The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts #bookreview #contemporary #romance #holiday #Christmas

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Title: The Merry Matchmaker

Author:  Sheila Roberts

Publisher: MIRA

Publication Date: Oct 1, 2024

Page Count:  329 

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

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.

The Merry Matchmaker by Sheila Roberts is a standalone Christmas contemporary romance novel. The story in The Merry Matchmaker is inspired by the classic novel Emma by Jane Austin which I haven’t read so I can’t compare the two but did enjoy this new tale.

Frankie Lane is the main character of the story who is the type of person who wants to always “fix” everyone else’s problems but ignores her own. Frankie currently has been trying to find a new man for her divorced sister, Stef and fixes up her shy employee, Elinor, with one of their customers.

Frankie also finds that her best friend, Mitch, who has been there for Frankie for the last nine years after losing her husband also needs someone in his life. The only problem is that when Mitch does turn his attention to someone else Frankie suddenly realizes that she herself has feelings for Mitch.

Sheila Roberts is an author that I’m quite familiar with and always find myself enjoying her latest stories so I wasn’t surprised to find that I did enjoy this new novel too. As I mentioned I can’t compare the book to Emma but it did hold a fun tale on it’s own merit. To the reader it’s obvious who is perfect for Mitch so it was just a matter of time for the characters to get there with plenty of Christmassy cheer to enjoy along the way.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

With more than fifty books to her name, Sheila Roberts is a frequent USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller – and a fan favorite. Her Christmas perennial “On Strike for Christmas” was made into a movie for the Lifetime Channel and her novel “The Nine Lives of Christmas” was made into a movie for Hallmark. Hallmark also made a sequel, titled “The Nine Kittens of Christmas.” Her most recent novel to hit the small screen was “Christmas on Candy Cane Lane,” which aired on the Great American Family Channel in 2022. Before settling into her writing career, Sheila owned a singing telegram company and played in band. When she’s not traveling, she splits her time between the Pacific Northwest and Southern California.