A sweet rom com story set in Ireland, Katie defends her village and pub when developers try to build a golf course and hotel there. Callum is site Forman/developer and sparks fly in this book, until they discover the romance and band together to fight Jack and save the pub.

THE MATCHMAKER: when a dating festival in Ireland brings together the unlikeliest of couples.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Catherine Walsh for this ARC!

Katie Collins works as a bartender at the only pub in tiny Ennisbawn, Ireland. When construction begins on a hotel on the village's premises and her beloved pub is threatened, Katie decides to fight tooth and nail to keep her job, even if she has to clash with Callum Dempsey, a handsome guy who works on the hotel's construction. To prevent the pub from being sold and demolished, she decides to revive an old dating festival that took place every year in the city. But while she's preoccupied with forming couples, she might not realize that she's already falling in love herself... and with the unlikeliest of guys.

Since her debut with One Night Only, I've been following Catherine Walsh's wonderful work, I love her writing and the characters are always incredibly captivating and funny, impossible not to fall in love!

After I read Holiday Romance - her third and first Christmas book - I missed that je ne sais quoi that only exists in Catherine's writing and The Matchmaker finally brought that delicious feeling back. Not to mention that this book reminds me a lot of The Rebound, one of her other books.

Katie and Callum are very interesting and captivating from the first moment. They have wonderful chemistry and never disappoint. The dialogues, as always, are well-constructed and humorous. The story basically reads itself, it happens so naturally and really there's not even a conflict here that separates the couple. What happens is a very sincere and mature conversation that helps to solidify the relationship between them (I love when that happens! No fighting, just love). Another thing I love are the secondary characters, who are just as charming and funny as the main ones. Gemma, Adam, Maeve and Nush stole the show and only enriched the story even more.

I think that out of the 4 books that Catherine has released, this one is my favorite (after The Rebound, of course). It's short, light, well written, cute, funny and delivers everything it promises. I always finish her books thinking "Is there more of this? I want more books like this!" And it's always a delight to follow her new releases. I'm already looking forward to the next one!

catherine walsh has done it again!! this book is absolutely amazing, i DEVOURED it.

the book is a romcom (a brilliant one at that) but also excellently depicts female friendships. the love story between katie and callum was so authentic and felt so real, something catherine walsh has accomplished in every one of her novels.

the characters were all so complex and loveable and i just loved all the little side stories each character had. the community feel of this book made it so loveable and you’ll find yourself feeling immersed in the town dynamic.

you’ll laugh, you’ll cry but most of all you will not regret reading this book. i am quite literally on my knees begging you to read it!

read this book. you will love it.

This was a hard one for me to review. The book started very slowly and I had a hard time investing into the characters. I was annoyed by Katie at times, but I did love Callum and how he seemed to have an endless amount of patience with Katie. The premise of the story was cute. Overall, not my favorite Catherine Walsh book.

4 wishing well stars

How do you feel about gentrification? Does it make the world better? Or sacrifice an existing way of life for those with wealth? And how about love at first sight? Does that work for you?

Our main character is Katie Collins, she lives with her grandmother in the small Irish village of Ennisbawn. A young adult, she bartends at the local pub and adores the beauty and charm of her town, lake, and surrounding forests that may or may not contain fairies.

She is beyond angry at all the early morning construction traffic, headed to the site of a new hotel and golf club. Short of sleep, she heads there one morning to complain. Adorably still garbed in her pajamas with ducks on them!

She runs into Callum (frustratingly handsome!) at the job site and tells him exactly what she wants. Things calm for a bit as Callum reroutes traffic.

When the developer sets his sights on tearing down the local pub which serves as the center of the community, Katie goes ballistic and launches a campaign to save the pub and the wishing well behind it. She exaggerates a bit about the Matchmaker Festival, vowing to revive it and save the pub and wishing well.

The local villagers and Katie’s friends round out a great cast of characters. I loved how they rallied together. I also loved Katie’s grandmother; she makes quite the matchmaker.

As things heat up between Katie and Callum, I worried about how they could be together with his job. There are a few other romances blooming in town and I hoped they would find their match as well. I hoped that Callum could work some magic to save the pub, but money is a powerful force.

I love Irish settings and romance so I’m eager to read more books by this author. I did love “Holiday Romance” more than this one, but still a fun read!

3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4 ⭐️
🌶🌶/5

There will be a massive development in the small peaceful town of Ennisbawn. Not only that they will build a new hideous hotel, but they are also planning to knock down "Kelly's", Ennisbawn's remaining pub. This will be the last straw for the villagers.

Katie Collins is a bartender at Kelly's. She has been and remains loyal to Ennisbawn. To save the pub, she will try to revive the old Matchmaking festival to gain a crowd and supporters against the prominent developer.

Callum Dempsey is the head constructor for the developer company; not only he's handsome, but he works for the devil.

I have to admit I have a soft spot for small-town settings; the tight community is heartwarming. How they help each other is what I expected from reading a small-town rom-com. Katie is lucky to be surrounded by good people, and most of all, Katie has the best Granny! I laugh so much reading their banters and Granny's dark humour.

"Why can't you be a normal grandmother who says normal things?"
"Because it's too much fun to watch you squirm," she says

what I find a bit lacking in this book is Katie and Callum's relationship; it lacks depth. I enjoy reading this book, and it's what I expect from a rom-com. But I can't shake the feeling of how unrealistic their insta love is. I find another couple that meets at the matchmaking festival more interesting than the main couple 😬.

Thank you for NetGalley, the Publisher and the author of the ARC, in exchange for my honest review

Ohhh I just love her books. The characters just suck you in right away in the beginning of the book and then you can’t put it down. Katie and Callam connected so great. I love a good small town romantic book.
Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book. I can’t wait for her next read!

I previously read another one of Catherine Walsh's romances and really enjoyed it, but this one didn't work for me, mainly because of the juvenile writing style.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars)

The Vibes:
- Ireland
- Small town/village
- Women’s fiction and romance
- Callum 🔥

The Concept:

Katie was born and raised in a small Irish village. She loves the simple life she has made for herself there and has deep roots in the community. She works in a pub and her friends have truly become the family that she doesn’t have. Everything Katie knows and loves is threatened to be changed when a hotel developer starts moving in to tear down parts of the town and build a resort. The plan is to make this small village a booming tourist area. When Katie finds out that the pub is going to be destroyed - she pulls out all the stops to save this small village by reviving the town’s famous (and forgotten) matchmaking festival in hopes to show the developers that the world truly does care about little Ennisbawn.

My Thoughts:

I went into this book for a rom com and I got so much more. This was so charming and sweet. This book is about Katie more than anything. It leans women’s fiction and coming-of-age with a really sweet romance thrown in there. Grandma Maeve is just lovely and the village people were the perfect townies. I loved the way that Katie was happy with a simple life and I loved the way Callum was drawn to that. This one was funny, cute, romantic, and could be the next Netflix movie. I’m ready for it.
Releases April 18, 2023.

Thank you so much to Bookouture, NetGalley, and Catherine Walsh for providing me with this ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Matchmaker by Catherine Walsh
Pub Date: April 18, 2023 🗓️

Catherine Walsh does it AGAIN! 🙌🏼

I didn’t think anything could top Holiday Romance, but I’ve been proven wrong! I was captured by the first page and loved how the author made me fall in love with Ennisbawn and the residents. ❤️

Katie Collins, the main character, has never left Ennisbawn, a tiny Irish village. She works at a local pub called Kelly’s and has everything she could want in her quiet, tight-knit community. It was the perfect place to live, until Callum Dempsey and his crew showed up to build a new hotel and golf-course. Shortly after the disruption caused by construction, Katie finds out they plan to demolish Kelly’s Pub.

The pub holds a lot of history and memories for Katie, and is the last connection she has to her parents who were killed in a care accident when she was young. To save the pub and her beloved community, Katie decides to bring back the famous matchmaking festival to bring people to the town and to bring it to life again. Can Katie save her village despite the efforts of Callum and his crew?

I absolutely adored Katie and Callum and found myself smitten with their relationship. I also enjoyed the strong character development of characters like Adam, Gemma, Nush, and Noah. And how could anyone not love Katie’s grandma, Maeve?

Overall, I found this book to be absolutely perfect and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a cute HEA romance!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to the publisher, Bookouture, the author, Catherine Walsh, and NetGalley for a gifted copy of The Matchmaker!

Posted on Goodreads on March 19, 2023: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
Posted on Instagram (full review) on April 18, 2023: https://instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Posted on Instagram (mini review) in April 2023: https://instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Posted on Amazon on April 18, 2023

This five-star read had me wanting to visit Ennisbawn and starting a protest. This swept me up and make me fall in love with Katie from the very start, I am wholeheartedly with her when it comes to sleep, so I feel like we are kindred spirits in that regard, but there is no way I would be as strong as she was when it comes to fighting for what she believed in and keeping her home safe from developments. Could you imagine having a wishing well in your local pub, if there was one in mine, there would be drunk people in it every week trying to find the gold I’m sure, but in Ennisbawn it’s a true history and that comes with a special presence. There was something about this story that will keep you hooked, the more you get to know Callum and all of the characters, the more you fall in love with this story and the place. You will be cheering for the town as well as the people within, the oddest thing was that I ended up loving them all, even the baddies, hoping they all get their happily ever after.

I LOVED this book and could have quite happily reread it all over again straight away!
It gets right into the action from page one. It starts strong and doesn’t stop. This book had me laughing out loud all the way through.

Don’t mind me I’m just off to work out how i can live in Ennisbawn. The scenery sounds stunning, and the community spirit was so heart-warming. There were so many sweet aspects to the book from stubborn gran's to salty soup and cheese toasties in the village pub. I normally prefer books that purely focus on the romance but the supporting characters and storyline surrounding the festival was so good and enjoyable that I didn’t even notice - and there was plenty of great romance too!

Callum and Katie’s relationship felt so realistic and well developed. This book truly felt like a warm hug🥰

I couldn’t have asked for more from this book and I highly recommend you give it a read too!

And if all that hasn't convinced you to read it yet here are some of the great tropes/features it contains: he falls first, no third act breakup, rom com, small village vibes, forbidden romance vibes,

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh was one of my favorite reads last year so I was very excited to get an early copy of her latest work, The Matchmaker, I was not disappointed.

Katie and Callum’s initial meeting was one of the best “meet cute” scenes I have read in a romantic comedy in a long time. Katie immediately dislikes Callum on principle, she’s doing everything in her power to save her charming Irish town from a big developer and Callum, although handsome, works for the enemy.

These enemies to lovers are never truly enemies and soon they can’t deny their mutual attraction. However, Katie is never going to stop fighting to protect the town that has been her home and safe place since the death of her parents when she was a young child. It’s obvious that despite their differences they are starting to develop serious feelings for one another, they just have to figure out a few things first.

I was completely charmed by Katie and Callum, the townspeople of Ennisbawn, and all of its wonderful characters. I cannot wait to read more from Catherine Walsh.

Callum ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I really enjoyed this book!! If a book is set in Ireland it's a must read and this one didn't disappoint. Who doesn't love a small town and meddling, snarky grandmother's?? I'm going to need a book about all the other characters ASAP.

My only complaint is Katie and Callum got together around the 50% and I just knew I was in for some bullshit...and sure enough lol but otherwise I enjoyed it!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ four star read! This book was so cute, I found myself excited to sneak away and read more about Katie and Callum’s story. I love how the typical grump vs optimist trope was spun a bit, highlighting the multi faceted aspects of each of the MC’s personalities, and how well they fit together! I am so appreciative to the publishers and netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I will definitely be looking up more books by this author!

This was my first book by Catherine Walsh and I thought it was enchanting! The quick, witty banter of the likeable characters, the pleasant setting, and the overall premise made this a joy to read. I loved Callum and thought Katie was delightful, so while a few parts felt slow to me, it was still a fun romance that I enthusiastically recommend!

This book was a solid three stars for me. The Irish village setting was fun and the cast of characters were silly. I didn't feel very invested in the romance of this one, but still enjoyed myself.. My favorite Catherine Walsh book is by far Holiday Romance as it has all the chemistry. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this advanced reader copy for my honest review.

Two days. It took two days to finish this book. And that’s with working a 9-5 job. It was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. That was because of the main characters. I loved and adored Katie and Callum. However, Nush felt like a character I could barely tolerate. Personally, I felt she wasn’t fleshed out enough. But I also love side characters. Overall, not a bad book by any means.

The Matchmaker - Reseña

ENGLISH

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this ARC (publication date: 18 April).

This book is simply put as Fanfreakingtastig. I mean, fucking awesome. I adore this author and I've only read her last two books. You already know what we do when we love an author, they get their own nickname of adoration, so I have baptized Catherine Walsh as "CatCat". From now on, any book she publishes, becomes a book on my shelf. And I thank her for making me more broke. I LOVE HER.

That said, the book has it all: some enemies to lovers, a tiny Irish village, a protagonist who doesn't shy away, a kick-ass grandmother, a love interest who is supportive and helpful but lets her achieve her goals by herself, and secondary characters who steal the show (including LGTBIQ+ characters). It's got it all.

I don't want to tell you anything because it really is worth it and I'd love it if a publisher would translate it into Spanish because I'm sure you'd laugh and cry like me. You would love to see my messages to my friends and specially my partner because I was so so so into it, I just could not stop talking about it. Honestly. I'm still thinking about it. That pub, that village... I love Ireland and her books make want to go back to dublin or cork.

The characters are complex but without being a melodrama or an overly complex story because in the end it is an fanfreakingtastic romantic comedy. It's hilarious, sexy, romantic, it gives a lot of power to friendship, to the idea that family is often not who you are born into, but rather who you have chosen. I love it, I really do.

I plan to read more of CatCat's books, I have them all ready on my shopping list for when I can because I NEED them. I want the book now but until April I will have to wait. 10/10.

SPANISH

Gracias a Netgalley y Bookouture por la oportunidad de leer este libro antes de su publicación (18 abril)

Lo primero de todo: este libro ha sido Fanfreakingtastic, como dice la protagonista. Es decir, la puta hostia. Es que adoro a esta autora y solamente me he leído sus dos últimos libros. Y ya sabéis que aquí si une autore llega a la patata, se lleva su propio apodo de adoración, así que he bautizado a Catherine Walsh como "CatCat". Libro que publica, libro que me compro y le doy las gracias por hacerme aún más pobre.

Dicho esto, es que el libro lo tiene todo: algo de enemies to lovers, un pueblo pequeñito irlandés, una protagonista que no se amedrenta, una abuela cojonuda, un interés amoroso que apoya y ayuda pero deja que sea ella quien consiga sus cosas y personajes secundarios que se llevan la palma (incluyendo personajes LGTBIQ+). Lo tiene todo.

Básicamente hay una empresa que quiere construir un hotel que flipas en un pueblecito irlandés, que hasta ahí pues bueno bien porque trae turismo y trabajo para la gente, pero lo malo viene cuando pretende tirar edificios. Entre estos edificios está el pub Kelly's, justo donde está el pozo en el que la gente tira monedas para conocer a su media naranja, pub en el que trabaja la protagonista y lugar en el que se conocieron sus padres. Así que para proteger ese punto tan especial, harán todo lo posible por retomar el festival de solteros que tanto bombo tuvo en el pasado.

Es que no quiero contaros nada porque de verdad que merece mucho la pena y que me encantaría que alguna editorial lo tradujera al español porque tengo clarísimo que os reiríais y lloraríais como yo.

Los personajes, redondísimos y complejos pero sin llegar a ser un dramón ni ser una historia demasiado compleja porque al final es una comedia romántica en toda regla. Es divertidísimo, sexy, romántico, le da mucha fuerza a la amistad y los valores, a la idea de que la familia muchas veces no es quien te ha tocado, sino quien te has buscado. Me encanta, de verdad os lo digo.

Pienso leer más de CatCat, los tengo preparados todos en la lista de la compra para cuando pueda porque LOS NECESITO. Lo quiero ya pero hasta abril, me toca esperar. 10/10

Catherine Walsh has done it again. All I have to say is, that I adored this book from the first chapter until the epilogue. It was an adorable small-town romance with intriguing plot, lovable characters, and funny interactions between them. I loved diving in the community of the village, the relationships between people in it and the dynamics between friends and family. The main character, Katie, was extremely relatable (at least to me) and I’d love to have her as a friend. I also liked that the love interest wasn’t grumpy and that he knew how to communicate.
It's a fun and easy beach read, for anyone who wants an escape to Irish countryside and swoon over the love interest.