𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Katie’s lived in the same Irish village since her parents died in a car crash when she was five, and she moved to live with her grandmother. She works in the only pub left in town and knows that she is happy with her life, her boss Adam is like an older brother to her and her two best friends are her support. But nothing ever stays the same forever, and the developers are building a new hotel on farmland. And they keep waking her up at the crack of dawn when she’s just gone to sleep. Katie dashes off after the third morning of this to the building site, kitted out in her pj’s and eye mask. Callum, the site manager’s eyes nearly pop out, but it might not just be what Katie is wearing!

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
I love the way that Catherine Walsh’s writing feels like you could be watching a movie. She describes thoughts and feelings but also the surroundings, and it’s a visual feast. The characters are charming but flawed, they love each other and take care of their community. In this lovely Irish village story, there’s a big cause to get behind, but also a pretty awesome grand gesture ❤️ I loved the supporting cast, so often stories focus almost solely on the main characters that it’s refreshing to get to know the rest in this story. I have to agree with other reviewers that a book about Jack the developer seems like something that would be very interesting!!

Read an eARC copy courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher
Pub Date 18 Apr 2023
My rating 4.5/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

I thought Holiday Romance was adorable but this one just wasn't as good. It was cute enough and liked Katie's friends. Collum (great name, by the way) was the perfect and amazing boyfriend, but it felt like his instant commitment and devotion to Katie came out of nowhere? And as a result I felt like we didn't get to delve into Collum as his purpose was just to be the perfect boyfriend so he felt very one-dimensional to me.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe it's just cause I've never read a Catherine Walsh book before, but The Matchmaker was just okay. This book was cute, I just felt like I found myself always waiting for more. More character development, more buildup, more backstory, more...something. I loved Callum, but I also felt like there was a lot more to his story that I was left waiting for that didn't end up paying off. I really liked the side characters too, probably one of my favorite parts of the book.

I had high expectations for this book, because I love Catherine Walsh's other books. This one did NOT disappoint! Katie's quest to save Ennisbawn is so endearing. I loved her friends and her community. And Callum -- the romance is just the icing on the cake. The chemistry between these two is the best! Wish I could read it for the first time again.

A small town Irish village ☘️ and a whole lot of community spirit sit at the heart of this page turning story.

Katie has finally had enough of the “big guy” corporation developing the town. Their never-ending greed is ruining the quaint charm of their quiet village. Dressed in a pair of rubber ducky pj pants she sets out on a mission to take on the site’s manager and save her town (literally taking every single villager with her 😂).

What follows is a funny, heartwarming tale of wishing wells, fairy circles, matchmaking, a small village pub and a town with memories Katie thinks are worth fighting for. This would make a phenomenal movie!

A huge thank you to NetGalley for the arc. All opinions are my own.

This book made me wanna move to a small town in Ireland!!! Loved all the characters and this was such a wholesome, happy book!!!

All in all, it was a cute read, the story started really strong, but then it just lost a bit of the appeal with the matchmaking festival, which I thought was going to be the pièce de résistance of this book!
Instead, it felt a bit dragged and heavy, and I was uninterested in it.
If you're looking for a romance book with insta love, without any miscommunication, this is the one for you!

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh - published on 18th April!

The Story 📚
A small village may not be for everyone, but Ennisbawn is Katie’s whole world. She has grown up there, her favourite people live in Ennisbawn and she works in the local pub. But the development of a new golf course is threatening to tear apart the village.

Katie complains in her own unique way about the the construction - only to be met by the sexy site manager Callum. The tension continues between them, while Katie gets busy with her plan to raise support for the village, the return of The Ennisbawn Matchmaking Festival! But will it be enough to save the village, and with love in the air, will Katie find her match?

The Review 👩🏻‍💻
My second book by Catherine, and I enjoyed it just as much! There is something so normal and real about both the characters Walsh creates, particularly the dialogue! This is definitely influenced by the Irish setting, which makes me love it even more.

The relationship between Callum and Katie was perfect! My only point is it felt like they got together very quick, but I think the book would have been long if we had more details. The sex scenes and tension were perfect for this story. I think we all want someone to idolise us in the way that Callum does!

Two main points I want to mention are consent and chosen family. Even in a light hearted romantic comedy, Walsh subtly brings up important themes - she made consent so easy and sexy! Family also means something different to everyone, and often isn’t the conventional, nuclear family. The sub characters were all brilliant additions, and really showed what family means in Ennisbawn.

If I could describe Walsh’s writing, I’d say it’s the Irish book form of a Hallmark movie! I mean that as a compliment! They’re fun, full of romance and a bit of steam, and they genuinely make you feel all the good feels!

Thank you to @catwalshwriter @bookouture and @netgalley for giving me access to the ARC.

This book moved at a good pace and kept me entertained. The characters are all likeable and there’s a small town banding together against a common enemy, so you know I’m on board for this plot. If you’re looking for a lighthearted rom-com with a bit of spice, check this book out!

In which we learn you should never question your granny’s matchmaking skills

Will you like this book? You might if you like:

* Small towns in Ireland
* The MatchMaker with Janeane Garofolo
* Can do attitudes
* Secondary character love stories 


When I was reading this book, I wanted to be sitting in a garden at an Airbnb in Tipperary, enjoying the summer. After a few hours of reading, and maybe a nap,I would walk myself down to the pub, have a pint and some fish and chips. For me, that was the mood of this book and I hope that is what Catherine Walsh was going for because she succeeded!

Katie Collins lives in the small town of Ennisbawn with the Granny that raised her, surrounded by her best friends and the people she has known her whole life. She is a bartender at the lone pub in town, Kelly’s, where she makes fun mixed drinks and organizes event nights with the grudging approval of the pub’s owner. Ennisbawn used to have a Matching Festival but it has fizzled out and there is just not much call for people to visit this corner of Ireland.

But the local nuns sold their convent to a developer and now, the quiet and peaceful Ennisbrawn is overrun with construction trucks, bringing noise and dust and preventing Katie from getting a good night's sleep. At her wits end, Katie marches over to the construction site to complain and meets Callum Dempsey, the construction foreman. It’s a fun meet-cute, with Katie in her pjs and a slightly amused Callum. Katie and Callum spar as the project gets bigger and threatens to tear down Kellys and displace part of Ennisbawn’s main street. So to save the village, Katie decides to resurrect the matchmaking festival, enlisting the entire town to help, hoping to bring publicity to help stop the destruction.

This is the love story of Katie and Callum, but it is also a love story about a small village and the people that inhabit it. There is a good roster of secondary characters, a few of whom get the chance to fall in love. Katie and Callum are ordinary people, they have normal jobs, they live in a normal town. Callum isn’t an undercover billionaire and Katie doesn’t have a hidden talent that she has ignored to stay close to home. These two people fall in love and they are going to figure out how to make a life work for them. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good secret millionaire hiding out in a small town ready to sweep the heroine off her feet, but I also love books like these, where people grown up a bit and come into their own,

I'm starting to add the below ratings to my reviews of romance novels to help readers get a better sense of the romance part of the romance novel. For a breakdown, please the post of about the ratings.

Series: No, stand alone
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ There are a few descriptive scenes.
Sexy times: 🧨🧨🧨🧨 Katie and Callum had great chemistry, the tension was there and you could feel the attraction. The build up was good and it did not disappoint when they got together.
Adorable Pets: Yes, Plankton the sheep dog with a minor supporting role

The Matchmaker was an enjoyable contemporary, steamy romance.

The story takes place in the tiny Irish village of Ennisbawn, where Katie Collins has lived her whole life. It used to be a quaint and quiet little village until a large part of it got bought by a billionaire to built a hotel, a golf course, and everything that goes with it. Katie can deal with the disruption, the changes, but she cannot countenance her beloved pub being demolished. It's her workplace, but it's also the place where her parents met and fell in love, and the place where she spent her teenage and young adult years, carving her place into the community.
Callum Dempsey is part of the development team, so Katie should hate him — and she kinda does when she first meets him. But he's handsome, helpful, supportive, and he's actually helping her with the matchmaking festival she just decided on reviving to save the pub, even though his job might be a stake...

The characters are well developed and interesting. Katie wasn't very original (she reminded me a lot of other female characters from other contemporary romances — nice, a bit chaotic, slightly introverted, etc.) but she (mostly) had gumption, determination and compassion. Callum was a great character, perhaps a bit too nice and too forward (he decides to move into Ennisbawn pretty quickly) but he plays his part well. I also enjoyed the well-developed secondary characters, especially those that were not too one-dimensional and showed an evolution along the book. Kudos also for the diversity of the cast (LGBTQ+ characters) and the mentions about topical issues (climate change).

The plot was fine, nothing really unexpected happened. I appreciated that the conflicts between characters were believable — they did not last too long and were not based on misunderstandings.
The romance was fine. I find that in steamy romances, too much is based on physical attraction and not enough on emotional connection, and that was the case for me here with Katie and Callum. I didn't see a real mental chemistry between the both of them, even though they mostly suited each other.

The cover and title were not a point in favour of the book according to me. The cover is great but doesn't give the right vibes for the book (a small town pub, etc.). And the title would have been better as "The Matchmaking Festival", or something like that, because there is not much focus on the "Matchmaker" herself in the book.

Overall, a good, fun, light read. 4 stars.

*I received a free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion*

A great story of life in a small town in Ireland and what happens when big bad builders come to town. A tale of resilience from Kathy who stands up to the builders and rallies the towns people into action. I am sure quiet a few towns have gone through an experience of this.

The Matchmaker, by Catherine Walsh, is a fun rom-com novel that will have you laughing and turning pages way into the night. Perfect beach/pool/anywhere read. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Ahh Catherine Walsh has done it again!
I will say it took me a little while to get into this one and I felt the book didn’t really get into its flow until the second half.
Some of the early interactions between Katie and Callum were very clichéd.
I would have liked a bit more description of the dog as I just couldn’t picture him?!
However, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Catherine Walsh writes small town Ireland so so well and her characters are consistently laugh out loud relatable.
Thank you so much to the author and publisher for the chance to read this one! I’ll definitely be recommending it

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. Katie is introduced in the beginning when she is tired of 7AM construction where they are building a new hotel to their small town. She marches down in her pjs to give them a piece of her mind when she meets Callum who is working at the construction site. This takes us through a journey of fighting for their town and local pub. Katie proves there is things worth saving and fighting for even if they seem insignificant to others. I really enjoyed the banter and cute romcom. I just wish we had more Katie and Callum time!

In her small-town romance The Matchmaker, Catherine Walsh follows bartender Katie Collins and set manager Callum Dempsey.

This novel got off to an incredible start with hilarious banter and a funny meet-cute. Really, just from this, I knew Kate and Cal would be a wonderful couple. The side characters in this book were also incredible, specifically the Granny because she pretty much carried the entire novel.

But, there were instances when it seemed like there was too much context being provided, which was tiresome. Along with that, Katie was such a humorous character, whereas Callum was uninteresting because all that was ever mentioned about him was that he worked and bickered with Katie.

All in all, I am really excited to read Adam and Gemma's story as well as that of the other couples!

*Thank you to Neutrally and to the author, Catherine Walsh, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

“Callum?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re my favourite place, too.”

It’s been a while since I read a romantic comedy and I am so happy that The Matchmaker was my come back to genre.

This is the first time that I am reading any of Catherine Walsh’s works and after reading this? It won’t be my last.

The banter and chemistry between Katie and Callum are what makes every romcom fantastic and what has me kicking my feet like a teenager and giggling like an idiot. I can’t stress enough how much fun this was to read.

Katie is so chaotic and her constant resorting to humour was something that I truly related to. I loved how headstrong and powerful she was and that she was never diminished to just being a love interest. Katie was passionate and determined and I knew she was always going to accomplish and work hard to do what she believed in, regardless of whether Callum was in the picture or not.

Callum was such a great male protagonist. He was charming, loveable and completely swoon-worthy.

The found family in this book is what truly tied it all together for me. These characters felt like a breath of fresh air and I found myself smiling as I read along. I mean it when I say I believe I have a crush on every single one of these characters.

My only critique is that I would’ve liked it if the romance between Katie and Callum was a more slow-burn. I personally would’ve loved some more moments between them so I could feel like I was falling in love with them. Keynote being personally because maybe I just love my slow burns (Very Likely)

I can see this becoming a comfort read and something I read when I need a breather and a laugh. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this to have on my shelf whenever I need a pick-me-up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

he can win me any day of the week. I was hooked and loved it from start to finish. Must read it and you will understand and be hooked. i am hooked on Catherine Walsh books. read them today

Katie is a small town girl who is proud of that fact and has no intention of going anywhere. Her parents met and married and lived in the little town she grew up in and she intends to do the same. However, Callum and his company are coming in to town to make a new golf resort and it means that most of the small town charm will be taken over by the big corporation. Everything that makes the small town so special in Katie’s eyes is being taken away, including the wishing well, where you can throw in a coin and wish to find your perfect match at the matchmaking festival that’s held every year. Ultimately, of course, this being an enemies to lovers trope, Callum and Katie end up falling for each other, but I think I would have liked to see Katie and Jack together as a twist. Callum seemed to do an abrupt 180 with his feeling and it didn’t feel natural.
I absolutely loved Holiday Romance but I just liked this one. That being said, I will automatically read the next book that the author writes because there was enough good stuff in this to outweigh the just average bits.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Rating: 4 stars ⭐️
Tropes:
small town 🏘️
enemies to lovers 💋

I was so happy to receive this copy in advance! The story was really cute and I had a fun time reading it!

This story is about Katie and Callum. She works in a local pub and lives in Ennisbawn, that’s a small village in Ireland. Katie and her grandmother recently have a lot of noice disturbance’s because of a new hotel that they are building in town. 🇮🇪

When Katie couldn’t take it any longer, she went to the construction site to complain and that where she met Callum. He works as a developer for the hotel. But when her job is threatened, she comes up with a way to save it. 🚨

This was my first time reading a book from this author but definitely not my last! ❤️

Thank you to Catherine Walsh, Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with this arc. All opinions are my own.