Just this once, not a publication day review for one of my favourite authors – no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t fit it in – but I’m so delighted today to be joining the blog tour for Match Me If You Can by the incomparable Sandy Barker, and sharing my review. Published yesterday (28th September) by Boldwood Books and the first in a new series, it’s now available as an e-book (only 99p for kindle, and free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading copy (provided via netgalley).
I was so thrilled when I heard that Sandy had become a Boldwood author – and I’m dying to see what delights their partnership brings. I’m sure there are many who’ve loved her earlier books every bit as much as I have – the quite wonderful Holiday Romance series with all those fantastic settings and perfect romances (pop her name in the search bar, you’ll find reviews of all but one), and the highly original and very entertaining standalone The Dating Game (one of my Books of the Year in 2021 – you’ll find my full review here). And two more – The Christmas Swap, at first a standalone and one I enjoyed so much (you can read the review again here), followed by a second outing for the May Ladies (that wonderful female friendship!) in The Christmas Trip (review here). But something a little different this time – the Ever After Agency, and a new series to look forward too…
Welcome to the Ever After Agency – a clandestine organisation offering bespoke solutions to romantic problems.
Whether you’re looking for the love of your life, a fresh romantic start, or just want to keep up appearances, the agency can tailor a solution to meet your needs.
Poppy Dean lives and breathes romance – in her job at least. As a matchmaker at an elite London agency, she spends her days finding the perfect Mr Right for pretty much everybody but herself.
When Tristan Fellows walks into the agency, Poppy knows she’s in for a challenge. A typical bachelor, Tristan has no intention of falling in love, but in order to receive his 30-million-pound inheritance, he must find himself a wife before his 35th birthday.
This may be Poppy’s hardest case yet, but even the most arrogant of men can sometimes warm a woman’s heart. And who knows, maybe it’s finally time for Poppy to find her happy ever after too?
From the sunny skies of Greece, to the trendy streets of London, to the romantic hills of Scotland, Match Me If You Can is a laugh out loud enemies-to-lovers romance, guaranteed to make you believe in love again!
This might not be the first book I’ve read that’s based around a dating agency, but the Ever After Agency is certainly something a little different – catering to the top end of the market, its professionals very much invested in providing the kind of service the customers expect, maintaining a level of secrecy about their operations that their clientele demands. Poppy is a former psychologist, an Australian living in London, having worked for the agency for four years now – concerned about the possibility of a breach in the agency’s security and its personal consequences, but maintaining her focus (to the exclusion of a private life) on delivering those matches as successfully as always.
Clients find the agency through personal referrals – and Tristan, needing to find a wife within months to secure his grandfather’s £30M fortune, has little choice than to take up their services. His lawyer friend Ravi found his wife that way, and if there was ever a couple meant to be together… but he’s really not looking for a love match, just a two year marriage that they can both then walk away from. It seems his requirements aren’t unique – there are women on the agency’s books only too happy to view marriage as a mutually beneficial transaction, and Poppy only needs to find the right one. But doing so proves rather more difficult than she imagined – while her initially resistant and distinctly hostile new client proves to have rather more depth and shared ground than she expected, and the attraction between them begins to grow.
I don’t want to spoil the story by going into too much detail, but I have to say that I loved every moment – there’s an extraordinary chemistry to the grumpy-sunshine central relationship, a crackle and fizz that the author always does so very well. I really loved the first person telling of the story, the distinctive voices of both Poppy and Tristan giving real insight into their characters and their feelings, only making you love them both all the more. And the supporting characters are simply wonderful – the other staff at the agency (the serene Saskia is superb), the supportive friends (I so loved Ravi’s wife Jacinda… and Poppy’s friend Shaz) and their interventions, and the various fascinating women who were Tristan’s potential matches.
While the agency is London based, if you’ve read any books by the author before it’ll come as no surprise that some of the action takes place at different well-drawn locations – and, given the size of the fortune involved, an opportunity for an insider view of the complicated lives of the idle rich. And this is, of course, a romantic comedy so there are plenty of laughs along the way – some wonderful set pieces, but the whole book is an absolute joy – but with no shortage of more serious moments and more than its fair share of real poignancy and emotion. The slow-burn romance really is just gorgeous – it was one I could really feel, and I so desperately wanted that unlikely happy ending.
This book was fabulous, and I really can’t wait for the next in the series – a really original idea, a great story, beautifully written, and with such engaging characters. If you enjoy the same books that I do, you really must add it to your reading list – I promise you’re going to love it as much as I did.
And I must say thank you to Sandy for mentioning me in this lovely book’s acknowledgements – you really made my day!
About the author
Sandy Barker is a bestselling author of destination romance. She’s lived in the UK, the US and Australia, and has travelled extensively across six continents, with many of her travel adventures finding homes in her books.
Sandy lives in Melbourne Australia with her partner, Ben, who she met while travelling in Greece. Their real-life love story inspired Sandy’s debut novel One Summer in Santorini, the first in the Holiday Romance series with One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins.
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Thank yo so much, Anne. I so appreciate it.
Always such a pleasure Sandy – you’ll know I’ve loved all your books, but this one was something really special!