The Matchmaker Brides Collection

Sweet short stories that were fun to read and quite easy to get through. I thoroughly enjoyed them and it was amazing how well each author did with each very short story.

I met my husband on a blind date. I had been seeing one of his coworkers who told me that my husband was soon going to be moving and he wanted someone to go out with him before he moved. So I guess you could say that I was set up by a matchmaker. It wasn't any big deal, but we hit it off and six months later, we got married.

The book I just finished is a potpouri of novellas about matchmakers who meet their match. A couple of the authors are among my favorites and these novellas all meet the quality of writing I enjoy most. I think my favorite of the olio is the last one in the book (whose title I have forgotten--the story was more important)--Len Montgomery is the new pastor in town and someone from Des Moines writes him a letter asking him to find a wife to help him on the farm and mother his five children. Cora Thomas is the postmistress who handles the mail. Rusty is the newspaper editor who publishes the letter that creates a nationwide hubbub of people looking to be matched up. Cora and Len work together to answer the letters and to try to find matches for all these seekers. What they don't realize is that they are matches themselves.

These are cute stories with busy-body matchmakers who meet their own matches and find themselves heading toward nuptial bliss. Barbour Books publishes a lot of these collections--historical and contemporary, and each one is a gem in its own right. Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a matchmaker to make a match for you.

I appreciate Barbour Books for allowing me to read and review this book.

This collection of short stories are perfect to wind down and relax after a long day! Each story offers a new perspective of how God works within love and are great for women of any age. All of the authors have written realistic characters that every reader can relate to. This book makes a cute read and will be released around Valentine's Day which is perfect! Another great collection, these are quickly turning into my favourite kind of books to read on the commute home.

I enjoyed reading this. Very good and sweet set of stories. I especially enjoyed the last story written by Liz Tolsma.

I love reading books on brides and this had such a cute twist being a matchmaker.. It has a lot of short stories on matchmaking. Some with the twist of falling in love themselves.. Great read and you will not be disappointed. I spotted some Authors I new and some I will be reading more of there books.

This is a delightful collection of all new historical novellas set in 1878 to 1895 America! Most of the stories are tender and sweet, involving young women whose sincere attempts to make good matches for others comes back on them, ending with a twist. One story even has a traveling salesman--a tinsmith--whose side business includes uniting people in matrimony.
Some of the stories include more interjections of faith, with Scripture and inspirational themes, such as trusting God, and seeking His will for the future, forgiving others and oneself.
"A man's heart deviseth his ways, but the Lord directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9
My favorite stories were the two with a bit of humor: Playing Possum and A Match Made in Heaven. They had some fun characters and witty dialogue, including Shakespeare quotes. The story called Sing of the Mercy was very good also, with more depth to the characters and storyline. They were all well-written and enjoyable overall.
Recommend to readers who enjoy a good, clean lighter romance in a historical setting, with some faith elements.

The Homegrown Bride Emmie stays behind when her family moves to Kansas to help her grandmother run the boarding house. She plays matchmaker for their bachelor boarders. But her head can't help but turn when Landon Knipp moves to town to open a store, as their paths cross they form a friendship, and perhaps more.

The Unmatched Bride is probably one of my favorites. Deborah is hired by Robert to sort through his daughter, Emily's many suitors, many of whom are after his fortune. But as Deborah helps them, Emily turns the tables and plays matchmaker as well!

Playing Possum Thea and Cage are childhood friends who pretend to be engaged to avoid the hapless matchmaking schemes of the Possum Trot Matchmakers. But as they spend time together, they wonder if maybe their engagement shouldn't be just pretend.

Hog Trough Bride Rose doesn't want her sister Violet to have to dance in the hog trough, so she tries to set her up with their neighbor, but ends up spending more time with him than her sister!

The Tinman's Match Xander is a tinsmith who travels the area plying his trade, and often in his travels he meets men who would like to be married, and women of a similar bent. So began to match make, being careful in his pairings, but when he finds a match for Sarah, her cousin Jo, insists on coming with to make sure that she approves of the match. Xander and Jo butt heads over most things, but throughout the journey, they begin to find that their differences aren't so vast after all.

Miss Matched Mitch is a doctor, who joins Grace's father's practice, he is a man of integrity and faith who prays for each of his patients. Grace has been assisting her father for years, and is a supporter of the scientific method, so she comes up with a method for matchmaking her friends. Full of humor, this was a fun read from the start.

The Backfired Bride Jared and Lyla are childhood friends set on leaving their hometown, but they worrying about their family, Jared's father, and Lyla's aunt. So they come up with a plan to try to get them together, meanwhile Jared's father thinks that Jared and Lyla are the ones that should be together. A sweet humorous story.

Sing of the Mercy Sarah is a cook who sings while she works at the Hash House. Quinn is the newly elected mayor of the gold mining town in SD, and he wants to make the town respectable for families. So he enlists Sarah to help him find potential brides for the miners, and to help teach the miners some manners. I loved Quinn and how he goes out of his way to help the citizens of the small town.

A Match Made in Heaven Len is the new pastor in town, and after the news paper features him in an article, he starts getting letters from all over the country asking for help finding a mate. He enlists Cora's help, and they begin to try matchmaking for each with hilarious results.

Overall, this was a wonderful collection, full of humor, and great storylines. There were very creative premises, and I loved reading and trying to figure out how it was going to work out in the end. I think some of my favorite ones were when the tables got turned on the matchmakers :) I wonderful read, enjoyable to the last.

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These collections are just the thing for quick reads. You don't have to sit and read the entire book at once and can take them in little spurts. Good authors and wonderful stories to cheer your heart.
I have enjoyed many of these.

*I was provided with a copy of this book by the publisher via Net Galley. My opinion is my own.

I've read a few of these collection of novellas and they've all been sweet stories bound by a theme.

The matchmaking theme is an interesting one and each of the nine authors spins the theme in various ways.
The stories are well-written with believable and fun plots. Faith plays an integral role in all the novellas, which is refreshing. The stories are relatively predictable but still heartwarming to read.

I particularly enjoyed "Tinman's Match" with the unusual twist of a man being the matchmaker, "Miss Matched" about a frontier doctor and his assistant, and "Backfired Bride" with two childhood friends falling in love while trying to fix their relatives together.

I received a digital advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to give a favorable review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.

These are nine short historical novellas by nine various authors set in the late 1800’s time period. I enjoyed the whole matchmaker theme; it’s similar to my two favorite ones, marriage of convenience and mail-order brides. I loved the historical details, the fun characters, the touch of humor some stories had, and the setting in each story. I had to laugh at a few of these because the whole matchmaking scheme backfired on the women! The faith-theme was refreshing and each author portrayed a different & encouraging message. I also liked the fact that I could read two or three of these in one sitting. Overall a heartwarming set of stories you can savor in small bites or even spend an afternoon reading them all!

A collection of 9 short stories by some of today's most popular Christian fiction writers.
These stories are bound together by the theme of matchmakers. What a fun delight it is to read when the matchmakers have the tables turned on them as they are the ones who find themselves in a match made in heaven. A entertaining read all the way around. Perfect for when you have small amounts of time to read, each story is a delightfully quick read!
Highly recommended to lovers of historical Christian romance.
Pub Date 01 Feb 2017
Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour books for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Great fun! Historical romance is not one of my favorites, but I do enjoy reading them now and again. This collection of novellas was entertaining to say the least.

Each story had very unique matchmakers that faced different challenges in making their matches. Each one found the tables being turned on them in fun ways. I appreciate and am impressed how the authors made their own story special. Being romance stories you know how it will all end, but the journeys each had a special road.

It is really hard to say which one was my favorite, but I think The Tinman's Match would probably be it. Xander Russell was probably my favorite matchmaker. The Backfired Bride was a close second and may have given me the most laughs.

Great collection of stories for the lover of historical fiction!

Rating of 4 1/2 stars!

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher, via Netgalley.com, but I was not required to leave a review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Nine well-written novellas! The stories take place between 1878 to 1895.
Each one has it's own surprise twist for the matchmaker and each one was a delight to read!
There are city folks, farmers, miners, wealthy businessmen, a doctor, even a Pastor. Not all matchmakers are female either. I recommend taking your time, reading each story when you have a bit of time. I found them a good way to wind down after a stressful day. I love these Barbour Collections.

Written by some great authors these short stories are great ones. Nine different stories to read! Oh what fun!
Nine ladies that think they have matchmaking skills but they can't even get themselves matched up.
In each story find out what it takes for each lady to agree to get married. They think they are unlucky in matters of the heart. But soon they find out even they can get lucky.
Great characters that sometimes will make you laugh. A couple of novellas maybe a little predictable and some with things you won't see coming till it happens, but all worth reading. Read if you enjoy historical fiction and also want to get the satisfaction of reading a book that won't take you all day to read.
I recommend this book to my friends.
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a favorable review.

And now, my review:

I had the song “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof singing in my head while enjoying this one!  What a great book full of 9 short stories!  Don’t let “short” stop you because each of these wonderful stories are well-developed and full of a great reads in-and-of themselves.  I love that about these great Barbour books.  For this book, the theme is Matchmaker and it’s a great idea to base some great reads on by some fantastic authors.  I really enjoyed finding out who in each story was the matchmaker and how it was played out, based on the time period of the 1800s.  Even the best intentions were sometimes realized surprises. 
I received this book in exchange for my review.

Imagine being a matchmaker and not being able to find your own match, well, that’s exactly what happens in The Matchmaker Brides Collection, a compilation of nine novellas.

Every one of the ladies and a couple of the men have been somewhat successful at finding matches for others. However, they aren’t very good at finding their own match, even when those matches are right under their noses.

The stories cover different cities in America from 1876 to 1895. The settings are in real places, and it was fun to get to know more about the history of the small towns chosen, along with the time period, too.

The tales are short, so they are quick to read and make for a wonderful opportunity to curl up and absorb them individually or all at one time.

The Matchmaker Brides Collection also resonates with inspirational themes in the narratives, highlighting the need for faith, hope and sometimes forgiveness.

If you enjoy historical fiction, with an element of romance, you are sure to love these nine novellas written by nine Christian authors.

I received a copy of The Matchmaker Brides Collection from NetGalley. However, I was under no obligation to post a review.