I’m so happy to say that I read this book in only one day! It freed me from a really bad reading slump and for that I’m so thankful! The writing and pacing were great, the romance was so sweet and Luke was so hot! I loved the first few chapters soooo much!

Unfortunately, the main character could’ve been better. Abby annoyed me in many scenes and I couldn’t relate to her. She made some bad decisions (lied a lot and for no good reason) but I understand that it was for the good of the plot (because if she hadn’t the book could have ended in less than one hundred pagens), but the thing that bothered me the most was the miscommunication trope. Listen, I could’ve ignore one miscommunication in a book, and I did!, but this one had several. The plot was driven by it.

But lastly, the thing I loved the most about this book was Abby’s relationship with her sister. Their development was so beautiful to read! It was my favorite part for sure.

Thank you to Catherine Walsh, Bookouture and Netgalley for sending me an uncorrected ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Returning to her childhood home after leaving her fiance, Abby keeps the news of her breakup from everyone - except Luke, a local Irishman she has come to feel attracted to. Deciding he may help her mind and body get over her ex, Abby jumps onto a rebound with this sexy but kind man. Luke wants her for keeps yet she has not told anyone she is free of her fiance, While I like he storyline, I did feel Abby strung him along a but much and was wishy washy too much.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This would be a great summer, pool time/beach read! Abby Reynolds life is flipped upside down and she finds herself on a plane home to Ireland, her hometown, a place she has not been in years. She goes to stay with her sister and brother in law, but keeps her personal life secret. She doesn't share she is now single, homeless and looking for a new job with no return flight in sight. Abby is faced with people from her past as well as some new faces who are locals. We follow Abby as she navigates the next steps of her life, applying for jobs, feelings for her childhood friend, a difficult relationship with her sister, people from her past who keep popping up for better or for worse. A fun little rom com read!

A sweet story about returning home to find yourself after losing everything. Abby has lost her job, fiance, and apartment in NYC and decides to return home to her Ireland and her not-so-close sister, Louise. Of course, she discovers herself (and love) along the way!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved this book. This book gives me Gilmore Girl vibes, so highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the show.

The reader follows Abby Reynolds who has lost everything: her fiancé, her home, her job and her fancy life in New York. The only option left? Going back to Clonard, her Irish hometown, and stay with her sister and her husband. Something she dreaded doing for a long time for several reasons. In Abby’s case, the saying “when you've hit rock-bottom there's no other way to go but up” holds true. When Abby gets back to Ireland she finds her childhood best friend, Luke, has gotten HOT!

Abby and Luke’s relationship is sweet and funny, with flirty moments. This is definitely a slow burn romance. One of the things that confused me about this book is the title. As it suggests Abby goes through a “rebound” but Abby comes across as strong, and ok. She is not heartbroken over her fiancé, which honestly surprised me. It was surprising, that in no ways means I was let down. I highly recommend this book!

I read this book as part of a promotional book tour and am grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced edition of this book.

Where do I even start?! I read this book in one sitting without so much as looking up from my kindle. I got completely sucked in by the character that Catherine Walsh has created.

This is a fun, cute romcom novel with relatable and super likeable characters. I especially enjoyed the relationship development between the sisters and of course between Abby and Luke.

An all round 5 stars with great plot twists and a super cute happy ending!

An absolute delight!

The Rebound is a heart-warming tale of drive and ambition and the sacrifices we make to reach those goals, sometimes without even realizing it. On top of that, it is a hilariously adorable romance with a cast of characters that will have you falling in love with them in no time.

Those of us who have left home in search of "Bigger and Better" or a clean slate will find much to relate to when Abby escapes to her hometown after a humiliating series of events that leaves the life she spent so long building in shambles. We get to follow as she navigates her feelings of failure and reconnects with people from the life she left behind.

In addition to exploring themes that many of us are familiar with, The Rebound is a hilarious read. Not only is the banter between Abby and her Tall Stranger excellent, but I found myself laughing out loud or grinning at the pages at many-a-turn of events. The romance is swoon-worthy and even the occasional, often hated miscommunication between the couple gets quickly resolved, offering just the right amount of suspense/frustration and deep satisfaction to the reader.

If anything, I would've liked to read more at the end of the book and not have the story end where it did. But as that is the only critique I can come up with, I can constate that The Rebound will make you re-examine your priorities and remind you to live life instead of just collecting achievements, all the while leaving you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

About the book:
Abby Reynolds has lost her job, her apartment, and her fiancé in a matter of three weeks. With nowhere she'd *like* to stay in New York, she heads back home to Ireland to lick her wounds in private, and figure out what she wants to do next with her life. She doesn't anticipate that the gangly boy she grew up next door to has grown into the hottest man in her very, very small hometown, or that what might have started as a passing rebound of attraction could be the real deal. But will she be able to figure out what she really wants next, and if it includes him?

TL;DR: small
- 3.5 stars
- Content warnings: mention of car accident, pregnancy/fertility issues
- A cute homecoming romance between a woman and the town, family, friends, and diamond in the rough love she left behind. Quick and sweet.

Loved:
- Luke was just such a cutie pie. He clearly had such a thing for Abby from the beginning, if not since they were children. And he was just so sweet! Ugh.
- There were a lot of misunderstandings but frankly I think that at every point in the book, I knew Abby would find a way to figure it out. Also, that even if people judged her, she was just living her truth and hadn't done anything wrong. In a lot of romances I read I wouldn't always agree with the choices the leads make. Also, typically, so many misunderstandings would really drive me up the wall.
- I loved that Abby got a chance to reconnect with more than just Luke, and that she had moments to mend her relationship with her sister and her home. It made the book a bit more of a chick-lit read than a romance, in my opinion, but it was enjoyable to read.

Less into:
- I really didn't like Abby's ex.
- Personally didn't feel like Abby ever really settled on what she truly wanted to do with her life - and maybe it was what she ended up doing - but the justification felt a bit weak. Like "this is what I'm good at, so I'm going to keep going," which was the one way it differed from traditional chick-lit, because it lacked that real sense of personal self-discovery.
- The book was overall a VERY quick read. The ending wrapped very quickly too. Not against a quick one every now and again, but I liked these characters and would have liked to spend more time with them.
- A bit of nitpick - the American characters used too much Irish word choice for things that would have been very American ;~)

Overall a cute read. I love anything set in the UK / Ireland, and I love a hometown story. Great pickup for an afternoon.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I love Irish rom-coms and anything else that is Irish and this one has cute, laugh out loud moments that I loved reading.

The meet-cute between Luke and Abby is just very well done and totally swoon worthy and I can't help but root for those two to get together. Their relationship gets close and then far again so many times that I could almost feel their sexual frustration as I let out loud curses everytime they pulled away.

Luke and Abby are both nice people who'd really worked hard to find their place in the world and then life turns an unexpected road, leading them back to their Irish village and it's really hard to start from scratch once again. Especially now that there are so much things at stake.

The Rebound is more of an uplifting women's fiction than a rom-com, but it's really well written for the reader to fall in love with all the characters.

Thanks Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book. All options mine.

The good ol’ “my fiancé broke up with me so now i’ll fall in love with my rebound” story! I wanted to love it, but this one just didn’t really connect with me or make me feel anything towards the characters or plot, it was pretty moderate and not as steamy as I was hoping and more sweet than anything. It would be perfect for fans of romance that are not very spicy.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
3 ⭐⭐⭐

I was super excited to read The Rebound because childhood best friends to strangers to lovers is seriously my jam. After finishing it though, I feel like I was lured in by false advertising. The title might be The Rebound, but there is in fact very little rebounding going on. The story is less about Abby's love life than it is about her personal growth after a loss: recovering from losing her job in New York, reconnecting with her sister, and falling back in love with her childhood home in Ireland. And though that's not what I picked up this book expecting, I enjoyed it, and I especially liked the various side characters and the portrayal of Abby and her sister's rocky yet loving relationship.

What I didn't like was this: yes, technically, Abby and Luke were best friends when they were little, but this ended up being something the reader is mostly just told has happened. There's very little elaboration on their past memories, why they connected as children, why they grew apart etc., and I think all of that would have made the development of their relationship as adults much more meaningful and satisfying. The chemistry ebbed and flowed; I felt like it was there in the beginning and at the end, but for a long stretch in the middle? Not quite as much. If I'm being honest, the romance aspect as a whole was slightly underwhelming and I didn't feel that the connection was consistently there. However, I did appreciate Luke for being a genuinely good guy, and while I just called it unsatisfying, someone else with different tastes might also (accurately) argue that it's realistic. Despite my complaints, this book definitely has its merits in character development and portrayal of relationships, and might work better for other readers than it did for me.

I love a romance novel where the woman is unapologetic about being ambitious and successful, strong female relationships where the sole focus of the novel is not just the two main leads, and having dimension and depth to the story. The Rebound by Catherine Walsh has all three. While I loved reading about Abby and Luke's love story, I also thoroughly enjoyed Abby's relationship with her family, including a sister she doesn't get along with, her relationship with friends on two different spectrums, both Jess and Bess, and her relationship with herself. Abby doesn't need a man to complete her, she realized that with the breakup of her engagement, but she likes having Luke in her life. Abby went from lying about her life to make it seem perfect, to realizing that life isn't perfect and people are there to support you. No one should be tearing her down. She repaired her relationship wiht her sister, and in turn herself. She came to that realization with Tyler, she was in a loveless relationship and realized after the fact that Tyler just wanted to fix her. He also didn't seem to know her at all. I read this in one sitting I enjoyed it so much, I also was really concerned at the end when I thought Abby was going to give it all up for Luke, but was elated that Abby did not have to give up her career for a man. I was cheering for Abby the whole book, and that was the perfect ending.

If this book isn't made into a film, I will riot!! This gave me butterflies and made me laugh so many times, honestly I loved this!

The rebound starts with Abby losing her home, job and fiance - so what else can she do but go back home to Ireland?

She soon meets Luke, the handsome stranger who also lives in her hometown, who can drop her off when she's stranded. But of course, this is a romcom - and Luke is actually her childhood friend!

I will say there is a few miscommunications in this, however they are resolved relatively quickly. This book isn't just a romance, it also focuses heavily on family and friendship.

Thomaz the brother in law was my FAVE! He was so funny, I was laughing out loud reading.

I know we all love our spicy romcoms, so I will say this is more PG13 - but its such a cute read, I would highly recommend!

I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Watching the characters grow and develop in a productive way with humor woven throughout was so entertaining. I love the complexity of the different situations and also loved the resolutions. I feel like sometimes romance books make the main character insecure and honestly kind of annoying - I did not get that from this book. This book was fun and embodied a fun romance story throughout. I can’t wait to see what Catherine Walsh writes next - I’ll be first in line to purchase her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4384315872

The Rebound was lots of fun with memorable characters. What happens when you lose your job, fiancé, and apartment in New York City? You go home. In this case to Ireland where you completely miss the fact that your ride home from the train station was your close friend from school who has grown-up amazingly hot.

Abby is heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless and absolutely 100% single.

She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.

It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door. Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.

And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.

Abby is certain getting under Luke will get her over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to…

What a fun rom-com. The banter in this book is top notched. Fun and sassy and sarcastic.... :) Love the energy of this book. Luke is a great hero too. Love the happy ending especially and how everything resolves so wonderfully.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

thank you netgalley for an arc of this book!
I was so excited to jump into this story. a super cute cover, a man from ireland mmmmm yes accent, and getting over an ex by getting with tall dark headed man...i was all in. While i enjoyed this book it wasn't anything special to me. I think i went into it with expectations for more of a heavy romance so when the plot spent a lot of time on the mc personal growth & situations with her job i wasn't as excited. That being said its completely a personal preference and not a jab at the author or the quality of this story. I did really enjoy the romance that we got between the two characters. It was loads of fun and their energy was very entertaining & had me smiling from ear to ear. I do wish we got more depth and time with luke because i saw so much potential for him but didn't have enough to be able to form a connection to him. Ive never heard of this author before but after reading this and enjoying her writing & characters i'm interested in checking out her other book! :)

5 *stars*

This is one real book!

Abby worried about shaved or not shaved legs, that she is on her period and she is looking for tampons. I really appreciate books who are close to the real world and not only fictional. That makes this book more appealing to me. I really enjoyed the sisters relationship - they were not getting along in life, but they approached each other and made things work after all. The love interest, Luke, at the beginning it's a little splash with the two of them, but after some time he is back and it gets interesting.
The plot is okay, but it's starting to get a bit overwhelming at 50%. Just a lot of things are happening. I think that the timing should be more shorter. It's hard to explain, but I felt that the time frame is just stretched out to only reach the certain season just for the characters to interact more.
The ending was really good. It tied up really nicely!

Thank you!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this book!

Catherine Walsh has done it again, folks! Let me just start by saying that I love and miss these characters so much. They are filled with sass, raw emotion, and the realistic dialogue was laugh-out-loud funny. I especially love the exchanges between Abby and her sister Louise, and it often reminded me of Fleabag season 2, which is HIGH PRAISE. The banter was easy and flawless. I also loved the way Ireland played a large role, and seemed to be a character in itself. The way the small town was described was relatable, and it made such a poignant setting for a story about returning home. Don't even get me started on Luke. *swoon* The chemistry was there from the get-go, and I could not get enough! Thank you for the advanced copy, I cannot wait to read this one again!!!

4.5 stars!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

When Abby Reynolds separates from her fiancé, she finds herself back in her childhood home in Ireland. Given her circumstances, she thinks a rebound is the perfect solution. But what happens when her rebound guy turns out to be her estranged childhood best friend, Luke?

I absolutely loved the storyline. Absolutely adored all of the characters — Abby, Tomasz, Jess, Beth, Louise, Rory, Luke… LUKE… 💗 all of them were so funny and witty and brilliant. This story had me laughing, sighing, cringing, and crying. Everything I wanted in a rom com and more.

This was my first book from Catherine Walsh, but it definitely won’t be my last. Will definitely be purchasing this book when it comes out February 14, 2022!