e-Audio, 11:05:32
Narrated by: Kelsey Navarro Foster
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Published by:Books on Tape
Read from: February 22-27, 2024
The Influencer, #3
Source: PRH Audio Influencer Program (I received a copy of this e-audiobook from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Grief, Abandonment, Death of a Parent, Mental Illness, Death, Injury, Injury Detail
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Pop Culture, LOL, Adult, Realistic FictionA grumpy lobster fisherman tosses a fashion influencer’s impeccably curated life overboard in the next romantic comedy from international bestselling author Amy Lea.
In a last-ditch effort to rescue her brand from the brink of irrelevance, Boston fashion influencer Melanie Karlsen finds herself in a rural fishing village on the east coast of Canada. The only thing scarier than nature itself? The burly and bearded bed-and-breakfast owner and fisherman, Evan Whaler—who single-handedly disproves the theory that Canadians are “nice.”
After a boating accident lands Evan unconscious in the hospital, Mel is mistaken for his fiancée by his welcoming yet quirky family, who are embroiled in a long-standing feud over the B&B. In a bold attempt to mend family fences, Mel agrees to fake their engagement for one week in exchange for Evan’s help with her social media content.
Amid long hikes and campfire chats, reeling in their budding feelings for each other proves more difficult by the day. But is Mel willing to sacrifice her picture-perfect life in the city for a chance at a true, unfiltered love in the wild?
*MY THOUGHTS*
This isn’t a review I wanted to write. Although I really loved the first two books in this series, this one was just ok and I don’t know how I feel about this. If you know me at all, you know books about social media have my heart. Podcasts, influencers, dating websites, the whole 9, I like it. And since I loved the first two in this series, I expected this one to be one of my faves as well. But this was completely different than the others.
Ok so I see where Lea was going with this, but it just didn’t work for me. I guess I wanted to see more Influencing? The first two had two main characters where they were like Influencing on page. And in this one, she says she’s dressed up, but she doesn’t always say what she’s wearing. And like I’m sorry, but she had all the opportunity to like show her styling some outdoorsy clothes. But she barely mentioned what she did and it felt like she was ashamed and I didn’t like that. Influencers work freaking hard, like I’m talking about books all the time myself, and I’m not even a full time influencer. Her other two protagonists talked about their passions non-stop too. I can only guess that she didn’t because she was supposed to be trying not to seem too girly, but I don’t see anything wrong with that.
I did enjoy the humor in this book tho. The freaking scene after they just did the do and they had people come in there? Mannnnn that had to be awkward af. Because didn’t the room smell like? I can’t even type that lmao I’m sorry they all would have got cussed out. Because what in the world lol And the whole shower curtain thing lmao I actually laughed out loud. But even with the non-stop humor, I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would.
The trope itself is one of my favorites. I LOVE fake dating, so when I saw this was what it was about, I was excited. But when I tell you it was so basic. It was like this book was just checking boxes on what a fake dating book should have in it. And I hate saying that because they’re all the same, they just take different ways to get to them same result. But this actually felt like something I’d seen before it was so basic. I just wasn’t impressed.
The narration was good. But I don’t remember anything special about it either. It too was also basic. I’m not sure if I was just in a mood because of the book or what tho because I’ve actually listened to an audiobook narrated by her before and I thought she did those really well. She did do the funny bits really good tho. It didn’t seem like she missed a beat when she was reading them. Like they were her own jokes and that was really cool.
I thought this was going to be a 5 star read for me, but it just didn’t work. The awesome humor and the good narrator couldn’t save this one for me. I hate that this was the last of the series. I hope there is more to come to redeem this last one. If nothing else, a novella maybe? Idk, a sister in law or brother or something or one of the friends who becomes a travel influencer? Idk lol Something.
Overall, I give this
