brb, booking a flight to Ireland to kiss Cat on the forehead and find a matchmaking festival.

I love the way Cat writes and she may have truly outdone herself with this one. This is one of those stare at ceiling, giggle and kick your feet kind of romcoms. I didn't want it to end! All of Cat's books include the coziest towns and some of my favorite friendship dynamics and I cannot explain how giddy the growing tension between Callum and Katie made me.

Katie's friendships with Nush, Gemma and Adam are such a core source of comfort for her and she's spent the last decade of her life growing in that comfortability. When developers come to Ennisbawn and intend to destroy the last tangible connection she has with her parents, she decides to reinvigorate the town matchmaking festival. For a girl who hates confrontation, Katie does it so well. From her meet-cute, to throwing the gauntlet down with Jack, to rallying the town into getting behind the festival, the amount of love Katie has for her town and her family makes my heart hurt.

All the swoony, delicious, toe-curling tension builds between Katie and Callum. He should be firmly in the "enemy" category, but the man really is just looking for a way in to Katie's life. I'm actually a little obsessed with the two of them. The belt loops, the slow burn, every flirty word that leaves that man's mouth.. swooning. I'm so excited for this one to be on KU and to get my hands on a paperback so I can annotate it properly with all my little notes.

add to your tbr if you're looking for:
- THE SWOONING
- THE TENSION
- THE BUTTERFLIES

Cat Walsh is a master of dialogue and writing feel-good romantic comedies. I thought this would be the first book of hers that didn’t make me cry, but then the last 30% I sobbed multiple times and it was amazing.

I like the design and bright cover of this book which drew me instantly to it. I had not read any books by Catherine Walsh before but had heard good reviews so was looking forward to reading it and it did not disappoint.
I loved the characters in the story and my favourite was Kates grandmother. The comedy in the book had me laughing out loud and I liked the fact that the setting was in Ireland, I almost felt like I was there.
Overall a nice easy feel good read with just the right amount of romance and humour and I can’t wait to read more of Catherine’s novels.
Thanks to NetGallet, Bookouture and Catherine Walsh for an advanced copy in exchange for and honest and unbiased review.

It’s settled. Catherine Walsh is now of my top favorite authors. Every book of hers I read makes me go insane because her writing is like a drug to me. I need to keep reading or else I feel like crying.

In my previous reviews of her books I have always mentioned that her dialogues are what I love the most, and it was exactly the same in this book. Catherine’s chatacters are so lovable because the dialogue is a gold mine she perfectly exploits. Katie was so fun and passionate, doing everything to save the pub and her small town. And I am completely in love with Callum. He’s the most serious guy ever (I think he smiles once?), and so in love with Katie. He literally worships her and the ground she steps on. I have so many highlights of the romance… I am so obsessed with them. The secondary characters, once again, were delightful. It’s amazing how different everyone’s personalities are, but how equally witty they can be.

You won’t know what truly good humor is until you’ve read Catherine’s romcoms. Laughs, romance, and a bit of tears are always guaranteed.

PS. If you want a more perfect reading experience, listen to Lover by Taylor Swift while you’re reading. That song is Katie and Callum’s anthem for me!

Rating: 5/5
Steam level: Open door, 2-3 scenes, low level of detail

ARC provided by Bookouture and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

The matchmaker is a very nice, pleasant and totally enjoyable irish romance book.

Katie lives with her granma in Ennisbaw and doesn't want to change a thing in her life, but Glenmill construction buys a large portion of land to build a big hotel and everything's going to change.
Katie, who's not a fighter, will find herself in need to make her own voice herd to save what she loves the most.

I loved how the authors introduces us to the characters, to this small irish village and I liked very much Katie(the female mc), how she gets passionate for small things and through struggle gets the community together.
I also liked the folkloristic nuance about the whishing well and fairy rings etc... As one of the character said I don't believe in magic, I just don't not believe it either.
It was a nice structured story with a charming writing style just perfect for it, not overly dramatic nor boring, you get some nice banters and some more emotional highlight.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read this book.

This was a lively read set in a quiet Irish village which has been disrupted enough by a new hotel and golf course being developed there however when the remaining pub becomes under threat from the developers local Katie tries to resurrect the matchmaking festival that used to be an annual feature of the village to try to save it. There’s some lovely characters in this, a simple but fresh storyline which works really well and some gentle humour which makes for a very enjoyable and easygoing read.

Okay ahh 😭 this book was so happy and wholesome and healing and complete

Like, I had read Holiday Romance by this author previously, and I KNEW that her writing was perfect, but seriously, this perfect? 😭 Istg, you can blindly start reading this book and you'll come out of the experience cheery and grinning

💫 Saving a small town - cue an FMC who's super passionate about it, and an MMC who looks at her like she's the sun in his life
💫 Meet cute where she's sleep angry (like F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Rachel when the birds were making a racket early in the morning) and he's just trying to do his job, but he changes everything so that she can sleep longer
💫 Secondary single parent / friends-forever-to-lovers romance happening in the background
💫 A community who come together to save and awaken their town
💫 Very wholesome conversations that avoid miscommunication
💫 No third act breakup
💫 Hea for literally everyone (yes, even the misunderstood villain)

--- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Catherine Walsh is one of my favorite authors and has been on my auto-buy list for some time, and I was SO excited to be approved for this ARC. While I did enjoy this one overall, I think this one was trying to do a little too much and kind of lost sight of the love story it was trying to tell.

Katie and Callum start out so cute together, and I was excited to follow their enemies-to-lovers journey as Katie fought to save the town she loves so much. But seemingly VERY quickly, they’re on the same side and making out here, there, and everywhere, and then at least half of the book is just preparation for the festival. In the end, we didn’t really get to see or be included in many of the festival activities either- it kind of takes a backseat when it’s actually going on and the only visual I even had of the actual party was just a bunch of half-drunk people milling about. We didn’t even get to see a successful out-of-town matchup or anything which was kind of sad since Granny worked so hard on them!

Insta-love just isn’t my thing and I think I was caught off-guard as the synopsis sells this idea of her “taking on the world’s hottest, evilest man” and that isn’t really happening for very long at all.
I think with a change in the synopsis where their insta-love isn’t quite as surprising might have helped me not feel as underwhelmed. They are pretty cute together and Walsh writes the world’s best banter, and the times they were sparring against each other were the highlight of their time together.

The biggest highlight of the book overall is easily the side characters, specifically the side romance that I could have happily read an entire novel about, and, of course, Katie’s sassy Granny who had me laughing out loud.

Overall, while this does bring the classic Catherine Walsh humor, banter, and heart, I think the synopsis and actual story are a little too far apart from each other to earn 5 stars from me.

“Anywhere you want me to go. If you want me to, I’ll follow.”

Katie lives in a tiny Irish village, she works at the local pub, and she cares for her sassy grandmother after her parents sadly passed away. But the quiet village has been invaded by the devil… or property developers to you and I. In order to save her beloved community, Katie sets out on a mission to revive the once beloved matchmaker festival. But then she meets the site manager and all of a sudden, the builders don’t seem so evil.

I really liked this! It was so fun, and I found myself laughing out loud. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t just a romance, we also come across a single parent, grief and anxiety, and ultimately a tale of friendship and the power of community.

I was let down by the main characters, they felt very bland, and as much as I loved Callum… he was a little boring. But he has tattoos so I forgive him. However, I adored the side characters! Granny was hilarious, and felt like a refreshing take on the vulnerable elderly person who is normally in the background whilst the main character is chasing after a man. Catherine captured the Irish country side perfectly, I felt so cosy whilst reading!

I recommend this to fans of Emily Henry and Talia Hibbert.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

#bookstagram #netgalley #catherinewalsh #thematchmaker #arc #reading #booktok #books

Summary: This book follows Katie Collins. She was born and raised in a charming Irish village and is proud to never want to leave. Her community is filled with a people she considers family. She lost her parents tragically and the people in her town helped shape who she is.

Everything is put at risk when a hotel developer has their eyes set on the village for their new sprawling resort. They have become an absolute nuisance for Katie and the rest of the villagers. Fed up with unanswered emails and calls, she storms over to the resort and meets Callum, who is working on site. She finds him annoyingly attractive but quickly learns that what they’re planning to do is even bigger and more damaging than she expected.

She devises a plan to lean into the historical charm of her village to build interest so the court of public opinion can help her stop the development plans. Katie decides she will bring back the old matchmaking festival the town was famous for. Little does she know, she’s about to learn a whole lot she didn’t expect about the art of matchmaking and love.

Thoughts: This book was absolutely delightful. There are so many quirky, hilarious moments and I just found all of the characters so charming. I loved the dry humor in the book and felt the writing style was so unique. Katie’s Granny Maeve is one of my favorite (fictional) people, ever. And the two main characters are up there with my favorite book couple ever.

There was a mission at hand and I didn’t want to put the book down until I saw how it all played out. It was set in a small village and I absolutely loved how involved the entire community was to helping our heroine on her quest. I also loved how it didn’t all go smoothly and setbacks were met with realistic responses and plans to overcome.

I was positively swooning over the romance in this book. The connection between the main characters felt so genuine. And I loved the side stories that were happening as well.

Overall, this is just such a well rounded romantic comedy. I had a cheesy grin on my face and felt like I had been whisked away to a beautiful village in Ireland. An absolute treat.

3.5 ⭐️, 🌶️

Small town romance
Found family

Small town with a good story line, enjoyable characters, found family with a sprinkle of laughter! I did think the beginning of the storyline was a little slow didn’t really seem to pick up until about 25% in and after that a cute & easy read! I loved the premise of the small town and especially the FMC, Katie who loves her town and would do anything to keep it afloat including hosting a matchmaking festival to save her home town! However I just wasn’t interested in Katie and Callums relationship it seemed to happen so fast and they just didn’t seem to have a strong connection. I liked both characters, however I just didn’t see a lot of chemistry between them. I was more invested in Gemma and Adams relationship & saving Kellys! I really enjoyed how the storyline played out & the characters!

Thank you NetGalley & bookouture for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of Catherine Walsh, I have read almost all of her books, but this one fell a little flat for me. I liked the premise of a small town girl saving her community from a big corporation but I was more invested in saving the bar Kelly's than I was in the relationship development of Katie and Callum.

Parts of it just felt forced and ingenuine but by the end I did enjoy the book and I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a small town romance.

A cute, cozy rom-com set in Ireland. When a powerful developer comes to the village of Ennisbawn and plans to close down beloved businesses and displace locals, Katie Collins decides to put up a fight. As she marches to the development site, she meets and confronts Callum Dempsey, the unreasonably gorgeous project/site manager. As Katie and Callum face off, they discover they might be on the same side after all...

The Matchmaker is a light, enjoyable read that has a cinematic/Irish Hallmark feel. I think the story would have benefitted from more tension between Katie and Callum - they were not really antagonists as the premise sets us up to believe and seemed to instantly be smitten with one another.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

I always like Catherine’s books and undoubtedly, I loved this one too!

Swoony, charming and sizzling with chemistry; this book has got it all.

I love a good small town romance mixed with positive and friendly childhood friendships and this book was just that. And don’t we love it when there’s a city-boy intruder in said small town, ready to bulldoze over your life? And in this books’ case, LITERALLY!

Callum is such a vibe. A guy who knows what he wants, a guy who’s clear about his dreams and future. We stan Mr.Green Flag!

And Katie. Don’t get me started. I love all of Catherine’s characters because they’re always so bubbly and sunshine and downright FUNNY. There were literally moments were i laughed out loud.

Callum and Katie have incredible chemistry. This book has good plot and storyline. Perfect execution. It was literally amazing!!! And the best part for me was the additional romance I got through Gemma and Adam. I loved them and Noah so much <3

I recommend this book 100% and I genuinely hope it does well. It deserves so much love. I’m taking off a star because I simply felt it was a bit too detailed for me but that’s a me thing.

GO READ THIS BOOK NOW!

Such a cute romcom! I love that it was set in Ireland and we got to see some of their culture and traditions. It was really nice to see the townspeople coming together to save what they love.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3 Stars

I really loved the first half this book, Unfortunately the last half of the book me lost the charm of the characters and I struggled with the pacing.

This is a story of a big company coming in and taking over a ton. Ruining the small things that make it special. A community and specifically one person does everything in her limited power to stop them. While ultimately falling for one of the partners of the enemy,

The love interest Callum and Katie started out very cute. I really enjoyed their interactions. The first half was definitely a sold 4⭐️. Somewhere in the half way point I feel like Callum did a 360. He becomes smitten but also came off super possessive and controlling to me. The charm he had that I loved felt gone, I think I would have actually loved to see this book longer and turn into a love story twist with Katie and Jack.

I will be reading more from Catherine Walsh. I absolutely loved her previous book and this one showed great potential. She does do a wonderful job telling a story beyond the romance, I really appreciate the depth in her stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Catherine's books, by now, feel like a warm hug. Reading The Matchmaker gave me a sense of familiarity (the writing, the humor, the relatable characters), and yet this book was as unique as Walsh's previous books.
The Matchmaker takes place entirely in Ireland, in Ennisbawn where Katie Collins goes up against Callum Dempsey, the Big, Bad site manager of the new hotel being built. Katie and Callum were taken with each other from the very beginning. She was often rendered briefly non-functional whenever she faced him, while he seemed to be utterly infatuated.
(Sidenote - Callum, an ode: Smitten, smitten man; maker of grand gestures; empowerer of (his) woman; a complete goner).
As taken as I was with the romance part of the story, I was very much invested in the outcome of Katie's fight to revive the matchmaking festival. I loved how this was the story of her relentless fight for the place where she had grown up and had no plans to leave. And the secondary characters were charming - the grandma, the best friends, the owner of the bar, the almost-teenager, or the other residents. Special mention for Jack (is it too much to hope to have his story? I feel like he needs to be knocked stupid by love).
I love Walsh's comedic timings - I cannot tell you the number of times I burst out with laughter. The author knows how to bring a certain levity to a more serious scene. She makes it seem so natural for her to inject her brand of humor into her books. I say "make it seem natural" because if you read the acknowledgments/follow her on social media/subscribe to her newsletter, you'll see that it's that same humor that is present in her books.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Walsh's books play like a movie in my head. She paints a vivid picture and sets the scene in such a way that the reader feels like a spectator (one of my notes reads "feels like I'm there"). Once more, I'm a fan.
Also, Stone Skipping™ is the new golf teaching. IYKYK.

Thank you to Bookouture and Catherine Walsh for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars
This book is a nice small-town love story with cute characters (both main and secondary). I liked the emphasis on rooting (see Katie and the festival). The story between Callum and Katie engaged me more from the middle of the book onwards.

Catherine Walsh long ago cemented herself as one of my favourite authors and The Matchmaker is a great new edition to her body of work!!

The Matchmaker takes place in a small town in Ireland that is being threatened by wealthy developers with destroying everything that makes their town what it is when wealthy developers start taking over the small city and countryside. The female MC works at a small local pub and with the threat of losing the beloved pub and her job she takes matters into her own hands!

In my opinion this is Catherines coziest read to date and the first of her books to take place entirely in Ireland which was WONDERFUL!! The romance was of course romantic and the MCs had a bit of insta-hate-love that worked, but the real winners of the story were actually all the amazing side characters. A matchmaking Granny and wonderfully complex and diverse dynamic best friends rounded out the story in the best way.

Highly recommend all of Catherine Walsh’s books and I look forward to receiving my preordered copy in April!! 💙

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and Catherine Walsh for the ARC copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ready for an escape to rural, small town Ireland? Look no further than Catherine Walsh’s newest release, The Matchmaker, a romcom that follows small town sweetheart Katie Collins as she fights to save the town and traditions she knows and loves from a big development firm plans. While facing off with the handsome site manager Callum…

Once again, Walsh delivers a story with that perfect balance of lighthearted escape with a good dash of conflict. As someone from a rural state and small town myself, this conflict and both sides of the argument certainly struck a chord. I was easily swept up in the story and loved the variety of characters (main and secondary), adored the setting, and was absolutely here for the love story.

Katie and Callum were a great match up and some of his lines were just so sweet. I could totally see this one adapted for film too. I loved the two of them, but also really loved getting to see and get to know Maeve, Adam, Gemma and the gang too.

As always, her books make me sigh in contentment and leave a smile on my face. I loved the ending and epilogue, though it’s bittersweet to reach the end. Can’t wait to add this one to my physical collection and already excited to see what Cat Walsh writes next 💖

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and @Bookouture for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.