Jen Turano has once again provided a book full of historical fun and romance. She drops us into the center of the shenanigans of The 400, some of America's wealthiest families during their summer vacations which are anything but relaxing. Balls, parties, and even beach outings are barely disguised activities for finding a suitable mate.
This new series introduces some fun and some annoying new characters -- women who are seeking a different life and those who are only seeking rich husbands. Add some adorable and undisciplined children and the scene is ripe for mishap and adventure.

Turano has a brilliant ability to bring interesting and flawed characters to life in a way that has you rooting for characters who quickly become friends. I can't wait for the second book in this series!

This was a fun story set in the late 1800's in Newport, Rhode Island society. As you can imagine, society is not a very fun place to be if you are not one of "them".

Enter Gwendolyn, a daughter of a society gentleman and a seamstress. She does not need to work, but wants to be independent and be her own person. What began as a companion job becomes an assistant matchmaker job. With her with, her outspokenness and her humor, Newport will never be the same.

This is a fun book, with lots of humor, lots of dialogue, and adorable children. It was a fresh take on being real with yourself and others around you, and to not be afraid to admit that traditional is okay.

Another win for Jen Turano!

It’s always great to see when author Jen Turano has a new book coming out and I was excited to read this one, the first book in her new Matchmakers series. It takes place in the Gilded Age during the Newport, RI social season and features Gwendolyn Brinley, an unconventional heroine hired on to play the role of assistant matchmaker. Although the story arc felt a little predictable, I love this particular trope and enjoyed reading how Gwendolyn and hero Walter Townsend could achieve a happy conclusion. Walter’s children, while ill-mannered at first, wormed their way into my heart as they transformed into such dear and loveable children under Gwendolyn’s direction and nurturing. This story took me back to Everett Mulberry’s children in my favorite Jen Turano book, In Good Company, which also centered around Newport. The sermon highlights presented by the Newport pastor in this Book One were very insightful and applicable to life then and now. I’m looking forward to seeing which characters from A Match in the Making will be featured in upcoming books in the series.

I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher and NetGalley via Celebrate Lit. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed above are mine alone.

Emma meets The Sound of Music in this fun book.
When the first sentence compared matchmaking to a blood sport, I knew I was in for a fun read. Although the premise of a matchmaker made me think of Jane Austen’s Emma, Gwendolyn Brinley is a good matchmaker. It’s fun to follow along and connect the dots of who would be right for each other among the characters.
Of course, Gwendolyn meets her own match along the way.
I enjoyed the humor, story, and characters. I really appreciated that the child characters in A Match in the Making were balanced portrayals, since I am often annoyed by child characters in books that either have the wisdom of someone ten times their age or are terrors with no redeeming qualities.
Gwendolyn and Walter’s relationship grew in a natural way. I liked how they grew as individuals as well. The spiritual lessons spoke to me.
I highly recommend this book, and I’m already looking forward to the next one in the series!
I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy for the purpose of review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Gwendolyn Brinley accepted a temporary paid companion position for the Newport summer season, believing it would be a lark to spend the summer in America's most exclusive town. Walter Townsend is reluctantly in search of a wife for the sake of his unruly motherless children who cannot keep a governess for long. What he wasn't expecting was Miss Brinley, an amateur matchmaker who turns his quest for a new wife into a complete and utter debacle.

This book was laugh out loud funny in parts. When you start reading and based on the title you pretty much know what the end is going to be. But getting there is so much fun that you get drawn in and can’t put it down. To be honest I had never heard of people working as matchmakers. I definitely learned some things from the book.I do wish there had been a guide to all the characters in the front of the book. I had a bit of trouble keeping all the women straight.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for my copy of the book. The comments are my own.

This was my first Jen Turano book and now I will be making a deep dive into all her past work because this little gem was absolutely delightful! From the characters and the setting to the humor that had me giggling through the whole book, this was an easy five star read for me.

The season has officially begun for Newport Society and Gwendolyn Brinley finds herself in quite the predicament. She accepted a temporary paid companion position with Mrs. Parker for the summer. But when her employer finds herself with a broken leg, Gwendolyn unexpectedly finds herself an assistant matchmaker. Now tasked with finding advantageous matches for the social elite, she soon finds herself working with the irritating Mr. Walter Townsend, the catch of the season. Mr. Townsend is in the market for a wife who can become a mother for his unruly children. The women of society are willing to do anything to become the next Mrs. Walter Townsend. Can Mrs. Brinley find the perfect match for Walter? Maybe she doesn’t have to look far at all.

This story had me swooning. Turano’s writing really shines here! The characters were so fun to get to know. The antics these society women got up to to try and secure a match with Walter had me laughing out loud. The humor mixed with the writing style was a perfect match. I will say this is a character driven, dialogue heavy novel that took me about five chapters or so to get into but once I got used to it, I was ALL in.

Get ready for your heart to melt as you watch Gwendolyn soften the hearts of Walter’s three children, Oscar, Samuel, and Priscilla. The parts where she spent time with the children were hands down my favorite parts of the story. There is a cantankerous pony that I came to love as well.

Think matchmaking season in old society, hilarious antics, witty banter, heartwarming moments, and so much more! There is something about a good, clean romance that just pulls at your heart in a whole different way.

Pick this one up if you like:

-Historical romance/fiction
-Romcoms (the historical setting + humor here is *chef’s kiss*)
-Enemies to lovers
-Witty banter
-Character driven novels
-Clean romance

I will absolutely be reading more Jen Turano in the future!

Jen Turano once again knocks it out of the park! This was truly a riveting book that I hated when sleep got in the way!
Gwendolyn Brinley had only come to Newport, Rhode Island for a relaxing summer in 1888, acting as Mrs. Parker’s companion. When said Mrs. Parker, one known to like her jewels, broke her leg, Gwendolyn’s position changed to assistant matchmaker, one that she knew she was not qualified for. What, there are matchmakers? Indeed. For Mrs. Parker had been acting as one for several seasons for the elite Four Hundred but usually on the down key.
Because Gwendolyn had never done anything quite like this before, she made her job quite known at the first society ball of the season. Upon Mrs. Parker’s instructions, she was to find information about certain guests attending the ball, and in order to do that, she needed to mingle. While doing so, she met, after eavesdropping on their conversation, Adelaide and her mother, Mrs. Duveen. One of Gwendolyn’s first acts, which was to protect Adelaide from a thorough soaking of punch, was to intercept said act, only to drench herself and the person she was trying to meet, Walter Townsend. That did not put her in a good light with Mr. Townsend, especially after she spoke her mind to the lady spilling the punch, but she continued to interview him while both were drenched in the punch. She did, however, find the main reason he was on the market for a wife and that was because of his three children needing a mother in their life. Well, that sent the whispers throughout the room among those ladies who had been listening to that conversation!
Through that conversation, too, Walter decided he needed to solicit Mrs. Parker as a candidate for the matchmaking service. He had a Tiffany bracelet in his safe at home that should convince her to take him on as a client. With the bracelet in hand, Mrs. Parker assigned Gwendolyn more tasks which meant spending time with the elusive Mr. Townsend, who seemed to be the catch of the season.
This book was a page turner and a delightful read. This is the first book in the series, The Matchmakers. I can’t wait for the next one.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. #AMatchInTheMaking #JenTurano #Matchmakers

I often describe Jen Turano’s novels as implausible, but enjoyable. The light-hearted and ridiculous antics of society out for the perfect match takes a turn on Turano’s inclusion of a single, unattached, but eligible society matchmaker. Set in the culture of early American society families, this romping tale might have you laughing out loud.

I knew, before I even opened the cover, that I would enjoy this book. And I was right! Jen Turano has yet to write a book that didn't make me laugh.

Gwendolyn simply wants a nice and quiet summer. To do this she leaves the employ of her opera singing cousin that travels all over. She accepts a position for the summer to be a personal assistant. A job that her to Newport. And one she expects to slip into the background. But instead she finds herself being assigned as an assistant matchmaker. Not a job she wants and not a job to rest!
Walter needs a mother for his three children. His three out of control children, considering the ruckus they can make and the governesses that have fled.
The rest is a whirlwind of mishaps, pony's, sparkling jewelry and life in the gilded age that only Jen Turano can twist into a delightful read!
I would definitely suggest this book to friends, in fact I already have. Absolutely enjoyed it.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review, which I have done.

Gwendolyn Brinley was spending the summer in Newport Beach as a temporary paid companion when she was tapped to become her charge's assistant Matchmaker. She soon finds herself with the daunting task of finding attainable matches for her clients, finding herself in the company of Mr. Walter Townsend, who turns out to be the Catch of the Season. He finds her annoying, and the feeling is mutual. His children Oscar, Priscilla and Samuel all stole the show with their antics, though.

But the more time she spends time with Walter (and the children), she starts drawing a line through each ladies' names as being not suitable for him.

The book was very slow moving at the beginning, but once the tension started mounting, I found myself turning the pages faster and faster to find out what happened next. This was a light, airy book that upon finishing it, left me with a smile on my face.

I received a complimentary digital copy this book from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

This was such a cute book! I haven’t read a lot of historical fiction lately, so it was fun to jump back into this genre. And I love the romcom vibe that comes along with Turano’s books. It is a Regency read with some modern romcom influences that I adore.
I had a harder time getting into the story for this one, but once I started really reading, I was hooked. I loved the craziness of the Season, and Turano masterfully crafts some hilarious events. Regency ladies were savage, and I loved how Gwendolyn was unfazed by everything they did.
Gwendolyn was amazing! She won me from the beginning. I loved her practicalness and her calm through all the crazy. She knew her worth, and she wasn’t about to let anyone push her around. And her banter with just about everyone was so great, especially Walter!
Walter had to grow on me a little bit. He was convinced that his role in life was to be a good businessman, so he had neglected his children. I love how Gwendolyn changed him though and opened his eyes to see his responsibility was first and foremost to his kids. But he won me over eventually, and even though he was a bit clueless, he had a good heart. He wanted to do the right thing, but he wasn’t sure what the right thing was.
I loved his kids so much ! They were such terrors yet sweethearts all at the same time. Oscar was so adorable! I loved how much he cared for the twins, and it was sweet to see their connection with Gwendolyn from the beginning.
I would definitely recommend this book! It is perfect for anyone who loves historical fiction or rom coms. It is a super cute read with plenty of crazy shenanigans and adorable moments :)

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

This was delightful. I had never read this author before, but definitely will be looking up her other books now.
It was sweet and funny! All books from this genre are predictable (who gets with whom). Even with knowing this. I wanted to know how it would come about.
I really enjoyed the characters. I’m hoping to see more of them, especially Adelaide and her cats!

Gwendolyn gets a job as assistant matchmaker, a job she didn’t go looking for. She is thrown into society to makes matches amongst them with her clients. While trying to make matches for her clients all sorts of mishaps and shenanigans occur which is quite hilarious. While trying to block one her clients from “accidentally” getting a drink spilled on her by another woman, Gwendolyn knocks the drink out of the woman’s hand and inadvertently splashes it on the season’s biggest catch, Walter Townsend. This leads to more antics between the two. Including Walter enlisting Gwendolyn to be his matchmaker, after Gwendolyn tells all the ladies Walter is looking for a good mother for his 3 children. His 3 rambunctious children. While Gwendolyn is trying to find Walter a match they get closer to each other and maybe they are the perfect match for each other.

I loved this story so much! So funny! Gwendolyn is such a caring person and is great with children. She shows Walter that he has been not showing his children the attention they need. I love how good of and older brother Oscar is to his siblings. Reads to them, teaches them arithmetic. I loved Gwendolyn and Walter’s relationship, Gwendolyn and the kids relationship, Walter and the kids, all the family dynamics were great! Overall great read and definitely recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author and netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

This was a delightfully enjoyable story filled with all the things that have made Jen Turano one of the leading voices in comedic historical romances!
I liked both Walter and Gwendolyn and thought they made a wonderful match. Their frustration with each other at the start was quite entertaining and it was fun to watch it turn into more.
The children were precocious and provided their share of hijinks to the story but didn’t detract overly from the romance.
There were plenty of Turano’s trademark entertaining moments of mischief and mayhem and it was a fun lighthearted read! The end did stretch on a bit longer than I thought necessary but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Looking forward to the rest of this series!

Every time Jen Turano writes a new book I jump at the chance to read it! It was so much fun watching Gwendolyn become a wonderful matchmaker for the Newport summer season and Walter was the perfect gentleman looking for a mother for his unruly children. In Jen's books there will always be escapades and hijinks that will entertain you and make you laugh out loud. I can't wait for the next in this series! All in all,,,Jen Turano books make my heart happy.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publishes 21 February 2023.

My favorite Jen Turano book so far! She has such a whimsical way with her characters. I thought the concept and plot line were unique -- never knew that matchmaking could be a profession! -- and while the outcome was predictable, it was a fun read. Highly recommended.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publishers. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.


@jenturanoauthor @BethanyHouseFiction #jenturano #gildedage #thematchmakersseries #historicalficiton #amatchinthemaking #BHPfiction

**Review will be shared on my site and socials February 23rd**

CHEEKY AND FUN.

This is the first book I’ve read by Turano and I overall really enjoyed it. I loved the light hearted vibes and how audacious the whole book is. There’s high levels of drama that are fun to lean into and it is wild how intense the match making business became.

I thought all of the different little scenes connected to a solid storyline. I loved how Gwendolyn took charge and reigned in everything that was happening. She was a likeable main character who at her heart wanted the best for those around her (even if they needed a firm talking to first). I adored the three kids. I know not everyone loves them in stories, but I thought they worked beautifully. They themselves were humorous and also in desperate need of true love and intention. They blossomed as much as the rest of the main characters and I loved seeing that transition.

Length wise, I do think it could have been a little shorter. I noticed a good handful of repetitive commentary within a few pages of each other that I didn’t need to hear over and over again. Besides that, it’s a sunny book, with a unique setting (for me, I’ve never read a Gilded Age matchmaking book!), and a cute romance that takes both Gwendolyn and Walter by surprise.

Overall audience notes:
- Historical Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of a spouse (from childbirth)

Another wonderful historical fiction novel fraught with hilarity by Jen Turano! This one follows Gwendolyn Brinley, who has sought a break from being her cousin's companion, by taking a job with matchmaker Mrs. Parker in Newport during the summer season, expecting time to figure out what she wants to do next in life. Only when her employer breaks her leg and sets Gwendolyn to fulfill all of her matchmaking duties instead, the season in Newport goes awry for all of society. Filled with fun antics, witty banter, precocious children and petty society women, this historical romance is one that will keep you turning pages. The faith thread in this one is a bit subtle, but various church sermons are mentioned or referenced a couple of times, keeping this one true to its Christian publisher, but not at all uncomfortable to those outside the Christian faith. This was an enjoyable story with wonderful characters that would be appreciated by readers of most any genre. Special thanks to Bethany House Publishers for an advance copy of this book. I was under no obligation to provide a review and the thoughts contained herein are my own.

Jen Turano's books pretty much always hit that perfect sweet spot of just enough historical fact and just enough humor and just enough romance. They are always a delight, and this first book in her new series is certainly no exception! I loved everything about it from the children's desperate attempts for attention to the society people's even more childish attempts to make the perfect match to the heroine's delightful no-nonsense approach to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and highly recommend it!

I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book from NetGalley.

Yes - read it!

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the storyline it had lots of twists and turns. It was a different setting that was fun to explore with the author. Lots of characters you want to win and couple you'd love to see not!

This has the makings of a great series!

I received an ARC from Netgalley to help me prepare my honest review.