3.5 ⭐️
Katie has lived in the small town of Ennisbawn, Ireland her whole life. Content with small town life, bartending, and living with her grandmother, Katie is happy. That is until Glenmiill Properties buys up tons of land and starts building a resort in their town. It definitely doesn’t go to plan. To stop the big corporation from destroying their small town, Katie and friends decide to fight back. They revive a matchmaking festival to help keep the town alive and the local bar in the right hands.
Complications happen when the man Katie develops a crush on, Callum, works for Glenmill. This puts them on opposite sides, but doesn’t stop their chemistry and feelings.

This is a cute, heart warming story that revolves around family and community. I really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I enjoyed that Katie knew what she wanted and was content with a more simple life. The pacing was a little off at times and I wish I had more time with Katie and Callum. I particularly liked the friends and Grandma Maeve. I would recommend for anyone who is a Hallmark movie fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. All opinions are my own.

Delightful and charming! Catherine Walsh has created another cute book that put a smile on my face.

Katie Collins loves her tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn. She loves that she knows everyone, she loves the pub, the beautiful surroundings and quiet. Yes, it is quiet that she loves most of all. But things are not quiet anymore, a hotel is being built not far from where she lives, and she has not been getting any sleep. She comes home late from working in the pub and when she falls asleep - construction begins! This prompts her to walk down and onto the construction site to give them a piece of her mind in her yellow duck pajamas and sleep mask.

Callum Dempsey is working at his brother Jack's construction site. His good looks don't get past Katie. Her good looks don't get past him either.

She is already hot under the collar when she learns that they are going to tear down the pub as well. Not on her watch they won’t! Katie makes a snap decision to bring back the matchmaking festival with those looking for matches, throwing coins into the wishing well.

I admired Katie's quest to save the pub and her wanting to keep her community as it has always been. She is equally creative and determined. With some help from her friends, she is convinced that she can save the day, I mean pub! Callum is a nice guy who helps her out and well, you guessed it, is successful in charming Katie. I enjoyed their banter and interactions.

I enjoyed this wonderful enemy to lovers’ story. It was entertaining, charming, endearing, and delightful. Romances to me are all about the journey and I enjoyed the journey that Katie and Callum went on in this book.

I have read several books by Catherine Walsh and never fail to create characters that I like and grow to care about. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

I picked up Holiday Romance this winter, and it was, hands down, the best Christmas love story I’ve read. I loved it so, so much. That said, I was *excited* to get my hands on this ARC (even though I took it down to the wire & finished on release day 😬). Unfortunately, this one didn’t quite measure up.

There were two story lines here—Katie & Callum’s story and Katie’s desire to save her small town’s pub. She’s fiery and fun, but she’s also frazzled and frantic. At times, she stressed me out a little. Callum, meanwhile, is a gem of a book boyfriend. He’s sweet, considerate, patient, and knows what he wants. Their pairing felt odd to me, and I never quite clicked with them. Their conflict was early in the book & I didn’t feel like they had enough time to establish their connection first. I also struggled with (spoiler alert) Callum giving up his job for her after one kiss and not a single date. It felt a little drastic & not quite in line with his character.

The town of Ennisbawn was adorable & Walsh wrote a beautiful setting. By the end of the book, I found myself wanting to visit this cute, little town in the Irish countryside. I also loved the subplot/side story of Gemma and Adam. They were a joy to read & could’ve easily been their own book.

Overall, it was a cute book, but it didn’t leave me with the same feelings as Holiday romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This book was released today (April 18, 2023) & is worth reading if you love small towns in Ireland!

First of all ….. Callum. Is. HOT!! Annnnnnd that’s my review. That’s all you need. Haha! Kidding, but he’s definitely on my book boyfriend list!

I loved the setting of a small town in Ireland. I loved the idea of bringing it back to life and going head to head with a corporation to protect the history of the town. I loved all the characters and was very invested in each of their side stories. If we’re don’t get a full version of Adam and Gemma’s story I’m rioting!

Things to note:
- This is an open door romance.
- Trigger warning for the deaths of parents occurring off page in the past.
- Trigger warning for panic attacks that occur on page.

Overall, this was a quick and easy read! The heavy topics don’t weigh down the fun of the story. If this book isn’t on your TBR already, add it now, and dive in as soon as you can. I look forward to reading Catherine’s backlist as we wait for the release of whatever comes next.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh
Rating: ★ ★ ★
Genre: contemporary romance
Format: ebook
Length: 382 pages
Trigger Warnings: panic attacks, death/grief

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and Catherine Walsh for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

✨Read this if you enjoy: ✨
🏘️Small town setting
☺️Lighthearted reads
💖Instalove
🌶️Open door romance

I’m in my small town romance era. I swear I’ve read too many to count this year already and there’s no end in sight. So I easily fell right back in love with the town of Ennisbawn. I love Catherine Walsh’s writing; it’s fast paced and full of humor. This book will have you laughing out loud.

In a desperate attempt to save her town from being overrun by a developer, Katie finds herself in over her head. Suddenly she needs to revive an old matchmaking festival. But Katie doesn’t know the first thing about planning an event this size. Then there’s the issue about her growing friendship with Callum, one of the construction workers for the enemy.

Katie is a ball of chaotic energy and I am here for it. We both share an intense passion for uninterrupted sleep. My biggest complaints are that Katie came across really immature at times and the insta-love. Callum barely knows Katie and he makes some big decisions rather quickly. I didn’t believe their chemistry or the development of their relationship. I'm really hoping that Catherine might write a book about another couple that got together in this book, I would love to have more of their story!

Catherine Walsh is officially on my auto buy list. I loved Holiday Romoance and this book is on that same level for me. Katie made me giggle. "I struggle to find the words, so exhausted I might cry, which would be the embarrassed cherry on top of this crappy morning, to be honest."

Katie is adorably quirky and is passionate about the small Irish village of Ennisbawn, where she lives with her grandmother. She is equally passionate about preserving the only remaining pub in town from the development company that is building an enormous hotel in the village.

Callum works for the construction company and is amused by Katie's antics. What can he do though? He tries to be considerate with the noise, but he can't stop the work.

When the pub is in danger of being torn down, Katie rallies the village by bringing back a matchmaking festival the town used to hold. Will there be a happy ending for Ennisbawn, Katie or Callum?

If you’ve listened to the podcast you know how much I love the 1997 romantic comedy, The Matchmaker; even forcing friends (and future podcast co-host) to a viewing. When I read the description of Catherine Walsh’s newest Irish Romantic Comedy, aptly titled, The Matchmaker, it hit all the right notes with me and I knew it was going to be a knock outta the park - and I was not disappointed. While It held a very tangental similarity to the 97 film, I was intrigued for sure.

Hold onto your tatties, readers, and let's get into this.

A Little Bit Of Plot

Katie Collins loves life in her small Irish hometown of Ennisbawn; what she doesn’t love so much is the country club overtaking all that she holds dear. With the construction comes new persons to their small town, one being Callum Dempsey, handsome project manager for Glenmill construction. For Callum, being ambushed by a crazed but striking woman in a night cream facemask on a construction site might be a terror to any other man, for him, it’s like being struck on the head by love. From her duckie print pajamas and her need for sleep to grow her bones, he’s quite taken. When Glenmill threatens to bulldoze Kelly’s bar, the town’s community meeting spot and Katie’s place of employment, she finds the solution is the resurrection of the yearly Ennisbawn Matchmaking Festival. Will Katie's plan to foil Glenmill's destruction of the pub she holds dear keep these two apart, or is it the one thing that brings them closer?

The Compliment Sandwich
The Top Bun (The Pro)
The Love Story

The romance between Katie and Callum is subtle and lovely. The story doesn’t bash you over the head with how they’re fated to be together, or that it’s a raging enemies to lovers (I know, I know, I couldn’t believe it either), this is just a simple, "two people are instantly attracted and naturally fall in love" scenario. We have a pretty HUGE GG about halfway through the book, so the HEA is never really in question here. While this couple is securely ensconced with one another very early on in this book with the exception of a small speed bump at about the 30% mark, the love story doesn’t completely overwhelm the plot of the book.

Their relationship is important, sure, but it’s not central to the major plot points, like what any good rom com film of its ilk. What’s Bridget Jones without Bridget at some point gaining some confidence in herself or You’ve Got Mail without Kate discovering who she is outside of a bookstore owner? The same applies here. We discover that Katie is much more than her grandmother’s carer, a bartender, or a best friend. She’s never been challenged before and Callum steps up to help not rescue her. The story's progression feels so natural and immersive, the reader is charmed by the realness of the town - as if it were an actual place we can visit. Again one of the reasons that I was immediately attracted to the story was it's similarity to the movie the Matchmaker - an outsider coming into a town during a matchmaking festival and falling in love.

Although much less Dennis Leary… thank fuck for that. Weirdly, the same amount of Janeane Garofalo.

The Meat (The Con)

Honestly, I don’t have much to say. This is such a low stakes read and it moves quick - I don’t have any complaints.

The Bottom Bun (The Pro)
Slice of Life

If you are looking for a beautifully written slice of life irish comedy, with love and some sexy times thrown in, this is the book for you. Walsh’s writing is both witty and at times very resonant. I laughed quite a bit while reading this and some scenes I could feel in my bones as if I lived them. Walsh has a way of writing Katie that feels familiar, as if I know her or could even be her. So much so that when she’s broken at one point, it echos.. as if this were real life and happening to someone close to me.

Walsh also has the ability to voice characters in such a realistic manner that it doesn’t matter what the age of the person in question, their dialogue is believable and relatable. As readers, we know someone in our lives that we can imagine fitting into the Noah role, or Gemma, or Granny.

And while we’re on the subject of Granny Collins… if you don’t laugh at this exchange, we can never be friends:

“Is this you?” I ask, holding up a black and the picture of a grinning young woman.
“Should be,” Granny says, peering at it. “Ugly little thing, wasn’t I?”
“Would you stop!” I laugh, “You’re beautiful.”
“And you’re a liar. But that’s alright. It didn’t stop your grandfather from falling in love with me. I had other attributes.”
“Your charming personality?”
“That,” she says, “And I was very loose”.

Holy shit, that’s funny. And super relatable. In fact, I know I had the same or similar conversation with my own grandmother at some point in my life.

I also want to include the point in the book that Callum ruined me for other men. Maybe I’m going note that with every book I read going forward “this is where the H ruined me for IRL men”.

“So why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I don’t like what we’re doing here. Or maybe I’m just bored and want to stir the pot.” Callum’s gaze snags on mine, and the feel of it is so intense that I almost look away. “Or maybe,” he continues, “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”.
There’s a strange pang in my chest, one that hurts in the best kind of way. Green eyes, I decide. I like men with green eyes and men who look at me like that.

Get you a man that says that shit on the reg, bruv.

In summation, this book is brilliant, and I’m excited to delve into more Catherine Walsh.

I honestly don’t read a lot of chic lit but I just like how Catherine writes so requested this and it was everything I hoped for. I will continue to read and support her!

I am not the biggest reader of chic lit as I don’t care too much about love. But now that I understand the genre better I do enjoy the odd one for what it is. The exact same way I enjoy sitting down to watch a rom com. It’s a feel good break.

I really enjoy the way that Catherine writes her characters and this was another hit for me!

It was witty, charming and the Irish countryside just had my heart.

If you enjoy love, enemies to lovers or rom coms then you should definitely read this one.

This charming tale takes place in the small Irish village of Ennisbawn, and follows Katie, her grandmother and her close friends and villagers. She’s always lived here, and works at the local pub. Her late parents met during the local matchmaking festival. What could be better than life in this great place!

Jack and Callum’s construction company believes a hotel and total town makeover to bring in tourists is just what the town needs, constructing at all hours, noise all day, and demolishing what makes the village so quaint and charming. With Katie and Callum (and Jack and the rest) clashing over what they really need, Katie brings in the media to cover the annual Matchmaking Festival - yeah, that one that hasn’t been held forever, to save the buildings they hold dear, and prove to everyone she isn’t just a small town girl.

The banter, the chemistry, the excellent small town charm and great, unique storyline makes this a great read that I definitely recommend for everyone! You won’t be sorry! I’ve actually gone and picked up her other titles I’ve been eyeing for a long time!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Bookouture, and this is my honest feedback.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Read this if you:

Enjoy enemies to lovers rom-coms
Love a small town romance
Want a story with a strong friendship
Would love to take part in a matchmaking festival
Have (had) a close relationship with your grandma

My Thoughts:

After adoring the hell out of Holiday Romance back in December, I was super excited to read Catherine Walsh’s newest romance book.

The novel started pretty good as I started to like the female MC more and more as I got to know her. Katie is the kind of person who is super annoying but in a cute, funny adorable way.

I loved the strong friendship Katie had with Gemma and Nush and how supportive they were of each other’s decisions.

Something else I really liked about Katie was her determination to keep memories and traditions alive, whatever the cost, as well as her close relationship with Granny.

Despite liking this many things about the book, I can’t give it a higher rating because the romance part, which was the most important, didn’t seem like the focus of the story. I couldn’t connect with the main characters on this, I didn’t root for them and I found their relationship a bit too rushed. It felt like a mix of insta-love and enemies to lovers and I was not here for it at all.

Since I couldn’t connect with the romance part of this novel, picking the book up and continuing reading felt more like a chore than an enjoyment especially in the second half.

I really wanted to love this one more, but the romantic relationship simply wasn’t for me this time. I encourage you to give this one a go because we all relate to things differently and you might just love this one even though I didn’t.

All is peaceful in the small village of Ennisbawn until a large corporation starts buying up land just outside of town. They plan to build not only a large hotel property but an adjoining golf course. Katie Collins is determined to save the place she's lived all her life. After a failed attempt to confront the company and challenge the interlopers, she bands the people of the town together to bring back a long ago celebrated matchmaking festival, as a way to prove the village’s importance.

The Matchmaker is a stand-alone romcom. This frenemies to lovers is open-door but not particularly spicy.

Katie is such a fantastic FMC. Her loyalty to her town and the people of the village, all of whom are practically family to her, makes her admirable. In spite of her anxiety, she is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure the matchmaking festival is a success. Callum was goner from the first time they met even if she was in her frumpy pajamas. This book has so many great side characters, including a few that could definitely be developed into stories of their own.

The Matchmaker has quite a few fun little surprises and twists that keep the plot exciting. It does start out a little slow but it’s well worth sticking with it. It does have a sweet epilogue that takes place the following year which helps to wrap everything up nicely.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture!

I adored the world that was described in this book: the village, the community, and all of the supporting characters. Granny Maeve, Gemma, Nush, Adam, Noah - they're all great characters who I'm sure people would love to see more of! I also loved the premise of this book - the build-up to the festival and how Katie gets to find her own match during that process. The actual plot / theme / set-up of the book isn't quite as it's described in the blurb - where it's made out that Callum is the bad guy big developer - but I actually preferred what it was compared to the blurb!

However, I think the execution was a little off, which I was disappointed by. I said that the supporting characters were all great, and they were, but the main characters lacked something, especially Callum, as with the story being told from Katie's first-person perspective, we get to know her a little better, at least. I really missed that, because the characters both had such great premise, and Callum not being the typical alpha bad boy or whatever was really nice and so I'd have liked to have seen more of him.

I also didn't really feel there was any build-up to their relationship - they met in a suitably dramatic fashion and instantly fancied each other (fine) but then suddenly kept bumping into each and then chatting like more had happened off-page? There’s a bit where Callum is all like “Katie, if you think that then you don’t know me at all” and I was like? Yes? You’ve literally spoken to each a grand total of 10 times? There was also no typical dramatic fall-out mid-way through, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was sort of touched on and then quickly resolved after two pages, which felt kind of flat.

(Also, I know that this was an *uncorrected* ARC but halfway in the grammar, wording, and typos got *really* bad, with the tense often changing mid-sentence, which made reading it really hard work and took me totally out of the story, which was a shame :(( )

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh is a sweet book set in a small town in Ireland. The characters had great chemistry, and I enjoyed their interactions, but it was a bit too "insta love" for me. The author did an amazing job setting the scene and I enjoyed all of the side characters!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review!

A charming, feel-good, small town Irish romance that sees Katie Collins fighting to save her local pub when a new hotel build threatens to close it down to make room for a golf course. Her solution? Faking her way through planning a huge Matchmaking festival - a lost town tradition that used to be held on the pub grounds - and one she hopes will bring enough of a draw that the hotel owners will decide the pub needs to stay.

Funny and full of heartwarming family relationships (I loved her grandma!) and a sweet, swoony romance with the hot new guy in town, this book will definitely give you the feels and have you wanting to travel to Ireland (or back in my case). Though I didn't love this one quite as much as her last book, it was still an enjoyable read and good on audio narrated by Roisin Rankin.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

LOVED this book so much!!! It was hilarious and so heartwarming. If you are looking for a cute small-town romance read, look no further. Katie has lived in Ennisbawn forever. She works at the local pub at nights, and her sleep is being disrupted by new construction in town. She decides it would be a good idea to give the development company a piece of her mind so she head out pajamas and all and meets Callum. Her passionate love for the town and the pub is enough to get the development companies attention and of course Callum. Katie is going to bring back the matchmaking festival in attempts to save the town from being modernized. What she didn't see coming is the many matches in her small town.

Thank you so much Netgalley and Bookouture foe r this ARC in exchange for my review.

Review shared on Goodreads and Amazon.

We spent our weekend living every introvert’s dream: curled up with a mug of hot cocoa and an even sweeter rom com! Catherine Walsh’s newest novel- The Matchmaker- transported us from the comfort of our respective couches to the quaint Irish village of Ennisbawn, home to a young bartender Katie Collins, her sassy grandmother, Maeve, her best friends, Gemma and Anushka, and her boss and brother-figure, Adam. When Glenmill, a property developer, decides to build a large resort and golf course in Ennisbawn, it disrupts everyday life and threatens to demolish Kelly’s, the bar where Katie works, and the wishing well behind it, where her parents met during the village’s annual matchmaking festival. Will Katie manage to save her village from Glenmill’s (and it’s oh-so-dreamy project coordinator, Callum’s) evil claws?

The Matchmaker was the perfect weekend read: short, sweet, and packed with numerous laughs and quips, and although the plot wasn’t ground-breaking, it was certainly well-executed. Ennisbawn, with its narrow streets, peppered with stores and homes, was the perfect setting for the tale. And it's quirky residents, who exuded a strong sense of community, were the icing on the cake.

Katie was perhaps one of the most relatable protagonists- she was awkward, had a “chairdrobe”, wore duck pyjamas, and was hilarious. Callum was the quintessential rom-com lead, with his green eyes and charisma. And while their equation felt a little “Hallmark meets Netflix movie”, it was still sweet and made us go “aww” on several occasions. The supporting characters were just as brilliantly written and well-rounded and each of their characters packed a punch.

However, what stood the most was how Walsh dealt with the various relationships between the characters. The loyalty and supportive nature of female friendships, the protectiveness displayed by Adam, and affection between grandmother and granddaughter were heart-warming. She also never shied away from tackling the more realistic facets, including parental loss, absent parents, single parenthood, sibling rivalries, and even the fear and guilt one experiences as a caregiver. She handled each of these with the utmost sensitivity yet successfully infused humour into even the most serious situations.

The Matchmaker was a truly enjoyable read, and we can assure you we will definitely be reading more of Walsh's work.

The Matchmaker releases today and is available on Amazon- get your copy asap!

We would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC of this book.

L&L Rating: 4.5 stars

TL;DR: Small-town romance, packed with LOL and AWW moments; we recommend!

Another winner from Catherine Walsh. I always look forward to reading her books. Like with her previous books, The Matchmaker is full of wit, warmth and swoonworthy moments. Katie is a very likeable and relatable character and I love the relationship that she has with her grandmother, it was so heartwarming. Gemma and Nush are great supporting characters. This book is really unbelievably romantic and it's not just the main characters that you're rooting for. I can't wait for whatever treat Catherine has in store for us in the (hopefully) near future.

I loved every minute of this book! It’s SO hard to write comedy well, and @catwalshwriter is such a master at it. I giggled constantly at the many, many witty observations and hilarious, snarky lines of dialogue that Catherine writes so effortlessly. (Or at least she makes it seem effortless!) I adored Ennisbawn, the sleepy, slightly-crumbling town that was being threatened by developers. I was charmed by the quirky, occasionally-bumbling-but-ultimately-determined townspeople who swooped in to save it. And I loved Katie’s grit, her humor, and her loyalty. It was such a joy to root for her.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh follows Katie Collins, a loyal resident of the little town, Ennisbawn. Despite living her whole life in this small, rural town Katie could not imagine life elsewhere; so it was a huge shock to her when the town’s landmark pub, Kelly’s, is being sold to Glenmill – a large development company who plan to tear the pub down to make way for a clubhouse ( to match the new golf course that is also under construction). Katie is determined to stop that from happening, so she plans to host the annual Ennisbawn Matchmaking festival– the only problem is, can they pull the event together in time, and will it be enough to save their pub?

Catherine Walsh is officially on my “instant-buy” authors list. Aside from this book, I have only read one other book by her (A Holiday Romance) and rated that one 5 stars; both of my reading experiences with her books have been absolutely stellar and I am now on a mission to read every single book she has put out. There’s just something about the way she writes a love story, and the way she pulls together a seemingly simple story, but adds so much heart and soul into it, that just makes me adore her work.

First of all, the plot is exactly my kind of romance plot line. I love the idea of our main character, Katie, hosting a matchmaking event and eventually finding her own match along the way. I also really enjoyed he small town setting. I think there is something really charming about having a close-knit community of people and friends that you can rely on, and I loved watching these characters rally together to save what’s left of their town. I also loved that the author was able to intertwine a little bit of a whimsical element– the folklore about the faeries and the wishing well– added a lot of cosiness and charm into the story, and I thought it made this particular book stand out from all the other small-town romances out there.

This is a rarity for me, but I really enjoyed all the characters in this book. Katie is a great female lead. She’s headstrong, found her to be realistic in the way that made me want to root for her– despite some questionable decisions she makes along the way. I love that she has such a great friendship with a lot of the people in the town. I adore her friendship with Nush and Gemma, and genuinely wished we saw more of them in the book because I could not get enough of their silly antics and heartfelt moments together. I cannot count the amount of times I laughed and “aww-ed” aloud as I was reading. There was a lot to smile about in this book.

There’s not a lot that I ask for in a romance novel– two likeable characters, a solid buildup, reasonable conflict, and a happy ever after– everything else in between is up to the author, but if I have all those elements in a romance book, then I am happy.

This book did it perfectly. The romance was everything I could ask for and more. The build-up was good, I love that the romance plot line was neatly weaved into the storyline without forgetting about Katie’s original plan of saving the pub and planning the Matchmaking festival. I love that Katie and Callum started out as rivals at first, with Callum working for the “enemy” as Nush so kindly puts it. I’m a sucker for the trope, and really enjoyed the build up of this one. Callum was such a— screaming-into-my-pillow-in-jealousy– male lead and I love how in-love his was with her. (I love a simp and Callum was exactly that.)

I can’t remember the last time I tabbed so many quotes from a book, but I can tell you I highlighted quite a few in this one. Here’s a few of my favourites:

“You told me once that Kelly’s was your favorite place in the world. Well, you’re mine. You’re mine and I’ll go where you go. For as long as you want me to, I’ll be right there with you.”

“Is this a ‘would you still love me if I was a worm’ conversation?” he asks, and before I can even begin to react to the casual L word drop, he continues on. “Katie, you could tell me that your sole interest in life is snail migration, and I’d listen to every word you say so long as your eyes light up like that.”

Swoon. (If those lines haven’t convinced you to give this book a try, I don’t know what else will…)

There is a lot to love in this book, and if I tell you even more, I might as well recite the entire book here. If you want a book with a swoon-worthy romance, a fantastic cast of characters, and a book full of heart and soul, then this one is for you.

5 stars.

Do your heart a favour, and pick this book up.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookoture for giving me an Advanced Readers Copy of The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh in exchange for an honest book review.

THE MATCHMAKER – CATHERINE WALSH
ARC was provided by the author and publishing company via NetGalley

RATING
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 out of 5.

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Katie Collins has lived in her small town, in rural Ireland and doesn’t plan to leave it behind, thank you very much. No matter how easier or trendier life could be somewhere else, the tight-knit community, her cunning grandma and the bar where she works is enough to make her happy.
Sadly, the corporate giant with luxury hotels in its portfolio thinks the town need a bit of sprucing up, which leaves the quiet promptly behind. Not only Katie wakes up to trucks carousing up and down her street, they want to uproot Kelly’s, the bar which is the heart of the community, and her livelihood.
No matter how attractive the project – and those who work for it – is, how lucrative it could be, the principle of protecting what makes the town special, its people and values should be in focus. Or shouldn’t they?
Lines get blurry, lines get drawn. And to top it all (the Irishness is extraordinary) off – a matchmaking festival and a wishing well are maybe the only things that could save Katie and her friends.

REVIEW:
The story of Ennisbawn and its people is a charming tale about special people making wonders in order to secure happiness and fulfilment in their communities. If they need to make up a matchmaking festival to gather attention to take up fight against the bad wolves in suits? They’ll do just that.
The story is more than a cute and banter-y romcom, although Catherine delivers on those counts big time, as well. It’s about found families, generational hopes and dreams and struggles in a rural town, where time may have stood still, but the outside world did not. The Irish humour shines through the pages, with the delicately interwoven romance and sociographic elements supporting the arc of the storyline.
I admired Katie’s grit and drive, envied her finding funny parts in hurtful events, for never really giving up or giving in for something she fundamentally couldn’t believe in.
I had a grin on my face from probably the second half of the story, as we get to enjoy Katie and Callum together. There’s just something about Catherine’s MMC’s… I can’t help but categorise them in firm Book Boyfriend category.
Callum and Katie’s story was a slow burn for the ages, but, with this came super awkward/funny/charming and downright smutty scenes, which made my romance loving self really happy.
I especially appreciated:
• there being no third act break up,
• the smart banter between the main and side characters, which I came to love regarding Catherine’s writing
• the Irishness of it all! - it’s always refreshing after predominantly reading US-based stories

TROPES FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE:
- enemies to lovers
- slow burn
- small town romance
- tight-knit community
- found family
- contemporary romance