The Catch was such an adorable grumpy sunshine romance from Amy Lea!! It reminded me so much of why I fell in love with her storytelling when I first read Set On You two years ago. Mel and Evan were so cute together and I loved watching Evan quickly fall head over heels for Mel. I really appreciated that Mel stood her ground and was unapologetic about being "high maintenance," and I loved that Evan loved her even more for it too! It's very bittersweet that this is the last of Amy's influencer romance series, but I'm sooo excited for her bodyguard romance releasing next year!

I had to jump on this one knowing it takes place in my home province, while not all the Nova Scotia references were entirely accurate.. ordering a donair and chowder.. i almost threw up in my mouth thinking about this meal. These two items should never and will never go together.
The plaid clothes references were laughable (we wear more than plaid and we dont wear it to bars) and screech is a Newfoundland rum and not usually drank in Nova Scotia.
I knew I was going to be super picky reading this book, but it was just that good that the poor references didnt downgrade it they were just funny.
Cant wait to see what Amy comes up with next!

Ol’ Momma Nature has been teasing my part of flyover country with near 80 degree temperatures some days (followed by snow and single digits the next, but we’ll pretend those aren’t happening). When those hints of springtime occur my TBR immediately turns toward beachy reads like Elin Hilderbrand or rom coms.

I actually knew this was about an influencer who would fall for some gruff and grumbly lobsterman and I’m happy to report if you’re thinking about picking this one up because it reminds you somewhat of It Happened One Summer, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. The bit of blurb I read had me thinking this was going to be a grumpy/sunshine, but it turned out it was more of a fake dating (or engagement, as the case was here) trope instead with teeny little shoutouts to favorites romcom movies, along with some Hallmarky good vibes about a small town where everyone knows/likes each other and a dilapidated B&B with plenty of potential. Per usual, I skimmed all the smexuals because I really have to be in the mood to get down with the dirty talk and I could have really lived without the brother subplot, but all in all this was a cute one.

And if you’re REALLY looking for some fun – try Woke Up Like This by this author. Oh be still my 13 Going on 30 ever loving heart!

3.5 Stars

This was such an enjoyable read! I love books that are set in Canada, so this one was a must read for me. Amy Lea writes the best banter and humour in books, and this one was no different. I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times, and I was just overall really entertained when reading this. Can highly recommend!

I loved this book so much !!! It’s such a comfort read and I loved the romance between Evan and Melanie. I loved the setting in Cora’s cove Canada and the small town fisherman vibe. I loved how Evan and Melanie meet and the fake engagement between them. I also loved how Melanie finds herself a new family with Evan family. I loved reading about all of them. I loved the family inn and how they all come together to restore it. I loved how caring Evan was with his flannel shirt and his singing. He was there for Melanie from being her photographer to killing any bugs in her shower. I swooned when he spent an hour finding fake lashes for her. This book was so much fun to read and I’m kind of sad the series is over.

Amy Lea knows how to write a FUN BOOK! I loved her previous books and this one was everything and more! Love love love!

Mel,a fashion and lifestyle influencer, is offered a trip to a resort in Nova Scotia, but when the resort has a mix up with the dates, everything goes wrong. She finds herself at the only place in town with room, an old Inn that is in major need of renovations, and according to the man there, is actually closed. That man, Evan, is a fisherman, struggling with grief over the loss of his cousin and fighting to keep his family’s Inn running. Evan and Mel could not be more different, but as they spend more time together the attraction is undeniable.

This couple was the definition of grumpy vs. sunshine and I love a fake engagement moment. Although they went from not getting along to insta-love a little too quickly in my opinion, I was able to get past that because I loved watching Evan and Mel open up to each other. Evan’s family also quickly found a special place in my heart. Over the course of this series, I have come to love Amy Lea’s writing - the chemistry, her characters, and the sprinkles of humor throughout have all made this series so fun to read and I’m sad to see it end.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I've enjoyed all the previous books in this series. This one is about a lifestyle influencer. So far she's taking a collab with a resort in Canada and it's not going well so far. But she's meet a very grumpy lumbersexual so far and I can see him warming up.
Though this is just from her pov so I know what she is holding close to her chest. Really enjoyed this one! Loved the chemistry and the scenery

I LOVED THIS! This is grumpy/sunshine & fake dating!!! He is a grump, but a cinnamon roll deep down. I enjoy Amy Lea’s books so much and this one was no different! Big city girl/ small town boy !! I enjoyed the banter so much! I just loved this and I hope everyone else loves it too! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review!

I don’t even know where to start because I loved this book so much! This is the third book in The Influencer series but can be read as a stand alone. I will definitely be going back reading the first two books immediately! I’ve seen a lot of people say this book is The Proposal meets While You Were Sleeping (I haven’t seen the second one but loved The Proposal!) and it nailed the classic romcom humor. Just like Happy Place, this book also had me craving lobster by the end 🤣 Making plans to visit Nova Scotia asap! I absolutely adored Mel and Evan. Move this up your list if you love fake dating and enemies-to-lovers! Not only will you fall in love with Evan and Mel, but Evan’s family was everything 🥹 All the stars!!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance and Amy Lea for my gifted ARC!

A fake dating, grumpy/sunshine romance between a social media influencer and a grumpy inn owner/fisherman⁣

This is book 3 of Lea’s 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 series, though all can be read as standalone romances. I love a good fake dating story and this one had little touches of 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘞𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘚𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭 that is sure to be a hit with my fellow romcom movie lovers. ⁣
⁣
𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 - the small town vibe, a fake fiancee situation with forced proximity, a life altering boat mishap, a long standing family feud, well meaning but meddlesome family members, great banter and a quintessential opposites attract couple in Evan and Mel. Plus, there were a few simple heart melting moments (the eyelashes!) that just made my heart swoon for Evan and lots of moments that made me chuckle as Mel was clearly out of her depth in this rustic environments. Also loved the open look at grief, mental health and healing. ⁣
⁣
𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 - it was insta love - as in a few days and the third act breakup - the reason just didn’t feel worth it to me. ⁣
⁣
Overall, this was a fun & steamy romcom. Exes & O’s remains my favorite of this series but this one comes in at number 2.

I’m not quite familiar with the series (which is on me) and I read this before even realizing it was part of a series 😅 thankfully, this is a standalone—so not much to catch up on.

I liked the discussions on grief and depression here, and the viewpoint the author takes when it comes to acknowledging how hardworking influencers are. That said, I don’t think it was enough to save the book for me. Personally, there just wasn’t enough build up on the whole enemies to lovers front. It seemed more like a full 180 rather than an actual build up—and even then, the tension felt like it sprung out of nowhere.

Another thing for me was really the language used here, because they really sounded like they were in high school. I’ve grown accustomed to sort of tuning out language if characters who are in their 30s sound like they’re in their 20s (not much difference, honestly), but this one took a little too over the edge. My biggest issue though was the whole packing-my-bags-to-be-with-a-guy-I-was-fake-engaged-to-for-two weeks, which just seemed so odd given how headstrong the FMC is made out to be. It didn’t line up with how her character was portrayed and just seemed so strange.

Sadly didn’t work for me.

Such an improvement from the prior two books in the series which I also loved. The story was so much more robust and Mel and Evan were essentially walking off the page. I love the pseudo While You Were Sleeping vibes of the story as well. So cute and so adorable!

Melanie Karlsen is a fashion influencer, but her business has been on a downward spiral. She accepts a job showing off a resort on the east coast of Canada. Everything starts going wrong as soon as she lands though. The hotel booked her for the wrong week, and there is nowhere else to stay locally because everything is booked. She drives to a rural fishing village to stay at a bed and breakfast, but when she arrives she finds that they’re closed for repairs. She manages to insult Evan, the very grumpy manager and lobster fisherman, but luckily his cousin and co-manager lets her crash there anyway.

Mel tries to make the most of being stranded and create some content. She goes out with Evan on his boat, but ends up losing her camera overboard and almost going over herself. While saving her, Evan falls overboard and hits his head, ending up in the hospital. The doctors won’t let Mel go back to see him so she blurts out that she’s his fiancée. What started as a little white lie comes back to bite her as Evan’s family arrives at the hospital and thinks he’s been secretly dating Mel behind their backs.

Neither Mel or Evan is thrilled about it, but they end up pretending to be engaged for a while longer because it seems to be making his family so happy.

I love me some fake dating....or fake engagement as the case may be. Throw in some sunshine versus grump / opposites attract and I am one hundred percent onboard...or overboard, as the case may be. 😆 I loved getting to know Mel and Evan. Each of them not only had some history holding them back but they were also both facing uncertain futures they had to sort out. It really tugged at my heartstrings at times and made me chuckle at others.

If you haven’t reeled this one in yet, I highly recommend you do.

This isn’t a review I wanted to write. Although I really loved the first two books in this series, this one was just ok and I don’t know how I feel about this. If you know me at all, you know books about social media have my heart. Podcasts, influencers, dating websites, the whole 9, I like it. And since I loved the first two in this series, I expected this one to be one of my faves as well. But this was completely different than the others.

Ok so I see where Lea was going with this, but it just didn’t work for me. I guess I wanted to see more Influencing? The first two had two main characters where they were like Influencing on page. And in this one, she says she’s dressed up, but she doesn’t always say what she’s wearing. And like I’m sorry, but she had all the opportunity to like show her styling some outdoorsy clothes. But she barely mentioned what she did and it felt like she was ashamed and I didn’t like that. Influencers work freaking hard, like I’m talking about books all the time myself, and I’m not even a full time influencer. Her other two protagonists talked about their passions non-stop too. I can only guess that she didn’t because she was supposed to be trying not to seem too girly, but I don’t see anything wrong with that.

I did enjoy the humor in this book tho. The freaking scene after they just did the do and they had people come in there? Mannnnn that had to be awkward af. Because didn’t the room smell like? I can’t even type that lmao I’m sorry they all would have got cussed out. Because what in the world lol And the whole shower curtain thing lmao I actually laughed out loud. But even with the non-stop humor, I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would.

The trope itself is one of my favorites. I LOVE fake dating, so when I saw this was what it was about, I was excited. But when I tell you it was so basic. It was like this book was just checking boxes on what a fake dating book should have in it. And I hate saying that because they’re all the same, they just take different ways to get to them same result. But this actually felt like something I’d seen before it was so basic. I just wasn’t impressed.

The narration was good. But I don’t remember anything special about it either. It too was also basic. I’m not sure if I was just in a mood because of the book or what tho because I’ve actually listened to an audiobook narrated by her before and I thought she did those really well. She did do the funny bits really good tho. It didn’t seem like she missed a beat when she was reading them. Like they were her own jokes and that was really cool.

I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me, but it just didn’t work. The awesome humor and the good narrator couldn’t save this one for me. I hate that this was the last of the series. I hope there is more to come to redeem this last one. If nothing else, a novella maybe? Idk, a sister in law or brother or something or one of the friends who becomes a travel influencer? Idk lol Something.

This might be my favorite book in the series so far! I loved Melanie and Evan's dynamic, and I'm a sucker for a fake fiancee storyline. I thought that they both were dynamic characters, so I enjoyed when they interacted. I loved the Whalers and hearing about their drama and then meeting them and seeing them interact. I just wish I remembered the other two books better because I really don't, so I didn't care that much about the Crystal and Tara moments. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

To start this review off I must say I truly love books that are set in Canada! This one was definitely my favourite of Amy Lea's so far. It was sweet, silly and steamy! Unfortunately I do feel like all 3 books in this series are extremely similar, and I couldn't really differentiate between the main characters much, except for a few things for each.

I really enjoyed a lot of what this book had to offer, but a little bit of the third-act was too much for me. That's what took away from the fourth star here. I didn't really buy the chemistry as much as I wanted to either, it felt a little forced and didn't seem like it was natural.

Overall, it was cute enough to recommend, but not memorable enough to call a favourite.

Okay, everything Amy Lea writes is GOLD. This is no different. I loved Mel's story and the whole The Influencer series is superb, I highly recommend checking these books out. There were so many scenes that made me laugh out loud: the poison ivy, the interrupting family members, etc. and honestly so many were totally relatable -- I too am irrationally afraid of spiders and more of an indoorsy gal. A hike always sounds nice until I'm actually hiking. Evan is a gruff, strong, sexy outdoorsy man who is always in a flannel, while Mel is a high maintenance (but not in a mean way), fashion loving, influencer who is definitely more used to doing things for the aesthetic than sitting back and enjoying the view but it is her livelihood so very understandable. I love that they are so different but their chemistry is strong from the very first meeting. The banter, tension and the way they open each other up to completely different ways of seeing things is just so genuine and fun. I really enjoyed this book and found all of the characters to be truly lovable, including Evan's big chaotic family. CW: there's also mention of depression and grief, and the death of loved ones but it's done in a way that is sensitive and meant to show how tough situations can have lasting effects on people and their loved ones and how grief comes in all shapes and each person manages it differently.

grumpy x sunshine
fake dating
opposites attract
found family
grand gestures
restoring an old inn/family business
small town vibes
enemies to lovers
forced proximities

The Catch is a sweet, fun, heart-wrenching at times, beautiful love story that's the perfect cozy read! It's the third and final installment in The Influencer series but can be read as a stand alone novel. There are cameos from the couples in the first two books and they are referred to with some frequency so it's nice to also know their stories but not necessary if you want to jump right into this one! I love how Evan's family embraces Mel despite how completely different she is from all of them and it's sweet to see her finally feel like she belongs and has found someone who would be her power of attorney one day if she needed. I'm glad Amy wrote her as someone who has friends and a sibling so she's obviously not completely on her own but still struggled to be vulnerable around them due to her past and how she's able to overcome that with Evan and his very involved family. Evan is a steady presence the whole time, even when he's grumpy and acting like he hates Mel, he still is protective and looks out for her. I love a good grumpy MC with a soft heart and that's just what he is. His cousin, mom, aunt, uncle and grandma are a lot to handle but in the best way. Even though they bicker and the feud between Evan's mom and aunt is the reason for their fake engagement, they still all came together when Evan was in the ICU and then to welcome Mel and plan an engagement party and dress shopping for her.

Big thanks to Berkley & NetGalley for the eARC which I have voluntarily read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Catch is available in stores, online and at libraries so go check it out if it sounds like something you'd like!

The Catch by Amy Lea was the perfect read this weekend. A huge thank you to Berkley Romance for granting me access to this title and to PRH Audio for granting me access to the audiobook too!

Melanie is trying to keep her business relevant and Evan is the owner of a family bed and breakfast. After a boating accident that leaves Evan unconscious in the hospital, Melanie panics and claims she's his fiancee so she can stay by his bedside. From there things get crazy as Evan's family runs with the lie.

I enjoyed the women in Evan's life and their very layered dynamics. Although the romance in this book is very much present, I found myself most drawn to the family dynamics in Amy Lea's latest novel!

Omg this book had ALL the feels for me! It had incredible characters and their banter was off the charts! It was the perfect way to end the series. The fake engagement and strong grumpy-sunshine vibes all worked to create a worthwhile story, It was wonderful to see how Melanie and Evan really fall for each other but also keep in mind the small things. It was so freaking good! Use this as your push to read the series if you haven't yet!