The Matchmaker is a fast-paced, rom-com!

I read this new novel by Catherine Walsh in a day! She whisks us away to the Irish countryside where we meet Katie Collins, a bartender at Kelly's Pub, a local landmark. Unfortunately, a developer has their sights set on the whole town, including Kelly's and Katie takes on the challenge of saving this staple in her life. Along the way she finds love and brings back the magic of the Matchmaker Festival to her small town.

Three and a half stars for this one! Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

I must have a thing for books set in Ireland! I love the way they talk, their wit and banter. This was a cute book! I smiled the whole time reading it and even had a few laugh out loud moments! The characters are so lovable!! Highly recommend for a fun read!

What a rollercoaster ride this book was! I went back and forth between giving it 3 stars 0r 4 starts - if I could have given it 3.5 stars, I probably would have done that. This book was an easy read, although at times it felt like there were mini storylines that splintered off. I wrote down notes as I was reading, so I will list them below:

1. Granny is by far my favorite character. Hands down. It was pretty much a sealed deal, but when she went to a funeral to gloat that she outlived someone, that sealed the deal for me.
2. Adam reminds me of Luke from the Gilmore Girls. I called his attraction to Gemma pretty early on, but it was cute seeing that come to be.
4. I thought for sure we were going to have ourselves a Darcy coming out of the pond moment when Katie and Callum were skipping rocks.
5. I was a little taken aback at how quickly we see the attraction that Callum has for Katie, then even more so how quickly the grand gesture happened, which was then followed by drama when Katie found out Jack and Callum are brothers….even though she got over it super quick,
7. The sexual attraction between Callum and Katie also felt like it kind of came out of left field, especially their first sexual encounter.
8. Callum punches Jack…which leads to the power going out….which leads to Callum and Katie having their first night together…which leads to Katie being gone overnight, and finding Granny on the floor. Felt like a lot all within a 24 hour period, and it also felt a little unnecessary.
8. I’m still on the fence as to whether or not we are supposed to be okay with Jack or if we hate him. He did some pretty crappy things, but then spent the entire day with Katie at the hospital.
9. While I completely supported Katie asking Adam for a raise and/or a promotion, it came out of left field - especially when it seemed like she’d had a conversation about it with Callum that the reader wasn’t privy to (unless I missed it somehow).
10. The spice was…okay, at best.

With all of the notes I mentioned above, I will say that I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read, I was able to finish it pretty quickly, and it left me feeling content. This was the first book I have read by this author, and I enjoyed this book enough that I will definitely be looking into reading some of her other books!

**I appreciate so much NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.**

thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. this was such a cute and fun little romcom. a small town romance will get me every time and this one was no exception. katie was so funny, strong and loveable, an excellent main character! callum was a perfect love interest, he had me giggling and kicking my feet in the air. they just had such palpable chemistry and it was so enjoyable to read. i also really loved all of the side characters and the whole community was just so wholesome. I NEEEED GEMMA AND ADAM'S STORY!

My rating: 3 stars

This was a solid romance. I liked the relationship between Callum and Katie. I felt like it was genuine and not rushed. There was we not my spicy 🌶️ so if you are looking for something with not so much this would be a good read. It was slower in the beginning but picked up in the middle.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc, I enjoyed this read!

I read my first Catherine book, Holiday Romance, this past winter and adored it. The hype is so well deserved and everyone who recommended it to me deserves a cupcake. After reading The Matchmaker too, the fangirl in me is here to stay.
Katie is a small town girl and not looking to go anywhere. She loves her rural life tied to her lovely grandmother and the one and only local pub, Kelly's. Big changes are afoot when the church sells property and a luxury hotel and golf course are proposed. Katie isn't up in arms until the noise levels interrupt her sleeping schedule one too many times. Marching down to the construction site in her pajamas and face mask is necessary to her sanity but meeting Callum in said attire is mortifying.
This is one of those books that I hated to put down. Both Katie and Callum are lovable MCs and that guy had some swoony comments that made me all aflutter. Catherine really knows how to develop the chemistry and romance in the perfect way for me as a reader.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own and this book releases 04.18.2023.

My first Catherine Walsh book and it definitely did not disappoint! I decided to request this on netgalley as I had seen a couple of other Irish bookstagrammers chatting about it and I thought the synopsis sounded great. Romance is a genre I don't pick up too often but I am so glad I did with this book as I thoroughly enjoyed it and binge-read it in two sittings. I definitely will be picking up more of Catherine Walsh's books after this!

I found the matchmaker to be a heartwarming comfort book that I couldn't get enough of. I loved the characters throughout and especially loved the friends of the main character Katie, I would have loved to see more of them too! I found Katie hilarious throughout and I loved her character and spirit of not giving up on what she believed in. Her relationship with her grandmother was lovely, and also the grandmother was hilarious with her wit. The small town setting of Ennisbawn was brilliant and Walsh does an excellent job at describing small towns and what the people in these areas can be like. For me especially I loved the dynamic between Katie and Calum and the will they/won't they get together, their chemistry was excellent.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and it has definitely made me want to pick up more of Catherine Walsh's work! I would definitely recommend if you want a quick heartwarming read.

This was my first time reading a Catherine Walsh book. It was a lovely Irish small town romance, filled with fun characters, including our plucky heroine Katie who is out to save the hometown pub from developers, and the hero Callum who is one of those developers.
It's a fun story, the includes a Matchmaking festival, which sounded so amazing.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoture for the ARC.

Cute little romance novel set in a small Irish town where a girl is trying to save her loved pub from a building conglomerate trying to take over. But of course a handsome man working for the enemy has to come around.

It was a very fluffy book and I fell in love with the town but the romance was quite predictable, too easy a journey and equally too fast and slow at the same time.

Overall an easy read and is nice to break up some more intense reads.

I love books like this soooo much. i love how their relationship started off and evolved, and how caring he was to her ahhh!!!! i cant wait to read more from the author.

When a new construction project starts tearing through the quiet town of Ennisbawn, disrupting her precious sleep, Katie Collins is determined to do something to stop it. So when an angry conversation with the head of the project leads to her having to revive the historical matchmaking festival the town used to be known for, the entire community comes together to make it happen.

After having really enjoyed Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh last year, this was one I was really excited for. And, if I'm being honest, I loved a lot of the same things in this book - this was fun, filled with believable banter and funny one-liners, the atmosphere was lovely, making me feel like I was in Ennisbawn as well and the overarching plot was interesting enough to keep me coming back to this book. I also really loved the community feel in this book; I adore books featuring the concept of a whole community coming together with a joint purpose, and this was a perfect example of that.

However, there were some aspects where The Matchmaker fell flat for me. First of all, while some of the side characters were well developed and I cared a lot about them, others felt like fillers and I struggled to remember who they were when their name came up on the page. Most importantly, though... I really didn't care about the romance. This felt like it was supposed to be an enemies to lovers, but the initial tension just wasn't here. But the development of the main characters' relationship wasn't there much either; it felt quite insta-lovey, which really isn't for me.

All in all, this is an entertaining story about a community coming together to fight the big bag corporation that wants to ruin their small town. And I really loved that part. But in a rom-com, I'm expecting to also be invested in the romance part, and unfortunately I just wasn't.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an ARC for this title.

This was a super cute small town romance. The characters were sweet and heartwarming.

The writer did a great job with keeping it fun. I even caught myself laughing several times, which is always a huge plus while reading.

The character development was great as well. Great storyline and easy to follow.

I would totally recommend for a light, quick read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really cute book with an awesome beginning that really made me chuckle. Unfortunately, the second half really slowed down and wasn’t nearly as funny. Still a cute read though.

I've already read the author before, so I was hoping this new one with keep up with my expectations and it did.

Katie and Callum start off on the wrong foot over the noise construction in her small village, but soon
they keep bumping into each other.

Things escalate when the pub where she works is in peril, and Katie decides to revive a matchmaking festival to bring publicity to their cause.

The small village setting, with the pros and cons that come with it, was well done and I liked it, along with the characters.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Some explicit scenes and language.

The Matchmaker is a win in my book. Super cute!!!! Smiles from the first page until the last. Devoured in 2 sittings! 4 out of 5 stars for me.

The match maker has made its mark on me! Laughing out loud in public is why reading a book is one of my favorite past times. The love story between these two kept me on my toes and made me smile way too many times. Throughly enjoyed this lovely book and can’t wait to see more from this author! The Irish background made it all the more entertaining. Though sometimes the romance was predictable, it was still such a cute read.

This is such a sweet book about a generous and caring person who was passionate about her town and what it represents. To some who would drive by, it was a small town that had vacant storefronts and a lack of activity. But to Katie, it was home and a home that she was proud of. What I enjoyed about this book that it didn't state that living a simple life means that she didn't know how to enjoy life. Family and friends and surrounding.yourself should be more than enough. I think that what Nush said is correct when she describes Kelly's. It may be four walls and a roof but it is the people inside of it that matter the most. That is why Katie fought so hard to preserve her town and save Kel!y's. To start a Matchmaker Gathering focused on a wishing well and how true love can be found. Her and Callum's love on!y added to the book. I really enjoyed it.

Would you rather live in a small town or a big city?!

For Katie, her small town is the o my life she’s ever known and couldn’t imagine it any other way. But, she’s about to learn that nothing stays the same forever. Swipe for synopsis! 👉🏼

❤️What I loved about it:
•The small town setting and all the quirky members of the community.
•Catherine Walsh is hilarious and her witty banter is my favourite!
•Callum 😍
•Why did I get all misty over a love scene that wasn’t even between the two main characters at one point! 😆

🖤What I didn’t love:
•My only complaint was that it took a long time for the MC’s to get together and then it was a bit 0-60.

I really enjoyed this book! I laughed, I felt the feels and was grinning at the banter! It maybe wasn’t as romantic as Holiday Romance by the same author, but the story was still entertaining and I would definitely recommend!!

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for the ARC.

The Match Maker comes out April 18th, 2023!

I want to start off by thanking Catherine Walsh for this ARC. As always, I feel forever grateful every time I receive one. Now, onto the real review. Right off the bat, I have to say that when I read the summary for this story, I never expected it to be anything more than a fluff read. The plot wasn't particularly unique, and yet, Catherine Walsh somehow had me crying at one part of the book. Her story had so much heart and soul, and I could feel it in her characters.
The story follows Katie, a bartender from a small town in Ireland. She has barely ever left town, and she's perfectly content with that. She has everything she could ever want and need in Ennisbawn. It was perfectly peaceful until Callum turned up. Callum is part of the developmental team that's making a huge hotel in their town. The disgruntled town members have accepted the fact that the hotel was going to be made in their town, until they find out that the hotel plans to knock town the bar that Katie works in, Kelly's. Not only is it the bar that Katie works in, but it's the last remaining bar in town! She quickly comes up with a scheme to try and save the bar. Irish folk are really into saving their history, so she decides to revive the famous Matchmaker's event the town used to hold every year. With the help of her friends, and the rest of the town, will they be able to save Kelly's?
Right off the bat, I liked how well developed the characters were. They all had so much personality, and not just characters on a page. I sometimes feel like secondary characters fall flat, because authors don't care enough to bring them to life. They focus so much on their main characters, that they forget about the rest. But Catherine did a great job allowing you to genuinely get to know the side characters, without taking away from the plot or the main characters. Another thing I really loved is the fact that Katie was content with her life. I feel like a lot of the time characters like Katie either leave and come back, or don't leave and feel remorse. I liked how sure of herself she was. Overall, it was a super fun read, and would love to get a story following Jack! 4 Stars.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this ARC!
This was my very first Catherine Walsh book and I dove into it without any expectations.
I was hooked from page one. This book is about small town Katie who's teaming up with her friends and family against the big corp developers that are taking over and ruining her idyllic little Irish town. This book had everything i like in a romantic novel. I'm a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope so this book was right up my alley. The characters are all very well written and I loved every single one of them, even the ones you weren't supposed to like. This book through and through is really well written, funny, lovely and just really heartwarming. I both laughed out loud and cried whilst reading it. I feel like the ending could have been a little bit more well developed but that's only because I wanted much more of the story and of Katie and Callum.