BOOK REVIEW: The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts

The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts

MIRA (October 1, 2024)

Holiday Romance/Rom Com/Friends to Lovers

Inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma, this joyful Christmas romp tells the story of a woman who can’t stop trying to help everyone around her find their happily-ever-after—even when her help leads to disaster.

Frankie Lane knows what’s best for just about everyone but herself. Her divorced sister, Stef, who is too young to give up on love; her shy employee, Elinor; and her daughter, Natalie, who works in Frankie’s shop, Holiday Happiness, and really needs to start her own business selling the delectable chocolates she makes at home; even her best friend, Viola, who is trying to renovate her old Victorian. Frankie knows she could help all of them, if they’d just let her—and if all of her help didn’t end in utter disaster.

Then there’s Mitch Howard, the owner of the local hardware store. They’ve been friends ever since Frankie opened her store, nine years earlier. He got her through the nightmare when she lost her husband in a freak accident, and he’s her favorite shoulder to cry on. He’s been divorced for years, and it’s such a waste of man! Mitch is the fittest, finest man Frankie knows. He’s easygoing, wise and kindhearted. Mitch needs someone. And she’s determined to help him find that someone—whether he likes it or not.

REVIEW

Enjoyable plot of a widow who plays matchmaker for everyone in her small town. I can imagine her as a background character in many romance books and loved that this type of character is the main character. I enjoyed Frankie because she came across as real, imperfect while just trying to help others, and her mature age. A fun read for the holiday.

Reviewed by Comfy Chair Books/Lisa Reigel (August 22, 2024)

ARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

#TheMerryMatchmaker #SheilaRoberts #ChristmasRomance #RomComBook #Netgalley #ARC #BookReview #BookReviewer #ComfyChairBooks

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly best-selling author and fan favorite, Sheila Roberts has almost fifty books to her credit. Under different names she’s written Regency romance novels as well as devotionals and personal development books. She did lots of things before settling in to her writing career, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Her band days are over, but she still enjoys writing songs. Her novel “On Strike for Christmas” was a Lifetime Network movie and her novel “The Nine Lives of Christmas” was made into a movie for the Hallmark channel. When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or hanging out with her husband or her girlfriends she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. Sheila divides her time between Washington State and California.