Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of The Rebound.

A romcom set in Ireland compared to the likes of Emily Henry sounded like it was right up my alley. Unfortunately, The Rebound fell flat for me for several reasons:
-there were a lot of characters to follow and I didn’t feel they were all crucial to the storyline
-I didn’t feel a connection to the main characters (specifically Abby and Louise.)
-Louise was very unlikeable and I had hoped for some character growth for her that I didn’t feel happened
-lack of chemistry between Abby and Luke didn’t have me invested in their relationship

While this wasn’t the romcom for me, I know many others will love it and should give it a read!

The Rebound by Catherine Walsh is the first book I read this year and oh, I am so glad I picked it up. It was a mesmerising read.
Abby moves back to Ireland after losing her job and breaking up with her fiancé and on the way home, she meets a guy who gives her a lift home. She thinks that he is just a very attractive stranger but later realises that he is a boy she grew up with, Luke Bailey. They used to be best friends until they both hit puberty and sort of drifted apart.
I feel like this book was so much more than what I initially thought it would. It was almost like I was living with Abby and going through her journey of self-realisation with her. I am so glad that along with the romantic aspect, we also get to see Abby and Luke grow up as people and understand not only each other but their own selves better. The book is written in a realistic way with no extremely dramatic scenarios that make it hard to believe. I actually related to Abby a lot and even fell in love with Luke.
It was beautiful and the story was well formed. We see the characters grow and even the side characters were a delight to read about. There are so many laugh out loud moments along with some really witty comeback that I will be sure to jot down in case I need them. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was beautiful and romantic.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC with exchange an honest review!

This book tell us about Abby who suddenly hit the bottom rock. She lose her job, her fiancée, her apartment and have to back to her homeland in Clonard, back to her sister she hates. Now she has to try everything she has to survive while meeting all people from her past live there.

I thought this book will full of romance (because that the impression I get, but not at all) this book tell us much more about Abby, show us about her feeling, about her way to get out of her situation, about her relationship with her family and friends.

At first, I didn't really like Abby personalities here. I don't really like how she thinking. But seeing her life just fallen and how hard hard for her to get into there it become more make sense. I'm glad Abby has a great character development here. How open her now and how she tell people about her feelings. I really like this development.

For the romance, well I have a mixed feeling about this. I love about the childhood friend concept here but what bothers me more is about the misunderstanding that keep going on and on here. When I thought that it already settle and we will get lovey dovey moments the misunderstanding keep appearing. It's just not really my taste because at some point they are really sweet to each other and the other time I can really see the romance at all. But, nearing the end of the book I think the romance turn much better and I really love how the writer make it like that.

4.5 stars. Super cute and adorable. I was fighting the whole time for Abby to be done with Tyler and be fully with Luke. I really connected with the characters in this story. I loved how it ended too. Super cute and light hearted read. Will definitely be recommending this to everyone in this rom com category for books. Thanks NetGalley for this advanced copy.

This was a cute rom com to start off the year. This was a perfect weekend read, and it was fairly a quick read.

After Abby loses everything she returns home to stay with her sister until she can get back on her feet. After spending some time home, she realizes this isnt the worst thing that could happen to her. She is making new friends, and reacquainting herself with her ones.
Abbys friends were my absolute favorite characters, and luke was cute but felt a little underdeveloped.

Honestly, this book was so cute it had me giggling like an idiot within the first chapter.

Read this for a book with strong characters, uncompromising principles and great humour. Oh yes and a very lovely romance between childhood friends who found each other again after years apart.

For a book with "there's only one way to get over an ex..." on the cover, there wasn't much of that so don't think it's one of those books. To be honest the title is a bit misleading but I did enjoy it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was the perfect feel-good rom-com I needed to start off 2022!!!

Abby Reynolds lost her fiancé, her apartment, and her top-notch job all in a matter of weeks and goes home to Clonard, Ireland to stay with her sister while she tries to figure life out. Abby has no plan and due to all the recent layoffs, finding a new job is tough. When her childhood next door neighbor – turned super-hot, caring, now perfect – Luke Bailey picks her up at the bus depot, Abby starts to question who she really is and what she really wants in life. But for Abby, feeling like she has hit rock bottom, the only place she can go is up.

The comedy is believable, and I absolutely loved the characters. Louise and Tomasz were the perfect pair, and Beth added another layer of small-town charm. With the setting in Ireland, it was the fresh escape that I needed. Catherine Walsh delivers laughs while showing that the bonds between family members may be the most important thing of all.

I could say, as a romantic comedy I could have used a little more steam. There was a ton of buildup, and then it was just “sweet.” And as much as I did love this book – I do not think The Rebound was the proper title. When I think of a rebound, I think of the print on the cover of this book: “The only way to get over one guy is to get under another.” This book is more of a slow-burn love story, not a “let’s rush and get under any other hot guy I see.” Multiple weeks pass during this novel and people can fall in love quickly, especially when the person they were with prior maybe wasn’t the right fit for them.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review: all thoughts and opinions are mine! This was an easy read that did not disappoint; I will definitely be adding Walsh’s first book to my tbr pile!

I didn't end up finishing this one. I really liked the idea of it at the start, but it fell flat for me and I didn't make it through more than 60% of the book. I typically avoid DNF'ing books but for some reason this one just didn't click with me.

I really love the idea of starting over and moving back home to a small town and the romance there, but the characters didn't really click for me.

This book is one of my favorites! This is my first novel by this author, and I was blown away. I had no idea how this would turn out when I started reading it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked how, despite the obvious rebound drama, you get to witness her develop her relationship with her sister and find out what she wants to accomplish with her life.

Abby Reynolds has finally returned to her hometown in Ireland, despite her reluctance. Abby has always wanted to leave her hometown since she was a child, but the idea of returning makes her anxious. She had recently been fired from her work in New York and had lost everything, to the point that she had to come home since she is broke with nowhere to go. She was not only fired but her engagement had also been canceled the week before she was sacked. As we can tell, Abby isn’t doing too good right now, and going back home to stay at her sister's place who she’s never gotten along with doesn’t sound like fun.

When she arrives in Ireland, a handsome man in the dark offers to bring her home after realizing she won't be able to ride the bus because it isn't running. Her sister invites the neighbors over for lunch the next day, and the man from last night turns up. That's when she realized she knew this man, her former best friend, Luke Bailey. Abby had been interested in him since the beginning. The only question is if she has feelings for him or if this is just a simple rebound.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed The Rebound. I found myself honest-to-god laughing out loud more than once, so the "hilarious" part of the summary is accurate. Beyond that though, I don't think the marketing of this novel made sense. Based on the summary, I was expecting our Main Girl, Abby, to be actively trying to have a rebound with her childhood neighbor, Luke. That's not really the case though, and she even gets annoyed when others imply it. So I'm not sure that the focus on the "rebound" aspect makes a ton of sense. #weirdmarketingdecisions

The best part of this book was Abby's relationships with the side characters, such as her sister, her brother-in-law, old friends and new ones also. Those relationships are where the comedy mostly lived, and I never liked Abby more than when she was interacting with these characters. That's saying something too, because I really liked Abby and her general salt levels.

The biggest con for me was actually the main romantic storyline. I feel like Luke's character was a bit glossed over. Like we didn't get the chance to know him as well as Abby or even Louise. It's sad to say that the weakest part of a romance novel is the romance, but that is the case here.

Also, this book is pretty light on the steam, so do with that what you will.

This book follows Abby who recently got broken up with and lost her job in New York City. She has no place to stay and decides to visit her sister in Ireland and stay with her until she finds a new job and knows what exactly she wants to do. When Abby arrives in Ireland, she bumps into a tall dark handsome man who turns out to be her childhood friend and neighbour Luke.

I personally really liked how Abby and her sister's relationship developed and how the two got closer.
The love story between Abby and Luke was cute but quite predictable and unfortunately a little boring.
I did not like was how immature Abby seemed in certain moments and how indecisive she was
And I couldn't really connect to Abby and her character.

All in all, I think the book was a cute, fun and entertaining read. Unfortunately, it just was not for me.

Compulsively readable? Check.
Small-town charm? Check.
Interesting side characters? Check.
Character-building B-plots? Check.
Romantic tension and "Absolutely hilarious" (as the cover endorsement promises us)...........wellllllllllllllllllllll.

There is a lot to like in Walsh's novel and I did like Abby as a protagonist a lot. She's fun but honest. Trying and failing. I could see myself in her shoes in a lot of the situations and that made her very likeable. I also really enjoyed her sister's character, Louise. I'm honestly disappointed we didn't get a romance novel about Louise and her husband Tomasz, honestly because....well. I never felt the spark between Luke and Abby but Louise and Tomasz made my heart happy. Back to Luke, though, since he was the hero to Abby's herione of the story. And he was fine as a love interest. As a character on his own, okay. I'm down. But...he and Abby spent SO much of the novel arguing or fighting or being on the outs that...the relationship never clicked for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy of the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

3.5 / 5 - The Rebound

3 / 5 STARS - Story Authenticity

4 / 5 STARS - Relatable and Lovable Characters

2 / 5 STARS - Steaminess

#TheRebound is an adorable romance with ambitious main characters, an adorable hometown, and chemistry that cannot be ignored. When Abby finds herself apartment-less, fiance-less, and, after a big scandal, jobless, she is forced to retreat to the one place she does not want to get trapped in - Clonard, Ireland. Butting heads with her sister, and attempting to save face around her piers, nothing seems to be going right. Well, except for the puberty-jackpot winner, Luke… who thinks she is still still engaged. There’s so much going wrong in her life, but to her surprise, the longer Abby is home, the more she realizes that Clonard, and everyone in it, is so much more than small town.

Catherine Walsh creates a lovely community without it feeling like an extremely small cast of characters. Abby has moments with her ex, connecting with places she used to love - moments that are very real.

Having been through “the world crashing around you all at once” experience, I know how debilitating it feels, especially as a type-A personality. Abby exhibits the exact same complicated depression that I found myself with - wanting to save face around your family after “making it” because you were ashamed of “losing it”, wanting and knowing things you should do to progress forward while still wondering “what’s the point?”

As the story progresses, Abby seems to make headway on opening her mind to her sister, Luke, and other people in the town, but it never felt like she got “down to business” when it came back to her career; Although there were lines about her applying or reaching out to some of her contacts, it didn’t ever feel like her heart was in it. It’s very subtle, but this hesitation opened her up to more acceptance and happiness in Clonard, as if she didn’t want to leave. Later, once the romance element picks up a bit, Abby even thinks as much.

Luke, however, is a different story. I love his ambition and humility throughout the book. He never feels like he has to explain his choices, though it has broken a part of his soul, like George Bailey never leaving Bedford Falls. Although life has made him a little jaded, he never complains - a trait I think we could all work to have.

All in all, The Rebound was a hometown romance that avoided the trope of feeling small. All of the main characters had solid character arcs and backgrounds, but never felt like supporting characters. Catherine Walsh did a great job of making Clonard feel like the home we’ve all loved and hated, and overall, the book brought me joy to read (especially the ending!) If you enjoyed Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez or This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens, I think you’ll enjoy this read.

Thank you so much to #Bookouture, #Netgalley, and @catwalshwriter for the ARC! Thank you so much!!

Not a huge fan tbh. This was a pretty mediocre slow burn for me and the end just didn't hit hard enough for how long the book built it up - 2.5/5

Dnf'd it unfortunately 60% in

I absolutely loved the first half of the book, it's got angst and awkwardness between two people seeing one another after a long time and it has my fav trope- friends to lovers

But tge second half unfortunately felt flat to me and I just wasn't that interested and intrigued what was going to happen

This book was well written and cute but I felt a disconnect from the characters. It started off strong, but as I read more, I felt that the male main character was not as present as he should have been, and it was more of a story about the heroine’s relationship with her sister. I would have appreciated more of a focus on the main couple and their relationship.

I did enjoy that it took place in Ireland and that the story included many relatable life problems, but it just didn’t do it for me.

THE REBOUND is a heart felt contemporary romantic comedy that will warm every facet of your heart. Walsh gives Abby, the main character, a drive rarely seen in the heroines of romance which was refreshing.

Honestly, I'm sad this book didn't work out for me. I liked it enough in the beginning to keep reading and that's how i got to 35%. You don't wanna know the pressure I put myself through to keep reading after that.

The heroine was annoying from the very beginning, lying for no reason, and putting the blame on everyone but herself. Too high maintenance, as she kept saying for herself.
The love interest was too good for this world, giving me Luke Danes vibes from Gilmore Girls, only younger. It was love at first sight, not gonna lie.
And just when things were finally getting somewhere between the two of them, the author just had to go and do that completely unnecessary thing where the fmc's friend is in love with the mmc. I don't like that trope, I hate it almost as much as I hate love triangles, and that was the breaking point for me.

The writing was really good, and I loved the fact that the book is set in Ireland. But unfortunately, the love story didn't work out for me.

3.5-4 stars.

Abby, after losing everything - fiance, home, job, returns to her hometown in rural Ireland. She gets to know her old friends again (and of course, the boy next door). Very predictable story, but that's fine. Good story, good rom-com. Not overly memorable - you wouldn't be disappointed reading it, but it probably won't blow your mind - light-hearted, quick, easy read!

Abby leaves New York having lost her job and her fiance to go back to her home country of Ireland. She intends for this to just be a visit until she gets a new job and figures out her life. Abby is on her way to her sister's house (who she doesn't get along with) when she gets a ride from a stranger. The stranger turns out to be her childhood neighbor, Luke. Abby and Luke rekindle their childhood friendship, Abby starts to repair her relationship with her sister and learns to appreciate her small hometown. Will Abby return to New York or will she stay in Ireland?