This is a lovely contemporary novel sprinkled with romcom vibes, set in rural Ireland. I really enjoyed it, especially the family bits between Abby and her sister Louise. I think some side characters had a lot of potential but only popped in too little to have any impact on my reading experience. Still, it's a good story. Perhaps more a women's fiction book than a proper romance, which I personally liked.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for this wonderful ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved all the characters in this book. I related to Abby and Beths friendship, understood her sisterhood with Louise and wanted to party with Jess.

To all those late bloomers out there, you will find your inner Luke! Sweet and a little scruffy, he is perfect!

I cannot wait to purchase a physical copy to add to my romance shelf.

This was such a cute and light book.

Loved the main character, Abby. Abby loses her job and fiancé while living in New York City and decides to go back to her hometown while she figures things out. A rural place in Ireland which I thought sounded so charming. She meets a new friend, finds love and strengthens her relationship with her sister.

Highly recommend this book.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When MacFarlane, the 9th biggest investment bank in the world, goes bankrupt, Abby and several other MacFarlane employees are left to fend for themselves. With no job and no place to live in NY (since she had been staying at a MacFarlane-provided housing unit), Abby must decide whether she’ll return home (aka Ireland) or if she’ll ask her ex-fiancé for help (jk! she definitely didn’t even consider that option since HE broke up with HER a few weeks before MacFarlane went bankrupt).

Upon arriving at the bus station that will take her to Clonard, her hometown, Abby is informed that the bus that she assumed would be there to pick her up, no longer runs every day and that she’s stranded. Luckily for her, Luke is heading towards Clonard and offers to give her a ride home. Desperate and not willing to risk being stranded, Abby agrees. What she doesn’t realize is that Luke is her childhood best friend…

I adored this story. There’s something wholesome about Abby returning home and fully coming home to herself. The plot was well-written, the character development was subtle but effective, and the story telling successfully drew me in from the very first page. 10/10 would recommend to folks looking for a wholesome love story.

What a wonderful, lovely, fun book! If I could read ten more like it I would be perfectly content.
Abby seemed to have it all - living in New York , a high-flying job, an equally high-flying fiancee - but when everything comes crashing down around her, she doesn't know what to do besides come back home to the West of Ireland, to a sister who she has barely had a proper conversation with in years. On arriving back, she meets a handsome stranger who offers her a drive back to her small village, and so begins the start of the 'rebound' of the title...

The chemistry between Abby and her handsome saviour is evident from the start, and you go on the inevitable (but thoroughly enjoyable) rollercoaster of 'will-they. won't they?' for much of the novel. In the meantime we also see her strained relationship with older sister Louise, plus funny little episodes where her parents (now ensconced happily in their retirement in Portugal) check in. Village neighbours, old school-mates and new friends all crop up as well, adding a bit of variety to the mix of this story.

Thankfully, even with all these interludes. it never loses sight of what it is - a romantic, funny and lovable story of a woman who thought she had it all, but ends up needing a total change of scenery to see what (and who) she really needs, and despite this sounding like a stereotypical romcom storyline, it isn't predictable by any means. An idea Valentine's read. I'm off now to read Walsh's previous book!

Thanks to Netgally and the publishers for an advance copy of this title in return for an honest review.

A great story about growth during hard times! I laughed and my heartfelt warm at moments. Walsh took me on a emotional rollercoaster, from sad all the way to physically laughing. This was a feel-good novel that I cannot wait to share with my friends when it releases. All around, good!

When Abby's life seemingly starts to fall apart she heads back to her hometown. She suspects the hot man she bumps into will be the perfect rebound, but it isn't until later that she realizes who he truly is... She is worried that in order to explore him (hehe) she will have to tell the truth about how much her life just fell apart, something she isn't so sure she is willing to do.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early access to this book, I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I started reading this last night and couldn’t put it down until about 3am! I was quite literally obsessed with it and finished it in a day. It’s an easy, light and fluffy, contemporary novel about how to deal with change and moving at your own pace when it seems that everyone else has life figured out.

I really enjoyed reading about something that’s quite relatable, Abby is struggling with the loss of her old life and having to pack up and move back to Ireland to live with her sister while she figures out her next move regarding her career and love life. I really felt for her - going from New York to a small, quaint town and everything being so so different.

Let’s talk about the characters! I didn’t really vibe with Louise, she seemed a little bit too cold for a sibling without anything ever happening for them both to have this relationship. I really admired how devoted she was to her work, however. I loved Tomasz, I thought his one liners were great and needed for the family tension.
Beth was wonderful and she felt quite normal compared to Jess which I found a little bit annoying, I wish we got to read more about their relationship however.

Luke felt… quite one sided to be completely honest. He was cute 80% of the time but I also found him to be quite boring? I felt like there was nothing to him and we only get small glimpses now and then into his life, which I guess is fine as that’s how Abby gets to know him too, so I appreciate that there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of information about him, but I wish there was a teeny tiny bit more than what we got.

Abby reminded me a lot about all the women I work with in a “man’s world” because let’s be honest we all have to constantly prove ourselves so much that we become such workaholics. I kind of wish she just gave it all up and worked with Beth in her café but I really admire her for not giving up at all on her ambitions.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between her and Luke, he was so supportive and caring, his family was really adorable. It was refreshing to read about both character struggling to make it somewhere and being vocal about it rather than feeling ashamed that they’re not moving at the same pace as their friends or siblings.

I thought this was such a light and cute read, I’m looking forward to reading Catherine Walsh’s other book, One Night Only. I had so much fun with this one, I really recommend it!

Love, love, love!!! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Rebound by Catherine Walsh is a perfect feel-good romantic comedy novel. Even more so because it was set to publish on 14 February 2022.

For someone who laugh a lot like me, I can smell a sense of humour from a mile away. I really know how to appreciate a real good joke. You would think I had no more laugh left in me. But this book proved me wrong. There’s no such thing as too much laughing! I know that now.

In her early thirties, Abigail Reynolds found herself single, jobless and homeless after her life took a sudden turn. Once a high-flying New Yorker, she is now back home in Ireland. That first arrival day, a handsome stranger with mesmerising emerald green eyes offered to drive her when she was desperately looking for a transport to her estranged sister’s place. She considered Clonard no more than her birthplace mostly because she had spent her life living away from it.

After all these years, meeting Abby with her suitcase at the depot, of all places, is the last thing on Luke Bailey’s mind. The two were practically best friends for most of their early childhood. Given, they have lived next door to each other and went to the same school. But when Abby didn’t seem to recognise who he is, he decided to play along.

Told in a single POV, we still get to see the dynamic of different relationship being tackled in this book. I like the way the author managed to match the storyline and character development in overall. Well-paced story and realistic characters are what did it for me. Plus, the dialogues are so refreshing and fun to read too. I couldn’t help but admire how confident and professional Abby is. And Luke.. Luke is a gentleman through and through.

That one-time mention of Malaysia was unexpected. And also, that interview tips, I’m sure someone out there would put good use to it.

All the scenes are weIl-crafted and some are hilarious, I laughed more than I could count. Since it’s a holiday season and because I’m feeling festive and generous, and you know, I’m not crazy enough to laugh alone so I had to share this;

Abby was overly excited to get to see Luke that day.
‘I’m waiting by the upstairs window when I see him leave the house and I rush so fast down the stairs I almost trip.’

“If you fall and die, I’m not naming my child after you,” Louise yells.

And then…

‘There’s a tearing sound as I lose my grip on his shirt, but I ignore it. I hear a happy shriek and a splash somewhere in the distance, but I ignore that too. I ignore everything but him, everything but how he makes me feel. And oh, how I feel.’

“In fact…” He pulls the fabric of his T-shirt around, showing me a small tear. “You literally tried to rip my clothes off.”

“That was the log,” I lie. “The bark can be very sharp. You should be more careful.”

This has been an honest review in exchange for the e-ARC I received from NetGalley, Bookouture and the author. Thank you!
#TheRebound #NetGalley

The Rebound by Catherine Walsh
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★
Genre: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Format: 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤
Length: 𝟑𝟑𝟒 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬
Spice: 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬
Release Date: 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟒𝐭𝐡, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

"𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦."

The Rebound follows Abby as her three year engagement falls apart. During this time she also loses her job and apartment, which pushes her to finally go back to her home in Ireland.

Here’s the thing, I loved this book. I am a sucker for returning to your small town and falling in love with a boy from your past. But then you throw in the fun side characters and it just makes everything even better. This book really does focus on getting to know this rural town and the people who live there. Andrew O’Donoghue reminded me so much of Taylor from Gilmore Girls, he was such a fun character! This book isn’t just about romance, it’s also about Abby reconnecting with her old roots and with her family, especially her sister. It was really moving to read about Abby and Louise reconnecting after so much time.

As for the romance, I’m not going to lie for a book called The Rebound, I didn’t expect this to be a slow burn romance. I thought for sure that Abby and Luke would be banging pretty early on. But the pacing of the romance worked out just fine. I personally would have appreciated more spicy scenes but that’s just my preference. Luke is a great love interest, I loved that he called Abby out when she was behaving differently or pushing boundaries. He did not want to play games and it was great to have a love interest that wasn’t afraid of actually communicating.

I feel like this book should be called ‘The Comeback’ or something about growth because I feel like the word rebound can have a negative connotation? When Abby’s life is turned upside down, I didn’t find her journey to be so much about rebounding but more about growing.

I felt like Abby’s character arc was great - while you could view her leaving her hometown and finding a great job and boyfriend in a big city as success, when all of that is taken from her in one foul swoop, she begins to evaluate her life and what is important. Was she actually successful? In love?

This book had me smiling, with a few laugh out loud moments. I enjoyed that while this is a romantic comedy, there were other elements as well, such as Abby’s relationship with her sister. I did feel a little frustrated by the miscommunication and wasn’t totally buying the reasoning behind it, yet I felt that was part of what Abby needed to learn. She “talked” a lot with her ex, but they were not communicating.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review! Out Feb 14, 2022!

Maith thú, Mrs. Walsh. You did it again!

After One Night Only this book is just what I needed right now. The Rebound is not an ordinary lovestory/romance, it is so much more.
In The Rebound we are given the opportunity to accompany Abby on her way to find herself again after a series of unfortunate events. As she tries to evaluate her path of life from now on, she finds herself making some new friends. And that’s where my heart became all warm and fluffy.

The characters are so well written and displayed, it felt like I’ve known them for years. Abby’s relationship with her sister hits close to home and I truly felt inspired by them (cheesy, but bear with me..). I love people in books, who are driven and ambitious, regarding work or their personal life. I like that our MC’s don’t see the world through rose-coloured glasses and realize, that you have to work for relationships to work the way you want them to. Them taking small steps towards each other and really building their trust and their relationship makes it so much more authentic and relatable.

The way Catherine Walsh describes Ireland feels like she introduces another (long-lost) friend of Abby. Like Ireland used to be a close companion, but they lost touch over time. It made me miss Ireland so much more, but in a bittersweet kind of way.

One thing MUST be said in this review: Thank you for not including miscommunication and outrageous drama. It’s refreshing, that the characters are able to communicate like adults and willing to speak their minds.

If you haven’t read The Rebound yet, please do. I strongly recommend.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: February 14, 2022

This is a delightful little read with witty banter between our mains, but I found it difficult to maintain my focus in the latter half of the book. The characters are lovely and I really enjoyed the moments with their family members—I just never really developed a strong connection with the characters to be invested in the outcome. If you want a light read with a HEA, this is a good pick!

It’s such a small detail, but I just cannot reconcile Louise being the person she is and only having a coffee machine that uses coffee pods—she would 100% have ethically sourced beans and use the grinds for compost!

Let me start off by saying that there was not a SINGLE character that I disliked. Not a single one.

I think this might be a new personal best? Walsh has truly outdone herself by allowing the characters to be complex and nuanced and yet still likeable as well as relatable. She’s achieved the holy trinity of character creation and I adore her for it.
I will say that the sisterly relationship between Abby and her sister was something that truly anchored the story, as well as her friendships. They felt true! And Walsh did not compromise on chemistry and romance to maintain the reality of Abby’s other platonic relationships which was so refreshing and an absolute joy to read.

Anyone who knows me knows that I would not touch love triangles even if you paid me (scratch that, if you paid me I would absolutely devour a love triangle - a girl has to eat.) but I was exceptionally grateful to see that while there was grief for the lost future Abby had cultivated herself, Walsh did not vilify her previous relationship. Yes, mistakes were made and anger was felt, but I did not feel uncomfortable reading about the breakdown of the relationship, or while Abby built a new future for herself. How does Walsh manage it? To walk the line between love triangle and a healthy relationship? Incredible, and I will be taking notes.
Luke Bailey was incredible, handsome and flirty and a wee bit of a grump (honestly, same though), and while the romance compelled me to read it in one sitting, that was not the single reason I was reading.
We’ve all had those moments, don’t lie, where the plot is truly secondary and all you want is to sink your teeth into the romance and chemistry of the lead characters. But not this time. The Rebound was the perfect balance of all the right ingredients that when I sat down to read, I didn’t go “oof this needs a little more salt”.
This story was perfect, life doesn’t go the way you plan for so many people, and sometimes you start over feeling like you’ve fallen to the bottom of the ladder, and this book reminded me that it is okay. You pick yourself back up and you start again, and you can do it.
That’s the message I want to come away with.

Thank you Catherine Walsh, this is the love story I will be reading again on Valentine’s day!

This was a cute read. It was more than a standard rom com. I enjoyed the secondary characters. Each played a great part in the story. Abby having to reevaluate her life and the personal growth was great. Loved this story over all.

I received this ARC through #netgalley and I am voluntarily reviewing this book

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was so cute. Abby was relatable but so were the side characters also. She admits she is not perfect. She is trying to hide her failures, however. Abby and the relationship she has with her sister Louise I found out after the fact was not even originally in the story. Thank god it was. This played a huge part in the story. Not only is this story about Abby and Luke but it is also about Abby and Louise. Plus Beth is amazing, even her high society friend Jess from New York was so much fun. I really enjoyed this read and can't wait to read more by this author.

First and foremost, thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for allowing me to read an ARC of this book by @catwalshwriter .

Now, on to the review. I genuinely enjoyed this book so much, it was funny and real and the romance was there for sure.

However, this book was so much more than just a rom-com. It spoke about sisterhood and friendship and how important it is to be there for the ones you love, even (or specially?) when they drive you nuts. For me, the dynamics outside the romance were one of my favorite things about the book.

As for the romance itself, well this book brought it. It was cute and swoony and above all, healthy. Sure, I got a little exasperated at Abby here and there, but once she got her stuff together, she really got it together. Who would want to miss out on a Mr. Luke Bailey? The answer to that is: no one.

So, if you’re looking for a cute read with a side of family relations and friendship shenanigans, this is the book for you.

You can get your hands on this book February 14, 2022 and it would definitely make for a cute Valentine’s Day date.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨ The Rebound by Catherine Walsh

~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 ~

Do you ever read a rom-com a get the “butterflies-in-the-stomach” kind of feeling when the first “I love you” is said?! I’m an absolute romantic and my stomach was full of butterflies during the last few chapters of this book 🦋

The Rebound was such a fun read for me and actually my first ARC ever! I went in a bit blind, expecting solely a romance in Ireland and finished the last page, in love with the characters (and now, this author). I related so much to the narrator’s Irish heritage and unfortunately, even more so to her workaholism and how much she defined success by her career. While our main character was forced to replenish and refresh in a town where most would dream of reprieve, she had a drive for success that I found uncanny. As someone who’s so career-motivated, relationship-driven and emotionally-tied, the idea of losing my job, company, home and significant other would absolutely rock me, yet our girl has a drive that kept her, yes pessimistic and somewhat paralyzed, but also very much progressing forward. While this romance didn’t blow my mind with depth, it was the right book at the right time filling me with the warm, fuzzy and conscious-enough vibes that I crave around the chilly Christmastime ❄️🌲

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🍀 Pub Date: February 14, 2022 🍀

P.S. Grab a hot drink ☕️ & this book when it’s published, because it will give you all of the warm and fuzzy feelings🧣

I really like the cover for the book. What do you do when you’ve lost everything? Why, fly back to Ireland, surround yourself with familiarity and begin anew. Abby is at her lowest ebb, but Luke, an old childhood friend has her perking up. But, as usual, there are complications. Is Luke just a rebound for Abby or is there something there worth fighting for? Read The Rebound and discover for yourself what Abby will do.

This was a cute and easy read! It, definitely, had it’s comedic moments and I can see it being adapted into a cute Irish rom-com. I do wish that I could have felt more sparks between Abby and Luke. I felt like their romance was just okay. I did love Abby’s growth within herself throughout the story and her relationship with her sister, as well. I do recommend this book if you are looking for just a quick feel good read!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC! Truly appreciated 🤗