Katie Collins is a small town bartender in an Irish pub in Ennisbaum who finds herself taking on the challenge of saving her local pub from the big bad developers who are taking over her town. Alongside her best friends, Gemma, Anushka and her boss Adam, she endeavors to host and revitalize the towns famous matchmaking festival to save the business she loves.

She meets her love interest Callum in a very not cute way when she barges onto the construction site of Ennisbaums newest hotel to berate the owner for the loud noises outside her house that had been waking her up. She yells at Callum, the construction manager, and eventually the Project Manager Jack Doyle as well. Katie uses the pubs historic wishing well and matchmaking festival as a way to drum up support for stopping the destruction of the pub and launches herself and her friends on a mission that seems destined to fail.

While the story itself was cute, the side stories especially, it, it was hard to swallow how fast Callum falls for her and how eager he is to do anything for her after the sort of hostile way they meet. I think the romance needed to be fleshed out a little bit more but overall I still enjoyed the book. Would have definitely enjoyed a story line about Gemma and Adam a bit more than this couple, but still a cute story.

I am a fan of anything by Catherine Walsh! I liked how she slightly deviated from the inevitable by having Callum + Katie fall in love before the end of the story. Like Katie, this book has a lot of heart + a warm, diverse cast of characters that you can’t help envision as members of your own community. I finished this book wanting to visit Ennisbawn + being a part of the magic the townspeople created by standing up for their home.

This book is a nice warm hug with occasional laugh out loud moments. The book takes place in a small Irish village of Ennisbawn. The area just outside Ennisbawn has been in works of a major development of a large hotel and golf club. The developer plans to tear down the village including one of the last pubs in the village called Kelly’s. I really adored the quirky personality of the main character, Katie Collins. She is strong willed and really leads with her ideas. The book starts with her barging into the construction area in her pajamas because of the construction noise waking her up in the morning. She meets the hot hunky hot headed developer Callum Dempsey. A little bit of slow romance but the book is so much more than a romance novel- it is about the village, the people there and the last Irish pub. However, there is a love match or two in the making with some characters. Overall loved this quirky roncom. Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I absolutely love Catherine Walsh and the Irish settings of her novels. I wish I had been able to attend Ennisbawn's Matchmaking Festival! 

Katie is an adorable small town girl who is happy with her small town life...except she needs her sleep. The beginning of the book had me laughing when she stormed into the equally adorable Callum's office in her pj's and eye patches, demanding that she needs sleep from horrid construction noise (what a hoot that someone took her picture and later hung it up in the office!).

Katie's efforts to save the town pub from being torn down for better golf course views were both noble and loveable. She tries to recreate the matchmaking festival with lots of missteps, but also a whole lot of success. What a beautiful way to save the pub and remember her deceased parents.

The side characters, like Adam, Gemma, Nush and even Noah, stole the show, as did Katie's grandmother. I loved the tight knit town and the matchmaking connections for everyone! Ennisbawn became my favorite place because Katie and Callum were there!

As you can expect from Catherine Walsh this was hilarious. The banter is excellent and the characters feel so real. The romance was believable and there was so much chemistry. I loved the side characters who were all really well developed too. I was invested in the storyline from the start and was so excited to see the matchmaking festival. I loved that people actually communicated and talked through issues. There was literally not a single thing I would change, it was perfect 💕

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture publishing for this arc.
I was absolutely delighted when I got it.

What I love most about small town romances is that it feels like it’s a big, huge family where everyone might fight sometimes but ultimately are there for each other.

Catherine is great at making the reader feel exactly what her characters are feeling. Which made me constantly sympathetic towards most of the characters. Reading this was so much fun.

The Matchmaker had it all from relatable characters, to a heartthrob butterflies-in-my-stomach romances (the side couple was just as endearing), to strong friendships, to a sense of belonging. Plus it’s set in Ireland. Stories set in Ireland own my heart.

This gave me a book hangover in the best kind of way. And I highly recommend.

The Matchmaker is sweet and funny with lots of small town Irish charm, but I wouldn’t necessarily categorize it as a romance.

Katie Collins lives in a small Irish town that’s been chosen as the site of a big hotel resort build, disrupting their small town quiet with construction and threatening the livelihood of the town’s only pub, where Katie works. She’s taken it upon herself to resurrect the town’s matchmaking festival to show the development company that there’s life still left in their little town, especially in the pub that’s at the heart of it all.

While speaking up against the noise, Katie meets Callum Dempsey who works at the hotel construction site. Little does Katie know that Callum is more than just the construction site manager, but is also the brother of the man she and her whole town dislike most - the development manager, Jack Doyle. There’s some back and forth between Katie and Callum but honestly their relationship just felt kind of meh - I wasn’t super invested in it and it felt like a secondary story line.

This story is billed as a romance, but I think this was more chick lit than anything. The romance was barely a factor in the story and honestly wasn’t super interesting - Callum was a little too possessive and Katie was a little too oblivious for my liking. The Matchmaker felt more like the story of a small town learning to live again and all of the side characters making a life for themselves - I loved Adam/Gemma/Noah and Anushka and would have loved more about them and less about Callum and Katie’s unexciting romance. Overall, this was an easy, sweet read but was not the romance I expected.

After reading and loving the Holiday Romance last year, I promptly purchased the Rebound and One Night Only by Catherine Walsh. I’ve really enjoyed the humor, the romance and the Irish history in all 3 books. I was so excited to read Matchmaker and even more stoked to get an advanced copy courtesy of Bookouture.

I found this to be a cute story and enjoyed the characters, but it lacked the humor that I thoroughly enjoyed in her previous books. Although the matchmaking seemed to work in the end for each of the characters and I was happy for the ending, the romance didn’t have as much anticipation as I would have liked. I’m still glad I read it though.

Thanks again for the ARC copy courtesy of Bookouture via NetGalley.

This romance didn't have much in the way of surprises but sometimes that's exactly what you need. Something sweet and heartwarming, full of love and community. Perfect for a summer read.

Read ARC via Net Galley - enjoyable fun romp of a read. This was a nice light read that I enjoyed on a day that I was feeling under the weather and wanted something entertaining. I love Catherine Walsh’s characters and dialogue. Funny, enjoyable read!

I rated this book a 3.8 and the only hesitation in a 4 is that books like these are forgettable to me, but that does not in any way take away the enjoyable 4 star like reading experience. I tend to literary fiction, family dramas, or historical fiction, but I love and enjoy Walsh's books because they are a fun diversion, one with excellent dialogue, great writing, and an interesting premise.

Catherine Walsh's dialogue is so snappy and her rom coms are higher quality than most. Fast but interesting reads, this author is becoming a go to when I am in the mood for a rom com type book but want something well written and enjoyable.

The Matchmaker- by Catherine Walsh- Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Katie has lived in the quaint hillside town of Ennisbawn her whole life. Her love for her town, her grandmother, her friends and Kelly’s pub run deep. Katie is happy with her life in Ennisbawn and content to live the rest of her days there.

That is until Jack Doyle and Callum Dempsey come to town to build a huge hotel and golf resort. They say they’re in it to help the Ennisbawn’s economy but Katie and her friends aren’t convinced- - - and rightfully so! As Jack Doyle and Glenmil seek to buy more land and ultimately Katie’s lively hood, the beloved Kelly’s pub Katie sees to put an end to this once and for all.

Katie decides the best way to save the pub is to revamp the long standing Ennisbawn Matchmaking Festival. Along with her friends Katie does just that, while also finding a helping hand, and love connection with no other than Callum Dempsey.

Catherine Walsh does a beautiful job of making the reader fall in love with the Irish country side. I truly felt like I was right there when reading this book! 5/5 stars for this alone!

Overall this was a fun read that had me hooked from the get go. Where it lost me was the latter half. I wanted more development for Callum and Katie’s love story. The ending felt rushed and left me wanting more. However, I definitely look forward to reading more of Walsh’s stories in the near future!

Thank you Netgalley, Booktour and Catherine Walsh for the digital ARC of The Matchmaker!

Loved the premise of this story. The side characters were great (I would be interested in seeing a Gemma-Adam story), and the small village setting was charming. I loved Callum but Katie came across a little neurotic (which is probably supposed to be part of her charm). I struggled in the beginning to get invested in the story; it had a slow start before it finally took off. I noticed my interest start piquing about 20% into the book.

3.5/5 rounded up to 4.

This is such a fun, hilarious and adorable book with the cutest romance and brilliantly written characters you can’t help but root for. This is very much an underdog vs a big corporation, which I always love but also there’s the cutest romance and a small town coming together - what’s not to love? I can’t say a bad word about this, The Matchmaker is a lighthearted easy read and perfect for any occasion.

I coincidentally read this book while traveling around Ireland (it was just next up on my TBR list and I fully believe it aided in me really getting into the book and feeling like a part of it.
I loved this book even without that fact though. MC was a small town girl who wasn’t afraid to admit she liked it and didn’t need more to her life. I was cheering for her, the underdog, as she took hit after hit. Seeing the budding friendship between the circumstantial enemies and the plot twist I usually see coming but surprisingly didn’t in this one. 🤣
This book was well written and had me laughing and nodding my head in relatability.

Catherine Walsh is the queen of hilarious romance! The meet-cute and all the feels after made this one really enjoyable! Adored all the characters and I'm adding Callum to my list of Irish men 🫶🏻

A sweet story about a small town girl going up against a big corporation trying to change the fabric of her beloved small town. Can she find love and save her town by reviving a Matchmaker festival? A little too insta-love and simplistic for my preference in that any likely stumbling blocks to the relationship disappeared to quickly. But I enjoyed the characters, the setting, and the premise of this nice simple romance with a bit of spice. I know exactly the type of reader to recommend this to.

I was thrilled to read this book, Catherine Walsh has quickly become one of my must read authors and The Matchmaker did not disappoint. I instantly knew I would love Katie, she is so relatable … if I’m sleep deprived = watch out! She is a small town girl at heart and I love that about her, the love for her community and being content with what you have instead of constantly focusing on being “more” is so nice to see. In this world of social media it is easy to get caught up in the glamorous life so often depicted online and start thinking “I’m no enough” so I really appreciated Katie for staying true to herself.

This book is written from Katies POV and just like I knew I would I feel in love with small town Ireland and the wonderful characters Catherine Walsh describes. It is a quaint little town which is facing big changes with a major developer comes in to build a hotel and golf club. In many ways it reminds me of a Hallmark movie crossed with Gilmore Girls. There is a wonderful set of side characters who really help bring this story to life. I know I am not supposed to have favourites but it was impossible not to love Granny, she is a sharp tongued lady who made my laugh out loud on several occasions.

The relationship between Katie and Callum was really sweet and low angst. I think it is fair to say for him it was instalove but Katie took a little longer to come around. I loved his big gesture but most of all I loved all the little ways he showed her he cared e.g. rerouting the traffic. He definitely came off as a grump at the start of the book but we quickly started to see his softer side.

I large part of the book is about the matchmaking festival the towns people are trying to host in an effort to save their town. Is this perhaps a farfetched idea? Sure but it makes excellent fodder for a romcom and I loved every minute of it. How perfect was the viral video moment? I loved how it all came together in the end. The festival, Katie and Callum but also the new and old Ennisbawn.

The trouble with Catherine Walsh books is as soon a I finish one I want to start another.

Thank You to Bookouture for the gifted eARC provided through NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book and I leave my honest review voluntarily.

Cute small town David vs Goliath romance featuring Katie & Callum. It’s pretty clean - almost no spice, very tame - so this is a great way to start your spicy romance journey. Good banter and funny bits.

I really enjoyed this one. It had everything I could of wished for and more! Small town romance, enemies to lovers. This was my first read by this author and I'll definitely be reading more of her stuff.

I appreciated how The Matchmaker made an effort to focus not only on the romance but also on the familial and character development aspect of it. I actually had a genuine liking for Katie—she was just incredibly spirited and witty, flawed enough to make her seem just a little bit more real and relatable.

I also liked the quaint town aspect of it—I think the diversity of characters really helped in showcasing how powerful the spirit of a community can be.

I didn’t particularly like how the ending was written—I think it got just a touch too cheesy for me to take it seriously. Just a disclaimer that I’m really not one for cheesy lines (I wish I were, but I am cursed with the cynic gene)—so others may actually like this, because I did see some very quotable lines here, guaranteed to make you giggle (and wish you were Katie).

I think this was written pretty well—but nothing earth shattering. A quick, feel-good read if you ever need one!