✨Book Review✨
The Rebound by Catherine Walsh
⭐️⭐️⭐️
.
This book was just eh for me. There were s few points where I thought about dnfing but I was already more than halfway finished, so I kept reading. I guess it was a sweet ending, but I would have been ok not getting there.
.
If you like super light and pretty PG romances you will likely enjoy this one! I guess I just wanted a little more this time.

This was a DNF for me. This one is supposed to be a rom-com, but as far as I made it, I found nothing romantic or comedic. Abby was annoying and immature to be such an accomplished person (at least that's what the story tells us). She lies from the start to her sister, and I feel like she was rude for no reason to her. She didn't want to talk to her sister, but didn't mind using her for a free place to stay since she had nothing left after the business she worked for filed for bankruptcy. She lies to Luke about still being engaged, but doesn't hesitate to throw herself at him when she's drunk. I just couldn't keep going. I wasn't going to be able to root for them to be a couple or for Abby to turn her life around.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

This was a great book about love, loss, and finding yourself again. I really enjoyed this and will be reading more of Walsh in the future.

This book was enjoyable yet predictable. I had fun reading it, but it won’t be one of those ones that stick with me for a long time.

"she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single" was very much me during the pandemic so i really related to abby in that sense, which is why i think i liked this book as much as i did (that and i'm a sucker for men with emerald eyes). (and the fact that most of her problems would be solved if she just communicated).

the characters were really likeable and it was a very cute, light read. this was my first catherine walsh book but i'll be reading more from this author for sure!

Another fun read by Catherine Walsh although I didn’t enjoy it as much as One Night Only 😊 J do love an Irish author though and I will continue to pick up Walsh’s work as it’s released!!

Oh my gosh THIS WAS SO CUTE!!!

I love Catherine Walsh, and I’ve been a fan ever since I read one night only so I knew I just HAD to read this one!

This book is set in Ireland as the MC is forced to move back home to live with her sister after she loses her job, her home, and her fiancé. BIG YIKES.

What’s even better is the chance she has to revisit with old friends, but more specifically with her next door neighbor turned HOTTIE.

Abby is such a quirky character but feels so real and I love her for it. You get to see her grow and do what it takes to turn everything around, and that’s so important! Luke is toooooo cute and their banter is so fun!

Definitely a quick, fun romance thatll make you feel all warm and fuzzy!

Quick and easy read. Will they/won’t they romance. Slightly predictable. I enjoyed the setting of Ireland.

I have loved everything about this book from the cover, the characters and the storyline. It was the perfect book to read along to during "love season" in Feb and I cannot wait to read more by the author.

A super cute novel about an Irish girl returning home after her dream life in New York comes crashing down. This book had all the necessary components to make it an adorable read- likeable main character, small town Ireland setting, childhood friend who’s turned into a serious hottie, witty banter and family drama. Definitely recommend!.

Checking all the boxes with family drama, blossoming friendships, small-town shenanigans, and love drizzled with a little witty banter to spice it up. I didn’t love this book quite as much as One Night Only, but it was still really good. The only thing I didn’t really like about this book is all of the miscommunication.

I liked this book OK. But it’s one of those after you finish reading it your kind of like, huh. And then two weeks later you don’t remember reading it or what it was about. The storyline was good but nothing attention grabbing. I love when I book grab see you by the gut and drags you along for the story, leaving you thinking about it days… weeks, and months later. Perfect for something to read on vacation.

a really fun, cute book about starting your life over and reconnecting with friends and family. I liked that it was a sweet story but dealt with real issues, making it more relatable.
I did want to know how things worked in terms of the romance but it wasnt the focus for me actually. I really loved the relationships between the sisters!

A winning recipe mixing mixing romance, comedy and quaint local color. Great beach read.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, thank you to Bookoture and NetGalley for providing me with early access to this title in exchange for my honest review.

Abby is in a spiral - a downward spiral. Her high profile career has been pulled out from under her, her fiancé called off the wedding, and she's back in her Irish small town with no prospects on any fronts. Chance encounters with former friends and neighbors, some new faces, and a tentative attempt to rebuild her relationship with her sister, Louise, put Abby on a new path - a path to where she's not sure but a path none-the-less.

This was a fun, light, quick, and most of all sweet read. I enjoyed getting dumped into Abby's life for 300 some-odd pages and was a little sad to see her go.

mhmmmmm this book was delicious i love childhood best friends to lovers i loved this book he was so hot mhm

I have fast become a massive fan of Catherine Walsh's writing. I can't wait to read her next book and I already cannot wait to reread The Rebound.

I love the setting in rural Ireland. And the typical Irishness 9begorrah) isn't pushed into the story, it's normal Irishness (I really appreciate that). And the unreliable bus service is a real and painful thing!

I'm not normally a fan of the miscommunication trope but it was handled brilliantly here between Abby and Luke. I couldn't put this book down, needing to learn more about their respective histories and what led them both to return to Clonard.

This is a warm, hilarious story that you could definitely see being made into a Netflix movie.

What a charming, lovely romance. The characters feel incredibly real and the writing makes it an irresistible read. You will not be able to put this one down!

I've finished this book last February but I haven't been able to construct any book reviews lately because life happens (thus, affecting my mental health and my productivity. My apologies for that).

The Rebound was quite difficult for me to connect with at the beginning that I almost DNF-ed it at 20%. For me, it was a painful slow paced plot and it did not deliver the rom-com it promises as much as I did expect it. I only fully enjoyed what's going on at around 80%, which took me a lot of patience to reach.

Plot is quite typical in the romance genre but still worth writing; title is not too catchy either because there had been a lot of rebound stories in other books. I think what's captivating here is the fact that Abby took it to her own to catch herself up and start over again somewhere a place where she thought she wasn't coming back anymore. For me, that teaches us something and I appreciated that. I also like the small town vibes for this book.

Here's my mini reading thread at my booktwt account: https://twitter.com/semicolonreads/status/1492318451159171072

Thank you for my ARC, Netgalley and the publisher!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. ARC editions can have differences from final copies and are not meant for quotation.

Review

This was an easy and fun read, and I liked the story even though is filled with predictable tropes.

Let's start with the plot. While the storylines are completely predictable, this is something I always expect when I read rom-com type of books and does not bother me. I connected with Abby and could understand how she felt when her life was in shambles. Not only her life is not turning out how she expected it, but everything is happening so quickly that she doesn't know how to come to terms with so many losses. She can't hide that she lost her job because it was so public and discussed everywhere, so she decides to take control of her life by hiding the broken engagement.

I'm always wary of books that use miscommunication as a way to advance a plot, but in this case, I found it written in a clever way. Abby is struggling with telling people how much of a failure she thinks she is, so she is dealing with it by behaving like her job loss is just a bump on the road. Admitting to a broke engagement means her life is truly off the tracks. She can't deal with the embarrassment and hurt that she is feeling, so she decides to keep it a secret. I found that Luke and Abby's interactions are very interesting because Luke believes that Abby is engaged, so while he is angry at her for the flirting, he also is puzzled by her behavior. I was frustrated with how long it took Abby to clear the air with Luke and tell him about the engagement, but also understood why she would keep it under wraps.

I could feel the chemistry between Abby and Luke, and I was rooting for them to clear up their miscommunication so they could fall in love with each other. I don't think that Luke was a rebound for Abby because it seemed clear that Abby's broken engagement was not something she was mourning. She seemed to be okay with the ending of the engagement, and the only thing that bothered her was having to explain to people it was over.

The other storyline in the book is Abby's relationship, or lack thereof, with her sister. It is clear from the beginning that the last thing Abby wants is to go back to her hometown after working so hard to get away from it. She doesn't enjoy the small-town life, and she feels like a fish out of water even though it is the place she grew up in.  While I understand her, I was also irritated with the way she didn't seem to make an effort to connect with her sister, who felt rejected by Abby's snub for small-town life. I was truly rooting for them to fix their relationship and work out their issues before Abby left the town.


Overall, I liked this book. While the plot of the book was predictable, shockingly I enjoyed it. And I found most of the characters relatable in a way or another. It was an easy read with a fun ending.