Catch and Keep

If Toby Keith Joined The American Pie Crew And Had Lunch With Nicholas Sparks, You'd Get Something Close To This Book. Seriously. One, no matter what the RWA/ RNA types claim, Sparks writes romance novels. Tragedy is a perfectly valid end to a romance, and sometimes the romance is ever more powerful/ memorable *because* it ended in tragedy. And now that we've inserted a "controversy creates cash" flashpoint into this review... ;)

Seriously, the Keith and Sparks connections here are primarily due to the background of our male lead, a former soldier now returning home to take over his parents' business as they attempt to retire. It is this part of the tale that adds some extra emotional heft that Sparks and Keith were so excellent with, particularly as it relates to soldiers, in their stories. Indeed, there are absolutely times where Keith's "American Soldier" begins to sound almost audibly in at least this reader's head while reading this book.

Outside of our male lead though, this book is one that highlights that northern Michigan/ upper Wisconsin lake resort vibe that American Pie used so well in a couple of their movies to great extent, though mostly showing it from a more local perspective than the summer party crowd. We get some meta commentary on the perils of online "fame", and we get a LOT of laughs - which is where the American Pie connection really comes to bear. Not in the titular joke from that series, but there are absolutely some comedic bits that will take readers "of a certain age" (re: those who were older teens/ younger 20s when the first couple of American Pie movies came out) back to that era.

Overall a largely fun romcom with some truly serious elements, though seemingly lighter in tone than many "Hallmarkie" movies despite having elements that are more serious than are generally found in that set. So an interesting combination, and one that Hahn works to great effect here.

Very much recommended.

I just finished Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn and here are my thoughts.

Maren has had a run of bad luck. Her boyfriend proposes in front of her whole family to soften the blow of taking a job promotion right out from under her and her brother still treats her like a little kid instead of the 33 year old woman she is.

When a man she thought of as a second father passes away and he leaves her his bait shop, she returns home to deal with her inheritance. Her brother's friend, divorced and a single father of two, can't help finding themselves looking forward to being in each other's orbits... Even though they are not off limits to each other.

This is a really cute small town romance with:

friends to loversOlder brothers best friend
single dad dual POV
**slowwww burnnnnn

I wasn't a big fan of the fish talk. I get that she was big into fishing but it didn't interest me but the romance and banter was enough to overlook the fish tales.

I really loved the autism rep. As a mother with 2 asd kids I like when books get it right.

The writing is good and I really enjoyed the way it all worked out.

4.5 stars

Thank you to @stmartinspress for my gifted copy through @netgalley

Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn definitely exceeded my expectations! The more I read romance, the harder I am to impress and I really enjoyed this. Usually, I find female main characters can have those annoying traits that drive me up the wall, but not Maren. She was great, and Joe was such a lovable character too! The dynamic between Maren and Joe's kids was just heart-melting to watch unfold. And props to Erin for tastefully including a child with autism spectrum disorder and showing how love and understanding can make all the difference. I usually don't reach for spicy novels on purpose, so I did skim through some of those parts, but if you like a spicy romance you WILL enjoy this! There are some very hot scenes.

Now, onto the little nitpicks. I felt like the whole “forbidden love” thing went on a bit too long and was so repetitive. Like, we get it, they can't date because of the whole brother's sister/best friend situation. And yeah, Maren's hot and men do disgusting things to her YouTube videos, we got it the first few times. A little too much fluff here and there, could have been shortened. But despite these small hiccups, it was still a solid read. Perfect for when you need something light and cute, like a palette cleanser or a beach day companion (that will still make you feel all the feels, bring tissues).

Thank you Erin Hahn, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC!