The Irish Matchmaker by Jennifer Deibel Review

 Happy Friday Sweet Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess.

I'm Kirby, and welcome to my little bookish corner of the internet.

If you're new to my blog, then welcome! I'm so glad you're here. If you've been here before, then welcome back! I'm happy you decided to give my blog another chance.

Today's post is going to be a fun one for me to share with you all as I'm going to be reviewing one of the titles from my 2024 Most Anticipated Releases Post. 

I'm especially excited to dive into this one, and I hope you'll all join me down below for today's full review.

The Irish Matchmaker by Jennifer Deibel:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Revell

Publication Date: February 13th, 2024

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

As daughter of a well-known matchmaker, Catríona Daly is no stranger to the business of love--and sees it as her ticket away from the sleepy village that only comes alive during the annual matchmaking festival. Enter Lord Osborne's son, Andrew, who has returned to the festival after being disappointed by a rival matchmaker's failed setup. Catríona seizes the opportunity to make a better match for the handsome man--and for herself!

Cattle farmer Donal Bunratty is in desperate need of a wife after loss left him to handle the farm and raise his daughter on his own. Shy and lacking the finer social graces, he agrees to attend the matchmaking festival to appease his daughter. But when he arrives, it's not any of the other merrymakers that catch his eye but rather his matchmaker--who clearly has eyes for someone else.

Catríona will have to put all her expertise to work to make a match that could change her life forever. Will her plan succeed? Or will love have its own way?

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Jennifer Deibel has become one of my favorites over the past few years, and I know to expect great things whenever I pick up one of her beautiful stories. The Irish Matchmaker is a wonderful illustration of her talent for storytelling, and the reader once again sees her true love for the country of Ireland shine through this fictional delight.

Set in the Irish county of Lisdoonvarna during the annual matchmaking festival, we follow dual POV's of cattle farmer Donal Bunratty who is a widower raising his young daughter on his own, and Catriona Daly who is the daughter of one of Ireland's most renowned matchmakers and has started making a name for herself in the same line of work. When Catriona's father Jimmy has a chance meeting with Donal who is attending the festival after his young daughter Sara requests a new mother for her birthday, he decides to assign his case to his daughter Catriona who only has eyes for the rich, eligible bachelor she has also been assigned to assist. While it's definitely not love at first sight for the two, a beautiful friendship begins to develop between the unlikely duo that soon starts to turn into something more. When drastic measures seem to threaten everything they've begun to hope for, they'll have to trust more than ever that our Heavenly Father always holds the answers in His ever loving hands.

A beautiful story that highlights Irish history and traditions woven in among the fictional tale, The Irish Matchmaker is everything a reader could ever want wrapped up in one heartwarming package. The writing is poetic and atmospheric and had me never wanting to put the book down. The characters gave me all the feels, and I wanted their happily ending just as much as they did. The setting was wonderful, and truly came to life on the page. And most important of all, the faith element was true perfection, and I loved how so much of the story revolves around the Sermon on the Mount. 

Without a doubt, Jennifer Deibel has delivered another literary wonder for her readers, and I can't wait to see what she'll have in store for us next. I can't recommend this delightful read enough, and it's definitely going to be one of the best books I read this year!

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Revell for allowing me to read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Revell) via Netgalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading everyone! I pray you all have a great rest of your day :)