I LOVED The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh. It was equally funny, sweet, romantic, and emotional. The basic plot is Katie works at the local pub in a tightly-knit rural community. Callum works for the construction company that is going to tear most of the town down to build a hotel. Naturally, they are on opposite ends of the situation. That leads to tension, which leads to more 🥰🥵

A rundown of this book;
❌Somewhat enemies to lovers
🧶Very close-knit community
🇮🇪Set in Ireland
🔧Did I mention he’s a construction worker?!
💕Romantic Matchmaking Festival
🥲A little emotional but not too much
🥵Slightly steamy

It’s on kindle unlimited 👏🏻👏🏻

"𝙊𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚, 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣."

Wow this was such a beautiful wholesome read. This had me laughing one minute and crying the next. This is not just a romcom but a story about true small town community spirit and it truly warmed my soul. Catherine's writing is something so special.

A development team are building a new hotel in Ennisbaw which is effecting Katie's sleep schedule, when she heads over to confront the person in charge she never thought she'd meet a man like Callum. Katie is hellbent on not letting these new developments ruin the traditions she loves in her town and will do anything to save them.

Callum and Katie are just such beautiful characters. Whilst Callum falls head over heels in love with Katie it doesn't feel insta lovey AT ALL and it's just a stunning journey of two people falling in love.
Every character was so likeable and played their part. I loved all the side characters. Gemma and Adam had me ugly sobbing.

I will definitely been reading more from Catherine Walsh that's for sure and I highly recommend this book.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Opinions are my own!

A quaint little Irish village was always going to be a great location for a crazy fun love story. While Katie and Callum start off on the wrong foot, saving the sole pub of the village from being caught up in a wave of modernisation leads them to each other.

“Anywhere you want to go. If you want me to, I’ll follow.”

A story is a definite win when even the supporting characters are interesting enough to keep the pages turning and this one has plenty of them. From Katie’s Granny, to her friends, Nush and Gemma, her boss, Adam, and even Callum’s brother, Jack. Lovely friendship and great banter definitely make for a fun read.

Thank you for my advance copy, @netgalley

This was my first time reading a book by Catherine Walsh and I really enjoyed it.

I picked up this book without reading the synopsis and I’m so glad I did. It was so well written, funny and easy to read.

The story takes place in the small, rural Irish village of Ennisbawn. The setting was extremely idyllic, I really want to visit this place. The town is under threat from a development company building a hotel just outside of town, who now want to knock down the last pub to make way for a golf course. I really felt the FMC’s protectiveness over Ennisbawn and Kelly’s pub.

Our FMC Katie is a bit awkward and anxious but also so charming and relatable. She has lived in Ennisbawn her entire life and has no desire to leave. Why would she, it sounds like an amazing place to live. She will not stand by while Glenmill destroys the thing she loves the most.

Our MMC Callum works for the development company that is threatening her hometown. I was expecting Callum to be this unspeakably hot bad guy but really he’s on Katie’s side.

I really enjoyed reading about the side characters and the matchmaking festival. I found that I wasn’t completely invested in Katie and Callum’s relationship. I would’ve loved to see a bit more depth and tension between them. What I did love was that they were both straightforward with their feelings and that there was no big miscommunication.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC. All opinions in this review are my own. It was a pleasure to read this book and I look forward to reading more of Catherine’s work in the future.

This was a 4.5 star read for me!

The small (like really, really small) Irish village of Ennisbawn is home to Katie Collins. Katie loves her little village and doesn't want anything to change, but a development company has come in and is building a high-end golf course and hotel. Not only that, the equipment is preventing Katie from getting any sleep. Sleep depravation has Katie storming the site in her pajamas. While there she meets the annoying and extremely handsome, Callum.

Callum reroutes the traffic and wins some points with Katie - at least until she finds out the development company plans to bulldoze Kellys' Pub. Kellys is special for many reasons - Katie works there, Katie's parents' initials are carved into the wishing well there, and the owner - Adam is like a big brother to her.

As a last ditch effort to save the pub, Katie decides to restart the once famous matchmaking festival. Will it make a difference, will Callum hinder or help, and will Katie or her friends meet their match?

This book is both funny and touching. Perfect for readers that love to root for the underdog!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! 🫶🏼

I came into this book pretty much blind, only knowing it was a romance in Ireland, but I absolutely ATE this book up!!

The book follows 29 year old Katie in small town Ennisbawn, Ireland. When a large corporation tries to buy up all the land and build up the town, Katie & her friends go on defense to protect the little village they love. After a chance encounter including duck pajamas and really loud trucks, Katie meets the handsome head of construction, Callum. The story follows Katie’s attempt to revive an old Ennisbawn tradition in order to save her village along with her journey of loving herself right where she is (oh, and Callum. Of course we love Callum).

I truly enjoyed this book so much! Katie’s character development over the course of the book was admirable, Callum’s unrelenting love and devotion to her was SO sweet, and the supporting characters made me fall in love with Ennisbawn so much more.

A few notes/things I wished I’d seen more of —
• I would’ve loved more description of the town itself. I found myself confused a few times about the setting. I think more info about the town itself would’ve made me fall in love with it more!
• I was also semi-confused on the timeline. I feel like there was some parts in the last half of the book where I was unsure how much time had passed. One day, they were clearing out the barn and the next they were saying the festival was a week away? It also felt like Callum & Katie’s relationship progressed really quickly without timeline clarification.

All in all, I absolutely adored this book and I can’t wait to read more from Catherine Walsh! Also, secretly hoping for more from Gemma & Adam!!

I absolutely loved this book! I can't wait to read more from this author. It was a fun book to read. I would definitely recommend this book.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although it wasn't an insta love, I felt like it needed a little more of a slow burn to it. One things started progressing - it really progressed and things happened pretty fast. I really liked Callum and Katie and thought they were a perfect match together. They had a great banter and I always love a good back and forth.

This is a perfect romance, it's funny and there's good chemistry with likable characters and it was relatable. I really enjoyed the side characters as well and how they all look out for each other.

A construction company threatens a small town with a hotel development project. Katie revitalizes the town's matchmaking festival to try and thwart their plans, but falls for the construction site leader Callum along the way.

This book was like a cute Hallmark movie with a little bit of steam. I feel like the romance was a bit rushed (not exactly insta-love but close?) so I wish that was further developed. I loved the small Irish town setting and seeing the community rally together for the cause. We see Katie struggle with finding herself and her place in the world while still honoring and preserving the past.

I didn't love it as much as Holiday Romance by Walsh, but it's a charming story overall that would make a fun vacation read.

Didn't love this as much as I did Holiday Romance, but it was still sweet and charming romcom. I loved the setting (and it makes for a perfect St. Patrick's Day read!) and found the relationship between Callum and Katie refreshing and quick. I'm a fan of the slowburn so I sometimes wish this took more of that angle, but it wasn't insta-love, which is good. It was funny and I really enjoyed the banter.

I read Catherine Walsh's Holiday Romance last year and absolutely loved it, so I was really excited to try another of her books! Let's just say this one didn't disappoint. Catherine's way of writing is absolutely spot on and I feel like she's insanely underrated!!

This story was the perfect romance read. The characters are relatable, the story is SOOO cute and there's also a lot of humour. What more could you possibly need? I fell in love with this tiny little place in Ireland as well as everyone who lives there and now I'm having a hard time letting it all go.

Definitely recommend this read, 4.5/5 stars!

☕ The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh |
3 ⭐

Katie Collins loves Ennisbawn, her small Irish town and the people love her back. She is the young bartender of the only bar of the place. When developers with deep pockets arrive in the town to reestablish it as a concrete jungle, they have big ideas which will destroy all that Katie loves about the town. Now everyone at the village and our determined heroine have setup an idea to stop them.

🔸Would they succeed in saving their laid-back old place?

This is my second book by Walsh and she just writes the sweetest, feel good romances. This book had all the heart-warming vibes. However, I felt Katie had more chemistry with her girls than Callum, the hero. I loved reading Holiday Romance last year due to the romance between the MCs, but this felt off. I am just a sucker for small town love stories.

✨ Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the Digital Advanced Reader Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. ✨

🌌
Published: 2023 (published)
Page Count: 382 pages
Genre: Romance
🌌

HAPPY READING 📑

I couldn’t put this book down from the minute I picked it up. I adore Catherine Walsh’s writing, she definitely knows how to write a good love story. Reading this book was like a virtual hug, it was totally feel good. I loved the small town Irish setting, it was charming and homely. I was completely behind the villager’s fight to save Ennisbawn, and although the story was a little predictable, there was comfort in it reading it and it meant I could just enjoy the story. Catherine Walsh certainly knows how to write comedy and more than once I laughed out loud.

I’ve been a massive fan of Catherine Walsh ever since I read Holiday Romance last year (if you’ve not read it yet, I’d definitely recommend!). The Matchmaker follows Katie Collins who has lived most of her life in a small rural, Irish town. Their quiet way of life is under threat when a new development comes to town. Katie is not willing to go down without a fight though and before long the whole village rallies together to resurrect a festival which may just save them all.

The Matchmaker is a delightful read full of characters you will love and a story which flows with ease and fun. I loved the sense of belonging, knowing yourself and the willingness to stand up for what you believe in which comes with The Matchmaker and I easily got lost in its pages. This will be a brilliant summer reason.

Quirky small town enemies to lovers complete with an eye mask and pajama pants on a construction site meet cute and some swoony melty words - "It's because I don't know how I'm going to tear down your favorite place in the world when I can barely stand the thought of you getting caught in the rain" (I'm sorry what. 🫠🥰🫠😍)

Katie and Callum's story was a cute and quick read, hallmark-y with all the eccentric side characters that one would expect from a small town. The chemistry between the two was definitely there, but it felt like there was some depth that was missing. Also, even with the sweet epilogue, it felt like it tied up other characters and had an awkwardly abrupt ending to our FMC and MMC. Overall a fun story with another charming village to add to my want to visit list!


Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my review!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Author Catherine Walsh and the publishers for this Arc. I will give my honest review.
At first, I thought this book was about a love story in the beautiful land of Ireland, but it was so much more.
I loved it from the first page. The FMC is so funny! I would love to have a friend like her. Also I would like to adopt granny is the is available. This book made me really want to buy a ticket to Ireland and visit all the small pubs, in the small villages and help them out to save it from billionaires whom wants to buy it and destroy it. The friendship between all the second characters stole my heart.
The love story was too fast for me. The two didn’t spent so much time together and I didn’t feel so much chemistry.
But this book is soooo worth it! Highly recommended ❤️

This book was adorable. I want to live in this small town. I hope there are more book set here. The characters were each unique and well rounded. The plot was well thought out and made sense. Lastly, the romance was a slow burn but so so cute. I couldn’t help but root for them.

In trying to save her small town from destruction at the proverbial hands of a large luxury resort, Katie teams up with local friends to prove that this home of theirs will not being bulldozed for the sake of progress. In doing so, she brings back a longtime tradition of the Match Maker Festival -- but can she pull it off with the resort developer doing everything he can to sabotage her?

This was a great story. I wanted to go to the festival by the end. The whole town was so vivid. The whole conversation regarding the balance between bringing in new, honoring the past vs bulldozing the past was intriguing and honest.

#arc
#netgalley
#thematchmaker

Katie Collins lives with her grandmother Maeve in Ennisbawn, a quiet town in rural Ireland. Quiet, until Glenmill Properties bought half the town and started building a hotel close to her house.

The book starts with Katie strutting into the construction site, asking for the trucks to stop passing in front of her house so that she can sleep properly. The problems get worse when Glenmill, in the form of one Jack Doyle, decides to buy the town bar, where Katie works.

To avoid this happening, Katie convinces everyone to help her revive the old matchmaking festival, where her parents met.

One part I’m missing? The on-site project coordinator is cute, funny, and seems to like Katie. At least, he rerouted the trucks so she could sleep…

I don’t know how Catherine makes the books seem longer than they are. And not in a bad, boring way! She packs so much information in what she writes that I get the feeling I read more than the page number I’m at.

The plot is interesting and captivating. I wanted to keep reading.

The characters are amazing, we could feel the love of the town and they were great entertainment. My favorite person is the grandmother. I would love to learn more about Maeve.

If you are looking for an entertaining funny romance with small town vibes and lots of family feelings, give this one a try.

4.5*

I thought this was a cute story! Yes, it was a romance, but it was more about the small town that the main character lives in and her relationship with her family and friends. I loved how the entire town came together to try to save their town from development that they didn’t want by hosting a matchmaking festival. The festival was a labor of love and this story was quite a ride.

what to expect:
- small town vibes
- Ireland setting
- enemies to lovers
- meaningful relationships