Based in Ireland? Yes please.
Sisters? Absolutely.
Tall, dark and handsome? Say less.
“The Rebound” is everything you could want out of a strong female character. Abby is a strong independent woman who’s life has taken a very unexpected wrong turn and what I love so much about her character is her unapologetic confidence in who she is. I love the mending of the relationship between Abby and her sister Louise. Their relationship had me calling my little sister just to chat.
I love the relationship building between Luke and Abby, it felt natural and while there were a couple times I wanted to bang their heads together, it was such a heartwarming tale.

I was really looking forward to reading this considering how much I enjoyed ‘One Night Only’, and I’m fairly gutted that I didn’t feel much for this book.

The idea behind the story holds so much promise - it’s interesting and fun and so easy to read. I liked Luke and Beth, and there were cute moments between Abby and Luke. The writing is good, despite what it may sound like in this review.

I didn’t feel any connection to Abby and I felt like there was zero chemistry between the two mc’s. The whole thing fell kind of flat and lacklustre and I’m fairly disappointed that I wasn’t even bothered if they got together or not in the end.

It’s frustrating because this had the potential to be SO good. Someone said that this was more of a book about Abby’s story rather than a romance and I totally agree. Especially when the romance isn’t overly inspiring.

Overall, a light, easy read but it did miss the mark for me.

(Actual rating 2.5 stars)

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle by Bookouture and #NetGalley for my honest opinion. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Likable characters and a fun read.

Loved it! The perfect feel-good romantic comedy that will make you laugh until you cry and fall completely in love. This is an endearing romance novel with just the right balance of humour, charm and entertaining characters, without the sickly sweet-ness usually found in this genre.

4.5

another catherine walsh i love! we’re back in ireland again … there’s a sense of ease to this one. great pacing. i love a good take on the childhood best friends trope.

#netgalley

I really enjoy this authors books. Her first book was a random find on Amazon kindle deal and loved it, so I couldn’t wait to read this one. Loved the scenic setting and storyline

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I enjoyed this. Abby felt relatable as someone in their late 20s who feels slightly adrift, and I suspect a lot of people will also relate to that, especially post-pandemic.

I went into this expecting more romance than there ended up being, but it was still an enjoyable read!

I also enjoyed the setting; a small town in Ireland makes for a nice change from London or a big city in the US, and I liked the role the town played in the story.

Ultimately this was an enjoyable read, and as I said, I think it will resonate with readers who are in a similar stage of life as Abby.

The Rebound - Catherine Walsh
(Release date - Feb 14th 2022)

4/5 star rating

Thankyou Netgalley for the ARC!

Firstly, I love the cover of this book (Cute cartoon covers for romcoms are my favourite)

This is very classic wholesome romcom, which I LOVED (they’re called classics for a reason) The book centres around Abby who has returned home to Ireland to stay with her estranged sister, following the loss of her job in New York and split from her Fiance. When she returns, she bumps into Luke, an old childhood friend…


Tropes:
Childhood friends
Friends to lovers
Small town romance
Happy Ending

I loved how Abby was a smart and independent character and the choice she made in the end (no spoilers!).

Lukes character is very sweet and down to earth…a classic swoon-worthy Irishman

We also get to see Abby and her sisters relationship develop throughout the book and see her reunite with her old friends…
Catherine has written the side characters in this book SO well and the banter between them is amazing.

My one wish for this book would be that we got to read more about Abby and Luke when they finally get together/before the epilogue

Id definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a fun easy read Romcom!

P.S…I will now be off to read Catherines other book ‘One Night Only’ after enjoying this one so much!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed this book. It was unpredictable, in the way the main character Abby was too.
I found the dialogue engaging, the relationships between all the characters consistent, and I loved the romance.
Can't say much else, except it was an addictive read.
Thoroughly entertaining!

I truly loved this book so much. Catherine Walsh has a way with words. This book was so sweet romantic and funny and I loved both the relationships between the town and the family.

Abby has to move back to Ireland after a lot goes wrong in her life. Without a job or a fiancé Abby tries to hide her disappointment. This leads to miscommunication between her and Luke. A childhood friend that she re-meets and finds new attraction to but will her past hold her back. The romance between Abby and Luke is a slow burn that's worth it and their banter is amazing. I loved the evolution of their relationship and how they keep being drawn to each other.

My favorite part of the book is the town, I loved how realistic and built out all the side characters are. I also loved the development of Abby as a character as she isn't perfect and makes mistakes but she wants to grow and be better and Luke helps her do that.

The only thing I would change is to add a little more steam and I did get a little frustrated with Abby at times it I loved her by the end.


*NetGalley gave me a copy for my honest review

It was a really cute, fun romance. I finished it in the single sitting. I really loved the plot, it was quite relatable. I loved the writing, the pace and the word building. Abby and Luke’s chemistry was off the charts ans keep me hooked on till the very end along with the family dynamic.
Also, I loved how the author has also focused on the character development, because that’s something I very much look forward to in my reads. All in all, it’s a 4 star read for me.

Ahhhhhhh OMG I came into this book completely misunderstanding the synopsis but it doesn’t matter because it was Fantastic and I flew through it!!! Luke and Abby while not together throughout the whole book still made you root for them even when things were being confused and they didn’t even know where they were standing. The sister dynamic was great I loved how you could see the shift and understand both of them and want them to make amends.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book for an honest review.

I adored The Rebound and I’m so excited this author already has another book out so I don’t have to stop reading her magical words!

In this beautiful story, our main character is Abby Reynolds, who was born and raised in Clonard, a tiny village in Ireland. As a teenager, she was driven and ambitious and dreamed about leaving home and seeing the world. Her older sister Louise, on the other hand, was worried about stuff like climate change and the preservation of the local ecosystem, meaning that their interests weren’t exactly aligned.

At eighteen, Abby moved out for college and never looked back. She ended up being hired at the New York branch of MacFarlane, a huge investment bank, where she worked and earned the big bucks for years.

Now, however, MacFarlane has gone under in a spectacular fashion, and its thousands of employees - including Abby - have been unceremoniously laid off all over the world. Abby, who’s about to be thirty, finds herself not only jobless, but penniless (all her money was tied up with the company) and homeless (since her fiancé dumped her three weeks before).

In a fit of desperation, Abby packs her things and goes back to her hometown under the pretense of visiting her sister before starting to look for another job. She doesn’t tell anyone about her living situation (or lack thereof) or her empty ring finger, for fear of looking like a failure after becoming something of a legend in Clonard.

The thing is, now Abby has to keep up the lie in front of Louise, with whom she can only seem to bicker, and her neighbor and childhood best friend, Luke, who grew up to be stupid hot and clearly has a crush on her.

Abby is interested in Luke from the moment they first see each other again – the question is: does she think of him as the real deal or just as a rebound?

I absolutely loved Luke and how deeply good he was to Abby and to everyone around him. I also loved Abby and Louise’s relationship and their journey to finding common ground and compromise.

This book is funny and sweet and so romantic and a definite page-turner. I loved every second!

“The Rebound” is the first book I’ve read by Catherine Walsh. I wanted to read this book for a “light easy fun romance” change from the thrillers I’ve been reading. On that front, this book did deliver. We follow Abby, who has just been laid off from her job from a worldwide financial institution (on par with 1995’s Barrings Bank closure). Not only has she lost her job, but she’s also lost her apartment and fiancé. She “meets cute” a stranger, Luke, who she discovers was her playmate and the literal boy next door during her childhood. From there, we follow Abby as she works out living with her sister (not a great relationship), living in a small village (where everyone seems to know everyone and everyone’s business), trying to resolve her feelings about Luke, and trying to find a job.

It was very difficult for me to warm up to Abby. In the beginning she keeps information away from people - admitting that she lies, especially when it came to telling her family about her broken engagement. I wondered if she was an unreliable narrator - and she’s not, but it took me a while to realize that she was just very insecure and telling the truth wasn’t always her forte. From the Author’s Note, Ms. Walsh mentioned that Abby’s sister, Louise, wasn’t originally in the story. Louise was one of my favourite characters and I enjoyed her relationship with her husband, Tomasz. This book does have some light humor that was enjoyable (I liked an exchange about Abby wondering if another character was writing about her and the wonderful reply) and the overall writing (and story) isn’t bad. I did wish that the character of Luke had been more developed - though all in all he seemed like a good general bloke (maybe a good general hot bloke …). There is some family dynamics discussed (how easily one can slip into family roles after being away for many years!) and, at the heart, family is what helps Abby tackle her issues and make her decisions in life. I could see this being a fun Hallmark feel good movie. For me, this book was about a 3.75 stars, rounded up to four stars.

This book is so goddamn adorable. One of my favorite tropes is childhood friends-to-strangers-to-lovers, and this book excellently delivered on it! I like seeing ambitious heroines, so while Abby's lying impulses made me want to reach into the book and shake her, she was the perfect main character. Oh, and don't even get me started on her and Luke's flirting and banter. Overall, this was a really cute, easy read and I'm so glad I picked it today.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Rebound! This is my first time reading anything from this author and I really enjoyed the writing style. I thought the banter between the characters was hilarious, the sister dynamics were realistic and the setting was so fun to read about.

Based on the cover I thought this story would mainly focus on the MC and her love interest. I almost found there was more time dedicated to the MC and her sister/friends than anything. I would’ve liked a little more development of the relationship and the love interest. I found that they had minimal interactions and every time they did something big happened and I just wanted more little moments and romance.

I really enjoyed the premise of the MC coming back to her hometown after losing her job/apartment/fiancé in New York. I thought it made the character development really interesting as she confronted her past and why she hadn’t returned to Ireland in so long. I felt really immersed into the small town and it’s charm.

I found it strange that her ex-fiancé came back and the chapter of their conversation was so long but when the MC and her love interest resolved their conflict at the end the conversation was so short. The ex-fiancé’s speech about his love for her was more profound than the love interest’s and I definitely thought it should’ve been the other way around.

Overall, I breezed through this book and was engaged the whole time. I thought there were some issues but overall I enjoyed it. A solid 3.5 stars and I would be interested in the authors’ other works!

This was my first book by the author and I loved it! I finished this in two-sittings and it's safe to say that it is one of my favorite reads this year :)

Abby, our protagonist had a great "upper-east side" kinda life in NYC before everything fell apart and she loses her job, fiancé, and her apartment. Now she's forced to return home to Ireland to live with her headstrong sister. She meets Luke, the absurdly handsome man who offers her a car ride home, and later turns out to be her childhood friend!

Abby is an opinionated woman with an ambition, which makes her a very strong and impressive character. I like how she never lost that drive. As the author herself put it, I really enjoyed reading Abby and her sister try to communicate and failing miserably! As much as he tried, Luke could not be the grumpy guy at all! He's the soft, sweet, forgiving man who would drop everything for his loved ones. Beth and Jess and literally all the other characters are precious beans and I adored them!!

This is a fun, relaxing and wholesome holiday romance with the most amazing character development I've seen in a character (Abby). Read this if you enjoy witty banter, small-town romance, loyal friends and newfound friendships, love an Irish accent, humorous, swoon-worthy men and humorous sibling relationship/rivalry.

Thank you so much NetGalley, author and bookouture for the ARC!
#TheRebound #NetGalley

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the digital copy in Exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 2.5

Abby had a great life in New York city and when everything falls apart, she has to return to her hometown, a little village in Ireland. She ends up meeting Luke, who she thought was just a cute stranger, but it turns out he's actually the boy next door, whom she grew up with.

Well, I was expecting to enjoy this one way more than I did because I read One Night Only recently and thought it was very fun and cute, but this one was not as good for me.

It was difficult for me to connect to Abby - even though she was going through some very relatable problems, like losing her job and breaking off her engagement - but I didn't really root for her like I was supposed to. I felt a little indifferent to her whole situation.

Luke is a very cute guy, but I felt like the author could go deeper in his character development and I definitely didn't feel a great chemistry between them which was supposed to be one of the most important things in the book.

The writing is not bad - as I said, I enjoyed her previous book - and I felt there were some nice moments, but not enough to make me really like the book.

This was mediocre at best. It's more Abby's story than a romance and I wasn't Abby's biggest fan. She's back at home in a small town after being laid off from her hot shot job and the story follows the same beats you'd expect it to. The relationship she has with her sister was the most interesting to me but there's not enough of it to be the center of the story. The romance had potential but wasn't developed very well and felt rushed and unnatural. The third act conflict was pretty stupid and I didn't really care about them getting together anyway. Overall, it was a quick read, I might try more from this author because the writing was good but this particular story was not for me

Did I just read this book in one sitting? Yes! Do I have regrets? Absolutely not!

I loved this book! Not only was this such a cute romantic story but it was a story about going back home and finding yourself again! So heart warming and I loved the characters!

Very fun and quick read that has you hooked from the first page! Will definitely be recommending this book to my friends!