Looking for love in the modern age shouldn’t be so hard. But for many, swiping right has gotten them nowhere. Some people need the human touch. That’s where Cleo Hicks comes in. She’s an expert matchmaker, a woman who can find love for just about anyone. Except herself. As amazing as Cleo is at arranging love for others, somehow, she never gets the girl. But she has her work and she does it extremely well.
Enter Scarlett Smith. Her love life is one disaster after another, and Cleo’s help is exactly what she needs. Someone to guide her in the direction of her perfect match. The only problem is, the more time Scarlett spends with her matchmaker, the more she finds that the only direction her heart is taking her is right towards Cleo.
However, despite Cleo’s attraction to her gorgeous client, she makes it clear she can never cross the line with Scarlett. But why IS the chronically single Cleo so damn unavailable? Scarlett’s about to find out the crazy truth about her intriguing matchmaker...
‘The Matchmaker’ is another hilarious romantic comedy from the writer of ‘Just Married?’ and ‘The Plus One.’
“Alright, Mum. Thanks for the cake. And the family curse. I’m gonna make a move.”
This was such a fun rom-com. The MCs were funny and so freaking cute. Basically poor Cleo's family has been cursed to be forever alone. The only silver lining is they are great matchmakers. So of course when she meets Scarlett, she goes 'I am really into this girl, I better find her someone else'. The potential for angst was far too much here. Thankfully there was almost none. The twist about the curse was quite good. The eyeball and the money scene made me laugh so hard. This book was hilarious.
I was beginning to worry that my appreciation for novels with little to no drama was dwindling, and so I thought, "I must find an easy read to enjoy," to which my brain supplied, "Hey, you haven't read a Natasha West book in a while," and this was just what the doctor ordered.
I'm sure some of you have picked up on how I love to closely examine the most intimate thoughts and feelings of characters. But for this one, I planned to give my head rest from it lol. Luckily, this was a fun, light book, perfect for a relaxing read.
Cleo is a matchmaker who was having trouble finding love of her own—and there was a mysterious reason as to why. Scarlett, a recent divorcée, was determined to break a chain of one disastrous date after another, and her desperation led her to seek out Cleo's services. The funny thing though was, her romantic compass was pointing her to the uncompromisingly unavailable matchmaker.
Although the little mystery was unveiled quite early, it didn't take away the entertaining quality of the events that followed. The MCs' shenanigans were cute and amusing, plus more surprises awaited us near the end.
The sex was skipped over, but I didn't mind 'cause it fits the overall tone of the story.
The psychology behind the characters' behaviors as we learn why their relationships/dates kept failing was illuminating. I loved how serendipity played a role not only in righting the characters' romantic blunders, but also in delivering clear-cut realizations they needed to process about themselves in order to be happy. In fact, I might've related to one of the characters lol!
Was this book perfect? No. There were some things in it you'll just have to go with. But will you have fun reading it? Well, it made me chuckle, and my 5 stars say I liked it more than I thought I would.
The premise was interesting which drew me to try out this book. Cleo Hicks has a talent. She is a matchmaker with remarkable success. People go to her when all else has failed. The problem? She is unable to find love due an old family curse.
One new client is teacher and divorcee Scarlett Smith. Unfortunately Cleo is attracted to Scarlett and the feeling is mutual. But Cleo is certain any romance between the two would end in disaster, because you know, the family curse.
As I said I liked the premise but ultimately a romance depends on the two protagonists. I liked Scarlett especially when she was at school dealing with her grammar school age students. Other than that, the romance felt a bit flat and the back and forth between the two went too long. Others liked it more than me, so your mileage may vary.
I enjoyed this for the most part, I admit I laughed out loud quite a few times. The British bantery humour was on-point for me, and I found the antics amusing but not too silly.
There was a slight lack of depth, and I would have loved for the two women to really bond on a deeper level, far more. But it's a sweet, low-stakes, low angst, fun rom-com, that went by quickly and I enjoyed my time reading it. So it was just good for a feel good palette cleansing read.
No actual sex on-page, just a fade to black scene - so good for those who don't want to read specific detailed love-making, but this also did add (or take away) to the lack of depth, in my opinion.
A matchmaker who is really talented at what she does can't seem to find love for herself until she falls in love with one of her clients? Sounds good to me. Unfortunately I only liked about the first third of the book because it was promising and funny, but soon I felt like it got really slow and there was a lot of back and forth between Cleo and Scarlett. And then there was the curse.
This was an ok read for me and I would recommend it if you like a light story with a little unrealistic plot.
Natasha West can be a hit or miss for me when it comes to romance. The beginning of the story captured my interest, however unfortunately it could not keep it until the end.
Cleo is a matchmaker who ironically can never find love due to an old family curse. That is until she meets Scarlett, a recent divorcée who is searching for her next great love through Cleo’s services.
I find the whole matchmaker-who-can’t-find-love troupe interesting so I was excited for this book. The romance aspect was...just alright. I believe the characters could have used more development because I felt a lack of connection with them. Fairly quickly I became frustrated with their constant back and forth romance. It made me want to knock some sense into them.
Overall I think this book is a cute romance, but not one I’ll be picking up again.
You always know what you are going to get with a Natasha West story - nothing outlandish or amazing, nothing dull or rubbish. Good run of the mill story tellor who entertains.
It was funny, fluffy, ridiculous and entertaining. The reason they can’t be together it’s certainly new, I don’t remember reading something like that before. How they got together felt weird, on brand, but weird.
I liked it. A lot. If you need a light reading and some lols this is the book for you.
I enjoyed this book very much. The story is of course not realistic at all, but fun to read. Well written and lots of humour, made me laugh. Recommend.
Oh, this was a lovely read; witty, amusing and with a good balance of unexpected, a little twist here and there and also chemistry. This will go into the re-read pile, no questions asked!
Well what to say. The story started great but then it ended up loosing my interest. I even skipped parts of it because I just couldn't bear their back and forth any longer. Over all the book is an ok read the character development could have been deeper in my opinion. That's pretty much all I can hold against it. Would recommend it never the less for anyone who wants to read a quick and unrealistic storyline for in between other books because we all need that once in awhile.
SAPPHIC BOOK BINGO: favorite trope, bi and lesbian characters, unusual job, meet-cute, romantic comedy (possibly other categories)
While helping clients find their match, a woman and one of her clients grew close, and everything became complicated in their lives. Was it a curse or destiny that kept throwing them together in some awkward situations? Likeable characters, charming and light story.
The first thing I have to say is the Natasha West romances can be a hit or miss for me. I started reading this one and found the topic interesting. Match maker Cleo has had a long streak of failed relationships because of a family curse. She is good at finding matches for others and has a matchmaker business. In comes Scarlett a recent divorced woman who meets matchmaker Cleo by chance and eventually decides to use her matchmaking service. That’s the basics.
So the question is was this a hit or miss for me. Mostly it was a miss. The topic was interesting but the story was boring. As I read through this one I was more interested in finding out what happened in the end. I can't say the ending was worth it but it was on kindle unlimited so i don't feel to terrible about finishing. I sorta wish I had skipped this one. I honestly cant give this one more than a 2.75.
I have to admit, that when Cleo first gave her reason why she could not fall in love I though WTF and was tempted to stop reading, but the writing was just too witty, so I continued to read what turned out one of the cutest, funniest romances I have ever read.
The plot twists like a snake at the most surprising moments and keeps you on your toes as you are rooting for both ladies and first moan and then laugh at their predicament. I wish I could come up with such funny twists for my stories once in a while.
The characters, even the side ones, are well described and life-like and that greatly adds a gentle quality to the humorous way, the author looks at quirky human failings in the communication and relationship department.
As this was my first book by Natasha West I’ll be sure to try some more! I enjoyed this one enormously. I sinply coukd not stop reading ince I had passed the one (for me)stumbling block.
For those of my friends who love clean romance, if you don't mind some mild swearing this is fine!
Was it perfect?yeah ,no. Was it enjoyable?fuck yeah.
I liked this book soooooo much,I ended up to the conclusion that I'm probably gonna end up liking all this author's books.
But here's something I didn't liked,Cleo's obbession with the curse🤦♀️,I was growing tired with it,the same and same thing, and the only reason they did end up together it was again beacause Cleo believed in this stupid curse,otherwise she wouldn't have gone near Scarlett which is so disappointing.
Hang on, let me just move on from amount of cuteness Scarlett and Cleo have. I haven't read “the-universe-wants-them-apart” trope since forever and this book is something I need to read after a week of madness.
Truthfully, I don't really know what to say except this book is fun and cute to read. Even though there's something that feels unreal, but eh, what can I say? It's romcom anyway.
Actually, this book is longer than I expected and I think anyone could've finished this in one sitting. I'm looking forward to read other Natasha West's book!
Fun romance in the matchmaker-who-can't-find-love genre. Reasonably complex characters, a bristly feline, a friend giving birth and a possible hex along with amusing text make for a very good read. Finally, after much fussing around, (and a call to the fire department) the main characters achieve the expected HEA.
Another absolutely hilarious and highly enjoyable rom-com, up there as one of her best. Both Scarlett and Cleo are likeable and relatable characters, the romance is sweet, and the comedy of errors relating to Cleo's situation, as well as the personalities of the supporting cast, just add to the story's flavour. Absolutely loved it!
We may meet wrong people and get hurt ... Then we heal .... One day who knows ... What when why how .. we will meet the right one and we cannot be apart .... The one that will break the hex ....