Caught in a Loop

The Skaters of Sequoia Valley #3

by Tomi Tabb

I’m Ava Brown, and I’ve never been great at taking risks—especially when it comes to love. After years of harboring a crush on my best friend Dylan, I finally work up the nerve to tell him how I feel. Only, it does not go well.

With my ego bruised and my heart officially wrecked, I throw myself into running my vet clinic. Dating? Absolutely not. I’ve got more important things to worry about, like how to bring in new clients.

But then a late-night emergency involving a muddy cat introduces me to Fernando, a guy who has a sexy Spanish accent and is alarmingly good-looking. Helping him out starts as a one-time favor, but somehow, we keep crossing paths.

When I take my first vacation in years to Spain to clear my head, guess who turns up again? You guessed it—Fernando. What was supposed to be just a fun road trip quickly turns in to me suggesting a fake relationship in order to get his matchmaking aunts off his back.

I told myself I wouldn’t fall for one of my friends again, but my heart has other ideas. I’ve always played it safe, but falling for Fernando might be the biggest—and best—risk I’ve ever taken. Is it still a risk if it feels exactly right?

Genres: Romance

282 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2025

About the author

Tomi is a self-proclaimed caffeine addict who is more than excited to be able to share the inner workings of her mind with you through her characters.

She writes romance with a focus on royalty and sports.

When she's not working, Tomi loves to hunt for pumpkin flavored foods and watch home renovation shows.

Connect with Tomi:
https://linktr.ee/tomitabbauthor

Website: https://tomitabb.com

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tomi-...

Reviews

[Lori Leaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable romance featuring Ava, a veterinarian, and Fernando, a figure skating coach. They have a meet cute over a sick kitten and then end up on an adventure through Portugal and Spain by happenstance.

Tropes to expect:
⛸️Strangers to friends to more
⛸️Travel adventures
⛸️Fake dating
⛸️Meddling family

[Lindsey IG: BookishlyLindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️🌗
This is a cute story about Ava, whose life hasn’t gone the way she imagined. After confessing her love to her best friend goes horribly wrong, she’s forced to move on without the guy she’s loved for eight years…

Things I enjoyed:
•Ava and Fernando’s meet cute 😂
•Vicki 😂
•The different sight seeing locations
•Naps 😂
•Ava’s character growth
•Aladdin

[Camille Dayton Fostering.literacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was such a sweet romance between Fernando and Ava. The past books in this series have been heavy on the ice skating. This one backed off quite a bit and focused more on Ava’s vet clinic and travel adventures. I loved the forced proximity as Ava traveled around Spain with Fernando.

Overall this is a fantastic book! The romance is clean, appropriate for teenagers and older who want a sweet read. Thank you to the author for the advance copy of this book. A review was not required.

[Jodi Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’ve, um, been doing a lot of thinking recently, and I’m ready to, er…”
“Yes?”
“To, um…” He breaths deeply. “Why is this so hard?” His eyes flutter and he tries again. “I’d like to, um, make you my number-one friend,” he blurts out quickly.”

Caught in the Loop by Tomi Tabb is book three in Tabb’s The Skaters of Sequioa Valley series. It is a sweet friend to more romance with so much heart. I enjoyed every minute of reading this book.

The story focuses on Ava, a veterinarian, who just had her heart broken when she declared her love to her best friend/former business partner and was rejected. As Ava tries to pick up the pieces of her heart and manage her vet clinic on her own, she meets Fernando when he brings a friend’s cat into the clinic. Ava continues to run into Fernando around town and develops a friendship with him. Ava’s sister convinces her she needs a vacation, so she plans a trip to Spain, Fernando’s home country. Unfortunately, Ava’s trip does not go as planned, and she ends up flying to Portugal instead. When Ava finds that Fernando is on her same flight, he offers to help her get to Spain. The story that follows is full of adventures, friendship, family, and falling in love.

I adored Ava. It was so fun to see her change from the serious, focused, easy to take advantage of vet to a strong, smart, knows what she wants and deserves woman. I loved her character arc. She learned and grew so much over the course of the book. Her set down of her former business partner was so good.

Fernando was a dream. He was so masculine, but he was also so graceful and such a gentleman. I loved how he treated Ava from the very beginning. It was so sweet. His character arc was so well done.

Things to love:
-single POV
-veterinarian FMC
-figure skating coach MMC
-friends to more
-fake dating
-vacation romance
-European destinations
-Christmas vibes
-love of animals

I adored this book. It is in a series but can be read as a standalone.

[Randi Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute read! Ava and Fernando got off to a rather interesting start--- with lots of animal questions and a minor cat emergency for the pets he was watching for his friends. From there, they keep running into each other in the most unexpected of places. They had great chemistry and form a quick bond, but she's had a recent rejection after confessing feelings to her best friend and he had some heartbreak in his past that kept him from pursuing love again. That certainly doesn't stop his meddling family from trying to push it on him though... so when they end up traveling in Spain together, she suggests they fake a relationship to keep his aunts from their matchmaking ways! I couldn't help but enjoy these two together. They definitely seemed to find themselves in a lot of mishaps, keeping the smiles coming throughout the story, but I also just loved their easy friendship... and of course, seeing them go from friends to more! It was a pretty quick romance... but it felt very natural and not at all rushed. If you love animals, fake dating, meddling family and just a hint of holiday cheer, this is certainly one to check out!

Caught in a Loop is a closed-door romance with kisses only and no language. It is the third book in the Skaters of Sequoia Valley series. I had not personally read the previous books in this series and found I was able to enjoy it just fine as a standalone.

**ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion

This book gave me one of the cutest meet-cutes I’ve read in a long time! Ava is a hardworking vet whose best friend (and longtime crush) decides to leave the clinic they built together. Reeling from heartbreak and struggling to grow her practice, Ava finds herself unexpectedly crossing paths with Fernando—a sweet but flustered pet sitter who comes in for advice after a muddy-cat incident. From there, fate keeps throwing them together in the most delightful ways.

After a rough rejection, Ava’s sister convinces her to take a much-needed vacation, and she chooses Spain. But when Ava’s travel plans go awry (hello, Portugal!), guess who’s on the same flight? Fernando. He steps up to help her navigate the chaos, and soon their unexpected trip turns into an adventure full of long drives, cozy hotels, and maybe even a fake-dating arrangement when Fernando’s meddling family tries to marry him off.

I adored the slow build of their relationship—strangers to friends to something so much more. The story balances humor, heartfelt moments, and just the right amount of angst. The pacing was steady, and the character development was so well done.

✨ Ava – Smart, driven, and deeply caring, but sometimes so focused on work that she forgets to live. Watching her find peace, happiness, and balance was one of my favorite parts.
✨ Fernando – Swoon-worthy! Charming, thoughtful, and masculine yet tender, he was the perfect match for Ava. Their chemistry felt natural, and their banter made me smile the entire time.

This was such a heartwarming, feel-good romance—full of travel, fake dating, meddling family drama, and the sweetest love story. Perfect for readers who love cozy romcom vibes with a European escape twist.

I want to thank Tomi Tabb for the opportunity to review this book.

[Susan Ballard (subakkabookstuff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming, sweet, adorable, I could go on with the adjectives about how charming this friends-to-lovers romance is!

Ava, a veterinarian, is wrestling with the heartbreak and humiliation of being rejected by her longtime best friend, Dylan, after she had confessed her feelings for him. However, when Fernando seeks her help with a cat he’s looking after for friends, a new friendship blossoms between them, offering Ava a chance to heal.

I loved that we had the opportunity to travel with Ava and Fernando through Portugal and Spain. Ava decides to take a vacation, finally, and Fernando is going home to see family. I don’t want to say too much, but let’s just say with glitches and hiccups, they end up in the same spot. They explored a Christmas Market, experienced incredible sights and scrumptious food, and even relaxed at a seaside spa together.

Fernando has meddling aunties and a headstrong mama, so Ava offers to be his fake girlfriend for the visit. The problem is, she promised herself, she wouldn’t fall for a friend again. Fernando, who doesn't hesitate to come to Ava's rescue when she's being humiliated by Dylan, again, is a true and swoony-worthy gentleman.

With the enchanting holiday atmosphere, the thrill of a European road trip, and the fun of ice skating, this novel is a perfect blend of sweet romance and adventure.

Thank you @tomitabbauthor for this #gifted ebook.

[LESLIE J (mrsj_readsbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Tomi Tabb for my complimentary eARC of Caught in a Loop.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In a word, this book was ~~~~ Adorable.
Ava and Fernando meet under the funniest of circumstances, but at the end of the day, he is a stand up guy.
I needed something short and sweet to keep my mind occupied and this one did the trick.
It's a nice vacation to Spain and Portugal with a hunky leading man. I know where I want to go for my next vacation!
It is funny and tender and full of love and family.

Even though it's book 3 in the The Skaters of Sequoia Valley, you can read it is a standalone. I have not read the previous books and I was able to jump right into the story.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the greatest book ever written? No. Is it a fantastic book if you love Hallmark movies? Emphatically YES. Would I read it again? Absolutely!

In some ways this is your typical fake boyfriend/girlfriend story, but the fake relationship isn't as planned out as many of them. There are also some unexpected moments with exes that are surprising even to the characters. I love that even though the end is predictable (isn't that why we read these kinds of books?) there are plenty of surprising moments along the way.

This was such a fun read with some fantastically swoon-worthy moments but refreshingly free of explicit content

[Lindzanne1_bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun and entertaining rom com! Follow along with Ava as she takes a much needed vacation. It’s quite an adventure and there are a lot of surprises and unexpected moments along the way. She’s not only on a journey to explore new cities and places, but on a self growth journey as well! And then add in her fake relationship with Fernando, who is so attentive and sweet. I loved their dynamic and seeing their friendship grow and evolve into so much more! Such a feel good and heartwarming story!

Thank you so much Tomi for the arc!

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite one! And I love Fernando. Super cute and heartwarming.. Endearing, adorable characters!

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story of Ava. Living her life. Swearing off dating. And then Fernando appears. Not just at home but when she goes on vacation. I loved their story and I loved Ava.