Who says you can’t go home? This cute romance was enjoyable. It was well written and the characters were relatable and likable. It was a quick and easy read which I like.

As someone who left their hometown to see the world, I still love stories about returning to your hometown to rediscover yourself. This was a charming, quick-paced book about starting over, family, friendship and taking chances. The characters are likeable and the Gilmore Girls vibes are strong. I also appreciated the focus on Abby's relationship with her sister. I do wish it wasn't a fade to black though (but that is just personal preference).

Really great, enjoyable read! The pacing was great, and I really liked the characters - gave me major Gilmore Girls vibes! I do wish it wasn’t a fade-to-black, but overall, I enjoyed it a lot!

The title doesn't really match this story. I never felt like her relationship and connection with Luke was ever a rebound. Her relationship with her sister was the most important in the book. I enjoyed the writing and thought the dialogue was entertaining. However, we never saw Abby Abby actively doing anything with her time.

This was a an enjoyable read, but where I thought I was getting a fun romcom, it was really women's fiction with a sprinkle of romance in it.

I enjoyed Abby & her journey of self-discovery, as well as seeing how her relationships developed throughout the book.

I love this book - such a fun narrative. I enjoyed the characters and spark between the protagonists

Couldn't put this book down, such a feel good chick lit for anyone to read.

It's something about the book being set in Ireland, it had me hooked and wanting to read more. It didnt feel like a shore to read this book, it was real escapism

A charming romance, down on her luck girl and boy next door. Great chemistry and banter. The story was believable and engaging. Overall a fun time.

Me encanta como las protagonistas de los romcoms are so flirty con cualquiera que se les cruza.
Si tu prometido te deja porque le pintó, te echan de tu trabajo y te quedas sin plata, decidis irte a tu ciudad de origen y te encontras con un chabón que resulta ser tu mejor amigo de cuando eras chiquita y el tipo esta re bueno.... y yo le entro, vos le entras? La respuesta es si, indiscutiblemente.
Al principio era todo muy family friendly, hasta que de un momento a otro fue un enemies to lovers.
La trama, básicamente, es la protagonista encontrándose, volviendo a sus raíces para autodescubrirse, darse cuenta que no ama ni amó a su exprometido.
No hay tanto spice como queria. I mean, si sentis cosquillitas pero hasta ahí.
Una roncom entretenida para pasar el rato.

Love love loved this romantic novel set in the gorgeous surroundings of rural Ireland. An inspiring love story of a young couple that are thrown together upon the protagonist’s return to her hometown.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy

Where else do you go when your life falls apart? Home. Abby is smart, fierce, and strong. I loved her instantly. She's very opinionated and pushy. Not everyone's cup of tea. After her fiance left her, Abby's company goes bankrupt-- taking with it her savings, retirement, and investments. She's forced to return to Ireland to reevaluate her life.

Stranded at a bus stop in the middle of the night, a handsome stranger offers her a ride into the village. Sparks fly, flirting commences, and banter is exchanged. Luke the stranger is actually Luke from next door, Abby's childhood friend. Cue shenanigans.

Quick writing, easy read, and enjoyable!

*Hopped on cold meds while writing. Please excuse errors*

This is the first book I read from this author, definitely not going to be my last

How would you feel if you if you were to come back to the start of your adult life in snapping seconds, this wasn't anything we want but you see our girl las landed just that.
Throughout the story we'll see how her fate has cheated out on her wishes and has been giving her bumps upon bumps😂

Finally though through all that she remains strong & goes through it , she annoyed me a few times too but yeah aren't we all a bit annoying...so, after going through all that she realizes it's not about all money or how much success she would make but being with loved ones, Michael is exactly what we say a Italian boyfriend would be, you know charming & all

Overall, the story was a nice read for me
Would definitely recommend for contemporary romance lovers

Possibly the most average of average I’ve read in a while. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the story, just that there wasn’t much meat or substance to it. Don’t get me wrong because I have no problem DNF’ing books and I was able to finish this one just fine. I wouldn’t say it was underwhelming either; I was just… whelmed? (Thank you Michael Scott).

This is very much a palate cleanser type of story. The kind of book you might want to read in between some complicated fantasy or philosophical non-fiction books, for example. The story is straightforward and the characters are almost cookie cutter types. The main character moves back home to stay temporarily with her sister in Ireland after she loses her job, and has a self-discovery journey involving how she wants to move forward with her life. She reunites with a childhood friend in a meetcute scene and notices how much he has changed and matured over the years, and this attraction to her charming neighbor plays a part in her arc throughout the story.

There is some character development for several of the characters like Luke, Abby, and Abby’s sister, but most other supporting characters are backdrops for Abby’s romance with Luke. Their relationship was cute and charming though I didn’t get too much chemistry between them. There was also the dreaded last-minute conflict at the 80-85% mark which I felt was unnecessary. The ending was satisfactory, if a bit predictable and unexciting. It was a cute and quick read and the writing style was easy to follow, just don’t expect any grand romantic gestures or sweeping declarations of passionate love from this novel.

Thank you to the author, Bookouture, and Netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Abby was living the dream life, with her boyfriend, Tyler, a high paying job at a bank, and living in the States, in New York City. That all comes crashing down when her job fills for bankruptcy, taking everything she ever earned with it. Now on her way to go home to her sister's place in Ireland, she needs to get back up on her own feet. But not before having a one night stand/meeting the perfect rebound. The cute stranger who happens to be the boy next door from her childhood.

I loved the instant chemistry between Luke and Abby. Luke is your typical boy-next door who wants to do what's right, which cuts short their first almost hook up Abby also takes into account others feelings, which puts a wrench in their second almost hook up. While there be a chance to be a third get together?

On top of the relationship between Luke and Abby, you also have a side story of Abby and her her sister, Louise. Always at odds with each other, Louise and Abby haven't had a great relationship since they were young children (Abby maybhave been 6). After living together for multiple weeks, they finally start to act like sisters in one moment, but will it last or fall apart before they can make a relationship built to last?

I rate this book as 4 🌟!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

#readingchallenge #reading2022 #springreading2022 #booklover #bookworm #bookwormlife #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #netgalley #readinggoals #therebound #catherinewalsh #catherinewalshbooks

I had a lot of fun reading this book! It was an escape, without being cheesy or heavy handed on cliches. Everything, including the miscommunication between characters was very believable.

I will say that Abby was annoying at times, sticking to her lies at first - but I guess as an older sister, I related more to the older sister character so go figure.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by the author!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Who doesn’t love a good come back story? The Rebound by Catherine Walsh has a pretty great one, featuring a smart, driven, career-motivated heroine, who is down on her luck.

Abby has had a pretty terrible month. Her fiancé dumped her, her company declared bankruptcy, and she is out of her savings and her NYC apartment. She does the only thing she can think to do - travels home to her small town in Ireland to stay with her cantankerous older sister and friendly brother in-law in her childhood home. On her way, she gets stranded at a bus stop and meets a handsome stranger who offers her a ride home. Only, Luke isn’t quite a stranger - he is her next door neighbor who had a major glow-up post-school, and is now the hottest man Abby has ever seen.

Sparks fly, and there is a lot of great misunderstandings, but you can’t help but root for Abby throughout her growing process. Abby is flawed but human. She makes messy mistakes and has her own ego and pride - but I related to her independence and her career drive. We don’t always see that in romance heroines, but her ambition is admired by other characters and is seen as a positive trait.

What I loved so much is how the author took every possible romance cliche and turned it on its head:
📖Childhood friends to unrecognizable glow-up? Yes, but it was the hero who got more attractive and confident - not the heroine suddenly turning from ugly duckling to beautiful swan(so refreshing!).
📖Returning to a small town and rediscovering small town life? Yes, to an extent - the heroine is happy to be closer to her family but still yearns for a big city (small town romance novels everywhere are shocked by this plot twist).
📖The hero has a female best friend who has a crush on him? No other woman drama here - just actual adult communication to minimize hurt feelings.
📖Small town small business owner is struggling with her cafe? Yeah, her business might just fail.
📖And the end - without spoiling anything - was perfectly believable for these two characters, and I was so glad the author took a less traveled path with the ending.

I was pleasantly surprised at every turn. This book was a fresh take on a small town romance, and I loved the slower burn. My only minor quibble was that I wasn’t sure the couple had staying power; fortunately, the author gave us an 18 month later epilogue, which put my mind at ease.

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookouture for the ARC. This is my first book by Catherine Walsh, but it certainly won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.

Instead, she’s 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 help her get 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…

This novel was all about rebuilding relationships, with her family friends and starting over. I quite enjoyed reading this books, I aslo quite liked the character of all the side characters especially Abbys sister. Definitely recommend picking this books up.

My thoughts



Narrative and Plot



The Rebound is told from the main character, Abby’s perspective. Abby has a likeable self-deprecating tone to her which makes her relatable and easy to follow.

The story had quite the wholesome vibe like a Jane Austen novel. As in where the hero meets the heroine and confusion arises drifting them apart and bringing them closer back and forth. It kept the plot moving at a reasonable pace. However, towards the end, even if it didn’t lag, the book felt long. It spend quite some time in detail about things that never really came back again. Other than that, this was an almost perfect read.




Characters and Conflicts



Abby and Luke are the main characters in the story. But, it would be unfair to ignore a significant amount of supporting cast which made the entire story even more entertaining.

The chemistry between the leads is striking right from the first meeting and it makes the reader root for them and keep turning the pages until they know their fate. The situations where these individuals were put in isn’t out of the realm of possibility in the real world. It made their conflicts more accessible and naturally generate empathy for the characters.

As mentioned before I am a fan of sibling dynamics and the story aced that department bringing sisters who are diabolically opposite together. The romance panned out to be a healthy and aspiring relationship which is definitely a bonus. It is not your usual, the ex is a douchebag and the hero saves the day. It is more about people who do what they think is right at the moment.



Conclusion



Overall, The Rebound is a witty and charming romance that takes place in an Irish village. It is picturesque in its own way and filled with colourful characters.

The absolute cutest and charming book, I adored this one!

Abby Reynolds is returning home from Ireland from NYC after losing it all- her job, apartment and fiance. Once she arrives, the relationships with both friends and family make her wonder why she left in the first place, while the isolation and remoteness of her hometown makes her crave city life once again.

This book was absolutely refreshing, light and sweet. It kept me engaged until the very end, on top of making me want to visit Ireland asap!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

Abby Reynolds 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 named 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. Turns out, he's the boy next door - she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids.

The sparks fly and the truth comes out soon enough. This book was adorably cute. I loved the characters and the humor throughout the story. The setting within Ireland was fun for me as I don't really read a lot of books that take place outside of the states.

Thanks so NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.