Publishers Synopsis:

From the bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners comes a novel about love, loss, and the beautiful mess of family.

Marnie MacGraw and Patrick Delaney have been in love for a few years now, enough to realize that they are imperfectly perfect together. Still, there are some things that maybe need a little attention. Marnie’s ebullient; he’s brooding. She thrives on change; he prefers stability. She sees marriage and parenthood in their future, but he can’t see beyond the shadow of an earlier tragedy. Then an eight-year-old surprise from Patrick’s past shows up on their doorstep, cartwheeling into their lives and spinning things in all directions. While it’s not exactly the change she envisioned, it looks like instant family to Marnie. But Patrick, afraid of being hurt again, retreats further into himself. Suddenly, two very different pieces of a beautiful puzzle find it harder and harder to fit. How can Marnie trust in the magic of the universe when it seems to be doing its best to knock her off her feet? But some love stories are worth waiting for. And what’s love without a little chaos anyway?

Review: This is now my favourite book of all time. Let me say it again. This is now (and I cannot stress this enough) my favourite book of all time. I’ve never had a favourite author before, but if that is what this little warm feeling in my heart is then I’ll take it, and a copy of ALL of Maddie Dawson’s books. Full disclosure (because I pride myself with how honest I am with these reviews) this book was in a huge pile (HUGE!) of netgalley arcs that needed to be read. Even with the publication date approaching, I was nowhere near reading this book. Then I received an email from the publisher (assumingly as did other owners of the arc) and it triggered something in me to bring this book to the top (I now know that was Blix working her magic on me).

From the first chapter I was swept up into the lives of Marnie and Patrick. I genuinely and honestly couldn’t put the book down. I made a note one day during a rare moment that I wasn’t reading this book and it says, verbatim, that I genuinely missed the characters in the book. I wasn’t even half way through yet! The cart-wheeling eight year old that comes out of nowhere and into their lives is an accurate depiction of my character as a child. I am, in all regards, the living adult version of Fritzey. Unfortunately, my quirks, mannerisms and constant chatter was suppressed, by all means, by my mother. So it was incredibly refreshing to read about how every adult in this little girls life just took her as she was and let her be. I think that might be for the most part why for me this book is such a winner. I don’t believe in crystal, or holistic healing or moon phases, or burning sage or mercury in retrograde or any of that. None of it. I don’t even belong to a religion (although I respect all religions and people that come from them) but I do like magic. So the touch of magic in this book, combined with Fritzeys energizer bunny personality, and the love story that is Marnie and Patrick just has this book ticking all of my boxes.

Initially, i was worried that I hadn’t read Dawson’s previous book “match making for beginners” and was worried this would affect my ability to love this book. Hey, it didn’t and now I want no less than seven copies of both. I could talk forever about how good this book is- one night I even skipped a meal in order to read more!- but I think you get the point. I’ve read a lot of books the last few months. No less than 20 papers and 20 arc’s. But this one beats them all. I want to carry it around with me wherever I go. I am now Maddie Dawson’s biggest fan and the #1 promoter for this novel.

My sincerest thanks to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for my review.

5/5 stars

If you feel like you’re missing some sparkle, joie de vivre and a little bit of craziness in your life then I recommend you drop into Marnie’s world. Owner of Best Buds florist shop in Brooklyn, Marnie is a witchy matchmaker who see sparkles above people wherever she goes, believes in the magic power of the universe and occasionally uses spells to fulfill her dreams. Oh, and don’t forget her toaster which is inhabited by the spirit of Blix (the woman responsible for bringing Marnie and Patrick together) and offers inspiration and words of wisdom at every given opportunity. This sounds like the most bizzare scenario for a romantic tale but despite initial reservations it’s impossible not to get swept away in all the madness and I absolutely loved it.
Marnie is the most spontaneous, irrepressible, positive and eccentric character you could imagine with a hopelessly romantic heart. With some initial eye rolling at her ridiculously naive nature I felt like I’d been plucked from a black and white world into an alternative technicolour universe, with no idea
of the rules but happy to see where the ride would take me. Welcome to Planet Marnie!! Living with long term partner Patrick she spreads joy wherever she goes, happy to surround herself with the lovely customers who frequent The Frippery which adjoins her shop and acts as a haven for all those seeking a bit of Marnie magic. But there is one thing missing. A baby. At thirty something Marnie is feeling the burning desire to procreate but can she convince Patrick to commit to such a life changing decision when he is resolute in his belief that fatherhood is not for him??
After the first few pages I thought Marnie was going to be this annoying, irritating,far fetched character living in la la land but her love for life is infectious. In her eyes there’s nothing that can’t be sorted with a bit of sparkle, a wave of an imaginary fairy wand and a side helping of inspiration from toaster Blix. Except perhaps a baby. What first appears to be an extremely lighthearted frivolous storyline turns into a charming, emotionally charged novel when the planets align, Mercury is in retrograde and eight year old Fritzie enters their lives. Unbeknownst to Patrick, he is her bio-daddy and Tessa, Fritzie’s mum is looking to dump her child with an almost stranger so she can pursue her own love interest in Italy.
What follows is a rollercoaster of events with Fritzie at the helm, complimenting Marnie’s personality with her endless bouncing energy asking a million questions per minute!! Poor Marnie and Patrick don’t stand a chance in the face of this intelligent bundle of fun who turns their lives inside out and upside down. As a character, Fritzie is the icing on the cake for me, the cherry on top that makes this novel so appealing and enjoyable. I wanted to wrap my arms around this little girl, smother her with love and never let her go. Her innocence and curiosity and straight talking made my heart melt as well as make me chuckle!!
It is Patrick who provides a hefty dose of realism to counteract all the frothiness and is a complex character suffering from survivors guilt. The appearance of Fritzie in his life disrupts the status quo and unable to deal with his feelings, Patrick gradually retreats back to his own planet which is light years away from Marnie’s. Is this the end of their love story or can the spark be reignited? I liked the contrast between these two lovers, with such differing outlooks but confirming that opposites do attract. This is a love story full of quirky characters, humour, sadness, loss and hope and of course love.
A Happy Catastrophe is an utterly,utterly charming novel that took me by surprise with the depth of emotions it aroused in me. As I’ve already said it’s an emotionally charged novel that I think would translate well to the big screen. A delightful escapist read that will bewitch any incurable romantic. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read.

I haven't book blogged in over a year. Not because I haven't read any fabulous books, but more because my mind just wasn't in it. Too much work stress, too much family stress, I just wanted to hibernate when I was home alone. But as I've crawled out of my depression cave, I kept thinking that there were books I wanted to talk about.
I picked this book off of NetGalley because I've read and loved Maddie Dawson's books. I'm not sure exactly what happened with this book, but somehow when I downloaded it, I ended up starting it about halfway through. And I couldn't figure out how we had gotten to this kid being there and the dad being so withdrawn, and a divorce seeming imminent. They kept referring to things that had happened and I thought I just missed something. But I was quickly drawn in even with the weirdness of the disjointed story.
Talk about living your life being distracted! When I finished the book, I went back to the beginning to see if this was a sequel - and found out that yes, it was a sequel, but I had also missed at least half of the book.
Anyways.....I actually enjoyed going back to the beginning and starting the book knowing the ending, although it seemed anticlimactic. One of the best things about Dawson's books is that you never know how they are going to end - they aren't formulaic.

I love an awkward kid story, and Fritzie certainly fills that need for me. As she drops (is dumped) into Patrick and Marnie's life, she's a little untamed, verbally expressive and very uncertain about why she suddenly has a dad, and one who doesn't seem to want to get to know her.

Patrick and Marnie are total opposites, and while Patrick recoils from the connection, Marie dives headfirst into mom-hood and love for all of Fritzie's ways.

Marnie is also full of empathy and compassion for Patrick's ghosts, but she's not okay with him not wanting kids with her, and she's definitely not okay with him emotionally distancing from a little girl who needs more from than he night be able to give.

I moved right into Matchmaking for Beginners, (it's $1.99 on Kindle right now) which was the first book about Patrick and Marnie - and I suggest you do it the right way, start there and then go to Happy Catastrophes, which right now is $4.69 on Kindle - total bargain!

This was the weirdest way to read two books, but it worked out, and I continue to be hooked on Maddie Dawson and all of the feelings that her books bring! Give them a try, I'd love to know what you think.

Current Goodreads Rating is 4.0

I really enjoyed Matchmaking for Beginners when I read it a couple years ago - it was full of charm and lively characters and a really sweet, fun read. I was hoping for the same in the sequel, but I'm sad to say it did not live up to the first book.

For the first 75% I was so annoyed at Patrick, who was regressing back to problems I thought had been wrapped up in the first book. I had so many issues with his character this time around that it was nearly impossible to ignore. But the WORST part was the how the first half or so of the book was Marnie and Patrick both completely disregarding the fact that they each wanted very different lives, despite being the supposed "perfect couple" in all other regards.

Marnie has decided to tell Patrick that she desperately wants to to have a baby, while Patrick feels he will be the world's worst parent and wants no part of child-rearing. They spend most of the book passive-aggressively trying to convince the other person why they're right, and it's just so infuriating because this is a major life decision that no one should be pressured into one way or another, especially by their partner.

And there is a MAJOR plot hole that I could not get over through the entirety of the novel: Eight years ago Patrick loses his girlfriend - the love of his life - in a terrible fire. Now he finds out that he has an 8-year-old daughter. Was Patrick cheating on Anneliese? This would have made so much more sense that he regressed into his old patterns of depression and grief, if he had been blatantly reminded of an affair shortly before his girlfriend died. That would have made for an excellent plot line here. But the timing of these two events was stated two or three times in the novel and never addressed, and I couldn't ignore it.

There are some great new characters introduced this time around (shout-out to adorable little Fritzie!), and the ending was slightly redeeming, but that's the best compliment I can give to this one. I still highly recommend Matchmaking for Beginners for anyone looking for a light but charming romance, but I can't say the same for the sequel.

Mir gefiel „Matchmaking for Beginners“ richtig gut, die Aussicht auf eine Fortsetzung hat mich sofort in Aufregung versetzt. Ich war gleich voller Vorfreude, in Marnies Welt zurückkehren zu dürfen.
„A happy Catastrophe“ setzt dort an, wo Liebesgeschichten normalerweise aufhören- die Liebenden haben sich gefunden und alles wird gut… in Marnies und Patricks Fall ist die Liebe füreinander ungebrochen , allerdings unterscheiden sich die Lebenspläne der Beiden sehr: sie möchte Kinder, er nicht; er möchte lieber seine Ruhe haben und Marnie kann gar nicht anders, als sich ständig und überall mit Menschen zu umgeben. Ziemlich schnell stellt sich die Frage: geht das überhaupt? Gibt es eine Chance für diese Liebe? Und wäre das nicht schon Aufgabe genug, stellt das Leben zusätzlich noch völlig unerwartete Herausforderungen an die Beiden.
Dieser Roman besitzt sehr viel mehr Tiefe als sein Vorgänger. Die Charaktere haben mit echten Problemen zu kämpfen, stellenweise wird die Stimmung ziemlich düster- mir gefiel das richtig gut. Das Buch ist sehr viel erwachsener als sein Vorgänger und man kann es auch sehr gut lesen, ohne den Vorgänger zu kennen. Das klingt jetzt vielleicht etwas schwer, ist es aber gar nicht. Die Geschichte wird wunderbar witzig und leichtfüssig erzählt und ist dennoch alles andere als oberflächlich.

Marnie's back! Don't worry if you didn't read the first book (which is a delight btw)- this is fine as a standalone and even more enjoyable if you know Marnie. She's in love with Patrick. Patrick is struggling with some real issues of grief, guilt, and PTSD from a fire which killed his girlfriend but he's doing his best to work through them with Marnie. Then, to everyone's surprise, Fritzie, the product of his one night stand, turns up and all bets are off. Instant family? Maybe but it's not easy. Written with humor and heart, this is a very good read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this for a positive outlook.

So let me preface this by saying I liked it, I didn’t love it. It’s a cute book don’t get me wrong. But nothing about this book wowed me but a lot of it annoyed me.

I didn’t read the first one so I didn’t have any background. But I also don’t feel like I’m missing anything because the author recapped the important stuff in this book. I found myself imagining their cute brownstone in Brooklyn, a city I love going to visit. I thought it was a cute quick read but that’s about as far as it got.

I didn’t connect with the main characters at all. In fact one of them annoyed me to no end. And the conflict is settled in the last 5 chapters (which are super short) so i was like honestly?! Just was looking for more substance I think.

I loved the previous novel and held my expectations in check since the followup never seems to be as good. But this was a lovely read; I really want to move to Brooklyn and be a part of this crazy bunch of people. I found Marnie a bit too perfect, too happy, too optimistic so having Patrick with his struggles was a nice balance.

I ADORED Matchmaking for Beginners and made everyone read it. Dawson's voice is so warm and inviting that you feel like you're scraping a chair up to a lovingly worn table for a cup of tea and biscuits. I love it and the world and the characters so HOW DELIGHTED WAS I when I learned we got more from the Matchmaking world. Featuring one of the most resplendent openings I have read in an age and peeling back the curtain to the intersection of hope, loss and love, this has a lot of my go-to-favourite ingredients: a winsome and beguiling heroine who wrangles the narrative with magic and vulnerability, a sweet hero and a tapestry of colourful characters, the forging of family and wistful romance and a very strong sense of place and setting.

I am delighted that this offering just happened to find its way to me as the world was shifting because it is an imaginative balm.


( featured on instagram, twitter, Goodreads and Facebook)

Another wonderful book by Maggie Dawson.Second book in series A book full of love magic surprises.A book that draws you in takes you out of your everyday life into this special novel.#netgalley#lakeunionpublishing,

more like 3.5, wiffle waffled with rounding up and down, eventually settled on 3.

there were a few things i didn't like about the first book and i didn't think i would be interested in the sequel.. but then i saw it on netgalley and couldn't help myself. it started off very similar and i didn't think i would like it - all the auras and sparkles and stuff. but it turned real quick and though some parts were super hard to read, i think i actually enjoyed it better than the first.

the parts that were hard to read for me were all about marnie wanting a baby. i knew the synopsis mentioned parenthood but if i'd known it would be so focused on pregnancy/babies, i would not have picked it up. that's purely me though. i am glad - spoiler alert - that she didn't magically fall pregnant the first time, or at all. people in books have a tendency to do that and even though i love a HEA as much as the next girl, the magically falling pregnant makes me twitchy. though, they did magically have a teenager willing to give her baby to them, so, whatever. outside of just not enjoying reading about women wanting babies, i had a hard time with marnie being so pushy and insistent with patrick. she went from 0 to 100 with the baby thing, like i get it girl, but... slow down.

then, when it wasn't talking about wanting a baby and her being 33 and so old (lol i'm going to die alone), it was talking about other super heavy stuff and that wasn't exactly pleasant to read, but for different reasons. man, patrick was hard to like in this one! and marnie being so understanding, goodness, i wanted her to slap him. or i wanted her to do something, do anything except ignore it and hope he'd get himself out of his funk.

i get what patrick went through and what he had to go through to fully heal, but i wish he'd come to his realisations a bit quicker than, like, the last chapter, but whatever. i feel like things got fixed and patched up in the end very quickly and easily, and that didn't really jive with the rest of the book. it went super low and super tough and then basically fixed itself... i would have preferred a little bit more work going into their growth - both separate and in their relationship - vs it happening for patrick when marnie was out of town.

also, wtf was up with tessa? for real. i did like fritzie most of the time, but some of the time she gave me a headache.

I was very excited when I saw this book available to request because I absolutely loved Matchmaking for Beginners. In that book all the characters felt quirky and fun, but in this book it was just to much. I ended up being extremely disappointed in this sequel and had a hard time finishing it. There was a LOT going on in this book and they were a constant struggle and then all of a sudden, poof, everything is fine and worked out perfectly.

I still liked Patrick and Marnie, but her mom was a little much. To top if off, Fritzie was the most annoying child that I think I've ever seen portrayed in a book. I felt overwhelmed by her constant talking and jumping even just reading about it!

A Happy Catastrophe is the follow-up to Matchmaking for Beginners. I loved Matchmaking and honestly requested this galley just because Maddie Dawson wrote it. I started reading and was like, this is a sequel! There’s still a bit of magical realism in this one, but I didn’t think this novel was as light as the first. This book deals with some difficult topics but really develops the characters and relationships in a way that makes you want things to work out for everyone.
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This book is definitely worth reading if you read and enjoyed Matchmaking for Beginners. If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend you start with the first because it’s even better.
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Thanks to @netgalley for this e-ARC. Look for this book coming out on Tuesday 5/26.

When I saw that there was going to be a sequel from Maddie Dawson, I was thrilled, but also a little nervous. Matchmaking For Beginners, the first book, was perfection. The way Maddie Dawson wrote that story was so beautiful and it was a five star read for me.

As soon as I started this book, A Happy Catastrophe, I remembered just how much I love Maddie's style of writing. I love how she brings these characters to life; the good and the bad. I so wanted to see how Marnie and Patrick were doing further down the road and felt so honored to be able to see a glimpse of their life again.

If you loved Matchmaking For Beginners, I think you'll love this one as well. Just know that I think this one is darker at times than the first book and it deals with a lot of issues. Parts will make you a bit sad, parts will make you laugh, and I think you'll also feel a lot of love.

Maddie Dawson can do no wrong in my opinion. Another fantastic book!

I really loved reading Matchmaking for Beginners. I wanted more of Patrick's story in that book. And when this book came, I was thrilled.
In this sequel,it reminds you that finding your soulmate is not "The End" of "The Happily Ever After". You have to walk through certain awlful events to live that "Happily ever after". Both Marnie and Patrick are different from each other but still in amazing ways they fulfill the holes in each other's lives.
There are many ups and downs throughout the book. I didn't enjoyed few parts of the book, at few moments I felt the urge to scream at the Main Characters.(Cannot reveal without giving huge SPOILERS)
I really liked how both Patrick and Marnie worked to fix their relationship. Even after all the mess, the ending was just perfect. ❤.
It reminds you that life is not always going to be perfect, it can get chaotic but it is the choices and efforts you make which can change it.

While I liked Match Makers for Beginners (the first book in this series) I absolutely LOVED this book!

Marnie & Patrick are still perfectly imperfect for each other and you fall even more in love with their quirky dynamic. When Patrick begins to retreat into himself and can’t give Marnie what she wants, your heart literally breaks for both of them. Can they make a beautiful future out of this mess or is it just too much?

It’s not often that I think the second book is better than the first, but A Happy Catastrophe is!

A sequel to Matchmaking for Beginners, A Happy Catastrophe revisits the lives of Marnie and Patrick now as a couple and with some surprises on the way!

I really enjoyed this book and liked the turn of events it took from "Matchmaking for Beginners", following many of the same characters, but living different situations and handling them in... peculiar ways. I enjoyed Marnie’s optimism and passion for life, but my biggest concern was Patrick. I liked him before, but in this book his attitudes bothered me, especially the fact that he basically cleared his mind at the end of the book??? MEN!

I enjoyed Maddie Dawson's "A Happy Catastrophe" immensely. Marnie was a great lead and though I did not read the first book, I loved how richly the characters were written and woven. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

A Happy Catastrophe is the follow up to Matchmaking for Beginners and while you don’t HAVE to read the first book, I would recommend it. Marnie and Patrick are complete opposites and happily in love. Marnie has a bit of magical matchmaking ability and owns a flower shop full of interesting characters talking about love and the universe. Patrick is an introverted artist and survivor of a horrific fire years ago that killed his girlfriend. He has many physical and emotional wounds. When a little girl shows up in their lives it will change everything.

Sometimes there are books that you really enjoy, but wouldn’t recommend them to every reader and this is kind of one of those books. It is magical and fantastical and maybe not believable for the serious person. But, I personally just loved this quirky story! Patrick is the sweetest and you just want so much happiness for him. Marnie is full of love and light and you wish you could be her BFF. Little Fritzie was so funny and energetic despite really tough circumstances.
I definitely recommend this one if you have an open mind about all the magic waiting for us in the universe!!

Love and Family and Surprises
This is a wonderful piece of women's fiction. It is about healing, growing, loving, family, friends, and finding oneself. It is a fun read that can also be heartbreaking. I plan on reading more of this author's work. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.