Book Review: The Catch
Let’s be real, Amy Lea’s The Catch was always going to be my favorite of her Influencer series. True, Set on You gave me the confidence to actually use the weight machines at the gym and not just eye them suspiciously, and Exes and O’s gave me a romance loving heroine after my own heart. But The Catch was the one I felt the most excited about for one simple reason: it’s set in Canada, and as a Canadian, I can’t remember if I’ve ever read a romance novel set here before this one. I might not be from Nova Scotia, but I’ve always said if I could live anywhere else in Canada, it would be the Maritimes.
Fortunately for me, there was a lot more to love about this book beyond passing references to Tim Hortons and Shoppers Drug Mart. Fashion and lifestyle influencer Melanie Karlesen is approached by a luxury resort in Halifax for a potential partnership, but a date mix-up has her arriving in Nova Scotia a week ahead of schedule. Thanks to the tourist season, the only room left in the area is at an inn in a rural fishing village. An inn owned and operated by the surly Evan Whaler who does not want Melanie staying there.
When a boating accident ends with Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée, and hatches a plan with Evan and his cousin to stick around for a while to help the two warring sides of their family make peace at last. You thought fake dating was hard, imagine how hard and fast you fall when you’re fake engaged.
Evan and Melanie’s romance is so sweet, and is best served by the fact that its a sloooow burn (book-wise, not real-time-wise), with a lot of effort devoted to how they went from thinking this inconvenient person who just showed up in their lives is kinda cute maybe, to some genuinely lovely moments between them. Initially, it felt like Evan’s large, loving family would get in the way of things, but really all that means is when the two of them do get a chance to be together properly, the moment resonates all the more.
The parts of this book I liked the best all fall firmly under spoiler territory, so I won’t get into them here and deprive you of the sweetness and the heart-wrenchingness of it all, so instead I will end by saying The Catch is an absolute must-read for fans of the small-town vibe who also love their heroines feisty and their heroes unfailingly kind.
The Catch hits shelves on Feburary 14, 2024. Special thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the advance copy for review purposes.