Catherine  Walsh

The Matchmaker

 this was cute. i enjoyed this author’s christmas book so i said what the hay, let’s try this on for size. the mmc is ideal. irish, tattoos, rugged, works with his hands, and into acts of service. so that was fun. honestly, the actual plot was whatever, i didn’t care that much about the festival or the village or what have you. i honestly just liked the mmc. he did a lot of heavy lifting for this book. 

big ab

A small community on the brink of ruin, a girl desperately trying to keep her life the same, and a magical matchmaking well. What more could you want in a book? 

I was honestly pleasantly surprised by this book. It was such as quick, refreshing read about a small Irish town that has been trying (...and failing) to stave off a major hotel corporation from destroying their town and history. The book is full of quirky, like-able characters including the main protagonist, Katie. Working as a bartender in the local pub, she loves her community and doesn't want it to change. In a desperate last-ditch effort, she decides to revive the matchmaking festival, a long-lost town tradition, to prove that their town is special and deserves to be preserved from being replaced by a luxury golf course. In the process of saving her town, she is at odds with those working for the enemy, Callum, whose endearing charms might be harder to resist than she thought.

When I first started the book, I wasn't hooked in the first couple chapters, but after about chapter 3, I literally couldn't stop! There was always some sort of funny development happening that made me want to read further. I mean at one point she storms into the near-by construction site in her pajamas to lodge a complaint! You never know what is coming next, and I really loved that quick pace. 

I am also always a sucker for small-town romances especially those with such a strong emphasis on community and family. This is exactly what this book had! I really connected with their mission of trying to get a big corporation from wiping them off the map. It felt very relevant in today's times! The fact that they were using a matchmaking fest to do it made it all the more entertaining. I truly felt a deep need to travel to Ireland at the end of this book as going to a small town sounded so appealing! 

Activism aside, the characters are what sold the book to me. From the main character to even the local old guy who practically lives in the pub, everyone was hilariously unique. Even the slightly annoying characters like Callum's brother were still somehow endearing cause they fit the world perfectly. It's not that every character was perfect, it was that the author was able to capture what living in a small town was like. You may not like everyone, but you do support each other. One thing that I appreciated was that the main character wasn't trying to escape to the city or trying to adjust to small town life. She was born there, grew up there, and had no need to leave no matter what anyone told her. She loved her town from the start and never wavered in her commitment. Her banter with her friends was also elite and very realistic.  I mean I often think my best friends deserve the world while wanting to toss out their wardrobe when they are getting ready for a date. It perfectly showed female besties living life! At the end, I can say that I really did care about each and every one of the characters. 

Of course, it being a romance book, I HAVE to talk about Katie and Callum. I really liked their relationship which was a twinge of enemies to lovers without it going too far. Often, I feel like this trope takes the enemies aspect too far making it such an extreme swing to lovers. This wasn't the case here, and I loved that! The only issue that I had was that the romance between Katie and Callum felt a little too fast for how much time they spent together. This is NOT to say that they didn't have chemistry, because they did! They just didn't have many deep conversations for their level of connection. While they had cute flirting moments that made me giggle, it felt like it went from "I like you" to WAY more a little too quickly, and I would have like more interactions/conversations between them. 

Overall, I really would recommend this book as it is a perfect summer read for those who have (or in my case want) wanderlust. You'll want to look up flights to Ireland after this, trust me! 

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me an early-copy in exchange for my honest opinion! 

Kendall V

A small community on the brink of ruin, a girl desperately trying to keep her life the same, and a magical matchmaking well. What more could you want in a book? 

I was honestly pleasantly surprised by this book. It was such as quick, refreshing read about a small Irish town that has been trying (...and failing) to stave off a major hotel corporation from destroying their town and history. The book is full of quirky, like-able characters including the main protagonist, Katie. Working as a bartender in the local pub, she loves her community and doesn't want it to change. In a desperate last-ditch effort, she decides to revive the matchmaking festival, a long-lost town tradition, to prove that their town is special and deserves to be preserved from being replaced by a luxury golf course. In the process of saving her town, she is at odds with those working for the enemy, Callum, whose endearing charms might be harder to resist than she thought.

When I first started the book, I wasn't hooked in the first couple chapters, but after about chapter 3, I literally couldn't stop! There was always some sort of funny development happening that made me want to read further. I mean at one point she storms into the near-by construction site in her pajamas to lodge a complaint! You never know what is coming next, and I really loved that quick pace. 

I am also always a sucker for small-town romances especially those with such a strong emphasis on community and family. This is exactly what this book had! I really connected with their mission of trying to get a big corporation from wiping them off the map. It felt very relevant in today's times! The fact that they were using a matchmaking fest to do it made it all the more entertaining. I truly felt a deep need to travel to Ireland at the end of this book as going to a small town sounded so appealing! 

Activism aside, the characters are what sold the book to me. From the main character to even the local old guy who practically lives in the pub, everyone was hilariously unique. Even the slightly annoying characters like Callum's brother were still somehow endearing cause they fit the world perfectly. It's not that every character was perfect, it was that the author was able to capture what living in a small town was like. You may not like everyone, but you do support each other. One thing that I appreciated was that the main character wasn't trying to escape to the city or trying to adjust to small town life. She was born there, grew up there, and had no need to leave no matter what anyone told her. She loved her town from the start and never wavered in her commitment. Her banter with her friends was also elite and very realistic.  I mean I often think my best friends deserve the world while wanting to toss out their wardrobe when they are getting ready for a date. It perfectly showed female besties living life! At the end, I can say that I really did care about each and every one of the characters. 

Of course, it being a romance book, I HAVE to talk about Katie and Callum. I really liked their relationship which was a twinge of enemies to lovers without it going too far. Often, I feel like this trope takes the enemies aspect too far making it such an extreme swing to lovers. This wasn't the case here, and I loved that! The only issue that I had was that the romance between Katie and Callum felt a little too fast for how much time they spent together. This is NOT to say that they didn't have chemistry, because they did! They just didn't have many deep conversations for their level of connection. While they had cute flirting moments that made me giggle, it felt like it went from "I like you" to WAY more a little too quickly, and I would have like more interactions/conversations between them. 

Overall, I really would recommend this book as it is a perfect summer read for those who have (or in my case want) wanderlust. You'll want to look up flights to Ireland after this, trust me! 

Thanks to Netgalley for sending me an early-copy in exchange for my honest opinion! 

catherine walsh has done it again!! this book is absolutely amazing, i DEVOURED it.

the book is a romcom (a brilliant one at that) but also excellently depicts female friendships. the love story between katie and callum was so authentic and felt so real, something catherine walsh has accomplished in every one of her novels.

the characters were all so complex and loveable and i just loved all the little side stories each character had. the community feel of this book made it so loveable and you’ll find yourself feeling immersed in the town dynamic.

you’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all you will not regret reading this book. i am quite literally on my knees begging you to read it!

Jess Griffin

catherine walsh has done it again!! this book is absolutely amazing, i DEVOURED it.

the book is a romcom (a brilliant one at that) but also excellently depicts female friendships. the love story between katie and callum was so authentic and felt so real, something catherine walsh has accomplished in every one of her novels.

the characters were all so complex and loveable and i just loved all the little side stories each character had. the community feel of this book made it so loveable and you’ll find yourself feeling immersed in the town dynamic.

you’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all you will not regret reading this book. i am quite literally on my knees begging you to read it!

read this book. you will love it.

The Matchmaker

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