Member Reviews
Meeting Her Match, the third installment in Jen Turano's Matchmakers series, has garnered a spectrum of opinions from readers, and count me among those who found themselves thoroughly engaged with the narrative. Admittedly I realized that we were a fourth of the way into the story before she makes it to Owen’s home. But it didn’t matter to me because I was enjoying the journey of the characters. At no time did I want to put the book down.
Jen has a talent for putting her characters in amusing situations. I found the recipe card adventures fun. And that was just one of many situations Jen created for the characters.
Despite the abundance of characters, Turano expertly distinguishes each one, making it effortless to keep track of them all.
I have read the other books in the series and enjoyed them all. However this can be read as a stand alone.
I recommend Meeting Her Match and felt that it was a great escape.
While this is not my favorite of Jen Turano's work, it is nonetheless a supremely enjoyable read. As always, Turano's characters are charming, and the dialogue is often funny. My minor complaint is that some of the situations feel too forced, and I found myself questioning whether that would really happen, which took away from my enjoyment, although only slightly. As long as you can suspend disbelief a little bit and just enjoy the story for what it is, this is certainly a fun read guaranteed to lift your mood.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.
"Meeting Her Match" is a romance set in 1889 in Hudson River Valley. I find it odd that a matchmaker that tries to match people who share interests finds her match with a man that she has nothing in common with. Except they danced well together. For half the book, he constantly offended her, though it's from ignorance and he modified his behavior when he was told it's offensive. Then, suddenly, they liked each other. He did rescue her several times, so maybe that's it.
By the end, it felt like the author thought if she had the characters repeat enough times what a perfect match they were then the readers wouldn't question it. Owen's relative said that your perfect match will turn you on when you kiss (and so encouraged this test), and another relative said Camilla was fated to marry into the family if she touched a certain recipe card, which eventually happened. I understand Camilla liked the more relaxed society in his hometown and made friends there, but none of these things seem like a good reason to marry someone.
Anyway, this was a very bland story with a lot of talking. Most of the scenes were multiple characters talking about interesting things that happened in the past. I'd prefer to see the scenes where these things happened rather than getting sometimes confusing summaries of what happened. For example, Camilla painted a fence but put the paint on a fence post high enough that when it fell off it drenched her head to toe. Why would she do this as she'd need the paint where she could easily dip her brush in it even if she's foolish enough to think a tall fencepost is a stable place to put a bucket? We'll never know because we never got her viewpoint of the event.
The story wasn't about Camilla teaching Owen's sister refined manners and fashion. Half the book pasted before Camilla even met the sister. Then we skipped ahead by three weeks and were told that the last weeks were spent teaching her and she's fitting in now. There was no sex or bad language.
Good book. Good story, fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. I liked the characters and their dialogue was good. Overall a good read!!
When I read this book, I was having the worst day... Despite this, the book made me laugh, smile and coaxed me from my bad mood. I love Jen Turano's work and I would consider this one of her best (hard to choose though, they are all great!).
Her characters are well written, interesting, quirky and strong. The situations that they find themselves in like the one with the raccoons, just make you want to laugh out loud. Will be buying it for the library and recommending it on.
I receive complimentary books for various sources including, Netgalley, Authors, and other such sources. I am not required to write a positive review and have not received compensation.
Meeting Her Match is the third book in the Matchmakers series by Jen Turano. Camilla Pierpont has built a successful matchmaking business, yet is determined to remain single after a painful relationship ended years earlier. When her life is threatened, she retreats from New York to West Virginia at the request of successful entrepreneur, Owen Chesterfield. The antics of Owen's sister devasted her marriage prospects, and Camilla is the perfect matchmaker to rebuild her reputation. The attraction between Camilla and Owen may turn into an unexpected match.
Turano brings witty dialogue and humor while creating an environment for love to blossom.