I LOVED it. There’s an extra side of nostalgia for me since my family vacationed up north in a cabin at a resort with a lake growing up. So it felt like I was right at home along with Maren. This was such a feel good romance. I of course loved Maren and Joe’s story.. but I adored Joe’s relationship with his kids. When I read that he was a Marine and a single dad, I had an idea in my head what kind of father he was. But I was happy to see how he met each of his kids where they were and accepted them for who they were and what they liked and needed. And on top of that how Maren stepped right in to be their missing piece. I thought all the relationships in this book were precious and well thought out. Maren and Fost, Maren and her best friends, and how Maren and Joe’s families grew up together. Maren finding her own way back to her roots and not letting anyone change her was icing on the cake. Maren defending herself to Bryce and her brother and not “needing” a knight in shining armor to do it for her was excellent. It was funny, it was warm and fuzzy, it was all the good stuff! I just really adored this book and couldn’t put it down. I don’t have anything negative to say about it!

A sweet story. A bit predictable but still a nice read. The character development is pretty good and the place descriptions are such that I want to book a cabin for a week or two. An easy to enjoy book.

Absolutely loved this book. It was everything you could ask for in a feel good rom com. Hunky single dad? Check. Adorable kids? Check. Finding herself and what she wanted to do with her life? Check.
The perfect brain break book!

This book offers a quaint escape to a small town where romance gently unfolds between a woman and her best friend's brother. The novel is an easy read, filled with coziness and a well-paced, sweet love story. Characters are distinct and relatable, with a compassionate portrayal of ASD.

I received a ARC from Netgalley and I absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. Romance with brothers best friend, and it was such a great story and made me laugh feel all the feels and was such a fantastic book! This will be an auto buy/read author going forward. Highly recommend!!!

I cannot wait to read more of Erin Hahn's books! Truly enjoyable.

4.5/5!
I LOVED this book! I was in a reading slump and this cured it!

All of the characters were amazing and I loved how they all cared for each other. I want to visit wherever the lodge is because it sounds like such a fun time!
The cole family>>>

Maren and Joe's relationship was so natural and sweet I love them. Joes children, Lucy and Anders, were probably my favorite part of this book. Lucy has ASD and the portrayal of navigating meltdowns with patience and understanding is both realistic and heartwarming.

This book had forbidden romance, small town, and brothers best friend!! such cute tropes!!
Thank you so much to Erin Hahn and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this title!!

Love! One word to describe what i felt for this book.

This book was the perfect read for my book slump.

the location of the story sounded so picturesque and made me want to visit.

The characters were lovable. I found myself smiling and not realizing.

This is a hug in a book.

Thank you so much to Erin Hahn and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this title. This book was a great friends to lovers romance. The story moved along quite nicely and didn't feel like it dragged at all. I loved the small town feel. The characters had great chemistry. Would recommend!

I don't fish and have zero knowledge about any fishing terminology (STILL not 100% clear on what a musky is??!) but this book was so freaking cute and cozy. The side character relationships in this book were written so well, I love that we got to see Fost and Maren's bonding over their love of fishing, Joe and Maren's nosy meddling parents, Maren's obtuse, overprotective older brother... it was perfection. Their little family dynamic was so endearing to read about. I also really enjoyed that Joe's kids were almost like main characters as well, it felt very important for the reader to see not only Maren and Joe fall in love, but also get to see Maren and the kids love for each other. Seeing Maren learn Lucy's quirks stemming from her autism and fumble through helping Anders come to terms with his feelings about his mom was really sweet and was handled really well. The stalker bit left a little to be desired; I thought Maren handled the situation well, but I was fully prepared for more drama around that, and it was dealt with kind of quickly at the end, feeling like more of an afterthought.

If you like cute, small town, brother's best friend kind of romance you'll enjoy this! Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc!

I thoroughly enjoyed this friends to lovers story set in Northern Wisconsin. Thirty something year old Maren was a fun character--a former beauty queen whose real passion is fishing. After she turns down a wedding proposal from the same boyfriend who went behind her back to secure the job promotion she'd been working for, she decides to renovate a fishing shop she inherited. She runs into her big brother's bff, who is divorced and has full custody of two small kids. Maren fits seamlessly into their lives, and the process of watching her fall in love was both believable and enjoyable. I'd read more from this author for sure.

The plot was engaging and the writing was beautifully descriptive. I found myself completely immersed in the story and couldn't put it down. I think this ARC will be extremely popular once released. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming and captivating read.

“Please … you’re terrible at fishing. I obviously caught you”

older brother’s best friend at the lake .. say less!!


“And you’re everything I didn’t think I wanted but now I don’t know if I could live without.”

This was such a cute book.
It was a quick read and so sweet.
Maren and Jo are so cute together and you root for them the whole book. Jo’s kids are so sweet and I love when he sticks up to Maren’s brother when the brother puts Maren down in front of him.

Will definitely read more books by this author!!!

This charming novel blends the tropes of single-dad romance and forbidden love with a heartwarming twist: one of the children is autistic. The protagonist, Maren, brings a refreshing perspective. Her love for fishing, and her friendship with a grandfather figure, adds a unique detail to her character. It's also what brings her home after a humiliating proposal when she realizes her life is going the wrong way.

Maren's journey of integrating back into her hometown is beautifully portrayed. The slow burn between her and Joe is masterfully crafted, with playful banter and deep-seeded friendship (and a little spice).

The children, Lily and Noah, are not simply plot devices. The portrayal of navigating meltdowns with patience and understanding is both realistic and heartwarming. As a mother of a child with a sensory processing disorder, I know how challenging this can be.

This is a heartwarming, easy-to-read love story.

A big thank you to NetGalley for providing this delightful read.

This book absolutely warmed my heart. I loved the authenticity of this childhood friends to lovers relationship, with a hint of second chance. Maren and Joe were lovable characters. I love the small town feel of this book and the interconnectedness of the characters. I also love the way that Maren loves Joe daughter without abandon. Overall this was a beautifully authentic love story that had the right amount of spice, sweet moments and heartbreak. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and this publisher for the ARC!

Catch and Keep is a romance set at a small lakeside resort with Maren, our pageant queen/fishing extraordinaire and single father, Joe, who is both her older brother's best friend and single dad to two lovely children, one of whom has been diagnosed with autism.

I loved the caregiver representation for a child with autism -- it's clear that Joe has had to adapt in many ways to establish a routine that works for our girl Lucy, and this is portrayed rather thoughtfully while working to advance our understanding of why Maren is a good fit for this family. This book takes its time, but that time is spent creating a romance that felt realistic even after that initial spark of attraction. I appreciated the pacing, and feel this would be a great book for anyone looking to sit down by the water this summer and just enjoy watching two people fall in love and fit together.

I could have done without the small stalker plot point, since it ultimately was never a major part of the story, but - I mean, I did appreciate that it fleshed out Maren's character a bit better, as she grows to understand herself, how she's underestimated, and wrap her mind around the way in which social media impacted her in her youth. None of this was immensely mind-blowing to me, so was neither here nor there, personally.

Lots of great spice starting around the halfway point, and I doubly loved that there was NO third act breakup!! Yay!! None of that stupidity from our main character who made smart decisions and never felt childish despite being accused of such.

I'm between 3.5 and 4 stars to this book -- it was a well-written, thoughtful, and great book; and also nothing that stood out to me in my cup of tea. This book is for the true romance book lovers of the world, who want to see and understand two people falling in love, and derive joy from that love!

What an absolutely sweet story! Im grateful for the chance to read this book as an ARC (thank you NetGalley and team!). I hadn’t read the other two in the series, but since they’re standalone stories it definitely wasn’t necessary (but I will be going back to read the other two!)

If you spent any time on a lake or in the woods growing up, or even love to go as an adult, this book will absolutely give you that nostalgic feeling. The imagery really transported me to the resort and the lake and I just felt so at peace reading it!

Maren and Joe’s love story was sweet and gentle, but I really loved the story of them coming together and the way she loved and accepted his kids as well. I also loved the friendships, not only with Lorelai and Shelby, but her friendship with Fost was genuine and pure as well.

This is a great book for anyone looking for a feel-good story that’s filled nostalgia, hope, and love.

okay.. so i wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as i did! the plot was fairly fast-paced, altho slow in the beginning and took alot of brain power to push through and im glad i did! the characters were funny and light-hearted, and i liked their growth and development throughout the book. yall know im a SUCKER for single dad trope and i loved the representation in this book. will definitely be recommending! so fun!

**Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.**

I thoroughly enjoyed the lightness of this book, how the main character with very handy and outdoorsy. And that Joe's kids were welcomed to be exactly who they are.

That being said, I felt the story line itself was pretty slow - until it went too fast, and then it was slow again. At times it felt like plot line whiplash, and I couldn't figure out the tempo of the story.

On top of that, the character development seemed to be lacking quite a bit in this book. For such a long book invested in mainly two characters (plus the two small kids) I would have expected more development with the characters.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. Thank you!

Opinions are my own, however.

I'm an avid romance reader and enjoy Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, Ali Hazlewood, Rachel Lynn Solomon and Katherine Center. I've just added Erin Hahn to my list after reading her latest and my first Hahn novel. This story had me thinking about the similarities with Jimenez's "Part of Your World" in the way that the love interests in both books must learn to adapt to each other's circumstances and do this in a very natural, and easy way.

While the novel's Prologue with the flashback had me concerned for a half second about where the story was going, starting with chapter 1, it had me hooked pretty much.

Maren is a fishing expert and former park ranger who moves back to the Northwoods in Wisconsin, where she spent her Summer days as a child and then again as a young adult. Josiah "Joe" Cole is Maren's brother's Liam's best friend and his family runs the resort in the town Maren has escaped too. There are fireworks from their very first encounter as adults and while the romance is a slow build (this is friends-to-lovers) the pay-off when it gets there is well worth it.

Joe is a single dad with two kids, one of whom has Autism Spectrum Disorder. I thought the book demonstrated sensitivity and high awareness of Autism and its inclusion was organic and positive. Maren's friends (and really all the ensemble of supporting characters) are a hoot.

Like any good romance novel, the story is ultimately about the protagonist's journey into self-discovery and advocacy and this one fit the bill beautifully.

Highly recommend!