This book struggled to decide if it wanted to primarily be a small town do good story or a romance and it landed somewhere in between the mark. The romance didn’t have enough tension built up before they jumped in. The story created too many elements that weren’t well enough developed.

This was just a bit nondescript for me. By 20% in, I still wasn’t gripped or invested. One dimensional characters who I didn’t really care about, and not a lot to keep me turning the pages.

This book had a lot of potential but it fell a bit flat for me. I loved the small town Ireland setting and the tight knit community. I wasn’t really invested in the love story though. It was very insta-lovey and there just wasn’t enough buildup. I found myself wanting to finish this more to find out what would happen with the town and the hotel than with Katie and Callum.

Haven't met a Catherine Walsh book I didn't love! The Matchmaker was fun, filled with relatable characters, and the Irish charm we know and love!

A small Irish village was sleepy and quiet
Till developers moved in - enough to cause a riot!
Katie goes to confront them, fed up of the din,
Forgetting the pyjamas she's still dressed in.

When laughed off the site and her job threatened, too,
Katie is more determined to stop what they do.
She decides to revive the matchmaking festival next
Enlisting the locals the developers to vex.

Bringing the locals together to thwart the developers now
She becomes the leader of the action somehow.
Get ready for turmoil, angst and laughter, too,
As mischief and romance win their way through.

A fabulous read that I started late at night
When I looked at the time, I had a fright.
The sort of read that takes you into its heart
Making you reluctant to put it down, from the story to part.

I really enjoyed this delightful read
And hope it proves to be one that you also need.
Filled with friendships, community and romance
It is one that I highly recommend you give more than a chance.

For my complementary copy, I say a huge thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

The Matchmaker by @catwalshwriter is a book I found a couple of months ago on Netgalley and as soon as I read the plot I was like "even if they won’t approve it, I have to read this ”, so here I am✨
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The fmc of this story is Katie, a woman who has never left her small Irish village, Ennisbawn. Why would she? She has everything she needs there. She works in a pub, the local community is nice and she has good friends. Everything seems to be peaceful… until the project that will lead to the construction of a hotel is approved. And guess what? The hotel is right in front of Katie's house.
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After two consecutive mornings that the noises coming from the construction site wake her up early, Katie decides to break in to find who is responsible. Certainly Katie did not expect to find herself in front of Callum, one of the main developers of this project. Her plan unfortunately does not go as expected. A few days later, however, she will learn that the construction company's intention is not only to build this hotel, but also to close the pub where Katie works. So she will have to find a way to stop this.
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The plan with which she thinks to solve everything is to revive the festival that in the past was one of the things that made the village so fascinating and consists in pairing the participants with the hope of finding the perfect match, a soul mate. This festival has an important meaning for Katie, it is where her parents met for the first time. For this reason she will have to put all of herself into it and the help of citizens would be appreciated, even from an unexpected person👀
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The story started very well, I liked the book quite a lot, but unfortunately I was a bit disappointed by the mmc, especially in the second part of the novel.
I really appreciated Katie for her willpower and passion to do what she believes in. As a couple they work very well❤️.
But I was blinded by the off-screen couple that was literally driving me ✨CRAZY✨. Where can I sign up for a book about Gemma and Adam??? I need it like right now.
Thank u netgalley and bookouture for approving this ARC🤍

This is the second book I've read by Catherine Walsh. My first was Holiday Romance which I absolutely loved and when I saw she had a new book on Netgalley, I was thrilled.

Although I am not a big romance or rom-com reader, Walsh writes the exact kind of story I can go to when I am in the mood for a funny, compelling romance. The settings in Ireland are the cherry on top for me.
The main characters, Katie and Callum, both drew me in so quick! This is a pretty classic enemies to lovers type of story. Katie is a sweet, small-town girl who just wants to enjoy her quiet life in her small village working at the local pub. Along comes a big construction company that is building a hotel and ruining her vision of her future and her village. Callum, the super hot guy working for the construction company just might be able to help Katie, but will he? No matter, she is not going to let them take away her dreams.

I really hope that Walsh starts getting more recognition and buzz. She is an auto-buy for me now and I can't wait to see what she writes next. Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance copy!

I love this cool idea of a matchmaking event! And then add in the setting in a small Irish town? It makes for the sweetest romance story! Read this one for an enjoyable, light romance that you know will have a happy ending!

Thank you to Catherine Walsh, Bookouture & Netgalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

I have really enjoyed the three books by this author that I've read, including this one. I will admit, however, that it took me just a little bit longer to get into this one and at first I really wasn't sure about it. By the halfway mark, I could see a bit more about the bones of the story and I was fully invested and in love by the end of it - I think maybe it was just a strange pacing situation. The small town setting was fun, the characters were all great, and I love the idea of a group of people working towards a common goal (very Gilmore Girls ish in some ways). The Irish setting is really just the icing on the cake with her books :)

This was another enjoyable romance from Catherine Walsh.
I was hooked from the very beginning and even though you kind of know how it will all turn out, sometimes you just need a book where you know it will end with a happy ending.
It was a bit of a slow burn romance but that didn't put me off too much. There also wasn't a third act issue, which is something that I don't like. Their relationship was basically smooth sailing, which was nice.
I also really enjoyed Katie's relationships with her friends. They were particularly strong.
And I always like the way that Catherine depicts Ireland in her books.
If you're looking for an easy, enjoyable romance, this is definitely one to pick up.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Cat’s book, Holliday Romance, I wondered if it was the Christmas element but this book has cemented that I love Cat’s writing style.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, I really enjoyed this and after chapter 1 I couldn’t put it down.

Treat yourself to this book!

I have loved Catherine Walsh's books in the past and this one was no different.

The plot was great and the pacing was spot on. The main characters were brilliant and jumped off the page. From the start I was hooked. I loved the chemistry between Katie and Callum. The two characters worked really well together. The storyline about the matchmaking festival was great fun and it balanced out the conflicts well.

Great book.

I just adored this book! I immediately felt connect to the FMC Katie as I’ve had constant construction near my house for years. I loved the idea of the matchmaking event, it seems so much fun! Now i wish i could attend one 😂.

Also Callum? Everyone needs a Callum! I just loved how the relationship between Katie and Callum progressed and I was rooting for them from their first meeting, with Katie in her pj’s.

I had a fun time reading this book and would totally recommend this one to everyone looking for a well written romance.

"You're my favourite place"

This tale of Katie Collins and her fight to save a small Irish village is heart warming.

This book was such an easy to read story, nothing too chaotic and unforeseen. I love how the relationships all come together and the story is easy to follow.

I would have loved to see Katie's relationship with Callum a bit closer and more of a slow burn, along with a surprise bundle in the epilogue, but that is probably just a personal preference *I can see the teary eyed me reading this now*.

Overall it was a lovely read and I could see myself enjoying it again.

Thank you to @netgalley and @catwalshwriter for sending me an Advance digital copy for my honest review.

This was such a cute read! It was very different from other cute little romance books I’ve read before. The main character was funny and determined to get her little town back to some normalcy. The book was well written and really made me feel like I could see the landscape and the little town even though I’ve never been overseas.

This was a cute Irish rom-com and the idea of a matchmaking festival was so fun. Being a small town girl, I really enjoyed seeing the villagers fighting back against the big developers to preserve their town’s charm and structures. I thought Katie was a fun, sweet, and quirky lead who really pushed out of her comfort zone, which was great to see. Her chemistry with Callum was a bit of a slow burn, which I didn’t mind, and gave us a low-level steam with some open-door scenes that provided a nice balance to their romance! Katie’s relationships with her friends and family were really sweet and I loved how they all came together to support her idea and the town. Overall, I enjoyed this light-hearted romance and can’t wait to see what Catherine writes next!

I’d like to first start off by saying I’ve come full circle because Catherine Walsh and her novel “The Rebound” was one of my very first reviews. I adored Holiday Romance. With that being said when this was announced, I ran to snag an arc.

If there’s anything Walsh should be known for, it’s her ability to write these picturesque small towns that are so incredibly dreamy. In The Matchmaker, Katie is on a mission to save her sleepy town and local pub from the developers.

In true, awkward girl fashion Katie is known to word vomit in uncomfortable situations and I have never felt so seen! What a relatable gal. Nonetheless, she’s a spitfire queen and stands for what she believes in. The secondary cast of friends and ‘bad guys’ are equally charming, lovable, and downright hilarious. Throughout the story I was chuckling and getting riled up to save Ennisbawn’s pub along with them!

Let’s not forget that romance! Ooooh Callum Dempsey! What a heartthrob and those grand gestures! With a tinge of ‘kinda’ enemies to lovers, he definitely fell first, and the ever so popular philosophical question of “do soulmates exist”, it’s a recipe for a match made in heaven. See what I did there?

I'm ready to travel to Ireland with every book I've read by Catherine Walsh. it is impossible not to fall in love with the descriptions of Ireland and its people, especially the rural part like the small town of Ennisbawn
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Her heroes are as sexy as they are serious but when they fall, they fall hard for the heroin trying to balance life, or taking courage for the next step. And all this is cooking in a really perfect slow burn way
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Katie Collins never left her small town,Ennisbawn, in Ireland and why would she when all her favorite people are there?
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Her witty grandmother, her friends and her favorite places like the forest and the bar where she works with her grumpy boss who is like an older brother. Sometimes life in a small town can be difficult but with a community so close like this one, that is always there to support each other nothing is impossible
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Not even stopping the construction company that wants to turn their small town into a big resort, demolishing every obstacle in its path. When her loved Bar is in danger of disappearing Katie appeal to the last resort, reviving the old Matchmaker festival with its wishing well appealing to the heritage of the community
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With a couple of months to go and a massive to-do list, Katie must decide who to trust and the one in charge of carrying out the construction of the resort seems to be a bad idea, especially when Callum Dempesey listens to her complaints and appears at her grandmother's house to help her with the garden especially when she can't stop seeing how handsome he is
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It is not the first time that I fell in love with Ireland through a Catherine Walsh book but this time the secondary characters began to take center stage and the book became a complete romance by Ennisbawn and its people
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Thanks to Catherine Walsh and Bookouture for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh is a laugh out loud swoony read that will make you want to buy a flight to Ireland stat in search of the nearest fairy wishing well!

Katie is desperate for sleep and to save her job. What's a girl to do when a new developer has come in and bought up most of the land of her dwindling small town in Ireland? Determined to save her sanity, she marches straight into Callum, the handsome construction foreman clad in her duck pajamas. When a week later she's well rested from Callum helping her out, she walks straight into the news that she's going to lose her job at the town's last standing pub. What's a girl to do? Bluff it out by mentioning their historic matchmaking festival because of their wishing well. Now on a quest to set her friends up and make it a success there's just one last question Katie has to solve - is she ready for a relationship of her own?

I've never read anything by Catherine Walsh before but I couldn't put this down. I laughed and clutched my chest so many times and can't wait to read more!

The Matchmaker is a light-hearted Irish-based rom-com centered around Katie Collins, a young woman who has lived in the small Irish village of Ennisbawn her entire life. She is a bartender in her “uncle’s” local pub and is close to her network of friends in this small village.

The quaint, countryside town is currently being inextricably altered to make room for a high-end resort and golf course, and the plans include her own special, historical pub. Katie’s first, rather humorous encounters are with one of the developers, Callum Dempsey, who is easy on the eyes, but determined to heartlessly make the changes to her beloved hometown. The two continue to meet and their antagonist relationship quickly becomes something more.

This concept has been done before: big business taking over small town, family-owned establishment. The characters are quirky and fun, but it’s truly more about saving the pub (which is rather unrealistic in it’s attempts, though decidedly cute) than it is about a romance, which is definitely secondary. Though it has it’s moments and the setting of the Irish festival and related descriptions are charming and entertaining, I unfortunately found the rest to be a bit predictable and dull. I’m sure others will enjoy this story, and it had parts that I also found sweet and humorous, but all-in-all, it wasn’t all that I’d hoped for.