cover image Good Catch

Good Catch

Jennifer Bardsley. Montlake, $12.95 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-5420-2979-7

Bardsley returns to small-town Harper Landing (after Sweet Bliss) with a charming, uproarious romance that begins when former ballerina Marlo Jonas discovers her boyfriend cheated on her. In the wake of their breakup, Marlo’s father challenges her to base her next relationship strictly on personality, not looks. If she succeeds, he’ll allow her to teach the small-group fitness classes she’s been pushing to implement at their family-owned gym. Marlo accepts, joining dating app Good Catch and changing her settings to exclude photos of potential suitors. She never expects her archnemesis, Ben Wexler-Lowry, to be among her matches—and she’s even more surprised when, after a series of bad dates with others, she finds herself warming up to Ben. Ben is on a dating journey of his own, albeit the opposite of Marlo’s. He tends to value quirk and charm over appearance, but has suffered through a string of terrible ex-girlfriends. Now he’s challenging himself to date outside of his comfort zone by strictly pursuing women he finds physically attractive. As Marlo and Ben navigate knee-slappingly disastrous dates, their walls break down and they discover what they’ve been searching for. Their humorous transformation from enemies to lovers is a delight. Agent: Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Agency. (Oct.)