The Catch is the third and final book in the Influencer series by Amy Lea and tells the story of the one and only Melaine Karlsen, city girl extraordinaire, getting stranded in a dilapidated inn run by a bearded fisherman in a small fishing town in Nova Scotia.

The friction between Mel and Evan was instant and wonderful. I adore a good enemies to lovers; in fact, I enjoyed everything about this book, except for the time frame. Finding herself stuck in a small town with no high-speed Wi-fi, without her usual comforts and being forced to find herself was no picnic for Mel, but the way she didn’t let that stop her was heartening and hilarious. Add in a fake finance trope and I was in heaven, especially since Evan is the biggest cinnamon roll ever. but as I mentioned, I have issues with the timeline.

About 90% of the plot in The Catch happens over a two-week period. Them meeting, disliking each other, fake dating and falling in love. Two. Weeks. It’s a pet peeve of mine when romance books are only based on small timeframes, which irks me because I enjoyed everything else, but no matter how I looked at Evan and Mel’s relationship, it all seems too much too fast, a bit unbelievable. That is, however, the only issue I have, so if that doesn’t bother you at all, pick up this book as soon as it's published.

The Catch tells the story of Evan and Melanie, brought together by an accident at sea and forced to fake their engagement.
Melanie is supposed to be on an influencer marketing trip when she discovers that the booking is incorrect and she's got a week to kill before her work starts. She finds the only available accommodation nearby and bowls up without even waiting for her booking to be confirmed. At the Inn she meets Evan, a moody fisherman and one of the family members who owns the Inn. Melanie begs him to let her stay and a few days later she's on a whale watching trip on Evan's boat when sje almost falls overboard, and in rescuing her, Evan really does end up overboard and concussed. At the hospital, Melanie is told only family are allowed through so she quickly invents their engagement. To convince Evan's family to stop fighting over the future of the Inn, the two maintain their fake relationship and slowly begin to fall for one another for real. But will Melanie stay in this small Canadian town or will she go back to Boston?

First of all the positives, I really enjoyed some of the initial chemistry between the two, especially when Evan is still being grumpy and trying to deny his clear attraction towards Melanie. It was nice to hear about Crystal and Tara from the earlier books in the series and the bond between Melanie and her brother, Julian, was very sweet.

However, I found myself rushing through this book in an effort to finish it. Once the two realised they liked each other, I quickly got bored and fed up with the will they won't they nonsense. The fake engagement didn't really feel necessary and didn't work for me as well as other romance novels. I think for me this is because his family just automatically believes that this random woman they've never heard of or seen before is his fiancée. The two characters falling for each other after just a week together also didn't work for me, it was just a little too quick to be believable.

Overall a solid 3 stars but not as good as Exes and Os which felt so original and fresh.

This was the best one yet in this series! I've been excited for this one since reading the preview in the end of the second book. The premise, the setting, the enemies to lovers. It was really good.

I really enjoyed our previous love interests but sometimes wished it was multiple pov in order to get to know them better. I didn't think this one needed it. I felt connected to the romance and I felt like i knew evan and what he was thinking despite the fact we didn't get his pov.

Melanie was a really strong main character. I really liked the discussions around the way women are seen and belittled on the internet.

This was one was described as the proposal meets when you were sleeping - and it is that, but it also gave me some 'it happened one summer' vibes. i'm actually sad this is the last book in this particular series (amy lea how dare you mention a silver fox single dad neighbourgh and never show him on page. i am offended.) but will certainly look for what the author comes out with next as i really think she has improved with each book.

5 stars!

I eat up every single book that Amy Lea writes and I’m not sorry about it.

This was a fun, gripping slow burn with fantastic characters.

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.


Absolutely could not put this book down once I started reading it.

If you’re a fan of a good romance story with an amazing slow burn and a fun plot this is the one for you.

Amy Lea never misses, this is another brilliant book. Although it is bitter sweet because I will truly miss all the characters within the influence series. It feels like the end of an era wil Crystal, Tara and Mel.

This book was packed with a lot of my favourite tropes, small town romance, ''enemies" to lovers and fake dating x100. Sadly it's not dual POV, I would have good money for Evans pov for the whole book (midnight sun style).

This story made me laugh and cry equally(I am an easy crier so I might be being dramatic) I devoured the book in less than 24 hours. Amy Leas books always have that effect on me and I can't wait to see what comes next!

When the ARC for Amy Lea’s new book dropped into my inbox, I dropped everything else and began reading immediately! I had loved the first 2 influencer novels and couldn’t wait to disappear into Melanie’s story.

You won’t find any spoilers here but I will say that I adored the setting of this story and the ensemble cast of characters. Lea’s writing often makes me laugh out loud and she effortlessly blends humour, spice and genuine heart felt moments. Melanie’s story perhaps packed more of an emotional punch than the previous novels and I was here for it! I devoured this story in a day and was sad when it was over. I can’t wait to read what Lea has planned next!

holy cow. this was so good! thank you to penguin and amy lea for the netgalley arc!

this is the third instalment of the influencer series and this story follows melanie, a fashion influencer with the ‘dream’ lifestyle. she’s invited to stay at a resort but after a mix up she ends up last-minute booking an inn — enter plaid-wearing lobster fisherman evan whaler and his ‘no boundaries’ family!

this book has so many layers and was just so well written. it has the familiarity of the past two books so it is so easy to dive straight back into the world of the characters. the story was so unique and although it had similar vibes to books i’d read before, it definitely took its own direction (in the best way)! all of the characters made this story perfect.

i’m trying to keep this spoiler free as it doesn’t publish until february 2024 so all i’ll say is this is probably my favourite of amy lea’s so far and all men need to be like evan.

The third and final instalment of The Influencer series and another winner in my eyes.

General plot (no spoilers): Mel is a closed-off character who has had to fight to be in a good financial position and does so through being an influencer. Things have slowed down a little so she jumps at the chance for a free stay in a Canadian hotel in return for her promoting it on her social media. However, due to a mix up, Mel ends up arriving a week early and travels a short distance to stay in an inn - mid-renovation and the centre of a family feud - run by cousins Lucy and Evan. Mel and Evan don’t exactly hit it off straightaway, but then they somehow end up caught in the lie that they are engaged.

Thoughts: I enjoyed getting to know Mel, Evan and the Whaler family and the characters and situations were written in such a way that I found myself laughing out loud at times. They were generally all incredibly likeable, especially Lucy, Ned and Nana, with a comforting family dynamic, albeit a little too comfortable with each other in some ways!

Lea manages to take great tropes and run with them, while keeping strong women at the forefront of her writing. Another great read.

'The Catch' is the final instalment in Amy Lea's influencer series and I'm incredibly sad to see the series end.

'The catch' is beautifully written, the start of the book sees Mel mix up her holiday dates and from there on enters Evan, a grumpy fisherman with a huge heart. This book teaches the importance of the people around you; its not all about how many likes you get on an Instagram and I found it refreshingly pleasant to see Mel realise she doesn't need filters in order to look or feel beautiful.

In today's beauty standards, the world is harsh and people are cruel. This book has reminded people it's okay to be yourself and it's okay to be happy with what you already have. Amy Lea has once again shed light and a different perspective on social issues.

The influencer series will be sorely missed, 'Set On You' will always be a firm favourite of mine, but 'The Catch' is up there too. It has a homely feel to it. Reading this book is like coming home to your family and loved ones. A world within a world. Well done Amy! I can't wait to see what comes next.

Amy Lea’s influencer series has ended on a high and that is bittersweet.
I have enjoyed this whole series so much I didn’t want it to end and whilst any of these books can be read on their own it’s a treat to read them all.
Cora’s Cove sounds idyllic and the Whaler family are the perfect group of people to bring our main character, Melanie, ‘home’.
A small town grumpy x sunshine romance that you really won’t want to put down, I love Amy Lea’s style of writing and she has become an author ’must read’ for me.
This book has a great setting, a great romance and great supporting characters…. Definitely recommend!

I received this book as a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.