I don't read a ton of contemporary romances these days, but I've now read 5 of Erin's books in the last year. I will read absolutely anything she writes.

She manages to write her characters in a way that feels so authentic. They may have challenges that they need to work through, but they are always met with realistic actions and care.

Catch and Keep is no different. At the beginning of the book, we meet Maren, who returns to her childhood summer stomping grounds after an epically terrible proposal and subsequent breakup. She sets out to renovate a property she inherited but doesn't anticipate how her life will also change. Enter Josiah Cole, her brother's best friend and single dad.

Now, there are a lot of tropes in this that aren't usually my thing (small town, brother's best friend, single dad), but I trusted Erin to take me on the journey and I'm so glad I did. I loved these two.

I loved that the audio was dual narrator. Getting a chance to hear both main characters is always a bonus and adds to the reading experience. The quality was good and narrators spoke clearly enough that I could bump up the speed without having issues understanding, and that is an audiobook necessity for me.

Erin is an auto-read author for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.

My first book by the author and I really enjoyed it. I’m a sucker for books with children and this one hit the spot. Really liked the characters and the setting. Plus the cover is so so pretty.

ALC Review: Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn
Pub Date: October 15, 2024

My goodness, I LOVED this book!! When Maren's boyfriend proposes to her in public, she realizes that this isn't what she wants. So she takes a leave of absence from her job and goes to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the place her family visited every summer and her happy place. While she decides what to do next, she works on fixing up the cabin and bait shop that was left to her. She also reconnects with Joe, her brother's best friend, whose family owns the resort that they stayed at as kids. Joe is divorced and single parenting two kids and doesn't have space for something temporary. But as Maren and Joe continue to spend more time together rediscovering who they are now, the sparks can't be denied...

Listen - you know when a book seems like it might be designed specifically for you? Well, this book sure was written for me IMHO. I'm originally from WI and my family has a cottage up in the Northwoods - it literally is my happiest place. After spending almost 10 years on the east coast, I moved back to my home state about 6 months ago. Though I didn't move because of an unwanted proposal, I did move because I was looking for *something* that my life out there didn't have. So obviously I related to Maren a whole lot - though I haven't met a single dad (yet!).

I loved the evolution of Maren and Joe's relationship and how much she loves his kids. Kids for me are sometimes a tough sell in a romance - but I thought they were great additions here and never took over the storyline. I thought the representation of a child with autism was done really well and my heart melted when she accepted Maren and knew that she was a safe person.

I loved the narration by Zura Johnson, who I've listened to before, and Michal Norman Johnson. Highly recommend listening to this via audio

All in all, this was a book that hit all the marks for me! Swoony and bantery and just exactly what I needed. Highly, highly recommend this one

Thank you to SMP for the eARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁: I enjoyed this one, I always love seeing MCs in their 30s finding love a second time around. The characters were relatable with real life issues and I loved the lake setting. If you like slow burn, vivid imagery that transports you and characters you want to root for, this one’s for you.

Maren just turned down her boyfriend’s proposal and headed off to her happy place, Northwoods Wi. She recently inherited a bait shop that’s on the lake waterfront but it’s not in an inhabitable condition. So she agreed to work with her brother best friend’s family who owns the local resort to run fishing tours as she’s an amazing fisherwomen, in exchange to live on their property while she fixes up her new property. One things she didn’t count on was the adult version of Joe.

Joe is a single dad struggling with his new norm. He went through a messy divorce and he has full custody of his two kids, Anders and Lucy. His ex gave him a lot of guilt that he’s learning to work through and parenting his son who enjoys more feminine things and his daughter who is autistic has been a learning curve.

Joe enjoys having Maren around his families resort, she interacts with his kids in a way that makes his heart melt. But she is off limits as she’s his best friend’s little sister. But things between Maren and Joe are just so easy and how can something so right not be meant to be.

See if Maren ends up being the catch of Joe’s life when this releases on October 15th.

𝑳𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅:

* Friends to Lovers
* Older Brother’s Best Friend
* Single Dad
* Autism Rep
* Fisherwomen FMC
* Retired Marine MMC
* Lake Life - Wisconsin
* Dual POV
* Spicy 🌶️

🌲🎣🚤🌲🎣🚤🌲🎣🚤🌲🎣🚤🌲🎣🚤🌲

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh! I LOVED this one! I finished it so fast because I just couldn't get enough of Maren and Jo. This one has everything that I love and more. It has that small town feel that makes this book feel like a warm hug. The tropes for this one include: brother's best friend, single dad, small town, strong FMC, sweet and thoughtful MMC, and autism rep. This was seriously such a sweet and fun read.

I also loved that fishing was one the main topics in this. I don't think I've ever read a story where the main character loves fishing. It just made this story feel even more cozy.

One thing I loved most besides the romance was the friendships in this, and I loved Joe's kids. They were so sweet and just added so much to this story.

All in all, this was definitely a 4.75 star read for me. This was such an incredible experience. I can't wait until this book officially comes out so I can buy the physical copy and add it to my shelves. I will definitely be rereading this one and I will be reading more of Erin's books for sure.

Maren returns to her lake-side home to escape her life and ends up not only finding her love of fishing again but her new love of her brother's best friend Josiah.

This was such a good one! Here's what I loved:

Maren: She was an amazing character. I felt for her as she came to terms with things from her past and I also cheered her on as she found her new life to move on to.

Josiah: This man has been through the wringer and comes out so strong. I loved seeing him navigate his feelings for Maren because he wants to be the good guy in all of this, but is so drawn to her.

The setting: I loved this setting. I wanted to go to this resort and stay there!

Josiah's kids: This is a single dad trope and I adored both of Jo's kids. I also loved the family unit they built and how they work together. Seeing his kids embrace Maren was so special.

The audio: The narrators do a really great job with this one. Both really get into the characters!

All in all, this was a really good romance that has some spice in it!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

This single dad, brother's best friend romance was incredibly heartfelt and entertaining. A perfect fall-into-holiday small town love story! Joe and Maren were mature and relatable main characters, their chemistry and communication felt entirely believable with just enough humor and spice. The family and online influencer conflicts were interesting and well written, and Lucy's autism was expertly represented as an invaluable piece to the story. It was all very earnest and I got hooked on a HEA for the whole family. The dual character audio narration was well-paced and made this story particularly captivating. It even felt like the children became their own characters. Highly recommend!

I can’t handle how much I loved this book. I binge listened to it over the last couple of days and savored all of it. Maren and Joe might be my favorite Erin Hahn couple. I will always read her books.

I loved the vivid setting of this book! It takes place in the Northwoods in Wisconsin. Cozy, fun, and refreshing are words that come to mind while reading this book. I loved Maren’s character and her outdoor vibe. This slow burn friends to lovers story was perfection. I just loved how these two fit so perfectly in each other’s lives.

This is book three in series of standalone. I did read this one first not realizing there was two previous ones but I throughly enjoyed it and didn’t affect any of the story! It makes me want to read the other two as I really liked the story, writing and want more from the other characters.

The audiobook was wonderfully narrated by Zura Johnson and Michal Norman Johnson. They did such a great job voicing Maren and Jo.

Erin Hahn writes spicy books with a serious side that tackles the nuances of real life. With Maren's story, she again has a book that made me want to laugh and cry as the characters lived everyday lives. On the surface, older brother's best friend, single dad, military veteran Joe raising a daughter with autism could make a reader feel like Hahn is just trying to check all the trope boxes, but it never feels that way in the reading. I appreciate her dedication to showing truth in life experiences through her writing, and the fact-checkers who give feedback on the portrayal of those experiences. (Note: not everyone who lives an experience has the same view of it, so I recognize that even with fact-checkers, it may not align with everyone, but I appreciate that it aligns with someone's.)

I devoured this audiobook despite being in the middle of our county fair; the narrators were fantastic and I wanted more of Maren and Joe's story.

Note: this is the third in a series. I have read the first two, but honestly, you could jump in with this one and not be lost since each book follows a different main character. That said, there would be a few spollers for the tirst two books since the MC's of those make appearances here.

Thank you Netgalley Erin Hahn and Spotify for the alc. My opinions are being left voluntarily. What an absolute perfect book. Top to bottom. My favorite Erin Hahn book no question I am kotnsure if I read the previous 2 in the series if not immexcoted to go back and read book 1 & 2 and 3 all over again..

I immediately ran to preorder this book..

I'm also calling it my favorite October book!!!!!

5/5☆