ARC REVIEW: The Unmatchmakers by Jackie Lau

  Book Review

"𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 π’π’Šπ’Œπ’† 𝑰 π’ƒπ’†π’π’π’π’ˆ 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆. π‘Ύπ’Šπ’•π’‰ π’‰π’Šπ’Ž. 𝑰𝒏 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’Žπ’π’Žπ’†π’π’•."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: πŸ”₯.5
Tropes: Friends to lovers, forced proximity, insta lust, vacation romance

*Check triggers before reading*

If you're looking for a cute summer read that is quick, this is the one for you! Leora is on vacation with her mom, her mom's two best friends, and their adult children. When Leora arrives to the house, she believes she's alone and goes out to sit on the dock. While out there, she sees a gorgeous man come out of the water and she's so stunned that she almost falls in, but he saves her. Who is the gorgeous man? The son of her mom's best friend and someone she grew up with. 

They haven't seen each other in ten years and Leora is seeing Neil in a new light. There are some cute moments of them connecting together over early mornings, what kind of beach towel a person should have, and the proper way to make a s'more. Leora and Neil are into one another, but their mothers, who are notoriously anti-relationships, are doing everything they can to keep them a part.

I enjoyed this story and thought it had a good mix of funny and serious moments. This would've been rated higher for me if the pacing had been worked out. This is one of those rare times that I think a story could have benefitted from being longer. Since this is under 200 pages, there just wasn't enough there to fully flesh out the story. It felt a bit disjointed at times and the pacing was off. I really felt this when it went from Leora silently liking Neil, to a few kisses, to full on hooking up. It felt like I missed a part, but I didn't. I think if this had been a dual POV that could've helped as well. The potential is there, it just needed to be longer.

Thank you to Jackie and Valentine PR for the ARC!

Book Information

Release date: June 28th, 2022

Description:
*The description comes directly from Kobo's website*

From the author of DONUT FALL IN LOVE comes a perfect summer love story set in the forested paradise of Canadian cottage country that asks the question: can love beat the odds when the odds are two mothers dead-set against it?

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You’d think my mother would be trying to set me up with architect Neil Choy, the unmarried son of her best friend. But you’d be wrong.

My single mother has always been fiercely independent. Since I was a small child, she’s always told me not to believe in fairy tales and that I don’t need a man. So she’s failed to mention that Neil is a total hottie in glasses. When I see him for the first time in a decade, on a multi-family cottage vacation, I’m in for quite a shock. (In fact, I nearly fall in the lake, but let’s keep that a secret.)

He sure can grill a mean steak and mix a killer cocktail, plus he’s pretty impressive in a kayak. Yes, he’s a little stern and grumpy, but that just makes him more fun to tease—and makes it more satisfying when he quirks his lips in my direction.

Even though my mind is spinning romantic fantasies, I’m not entirely sure how he feels. And I’m afraid that if anything happens between us, it’ll screw up the friendship between our staunchly anti-relationship mothers. Especially since they’ve been acting increasingly weird since we arrived—I will never forgive them for the S’mores Incident. In fact, I think they’re trying to sabotage my love life, and I’m starting to worry that I won’t make it through this bizarre summer vacation…

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Perfect for fans of Helen Hoang’s THE BRIDE TEST and THE DONUT TRAP by Julie Tieu, THE UNMATCHMAKERS is a forced-proximity, friends-to-lovers romantic comedy that explores finding the balance of meeting expectations and being true to yourself, and how even the best of intentions can sometimes backfire.

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