I just go weak at the knees for a grumpy x sunshine, quite honestly.

book review: The Catch by Amy Lea
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much @vikingbooksuk @amyleabooks @netgalley for an eARC of this book. 🫶

Fashion influencer Mel meets grumpy lobster fisherman Evan after a hotel mix up leaving her needing somewhere to stay. The only hotel not booked up is Evan’s ‘under-renovation’ AirBnb, but he makes it *very* clear that Mel is an uninvited guest.

There is something about Amy Lea’s books which I just love. They’re so cute. They’re great for escapism, and even though it’s quite a summery book I also found it quite a good Christmas read.

This was insta love, which I normally don’t love but it was done in such a natural way - so natural that I *almost* didn’t notice it was insta love. However, when I realised how little time they’d known each other, I felt a bit confused by how quickly their relationship was moving. Totally a me preference and not a problem with the book at all.

It was full of so many tropes that I really enjoy - fake dating, grumpy x sunshine, enemies to

"Why didn't you tell us your own son is engaged?"

Now, did this have some cringy moments? Yes. But, did I enjoy it and devour it in one sitting? Yes.

I have really enjoyed the pacing and writing style of Lea throughout The Influencer series and I found the pacing, once again, to flow well and make for a quick read. The writing was also fun to read, creating some genuine humour and I'll try to ignore the moments that flared my second hand embarrassment.

I wouldn't agree with the enemies to lovers commentary, I think this is simply just the dislike to love pipeline (not all stories needing to fit into the boxes of 'tropes'). I would see this story more of the movie 'The Proposal' with an influencer twist.

The main characters quickly grow on you, I was concerned with the development of the romance with the initial behaviours of the main characters but as more of their backstories unraveled it made the changes in their individual development and relationship more understandable. I would have loved, however, more in the development of their scenes together. I enjoyed the scenes of them exploring and travelling and would have loved to have had more of that.

Overall, a fun read in the trilogy of The Influencer series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for this eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the grumpy x sunshine vibes. It was such a fun and easy read! Cannot wait to read more from the author.

2.5 stars (minor spoiler alert)

Not the glow up I expected from Amy Lea after loving her latest release...
This had all the right elements but the execution didn't work at all. It's definitely a me thing, but I prefer when the romance is supported by some kind of plotline, and not it standing on its own. Just the fact that Melanie and Evan started fake dating to stop his family from fighting, and them fighting right after announcing their fake engagement tells it all lol. It was such a ridiculous excuse that I thought it would later be revealed that the cousin just wanted them to be together and invented a reason for a forced proximity thing. Guess not? I also hated how Melanie was supposed to go to a resort to promote it and then halfway through the book she cancelled it. And her brother aiding the third act breakup for literally no valid reason (a broken phone, really?? You're an adult, you could have bought another phone or maybe asked someone to inform your sister 🤦🏻‍♀️). Pretty much nothing made sense.

I enjoyed the rivalry between Evan and Melanie, but it didn't last long and it wasn't real to begin with, as it's happening lately with the enemies-to-lovers trope. They were checking each other out from basically the first chapters: enemies to lovers instalove. Them getting together after what, four days only?, had me bored out of my mind for the last 40% of the book. Even the characters in the book are dubious about the relationship moving too fast, if that's not a sign...

I liked that this book had no social media content because that was one thing I didn't like about this series, however fingering and blow jobs in public? I see things are getting worse here. I wished for Amy Lea to stop writing her characters having sex in the most unhygienic places and then I get this. At least the weird place was a private boat this time, way cuter and better than a public gym shower or a public hot tub lol.

I think this series could have wide appeal and I still recommend it for hardcore romance readers. I'm just not the right audience at this point, my romance needs to have more plot and less spicy content. If that's what you like definitely go for it.

The Catch is my second read by Amy Lea and it was amazing. I’ve read the series in the complete wrong order 2, 3 and soon to be 1. I’m moving no. 1 to the top of my TBR. Amy Lea is officially an auto buy author for me!

The Catch is set mostly in Nova Scotia with a little bit in Boston. I’ve got to say, from the descriptions of Cora Cove, I’m not desperate to visit the East coast of Canada.

Melanie is a fashion influencer that’s trying desperately to revive her social media account and stop losing followers. After an opportunity presents itself to visit a spa which would be very on brand for her content but after an unfortunate mixup, she ends up an hour and a half away from the spa for a week.

Mel finds herself at a run down inn being run by a lovely woman called Lucy and her grumpy cousin, Evan.

Mel and Evan instantly hate each other but they end up becoming fake fiancés after an accident. Their lives are about to become a lot more complicated.

If you love:
❤️ small town
❤️ grumpy x sunshine
❤️ fake dating
❤️ one POV
then you’ll love this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me!

Though I really loved the main characters separately, I didn’t love the set up of their romance (or feel a connection!) and it all left me feeling like I wanted more.

I’m a sucker for the grumpy fisherman trope, so that pulled me along for the ride.

First of all, thank Netgalley, Amy Lea and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read this amazing book before the release date.

I have never read an Amy Lea book before but I can safely say I will be looking out for more of her work from now on - including the rest in this series.
Although it is a series, you can definitely read this one as a standalone like I have and still very much enjoy it.

I absolutely devoured this book. It was so easy to get into and so easy to read you found yourself reading for hours on end without even realising it!

Each of the characters were entertaining and likeable with lots of banter and a few comedic moments which left you grinning.

I love a good grumpy/sunshine and fake dating trope so when I saw this, I knew it was just what I needed to read. The characters are really likeable and the story flows perfectly from the get go.
The slow-burn romance was also written perfectly with the right amount of apprehension, desire and, of course, love. It was cute and gave you all the excited feels that one would want from a romcom.

I thoroughly liked this book and the only fault/thing that took away from the story slightly was how fast the main characters story was. The whole book is written in the span of a couple of weeks which just doesn't sit right with me, personally.

Overall I would highly recommend it.

Another brilliant page turner from Amy Lea.
I have enjoy her last two books and The Catch will be another #booktok favourite.
Great summer read thank you for letting me be apart.

I really enjoyed the characters
I have read the others and I don’t think this took away from the books vibe at all.

Could definitely be a stand alone

What I loved the most was how this book tackled grief and how differently it looks for everyone.

I will be recommending this book thank you for the chance to read it

After reading ‘Exes and O’s’, I squealed out loud at the opportunity of getting to arc read another one of Amy Lea’s books. They are exactly the type of romance novels I adore - fluffy, cute, sincere, uplifting, beautiful, and the type to get you giggling and kicking your feet in excitement.

Melanie and Evan’s relationship gave me a joyous feel-good boost, full of humour but also sincere communication. It contains a multitude of classic romance tropes - grumpy x sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, forced proximity, etc - whilst also having some beautiful moments of depth.

Amy Lea’s books always contain a wonderfully balanced mesh of platonic, familial and romantic love. My particular favourite in this book was the familial relationships explored in Evan’s and Melanie’s families, and what ultimately what left me in emotional but happy tears. It navigates the mistakes we make with those we love, but how these can be remedied. Evan’s family provided so, so many laugh out loud moments, but also some of the most important ones.

Although this is part of a trilogy, with the 3 main characters being best friends, they completely work as standalones (I haven’t got round to book 1 yet). I love the way they are paced, gently moving along without ever feeling boring and always leaving me content by their conclusion. Sure, these plots are heavily unrealistic and quite predictable, but that’s what I love about them - a book I can just sit back and enjoy. Anything cutesy and I’m in!

If romcoms are your bag, I would certainly recommend checking this one out!! 💜

I needed this.

I don’t know if it makes sense to anyone but I have been in the worst BPD spiral lately and this book was exactly what I needed to have a giggle and smile when everything has been feeling like an effort lately.

I can’t even begin to express how special these characters are. Evan and Mel… They will always be famous. The rest of the family? Absolutely adore them. Reading this book felt like I was a part of the family myself.

What I loved the most was how this book tackled grief and how differently it looks for everyone. I am no stranger to grief so it was like a warm hug to see it portrayed in a way that felt authentic to me.

This was my first time reading Amy Lea’s work and I am so excited to delve more into her writing because I already know she’s going to become a comfort author for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the last book in the influencer series and follow Mel who is trying to relaunch her brand as she feels she's not as relevant now she's getting a little older and when she gets an opportunity to partner with a 5-star resort hotel in Nova Scotia, she goes for it.

But when she arrives, the hotel has mixed up the dates and she's a week early. But it's tourist season and all the hotels are booked solid so she has no choice but to look further afield and she finds a B&B only 1.5hrs away so she books it and heads out to find it. Once she arrives, it looks more like a haunted house than the welcoming pics she saw online and the hot young owner, Evan, does not look happy to see her.

Mel finds out the B&B is not actually open at the moment but the owner's cousin allows her to stay as she has nowhere else to go. Queue fake dating a moody plaid-wearing-fisherman and two dominant personalities battling it out to win whatever competition they've come up with.

The story was predictable and very similar to the previous two books in the series but I still enjoyed it. Mel has some baggage from her childhood after her adoptive mother abandoned her and her younger brother and she was left to look after him while their dad battled depression and tried to make enough money to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. As a result, she's a very closed off person and doesn't really have any meaningful relationships in her life - including with her friends Crystal and Tara (the FMC from the previous two books), she tends to keep everyone at arms length.

So when she falls for Evan and his family, she isn't able to open herself up to the possibility of love and a relationship and hightails it back to Boston. Obviously they end up together, that was always going to happen with one of them making a grand gesture to win the other one back after they both realise they would do anything to make their 2 week love affair work.

I liked Mel and Evan as characters but I did feel they were very two dimensional and there wasn't really a lot of growth in either character.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin UK and VikingBooksUK for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

THIS BOOK IM OBSESSED

"The Catch" Finished it in a few hours, and I'm obsessed!!! It combined all my favourites, "It Happened One Summer" by Tessa Bailey, and The Movies - The Proposal and While You Were Sleeping. This book is a must-read if you enjoyed any one of them. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Firstly this book has me realising my type is grumpy fishermen who are sweethearts in disguise, give me any type of a handsome but brooding man and i’m whipped. This guy, oh my GOD! Listen the multiple behind the scenes things he does not just for the the main female character but also for the rest of his family, but esp the whole spider removal (pls need me a man like that) and then GOING TO A BEAUTY STORE TO BUY EYELASHES ALL BECAUSE HERS GOT SOAKED AND THEN NOT KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT TO BUY SO HE PICKS OUT EVERY FAKE EYELASH. God i love him. - and let's just say he knows his way around, you know.🌶️

LOVED Lucy, Evan's cousin, adding a hilarious touch to the story.
To be honest, I loved the whole family, every single one of them had me falling in love with them.
The family dynamics, despite a long-lasting feud, were funny and enjoyable.

The main character Mel, is someone I can relate to (high maintenance, loves clothes and taking good photos) I loved her character growth throughout the book. Mel's journey towards authenticity without compromising her preferred outward appearance, there’s so many books/films that would have her ‘change’. It's a nuanced and commendable approach to challenging stereotypes.

If I could go back and truly take my time reading this I would, however I was so hooked into the story I stayed up most’ve the night reading it.

This books was such a fun read! having read the first two books in this series I knew I would lobe it because there is just something about the way that Amy Lea writes romance that gets me hooked and gives me butterflies.

I love that in this book we got to see a whole new setting than the previous books. Having seen Mel in and out of Set on You and Exes and O’s, I loved this opportunity to finally get to know her.

I’ll be honest and say that I am usually not the biggest fan of an insta-love situation but somehow the way it was written out in this book did not even make me realise that our two main characters had only known each other for less than two weeks.

I am and always will be a sucker for the fake-dating (or in this case fake engagement) trope, and a bit of enemies to lovers, so if that’s what you’re looking for then this is the book for you!

Wow, wow, and wow! Such a wholesome, romantic, and loving book. I almost dnf:ed the book after twenty pages but as soon as I continued reading it I just couldn’t stop. Evan and Melanie are perfect characters, the way their connection went back and forward kept me reading it, because all I wanted was for them to end up with each other! I haven’t read any previous books by Amy Lea, but now I have to!

This was a really good read. A first Amy Lea and definitely won't be the last. I loved the writing style but the cover is what caught my eye

After enjoying Amy Lea's 'Exes and Os', I was ready to dive back into this romantic universe with Mel's story. Through many bizarre twists of fates, she ends up in a small town, fake dating a grumpy fisherman and B&B owner Evan. As you can see coming, they do not stay at odds for long and the fiery sparks fly between the two. Mel loves the big city - could she really trade it all for Evan?

This was a cute story. It went along at a good pace, thoroughly predictable but also funny and lighthearted. I enjoyed Mel and Evan sparring and her getting to know his extended family. They really are an eccentric bunch but entertaining to read about. Lea also includes some interesting backstory for the two, highlighting their baggage and vulnerabilities in a way which turns them from being slightly cartoonish to a bit more real. Overall, I enjoyed this and look forward to Lea's next book. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fashion influencer, Mel finds herself in a small town where she meets grumpy fisherman, Evan, who is working to fix up the hotel she's staying at. This mix of characters and situations has all the tropes that I absolutely adore in a story.

As a big fan of the influencer series, I couldn't wait to dive into Mel's story. And let me tell you, I loved it. The book is full of fun and witty conversations between the characters, heart-warming moments, a fake relationship and plenty of romance.

3.5 stars!

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me this ARC! I really enjoyed Exes and O’s by Amy Lea so I was super excited to be offered her newest book, The Catch!

This book follows Melanie, a struggling influencer who finds herself staying at a run down B & B on her way to a luxury resort. After an accident with the irritable owner, Evan, she winds up in a fake engagement with the man and becomes completely entangled with his family and the town.
I really enjoyed this book; it was a fun, sweet, and comforting read. I thought Melanie was a well thought out character, with lots of layers. Though I wish we saw more of those a bit earlier on as I felt like I didn’t really know her until quite late on in the book. I would have loved to see more with her friends or with Julian.
Evan had me swooning! He started off as a grump but was secretly a big softie (my favourite kind). I loved his backstory with Jack; it added an extra depth to his character and provided a strong reason for him being surly, which is something that sometimes lacks in romance books.
His and Mel’s relationship was endearing; I liked seeing Mel become more comfortable with the town and its quirks, and Evan become more enamoured with Mel’s quirks. Both characters believed that they weren’t deserving of love and it was interesting to see the contrast of reactions from them when they both received it; Evan wanted to cling on to it and go all in, whereas Mel wanted to cut and run.
Most of all, I loved Evan’s family, The Whalers. Especially Nana. I loved how it wasn’t just a love story between Mel and Evan, but between Mel and the family.

At times, the writing did sway slightly into telling, rather than showing, or the language used didn’t quite fit the atmosphere of the scene. But apart from that, I really enjoyed this book! A funny and uplifting read, that would be perfect for summer!

Ever since reading Set On You I knew that Amy Lea was going to become an auto buy author for me. In The Catch, her third and final instalment of her Influencer series, Lea has cemented herself as one of my favourite contemporary romance authors. I adore her writing style, her characters and the stories she weaves for us.

The Catch was such a fab read, I loved it. In it we have Melanie’s story, a fashion and beauty lifestyle influencer who finds herself as a fish out of water in a small rusk Canadian fishing village. Whilst desperately looking for somewhere to stay she stumbles upon Whaler Inn and is greet by surly Evan. After a boating incident lands Evan in the hospital Mel is mistaken for his fiancee and so begins a glorious enemies to lovers fake dating situation.

There was so much to enjoy about The Catch that I’m going to hit you with a list. We have:
🎣 enemies to lovers, with fake dating - I didn’t realise how much I loved these tropes together
👠 a brilliant slow burn build up with steamy payoff 🔥
🎣 a wonderful FMC who is trying to figure out who she is, how she wants to define herself and what she wants
👠 a brilliant MMC who is so kind and caring, once we move past his super surliness, who is trying to heal from an event that left him feeling he didn’t deserve happiness
🎣 the most wonderful secondary characters in Evan’s family. They were so brilliant, especially Lucy and Uncle Ned
👠 the most heart warming found family situation I’ve read in some time
🎣 seeing more or Crystal and Tara
👠 amazing small town community and vibes

I really enjoyed this one and it was one of the best enemies to lovers I’ve read in a long time. The slow burn and sizzling chemistry worked so well here. I’ll admit that it left me wishing I could visit Cora’s Cove as well! Overall, a fab read is highly recommend.