Book Review–The Matchmakers of Holly Circle

About the Book:

Book: The Matchmakers of Holly Circle

Author: Chautona Havig

Genre: Christian / Romance / Christmas

Release date: November 21, 2014

They’ve been in love for ten years, but it takes an interfering neighbor with a penchant for poker to unravel the mystery of their persistent platonic relationship.

Flirtation can be an art, or so they say. Well, if so, Ruth and Richard are “the old masters” of the flirting game. Despite their strictly platonic relationship, there’s “something there,” as so many of their friends and families say. Neighbors and friends for ten years, neither seems willing to change the course of their relationship.

Three doors down, at the end of the cul-de-sac, Mason Dickenson has watched his favorite neighbors with an interested eye, but he’s finally had it with the dance. So, with a pack of cards and a few tricks up his sleeve, he’s determined to get them out of the “friend rut” and into romance.

Thanks to Mason’s unique matchmaking scheme, Ruth and Richard concoct one of their own—a deeper, stronger, eternal love and relationship that nothing on earth can match.

My Thoughts:

I read and reviewed this book about five years ago, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again for this tour. What a great story! I have to admit that I wanted to shake Ruth and Richard up pretty thoroughly and get them together—but we’ll leave that to Mason and to God. This is so fun, with an old man on one side of the street watching a younger man and woman on the other side, who can’t seem to get together. When he takes a hand with poker games, for which the penalty for losing is being forced to go on a date, things really get interesting! And why is the word matchmakers plural, rather than singular? It took me till the end of the book to figure that one out! Oh, and make sure to follow the link below and read Chautona’s prequel. Read it before reading the book.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author of Aggie and Past Forward series, Chautona Havig lives in an oxymoron, escapes into imaginary worlds that look startlingly similar to ours and writes the stories that emerge. An irrepressible optimist, Chautona sees everything through a kaleidoscope of It’s a Wonderful Life sprinkled with fairy tales. Find her at chautona.com and say howdy—if you can remember how to spell her name.

More from Chautona:

Download a free short story that happens 10 years before the book begins?

To purchase your copy, click here.

Original review: The Matchmakers of Holly Circle is a Christmas book—yet it’s not. The title made me think that there were several old ladies living in Holly Circle who were trying to match other people with each other—but that wasn’t the case at all. I was quite surprised by the plot of this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Every evening, Mason sits down by his window to watch the evening drama. Every evening, Richard moves his computer to a different room so he can watch out the window for Ruth to come home from work. Every evening, Richard and Ruth eat supper together at one or the other of their houses—and this has been going on for 10 years, with no end in sight! What can Mason do to hurry them up?

Ruth has figured out why Richard won’t ask her for a date. Obviously, he must have been married before, and isn’t free to enter another relationship, so he’s keeping their friendship just that. Richard, on the other hand, badly wants to ask her for a date—but he knows he can’t because it will ruin what they have. Is there any way they will ever break out of this rut? At the same time, people around town are receiving mysterious, disturbing presents—and the common thread uniting them, according to Richard’s young friend, is the library, where Ruth works. Why is she trying to upset people?

Even though I knew how the story would turn out, I couldn’t stop reading till I was done, as the relationships between the characters twisted and turned. I wished I could shake Ruth’s sister and knock some sense into her. The house church that Richard and Ruth attended made a nice touch to the story, too. One little detail that I noticed was that Richard was using an AutoCAD program—something I had never heard of until my son started learning how to use it recently! Little details like that make a story come alive. I also loved Ruth’s thoughts about her hair!

As usual, Chautona has come up with an original plot and crafted a wonderful story. If you enjoy mild romance that is very clean, you will enjoy this story. The mystery woven through the story is fun, too.