Series Name: The Influencer, #3
“Are you a little high maintenance? Hell yes. Seriously high maintenance. And I don’t give a shit. I like you exactly how you are. No matter how many ridiculous outfits you wear on my boat. If that means you need a little extra attention. I’m more than happy to give that to you. I want you to stay. And not just a few extra days. I want to give this a real shot, because there is no reality in my mind where I can let you go.”
The Catch is a wonderful and fun rom-com and the perfect ending to the Influencer series.
A grumpy lobster fisherman tosses a fashion influencer’s impeccably curated life overboard in the next romantic comedy from international bestselling author Amy Lea.
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.
Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?
Goodness this book is delightful in all the best possible ways. This is the last book in The Influencer series, and like most rom-coms, it can be read as a stand-alone. But Amy’s storytelling abilities are outstanding, and I would highly recommend reading the other books in the series. You won’t be disappointed. This book was a lot of fun to read. Melanie and Evan’s journey to their HEA was full of fun (and funny) twists and turns and plenty of romantic moments. I really enjoyed watching these two different worlds coming together or clashing together. It creates plenty of opportunities for entertaining and hilarious moments. I adored that this book is set on the East Coast of Canada. It’s an area in Canada that is often overlooked and forgotten, and it really shouldn’t be. Amy did a fantastic job capturing the heart of East Coast Canada. The sense of community and belonging is such an important aspect of life out there, and Amy brought that to life in her book. All of the descriptions in her book were lush and vivid and transported me back to the time when I was out east. I also love all the wonderful nods to Canadian culture or experiences. It made my Canadian heart sing.
As I said, this story is a lot of fun. I am a huge fan of fish out of water and grumpy sunshine romances, and this book perfectly captures the essence of those tropes. Melanie’s experiences out in the countryside were hilarious. She is a city girl, and her fear of creepy-crawly things often gets her into embarrassing situations. I soaked in all those funny moments and loved that this book made me laugh multiple times. I was surprised at how much was packed into this book. Amy takes her readers on this journey that is really delightful and engaging. It has all those things that make a rom-com great, but it also deals with tougher issues like grief and complicated family dynamics. She balances out the lighter, fluffy moments with these more serious, deeper ones and creates a delightful reading experience. I loved all the characters. Evan’s family is delightful in the best possible way. They are all so quirky, and even though they spend a lot of time-fighting with each other, it’s evident that they care for one another. All the townspeople added that extra charm to the story, and I enjoyed spending time with them.
Melanie and Evan were fabulous. Melanie is a city girl, and she is proud of it. There were definitely times when she could be a bit much, but her heart was always in the right place. Melanie’s character struggles with letting people in. Her childhood was filled with financial hardship and grief. Her family didn’t have a lot, and that need to be financially secure is a huge stressor and motivator for how she lives her life. She wants to make sure that she has enough money to live. Not only that, but she also feels pressure to take care of her brother. There are a lot of walls around her heart, and it will take a gorgeous, grumpy lobster farmer to break them down. At the beginning of this book, Evan’s character is grumpy, and I mean incredibly grumpy. He really dislikes Melanie and isn’t afraid to show that dislike. I will admit his grumpiness towards Melanie even surprised me. I didn’t understand why he was so mean to her. It just didn’t seem to make sense. But it turns out Evan’s grumpiness is just a cover for his growing attraction for Melanie. I enjoyed the fake engagement twist Amy threw into the story. It was the perfect way to ensure these two characters spent more time together.
The romance between Melanie and Evan happens fast and furious. It is a vacation romance so that pacing is to be expected. I did find myself at times questioning how these two characters would fall madly in love with each other in four days. Amy does a job developing their relationship in a way that mostly makes sense. There are things that happen between these two that would only happen in romance land, which is fine for me. I really don’t need my romances to be realistic. For me, it’s all about those feelings that the story gives me, and this book gave me so many fabulous feelings. There were so many delicious moments between Melanie and Evan. Their real and fake relationship has plenty of bumps in it. Amy would build us up to a spicy moment, and then something would happen to stop that moment. It was torture in the best possible way. I loved these two together and really loved their ending.
The Catch is a warm and enjoyable romantic comedy perfect for bookworms who love fish-out-of-water and grumpy-sunshine romances.
Thank you, Berkley Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
