A fab read. Determined to save her local pub from.developers, Katie goes to bring back the town matchmaking festival. A fun read full of great characters.

My sincere thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read The Matchmaker and give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

Katie Collins is content living with her grandmother and working at a local pub in a small village in Ireland. Everything was fine until a big development company swooped in to build a new luxury resort making their quiet community anything but quiet. The locals begin witnessing their surroundings becoming more and more changed and, in their opinion, not for the better. Expressions of concern and complaints about the disruption fall on deaf ears until one day Katie has had enough and barges into construction command central, in her pajamas no less, and makes a scene. She makes an impression on Callum, the construction foreman and right-hand man to the head of the project. Sparks begin to fly in more ways than one.

While this book is a romance, what I enjoyed even more was Katie's love for her small community and her desire to keep it alive without giving up what made it home. I loved that she was unapologetic in her desire to live where she had always lived. So many people who grow up in small towns can't wait to leave it for what they feel will be bigger, better, and more exciting. Katie doesn't fault people for wanting to live in bigger cities or moving from place to place, she just knows that she loves her life the way it is, and I love that about her. This is a change from the raft of small-town girl meets billionaire or pro-athlete and changes her life for love/him.

While I didn't love this one quite as much as Holiday Romance, which was my first book by Catherine Walsh, I still really enjoyed it. I love Catherine's writing style. 4 stars

DNF at 40%
I’ve loved the previous books by Catherine, they were all solid reads.
Unfortunately, this book didn’t grab my attention. I had to force myself to pick it up and I couldn’t connect with the MMC. I believe this book would have benefited from dual POV, since imo feels like we don’t know anything about the MMC.

The plot itself felt very weak too, and the conflict wasn’t relatable to me

That being said, I’ll continue reading this author, as I’ve loved her books in the past and really enjoy her humour.
I would recommend this book to people who want low conflict low angst book, that focuses on the fmc journey.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh

Another fun, charming, and witty romcom from Catherine Walsh! I’ve read all her books now, Holiday Romance is my favourite but this one came in a close second! Her books are so reliably entertaining.

The Matchmaker is about Katie, a small town Irish bartender who tries to save her beloved neighbourhood pub from being torn down to make room for a hotel. She reimagines the traditional matchmaking festival to gain attention and save her town. It was laugh out loud funny, heartwarming and so romantic.

Katie was a wonderful main character, I loved her right away, but Callum stole the show. He was surprising and adorable. All the supporting characters were fantastic actually, I would love a spin off in this little town!

Thank you to @bookouture for my copy! If you haven’t read this author before I can’t recommend her enough if you like romcoms! This one came out earlier this week so you can get your copy today!

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This was such a cute story. I was very intrigued when reading the summary of this book. It seemed like such a fun and unique concept, and I really enjoyed reading it. I loved the meet cute between our two MC's, Katie and Callum. (PS: love the name Callum). It was so funny and I felt like it summarized their characters very well. I liked the small town vibe and all of the side characters we were able to meet. It was fun to follow Katie's journey with saving her town. I would definitely recommend this book for a light, fun and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Catherine Walsh is quickly becoming one my go-to authors because of how entertaining and consistent she is. This book had such a full story, I was picturing it as a movie as I read. I loved Katie and Callum. I loved Ennisbawn, I loved Gemma, Noah and Adam. I loved it all. I do think Callum kinda fell in love ready to give it all up a little too quickly but hey ho, high emotions!

I love a cute small town romantic comedy but what sets this apart is the hilarious dialogue between the MC Katie and her grandmother. It’s a typical “save the town” story but set in the Irish countryside. I would definitely read a sequel with the villain Jack as the main character.

Lighthearted Hallmark style romance without a great deal of depth. A little 🌶️ in a single chapter. Classic hometown girl who meets hot city out of towner and together they will save a small business. She is dealing with her own childhood trauma of losing her parents and the fear of losing her home to big cutt development looms. Easy weekend read if you’re looking for shallow ligh hearted read.

Catherine Walsh is a new to me author and is now on my auto-buy list. Seriously run don’t walk to order this adorable small town rom-com. Katie is quirky and so authentically herself you can’t help but love her. The whole time I was reading I was picturing Emilia Clarke. And Callum is a strong, handsome man’s man with a sweet heart underneath all his stoicism.

I was caught off guard when one of Katie’s impassioned speeches about why she loves her town so much made me cry. This book definitely has all the feels.

Katie Collins loves her tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn, but developer Callum Dempsey is building a hotel just outside the village, and planning to knock down Ennisbawn’s only remaining pub. That place is the last connection for Katie to feel close to her parents, who met at Ennisbawn’s once-famous matchmaking festival, both throwing coins into the wishing well that sits in the pub garden. To save the pub, Katie plans to uncover the well and revive the festival, which she's sure can bring the town back to life again. In addition to battling Callum for the fate of her village, Katie also hopes to help her two best friends find love as well. What’s another project when she's already taking on the village's evilest man?

We open with the trucks and bulldozers waking Katie as they tear through the fields to lay the foundations for the hotel. Half of the town was bought up, and Jack has no intention of letting the village interrupt the building plans. Jack is the target of everyone's ire, and Callum works with him. He is cute and likes Katie, who loves her hometown and volunteers or is involved with most goings on. She was heartbroken when her hard work to build up the town is undone, and I felt that pain right along with her. She knows what makes her happy, and it's her village of people who love and care for each other. This is what Callum is looking for as well, even if he doesn't explain it to her right away. He doesn't mind her emotional rants, or that she is actively trying to block part of the project he's working on. If anything, he's very calm in the face of her drama, so it's a big deal when he has his own emotional moments.

I really enjoyed reading about the small town and the people in it. They had their issues at times, which is hard to avoid when most people in small towns know everyone else's business. They all really cared about each other and Katie's efforts, and I loved seeing them all together for her festival. It was a fun read, perfect with a cozy blanket and cup of tea.

Unfortunately, this one didn't quite work for me. I was pulled in by the initial premise - small-town girl meets city guy in Irish rom-com, and the focus is on the heartwarming town and community. But I found the instant love a bit boring and Hallmark-like, and the conflict fairly mild. The book felt altogether too long, and it took me a surprisingly long time to finish it.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for an e-arc copy of this book.

This book is a feel good, small town romance between Katie a village girl who’s ready to fight for her local pub and Callum who’s a business site manager for the imposing hotel who’s ready to destroy the little village and their pub.

Let’s start with the positive, the first 50% of this book I thought was fun and quirky and even made me laugh! I really love the side characters, granny and nush ended up being my favourites. Honestly who doesn’t love a brutally honest grandmother? I really like a few scenes in the first half, *cough* shower incident *cough*

However the second half of the book fell flat for me, I thought Callum and Katie’s love story was too Insta love for me on Callum’s side. Then Katie kept annoying me by always doing silly things when it came to actually being with Callum. In the end I was more interested in Adam and Gemma’s romance than the main characters. Other then that, the book was still overall a fun little read.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The Matchmaker' by Catherine Walsh.


Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Catherine Walsh, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous


Publication date 18th April 2023.


This is the fourth book I have read by this author. I have previously read her debut novel 'One Night Only', The Rebound' and 'The Holiday Romance' and would highly recommend them all!!


I was originally drawn to this book by its colourful cover and intriguing, sounding synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Catherine Walsh after falling in love with her books 'One Night Only', 'The Holiday Romance' and 'The Rebound' so if this book is half as good as any of these it is guaranteed to be an amazing read!!! The synopsis stated that this book is 'A gorgeously escapist and utterly hilarious small town romcom perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren.' I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella and Emily Henry so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).


This novel consists of 32 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


This book is based in Ireland 🇮🇪 ,UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. I have in fact visited and holidayed in Ireland on many occasions so am looking forward to possibly recognising name places.


This book is written in first person perspective and the protagonist is Katie Collins. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on.

'The Matchmaker' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Catherine discusses parental death.


LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOOVVVEEE , LOVED IT!!! ANOTHER HUGE WELL DONE CATHERINE ON YET ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC BOOK ♥!!!


This is a fantastically written book that has vivid descriptions which will make you feel that you are breathing the Irish air, hearing the construction noise and seeing the fireworks!! It takes you on a journey to Ireland and I was devastated when I had to pack my case to come back home and leave Ennisbawn and Ireland behind 😭 The title, synopsis and cover suit the storyline perfectly.


The storyline itself is romantically charged and filled with love, friendship, community, family, comedy, romance, arguments, stubbornness, fun and absolutely everything you could want in an absolutely stunning rom com!!! It definitely reminded me of Bridget Jones during some parts!! It made me laugh, cry, scream, shout, angry and jump for joy!! Katie has had a gutsful of being woken up early in the morning by the noise of the construction site down the road building a hotel that she doesn't want there in the first place. She barges through the construction site to demand somebody does something about the noise when she bumps into Callum Dempsey who is the on site project coordinator. Unfortunately, his good looks throws her momentum but she manages to steam toll ahead with her complaints while in her sheep pyjamas. She also ends up bumping into the villages'much hated, face used as a darts board, managing director of the the hotel Glenmill, Jack Doyle. Katie later discovers that they are trying to tear down the pub Kelly's that Katie not only works at but her friend who is like a brother owns plus it has history for her as its where her late parents met. Tragically she lost her parents in a car accident as a child and lives with her Gran Maeve now. Jack wants to destroy the pub and turn it into a golf course but Katie trys to brings back the traditional Ennisbawn Matchmaking Festival to prove that Kelly's is the heart of the community and should remain with the help of Kelly's owner aadwm, her best friends Gemma and Nush, Gemma's son Noah, Katie's Gran Maeve along with some unexpected help. Along the way there are tears, meltdowns, disasters, secrets, romance, friendship and Sparks flying everywhere!! Catherine's evocative writing skills brings the story life and one minute tour chilling at home with the book in your hand and the next you've been sucked straight into Ennisbawn trying one of Katie's cocktails. The atmosphere was gorgeous and I was completely swept away!! This book had me in stitches on several occasions and at other times left me sitting there going awww and getting some very strange looks!! There was plenty going on and I absolutely loved every moment of it. The storyline is unique and I think it is such a fantastic plot I really would love to see this turned into a movie!! I would be the first barging their way in front to get tickets!! I would absolutely love to visit Ennisbawn again to see how everyone gets on!!


DO NOT START THIS UNTIL YOU CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!!


There were so many large and unique personalities in this book and thanks to Catherine's amazing writing skills each and every one of them came alive. I absolutely love the three best friends Katie, Gemma and Nush who have such an amazing and supportive friendship group amongst each other where each of them has each others backs. They also couldn't be more different!! Gemma is the sensible mother who doesn't like to take risks and is the clear headed one. Gemma is an amazing single mother to eleven year old Noah and they have a fantastic relationship between them regardless of the lack of support from the donor Darren who is nothing but a waste of air and one person I could not stand. Nush is more like the party girl who says it as it is and unless you want the truth don't ask her if you look fat in something as she has a say it as it is attitude!! She's looking for love and doesn't care who it's with whereas Gemma who is also looking for love is more careful as she has Noah to take into consideration. Gemma worries too much and Nash doesn't seem to worry enough. Katie seems to be a bit of them both mixed together and will go from being determined to win to slowly thinking she has no hope. She has a tragic past and a loving relationship with her Gran who is not a typical kind old lady you'd like to think of when you think of a Gran. She made me laugh out loud with some of the unexpected things she came out with!! Adam is adorable and sweet as well as very protective of all three woman, each for different reasons. I was chuffed for him for more than one reason by the end of the book. I really liked Callum who tried to help Katie even when he didn't have to although is he being completely honest with her? You'll just have to grab your copy to find out 😉 I could not stand Jack who had one heck of a c0cky attitude and didn't care how he was affecting people or what they thought of him. I have to give the fantastic Plankton a mention!! What a name for a dog fairplay!! Any books with pets in always gets bonus points from me as I'm a huge animal lover and Plankton is a sweet, adorable and little bit naughty four legged f(r)iend!! I absolutely LOVED watching all the seperate relationships develop and change between the characters and I would love to see where each goes and what they get up to next!! This book was filled with a lovely range of characters and I would absolutely love to meet them all again!! Hint hint Catherine 😉 Regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all worked perfectly together to make an absolutely gorgeous storyline so a huge WELL done to Catherine for bringing them to life!!


Yet another stunning read by Catherine!! If you are looking for that perfect read to lift your spirits, and keep you hooked then what are you waiting for??


Well done Catherine on yet another stunning page turner and for making me laugh, swoon and smile!!! I'm looking forward to your next success!!! This is exactly why you are on my top 3 rom com authors list ♥

Make sure you read to the very end of the book to read the first chapter of Catherine's absolutely addictive 'One Night Only' which is another stunning read by this fantastic author and one I have read myself and would highly recommend!!


Overall an absolutely gorgeous, festive, feel good, page turning novel filled with friendships, love, community and family that will keep you up late at night.



Genres covered in this book include Humour, Romance Novel, Women's Fiction, Romance Fiction, Holiday Romance, Humorous Fiction, Romantic Comedy, General Humorous Fiction, General Fiction, Love, Sex & Marriage Humour and Contemporary Romance amongst others.



I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Bridget Jones diaries, Kristen Bailey, Emily Henry, Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes, Mhari McFarlane, Christina Lauren and anyone who is looking for a lift me up page turner that is perfect to get you in the festive spirit!!



382 pages.


This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited and £8.99 in paperback via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.


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Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

I am a fan of Catherine Walsh! She has a way of creating a quirky, likeable cast of characters who you instantly fall in love with. The Matchmaker was another hit with me. Humor and a sweet romance that will make you swoon. Callum is definitely book boyfriend material of the highest order. I not only adored Katie and Callum but was invested in all of the people in her life. Yes, the story has some predictable moments with a happily ever after guaranteed, but I am still smiling!

4 stars

This was a fun book about fighting for what's important in life - - not just the things but also the people.

Katie Collins is a local bartender working for her small town's only remaining pub. She loves her job and being around the people. But her peaceful existence is interrupted when a hotel conglomerate begins construction on a new resort near her home. It not only brings noise and confusion to the area, it also is changing the landscape of their town....and not for the better.

Callum Dempsey works for the company developing the land in Katie's village. He's very matter of fact about his job but when a spitfire known as Katie shows up on his worksite, it throws him off his game. He's drawn to her for unknown reasons.

There is definite chemistry between these two but is that enough to overcome the fact that they are on completely opposite sides of the land construction feud? Katie will have to fight harder than she's fought for anything to try to save her beloved pub while Callum tries to keep things on track.

Thank y0u to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Katie Collins has spent her entire life in the small Irish country town of Ennisbawn, and she doesn't take it kindly when a huge developer comes in to build a hotel and "revitalize" the town. When they threaten to tear down the pub she works at to make a better view for the hotel and golf course, Katie makes it her mission to restore the village to its former glory by reimagining the annual matchmaking festival, all while balancing her budding kinship with Callum, the project manager at the hotel building site.

This was a fun story, definitely a David vs. Goliath and you can't help but root for Katie, her group of friends, and the village of Ennisbawn to triumph over the evil corporate developer! I did feel the pacing was a bit slow at times, and there were a lot of characters that I sometimes struggled to keep track of, but I did really enjoy the relationship between Katie and Callum and how it developed.

TW: Death of parents, parental abandonment

Katie loves her tight-knit village and community life, but when Callum turns up to develop the area with a hotel and knock down the local pub Katie works in, she has the plan to revive the matchmaking festival.
This was a really cute romance novel. The main female character Kate is really sweet and shows passion for her home town, as well as the community; and loved the relationship we see between this character and her friends.

Although we know romance is blossoming between these two characters it was a slow burn but this didn’t put me off. I also loved the extra romance that Walsh gives us and hope it has a novel of its own.
I have read several books by this author and they continue to never disappoint!

Katie Collins is determined to re establish the matchmaking festival in her little Irish village in order to keep out big developers. Can she succeed? A funny, very enjoyable read.

Give me a book set in a cute countryside and I'm already sold. Katie's story was very unique because it didn't feature some small town girl heading to the big city and falling in love. Instead the small town girl fell in love with her small town and knew she was happier there than in any big city. Then enter Callum who comes from the big city but falls in love with Katie and the small town. This story feels opposite of every hallmark type romance and I loved it! It was such a fun easy read and I enjoyed watching the stories unfold. If you need something light and fun to read this is the book for you!

This was a cute, feel good story. I loved the characters right from the beginning. I loved the description of the Irish towns and setting, it made me fired up just like Katie and her small village about the hotel moving in on their quaint space. Overall this was a very cute book & I couldn’t help but smile as I read it. Thank you to Net Galley & Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book.