Be prepared to have a good time when you read this book by Jen Turano. Gwendolyn Brinley thinks she is going to have a break from the dramatic as she takes a position as a paid companion for Mrs. Parker and away from her cousin. Little does she know that she is now going to be an assistant matchmaker to the extremely wealthy Newport families.

Gwendolyn is quite good at helping people to see that they can find happiness if they just take a leap of faith, except when it comes to finding it for herself. It’s too funny when she attempts to help widower Walter Townsend find a wife and mother for his rambunctious children. The lengths that young ladies go to in order to convince Walter they would be perfect for his family are crazy and comical.

I enjoyed the antics of the women and Walter’s children and also the romance involved in the matters of the heart. I recommend this for readers of all ages. If you like to laugh, like clean romance, or historical fiction, you will be happy to read this book.

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions in this review are my own.

The Heroine

Gwendolyn Brinley thinks she’s accepted a post as a paid companion to Mrs. Parker for the Newport Season. While not a member of New York’s Four Hundred, Gwendolyn has dined with the Prince of Wales, enjoyed the finest education, and traveled the world. When her employer unexpectedly decides to change Gwendolyn’s job description from companion to assistant matchmaker, Gwendolyn knows things will not turn out well. After all, at 25 and on the shelf, what does she know about love?

Plenty, it turns out. Her loving parents, five younger siblings, and cantankerous cousin have given her valuable insights into human nature. And in the pug-eat-pug world of high society, those insights provide clues to which couples might suit each other.

Newport society doesn’t know what to do with Gwendolyn and her no-nonsense ways, plain (yet cultured and kind) speaking, and gowns as beautiful as anything the richest heiress can buy. At first, they snub her, but when they discover Mrs. Parker has made her the keeper of their newest client’s social schedule, things get interesting.

The Hero

Walter Townsend has put himself on the market for a second wife. He thinks a new mother will help tame his incorrigible children (a nine-year-old boy and five-year-old twins). But he has no clue how to proceed. In fact, he has no idea what he wants in a new wife, but he’ll brave the Newport season to help his children.

When he meets an unusual and stunningly gorgeous woman at the first ball he attends, he decides to hire her employer to find him a match. An unheard-of arrangement in the matchmaker annals of the wealthy. The more Walter gets to know the no-nonsense Gwendolyn, the more respect he has for her.

Within minutes of meeting his children, Miss Brinley stops a tantrum, organizes chaos, and builds his children up with her kindness. But unlike every other female of marriageable age, she seems to have no interest in becoming the second Mrs. Townsend.

While she has a knack for bringing calm to chaos, Miss Brinley also has a knack for pointing out his flaws and shortcomings. In short, he can’t decide how he feels about her.

What I Loved About This Book

Turano brings new life to the historical rom-com genre (is that even a thing?). Readers will relate to Gwendolyn’s take-charge attitude (especially all those Type A people out there). They’ll also appreciate Walter’s willingness to change when he realizes how he’s failed his children.

This enemies-to-lovers romance will delight historical fiction fans and rom-com fans alike.

A Match in the Making
Book 1 in the Matchmakers series
by Jen Turano
Rating: 4.5/5

As a huge fan of the author's witty and romantic stories full of quirky characters, I was so excited to get an ARC of the the first book in this new series. There's something so lighthearted and charming and humorous about how the author writes her characters that just seem so endearing and make you want to root for the heroine. The author does an amazing job of keeping you hooked and invested in her characters. I am such a sucker for matchmaking stories full of fun antics and especially precocious children. I found the writing well done and the story perfectly paced. I also appreciated the nod to feminism during a historical time when women were not considered equals.

"You're going to be told throughout your life that girls shouldn't do many things. It'll be up to you to decide whether that's true or not."

Highly recommend this clean, witty, fun, rom-com that will make you laugh, swoon and maybe even cry.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

A Match in the Making by Jen Turano features the Matchmaking unit during the Season in Newport beach. At first, the story centers around Gwendolyn who is trying to make something of her life. Walter and Gwendolyn meet and of course, butt heads right away. Plenty of moments that make you laugh. A near drowning experience. A horse. A Rat in a church. Turano does feature many fabulous moments that make her stories's comedic. The romance is not the top priority of the plot since Gwendolyn is hired to be the matchmaker, but circumstances occur that change that. The plot is a little dry at times, which I have never found in a Turano novel. Usually her stories have me flipping through the story at a rapid pace because I am so engrossed in the lives of the characters and the plot. Her writing style is nicely described and detailed. I have never been to Newport Beach, but it sounded lovely. I would love to see the old homes and learn more about their history. Overall, A Match in the Making by Jen Turano was a little slow to enter into the story, but I still will want this novel to join Turano's library of all her books.

I received a complimentary copy of A Match in the Making by Jen Turano through Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

Oh my! I loved this book. A Match in the Making is truly a wonderful book! Jen Turano knows how to spin a good tale and I knew this was going to be another one of them!

I loved getting to know Gwendolyn. But I think the precocious and rather naughty twins might be a favorite of mine. With 12 kids of my own, I know all about their antics. Little did Gwendolyn know when she accepted a paid companion position that she'd be coerced into being a matchmaker.

She's actually quite good at it though! She's much more concerned for matters of the heart though and not social standing. Gwendolyn wants people to love who they marry before they marry. She wants everyone to have a marriage of love and not of convenience.

When she meets Mr Walter Townsend sparks fly. He's in the market for a new wife and mother to his three children. He's not interested in love. Rather, he just wants someone to mother his unruly brood. They're rather horrible but really they're just crying out for love and attention.

Walter decides he needs Gwendolyn to find his bride for him after he's inundated with women. They are truly all over him and he's overwhelmed. But Gwendolyn isn't going to make this easy. She's going to make him think and possibly fall in love.

I can't give away any more than this but do know this is a wonderful read that took no time at all to read through. There is some suspense and a little mystery as well. Plus Gwendolyn has a lot of surprises up her sleeve as well.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

This was such a fun story. The heroine unexpectedly finds herself in the role of matchmaker for a season at Newport. The hero finds himself in need of a wife to mother his children. They seem like holy terrors, but they just need a firm hand and lots of love. All kinds of escapades and mishaps happen in this novel that will have you laughing out loud on occassion as you experience the Newport season with Gwendolyn and Walter.

Gwendolyn Brinley, assistant matchmaker, thinks she is in for a relaxing, enjoyable summer in Newport, Rhode Island. She couldn’t be more mistaken. Once she experiences success matching debutantes with prospective, respectable young men, Gwendolyn’s services are in high demand. When tasked with finding a match for annoying, handsome, wealthy widower Walter Townsend, Gwendolyn is irresistibly drawn to Walter’s three unruly children. Desperately in need of some attention from their father, the Townsend children take matters into their own hands to find a suitable match for their dad. Chaos and mayhem ensue. Will Gwendolyn’s career as a matchmaker survive? Will Gwendolyn find an unexpected match of her own? Find out in this humorous tale of the perils of high society antics during the late 1800s.

A Match in the Making
by Jen Turano
Publisher: Bethany House Publishing
Series: The Matchmaker Book 1
Rated: 4
Obtain: Borrow
Back of the Book: “Miss Gwendolyn Brinley accepted a temporary paid companion position for the Newport summer season, believing it would be a lark to spend the summer in America's most exclusive town. She suddenly finds her summer turning anything but amusing when her employer expects her to take over responsibilities as an assistant matchmaker. Tasked with the daunting prospect of attaining advantageous matches for her clients, Gwendolyn soon finds herself in the employ of Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the Season, but a gentleman Gwendolyn finds beyond irritating.
Walter Townsend is reluctantly in search of a wife for the sake of his unruly motherless children who cannot keep a governess for long. What he wasn't expecting was Miss Brinley, an amateur matchmaker who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle. Constantly besieged by society ladies on a mission to win his affection, Walter must find a way to overcome their inundating attention--and his unexpected attraction toward Gwendolyn.
The more time they spend together throughout the Newport Season, the harder it is for Gwendolyn to find Walter a wife when she realizes his perfect match might be . . . her.”

Impressions: This was a fun young adult read. The beginning was a tad outlandish for me. The characters' banter throughout the book however was feisty and fun. Gwendolyn was not a very conventional woman. Her eccentric and bold ways were not well received in society but in a fictional book, all is possible. Her headstrong, blunt communication made the story. I thought Walters expressed love for his children initially was ironic because he had no real relationship with them. Both characters were pliable to change and developed into who they were meant to be, together. Although this was an easy read there was no depth to the plot or characters, which was disappointing. I would recommend this book, however, to a young adult reader as it was clean and entertaining.

Quotes: “’You inhabit a world where gentlemen are expected to keep their emotions in check, but everyone is capable of emotional depth. You simply need to take time to explore your feelings.’”

I received an ARC of this book via the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here. For more book reviews go to: https://thebluestockingbooknook.wordpress.com

Okay I am not a fluff reader - but Jen Turano consistently writes books that suck me in and make me forget that fact.

Jen writes intellectual banter in a way that I love and find completely overdramatic but also believable. The synopsis for this book is a woman who becomes an assistant matchmaker, who might've committed the biggest mistake, falling for her client. This obviously causes problems finding him a wife, since none of the potential matches just aren't her. And y'all, it worked. I loved this story!

I did find the ending slowed down and the plot didn't propel forwards as naturally as it had throughout the rest of the story.

All in all, this book has all the Turano hallmarks of a laugh-out-loud historical romance.

Come for the romance, stay for the comedy. A MATCH IN THE MAKING is a super fun romantic comedy set in Gilded Age (1888) Newport, RI.

The faith element is woven lightly throughout the narrative, and the reader comes away with a message that being true to one's self is more important than what others might think of you.

My one criticism is that the beginning is a little slow. From my perspective, the ballroom scenes take too long and there are too many names tossed around. It's hard to feel connected to the main character.

However, I'm certainly glad I kept reading as I found the dialogue to sparkle, and the various mishaps are funny. The developing romance between Gwendolyn and Walter is a delight. I especially appreciated Gwendolyn's frank approach to life and Walter's character arc as a father to children he views as unruly.

The author does a great job of conveying the historical time period and the glamorous setting of Newport society.

Complimentary advance copy received from NetGalley; all opinions are my own.

Jen Turano's writing is always full of humor and clean romance. Her latest book, A Match in the Making, is a fun historical fiction, full of relatable characters who keep you on your toes on their adventure.

Gwendolyn Brinley takes a position with a well respected matchmaker. She thinks this will be an easy summer after she has been touring as a companion with her cousin. However, she ends up being thrown into an assistant matchmaker position when Mrs. Parker breaks her leg. She feels totally out of her element when a gentleman, looking for a mother for his children, asks to be matched.

Walter Townsend meets his match when Gwendolyn challenges him in his endeavor, as all the single women throw themselves at him. There are quite a few amusing scenes between the two of them.

Great dialogue. A good clean romance.

I received a complimentary ebook copy from the publisher, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jen Turano is known for her humorous romance stories. I loved her Bleeker Street Investigative Agency series and now she has the new Matchmaker series beginning with A Match in the Making. I've read many of her earlier books and mostly enjoyed them. Some of the humor was a bit slap-stick for me, but this one, while a bit light, was not so much rollicking in funny mishaps, was a bit more sedate and understated in its comedy.

Gwendolyn Brinley has been a companion to her cousin, Catriona Zimmerman, but needed a break. So she became the employee of the local match-maker. Unfortunately the match-maker broke her foot so Gwendolyn was thrust into the role of assistant match-maker for Society's summer season in Newport.

Walter Townsend is in need of a wife to be the mother of his three recalcitrant children. Gwendolyn has been tasked with finding him a wife, along with two other ladies her employer has assigned to her for the summer.

Gwendolyn is the only one who was able to reach the children and find out what they want in a mother. And she is the only one who can maintain discipline among them. As she observes the chosen candidates interact with the children, she sees how truly inept they are with children in general and Walter's children in particular. She tasks the children with watching the women at their father's ball to decide which one they feel would be the best mother to them. When the children make their announcement, it leads to Gwendolyn's being sacked as a match-maker.

One of the things I liked about this book is that the male characters are shown to be just as vapid as the female characters, they are all on a par with their pettiness, gossip, and posturing to show themselves in their best light while not really having a good light to show. The humor in this book is more understated, mature, and is not directed at the main characters as much as it is to the society members as a whole.

This will be a fun summer read, while lying in a hammock with a large glass of iced tea.

Four Strong Stars

Bethany House provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

An entrancing story that captured my attention from the beginning. The author shows a clear idea of life in "society" and how much more there is to life than being accepted by people.

A Match in the Making
By Jen Turano
Pub Date: February 21, 2023
Bethany House
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
Turano is a very popular author at our library and I will be purchasing this book.
It's the first in a new series #1
Miss Gwendolyn Brinley accepted a temporary paid companion position for the Newport summer season, believing it would be a lark to spend the summer in America's most exclusive town. She suddenly finds her summer turning anything but amusing when her employer expects her to take over responsibilities as an assistant matchmaker. Tasked with the daunting prospect of attaining advantageous matches for her clients, Gwendolyn soon finds herself in the company of Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the Season, but a gentleman Gwendolyn finds beyond annoying.

Walter is reluctantly in search of a wife for his unruly motherless children. What he wasn't expecting was Miss Brinley, who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle.

The more time they spend together throughout the Newport Season, the harder it is for Gwendolyn to find Walter a wife when she realizes his perfect match might be . . . her.
The many fans of Jen Turano will probably disagree vehemently with me, but this particular title was just not for me. The long dialogues for each scene just dragged for me.
4 stars

The many fans of Jen Turano will probably disagree vehemently with me, but this particular title was just not for me. The long dialogues for each scene just dragged for me. The story might work better in a movie but, to me, not as a book. The storyline was really fun though.

I’m afraid this was a 3 star for me.

America's most exclusive town. She suddenly finds her summer turning anything but amusing when her employer expects her to take over responsibilities as an assistant matchmaker. Tasked with the daunting prospect of attaining advantageous matches for her clients, Gwendolyn soon finds herself in the company of Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the Season, but a gentleman Gwendolyn finds beyond annoying.

Walter is reluctantly in search of a wife for his unruly motherless children. What he wasn't expecting was Miss Brinley, who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle.

The more time they spend together throughout the Newport Season, the harder it is for Gwendolyn to find Walter a wife when she realizes his perfect match might be . . . her.

Oh boy, where to start? This was epic! I loved every page of this book, it was so utterly charming!

This book had realistic, relateable characters that I just fell in love with. It was wonderful to see their growth throughout the book. The pacing of this book was perfect, no scenes that dragged on too long.

It was just so refreshing to read a clean historical romance, with a dash of humour thrown in for good measure. I would buy this in paperback if I could find it.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

JEN TURANO has done it again with another hunourous and inspirational historical romance novel. A MATCH IN THE MAKING is set in 1888, the Gilded Age, during the Season in Newport, Rhode Island.
Twenty five year old Gwendolyn Brinley is exhausted after travelling with her overly dramatic and quite self - centred cousin, Catriona Zimmerman, and decides to take up a position as companion to the well known and successful mathmakee, Mrs Parker, in order to have a rest. She becomes Mrs Parker’s assistant matchmaker when her employer breaks her leg. This “blood sport”, as Gwendolyn sees it, is exhausting as Mrs Parker, who cannot resist gifts of jewellery, takes on more and more ladies, and even some rather desperate gentlemen, for Gwendolyn to handle. She is a young lady of strong character and I just love tor quick mind and witty repartee!
Mr Walter Townsend is the catch of the Season and Gwendolyn is desperate to find him a love match with a wife who will be a caring mother to his children.
There is jealousy, arrogance, snobbery, bullying, and adventure, and through all this we see that Gwendolyn is finally coming to realize what she wants for her life…….
I cannot recommend this most amusing and enjoyable novel highly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bathany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This is another excellent read by Jen Turano. I have never read a book written by Jen Turano that I haven't enjoyed. I love her strong, quirky female characters and speaking to this book, I really loved her well written side stories - gosh I loved those children.

I highly recommend reading this book if you are a fan of witty historical romances (and then go back and read Turano's other books!). This is the first in the Matchmakers series and I will be eagerly awaiting more in this series.

I receive complimentary books for various sources including, Netgalley, Authors, and other such sources. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received compensation.

"A Match in the Making" is a romantic comedy set in 1882 in Newport. This is my favorite novel by this author. Gwendolyn's parents married for love, and she learned from them that the best marriages are based on shared interests, compatible personalities, and affection for one another. When tasked to find matches for an increasing list of clients, she challenged them to look for more than lots of money, social standing, or simply being able to get along. She had remarkable success at finding love matches for her clients.

The characters got into funny situations, adding light-hearted comedy to the events. Unlike some of the author's previous novels, the situations happened more naturally rather than being created by the characters doing unrealistic or absurd things. An example from this story: a clueless gal gave a stubborn pony as a gift to three young kids, leading to several funny situations (like the kids fighting over what silly names to name him).

The main characters were nice, interesting people with a good sense of humor. Walter and Gwendolyn got to know and care about each other as they spent time together. Their attraction was based on admiration of each other's character and looks and on how they brought out the best in each other. The characters acted reasonably accurately for the time period, and details about the time period and setting were woven into the story. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this humorous novel.

Gwendolyn Brinley has decided to take the summer apart from her position as her cousin's companion, and to spend it with Mrs. Parker in Newport. What she doesn't plan for is Mrs. Parker breaking her leg and assigning Gwendolyn the role of assistant matchmaker. When she inadvertently reveals the existence of matchmakers to the "catch of the season," Walter Townsend, she finds herself inundated with requests and conflict as the society set duke it out to make the most advantageous matches. How can she keep herself removed from the tumult while seeking to learn as much as she can about the people involved?

Gwendolyn is yet another of Mr. Turano's unconventional, strong-minded, female characters: insightful, compassionate, and independent. And, of course, she manages to find an ending that sacrifices none of those elements of her self, but one that enhances and sweetens the person she already is.

Once again, Jen Turano has managed to draw me into her fictional world within the first few pages, to care about her characters, and to be sorry when the story is over. I can only hope that at some point this series will involve Gideon and Adalaide's story, because I know that one will be just as amusing and satisfying as this one was.

5 stars, and I cannot wait for the next installment in the Matchmakers Series.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publishers, in exchange for my honest review.