I really loved this story! Marnie and Patrick are such well written characters that you really care about, I did not read the first book, but had no trouble reading this one. This book is very realistic, lots of issues for the characters to work through, but it is a great ride. Reading this one makes me want to read the first one now. This book will have you laughing out loud and grabbing the tissue book too! Highly recommend this one!

I was so excited to see what was up next for Marnie and Patrick after reading Matchmaking for Beginners. This book was the perfect follow up! It gets a little darker than MFB when Patrick goes into a deep dark place getting back into his art but the addition of a wild and quirky 8 year old really rounds out the book. i was happy to see appearances by a few of the characters in the original including some universe talking via Blix. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who fell in love with Matchmaking for Beginners.

i loved maddie dawson's first book and i love this one so much, as well. so much so that i had to buy the hard copy as soon as i finished this one. please read this one right now.

I unfortunately missed the fact that this was a sequel when beginning this book. For that, I don't feel as though I can provide a full overview and review. However the author does give some background and that helps make the story still readable. It was slow, but still a nice read.

I didn't know this was the sequel to Matchmaking for Beginners, which is both good and bad. Good in that this reads as a stand alone, but I wish I had known because I feel cheated. I hate reading things out of order, and this would likely have felt more meaningful had I been there from the beginning.

I did enjoy the story about Marnie and Patrick, and how their lives get turned upside down when someone from his past reappears, and he can't get past his tragic history. But why the hell didn't anyone suggest therapy? Granted, he probably would have been resistant, but to deal with such a traumatic event without professional help certainly explains why he's so F'd up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

Marnie is a matchmaker and flower shop owner who desperately wants a baby. Her boyfriend, Patrick, does not. Patrick's daughter from long ago appears in his life and this story about how Marnie, Patrick and Fritzie learn about life, love and living together. 

I had a hard time getting into this book. The characters were quirky, but they often  rambled on ad nauseam, sometimes to the point where I wanted to yell at the book GET TO POINT ALREADY!! I enjoyed the ending, just kind of slumped through the middle.

This book summoned a split personality in me. It was devastating at how heartwarming the love the characters held, but one of the main characters spent 90% of the story in a regressed matter, which I did NOT enjoy in the slightest. I loved it yet hated it at some points.
We have Patrick, who, from the first moment he's introduced brings a gloomy vibe. He's been through a lot; I am well aware, however, he cannot seem to move on from the past. Moreover, we have Marnie, his partner. She's a bubble of happiness; the opposite of what he is. She enjoys matchmaking and owns a flower shop; she's the most adorable character I've ever read. In particular, Marnie wants children but Patrick doesn't... suddenly, one day; a one-night stand Patrick had eight years ago brought along a little girl, and her mother leaves her with them...
Fritzie is the sun itself, she's loud, opinionated and intense. She made this book a thousand times better.
As you can tell, Patrick comes to learn he does want a family and he especially wants it with Marnie yet what I despised was that he realized 15 pages before the book ended; I could not believe what I was reading!
Overall, it was such an adorable read focused on love, family and friendships; a 3.5 for me!

A darling follow-up to Matchmaking for Beginners. This sparkly love story is sure to delight those looking for a fun, feel-good comfort read this season.

As much as I really wanted to love this book, I couldn’t continue it and DNF at 20%.

I’m sure it’ll be a great read for someone else, but I found the reasoning behind his not wanting kids too unbelievable (it didn’t make any sense at all) and found that the writing style just wasn’t for me. I really do see the potential though, and can’t thank you enough for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Finishing Matchmaking for Beginners, I needed to read the next chapter of the love story between Marnie and Patrick. I was genuinely excited to see there was a sequel, and A Happy Catastrophe did not disappoint but somehow was better than the original. After five happy years, Marine and Patrick face unexpected news which leaves each one of them questioning what they want their future to look like. As the past returns to haunt Patrick while Marine is brightly looking into their future, the magical and sparkly world Marine always believed in is threatened. I love this sequel as it balanced lightness and darkness in all of its characters, and reminded us all to not stop believing in the magic of love and the universe.

I read this book without realizing that it was a sequel. However, the author does a great job at providing some back story regarding the main characters and I felt all caught up rather quickly. The story gets rather dark at points, but overall it is a very sweet story. It is a bit predictable, but I still loved the journey with all the characters. Marnie is so likable and someone who you would want to hang out with all the time! Fritzie is by far my favorite character. She is so spunky, creative, and genuine and she brought such spark and love to this story.

If you are a fine of the first novel following Marnie and Patrick, Matchmaker for Beginnings, you will adore this follow-up to their love story as well! A Happy Catastrophe follows them as a member of Patrick's past joins them. This runs parallel to their own struggles as a couple navigating the decision whether to have children or not. I found their struggles to be very relatable and the book is beautifully written. Highly recommend!

I was a huge fan of "Matchmaking for Beginners," so when I saw a part two, I literally ran for it!

In this sequel, readers are reunited with Marnie and Patrick - two charismatic people dating steadily for a few years. The catch is, they want different things for their future: while Marnie is ready to have a baby, Patrick is still trying to overcome his past trauma. He is grieving the death of a loved one and doesn't feel ready for fatherhood. So when a child shows up on their doorstep one day, the pair have very different feelings about what they should do next...

"A Happy Catastrophe" is absolutely magical, heartfelt and quirky, but also a lot heavier than part one. Grief and depression are two prominent themes of this book, and I believe that the author could have elaborated more on the complexity of mental health and the importance of getting help. I think this message would have been good to offset the heartbreak in a story that I expected to be lighter.

Nonetheless, I was delighted to hang out with Marnie and Patrick again, low-key hoping for part three, dear author.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Happy Catastrophe - Maddie Dawson 4/5: ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰
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If anyone has read “Matchmaking for Beginners” this is the sequel. This follows them a few years later, Marnie is finally seeing marriage and parenthood in their future, First of all, I was excited and scared to read this. I fell in love with Blix, Marnie, and Patrick in the first one, SO I knew I had to catch up with the gang again. I totally devoured this in two days. Once I was approved I knew it was what I needed. I love these characters so much and they give me all the happy feels of love and magic. There were some pretty dark moments for Patrick. I love how Maddie was able to capture his mental struggle well. All the trials Patrick faces will help turn him into a modern day Phoenix! I was sad that Marnie had to suffer during it though but I appreciate all the depth these characters have. I didn’t want Marnie to lose her sparkle or shine! I think we need another installment focused on Marnie and motherhood (wink, wink). Overall, a good read! Especially if you fell in love with ‘Matchmaking for Beginners’ and the whimsical characters.

In this book Marnie, our resident matchmaker, and Patrick, her boyfriend, have been living together for a few years and are deeply in love. So in love that Marnie’s ready for the next step - a baby. But Patrick, who is still dealing with after effects of a tragic fire that had killed his then girlfriend, just can’t see himself as a father. The universe clearly has other plans as a daughter he never knew he had shows up on their doorstep. Soon their house is filled the chaos of an eight year old daughter, Marnie’s mother having a life crisis, and a band of teenagers whose parents just don’t understand. Patrick falls farther into this darkness, and his and Marnie’s future looks more and more bleak.⁣⁣
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I loved going back to this world with these characters! Just like the first book, this book started with an almost whimsical feel on the surface, that quickly gave way to much deeper themes. ⁣⁣
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This book was a little darker than I was expecting as we travel with Patrick through his unhealed trauma, but it also made the book more genuine. I do wish the need for professional help for mental health issues had been explored a little more, but still think overall the author handled writing about his grief very well. I loved Fritzie, Patrick’s daughter, even as my heart broke and warmed for her at the same time. I felt the split POV was clear and helpful in understanding the position of multiple characters. I do feel like the ending tied up a little too easily, but just like with book one, I left this book with feelings of hope. ⁣⁣
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Overall, I loved this sequel, and I already know that this story will stay with me for a while!⁣⁣

I adored Matchmaking for beginners, and I was so excited to receive an early copy of the sequel. Thank you, NetGalley!
A Happy Catastrophe was just what I needed. Picking up with old characters, Marnie and Patrick, you are in for a delightful ride. In this book, Patrick is confronted with an old girlfriend with a big secret, and Marnie has some wishes and surprises as well. Can they continue to love each other through life's storms, or is it too much for this couple?

Thank you for a wonderful mistake. I love Maddie Dawson!

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. I was excited to see a sequel was released to Matchmaking for Beginners! I enjoy reading Dawson's writing; it's easy and light - a great way to pass the time with a cup of coffee on the weekend. Lovely characters. I enjoyed reading more of their story and, obviously, the introduction of new characters. This is the perfect, lighthearted read (not fluffy!)

A Happy Catastrophe.....more like a real catastrophe! 😡🙄😳🙅‍♀️ I'm just going to come out and say it. I. could. not. stand. this. book. Maybe it's a sign I'm getting old or something (although I'm younger than the MCs), but the lack of commitment in this plot drove me to the brink of insanity. Love is not a feeling, it's not freakin sparkles, it's not hearing from dead people. It's. A. Commitment. Literally every single problem in this entire plot would have been solved if anyone would have just made a commitment and stuck to it.
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The romanticizing of Marnie's refusal to just BE THERE for Patrick in his grief, instead of overcommitting and overfilling his life is not cute or clever. It's idiotic and dangerous. That's what happens when you base your love on a feeling or a silly sparkles or whatever it is that this person believes - you end up loving people because it makes you feel good. And guess what? That's not what it's all about.

So, I didn't know these were characters from a previous book, Matchmaking for beginners. This is a continuation of their story, of their lives.
Since I didn't read the previous book, I didn't have fully developed background and interest in his and Marnie's lives.
Even without having read the first book, this one was good.

I really love Patrick and Marnie’s story so I was so glad to get a continuance for them. I really enjoyed this one - Patrick’s story made me sad but my heart really broke for Marnie. It got a tied up a little too neatly but hey, that’s what romances are for, right?