The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh is a cute rom-com. Everything a Hallmark movie is made of! I didn't realize this was a series and wished I knew ahead of time as I think some characters and things would have made more sense. The small town setting here is perfect and the community she created with the side characters was just amazing. The opposites attract storyline is always a winner!

solid 4.75⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review.
I absolutely loved this! It's such a funny and lighthearted story that will make you smile, laugh, cringe, cry, and feel all the emotions!

In order to save her small town from being bulldozed by a multimillion company, Katie tries to bring back the "Matchmaking" festival that was very popular in the past but hasn't really worked in the last few years. But it doesn't matter because Katie isn't going down without a fight. She loves her hometown, its people, and its culture, and no city, suit-wearing corporate man can come in between that.

What happens when the project coordinator is also someone Katie always finds in her path one way or another and just so happens to be extremely handsome, polite, and just her type?

"Green eyes, I decide. I like men with green eyes and men who look at me like that. Like I'm the only person in the world."

Oh, he's also the type of guy who will put everything before her, who will do and does everything for her even though they're "enemies" (kind of):
"Why are you here?" "I figured this is where you'd be."

who chooses her, time and time again, without stealing her spotlight because this is her show!
"What you said yesterday about how it doesn't matter if I want to see you? You were right. It doesn't matter if my actions don't back it up. So I made a decision. And my decision is you. I chose you." !!!!!!
but also: "Callum shifts to my side, but he doesn't come to my rescue. Doesn't offer a magical solution. He just waits. Waits for me. Because I'm in charge."

You will swoon reading this I promise.
"Katie, you could tell me that your sole interest in life is snail migration, and I'd listen to every word you say so long as your eyes light up like that."

And laugh too.
"I jumped as she appears in the doorway, dressed all in black. "Entering your crone years, I see."

It was such a pick-me-up, it was exactly what I needed after many disappointing reads.

The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars was because Callum felt a little flat but this is still one of my favorite reads so far.

It’s was cute. It had a few really relatable moments and while I found Katie pretty flat for most of the book, I liked her a lot by the end. It wasn’t funny, but it was definitely cute . 3.5

#TheMatchmaker #NetGalley

I love Catherine Walsh’s writing - it’s just too funny, I was laughing out loud by the first chapter. Katie is so relatable, witty and amusing. It’s also so easy to fall in love with the setting and secondary characters in this. It’s the epitome of a romantic comedy - swoony with lots of lols.

Basically - anything Catherine Walsh writes, I will read; and most likely laugh a lot in the process.

The Matchmaker was so good. It was a very cute romcom. I love small town stories where they compete with the evil mega conglomerates by showing the world how amazing a small town can be.

If you’re looking for a light and fun read this book is for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of The Matchmaker in exchange of an honest review

I was such a fan of this book! I couldn't put it down - the build-up and timeline felt so believable (which isn't always the case with rom-coms). Every character was super realistic and lovable, a super fun read that I definitely recommend!!

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. 

I have read Catherine's 3 other books and really enjoyed her witty romantic style. I'm also a sucker for anything Irish! 

Katie Collins has quite the introduction in the book and it absolutely cracks me up. Katie is a girl after my own heart. She doesn't want much in life, a decent night's sleep and a job she enjoys. It's not too much to ask for is it? Katie is easy to identify with, you can easily see yourself being friends with her.

Callum is all things yummy. He's tall, handsome and Irish! He also works in construction so is good with his hands! 

This story has a cute rom-com vibe to it. It’s the perfect escapism book with a real community feel  that will leave you smiling.

This was a cute romcom that had a nice balance of quirky MC, standard supporting peeps and a unique storyline that kept my interest. The wishing well concept was cute and creative. Overall it was a fresh story that was made even better when I remembered to consider the characters’ Irish dialects. This book in one word: charming. <3

I really enjoyed this book, it made me smile and had so many funny moments, katie was a really cute and likeable character, this book totally captured the small town vibes and it was heartwarming to read abt them all coming together for the matchmaking festival (i wish it was real)
katie, callum and all the other characters were well developed and their relationships to each other didn’t feel unrealistic
this was just a feel good book it put on a good mood it’s the perfect light read to get out of a reading slump or just enjoy the perfect summer day with

This is my second book by the author and I love her writing! Her stories are fun, have depth, and are heartwarming with a great cast of characters.

This is the story of Katie, a bartender in a small town she never intends to leave. The only trouble is a new hotel is being built in town and now they want to tear down her beloved pub. In an attempt to save the pub, Katie sets out to revive the town’s matchmaker festival. Katie might just save the pub and find herself a match.

This was a really fun read! I enjoyed the characters, especially Katie’s friends. I could have seen this made into a trilogy and would have loved to read more about her friends, Gemma and Nush. I liked the love story. I thought Katie and Callum were really endearing together and while the feelings developed fast, I didn’t mind a bit! I like how the author creates character that have depth and relatable troubles, like being a single mom raising a pre-teen, wondering if you’re boring or pretty or good enough for xyz. This was a great story by Catherine Walsh and I can’t wait to read what she puts out next!

Fun storyline and great banter between the main character and her arch nemesis (aka love interest). I loved the battles between the two main characters and how the townspeople joined in on the fun. A great read for at the beach or lounging by the pool!

Katie is from a small town in Ireland where she lives with her grandmother and works in the local pub. Her parents died when she was younger so this town and its traditions are all that she knows. Now Callum Dempsey and his brother’s construction company come plowing through to develop Ennisbawn into a touristy vacation town. With her sleep schedule being disrupted by the loud construction, she stomps over to the job-site (in her pajamas) to put in her formal complaint.

Callum works with his brother on development projects, hopping from one location to the next but that all changes once he meets Katie and her love for this quaint little town. He is starting to see it as a place where he can call home possibly with this strong, fierce woman. He does what he can to smooth things over with her…until the town catches wind that the local pub and its wishing well are next on the list to be destroyed. The pub is where her parents met and it's her last connection to them. Katie is determined to show how important that wishing well is to the community so she goes all-in to revive the Matchmaking Festival! With a lot of bumps in the road she finds a way to put her little town on the map and maybe find her true love too!

I absolutely LOVE reading books that take place in Ireland! The Matchmaker is a super cute romance full of wonderful characters! I love the small town, tight knit community feel. This book has Hallmark movie written all over it! This sweet rom-com was a quick read. I would love to see more books with this bunch!

Catherine did an amazing job taking me to Ennisbawn and introducing me to this fun crowd! I found myself laughing at the bantering between the two MC’s. I love how passionate Katie is about saving her community. She is full of sass and has such a great sense of humor. Callum is such a sweetheart! He is so protective and supportive. Their chemistry is off the charts!

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬…
Enemies to Lovers
Small Town Romance
Insta-Love
Opposites Attract

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture & Catherine Walsh for the ARC of this book for my honest review!

This was cute, nothing really memorable happened but I still enjoyed it. I did wish it had a more emotional factor, there was something missing from me fully connecting to the characters and their story.

The Matchmaker was a very cute read and a great first book for me from this author!

I always enjoy a HEA, and this one was no different. I also loved how Katie, our FMC, got to see all of her friends fall in love at the same time that she was. It was very sweet!

Katie & Callum have great banter and I really enjoyed the build of their relationship. The only thing I had a hard time with was the predictability between them. I was able to know how their relationship, and this book, was going to go before it even happened. While that was a little bit of a bummer, it didn't take away from them as a book couple. They were still super cute, and a little spicy, which was perfect!

If you need a quick little cloud of love to escape into, this is the book for you!

In 'The Matchmaker', Catherine Walsh turns her attentions to an Irish lass who is not part of the gallivanting Irish diaspora like her previous characters.

Katie Collins is firmly ensconced in her village Ennisbawn, living with her grandmother and working in the local pub. But this tiny community is about to change, with developers rolling in to threaten the sleep community and, worst of all, the pub.

Katie and her friends band together to revive an old Matchmaking festival in order to save the pub, and along the way she finds herself attracted like a moth to a flame to Callum Dempsey, the project manager of the development.

I'm a huge fan of Catherine Walsh. She writes such well-rounded characters, they have foibles, they get grumpy AND sunshiney. They're sex positive and they're fun. They're the sorts of women you'd love to sit in a pub and have a good craic. I also love her supporting characters - her boss Adam, and her besties Gemma and Nush.

Unfortunately this story, just didn't quite gel for me. I found it a bit slow to get into and and then festival itself seemed like it had some easy resolutions for a huge event like that to be pulled off. BUT it was still a fun book full of Walsh's trademark banter (I loved the banter with Callum and Katie). I also really loved Adam's lines.

Walsh is still an auto-buy for me though I am dismayed to find that I can't buy this book because it's been released exclusively to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. I understand authors get paid more via how many pages are read (and yay i do want authors to be paid well), but it seems very shortsighted for the publisher to do a first release and not sell via other e-tailers first at least for the first couple of weeks before exclusive KU.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture.

What a fun, lighthearted story about finding true love. I especially loved the friendships throughout the book, it was almost as if the romance was just added in. Katie was a fun, spunky character who I enjoyed seeing get put in funny situations. Makes me want to go to Ireland and have a drink at Kelly's!

I’ve needed a pick me up and this book did the trick. I’m always a fan of small towns and opposites attract. The story, the setting and the characters are all charming. On top of rooting for the main characters, I also loved the side characters. Maybe they can have their own book in the cozy little town.

The plot isn’t new, but how often is it in a romance? I was so besotted with Holiday Romance that it is hard to live up to that, but this is a really good book that I read at just the right moment. Who wouldn’t want to fall in love in Ireland? Am I right? With a matchmaking festival, nonetheless. I devoured this one in a day.

I think anyone liking sweet romances, small town charm and enemies to lovers will root for Callum and Katie. And after you finish it, write a review to also beg for another book in the series featuring others in the town.

Very sweet pleasant read. Got a few laughs out of it also. Loved the characters they were very charming, for me the book was a bit slow going. I enjoy fast pace books this one seemed to drag a bit until the ending. The ending was a goodie though :)

This is my first book from this author. I enjoyed it and read it really fast. It had charming side characters that also had a compelling story. Would recommend

This was my second Catherine Walsh book and I can’t wait to read more! I usually don’t laugh a lot reading books, but this was so so funny and cute.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for letting me read an advanced copy.