in their relationship. Hikes, town tours, parties, ATV rides, camping gone wrong...you can see it. Mel falls for Evan, who kinda stops being such an ass all the time and reveals he can actually be quite thoughtful and sweet. Even if he has to rehome Jarvis and Mateo so Mel will stop shrieking and breaking things whenever she sees them.

My only slight grievance with this book is how roughly 2/3s of the way through the book their relationship suddenly just goes from 0 to 60. It felt like it came out of nowhere (to me) and I, honestly, could have done without it. Mel and Evan's relationship was believable without suddenly throwing in of public, ahem, displays of affection. I was good with them randomly making out.