Absolutely loved Catch and Keep! I thought the characters of Maren and Joe just worked. I loved the slow building romance from friends (or brother’s little sister friend) to lovers. I also loved how she worked with Joe and his kids too. I was very happy with this one and loved how the timelines skipped towards the end because I always think that romances that end with someone knowing someone else for maybe 6 weeks and getting married is bonkers.
“Catch and Keep” follows Maren who just threw up all over her boyfriend after he proposed. Maren heads back to a place that makes here happy, a lake resort area in Wisconsin where she and her family spent their summers. Maren loves the outdoors and thinks the reset back there, while also fixing up an old bait shop and apartment is what she needs. She quickly gets reintroduce to her brother’s best friend, Josiah (Joe) Cole. Joe is still dealing with the effects of his 2 year old divorce on him and his two kids, Anders and Lucky. Joe though kept help thinking of Maren differently and neither can she. The book follows their growing attracting and relationship with each other.
So I loved Maren. I loved Joe. I hated Joe’s ex and that hatred stayed in place for the whole book. The two of them worked together and I really loved how Hahn takes her time developing their relationship. There are also real things going on in this one with Joe’s kids that I loved how they were handled. They were not just super cute kids, they helped further the plot I thought. I also loved how Hahn dealt with Maren’s brother (who sucked) and how the friendships that Maren had were showcased.
The writing and flow of the book were great. Hahn also includes different types of narrative devices in this one, we get text messages, emails, letters, and even flashbacks. I liked that none of them were written in the same font/style of the overall book. It helped to keep things straight in my head.
The setting of Wisconsin, the lake, and fishing was great. I loved the whole book and it made me want to book a trip to Vancouver Island already so I can just hike and stare at water for days.
The ending was fantastic and I loved how everything was wrapped up.