THE CATCH

When a fashion influencer is forced to crash in a rural Canadian town, she doesn’t expect to find herself falling for one of the locals.

Melanie Karlsen’s brand is in desperate need of rescuing. Although she’d initially carved out a social identity for herself as a fashion influencer, she’s becoming disillusioned with the perfectly edited facade she projects to the world. Accepting an all-expenses-paid spa vacation seems like the perfect reset for both herself and her job, but a mix-up strands her in what may be the least likely place: a remote fishing village in Nova Scotia. The B&B where she manages to book a last-minute stay could barely be described as rustic, and its owner, fisherman Evan Whaler, is even less hospitable. While Melanie resigns herself to counting the days until she can leave, an accident at sea finds her tangled up in an inadvertent lie—that she’s Evan’s fiancee. Before they can tell his family the truth, Mel and Evan reluctantly decide that maintaining their fake engagement might actually help them both. It’s easy to set a deadline to definitively call things off, but as they’re forced to play things up for the sake of Evan’s family, they’re each slowly realizing that there’s more truth to their feelings than they’d like to admit. Lea’s talent for writing complicated but ultimately likable characters is on full display as things between Melanie and Evan become more and more comically disastrous before they start to get better, and her expert knack for comedy makes this story a standout. This last chapter in Lea’s Influencer series is a heartwarming wrap-up with a strong sense of place and hilarious side characters.

A sweet conclusion to a swoony contemporary romance trilogy.