Calling on the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund

Calling on the Matchmaker
by Jody Hedlund

ISBN-13: 9780764241963
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: December 12, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
1849 St. Louis. Haunted by the death of her sister, Finola Shanahan has resolved that she's not worthy of a family of her own and commits to spending her days caring for immigrants in the slums. Unwilling to consider marriage, Finola has perfected the ability to sabotage the relationships her parents arrange for her. At wit's end, her father calls upon the local Irish matchmaker, who pairs her with successful wagonmaker Riley Rafferty. After her usual tricks fail, Finola quickly realizes she can't outsmart or outwit the dashing, determined, and daring man.

A candidate in the St. Louis mayoral election, Riley is confident a union with the wealthy Shanahan family will help solidify his chances of winning--and even more assured he and Finola can make a difference together. When a cholera outbreak begins to take St. Louis by storm, they must navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger testing all they know about love and sacrifice.


My Review:
Calling on the Matchmaker is a romance set in 1849 in St. Louis. Frankly, the matchmaker was the best part of this story. He was a good judge of character and compatibility and was quite the schemer, but with a good intentions and sense of humor. Plus he had a good information network, so he knew people well. He knew what to do and say to keep Finola and Riley working on their issues and relationship when they wanted to give up.

Riley felt like he'd pressured his first wife into marriage and had gotten physically intimate too quickly, so he was determined to never pressure a woman into marriage if she had reservations about it. Ah, oh, Finola had reservations. Her inattention at a critical moment led to her toddler sister dying in an accident, and she's so guilt-stricken that she feels she must do penance the rest of her life and never feel happy again. Plus it surely proves she'd be a horrible mother, so she's determined to become a nun. Riley did use kissing to convince her that maybe she didn't want to be a nun after all, but he always stopped before things could move too far.

The main characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. Riley was thoughtful in how he treated Finola, respected her knowledge about the needs of the immigrants, and supported her work among them even when it was dangerous. They shared a passion for helping improve the lives of the immigrants. Historical details were woven into the story and gave a sense of what life was like at that time.

The Christian element was Finola learning that God forgives if we ask and to not to mistake her own inability to forgive herself with God's unforgiveness. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.