December 1, 2023
Melanie Karlsen, an avowed city girl in Boston, maintains a curated lifestyle as a fashion and beauty influencer but needs to revitalize her brand. When she's offered a sponsored trip to Nova Scotia she jumps at the chance--only to end up desperately seeking an Airbnb in a rural fishing town when a scheduling mishap occurs. Evan Whaler's run-down family inn is her only option, and he's a surly fisherman who seems to find Melanie's very presence offensive. When whale-watching with a stubborn Melanie lands Evan in the hospital, the two fake an engagement to reconcile Evan's feuding family. Snarky bickering between the main characters makes for enjoyable dialogue, and the romantic development is wonderful despite Melanie and Evan's opposing personalities and different backgrounds. Melanie's familial struggles (she's a transracial adoptee who is also her brother's keeper) are well-depicted and complement the charm of Evan's caring family and his town. Fans of the series' first two books (Set on You and Exes and O's) will appreciate seeing previous heroines thriving while maintaining supportive friendships with Melanie. VERDICT Lea's final "Influencer" novel is a fabulous rom-com brimming with magnetic chemistry and delightful tropes.--Hazel Ureta
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December 18, 2023
Lea tugs the heart strings in her final Influencer romance (after Exes and O’s). Boston fashion influencer Melanie “Mel” Karlsen may appear to have it all, but in truth, her brand is failing and she’s still reeling with grief following her adoptive father’s death. Now she receives an invitation to visit and promote a Nova Scotia resort—but after a mix-up with her travel plans, she finds herself an hour away in a small fishing town. She gets a room in a run-down local bed and breakfast, where she can tell the cranky yet ruggedly handsome owner, Evan, a lobsterman, judges her as vapid and shallow. Determined to make the most of her vacation, she convinces Evan to take her out on his boat—leading to an accident that lands him in the hospital. Mel pretends to be his fiancée to be allowed in to see him—and Evan’s large, quirky family take her at her word. The pair decide to keep up the ruse, hoping to reunite his feuding family and save the inn. Their outdoorsy fake romance reveals they have more in common than either expected, as both grapple with anxiety, depression, and abandonment issues. Lea handles these heavy themes with grace, never allowing them to overpower the fun, or vice versa. Readers will both laugh and cry.
Starred review from December 15, 2023
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.
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