I will never stop saying that Erin Hahn is currently the most underrated romance autbor! Her books are always favourites of mine and are similar style to those of Abby Jiminez, Christina Lauren and Carley Fortune.

Catch and Keep is a lakeside romance (which is a perfection setting for me with my love for lakes).

Maren is starting over after walking away from a marriage proposal, and Joe is a single dad navigating parenthood. The two have been lifelong family friends and watching their romance unfold is so sweet! I definitely recommend this one!

The best of romances and a do not miss read. There is growing love, gentle unsureness, and insecurities, two adorable children, their handsome father, and a girl grown up to be a beautiful and caring woman. The story bends and twists through the developing relationship and carries you along the way.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Erin Hahn is quickly becoming one of my go-to authors when I am in the mood for a swoony romance. Catch and Keep is the perfect friends-to-lovers tale.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I loved it! I wasn’t completely sure since there weren’t many in-between reviews that I’d seen (either loved or really didn’t love it)… but I loved it! I loved Hahn’s first adult romance, and liked her second, and really wish, because these three books are very interconnected, that they’d be linked as a series. The other characters are very prevalent in this book.

Catch and Keep is an unexpected and underrated gem - I didn’t know what I should expect because so many early reviews weren’t flattering. Because I enjoyed her earlier books in this series (and yes, these three are absolutely a series), I should’ve been prepared to love it. “Jig”, Maren and Joe (Josiah) have a beautiful relationship and his children are truly special. I love the ASD representation and that his son wears pink and nail polish and is totally accepted by his dad. The kids mother is a whole other story…

I love brother’s best friend and neighbors romances, plus single father, so throw in the really special kids and a few other great touches, and this is a fantastic read.

This book is a perfect one, and I read it in a single sitting. A definite recommendation from me, made even better if you’ve read the previous two in the series so you’re familiar with the friends who make a lot of appearances (Built to Last, and Friends Don’t Fall in Love). I was able to get my hands on an audio copy to read and listen together, which I suggest too (narrators Zura Johnson and Michal Norman Johnson). Very good audio!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin) for the early copy. This is my honest opinion.

I love that this was set around a girl fisherman. That was very different from most romances I have read. This was a solid romance, but predictable and I found the characters to be a little stereotypical. Overall an enjoyable read.

Catch and Keep is the third novel in Erin Hahn’s Smitten in the Mitten series charting the life events of three rather unlikely best friends. This novel describes the events in a special year for outdoorswoman and national park ranger Maren Laughlin, beginning with her escape from an unwanted proposal and tracing her return to her roots where she and her family spent many happy summers at Cole’s Landing Resort.

As a kid, and the only daughter between the Cole and Laughlin families and younger than the guys, Maren found kinship in a grandfatherly fisherman know as Fost. Fost had taken her under his wings, teaching her all his best fishing places and his extensive skill set. As a renowned fishing guide, Fost’s teaching was priceless and led to the YouTube site Maren developed during high school and college, sharing her wealth of information and adding to her college funds. This continued until some stalkerish activities occurred causing Maren to shut it down.

Now back at the Landing, Maren is determined to take the legacy Fost left her to help rebuild her life. The old bait store and apartment are in a horrible state of disrepair and Maren is struggling as to how to reach her goal until the Cole family offers her lodging in exchange for working as a guide as well as fill in bartender and such. All tips would be hers and she was free to work on her adjacent property whenever she had the time. A win-win offer, especially when you added in she would in be working closely with Josiah Cole, her oldest brother’s best friend, and be able to spend time with his sweet 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter.

This is such a lovely story about family and found family and how there are so many ways to come home. Addressing children’s needs when they have differences is done with heart, and some social issues are also brought into the tale to give a complete story. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it

I loved this book so much and it *almost* made me want to go fish. Almost... I really loved this love story and could have kept going on and on.

It expired before I could read it. Very sad. Very sorry I didn’t get to it. I was very busy, you see, and just couldn’t do it. Also is it single POV? That immediately drops my interest. My bad.

An absolutely perfect contemporary romance, with something extra for those of us who have experienced Midwest summer family vacations boating and fishing on a lake. Two very likeable main characters: Maren just turned down a marriage proposal and has headed to her hometown to lick her wounds and renovate the bait shop she inherited from a family friend. Joe is a single dad of two kids (one of whom is autistic) who is mostly settled but still reeling from his ex-wife bailing on their family. Joe has been friends with Maren's brother since they were all kids. Maren and Joe gravitate toward each other right away, and the story is mostly a swoony, easy path to HEA, with navigating family stuff on both sides. In fact, it's how easy it is that is kind of the hurdle for them. I like how they communicate like adults with each other and with other characters. There's a lot of love in this book, even when it is sometimes misplaced by some family members. I just loved everything about this, all of the characters, the family vibes (both traditional and found family), the lake setting, the cozy everyday life scenes. I also really appreciated that Maren's story was partly just about Maren, apart from her relationship with Joe. Oh, and there's a dog prominently featured too! This book really has everything. :)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC I received!

Where do you run to when things are hard, and life feels out of control? Maren Laughlin decides to take a leave of absence from her job after rejecting her boyfriend's proposal and returns to Northern Wisconsin where she grew up. Maren inherited a bait shop that needs significant repairs and found it as the perfect to take a pause and decide what was next. While working at the repairs, Maren runs into her brother's best friend, Josiah Cole. Maren's brother warns her that Josiah has had a rough few years and deserves stability. The more time they spend together, the more they find they may not want things between them to end.

Maren is strong and independent. She doesn't allow herself to be affected by what other people think of her. She learns to embrace the changes in her life along. Josiah protective of those he loves, works at the family resort, and is raising two kiddos. I truly enjoyed reading how Maren and Josiah navigated their relationships, how attune they were to each other, and how they communicate. The way Maren and Josiah's families show up for them individually is heartwarming and displays a healthy cycle of family dynamics. While some hard topics are discussed throughout the book, the author does not steer away from providing different perspectives to situations that cause feelings of grief and loss. At the end, the characters' ability to find love, felt safety, and forever with each other was beautiful to read.

Now 33, Maren has walked away from her life as she knows it — she just turned down a marriage proposal from her boyfriend and left her job as a park ranger. Maren has returned to where she spent her summers as a child: a lake where she has inherited a bait shop and the attached apartment, which are both in disrepair. She’s decided to spend some time fixing them both up while she figures out her next steps.

At the lake, she runs in Josiah Cole, her older brother’s best friend whose family runs the local hotel. Joe is now a divorced single dad of two children and running the hotel with his parents. Maren and Joe are soon spending more and more time together, each finding refuge in the other — although neither are quite sure what to make of their relationship. Is it just a temporary thing … or are they building something to last?

I am a big fan of the author, and her latest was another great story about an individual at important crossroads in her life, both professionally and personally. Well written and with strongly developed characters, the book portrays well the competing pressure of meeting other people’s expectations and following your own heart. And it was particularly touching to see how Maren’s relationship with Joe’s family, especially his children, grows.

Highly recommended!

I was lucky enough to get this ARC - I loved this book!!!


It had so many feel good moments along with struggles between the FMC and MMC and their respective families

Maren returns back to her childhood summer stomping grounds after she inherits a shop and apartment from an old family friend. She runs into her brothers best friend and boy has he changed. The friendly banter between these two is so good.


What you can expect
- friends to lovers
- mental health rep in kids
- a terrible ex wife
- meddling families
- a summer vacation spot that you can picture
- medium spice

Overall would recommend this one to anyone!

Beautiful love story with social issues woven throughout. I enjoyed Catch and Keep by Erin Hahn, expect for one plot line that gave thriller vibes. Fortunately, it was a true romance between a younger sister and her big brother's best friend. In their attempt to "just be fiends" Maren and Josiah fall into a comfy relationship that threatens to combust. This novel follows Built to Last and Friends Don't Fall in Love with some of the same characters showing up. Will be looking into Erin Hahn's back catalogue to see what else she's written.

This is such fun book. It really is a fish out of water romance in the sense that one of the protagonist finds themselves in a situation and a place that they weren’t expecting to be. I love the Panter and you really rooted for the characters to fall along the way. The side characters just added to the story. It’s a delightful book.

A great read. Maren reconnect with Joe after running away from her life. I wanted everything to work out for them. I loved the setting of this book.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I really enjoyed this sweet romantic comedy! It had a like spice, but not too much. I don’t believe I’ve read the other books in this series but I honestly didn’t know it was a series until after. It worked incredibly well as a stand alone and could be read all by itself. The banter was cute, romance in abundance, and left me with a smile on my face. I would recommend to anyone who likes romantic comedies with a sweet happily ever after!

Catch and Keep is a sweet and endearing romance novel set around a fishing resort and the holidays. It has a single day, older brother best friend trope going on but the kids are adorable, the dad is sweet and basically perfect, and the female lead is just a good person. The complications are the usual - brother doesnt approve, ex wife is a nightmare but its resolved fairly easily and doesnt truly impact too much the relationship. Its a little bit of a slow build up to the romance but it set the stage for truly why these two belong together and how to create a happy family. It was enjoyable to see characters from previous stories as well.

This one is a daily one of my top reads by Erin Hahn. I knew after reading Built to Last and enjoying it, that I was eager for Maren’s story. It turns out, Maren’s might be my favorite of the series.

I found Maren’s story so relatable and authentic. After a failed relationship, and work setback she finds herself at loose ends. She’s a woman going into her mid thirties, she’s trying to find what fits and makes her happy, what her next steps are - muddling her way both through her own feelings and expectations and that of her family / loved ones.

Enter Joe, her older brother’s long time best friend, single dad and small town sweetheart. He’s tackling his own journey with two young kids and trying to do right by them, while trying to find his peace after a rough divorce.

I loved Maren and Joe together, their dynamic was lovely and it was interesting to see them grow into a new relationship and each others lives. I adore a love story where the characters are a bit more mature, and seeing how a romance or life building plays out when you have more that you each bring to the table.

I also loved that the story didn’t just mention Joe as a single dad but made it real and a focus. The kids played a big role in the book and got plenty of on page time as well.

Overall just a romantic, charming, and sweet book. It made me smile, brought some tears to my eyes and left me feeling content yet wistful to leave that world behind. Definitely one I’ll recommend and I’m already looking forward to what Ms Hahn writes next.


Tropes / Elements of note:

Single Parent Romance
Long time family friends
Siblings Best Friend
Autistic representation
Small Town

Good grief, this book was adorable!! I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this one and adored every second of it. The setting, the characters, the backstory….it was so charming and I sat with a grin on my face the entire time.

Easily one of my favorite reads of the year.

Third in a series, but works as a standalone; I loved reading Maren's story. After saying no to a wedding proposal, Maren flees to Wisconsin, where she spent her summers growing up, and the tiny bait shop/cabin she inherited. Once there, she finds Joe--previously thought of as just a friend of her older brothers.

Joe is now a sexy single dad, running his parents' inn and raising his two kids. The two feel drawn to each other immediately, but Hahn does a wonderful job of illustrating their chemistry and attraction, not just some sort of insta-love. The two have a history, yes, but also hangups. Maren is getting over her breakup and Joe is a divorced, busy father.

Maren is a great character; it's wonderful for her to have her own book. She's just... Maren. Tougher than she thinks, figuring out life, totally knowledgeable about fishing and willing to do the dirty work of fixing up an old bait shack.

Joe, meanwhile, is a dreamboat, and his kids are adorable. I don't blame Maren for falling for all of them. I did too. Hahn deftly explores the topic of autism through Joe's younger daughter, but never strays into trope or treacly territory.

If you've read the first two books in this series, you'll be excited to see appearances from Maren's BFFs Lorelai and Shelby and their beaus. But this story is truly Maren's, digging into her old days as "Musky Maren," a fishing YouTube Star (a Musky is a fish, don't worry). It makes some wonderful points about how women are treated simply because they dared to put a piece of themselves on the Internet--and how men feel they are owed something in return for that appearance. Her older brother has a big role, making Maren feel bad about herself and generally just being a jerk.

Still, this is a sentimental and lovely book. When it ended, I thought, "that was perfect." It's a wonderful blend of romantic, sexy, and sweet. The lake acts as another character, providing a wonderful summer/camp-like atmosphere, even as winter sets in.

I love a story that is easy to read--that makes you laugh and smile. CATCH AND KEEP is that book. It's just fun to read (even though it has its serious moments) and makes you happy while reading it. The characters are great and easy to root for, and it offers a wonderful wrap-up for Maren, Shelby, and Lorelai. And Maren and Joe are pretty awesome too, illustrating that not everyone takes the same journey to find one another.