The Catch

The very beginning and the middle of this book were cute. There were a few things I enjoyed:1. [a:Lauren H. Mae 19785872 Lauren H. Mae https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1579835032p2/19785872.jpg] is a good writer; it was very easy to get through the book.2. Over the course of the book, the 2 leads were together for about 5 months. Oftentimes in romances, the two main characters fall in love after 2 days and yet the readers are supposed to buy that they have a deep everlasting connection. I really liked that that wasn't done here.3. I liked reading about their established relationship. That was cute.That's really it. There wasn't much to like aside from these three things. There were, however, a few things I didn't like.1. Catia's behaviour in the first 25% of the book is a good argument for why you shouldn't jump into a relationship if you haven't put time and effort into healing after your last disastrous relationship. She was often manipulative and calculating towards Josh who at the time was being open and honest. It really wasn't a good look.2. In one of the first few scenes, both characters seemed fixated on the height of the guy who was creeping on Dani and Catia (he was short). Was he a douche? Yes! Should his height have been such a sticking point for both of them? No. Short men don't get enough love in romancelandia as is (but we're not ready for that conversation), we don't need to heap any more hate upon them.3. Catia had some very valid reasons for being skeptical to move in with Josh that had nothing to do with her fear of commitment. As she had previously mentioned to Josh, she had had to give up her dreams for somebody who wasn't willing to do the same for her. Yet, when he wanted them to move in together he never mentioned possibly moving in with her. That she eventually moved in with him wasn't a problem, what is a problem was that his moving in with her wasn't even discussed . Contrary to what all the characters in the book were telling her she wasn't being ridiculous. They could have explored both possibilities together. They should have communicated better. I personally don't think it is outrageous to expect your partner to be willing to make the same compromises they want you to make.4. As referenced above, all of Catia's friends treated her reluctance to move in with Josh after 5 months as a problem. They referenced her inability to trust anybody after Micah's betrayal. They rightfully pointed out that she could have both her career and a committed relationship. However, this was done against the backdrop of some very valid concerns she had about his ability to reciprocate the sacrifices she was expected to make (see the above point). In addition, Catia's dad called her out for judging her sisters and I hope that off-page he also called Maria out for trying to make Catia's life resemble her own when Catia had made it clear that that wasn't what she desired.5. The two leads never really seemed to communicate effectively. Maria said somethings that upset Catia but when Josh asked why she seemed tense, she brushed his question aside. Josh asked her to move in and though she had legitimate reasons to be skeptical, she neglected to discuss all of her reservations with him (even after their reconciliation). The moment their relationship hit any sort of roadblock, Josh just hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible. Honestly, I don't fully believe that their relationship will last, given their inability to disagree constructively. 6. They had one fight too many. Their relationship didn't need to implode every time they had a disagreement. Despite all these issues, I still enjoyed Mae's writing and will at least try reading one more book to see if I dislike her character's choices a bit less