Catherine Walsh’s The Match Maker transports readers to Ennisbawn, a small ( fictional) town in the Irish countryside. When a big corporation begins buying Ennisbawn in hopes of turning it into a tourist attraction, locals fear their charming town will cease to exist. Spearheaded by Katie, the town bartender, the town devises a plan to bring back their match making festival. Will the attention and money raised be enough to save their town? Or will Ennisbawn be lost forever?

Having read Walsh’s previous works, I knew I could count on her for a cute read. I was once again immediately drawn into the story. Walsh does a fantastic job creating well-rounded characters. In fact, I was so invested that I loved some of the secondary characters just as much as the primary ones.

The one thing I will say I wish had been different was the title of the book. I found it to be a bit misleading. While Katie does spend some time as a match maker, she primarily focuses her attention on being the spokesperson and coordinator of the festival.

Special thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for allowing me to read this books in exchange for my honest feedback.

This book was a great fast story with a romance plot and some comedy sprinkles. I enjoyed reading this book especially at nighttime before going to bed since it is not very hard to understand and the story is really light and cozy. The characters are great and I enjoyed reading about characters that are a little bit older and not still in highschool or college. The idea of the matchmaking festival was also quit fun and I loved to see this project grow during the book. I really liked this book and would recommend to everyone who likes a nice and cozy romance.
The only thing I did not enjoy much was the ending. While other books often have endings that are too fast, this books ending was in my opinion a little bit too long streched.

This was such a comforting and heartwarming read, I had the best time reading this!!

Katie was so lovely and I loved how determined she was to save her town and the people in it! I love the found family aspect that small town romances give, and Walsh really delivered with that theme here. I was rooting for all the side characters and was so invested in their relationships too!

Katie felt like a best friend, she was just so easy to cheer for and I was eager to find out what decisions she would make regarding both the town and her relationship with Callum.
I really enjoyed the conflict with Callum being so connected to the changes happening in her town and seeing how Katie reacted to it all made her feel more real to me.

I really enjoyed Callum's character arc and seeing him grow throughout the book, he was just so endearing and I loved how supportive he was of Katie! He was so charismatic and every interaction he had with Katie was so lovely to read. The chemistry between them was palpable and I loved seeing them together!!

Katie Collins loves her small town village but a real estate developer has come into town and is quickly disturbing small town life. Katie is tired of being woken up every morning to the sounds of construction. She marches over to the construction site in her ducky pjs to confront the project manager and makes a bit of a fool of herself. Callum ultimately wants to knock down the town's pub to make room for a hotel but Katie is going to do whatever she can to save the town. Her idea is to revive the town's matchmaking festival.

This was a cute read with a beautiful Irish setting but ultimately lacked a spark for me. It was a little too insta-lovey hallmark. Catherine Walsh writes these small Irish town stories with charm but ultimately I enjoyed her previous book, The Rebound, better.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Walsh, and Bookouture for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #thematchmaker #bookouture

I’m coming off a heavy fantasy kick so it was time for me to get back to one of my favorite romance writers: Catherine Walsh! Her debut, one night only, was one of my top ten reads from 2021. Holiday romance was my favorite Christmas story last year, and now we have match maker for me to add to my list of favorites.
I LOVED that this didn’t have a third act breakup. I love that the MMC was unwavering in his support once they switched from enemies to lovers. I love that the conflict in the story came from outside the relationship, much like You and I, Rewritten (which was also in my top reads from last year).
This book was fun and sweet and damn it if this hormonal pregnant lady didn’t cry when the two supporting characters (who had always been just friends) got together at the match making festival. So many cute feels.

This is my first Catherine Walsh book but it won’t be my last. The Matchmaker is a sweet rom-com full of banter and wit. I loved all of the relationships in the story. Each relationship has its own unique element (the grumpy pub owner, the snarky best friend, the witty old granny) that make it special. At times I found that I was reading the story more for the characters than the plot. I’d love to read future stories set in this village. This is a great book to get you out of a reading slump. It’s an easy read that flows nicely. The story is so much fun that I often didn’t realize how long I was reading for. It’s a light-hearted, feel good book.

I enjoyed the romantic cliches. The story gave me hallmark movie vibes; the small town being taken over by the big business and it’s up to one girl to save the town (while meeting a new love interest). Not only is this a romance novel but it’s also an uplifting story about a small community coming together. Everyone works together and does their part to save the town.

Now for what I didn’t love: while I wouldn’t call this book instalove, things did move slightly awkwardly in the book. Their romance was progressing at a nice slow pace but after one kiss he picks Katie and quits his job. I would think it would take a little more for him to quit his job (especially since his brother is his boss). Them automatically becoming exclusive and being in love was kind of weird. I was enjoying the slow burn and was taken back when it came full on so quickly. I would have liked a little more will they won’t they before the big climactic love declaration.

I enjoyed the save the small town village storyline better than the romantic one. The romance didn’t really stand out to me. It was pretty generic and boring at times. I was more intrigued by Katie’s tenacity and drive to make the matchmaking festival bigger than ever and to take down Glenmill.

Somehow the actual romance aspect made me take a star off of my review. The true star of the show as the friendships and camaraderie, not the love story. I’d recommend for people looking for an easy read that’s light on romance and drama.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.
The Matchmaker is the story of a small town bartender, Katie, who bands her friends together to throw a matchmaking festival to save her local pub from takeover by a greedy corporation. Callum, her love interest, works for said corporation, naturally. I liked Katie, I liked her town, I liked Callum, I liked the endearing side characters, but this one still fell short for me. Katie and Callum never even had a real conversation (truly!) before he was blowing up his life for her. Their relationship felt flimsy. The conflict with the corporation also seemed to drag on. I was fatigued at 60% through the book and could not believe I wasn’t finished at 80%! I personally would suggest reading other titles by this author over this one.

I immediately knew this was going to be a fun read, I found Callum to be hilarious. It was so heart-warming and sweet. I did feel as though it got a little slow at times, and i felt like i wanted more from the two main love interest too, but it was an easy and enjoyable read.

I LOVED this book!!

I loved going back to Ireland, as I lived there for about 8 months.

Now, about the book, specifically Katie, I adored her. I was in awe of her determination and passion, not only about the pub but also the people she cared about. Her friendship with Gemma and Nush was the cutest and her granny was the best haha. However, she annoyed me sometimes which made her character even better and more human. We all mess up, that's a part of life and the fact that Katie wasn't perfect was top notch.

About Callum, my sweet man. I wish we got to see more of him because what we saw was the cutest!! The fact the got the crew to back off so Katie would sleep more in the morning!!!! What a man! And he was willing to follow her whenever she went!!! I just loved him haha.

Now, about the book. I loved reading it. It made me all warm and fuzzy to see everyone come together to save the pub. Overall, it was an amazing book and I'll definitely be checking out Catherine's other books :)

Thank you Catherine Walsh and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of The Matchmaker

Set in Ireland AND he falls first. I’m swooning. I LOVED this book. The idea behind the book is super cute and gives me Hallmark vibes. The plot is great and the banter and relationship between Katie and Callum is so perfect. I love how their story develops and the twists and turns they run into along the way. Ends with an HEA!

Synopsis: Ennisbawn might seem like a blip on Ireland’s map to most, but to Katie this village is everything. When encroaching construction threatens the pub at the heart of her beloved town, Katie somewhat reluctantly but determinedly springs into action, going head-to-head with a real estate giant to save the pub that means the world to her.

In short: Damn the man; save the pub!

My thoughts: The Matchmaker has it all: cute village with a lovable cast of characters, a quirky grandma, a matchmaking festival, event planning, adult beverages, nature walks, a swoony love interest, and a heroine who refuses to back down when it comes to protecting what and who she loves. There are some serious themes interwoven in Katie’s story, such as the emotional trauma leftover from her parents’ deaths. It turns out that everyone is more than they seem, including the ruggedly handsome foreman we meet at the start.

Catherine Walsh, you’ve done it again. ❤️

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the complimentary advance copy of this work! My opinions are my own.

If you are looking for a laugh out loud book - look no further! I loved this story, and found myself laughing several times throughout. Once I finished I immediately ran to my book besties and told them to add it to their must read lists ASAP!

This is the story about Katie, who lives in a tiny Irish village with her grandmother. She has RARELY strayed from her little bubble, and she is quite content with that. That is until a developer comes into town and really starts to cause a ruckus - tearing down buildings, excavating the woods, and making SO MUCH NOISE that she cannot sleep. So she decides to take matters into her own hands to save her small town, and her beloved Kelly’s - the town watering hole.

I loved how genuine the characters were in this story. Katie has an amazing group of friends, and a town that loves her - then she meets Callum who really shakes up her little world. I thought that the author did a great job of telling us just enough about each character without weighing the story down with unnecessary details. I flew through the last 80% of the book in one day just because I was so engaged!

This would be a great vacation or weekend read - it isn’t heavy, and reads quickly while telling a really fantastic story - love it :) I have already added more from Catherine to my TBR list, and my book club (should out to my Better than Therapy Book Club besties!!) has chosen to read her book, Holiday Romance, during the holiday season this year!

I have been suggesting this to my book-loving peers every time someone says they're looking for a fun light-hearted romantic comedy! You can't beat the fun, beautiful Ireland setting and the characters are perfectly relatable.

3.5 stars

Her small hometown has been taken over by a construction company, and Katie has had enough. But when she stomps over there in her pajamas to tell them off for waking her up so early, she meets Callum. Sure he’s handsome, but he also seems to be the right hand man of the guy ruining her town. But when they want to tear down the pub where she works, that has a sentimental history for her, that’s the final blow. Katie decides to bring back the town’s matchmaking festival as a way to prove that there can also be value in keeping some of the history. So Callum can either stand in her way, or he can join her.

I loved the cute small-town family vibes of this book. There was an overall sense of the people working together and caring about each other, even if they went about it in different ways.

But the thing I loved most about this book was Katie and Callum. Yes, she was determined. But she would also do absolutely anything for the people she cared about. But when Callum proves that he’s willing to do absolutely anything for her, it’s great for her to realize that she’s worthy of that too.

I’ve read a book by Catherine Walsh before, and her characters always seem to have good chemistry and banter. It was overall really cute!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book!

Loved Katie and Callum so much. They’re adorable and so quirky and easy to love. I didn’t like the lack of dialogue tags because it was super confusing sometimes trying to figure out who’s talking. I read a lot of books that don’t use many dialogue tags and it works, but there were many times in this book I was super confused. Otherwise, loved it

Open door, minimal swearing

Sooooo cute! I really like the writing and I LOOOOOOVE the characters. Their chemistry? Omg, so on point. Love that for them!

Okay but HOW did Catherine Walsh become one of my auto buy authors SO QUICKLY?! I absolutely LOVED The Matchmaker, which, honestly, is absolutely not surprising. It is just so well written, the humor and romance is on POINT! Cannot recommend this more :)

This book was cute and had all the makings of a Hallmark movie, but it was missing something for me. Overall I would give it 3.5/5 stars, worth the read but wont read again. I felt like some of the chemistry was lacking and just was waiting for a bit more out of the story. I think I sill loom into other books by this author though, maybe this one was just a miss for me 🤷‍♀️

Also side note i have nothing against books set in Europe or other places but I connect more with books set in America personally.

Thank you Netgallery for the ARC though!

This book was short, sweet and charming! The small Irish town aspects were delightful.

Although, it was a little lacking for me. It is a good pallet cleanser in between heavier books.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

After I devoured and absolutely adored Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh, I knew I would read anything she put out next so I was very excited to receive an e-arc of The Matchmaker. If you've read Holiday Romance, then you know that the main characters in it, Molly and Andrew, set a high bar when it comes to relationships in rom-coms. Unfortunately, our main interests in The Matchmaker, Katie and Callum, fall a bit short. (Now, I think if you haven't read Holiday Romance, then maybe you'd absolutely love this one, but it was hard not to want the same warm, fuzzy feelings from Katie and Callum that we got from Molly and Andrew).

Anyway, I digress lol. The Matchmaker also takes place in Ireland, in a small village called Ennisbawn. I love any book set in Ireland or Scotland and this setting did not disappoint. When Katie's hometown is threatened by new retail development, including the beloved (and ONLY) pub that she also happens to work in, she will do anything to save it, including bringing back the annual Matchmaking event that hasn't actually been held in years, in order to bring in awareness and proof that the pub has too much cultural and historical significance to be torn down. And as luck would have it, Callum (who in and of himself was totally swoon-worth), works for said company. So what happens when your love interest is also working for the devil set on destroying your life as you know it? Hmm...I'm sure you can figure that one out ;)

All in all, this was a super cute read and I enjoyed the story and all of the characters. I just overall felt like the love connection between Katie and Callum developed far too quickly and wasn't fleshed out enough (when compared to Holiday Romance), but is pretty par for the course when compared to most rom-coms.