Frankie Lane knows what’s best for just about everyone but herself. Her divorced sister, Stef, who is too young to give up on love; her shy employee, Elinor; and her daughter, Natalie, who works in Frankie’s shop, Holiday Happiness, and really needs to start her own business selling the delectable chocolates she makes at home; even her best friend, Viola, who is trying to renovate her old Victorian. Frankie knows she could help all of them, if they’d just let her—and if all of her help didn’t end in utter disaster.

Then there’s Mitch Howard, the owner of the local hardware store. They’ve been friends ever since Frankie opened her store, nine years earlier. He got her through the nightmare when she lost her husband in a freak accident, and he’s her favorite shoulder to cry on. He’s been divorced for years, and it’s such a waste of man! Mitch is the fittest, finest man Frankie knows. He’s easygoing, wise and kindhearted. Mitch needs someone. And she’s determined to help him find that someone—whether he likes it or not.

I loved Austen-inspired modern stories. Pair that up with a holiday theme and a hardware store? Yes, please! I absolutely loved the relatable characters in this, and the story was just good ole holiday fun! Highly recommend this if you're looking for a fresh holiday read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

There were four reasons that I picked this book up:

🤩 The cover. It is so cute and festive! And I knew Sheila Roberts would deliver a clean, entertaining read.

📚 An Emma-inspired read. It was! Main character Frankie Lane is determined to match up her sister, her friend Mitch, her coworker Ellinor, and more with their own happily ever after. Who is going to give Frankie a second chance at love?

🌲 The holiday setting in a Washington town called Carol has everything going for it: Frankie's store called Holiday Happiness, a Santa Walk, a Mrs. Claus contest, gingerbread house auction, and more. . .

😋 There are recipes, y'all! For Pasties, Peppermint Pie, and Frankies Easy Candy Treats are sure to get your tummy rumbling.

If you are looking for a sweet holiday read that has a side of sass, give this one a try! A big thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas book in October. But in all seriousness this was a cute, funny, book with a meddling and nosy main female character who really just wants to help those they love.

An Emma-inspired Christmas story where middle-aged Frankie tries to match up everyone else around her, leading from confusion to eventual happiness for all. This contains all of the ingredients for a cozy Christmas novel, but Frankie started annoying me after a while and I found it hard to sympathize with her much of the time. This will be fun for many readers, however!

Thank you Shelia, the publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

This is my second book by Shelia and I even had the opportunity to meet her in person earlier this year. I loved the first book so I jumped on the opportunity to read her newest Christmas novel.

I loved this one and loved the different characters in the book. I also loved how it was her version of a retelling of Emma by Jane Austin. I love That book so it was so much fun to review it in a new way.

The Merry Matchmaker is my first Sheila Roberts that was inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma. It follows a widower in his 50s, Frankie Lane, who owns the small-town shop, Holiday Happiness. She is a well-meaning matchmaker who loves to meddle in the love lives of everyone around her. Additionally, there is Frankie’s divorced sister Stef, her new to town employee, Elinor, her daughter Natalie, and her best friend Mitch Howard. Frankie decides to go on a mission to find a partner for Mitch, which leads to a huge amount of antics to make this a reality.

I love Emma and I love Christmas stories, so this story seemed perfect for me. There are a lot of characters to track at times, so I wish the author found a way to include them. I think the number could remain the same, but it just needed a little more nuance to make it clear enough. There were some moments in the story where I believe some additional editing was needed as some characters speak to others that didn’t belong in the scene. It read as if the author lost track of her characters where if you were paying attention, it takes you out of the reading experience as you work to make the characters make sense. The actual other elements of the story were sweet, and I enjoyed the ties to the source material. Overall, this was a nice story and I look forward to reading more from Roberts in the future.

Here are my thoughts on the book: The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that this book was set at Christmas time and was a romance story. Two of my favorite things. I thought it sounded like a really fun read.

It took me a few chapters to start getting involved in the story but once I did I found it to be a very enjoyable book. I loved the various characters in the story. They were interesting people and the author made them sound believable. Frankie, the main character was always trying to match up people or help them out with one thing or another even if they weren't aware of it. This often caused some hilarious or disastrous results.

A lot of time these romance/rom-com type books seem very stereotypical of Hallmark type stories/movies. - With this one it had elements of that in it but also was more involved with the different characters so you go to know them as people rather than just a "bit player" in the story. I wanted to keep reading to find out how things would end up for everyone.

I'm not going to give away how it ended but I will say that it was indeed a fun read that had just the right touches of romance without being overly sappy.

I would recommend this book to those who like clean romance stories and a entertaining cast of characters. I'd give this a 4 star rating. The only thing that I'd mark it down on was perhaps that the book was a tad slow to start off and then towards the end of the story things picked up at a fast pace almost as if the author needed to get to the end of the story in a hurry. That's just how I felt about the story.

Thanks for stopping by to read my review.

Maybe I should have read the blurb for this, I didn’t realize until I read other reviews that this was an Emma retelling.

I liked it okay but Frankie’s meddling was just so much and all the time. I don’t feel like there was a lot of character depth, but man did she dislike Elinor the entire time. Who calls someone white paint?

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for my unbiased opinion.

This book was the perfect holiday read. It had fun small town Christmas activities, letters to Santa, a scrooge, and even a merry matchmaker who was not always merry. I enjoyed reading about Frankie, her daughter Natalie, her mom Adele, and her sister Stefanie. I cannot wait to try the recipes that were mentioned in the book!. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas book in October. But in all seriousness this was a cute, funny, book with a meddling and nosy main female character who really just wants to help those they love.

This was such a CUTE read!! I know it’s not yet Halloween but this is getting me into the spirit for Christmas. I loved the characters and loved the story!

Frankie, 50, owns and runs her shop called Holiday Happiness which offers lovely Christmas themed gifts and decor. Her husband was killed by a drunk driver some years ago leaving her devastated. She misses him every day. In her hometown of Carol, she is surrounded by loving family. There’s her widowed mother, Adele; her daughter, Natalie and grandson; her sister, Stef, who is divorced; and her many friends such as Mitch who owns the hardware store next to her shop. He is divorced and has been a good friend and anchor since she lost her husband.

Christmas is a big thing in her city and for some time, she has been in charge of planning a Santa Walk where people come to the shops and receive samples and can win drawings. But when Mitch hires a young man to help him manage the store, the guy who is age 40 says he is totally in love with Frankie. This is not what she wants and while his attention is nice, she does not feel comfortable with it.

Frankie is always looking to match her friends up with someone and lots of times it just doesn’t work out as she would like. But she is tenacious and often times she’s successful.

The characters in this book are all so real and the author has done a good job of creating them. Christmas is very important to all of them and they wring every drop out of it enjoying all of the fun and happiness that it can bring. I loved this story and hope that it will bring joy to other readers.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a really sweet Christmas book, retelling of Jane Austen’s “Emma”.

The biggest difference is that I hate Emma, but I absolutely ADORED Frankie. She’s a widow and a meddler— er… helper? 😅 She’s sweet and had good intentions, but doesn’t come off as condescending.

I really love all do the characters, and I love that the author highlighted so many different character arcs. It feels a lot like an ensemble Christmas movie, I could see it becoming one easily.

If you love Christmas, and loveable small towns, read this book!!

I enjoyed reading The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

I'm almost mad at myself for finishing this one -- I kept waiting for it to turn and pick up but it just didn't. I didn't like any of the characters and the setting was not unique. Frankie's "epiphany" over Mitch is not worthy of a comparison to Emma. Hope you have better luck!

The Merry Matchmaker comes out next week on October 1, 2024 and you can purchase HERE.

WHO KNEW THAT HELP COULD TURN INTO A FOUR-LETTER word? Not Frankie Lane, that was for sure.

I have been reading Sheila Roberts Christmas stories for many years, and I look forward reading a new holiday tale each fall. The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts is a modern twist on Jane Austen’s Emma. Frankie Lane, the protagonist, believes she knows what is best for everyone (if you look up the definition of meddler in the dictionary, you will find Frankie’s name listed). Frankie and her antics got on my nerves after a while. Frankie believes that she knows what is best for everyone despite their protests (I would not want to be related to her). It was especially annoying when she would complain about something that was her fault (this is what happens when you meddle). I liked that the story had middle aged characters instead of twenty-somethings. I was not a fan of some of the characters as well as some of the choices they made. There was minimal character growth. The point-of-view switches between the various characters. It gets confusing with so many characters in a dialogue heavy story especially when the POV switches with no warning (you must figure out which character is speaking now). The multiple points-of-view leads to repetitive details. The Merry Matchmaker is a slow starter with the story seeming to go around in circles in the middle and a rushed ending. I liked the Christmas atmosphere and the festival. The story does wrap up nicely at the end. Unfortunately, The Merry Matchmaker did not make me merry.

This fun holiday read is a reimaging of Austen’s Emma set in a small rural town that seems to be very big on Christmas. Author Sheila Roberts’ delightful novel is full of engaging characters, adult angst, and one well-intentioned busybody who just wants all her friends to be happy.

I loved that the book was about mature women who were ready for a second-chance at love. The main character, Frankie, is delightful as the meddler wanting to push people towards love and happiness. While her efforts repeatedly blow up, she does not give up. Mitch, who runs the shop next door to Frankie’s store, is quite charming, and he obviously holds Frankie in high regards. Will Frankie ever stop her meddling and focus on her own happiness?

From the matchmaking to the chamber-of-commerce holiday parade and festival, the plot is full and the antics are fun. The story is sweet and charming from the start to the finish, and if ever there was a book that should be a holiday movie, it is The Merry Matchmaker.

2.5 stars- rounding up to 3.
The Merry Matchmaker is a cute holiday story that gives major Hallmark vibes, mixed with a touch of Love Actually. The story follows Frankie, a 50-year-old widow, who wants to "help" (read: meddle) in the love lives of her friends and family. Frankie is also a local business owner and a founding member of the committee that organizes the annual "Santa Walk" event in town. Her husband passed away several years ago, but she has found it difficult to move on for fear of experiencing the grief of losing someone else. Letting life go on without you vs. "jumping on the ride" so to speak, is a major theme throughout the story as many of the characters are dealing with loss or difficult past experiences that make it hard to move forward.

I found it somewhat hard to stay engaged in this story, whether that was due to the jumping between characters or because I just wasn't overly interested is hard to say. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, and sometimes the POV switches mid chapter, and I would have to think about who we were following at that moment. I think I counted at least 4-5 different "love stories" in play at once, but I wish there would have been a little more focus on just 1 or 2- specifically Frankie and/or her sister Stef. I also found Frankie to be a hard FMC to connect with overall, she didn't feel mature enough to be a 50-year-old woman, and some of her choices made me cringe.

Overall, it's a quick and wholesome holiday romance that I think some will find endearing. It just wasn't necessarily my taste.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC opportunity.

This book was such a delight! I enjoyed this immensely! The Emma retelling is so well done with a unique twist which I thought was clever and sweet 😍.

Tropes:
🎄Small town
🎄Christmas vibes
🎄Friends to lovers
🎄Older characters
🎄Rom com
🎄Emma retelling (Jane Austen’s Emma)

🎄Frankie is quite the matchmaker as she is eager for everyone to have their own happily ever after. Frankie is determined to find several of her close friends a match this season through which she slowly realizes the workings of her own heart as well. What is this new feeling she’s experiencing when she’s around her long term friend Mitch? Find out more by adding this to your holiday reads this year.

🎄I’m an ardent fan of all Jane Austen works and Emma is one of my comfort stories that I constantly go back to. @sheilarobertswriter does a wonderful job of introducing characters and the premise from Emma to this holiday retelling which is charming and enjoyable. I specifically loved how the characters are older and in their 40s, 50s etc. which is refreshing and entertaining. I was also immersed in all the holiday vibes and thought the shop belonging to Frankie and Christmas events are super cute. The side characters were a colorful addition to the story too without overpowering the main leads. I’ve read many variations of Emma retellings and I can confidently say this is indeed one of my favorites. Wittily executed 🥰

🎄A charming and sweet holiday read with all the charm for you for this Christmas season! 🎄

Frankie, a 50 year-old widow who owns a holiday-themed shop in a small town called Carol, can't help meddling in the lives of family and friends even though her efforts often end in disaster! Whether it's her younger divorced sister, her shy employee or her good friend, Mitch, who owns the local hardware store, Frankie is determined to help everyone she cares for find their happily-ever-after but is afraid to take a chance on love again herself.

Inspired by Jane Austen's Emma, The Merry Matchmaker is a very loose retelling set in a small town in the Pacific Northwest during the holiday season. There's a large cast of characters to keep track of and it's heavily reliant on dialogue but this is a sweet holiday story set in a charming town with lots of festive spirit and a happy ending for everyone. It's also a good choice for anyone looking for a heartwarming holiday romance without spice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.