Matchmaking for Beginners

At the start of this one I loved it. Blix is just so much fun and filled with life that I was into it! She is what made the book even remotely interesting for me. Then came Marnie...

At first I enjoyed Marnie and felt such kinship with her when Noah turned out to be such a let-down. As the book progesses however, I found myself rolling my eyes more and more and becoming irritated with her, and her entire situation....so much so that I lost any connection with her and just wanted this to end. Seriously...who in that short amount of time does what she does? While people around her are justifying her actions as if it's ok!

I know people can be a mess and not know where their life is headed. BUT Marnie and her story, in a span of 3 months, was just so unbelievable and was all over the place. It just didn't make any sense to me and I ended up on such a low note once I was finished reading.

DNF because this is so boring.

I surprisingly really enjoyed this book! I say surprisingly because I almost never read romance books like this and tend to stick to Sci-Fi and Fantasy.

This was a very easy read with relatable characters and a funny, romantic story. Though the characters could be frustrating at times because of their decisions, if you really step back and look at their actions, though irritating, are very real. Even if you yourself haven't done something like it, you likely know someone who has. It's really a story about learning who you really are, versus the person you “think” you are–accepting all your faults, quirks, and issues and turning them into positives.

Though the book is a romance book, it's not overwhelming the story, and you really get to know the characters and understand who they are and why they do the things they do. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it!

I've read three books by this author but I never seem to remember her name. She has a distinctive voice, however, with New Age “love is all you need” treacle side by side with a good sense of snark, sunny optimism spiced with sarcasm. I am not sure I bought the mystic connection between our heroine Marnie and her fiance's aunt Blix, and the moral of the story seems to be that suburban living=boring and bad while Brooklyn=magical, a lesson that I might quibble with. But the novel itself was a charming mix of light and heavy, and Marnie was refreshingly not perfect. The book focuses on her personal journey, which involves several different men, so those looking for a neat romance tied up in a bow will be disappointed (she doesn't even meet the right guy until halfway through the book).

Any book that ends with the message “Whatever happens, love that” should annoy me for its naivete. But it's a credit to Maddie Dawson's skill that it didn't. Hopefully next time I will remember her name, because she is amassing an impressive body of work.