The writing style of the author is quite okay and very easy to read. However, the characters are too one-dimensional for me and our heroine is too annoying for me to root for her. Because of this, I'm not able to see her chemistry with our main guy who's just living his life in his house. I loved the concept and the fake dating element, though I wished the main character did not get on my nerves too much.

The second book in this series.

Meredith is a matchmaker, and wants her TV series to be syndicated. When her matchmaking capability is questioned because she is single, she tells a small lie - that she is with Derrick.

The press were never be able to track him down, but when they do, she has to follow them to Derrick and try and convince him to go with her plan. To get him to agree, she will help him get his ex wife back.

As Derrick and Meredith spend more time together, they become more than friends, but that was not the plan.

A great read - I would have liked to have seen more from Derrick's point of view.

A cute rom-com that has the right mix of everything to make a perfect story. It was funny yet it had emotional moments and the characters certainly had chemistry! I definitely want to go back and read the book that I missed, in fact I've already purchased it! Great read! #netgalley #thematchmakerbride

What happens when a matchmaker gets put on the spot with her own love life while on National TV? She comes up with the first person she can think of... a boat maker in Maine. That boat maker just happens to be Meredith's friend's brother in-law. Why did she think of him? Yes they were both in Brent and Hope's wedding last summer but she argued with him most of the wedding. Now she has to race to find him before anyone else so she can talk him into being her "fake fiance". Ginny Baird writes a slow burn love story about an unlikely pair. Derrick is a small town boat maker and lead instructor at the boating school in Blue Hill, Maine. While Meredith is an up and coming matchmaker trying for a syndication deal and living in Boston. They couldn't be more different or so it seemed, they did have one thing in common, their irritation but also admiration of each other. So when Meredith tries her matchmaking skills to help Derrick rekindle the romance between him and his ex-wife, Olivia, as repayment for being a fake fiance she discovers all the sweet and loving things about him. Unfortunately, they both learn about each other and all the things they are beginning to admire about each other. So will Meredith go through with her plan to reunite Derrick and Olivia or will they both realize they want each other? Check out Ginny Baird's new book in the Blue Hill Brides series (which can also be read as a stand alone) and watch how Meredith works her Matchmaking skills.

The Matchmaker Bride had a really cute plot idea and a really pretty cover. I liked the start of the book too.

However once I started to get into the book I felt like I was disconnected from the characters. I think I missed some information about their past even though these books could be read as standalones.

I definitely would recommend reading the first book to get some of the missing bits and pieces.

This story also ended up having a slow pacing for me so it ended up being just an ok read. I wasn't a fan of the plot between trying to get the ex wife back and that wasn't due to it being a possible trigger warning.

This book was just an ok read for me. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this.

This was a two star rating for now. This was not terrible, just not the right book for me after all.

I found this story had very relatable characters. It has great humor and I was wonderfully entertained.

The Matchmaker Bride by Ginny Baird, book two in her Blue Hill Brides series, has an intriguing premise, but I struggled with this story; probably because I hadn’t read the first book in the series. I seemed to feel loss, confused, needing to know some of the history that Meredith and Derrick had in the previous book. It was difficult to become invested in this rom-com featuring a small town romance with enemies becoming lovers; especially when chunks of the story are missing. It almost felt like I was missing part of a private joke, I didn’t feel like I knew the secondary characters enough to care about them. I may have to pick up the first story and then do a re-read of this one. I’m disappointed as I have heard such good things from this author.

Ms. Baird wrote a story with an intriguing premise that I felt was missing chunks of background story needed before becoming invested in the drama. The Matchmaker Bride might appeal more after reading the first book in the series, as it is not a stand-alone story.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

There's a bit of everything in this book, misunderstandings, angst, and lots of funny peanut butter situations
.
Meredith and Derrick could not be more opposites and although this story begins as an enemies to lovers it immediately changes to a second chance when they put their ideas and prejudices aside to see the other clearly.
.
Meredith is a renowned matchmaker who gets caught up in lying about her love situation. Derrick lives a quiet life almost hidden from the rest of the world but when Meredith shows up at his door with a strange proposal, he finds it hard to make excuses to refuse, perhaps for a simple "what if?" pending in the last time they saw each other. With the coexistence and his plans to get his ex-wife back, he begins to see Meredith under a clearer glass and she start to wonder if is really something more
.
I did not read the first book of the series and it was not essential to understand the plot, the characters are so good that it is easy to get lost in their ideas and immediately they have you wishing the best ending for them almost to tears
.
Thanks to Ginny Baird and Entagled Publishing LLC for give me this beautiful book in exchange for my honest opinion

Meredith has a talent for helping other people find their happy ever afters but the same can’t be said when it comes to her romantic past. The show that she stars in is popular however her dreams to take it to another level are jeopardized when she says she is engaged to the only person that can think of. The only problem is that it couldn’t be further from the truth and now she needs to control the damage before it is too late.

Derrick spends his days building boats as he tries to heal from the end of his marriage. Having Meredith disrupting his life to garner his cooperation is difficult enough without the added complication of the reporters. They come to an arrangement that will allow them both to get what they think they want but they may just find out what they really want is each other.

The interactions and the premise of the story are humorous as they realize all the squabbles between them are nothing but a smokescreen for what they are truly feeling. The characters draw you in and there is a great group of secondary characters that enhance the story.

The Matchmaker Bride by Ginny Baird was such a fun and delightful read. Meredith is a very successful matchmaker, but when asked about her love life, she puts herself between a rock and a hard place. When she accidentally blurts out she is in a serious relationship, she never expected what follows. But Derrick, a man she only met briefly expected it much less. They are not meant to be together as they barely stand each other. But if they can help each other out, what can go wrong, right? But as they maneuver through a fake relationship, what happens when feelings begin to change? Can they figure it out before it is too late? This was a fun read with great characters.

Happy reading!

This may be my fave so far! I could not help but chortle ... yes chortle my friends.. at a lot of the scenes in this second installment. I did feel like I needed a bit more back story on Meredith and Derrick. Something in the buildup was missing even though they have great chemistry together. I'm not sure if it was just a disconnect on my part or a piece of the plot puzzle. Derrick stole my heart and I was cheering like a total goofball for these two to finally see past their insecurities and miscommunications. Man those can drive me natters in a good way. The families of each of the MCs were phenomenal and a high point in my reading. Talk about supporting characters, these guys take the cake and added to the story depth. I kept thinking my Big Fat Greek Wedding and chuckling on the inside; I love big families. Olivia is my one drawback. I felt that is where the story took a turn and slowed for me. It comes back around and ends in a wonderful win though. Give me all the synonyms for cute as hell and you'll have this novel pinned!

Thank you Entangled Publishing for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. True rating 3.5/5.

The Matchmaker Bride was a fun addition to the Blue Hill Brides series. After meeting the Albright family in the first book I was looking forward to getting the story for each sibling.

This book, like the first, is about an engagement and bride, but in a totally different way. Meredith is a successful Matchmaker who tells a lie while on a TV morning show. She doesn't want people to know about the state of her love life so she lies and says she's engaged. The story quickly gets out of control and everyone thinks she's engaged to Derrick

What follows is a sweet story about how first impressions can be wrong and love can be found in unexpected places. It was fun watching the two of them figure out their feelings for each other as they work out their individual lives and careers. I liked the first book, The Duplicate Bride, but this is my favorite in the series so far!

Overall, this is a cute read. But if you didn’t read book one in the series (which was a more in depth story, IMO) you might be a bit lost. While the author tries to explain the connection between the two stories and the characters within, even I was confused…and I enjoyed the first one.
My favorite parts of the book centered around the Albright family as a group. They were fun, whereas I felt that Meredith, Derrick (nice Grey’s Anatomy reference, which it took me a while to pick up on) and most especially, Olivia were very flat. I couldn’t connect enough to care who got together and if Mer got her career boost. It was missing the spark I needed to be invested in a HEA.

OMG! This book was so much fun and was really amazing. It was not anything special or groundbreaking, but what I really needed. This book is perfect for getting over a reading slump. This book made me laugh out loud and swoon several times. I am now interested in reading more of Ginny bairds books

It was so much fun to return to Blue Hill in this book. Meredith and Derrick meet in book one and get on each other's nerves from the start. The tension was high for sure and had me so excited for this book. Meredith is a matchmaker in Boston and is super close to an opportunity to expand her business when she is publicly put on the spot about her own love life. The only thing she can picture when this happens is Derrick, despite the way they got along in the past. To cover up her white lie, she heads back to Blue Hill and makes him a deal he can't refuse in thanks for helping her.

I love the setting in coastal Maine and Derrick's large family. I loved being able to see familiar characters from book one. As much as I love these two together, there were a lot of plot points that really did not work for me. Enemies to lovers is always great and there is the added idea of fake dating, but they really don't fake it for anyone as they are in a remote area and the press shows up just once when Meredith isn't even there. Plus there's a bit of a love triangle in there which I'm never a fan of. While they have met in the past, this felt a bit too much like insta-love for me which I just have a hard time believing. This is very much an open door slow burn that I'm not convinced fully works towards the end result. That being said, i did enjoy the book. Like book one, it reads like a rom-com movie. It was quick read that provided a pleasant escape which is what I was looking for. I am a fan of Baird's work and look forward to more from this author in the future. 3.5 stars

This was cute.
It took a bit for the story to pick up but there were some humorous moments and shenanigans until it did.
This sort of reminded me of a strange combination of the movies The Proposal and Picture Perfect. She's an exec trying to secure a business deal but needs a random guy she met once at a wedding to pretend to be her fake fiancé in order to achieve it.
This does have the fake engagement/fake dating trope but there just seemed to be something missing between the characters. I had a hard time getting on board with this romance for a good chunk of the book.
Overall I think this is a cute rom com but I would have enjoyed the romance more if it had been developed more.

The Matchmaker Bride is a fairly clean fake engagement romance. In order to try to get syndication for her local show, Meredith tells her viewers that she is engaged to a boat-maker in Maine. Derrick is stunned to find out he is engaged to the one person he can't stand. Will the both get what they want in the end? I wouldn't really say this was a stand alone book. It's the second in the series and there are a lot of references to things that happened the first book. I felt a bit lost. I might have to go back and read the first book. The romance was OK. I didn't feel much chemistry between the couple and it happened way too quickly for me. I did like the secondary characters though. They added a lot of humor to the story.

The Matchmaker Bride by Ginny Baird is not exactly an “enemies to lovers” story but pretty close to it. As far as Derrick Albright is concern it might as well be since he can’t stand Meredith Galanes or her TV matchmaking personality. A little conflict between those two make this an interesting romance. Of course, Derrick didn’t know anything about a romance between them. Such fun.

The second book in the Blue Hill Brides series has an extremely likable male lead character. The banter between Derrick and Meredith is priceless. No wonder she remembered him after only having met him once. A fake relationship comedy that only has the media unaware. Family seems to be all in on this. Why Derrick wants his ex back is beyond my understanding. These two are a hoot together. Life should be fun so should love. That is what this book is all about.

If you enjoy slow building romance that should be labeled chick lit comedy/romance you will love this story. I had read the first book in the series which I am glad. So since I have I can’t say if this is a true stand-alone or not.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a new author for me, and one I really enjoyed.
Boston matchmaker Meredith Galanes’s reputation is on the line. During a guest appearance on a morning talk show, she’s broadsided by questions about her own romantic attachments, just as she’s trying to secure a syndication deal. Afraid to admit her love life is a total disaster, Meredith blurts out that she’s seriously involved with a very special man—a boatbuilder in Maine. She never expects that small slip to get spun into a story about her supposed engagement.
Derrick Albright is being hounded by the press about some imaginary engagement to a woman he’s only met once. Then Meredith actually shows up at his cabin in Blue Hill, Maine, with an apology, a pot roast, and a proposal—play along until she secures her TV deal, and she’ll help him win back his ex.
It’s a simple plan, but if they have any chance of pulling it off, they’ll have to survive first...and no fall for each other.
This story is all about family and I loved that. You meet some really interesting side characters as Titi Clarita, baby Julia and Derrick’s grandparents. The bond between Meredith and Derrick is not easy, but is quite enjoyable to see them fall for each other. His ex, Olivia, is an important piece in this game of chess and it was a fun one.
This book is beautifully written. The first half was a bit slow for me, but then it speeds nicely and the end is beautifully romantic and emotional.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a cute enemies to frenemies to lovers story. I loved the banter between the two characters and you could easily pick up on the building chemistry between them. It almost made me feel like where I was at with my own husband at one point in time, so it was somewhat nostalgic for me. There is a history from the first book that carries into this story. You can definitely read it as stand alone, I did, but you would know more and understand some of the interactions better if you read the first book.