Katie Collins lives in the small Irish town of Ennisbawn and works as a bartender at the only bar in town called Kelly's. Her tranquility is disturbed when a property development company Glenmill comes to build a new hotel and in the process buys up all the land in the area including her place of business, She is determined to fight for Kelly's even if it is the last thing she does, so she makes up a story that it is of cultural importance for the community as it is the site where they hold the annual Matchmaking festival, the only problem is it is not. Jack Doyle (Glenmill's representative) calls her bluff and gives her a chance to prove the importance of this festival, so Katie is on a quest to revive the festival and save her place of work.

It is a charming book, but it was predictable and I was expecting more pushback on Glenmill's part to prevent the festival from taking place and not just demolishing the barn in which it was initially supposed to be held.

The Matchmaker written by Catherine Walsh was cute, I loved it, but I didn't <b>LOVE LOVE LOVE</b> it. I absolutely adored Holiday Romance by this author, so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I <b>knew</b> I had to get my hands on it. If y'all really want to know why I picked this book up, it was because of the cute dog on the cover. As a dog lover, I have to read any book with cute pups on the cover. There were a few disappointments I had with this book, the romance started to drag at about the half way point, and it had insta-love, which okay, <b>sometimes </b> it works, but for this book it just didn't work for me. Other than that The Matchmaker had everything you could possibly want, from a small town romance, to a feel good story, to quirky characters, to an amazing group of friends. I'm not a huge fan of an Irish setting, but Catherine Walsh definitely made Ireland dreamy. I can't recommend this book enough, please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of The Matchmaker written by Catherine Walsh. Don't let some of my points stop you from reading this book, I just stated some that didn't work for me. Overall, it was a feel good, cute romance novel that should be read when you are looking for something fluffy. When the romance started going downhill at the halfway point, I found myself drifting off to sleep, but the amazing group of friends definitely lifted my spirits.

<b>VIO MADE ME READ THIS BOOK</b>💗!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND BOOKOUTURE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

Twenty-nine year old Katie Collins was born and raised in Ennisbawn, Ireland. Katie lost her parents in a car accident, and had to move in with her grandma. Katie has barely ever left Ennisbawn, but why would she want to? It's a tight knit community, a friendly local pub, Ennisbawn is surrounded by rolling hills, it's basically a place of peaceful beauty. Well, it was a peaceful beauty, until Callum Dempsey showed up. Callum is a construction developer with zero eye for charm or beauty. When construction disrupts Katie's sleep, what does she do? She marches down to the construction site in her rubber duck pajamas, only to learn that Callum and his crew plan to knock down the rest of Ennisbawn to build a hideous hotel just outside the village. Callum also plans to knock down Ennisbawn's only remaining pub, where Katie works just to make room for a brand new golf course. Katie has no desire for this at all, Callum is basically ruining the town Katie has ever known her entire life. Katie is going to find a way to stop this non sense from happening. I give kudos to Katie because she's the only one who thinks it's a good idea to put a stop to this.

When Callum tells Katie he's going to knock down the pub, it's the final blow to the village and the last straw for Katie, who refuses to see their home and town disappear. The pub is the last connection Katie has to her late parents, so why wouldn't she stop it? Well, Katie doesn't really have a lot of money to really do anything. Katie's parents had met at Ennisbawn's once famous matchmaking festival, both of them throwing coins into the wishing well that sits in the pub's garden. When Katie needs to do something immediately, she knows in an instant what she's going to do. Katie is going to uncover the now disused wishing well, she's going to revive the matchmaking festival, and she's going to bring Ennisbawn back to life again. Katie has a great group of friends supporting her and her decision to put a stop to Callum and his non sense building, at first they were a bit hesitant because they didn't know how they were going to revive the matchmaking festival with very little money. In order to find your true love, you'd have to throw a coin into the wishing well and hopefully your match comes along.

I absolutely adored the witty banter, the characters were just so quirky, it was adorable. I can't forget about the adorable Border Collie on the cover, <b>SO CUTE</b>. I absolutely adored watching Katie's group of friends blossom, they were so supportive of each other, and willing to help Katie save their small Irish village. Katie's relationship with her best friends had so much growing to do, but reading it over time definitely made me so happy, there's nothing better than an amazing group of friends who will always have your back. I absolutely adored watching Katie grow, from the minute she stomped down to the construction site in her rubber duck pajamas, to the minute she planned to put a stop to Callum and his construction crew. Katie made me laugh a numerous amount of times. The only thing I disliked about this book was the insta-love, but other than that it left a smile on my face. The friendship from the second hand characters stole my heart. The punny one liners had me giggling nonstop. If you can put aside the insta-love, then don't pass up The Matchmaker. If you love a feel good story with a happy ending, then this is the book for you, look no further than The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh.

I found this book heartwarming and enjoyed the humour and quick wit that can be missing in some books. I did find some bits quite drawn out but overall it was a cosy book to lose yourself in. It’s interesting that some reviewers believe this isn’t the authors best book she has written so I will be on the hunt for the other books as I did enjoy the writing style. It is definitely one that could be made into a channel 5 romcom film!

»The Matchmaker« was the third book by Catherine Walsh that I’ve read and overall it’s my least favorite of her books so far but that’s not saying much because I adored both »Holiday Romance« and »One Night Only« and Catherine Walsh became easily an auto-buy author for me.

Catherine Walsh has such a a talent for writing witty and comedic dialogue, which made the interactions between the characters so enjoyable to read, the banter and conversations between all the characters were hilarious. I truly adore her writing.

However, the romance between the two main characters felt a bit rushed. I was on board with them having a crush on each other and the chemistry was there but I just didn’t really feel the romance, it was more like “hey, I’m attracted to this person” and then after a few interactions they were suddenly in love. That whole thing happened a bit too fast for me personally, I would have loved to have a few more scenes between Katie and Callum.

But honestly, that also didn’t bothered me a lot because I loved everything else about »The Matchmaker« so much - the small town, the secondary characters, the whole thing with the matchmaking festival. And also no third-act-break up, which is always something I appreciate.

In summary, »The Matchmaker« is a really solid rom-com, a super fun and easy read that I would absolutely recommend (even though I liked »Holiday Romance« best and would recommend that the most from the three Catherine Walsh books I’ve read so far.)

A sweet small town romance novel. The storyline is cute and plain vanilla 🍦but perfect for a sunny evening read.

I admire Katie to stand up for her town. I loved the description of the town it made me wish to visit it. The book has many cute convo and sweet moments to melf for. As the book title says Matchmakers it would have been perfect if Callum and Katie had a moment like for eg. they realise they are in love with one another or their first kiss💋 or some other sweet moment during the festival then it would have been a lot more fun and meaningful.

Overall the story is perfect for some mindless read and for someone who enjoys Hallmark kind of movies ❤️. Looking forward to read more of her books 😀

The publisher's tagline on this is that it's unputdownable. That almost throws down the gauntlet in my mind's eye. In truth, it was unputdownable. I don't know if it's the combination of characters in the Irish setting that drew me in or the idea of a matchmaking festival? Either way, sign me up! This isn't elevated literature (please say that in your fanciest English professor voice), but it's a fun & engaging read that has sent me to find more Catherine Walsh before I go on vacation in a few weeks!

A cute and a heartfelt small-town romance set in Ireland will always have a special place in my heart, no exception for this one!

I love it when the main characters stand on different side of an idea and one of them is not immediately give in to the other side. It took a lot of reasoning, explaining, and realization and this book has executed smoothly by end it with the grandest gesture (I ever found in romance books). All while the tension built around each other getting more intense on each interactions.

While I can't really connect with Katie, but I salute her bravery for defending her home, pub, and village. It shows how much she care though we can see her flaws--that makes her more humane and relatable at some point. Callum also is the sweetest boy ever??? Every time he shows up I was really anticipating what would he do or say. The friendship among the characters of the whole village and their side story is so adorable too!

I really enjoy this author’s writing style. I loved the setting of this one in a little Irish village and really liked both the main characters and the full cast of supporting characters. Despite the right components all being there this book didn’t grip me in quite the same way her other books have but I still enjoyed it.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

I really loved other books by this author. I was not drawn into the romance with this one. Maybe it was the trope or that too much was going on but it was just okay for me.

3 STARS

The plot is very cliche and predictable, but that was what I expected and wanted from this book. It is the type of book where you can just relax and read without having to actually think about what you are reading. It's a great book to read as a palate cleanser between harder books (or at least it was for me).

I really enjoyed the descriptions of how peaceful the village and the nature is, and the contrast of the destruction and chaos that the construction brought. I think the descriptions of the village were my favorite part of this book, and it made me want to visit it.

The writing style is simple and easy to read, but a bit too repetitive for my taste. It is...okay, just not my personal preference. There are parts that are very very well written - the portrayal of trauma was amazing, and it made me love the writing a lot more.

The characters are too much for me, and most of the falling for each other part of the MCs just wasn't there. We got the attraction, and the fallen in love part, but not the falling, and for me that is the most important part of a romance novel. Thatis the main reason why, for me, this book is just an okay, 3 star rating book.


CONCLUSION

This is an okay, fun, simple and cringy rom com. It is a cute story perfect for the lovers of Hallmark movies, or for someone who just needs an easy and simple guilty pleasure type of book.
This is definitely not my favorite romance, but it is an all in all okay read that I did have fun with.




Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so cute!! I do wish the main relationship had developed a bit slower and that we got to know Jack better as a character, along with a few other characters. Overall very enjoyable!

This book was so cute. I wish we would’ve been able to see Callum and Katie’s relationship grow a little more. It did seem rushed a little. I loved the premise of the story and the sense of community I got. It made me want to live in a little village with a bar that was just four walls and a roof. I loved the dynamic of Katie’s friends and family and their personalities. I also loved seeing the growth in Jack. Will definitely recommend this book to my book reading friends!

The setting of this book was really cute - I loved the idea of a small Irish village fighting back from a big developer to save their town. It was giving a lot of Gilmore Girl vibes. The matchmaking festival was cute and a perfect backdrop for a romance plot.

However, I didn’t really feel any chemistry between Katie and Callum. They got together so quickly and Callum is instantly in love and willing to quit his job for a woman he just met. It just didn’t seem realistic - even for a romance novel.

There was the big buildup of the matchmaking festival but by the time it happens in the book, Katie and Callum have already gotten together and had the third act break up - so there isn’t really that emotional build up and “FINALLY!” moment.

Unfortunately this one was just a miss for me.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Bookouture for a digital ARC of this book.

the book was so cute and sweet - definite hallmark vibes and i loved every second of it! she was determined to do whatever it took to save her cute little small town and boy did she! i love how katie and callum were so perfect together, no communication and they were amazing together! and the grand gesture oh my gosh 🥲🥲😍😍😍

Decided to DNF at 63%.

I just don’t care enough about how it ends to keep going? Walsh’s writing is fantastic, but I found the romance to be incredibly abrupt and lacking the build-up/tension I need. I am more invested in Gemma and Adam’s relationship, tbh.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I ended up not finishing the book - the beginning seems promising, with the quaint small town Irish setting, but I lost steam as the matchmaking festival was introduced.

3.5 stars

The Matchmaker is a love letter to small towns and rural life. I loved the friendships, the unique characters, and the deep emotion running through this story, particularly between Katie and her grandmother. But, unfortunately, I never really bought the romance the entire book is supposed to be about.

Not only is Katie basically a raving lunatic the first time she meets Callum, she never really improves. They constantly run into each other in awkward situations and have stilted conversations. And while I came to appreciate how incredibly devoted he was to her, it never really made sense. There was nothing that could justify the steps he chooses to make when the range he’s gotten from her is ‘yelling and blurting out non-sequiturs while wearing my PJs and you’re trying to work’, ‘being rude in public places when you’ve been stood up on a date’ and ‘assuming the worst of you and pushing you away because I like to make superficial judgments’.

On the other hand, the relationships between Katie, Gemma, Nush, and Adam were pretty great. They cared for each other without having to be sentimental about it; sarcasm and banter were much more prevalent than anything emotional or supportive. And I have to admit there was something about Katie and Noah’s relationship that was sweet and hopeful and had me looking forward to their strange interactions.

If you read the blurb, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what you're getting from The Matchmaker. There’s nothing genre-shattering or life-changing, but it is a sweet and enjoyable read.

I love this story idea but in practice found the plot confusing and hard to follow, and struggled to get into the story. I ultimately did not finish this story. Thank you for the chance to review in exchange for an honest review.

I loooovedd this. It’s joyful with great characters who are not annoying. There’s also a dreamy male lead and a very fun supporting cast (I need some follow-up novels please).

It’s also a story about the importance of community and a celebration of those who care and fight for those they love.

I was honestly weepy towards the end. Bring on Book 5!

This was one was really cute. Catherine Walsh came on my radar after I read Holiday Romance. She is extremely talented and has risen to the top of my favorite authors. In a romcom I need witty banter and she delivers. The reason its not a 5 star for me is because it is a little "hallmark-y" where I prefer more real life scenarios/characters but it was good for escapism. I will be on the look out for more book from Walsh.