What a wonderful holiday read. This book was exactly what you are looking for in a Christmas story. There were emotional highs and lows that kept you entertained throughout the story. I liked that the main character was not some 20 or 30 something year old, but 50 years old. It was great to see romance occur at all ages throughout this book. This is a book you definitely want to pick up to get you in the holiday mood!

Yes it's a sorta retelling of Emma but don't worry if you haven't read Austen because this stands just fine on its own. It's the messy slightly chaotic tale of Frankie who wants people to be matched up and happy. That includes Mitch, who has been her friend for a long time. You know, don't you, who he'll be best matched with. I liked that this featured more, ahem, mature characters. There are, btw, perhaps too many of them but it works. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. A good read.

Once again, Sheila Roberts has a wonderful, inspiring Christmas novel. Frankie lives in the town of Carol and owns a store called Holiday Happiness. Both her mother and daughter help her out at the store along with a new employee. Frankie is busy at the store, but she also likes to help people better their lives. She does this whether or not they want her help. Sometimes things work out well and other times not so well. Frankie is always ready to apologize and move on. She is also busy getting ready for the Santa Walk that is held on Dec. 21st each year. She created this event and had been the Chairperson until she was pushed out by a rival. She also loved being Mrs. Santa every year alongside Santa, played by her best friend Mitch. The new Chairperson has pushed her out of that role too, Frankie tries to make the best of everything just like when she lost her husband a few years ago to an accident. She has tried to move on like her mother did so many years ago when she lost her husband and had two young girls to raise. There is some underlining sadness at the holidays for both women, but they are looking to the future and a new lives with someone special. Meanwhile, Frankie is trying to find some happiness for her divorced sister as well. Maybe her matchmaking efforts might work this time. I enjoyed this book so much that I could not put it down and finished it in one day. I just had to see if the budding romances developed into something special for Frankie, her mother and her sister.

Thank you to the publishers for an early copy of this book! I liked the Christmas setting of this one and that this was an Emma re-telling. But about the halfway point I couldn’t stand the main character anymore. I thought she was kind of selfish and way too involved in everyone’s lives. She started complaining about a lot of things that were kind of her fault 🤷‍♀️. It was also hard for me to connect with these characters. Not my favorite.. but enjoyable.

The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Harlequin, HarperCollins, Netgalley, and Sheila Roberts for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was an entertaining, heartwarming holiday read that wonderfully reimagined Jane Austen’s Emma. In The Merry Matchmaker, we meet Frankie, a 50-something, widowed owner of a holiday decor shop. Frankie is portrayed as real and authentic all throughout the story. We can see her trials, struggles, hopes, and fears all across this book. I especially appreciated how the author addressed heavier topics like grief while still ensuring that the story felt positive and uplifting. Also, the focus on how love and grief are often intertwined was beautifully written.

All of the characters added to the overall story and I loved all of the Christmas details. It really made for a super sweet, cozy holiday read. As one of my first holiday reads of 2024, this book didn’t disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I am totally in my Holiday feels right now after reading this.

This book was sweet. I loved Frankie, even though I wanted to scream at her to chill.....LOL She was well meaning with her meddling, but when things backfired on her it was comical.

I thought the family and friends dynamic expressed in the book was really heartwarming. I love the small town feel. The sense of community was nice.

This was definitely a Hallmark movie in the making. I did get plenty of Holiday vibes from it, which is oddly missing in other Christmas books I've read. I could visualize the quaint downtown, Frankie's shop and the hardware store. The Christmas decorations everywhere.

I just really enjoyed it and am having to fight the urge to drag out my Christmas tree!

'The Merry Matchmaker' is, as in all things Sheila Roberts, a treat! Frankie is so busy avoiding self-examination that is channeled into meddling in other's lives that she can't move past the grief of her widowhood. Loosely based on Jane Austen's 'Emma' the personality similarities of the main characters are spot on, and eventual realizations are life-changing. The multiple POV writing technique was sometimes hard to follow, but ultimately this book was a joy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Merry Matchmaker
Sheila Robert
October 01, 2024

It’s nearing the holiday season and Frankie Lane is making her business festive for her customers. She specializes in celebration items of all kinds that are available year round. The small town of Carol has many townsfolk that attempt to let all know of personal business throughout the area. Her best pal is Mitch Howard, a divorcee who owns the hardware store. He’s a gem to look at as well as being a friend to many. He doesn't date at the present so Frankie feels she should make it her job to try to set him up. Her daughters Natalie and Stephanie are among her heart-felt chores to manage their lives as mother’s can do.
The Merry Matchmaker will be published on October 91, 2024 by Mira. I was able to read the ARC of Robert's latest novel via NetGalley. It was a joy to read, a delight to have fun with the characters. It’s a holiday story Sheila Roberts’ fans won’t want to miss, an excellent holiday read that is lots of fun. Be certain to choose this as it hits the shelves in October. Enjoy!

Frankie Lane, a widow, 50 something owner of Holiday Happiness, a small-town shop specializing in holiday decorations and similar items. Among the other characters we meet Frankie's mother, sister and daughter who also work in her shop as well as a host of other residents and shop owners in her town.
Readers learn that Frankie's matchmaking attempts sometimes fail. this book really felt like a too long hallmark movie. There are so many point of views, it got confusing. However, I did enjoy the characters.
Frankie's family and corky are my favorite characters.

A Jane Austen's Emma Christmas mashup and I loved it! Go in for the feels, for the fun, for the joy of a charming story!

I wanted to love this story as it is based off of one of my all time favorites - Emma by Jane Austen. This book fell so flat for me.
There was a massive cast of characters where you get multiple POV’s and it’s extremely dialogue heavy.
POV’s switch mid chapter with no warning and as the dialogue is so prevalent it’s hard to know who is taking. It was also so hard to keep track of who is who and how they connect as there is no distinction between them.
The characters also fell flat in my opinion, likely as it always felt hard to know whose POV we were in. The single dad character drove me insane, I am aware he is grieving but the attitude towards his young child made me so angry.

The story felt so slow to build and then the last 30% felt rushed to get to an ending. Overall I didn’t enjoy this and wanted more.

A note for the publisher - there are many weird formatting issues in this and multiple times where words that begin contain the letter “f” have spaces added - for instance snowflake looks like snowf lake.

Unfortunately, I ended up dnf this book for me. I had a hard time connecting with Frankie and honestly found her a bit annoying.

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

The Merry Matchmaker is a Jane Austen/Christmas combination that you need to read. It is a sweet story about a matchmaking widow who finds out that her actions don't always turn out as planned.

Thank you netgalley for The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts

This was such a fun Christmas read! I loved this reimagining of Jane Austen’s Emma and it really put me in the holiday mood! I especially loved the second chance at love aspect of the story.

I loved the cast of characters in the holiday tale, even though I didn’t relate to them as much as I had hoped with them all being in a different stage of their lives than me.

Full of holiday charm and cozy Christmas vibes this is the perfect read to cuddle up with in front of a fire. I recommend picking this one up when you are ready to get into the holiday spirit.

Thank you to @uplitreads for the gifted copy.

Charming Holiday story! I love the relationships these characters have with each other. It is so nice to read about an older person romance!

Frankie focuses so much on her family and friends that she sometimes overlooks her own needs and wants. There are great characters and some great Christmas traditions featured. However there are just so many characters and so many side quest that it can get confusing who is in the scene and what is going on. I loved how much Frankie loved her family, friends and community but i would have preferred the story focused more on the central characters and did away with some of the subplots.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy for review.

I am a sucker for a Christmas story. I read several every year. The Merry Matchmaker is a retelling of Jane Austen's Emma. Frankie is a widow who tries to find matches for her family and friends. She believes that she will not find another love herself. But her meddling does not always work out the way she plans.
This is a warm hearted Christmas story told from the small town of Carol. Frankie owns a Christmas shop in the town. If you like Christmas stories then you will enjoy this book. If you have never read a Christmas book, it is time to give one a try. It will warm your heart.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SheilaRoberts and #MIRA for a copy of this book.
#TheMerryMatchmaker

This was such an adorable read. I had a hard time getting into it because it is set at Christmas time and I was reading while it was incredibly hot outside. Once I got past that the storyline hooked me and I love the matchmaker aspect of this.

This book!! I loved it so much! I’m feeling a little speechless. It was fun, made me laugh, and oh the last paragraph gave me happy tears.

Frankie is only trying to help. She swears she knows exactly what everyone needs and is determined to help them, even if they really wish she wouldn't.

Frankie's "help" is a comedy all in itself. I fell head over heels in love with all the characters and truly hope the author will revisit the town of Carol in the future.

Highly recommend!

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

Frankie Lane's life is fine, really, just fine. She has a loving family, fulfilling business, lots of outside activities, a dependable best friend…really everything she needs. So why is it that Frankie can't help meddling in everyone's love lives? In a modern twist on Jane Austen's Emma, Frankie spends the majority of the book attempting to pair up her family, friends and employees with hilarious degrees of failure. Add to this, the town’s annual Christmas celebration, and a realization that she is in love with her best friend, and you have a charming Christmas romance.