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

Andddd, she’s done it again, y’all. The streak of absolutely falling in love with whatever Catherine writes is continued. Another 5 star read! I read the first chapter and I was HOOOKED. I couldn’t put it down! I am in awe of whatever she writes and like, if you haven’t checked out ANY of her books… what exactly are you doing with your life? Her books are just another world (that I never want to leave) and I don’t know how she does it but she writes the most beautiful and still relatable characters who have their flaws but the way they all love is just magical.

Callum and Katie’s story was just that. Magical. I felt ALL the emotions! I was crying, laughing, blushing, yelling and bursting with pride. It was a perfect read and more.

Callum was definitely a new fav bookish boyfriend and was in a close fight with Andrew to be my top man in the Catherine book verse, because every time he made a gesture or expressed his love for Katie, I. Was. FLOORED. and yes.. at a point, I did yell at the almighty to question his decision not to make more real men like him.

Katie was such an imperfect but brilliant character. Her strength was something I was in love with. Her passion and love for her community had me just as much as in awe as Callum. She was brave and determined and although stubborn, she did know how to handle situations when at fault. But when it came to the people and things she loved, she was a force to be reckoned with.

I was a bit taken aback by the fast pace at the start but the plot was well-written & in the end, it felt perfect.

tropes:
• (soft) enemies to lovers
• he falls first & falls hard
• set in a small village in ireland
• opposites attract
• no third-act break-up
• “you’re my home”

If you want to read about two strangers falling in love with each other where he falls first & hard and where she dislikes everything he’s doing and who he works for, while fighting for a place she loves, you should definitely read it!

Happy Publishing Day to The Matchmaker by @catwalshwriter 💘 🏹

“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.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you to @netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this early. This was such a cute read and gave me all the Hallmark feels. This was my first book by Catherine but I really enjoyed her characters and the setting being a small town in Ireland. The characters were all very likeable and I loved seeing all the different connections the matchmaking festival brought about. I would have loved an *extra* epilogue to see more about Katie and Callum and was left wanting even more! I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Catherine next l!

I loved The Matchmaker! In this charming story by Catherine Walsh, a developer has blown into town and promises to bring jobs, tourists, and prosperity to Ennisbawn with a new hotel and a golf course. Katie Collins is none too happy when this new construction starts interrupting her much needed sleep. She storms the construction site only to be met by the handsome Callum Dempsey. She's mad and now flustered. A tiny truce is called when traffic is rerouted and Katie is finally getting some rest. That is until her job as a bartender at the beloved pub, Kelly's, is threatened. Glenmill, the development company, wants to demolish the pub to make way for newer, bigger, and better!

Katie decides she's had it with "the man" messing with her village, her home, her job, and the charming wishing well at the pub. She's scrambling for a way to save all that she loves. In an instant, she blurts out that she's bringing back the famed Matchmaking Festival, the very event where her parents met long ago. Now Katie is secretly wondering exactly how she's gonna pull this off.

My Thoughts:
Katie is hilarious!! I love the way her mind works. Her antics and thought processes had me giggling throughout the book. I adored her friends and family, from Granny to Gemma to Adam and Nush. And the tension between Katie and Callum...whew.

Walsh's engaging writing made me fall in love with the people of Ennisbawn. By the end of this book, you'll find yourself wanting to visit the small Irish village and pining to try one of Katie's drinks at the pub. Honestly, I'd love to hear more about the other characters in The Matchmaker! @catwalshwriter, we need more of the delightful people of Ennisbawn!

Read this, if you like:
• Rom coms
• enemies to lovers
• friends to lovers
• small towns in Ireland 

Reviews also posted on Goodreads and Amazon

Happy pub day to the Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh!

Star rating: 3.5 ⭐️
Genre: romance
Pages: 344

Read if you like:
▪️Irish setting
▪️enemies to lovers
▪️found family
▪️small towns
▪️preserving traditions

I was truly obsessed with Holiday Romance by the same author (review posted in December), so I was really excited to read this one. While I did *like* it, I didn’t like it nearly as much as Holiday Romance. I thought it was funny and cute, and I absolutely loved the setting (small town in Ireland). But I didn’t feel the chemistry or build up between the characters, and I don’t think it was ever really articulated why they were attracted to one another. I also thought the plot was more focused on preserving the town than the romance, which dragged a bit for me. Overall, it felt a little run-of-the-mill Hallmark to me. If that’s your thing, though, pick this one up and enjoy the Irish setting (and Irish man)!

#QOTD: favorite setting for a romance book?

Thanks for the free galley @bookouture in exchange for an honest review!

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh

Thank you to @netgalleyuk & @bookoture for digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fourth book from the lovely Catherine Walsh. I adore her lovely romance with a touch of comedy books. They are all filled with an Irish sense of humour too.

Katie absolutely adores the little rural village she lives in Ennisbawn. She has grown up there with her no-nonsense granny Maeve. She doesnt see the attraction of big city life and adores working in the village's only pub. That is until a big shot devloper shows up and decides to build a big hotel /resort in their beautiful town and then it turns out they aren't just happy with ruining the beautiful countryside they are also planning on knocking down the local pub that Katie works in. Katie along with her friends and fellow locals do not want this to happen. So Katie decides to reignite an old tradition Ennisbawn's once famous matchmaking festival which her own parents met at. Katie is met with a lot of bumps and hurdles along the way none bigger than the gorgeous Callum Dempsey who works for the big developer taking over her village.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved Katie's friendship with Gemma, Anushka and Adam. I also fancied the pants off Callum (Nobody will top Declan though 😜) Katie's granny reminded me so much of my granny Peggy that we lost last year that I might have shed a tear 😢 A lovely heartfelt book that I just loved reading.

4⭐⭐⭐⭐

Catherine Walsh does it again! I love reading her books because she makes you feel like you’re in a small Irish town. The Matchmaker has some laugh out loud moments, and good character development. This was a quick weekend read and I couldn’t be happier I received an arc of this book!

I read The Matchmaker with a big smile on my face and couldn't help but fall in love with all the characters and the small Irish town of Ennisbawn. But, then again, that is how it's been with every single book I've read by Catherine Walsh - she has such a witty and charming way of writing that I find myself happily sinking into her books and wish I could stay there forever. Luck of the Irish? I don't think so - this is pure talent and what a talented storyteller Catherine Walsh is!

What we have in The Matchmaker is the life and people of a small Irish town trying to make a stand against all the changes threatening their way of life and their beloved pub. In the center of it all is Katie Collins who has lived in Ennisbawn with her grandmother all her life and who - with some help from her wonderful friends and a newcomer, Callum - revives the town's matchmaking festival where her parents met years and years ago.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Bookouture and Catherine Walsh for the eARC of this cute, fun and emotional novel filled with Irish charm! ❤