The book was a nice cozy romance. I loved the found family aspect, the side characters (Noah and Harry were the best) and the relationship between Katie and Callum. I found the pacing to be quite good until I got to the middle of the book, that felt quite slow to me. However after that middle part it picked up again. I felt like the author added a lot of interesting topics but didn't really develop those. I felt like her anxiety, and her problem with riding in cars should have been expanded. The romance also felt a bit like insta love to me which is not really my favourite. I did like the fact that there was no miscommunication, and that the main couple resolved their "conflicts" by talking to each other. In general I liked the book and would recommend it if you want a fast and cozy read.

The matchmaker by Catherine Walsh was a heartwarming reading experience that left me wanting more.

The plot of the book is original. A development team are building a new hotel and the people from Ennisbaw are afraid that this will ruin their little town. When the local heart of the community (the pub) have to be knocked down, this is the final straw for Katie. She will save her town, no matter what it takes.

The book starts with our heroine walking into a building site in her PJs, meeting a handsome man and his boss. It’s a fun way to introduce Katie, and I immediately felt that this would be interesting. I loved the last book I read by Walsh, and in this one I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between the characters. It was witty and interesting. The best part of the book was when Katie started to fix the barn to hold a matchmaker festival. Before that I felt there was a bit too much of ‘i have no idea how to do this, but I will still try’. Her strong will and determination were more interesting to see when her ideas took shape. The love story between her and Callum was lovely. I liked that they were so straightforward with their emotions when they first started to get involved, and the more heated scenes weren’t too much. There is also a grand gesture in the book that brought tears to my eyes.

I would love a sequel to this story, as I don’t want to let them go just yet.

Thanks to bookatoure and netgalley for the arc

My first Cat Walsh book was Holiday Romance and I loved it so much I jumped at the chance to read another book of hers. The first few chapters really pulled me in. The dialogue is so good and I can totally relate to Katie. I love the small town romcoms; makes me wish I lived in a small Irish village.
I did find myself a bit bored at times with the whole festival bit, though I am glad it lead Gemma to the right guy. Also Katie and Callum’s relationship felt rushed and I didn’t really connect with it. It felt like they went from “strangers that are attracted to each other” to “I will give up everything to be with you” with very little relationship building in between.
All that said I really enjoy Catherine Walsh’s writing and this was a sweet story full of small town charm, endearing characters, sweet friendships and a dreamy love interest.

I am always so impressed by Catherine Walsh’s ability to write bantering dialogue that feels fun yet authentic.
In The Matchmaker, her character development for all of Ennisbawn’s kooky constituents is thorough, which makes the reader feel as though they are a part of this small town and adds to the overall cozy feeling of the novel.
The only downfall was that I wish it were a bit longer to really flesh out some of the plot points. It felt over-edited at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Bookouture for an ARC!

I enjoyed the setting, the friend group, and the common purpose of everyone getting together to save their local pub. It was endearing in many parts, and the romance was pretty sweet as well.

I also appreciated how well everyone seemed to communicate with each other, and small town charm always appeals to me. Callum seems like wonderful book boyfriend material, and of course Plankton, the pup, had my heart.

I feel like the relationship was a little rushed between Callum and Katie, and sometimes Katie’s thought processes just did not make sense to me. And I have to admit the main event of this book felt a little underwhelming to me. However, it still was described well and the premise of a matchmaking event in the summertime was fun to daydream about.

I don’t think the blurb for this book really captures Callum’s essence well and may be misleading for some readers, as he’s actually quite the softie, but I recommend to anyone looking for a small-town romance with a close-knit friend group trying to save their town and keep its charm intact.

ᗷOOK ᖇEᐯIEᗯ 💚

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛
𝙱𝚢: 𝙲𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚆𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚑
𝟻 ⭐️
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟷𝟾, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹

This is my first Catherine Walsh book and I loved it!

The plot and setting was very easy to get into and the way she writes about the town of Ennisbawn… you can just picture it exactly and makes you want to visit Ireland immediately. Katie and Callum were super cute together and the other characters in this book were perfectly constructed too. The interactions between everyone are very realistic and makes you feel like you are sitting in the pub with them. This fun, lighthearted, and a little spicy book should be added to your TBR!

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 @netgalley , @bookouture , & @catwalshwriter 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘

So thankful to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While this did have classic Catherine Walsh storytelling and humor (which I adore), I did find myself getting bored at many points.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this arc!

katie collins is a late 20’s local in a small but proud ireland town that works as a bartender at the beloved local pub. an ambitious land developer has their eyes set on this pub and katie will stop at nothing to save her favorite place in the world. even if it means pulling off the impossible feat of bringing back the town’s old tradition of an annual matchmaking festival.

first and foremost, this was a very cute and easy read! the author’s writing flowed fairly well, it was so easy to just get lost in the story and root for katie and her friends to save what they can of their town.

with that being said, if you’re not a fan of instalove/fast paced love connections (🙋🏻‍♀️), you might not enjoy this. while the romance in this book is more of a side dish than the main course, it’s not so much in the background that you don’t notice how quickly it evolves.

overall, this was enjoyable! i’d recommend it to those that aren’t fans of a slow burn and those that just want a cute and cozy small town feel good story!

3.5-7⭐️ (please accept my indecisiveness)

It was good. I liked the town and the variety of relationships. Callum seems top notch, would love to check out those tattooed arms. It just was missing something? Not quite as good as others of hers I’ve read, but still good. Granny gets major points for her book choices and general demeanor.

Let's meet leading lady Katie who had a big heart and an even bigger goal of trying to Dave ber little Irish village from a big toe construction company who wants to come in, demolish the land and build a huge fancy golf course and resort. It is here that she meets Callum and sparks literally flyhowever he is part of the problem. so how on earth can she save her little village and have her happily ever after too

This story is cute, romantic, a little predictabkr but also very fun and endearing.

I loved Katie!! She was a really well written and likeable character!! And I swear I could feel her emotions coming through the pages. But I didn't love the grand gesture. It felt like it happened way earlier than normal.

Overall, I haven't met a Catherine Walsh book that I didn't love and this is no exception!! The Matchmaker was a super cute read that had me feeling all of the emotions. If you're a sucker for an Irish accent, then this book is for you!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

For a full review, please watch my TikTok video attached to this post.

This was a really adorable book, and the characters were sweet.

However, it felt a lot more like women’s fiction than a romance, even though it appears to be marketed as the latter. It seems that the majority of the book hinges on the FMC holding the matchmaking event to save the pub, and the whole village eventually getting involved. Also, I felt like the main characters' relationship developed very quickly given how long they had known each other and how many interactions they had - essentially I would have liked to have seen more of their relationship.

If the book had been advertised as a women’s fiction book instead of a romcom, I’d have given it a 3.5/5, because it was a lovely, wholesome book and I appreciated the diversity, but I felt like the characters could have been further developed.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This is such a sweet read. It's a light and instant feel good story. I loved the small town setting with the big developers trying to take over. It gave me Gilmore Girl vibes and it made me feel at home. I loved Katie's willpower and her friendship with Nush and Gemma. Their insecurities and their strength made it so real. It was easy to get sucked into. A very quick read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
Light & Quick read
Small Town Romance
Gilmore Girls & Virgin River
Strong Female leads

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘐𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘯. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦? 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘶𝘣, 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺.

𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘮 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱. 𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘵-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮. 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘌𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘯’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘣.

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘸𝘯’𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭. 𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘒𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰. 𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦-𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

I absolutely devoured this book!! i did not want to put it down.

it was such a fun read, i loved katie and callum, i loved the village of Ennisbawn, and i loved granny the most maybe lol!!

i would definitely read more from Catherine Walsh and i would read this book again. i dont know what it is about books set in small irish towns but give me them all!

<b>“Anywhere you want to go. If you want me to, I’ll follow.” </b> love love love love

it was sweet and funny and to me a perfect rom-com

thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to fall in love with this book

All the stars for this lovely book. Such a funny storyteller I was laughing alot reading this. Really picked me up and I love the small town vibes. Out in Apirl don't miss out

I LOVED this book! The setting, the characters, the plot! I laughed and I cried and couldn’t put it down once I started it! I have all good things to say about this book and am now going to go read all other books by Catherine Walsh!

Katie is desperately trying to save her tiny Irish village from the big city construction company that wants to come in, clear out the land, and build a fancy golf resort. Katie is used to a quiet, boring life spent living with her grandmother and working with her friends at the village pub. She is very resistant to change, but has a hard time resisting one of the main men on the construction site, Callum. When she marches over to the site one morning to complain about the noise and damage, sparks fly between Katie and Callum. What will she do when she has to decide whether to protect her village or her heart?

This story was very cute, and I enjoyed the sweet romance and sizzling chemistry between Katie and Callum. I'm also a big fun of stories in which the guy falls first and is the one to make the big, grand gestures rather than the women always having to do it!
Thank you to Bookouture & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

Catherine Walsh is one of my favorite authors, and The Matchmaker is my favorite book of hers so far! They just keep on getting better and better. I think one of the best parts of all of Catherine's books, but especially The Matchmaker, is how all of the characters feel so familiar. She does a great job of encapsulating authentic moments between characters and portraying realistic dynamics. The Matchmaker is heartwarming, witty, tender, smart, and everything you could want in a contemporary book. I cannot say enough nice things about it. I highly, highly recommend this book!

I really enjoyed the story of a small town girl fighting the big corp mixed with love and laughter along the way.
The book itself is an easy escapist read, that wastes no time getting started with the story and had me drawn in quickly as I wanted to know more. The character of Katie is both realistic and relatable and therefore likeable and Callum is easy to fall for too.
There are a number a missing words or incorrect words along the story but nothing that isn’t easy for the reader to fill in.
All in all I would recommend this book for anyone who wants a fun and easy read.

A really fun laugh out loud romcom with soul, a perfect pick-me-up!
I really appreciate a good laugh from a book and this was amusing & genuinely funny. The characters were perfect, from unapologetically chaotic Katie to her wonderful friends, her brilliantly inappropriate Granny and her arch nemeses at the developers., This had everything for a really great story.