Erin Hahn now has a trilogy of sorts, that started with Shelby and Cam falling in love in Built To Last, then following Shelby’s friend Lorelai falling in love with Craig in Friends Don’t Fall In Love and now we finally have the last friend of the group, Marin, who is trying to find her everlasting love. I really enjoyed the first two books in the series (I’m calling it a series, but these are very much standalone stories), but Marin was my favourite of the three, so I’m most excited to see her happily ever after.

At thirty-three, Maren Laughlin’s just turned down her boyfriend’s proposal, walked away from her decade-long position as a park ranger, and returned to her childhood playground in Northern Wisconsin to accept her inheritance: a decrepit waterfront bait shop. After a lifetime of letting things happen to her, she’s ready to start making her own moves, even if everyone else thinks she’s making the wrong ones. Well, not everyone—at least the local heartstopper and resort owner is on her side.

Josiah Cole has made some missteps in his life, but he’s proud of what he has: two awesome kids and the keys to the kind of getaway spot that has families coming back every summer– their up north home away from home. After his marriage dissolved, leaving him a single dad, he feels he’s the last person to judge Maren for her recent transformation (even if his best friend, her brother, wants him to feel otherwise). Besides, he genuinely likes having her around. She’s a breath of fresh air, his kids adore her (not to mention her dog, Rogers), and it doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful.

Things between Maren and Joe are easy. So easy, they’re fully immersed in the middle before they even decide to begin. It’s not a question of should they, but rather can they make it last? Are things too easy, or is this just how real love works? In Erin Hahn’s heartwarmingly sexy Catch and Keep, Maren and Joe have to be brave enough to find out.

This is definitely my favourite of the three books about this group of friends—and I liked it better than Even If It Breaks Your Heart, which I also quite enjoyed. I almost wish there was another friend in the group so we could continue living in this world, but it looks like we’re closing the chapter on these women.

What didn’t work for me

Marin’s brother: I know part of the plot was that there was meant to be tension due to the fact that Josiah is Liam’s best friend, but Liam was unnecessarily cruel to Marin throughout the book. Her parents never said anything about it and there were supposed to be two other brothers who would have maybe rounded out the dynamic a little bit, but I felt that we could have shown the tension in a different way.

The borderline stalker: Maybe this needs a trigger warning, but Marin does have a stalker of sorts in this book. Did I understand why Hahn added it to the story? Sure. Do I think we could have done without it and created tension another way? Also yes. I feel like we were traumatizing Marin for no reason between this guy and her brother.

What I liked

The single father trope: I have said this before about Hahn’s books, but I like that the main characters (in this series at least) are not right out of high school or right out of college—they are women and men into their careers and who have a more mature take on life. The fact that Josiah has kids and has an ex-wife and all the baggage that comes with that makes for a deeper and more real connection between him and Marin. It feels more believable.

The dual POV: Sometimes I think the dual POV just makes it more frustrating when the characters don’t get together right away because you read that they’re both pining for each other and you just want them to do something about it, but because Joe is a single parent, you really get a different insight into where his head is at (with all his life baggage) versus Marin, who is really falling in love for the first time. They bring different perspectives and you get to know each of them this way, which I enjoyed.

Shelby and Lorelai (and Cam and Craig): People who haven’t read the other books might find it annoying that the audience keeps getting these vignettes with Marin’s best friends—sometimes literally taking her away from the main plot—but as a person who has read all three, I really liked these glimpses into what they were up to and showing how friendships are important. Plus, there’s a scene where Cam and Craig are giving Josiah a pep talk that was really, really heartwarming.

4.5 STARS

“Are we friends? Are we these benefits? Are we dating? Should I ask her out? It’s been twenty years sine I’ve asked a girl, a woman, out. So long that it was a girl, but now would be a woman. I have no idea if that’s even how it’s done anymore.” —Erin Hahn, Even If It Breaks Your Heart

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced book copy in exchange for my honest review.