Just a good old fashioned Hallmark Holiday movie, in book form. Not something I'd normally recommend, but for a quick, easy, feel-good holiday spirit, it hit the mark.

THE MERRY MATCHMAKER – Shelia Roberts
Mira
ISBN: 978-0-778-36960-8
October 1, 2024
Contemporary Romance

Carol, Washington – Present Day

Giftshop owner Frankie Lane is always looking to match her single friends with someone. But for herself, she isn’t sure she is over losing her beloved husband a few years ago. Frankie sets up her good friend Mitch Howard on a pre-date meeting without even letting him know about it. Unfortunately, he finds out and he is now annoyed with her. Frankie moves on to other targets, namely finding a man for her sister Stef, or she can hope that her employee, Elinor, will finally see that bookstore owner William likes her a lot. Her family and friends are telling Frankie to let it go because love will strike without a shove from her. Instead, they feel she should be looking at finding love for herself. Alas, Mitch’s newest employee becomes attracted to Frankie. He’s too young for her and she isn’t interested in him. It turns out that Frankie has a soft spot for Mitch.

Christmas is approaching in the delightfully entertaining THE MERRY MATCHMAKER. The holiday is the biggest moneymaker of the year for Frankie’s shop, as well as all the activities around town, including the Santa Walk. Frankie oversaw that for years, but a rival shop owner has taken it over and Frankie is gritting her teeth at all the changes the woman wants to make. Her attempt at pairing a woman with Mitch turned out badly, so she has decided to hold off doing it again for now. Meanwhile, Stef handles the “Letters to Santa” column at the newspaper where she works. A young boy wrote asking Santa to bring him a mommy and she responded. The father came storming into the newspaper office demanding that the letter and Stef’s response be removed from the paper. Readers suspect that they will soon be meeting.

As Christmas and the Santa Walk draw closer, plans are added and finalized. Frankie has been Mrs. Claus for years, with Mitch acting as Mr. Claus. But this year, she has been bumped off and told other women can compete for the title. Frankie is miffed but decides to help Elinor win the title. This means that Elinor will compete for the chance to ride with Mitch in the Santa float if she wins. Sounds good, but soon, Elinor is getting right into the competition. How will Frankie feel seeing Elinor holding onto Mitch’s arm? There are other characters we meet in THE MERRY MATCHMAKER, including Frankie’s widowed mother, who ends up surprising her daughter. Readers will enjoy the interaction between all the characters and root for Frankie to finally open her eyes to the fact that she is attracted to Mitch.

THE MERRY MATCHMAKER is a feel-good Christmas-themed tale that is fun to read and keeps you turning the pages. Don’t miss the holiday hijinks going on in a town that loves Christmas by grabbing a copy today.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

This was a very beautiful and a little chaotic story full of wonderful characters that needed to experience a little extra magic of Christmas.

We all love big families and laugh out loud with their meddling and Frankie's family didn't disappoint with that.

It made me laugh and smile so much!!!!

I had a great time reading this book and finding out all the ways the merry matchmaker coupled our characters while learning to love again, to forgive, to grieve and move on while keep on loving and also having the community together celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.

Frankie wants to play matchmaker for everyone and fix everyone in her family and circle of friends, that is until her matchmaking skills come back to bite her.

Frankie was fantastic. She was definitely a meddler, but her heart was in the right place. She is a widow who feels she had her one shot at real love and she does not need love anymore. Her family and friends love her, but they want her to worry about her own love life. They see things she either does not see or does not want to admit.

The cast of characters were charming from all ages and stages of life. It was a perfect book to enhance and build your holiday spirit, while also making you laugh and cry.

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I LOVED this book! Such a sweet, perfectly Christmas book! No spice, but in a good way! I wish we had more Adele, she was so funny and a great character. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick and easy holiday read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!!

I read this as an ARC on NetGalley. Sheila is one of my preferred authors and this book did not disappoint. What happens when you think you know what is best for everyone but yourself? A series of missteps, some hurt feelings and a whole lot of meddling happen before you finally realize that what you need is standing right in front of you. Excellent read!

This was a fun Jane Austen Emma variation for the holidays - felt like it was trying to be very Hallmark-ish.

In this festive holiday romance, Frankie Lane tries to play matchmaker for everyone around her—her sister, employee, daughter, and best friend—despite causing chaos with her well-meaning, though meddlesome, help. She is determined to find love for her widowed best friend, Mitch, unaware that she may be missing her own happily-ever-after in the process. This Christmas story blends humor, heart, and the magic of second chances.

3 stars

What I liked about this book: (1) The multi-generational family dynamics. We have grandmother, mother, daughter (and even grandson) in the mix, as well as a sister/aunt thread thrown in. It's a lot of women, wanting to help one another and working in close proximity, that there is bound to be a scuffle or two. (2) The holiday vibes! Everything is theme-driven. The food (check the back for recipes!), the silly sayings and the quiet moments of reflection, all have a hint or full on smackdown of peppermint, snow covered, sugar cookie, twinkly light, gingerbread joy. (3) Mitch.

What I struggled with: I'm not a Hallmark movie person - that's on me! - so the cheesy, cutesy, maybe sometimes immature/juvenile commentary just didn't land for me. There are absolutely holiday-theme readers out there who will adore this story, but for me I needed a little less repetitive reindeer games.

Thank you so much to UpLitReads, Sheila Roberts, Mira Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early copy of The Merry Matchmaker in exchange for an honest review of the novel.

Merry Matchmaker
Sheila Roberts delivers a wholesome, heartwarming Christmas read. If you’re looking for a book to cozy up to the fire with this holiday season, you’ll enjoy this cast of characters.
*Full video revew will be on TT.

The Merry Matchmaker was inspired by Jane Austen's Emmas and in this book it tells the story of Frankie who can't stop helping everyone around her find their happy ever after, even if it leads to a disaster. This was such a wonderful Christmas read that will put you in the mood. The book was a page turner from beginning to end and all of the characters were awesome. I loved this happy and heartwarming book and would recommend this one to any reader but especially to those you love romance stories. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC read in exchange of my honest review of The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am so excited for all the holiday reads this year. This was a reimagining of Emma; even though I have not read Emma, I still enjoyed this retelling. It had a really cozy and fun Christmas vibe.

OVERALL STAR RATING: 4/5
CLEAN RATING: 4.5/5

I’ve never met a Sheila Roberts novel I didn’t love! It takes no time at all to become invested in her fun and quirky characters. Such unique personalities in them all that you’re sure to find someone that reminds you of yourself.

Frankie Lane is taking the wheel and trying to steer everyone but herself into what she sees as the perfect romantic match. Meddling is an understatement and Frankie is blind to the fact that her dearest (and single) friend, Mitch Howard, might just be HER perfect someone. Mitch has been a shoulder to lean on since Frankie’s husband unexpectedly passed away. A little romantic interest in Mitch coming from Frankie’s co-worker, Elinor, and WHEW does the jealousy kick in!

Frankie’s mom, Adele, was one of my favorite characters. Never afraid to speak her mind. Although Frankie is playing the role of matchmaker for nearly everyone within her inner circle, I think Adele might be the one with the gift to understand those around her.

“Hurt will find you no matter how careful you are, and if you spend all your life making sure you won’t get hurt, you’ll also deprive yourself of a lot of happiness.” - Adele

A fun story that also tackles the seriousness of moving on after loss. I wasn’t 100% sure who would find romance with what characters until the very end. I love it when it’s not completely obvious how things will pan out.

4.5-star clean rating for a handful of mild curse words. Please note there is consumption of alcohol in this novel and grief over death of a spouse.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Have you ever had someone try to set you up on a date?⁣
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A matchmaker perhaps? A coworker? A meddling auntie?⁣
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The Merry Matchmaker was inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma and tells the story of a woman who can’t stop trying to help everyone around her find their happily-ever-after, even when her help leads to disaster.⁣
⁣
Frankie can’t help herself. Even though she owns a busy and successful holiday themed store and the season is ramping up - she still manages to somehow find the time to meddle in just about everyone’s life around her. She seems to think she knows what’s best for everyone else… except herself.⁣
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I absolutely loved Frankie. It’s fun and refreshing when a meddlesome family member is all heart and truly does want to genuinely help everyone. And even though it always blows up in her face, you love her even more for trying. And you just wish she’d step back and realize that trying to fill others with what she hopes is love and joy, is just masking what she’s missing in her own life. With a rich cast of sweet and relatable characters, and a charming town called, what else - but Carol… this holiday is sure to be a happy + heartwarming one, if you add this to your holiday reading list!

The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts is a unique holiday story. Frankie is a widow trying to help everyone around her find love. Her Christmas doesn’t go as planned with her friendemy taking over her favorite town event. Will Frankie help her sister, employee, and others find love? All the different characters allowed for a unique story. You get to know many of the townspeople. It isn’t an all fluff story. The author does a great job showing that grief can be handled differently but kept the book still enjoyable. It is the perfect book to kick off the holiday season with!

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Netgalley, and Sheila Roberts for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Holiday Romance
Spice Level: Closed-door
Language: Smattering of profanity, including f-bombs

I'm always up for a romance book with a woman in her 40s+, and here you get to dive in headfirst into a multigenerational romance.

There are strong Emma vibes going on in this book—and this is intentional. (Give a curtsy to Jane Austen for her writing.)

Frankie lost the love of her life early, and now she's friends with Mitch. But it can't go any further than friendship for multiple reasons. Frankie works so hard to "help" other people. Some might call her efforts meddling! She looks outward and always wants to help, meaning she doesn't shine the spotlight on herself.

I enjoyed seeing how different aged women approached romance. (This is 3 generations, and each has a different reason for not getting too involved.)

If you enjoy fun, light-hearted romance books with Christmas vibes to go with the Emma vibes, this is the book for you. Other romance readers will also enjoy it.

Happy reading!

The Merry Matchmaker is a fun, chaotic and merry read! A re-telling of Emma it follows Frankie a recent widow who loves the holidays and thinks she can set everyone up. The book is full of fun characters who Frankie sets up and fail. It's got a great Christmas setting that makes it feel cozy and it's funny. I really enjoyed reading The Merry Matchmaker.

Perfect for the Hallmark movie-loving holiday people! This was a fun, albeit cheesy, read that had a lot of fun characters that you can't help but root for!

This was a very sweet and cozy read. It was great to have representation for a more mature relationship. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Poor Frankie, always figuring out a love plan for everyone else, all the while thinking she doesn’t need one of her own, even though it’s staring her right in the face…
All I can say is that she sure spends a lot of time trying to make everyone else happy! But each time she has a plan, something proves her wrong, and it takes the whole book for her to catch on to that and let what really matters enter her heart - just let love in and it will happen! This was a fun read and I thank NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in return for a fair review.

I usually love Sheila Robert books, but I’m sad to report that I didn’t love this one. You get multiple POVs, which made it a bit hard to keep track on who’s who. I couldn’t relate to the characters, which made it a bit hard to get thru. Overall it was okay.