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whendevreads's review against another edition
4.0
I stumbled across this one on kindle unlimited and it sounded cute so I saved it to my tbr. And it sat on my tbr for a looooong moment. I am really glad I picked this one up, though.
The premise is super cute, almost Hallmark Channel-esque: Blix Holliday, a free-spirited and eccentric woman, feels a kinship between herself and her grandnephew’s fiancée, Marnie, despite only meeting her a few times. Blix is a matchmaker, with a sort of “magic” that allows her to see auras and to know who should be together. She believes Marnie to be capable of the same and cut out for much, much more than marrying her spoiled, egotistical grandnephew and settling down. So, upon Blix’s death, Marnie inherits her brownstone in Brooklyn and has to decide between settling for a safe, comfortable life with a boring man back in her hometown in Florida, or allowing herself to welcome the unknown into her life.
I’m gonna be honest, you have to take the whole “magic” thing at surface level. If you squint too hard or look too deep into it, there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense. But, it doesn’t detract from the rest of the book at all. It is quirky in the best way. Blix almost reminds me of the aunts in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but a bit more hippie and less actual “power”.
Can I just say, every single one of the characters that lived outside of Brooklyn was straight up horrible. They all sucked! Noah, his family, Marnie’s family, Jeremy… I did not like a single one of them. They all seemed concerned about how they thought Marnie should be living her life and not what Marnie actually wanted for herself. One of the common denominators between all of those people was how they spoke about Blix. They all called her a crazy hippie woman, and they were all so surprised that Marnie could have a genuine connection with her. When Marnie inherits the brownstone, Jeremy and her family were quick to say it was a scam, that she was being “manipulated” by Blix… just horrible things about a person they never knew.
The characters in Brooklyn, however, were the best. I love a good found family trope, and while this isn’t exactly that, it comes pretty close. Blix, Houndy, Patrick, Lola, Jessica and Sammy… I loved every single one of them and their very unique personalities. Seeing the love between Blix and Houndy broke my heart. If I was going to cry at any part of this book it would’ve been the scene at Blix’s Irish Wake.
I enjoyed Marnie’s character development through the book, but man it was hard to not get frustrated with her. She goes back and forth for so long about what she really wanted. In my opinion, she let her family get into her head and convince her that she wanted this safe, comfortable life with a man that loved her way more than she loved him. She talked about wanting the suburban dream with kids and a white picket fence, but then she’d make comments that made you think that wasn’t really what she wanted, just to slap more picket fence propaganda right on top. It was a cycle that went on for ages and took up more space in the book than it should’ve. Which is why, once she got her distance and went to Brooklyn, it was nice to her come into her own “magic” and finally start thinking for herself.
The premise is super cute, almost Hallmark Channel-esque: Blix Holliday, a free-spirited and eccentric woman, feels a kinship between herself and her grandnephew’s fiancée, Marnie, despite only meeting her a few times. Blix is a matchmaker, with a sort of “magic” that allows her to see auras and to know who should be together. She believes Marnie to be capable of the same and cut out for much, much more than marrying her spoiled, egotistical grandnephew and settling down. So, upon Blix’s death, Marnie inherits her brownstone in Brooklyn and has to decide between settling for a safe, comfortable life with a boring man back in her hometown in Florida, or allowing herself to welcome the unknown into her life.
I’m gonna be honest, you have to take the whole “magic” thing at surface level. If you squint too hard or look too deep into it, there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense. But, it doesn’t detract from the rest of the book at all. It is quirky in the best way. Blix almost reminds me of the aunts in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but a bit more hippie and less actual “power”.
Can I just say, every single one of the characters that lived outside of Brooklyn was straight up horrible. They all sucked! Noah, his family, Marnie’s family, Jeremy… I did not like a single one of them. They all seemed concerned about how they thought Marnie should be living her life and not what Marnie actually wanted for herself. One of the common denominators between all of those people was how they spoke about Blix. They all called her a crazy hippie woman, and they were all so surprised that Marnie could have a genuine connection with her. When Marnie inherits the brownstone, Jeremy and her family were quick to say it was a scam, that she was being “manipulated” by Blix… just horrible things about a person they never knew.
The characters in Brooklyn, however, were the best. I love a good found family trope, and while this isn’t exactly that, it comes pretty close. Blix, Houndy, Patrick, Lola, Jessica and Sammy… I loved every single one of them and their very unique personalities. Seeing the love between Blix and Houndy broke my heart. If I was going to cry at any part of this book it would’ve been the scene at Blix’s Irish Wake.
I enjoyed Marnie’s character development through the book, but man it was hard to not get frustrated with her. She goes back and forth for so long about what she really wanted. In my opinion, she let her family get into her head and convince her that she wanted this safe, comfortable life with a man that loved her way more than she loved him. She talked about wanting the suburban dream with kids and a white picket fence, but then she’d make comments that made you think that wasn’t really what she wanted, just to slap more picket fence propaganda right on top. It was a cycle that went on for ages and took up more space in the book than it should’ve. Which is why, once she got her distance and went to Brooklyn, it was nice to her come into her own “magic” and finally start thinking for herself.
emrm's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable
Although I spent mod of the time yelling at Marnie and rolling my eyes at some of her decisions! I really enjoyed the book.
Although I spent mod of the time yelling at Marnie and rolling my eyes at some of her decisions! I really enjoyed the book.
newlillith's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I’ve ever read
I loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down. I loved the wisdom, the laughter, and the magic. Love,love, love!
I loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down. I loved the wisdom, the laughter, and the magic. Love,love, love!
hey_hail's review against another edition
4.0
This book was incredibly adorable while sometimes INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. Blix is everything i've ever wanted my grandmother to be, honestly. Marnie....Marnie...Marnie. Marnie was a great leading character, but at sometimes frustrating as hell. She didn't listen to all of Blix' people, kept givng Noah the benefit of the doubt, just all around being dumb as hell, but it doesn't take away from the book at all.
Super cute adult romance, cannot wait for the sequel I just read about on the author's webpage, mostly because I felt the ending was abrupt.
Super cute adult romance, cannot wait for the sequel I just read about on the author's webpage, mostly because I felt the ending was abrupt.
jessdone's review against another edition
4.0
My mother recommended this book and I'm glad I took her up on this suggestion. While not my common genre "Matchmaking for Beginners" is an engaging holiday read.
If pushed, I'd say the book tells a predictable tale and doesn't challenge new age stereo types. But even knowing the outcome, I enjoyed the journey offered. Not every book has to examine the intricacies of claiming to be magic in the real world or how potentially damaging some of those views are. We can just have a story that revels in the whimsy of an eccentric personality.
If pushed, I'd say the book tells a predictable tale and doesn't challenge new age stereo types. But even knowing the outcome, I enjoyed the journey offered. Not every book has to examine the intricacies of claiming to be magic in the real world or how potentially damaging some of those views are. We can just have a story that revels in the whimsy of an eccentric personality.
ybagueera's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
cottoncashmerecathair's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
4.0
I started this book, and I thought it was very odd at first and I was reading it slowly. Then, I could barely put it down, especially near the end! It’s a sweet story that you may or may not find predictable, but I don’t mind predictable feel-good stories at all. The main character, Marnie, thinks her life is going to end in the perfect storybook ending…until it doesn’t. I find that I related to Marnie a lot even though my life might look more “typical” than hers! I may or may not have cried a bit at the end.
This review was originally posted on cottoncashmerecathair.com.
This review was originally posted on cottoncashmerecathair.com.
alidottie's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book as a digital (Kindle) read from Goodreads, so I read it as soon as I could. When I started I had a lot of trepidation—it didn’t seem like a story I was going to like, but then Marnie starts moving—physically and mentally—and the book gets better. I’m still not 100% thrilled with all the characters and their choices, but I didn’t mind spending time with the main ones and that is what you want when you’re reading for pleasure.
jpaul7383's review against another edition
5.0
Believe in the magic
I honestly went into this book thinking - “Eh, sounds cute, it’s free from Kindle Unlimited and has an audiobook that’s free too so I can listen on my way to work. It turned out to be so much better. Believe in the magic and trust it when you set it free.
I honestly went into this book thinking - “Eh, sounds cute, it’s free from Kindle Unlimited and has an audiobook that’s free too so I can listen on my way to work. It turned out to be so much better. Believe in the magic and trust it when you set it free.