𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛
—𝗮𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮 | 𝟯.𝟱🌟

“𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴,” 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺. “𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦. 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺.”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
✨Romcom
✨Mental health rep
✨Asian FMC
✨Opposites attract
✨Found (albeit dysfunctional) family
✨City girl X country boy
✨Fake fiancé
✨Family feud

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
The Catch is a single POV romcom with Melanie at its centre, a stylish, hard-working fashion influencer from the city who—after a mix up with a five star luxury resort booking—ends up in a small Canadian fishing village where she meets Evan, lobster fisherman, maybe horder of human organs, and definite grump and friend to the insects. When the opportunity arrives to save the inn Evan and his cousin, Lucy, run, Melanie agrees to pretend to be engaged to Evan.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
This was a 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 and 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲 romcom with a very engaging 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 at its centre. I found Melanie hilarious and particularly enjoyed her reactions to the various bug-life found in the rural country as for me, that was extremely 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 😂

I did have a couple of issues with this book surrounding convenient plot points including how Nanna seems entirely independent, with full mental capacity and capable of hosting an engagement party with lots of cooking and yet lives in assisted living. I felt like she was described as ‘wanting to escape assisted living’ for a stab at humour. And my second issue is with Evan and Julian, who both were suffering with grief, and yet seemed conveniently cured by having girlfriends.

This book is a perfect 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 romcom, but is very surface level and lacks depth and character development other than with Melanie herself.

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 | 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆

Fast paced, fun, light-hearted all-round addictive read!
It was such a wholesome cute book to start the new year. I haven’t read anything by Amy Lea in the past but I’ve heard so much so I was buzzing when I got the Netgalley notification!!
If there is fake dating/engagement in a book, I know I’m going to love it and, boy, did I enjoy this book! 😍
Based around Mel, an influencer from the city, and Evan, a fisherman from a cute little village, they’re both as far opposite as you can get! But, of course, they’re so perfect for each other. I love it when authors follow the romcom formula just right and this book did exactly that! I loved the friendship, found family and the love that all the characters shared for each other. I could feel it through the page!

brb as I go through her entire collection!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
#TheCatch #NetGalley

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for a free review.

This is probably my new favourite romance book.

Fashion influencer, Melanie visits Canada in an attempt to capture content and restore her dwindling brand. Unfortunately for her, Fate throws her in the way of a grumpy fishman, Evan (though his grumpiness might have something to do with Melanie insulting the inn that he works/live in). Melanie instantly grows to love the people in the small town but an accident leads to Evan's family thinking that he and Mel are engaged. Hoping that their fake engagement will bond their family and make them forget about past issues, Mel and Evan agree to fake an engagement followed by a very public break-up.
Eventually the two of them fall for each other. But if I haven't made it clear by now- Mel and Evan have absolutely nothing in common. Mel is a fashionable city girl while Evan is a surly fisherman who loves the outdoors.

One of my favourite things about this book is how Mel and Evan make zero sense on paper but it's clear that they're head over heels for each others. This was a fun cute romance and I'm really disappointed that it's over.

Thank you, Penguin UK & and NetGalley, for letting me read an ARC of the Catch.

Easy 4⭐️ for me, I've loved all 3 books in this series, and I really enjoyed Mel & Evan story.

Mel is a fashion/lifestyle influencer who needs to revive/freshen up her brand, so when a luxury spa resort in Canada offer her a week of complimentary treatments and stay at their resort she knows this is what she needs to freshed up her content.

Due to a mix-up with the resort, she is there a week early and has to stay in a run-down b&b due to the fishing convention happening. There is no room anywhere else.

Que Evan, our big, broody, bearded, plaid wearing fisherman who part runs the b&b.

We have grumpy sunshine, opposite attract, fake engagement with a little bit of enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Really recommend to any romance lover.

3.75 stars

This book is actually sooo cute!!!
Normally the third book in the series is a let down, not with this one! It’s my favourite.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes also fake dating.
I felt the main characters had such great chemistry and also great banter, which made me laugh.
Melanie and Evan have my heart.

What an amazing end to the influencer series.

Release date is February 2024

Thank you to Netgalley, Amy Lea and Penguin General for my ARC copy.

What an absolutely adorable read, I loved it! Enemies to Lovers mixed with GrumpyxSunshine and a bit of while you were sleeping thrown in there. Evan is top tier boyfriend material. For anyone looking for a cute and fun romance this one is for you.

The Catch is the last book in The Influencer series by Amy Lea and follows Melanie Karlsen, an influencer who finds herself stranded in Nova Scotia when she gets the dates mixed up for a social media opportunity. To make matters worse, the inn she end up staying at is run by a super grumpy (and super attractive) fisherman called Evan, and he wants her gone!

I think it might be time for me to accept that Amy Lea's adult romances are not for me. The pacing of this book completely threw me off (the events all happen over the space of about two weeks) and the enemies to lovers and fake dating tropes, which I usually love, felt incredibly rushed because of this. I think I would have enjoyed the friction and banter between the two leads a lot more if their relationship was given more time to develop. I don't usually say this about romance novels, but The Catch could definitely have benefitted from being a bit longer.

2.5 stars

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and enjoyed the rest of this series (esp book two) I definitely wanted the opportunity to read the finale! It was nice to go back to the girls, and this time focus on Mel. Finding out more about her was interesting as we learn just how much she’s been holding back.

I did find it hard for her to be so despondent about her following at the start, when we later find out her follower count is still insanely high. I do get being worried about downward trends and falling offers from sponsors, but that felt slightly off to me. As did the start of the book, both Mel and Evan feel exaggerated in their interactions until the boat trip really.

Beyond that though, I really enjoyed their relationship slowly mellowing out and forming something more.

I definitely loved the small town life vibes, and you can tell Amy has experience with them as it felt very realistic! And the love of the sea shining through (which is impressive as it’s Evan’s love not Mel’s) which speaks to my sea-loving heart.

All in all, a bit slow at first but a lot of fun and very enjoyable at the end! 3.5 stars.

I was grateful to recieve this as an ARC from Pegnuin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Catch is a modern take on a classic romance trope: big city girl falls for small town boy.
But instead of being some kind of high level buisnesswoman, Melanie an Instagram influencer. I enjoyed the new take on a much-loved trope.
I especially liked the way author Amy Lea explored complex themes of family in so many different ways, including Melanie herself being adopted and how she supports her younger brother who has struggled with her adoptive fathers' death.
Family is definitely at the heart of this book, but unfortunately this is where my highlights end.
I think the tone of this book perhaps just isn't for me. I often felt that the attempt at millenial humour either didn't hit the mark in most cases, or felt a bit try-hard. This detracted from both the strength of the plot, and the roundness of the characters.
While the themes of family acted as a subplot to the romance, this felt focussed throughout whereas the romance itself felt pieced together and not fully realised.

I think younger adult readers would enjoy this.

Amy Lea is an auto buy author for me now, unless I kindly get gifted e-arcs / proofs, as in this case.
I absolutely adore Lea's writing. The way she builds the tension between characters is flawless.
This was a very cute story and quite different from her previous two books in the series. It was clear a lot of research had gone into the book and I loved the family aspect. Lea also touched on grief and depression in a considerate way.
I devoured this book, as I did with Exes and O's and would definitely recommend The Catch!

This book took me way too long to read 🙈 I had high hopes based on the blurb, it really sounded like my cup of tea, but it was just so hard to get into! I was honestly so bored reading it, and struggled to keep going.

I’m a huge enemies to lovers fan, it’s seriously one of my favourite tropes, but there was no justification for being enemies! They just seemed frustrated at each other for being attracted to one another!

I found it really hard to relate to Evan and Melanie, they were quite annoying to be honest, and I just could not bring myself to like them.

This book bordered on spice > plot, and I’m getting sick of those types of books lately.

I’ve heard really good things about the first two books in The Influencers series, so I think I’ll still go back and try them, but this book was a miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The Catch" by Amy Lea delivers a delightful enemies-to-lovers rom-com with a unique twist, blending the world of fashion influencers with the charm of a rural fishing village in Canada. Melanie Karlsen, a fashion influencer in need of a brand revamp, finds herself entangled with burly fisherman Evan Whaler after a boating incident. Mistaken for his fiancée by Evan's welcoming yet quirky family, Mel agrees to a fake engagement in exchange for Evan's assistance with her social media content. Lea's writing style and pacing create an engaging and quick read, maintaining the humorous tone seen in her previous works.

While the enemies-to-lovers trope is present, the story takes its own path, resembling the dynamic found in movies like "The Proposal." The characters quickly grow on the reader, and as their backstories unfold, the development of the romance becomes more nuanced and understandable. The exploration of the rural setting and the characters' interactions add to the charm of the narrative, though more scenes showcasing their relationship could have enhanced the story further. Overall, "The Catch" is a fun addition to The Influencer series, offering a unique blend of romance, humour, and influencer drama.

What a perfect wrap up to a series!! I love Amy Lea’s books, they’re so comforting and warm and funny and this one did not disappoint!! If you love romcoms, you’ll appreciate the nod to two of the best romcoms ever (hi The Proposal and While You Were Sleeping) with a vivid setting and funny and heartwarming side characters plus insight into the girls from the first two books. Safe to say, I loved this one!

I kinda found this disappointing as an end to the series, the enemies to lovers premise felt kind of weak but I'm glad Mel got her story finally and I liked Evan!

Another swoon-worthy feel-good rom-com from Amy Lea. Super easy to read, likeable characters with great chemistry and cute setting. Cheesy but not disgustingly so. I liked that this one wasn't dual perspective - it makes the chase more interesting. The ending also wasn't overly exaggerated (at least for romance book standards). Cosy read with minimal conflict - would definitely recommend!

Thanks so much to the publishers for an e-copy of this book. Initially I thought I wouldn’t gel with the story as the protagonist came across as shallow. I was delighted to see the characters develop though and was really charmed by the gorgeous story and lovely romance at its heart. I really enjoyed this and I think it’s my favourite of Amy Lea’s books to date.

I just go weak at the knees for a grumpy x sunshine, quite honestly.

book review: The Catch by Amy Lea
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much @vikingbooksuk @amyleabooks @netgalley for an eARC of this book. 🫶

Fashion influencer Mel meets grumpy lobster fisherman Evan after a hotel mix up leaving her needing somewhere to stay. The only hotel not booked up is Evan’s ‘under-renovation’ AirBnb, but he makes it *very* clear that Mel is an uninvited guest.

There is something about Amy Lea’s books which I just love. They’re so cute. They’re great for escapism, and even though it’s quite a summery book I also found it quite a good Christmas read.

This was insta love, which I normally don’t love but it was done in such a natural way - so natural that I *almost* didn’t notice it was insta love. However, when I realised how little time they’d known each other, I felt a bit confused by how quickly their relationship was moving. Totally a me preference and not a problem with the book at all.

It was full of so many tropes that I really enjoy - fake dating, grumpy x sunshine, enemies to

"Why didn't you tell us your own son is engaged?"

Now, did this have some cringy moments? Yes. But, did I enjoy it and devour it in one sitting? Yes.

I have really enjoyed the pacing and writing style of Lea throughout The Influencer series and I found the pacing, once again, to flow well and make for a quick read. The writing was also fun to read, creating some genuine humour and I'll try to ignore the moments that flared my second hand embarrassment.

I wouldn't agree with the enemies to lovers commentary, I think this is simply just the dislike to love pipeline (not all stories needing to fit into the boxes of 'tropes'). I would see this story more of the movie 'The Proposal' with an influencer twist.

The main characters quickly grow on you, I was concerned with the development of the romance with the initial behaviours of the main characters but as more of their backstories unraveled it made the changes in their individual development and relationship more understandable. I would have loved, however, more in the development of their scenes together. I enjoyed the scenes of them exploring and travelling and would have loved to have had more of that.

Overall, a fun read in the trilogy of The Influencer series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin General UK for this eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the grumpy x sunshine vibes. It was such a fun and easy read! Cannot wait to read more from the author.

2.5 stars (minor spoiler alert)

Not the glow up I expected from Amy Lea after loving her latest release...
This had all the right elements but the execution didn't work at all. It's definitely a me thing, but I prefer when the romance is supported by some kind of plotline, and not it standing on its own. Just the fact that Melanie and Evan started fake dating to stop his family from fighting, and them fighting right after announcing their fake engagement tells it all lol. It was such a ridiculous excuse that I thought it would later be revealed that the cousin just wanted them to be together and invented a reason for a forced proximity thing. Guess not? I also hated how Melanie was supposed to go to a resort to promote it and then halfway through the book she cancelled it. And her brother aiding the third act breakup for literally no valid reason (a broken phone, really?? You're an adult, you could have bought another phone or maybe asked someone to inform your sister 🤦🏻‍♀️). Pretty much nothing made sense.

I enjoyed the rivalry between Evan and Melanie, but it didn't last long and it wasn't real to begin with, as it's happening lately with the enemies-to-lovers trope. They were checking each other out from basically the first chapters: enemies to lovers instalove. Them getting together after what, four days only?, had me bored out of my mind for the last 40% of the book. Even the characters in the book are dubious about the relationship moving too fast, if that's not a sign...

I liked that this book had no social media content because that was one thing I didn't like about this series, however fingering and blow jobs in public? I see things are getting worse here. I wished for Amy Lea to stop writing her characters having sex in the most unhygienic places and then I get this. At least the weird place was a private boat this time, way cuter and better than a public gym shower or a public hot tub lol.

I think this series could have wide appeal and I still recommend it for hardcore romance readers. I'm just not the right audience at this point, my romance needs to have more plot and less spicy content. If that's what you like definitely go for it.