I have to start by saying this book made me smile so big! It is a perfect small town romance with emphasis on small town because even though the romance is there and done so so well it is Ennisbawn you fall in love with or better yet the people of Ennisbawn. First of all our unlikely heroine! Katie is a waitress in a beloved pub Kelly's, she lives with her grandma in Ennisbawn, Ireland where she's lived her whole life and in the street where a new shiny hotel is being built. Small town and its pub are in crisis and Katie seems to be the only one stubborn enough to fight for it. I don't like writing the entire plot in my reviews so I'll stop here. I loved where the story took me, I loved her friends and her town, I loved the romance and I loved her love interest! It reads like a movie, a really good romcom, but it has a deeper feel of being real. I can imagine these characters existing irl, they lead normal, simple lives and we got a glimpse of that. Romance books very often make me fall in love with the MMC or the love interest more and while Callum was the dreamiest(!!!) It's Katie who carries the whole story as she should. It's her you love and root for and it's her you wish you could spend more time with. I loved that! Giving it 5 stars here and 4 on Goodreads to balance it out because it is 4.5 which is still great!

I loved this book!

As a Irish girl I felt like I knew all these characters and the town so well! I love the main characters Callum is just perfect! He's kind and the strong arms with tattoos - perfection!
I loved the lead character Katie, she's been through some rough times and is dealing with anxiety. I love how real she was and her determination to stand up to developers and save her town. There are towns in Ireland that hold matchmaking festivals and it's so much fun.
This book is just a feel good, laugh out loud read that you won't be able to put down. I stayed up until 2am to finish it!

As a fan of Catherine Walsh's, I was so excited to get my hands on an ARC of The Matchmaker. This book follows Katie Collins as she watches her beloved small Irish village start to get demolished by some big time developers. Her last hope to stop them is to revive the town's once famous matchmaking festival.

Katie is a character you fall in love with from the first chapter, yellow duck pjs and all. While I cannot relate to her desire to stay in her small hometown, I love her tenacity to save it and the townspeople around her that support her in this endevor.

The only part of the book that fell a bit short for me was the instant love connection between her an Callum - while they seem to have a good relationship, the instantness of it felt a little forced.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an ok read, ideal for the beach or as a palate cleanser between books of heavier subject matter. I found there wasn’t much by way of character development and the storyline was a little too predictable for me.

2.5 stars, rounded up.

Sexy, funny, and just amazing! Irish vibes and witty banter! New author for me and was happily surprised with how much I liked this genre! Would recommend

thank you netgallery for the arc!
this was a fun read that i enjoyed
at times i skimmed and at others i couldnt put the book down

An adorable small-town romance that had me giggling <3

This was my first Catherin Walsh read, but it certainly won't be my last! I quickly learned I adore her writing style, witty charm, and outstanding sense of humor. (Unrelated to the book, but if you aren't already following her on Instagram, you should do so now!)

The Matchmaker follows the story of small-town resident, Katie, who goes up against <i>the man</i> to save the local pub, from being destroyed as they build a hotel. Here enters the love interest Callum. Their story unfolds pretty quickly and while I can see where some people felt it was too quick or out of the blue, I thought it worked well. Their banter is *chefs kiss*.

What I loved most about this book was that it was a romance, but still had a plot. Honestly, some of the best parts of this story happened outside of the romance. The relationships Katie has with her friends and family were so relatable! Gosh, I loved them all, but especially Granny and Plankton. Plus the passion she showed for her town was inspiring. I also loved that this was SO focused on being a small town and that being happy with that was more than enough. So often in media, whether that be books, TV, movies, etc., we're fed this narrative that you need to dream bigger, reach for the stars, want more. It was lovely to read something that reinforces the idea that it's a-okay to be content with where you are and what you have for once.

I adored this book and cannot wait to read others from Catherine soon!

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<i> A big thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for gifting me this ARC. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily. </i>

This book was charming, adorable, and a lot of fun! Katie lives in a small Irish town, and has been battling with a development company building a hotel that is interrupting the idyllic town’s life. After going back and forth with the company, Katie realizes the only way to save the landmarks of her town is to host the traditional matchmakers festival that used to be hosted every year by the town. Except it hasn’t been hosted in years, there isn’t a matchmaker, and Katie’s in over her head.
This plot was fresh and entertaining. It was interesting, kept me fully invested, and was still sweet and funny. Walsh built out a beautiful town to enjoy throughout the story, with inviting details like a wishing well with Katie’s parents’ initials engraved on the edge. The characters were all warm and welcoming, and made the story even more enjoyable to read. Their multiple love stories made it a 5-star read for me. The entire book was a delightful respite from reality that I’d recommend to anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Catherine Walsh and her books and this one is no exception. The story, characters, and location is all just perfect!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

The Matchmaker is a book that will have you laughing out loud and in love with the characters after just one chapter! A humorous and adorable romance, The Matchmaker follows Katie Collins as she tries to save her village from being completely taken over by a development firm. To get public opinion on her side and help her save her town, Katie puts on a matchmaking festival and finds her own love along the way.

I was immediately enamored with the characters after the first chapter, and the more characters you meet, the more there is to love. Everyone is likeable, charming, and deep. We see their good qualities and their bad sides, but it makes them all the more likeable and relatable. Many of their interactions and funny and endearing, making this book a truly enjoyable read. There are a few spicy scenes, but it isn’t overboard or boring at all. It was the perfect amount of steam vs. plot-driven events.

As this was an advanced reader’s copy, I think it’s important to note that there were numerous spelling and grammatical errors throughout the entire book. I would highly recommend that the book is combed through again because the amount of errors became rather annoying and seemed unprofessional.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a light-hearted romance with more dimension beyond the swoon-worthy scenes alone. This novel is set in Ireland, so I would also recommend this to anyone who likes to travel by reading and learn about different places through books. I will whole-heartedly recommend this to anyone and everyone, as it was truly a feel-good story.

The build up.

The humor.

The laugh out loud moments.

The story.

It all was SO WELL DONE!!!!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

This was a cute and fun romcom set in a small village in Ireland. The characters were all enjoyable and played their parts well and the premise of the story was great. My favorite part of this book was that there was no third act breakup! 💃

I enjoyed this one for the most part but also struggled with some of the over-the-top antics. The FMC was a little too quirky for me and the MMC quitting his job for her so quickly was also hard to believe. Those are pretty minor things though, overall it was a cute story!

This book could also go through another round of grammar edits before pub day 😊

I don’t read very much romance, but I enjoyed Holiday Romance so much that I was thrilled to get another Catherine Walsh read. That being said, The Matchmaker fell a little flat for me. The premise of the book was a lot of fun - a small town rebelling against big-money developers and bringing back a matchmaking festival. Walsh continues to deliver on banter and humor, but the relationship in the story was too insta-love for me. I would have loved to see more character and relationship development, but the MMC went all in with the grand gestures at a point that didn’t feel right.

Overall, this one was just okay to me.

First, thank you for allowing me to read this book. It was my first one from Catherine Walsh so went in with a open mind. And let me say, that I really enjoyed it. It was fun and interesting as set in another country so getting the feel, visual, etc from Ireland and pub life was enjoyable. Very light hearted and funny. Definitely recommend.

Catherine Walsh never disappoints! Her books make me want to throw on a cozy sweater, grab an umbrella and move to Ireland. I was fortunate to receive an ARC of The Matchmaker and it was delightful. I loved the relationship between Katie & Callum. She was already strong, he just enhanced that strength. I appreciated the touch on anxiety and grief and how it can hinder and help. Highly recommend!!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. While I liked the characters and the plot was fun, I didn’t love this as much as I loved Catherine’s Walsh’s previous books. 3.5 stars!

If “The Ex Hex” and “Lunar Love” had an offspring that was way better written than the two, it would be this book. The Matchmaker is a hug and a warm cup of coffee. If you’re a fan of hallmark movies and the trope of saving small businesses this book is for you!

This was my first Catherine Walsh book and I loved her writing. Her writing is like an Emily Henry style: conversational and witty, but never cliche. She told a great story that made me want to keep reading!

In most romance books, the story focuses on the couple and sometimes loses the plot along the way. That was not the case for this book. There was an ACTUAL PLOT! The WHOLE TIME! Also, in most cases the story ends with the couple finally getting together. Again, not the case in the book (not spoiling) but the couple did not wait until the last 2 pages to get together and I kind of loved that. Because then we got to read about them building their relationship and future. You don’t always get that after the HEA.

The thing I loved most about this book was that it was REAL. Things magically didn’t work out on their own. There was a reason for everything and the characters worked really hard to get what they want. The bad guy didn’t suddenly become the good guy. There wasn’t a wedding after 3 months of knowing each other and the small town people didn’t automatically get everything they wanted. Because of this the world building was amazing. I pictured a little hallmark town filled with people with actual lives. And because of that I fell in love with everyone of them. I loved Katie and Callum obviously, but I also loved Granny (reminding me of my own Grandmother), Nush, Gemma, Adam, even Noah. They were all relatable and yet so close knit. It made you feel like you were part of the family.

This book is such a good spring/summer read and will absolutely make you want to go the a festival in a small town this year!

*I was blessed received an advanced reader copy of The Matchmaker from NetGalley. This book will be available April 18th, 2023! #thematchmaker #catherinewalsh #netgalley

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the characters, the location this book was set, I loved the writing style as well. I will be absolutely consuming anything that this author writes from now on. I am so thankful to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

The opening chapter had me giggling away and I loved Katie from the off. Lots of fun, and a good way to have an enemies relationship between a few characters. I'm not sure why this is called the matchmaker as I didn't feel that played quite such a big part as i was expecting- that feels a tad misleading to me. But, I loved the story, two great leads, and a warm village and community spirit at the heart of it.

Just gorgeous.

This is a book perfect for that summer reading list. Bring it to the beach. It has romance, challenges, friendships and fun — all wrapped up in a very easy read. It reminded me of those really really old Andy Hardy movies where we have to all get together and “make this festival a success”. Boy meets girl who together makes it happen. Not the most impressive story I’ve read but when you don’t want to think too much this is the book to read….