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    Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel
    Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel
    Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel
    Audiobook12 hours

    Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel

    Written by Maddie Dawson

    Narrated by Amy McFadden and Joyce Bean

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestseller.

    “A delightful, light-as-air romance that successfully straddles the line between sweet and smart without ever being silly…The novel is simply captivating from beginning to end.” —Associated Press

    Marnie MacGraw wants an ordinary life—a husband, kids, and a minivan in the suburbs. Now that she’s marrying the man of her dreams, she’s sure this is the life she’ll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes—just as Blix told her it would.

    When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. She’s even more astonished to find that she’s inherited Blix’s Brooklyn brownstone along with all of Blix’s unfinished “projects”: the heartbroken, oddball friends and neighbors running from happiness. Marnie doesn’t believe she’s anything special, but Blix somehow knew she was the perfect person to follow in her matchmaker footsteps.

    And Blix was also right about some things Marnie must learn the hard way: love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJun 1, 2018
    ISBN9781543674866
    Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel
    Author

    Maddie Dawson

    Maddie Dawson grew up in the South, born into a family of outrageous storytellers. Her various careers as a substitute English teacher, department-store clerk, medical-records typist, waitress, cat sitter, wedding-invitation-company receptionist, nanny, day care worker, electrocardiogram technician, and Taco Bell taco maker were made bearable by thinking up stories as she worked. Today Maddie lives in Guilford, Connecticut, with her husband. She’s the bestselling author of six previous novels: Matchmaking for Beginners, The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness, The Opposite of Maybe, The Stuff That Never Happened, Kissing Games of the World, and A Piece of Normal.

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    Reviews for Matchmaking for Beginners

    4/5

    510 ratings45 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I enjoyed listening to this book. It was my very first audiobook and I loved it. It was funny, sweet, appealing and intriguing. I like the way how the narrators read so perfectly like with emotions and allowed me as a reader to feel it to. I highly recommend that you listen it if you're thinking of that. ❤??

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      From the first chapter you know the end. You just don't know the how. It's a compelling read about a newlywed couple on their honeymoon in Bora Bora where they come across a plane crash while scuba diving. They retrieve a briefcase and find a treasure trove inside which they keep. So it's more or less about a seemingly decent and moral couple who find themselves seduced by the lives they could have if they took advantage of this windfall. And they do. That's the how. I though it was an interesting tale and was totally taken by the ending. On the con side, I found it somewhat belabored a bit boring throughout the middle.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Magical

      It grabbed me immediately and lifted me up. Well written and moved along quickly with wonderful characters. It has been a long time since I have liked a book this much.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great story line, a little predictable but still a good read/listen. Loved that the profanity was kept to a minimal and the sex scenes were not too detail.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Very well written and even better read. I enjoyed this audiobook very much. Highly recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      It's cute fun and Charming. Helps you believe in love and magic if you're feeling a little lost

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Sweet read, good for the beach or a rainy day.
    • 5/5
      This is the best book I have ever read. The author chose the perfect words for each and every sentence and Marnie... she is a women everyone women wants to be and the book makes you feel like you can actually accomplish this.... it's so funny, the narrator had an outstanding delivery and it's warm sad just about every emotion you can think of. Listen to this book next. You will love it guaranteed!!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It was lighthearted, fun and funny in parts. I found myself wanting to listen to the book rather than watch a show. It definitely kept me interested and engaged. I loved the characters and the overarching theme that things aren't always what they seem and even things that appear to be set backs can be for your ultimate good. As I was reading this I thought to save it and re-read anytime I needed a reminder in dark times that life can change so quickly and what we perceive as bad, may be the best thing that's happened to us. I would definitely read this again. Very cute story.
    • 5/5
      Not Main Street,all over,crazy like Blix, fabulous MADE ME HAPPY I wish I knew a Blix
    • 5/5
      Such a great book! I always love to see multi- generational love represented. Love is not just for the young!
    • 5/5
      While listening to this wonderful book I felt it was one of those I really didn't want to end.. I think I'm going to listen to it again now because I just want to keep living in that world with magic just a choice away.

      An excellent story with full, vibrant characters and a glorious take on how life can be truly fully LIVED.

      This one is going on my favorites shelf.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely love this book. The mantra of whatever happens love that is going to be my motto! Love heals!
    • 3/5
      Pretty good story but the ending felt forced, and the declaration of love seemed out of the blue.
    • 5/5
      What a wonderful story about multiple loves! The story kept my attention the entire time and I loved how well it was read!
    • 5/5
      Five stars all the way! I love this adorable story and the narration was excellent!
    • 5/5
      Great! I'm glad I ran across this book and recommend it to others.
    • 3/5
      Matchmaking for Beginners promises everything in the Happily Ever After trope. There is romance, of course. There is obstacle, for what good is romance, if there is no obstacle to overcome?

      There are also two matchmakers, one a master, and the other, a novice.

      Marnie MacGraw is rooting for an ordinary life — a husband, kids, a house in the suburbs, and a minivan, and she is on her way to getting it.

      But, when she meets her fiancé’s parents, more importantly his rapscallion great aunt, Blix Holliday, her plans for the simple life come crashing down.

      For you see, great aunt Blix posses the uncanny ability to forsee the love potential of any couple, and sadly Marnie and her fiancé, don’t have the aura of sparkles around them.

      Marnie, secretly knows this; she hasn’t seen the sparkles herself, but defiant in the face of fate, she readies for her wedding two weeks later, only for it to end in two weeks.

      Chasing shadows in her room and observing dust particles suspended in the sunlight, Marnie is ready to wallow, but great aunt Blix has plans for this potential matchmaker.

      In her will, great aunt Blix left Marnie her ageing brownstone in Brooklyn and along with it, all of its tenants, who range from oddballs and shut-ins, to the whimsical, and who, most importantly, need that slight nudge to run towards happiness and love instead of away from it.

      The book is pretty standard in its portrayal of a slow-burn arc, or second- chances, and even love at first sight, but its magic lies in its essence of everyday treatise of what love is and should be – a suspension of logic and just a feeling of emotions.

      Dawson hinges the story on the belief – ‘love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most.’

      Written from the perspective of both Blix and Marnie, the narrative alternates between a seasoned voice on the joy and beauty of love from the one who has it, and from the naive voice of one who thought she had it, but is now realising otherwise. Delightful, because you can see Marnie learning and picking up on those little clues that her ‘abilities’ push her into recognising love and embracing it for herself and others.

      A light-hearted read; perfect for those days when you just want to lose yourself into a book for a few hours. Also, Blix sounds like a fun person to hang out.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed it from the very beginning. Light reading and yet it really moves the heart. I was surprised I liked it so much
    • 1/5
      This book dragged on. Sadly I couldn't get into it.
    • 5/5
      This book was a joy to listen to. The writing style is quirky and engaging. The characters are endearing, heartwarming, and unique, and you instantly fall in love with Blitz’s unconventional way of living life to the fullest and in the moment.
    • 3/5
      Sweet, but the characters and plot fell pretty flat. It just didn't develop enough for the ending to make sense.
    • 5/5
      Magical

      It grabbed me immediately and lifted me up. Well written and moved along quickly with wonderful characters. It has been a long time since I have liked a book this much.
    • 5/5
      This book was in my recommended list so I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t sure about the premise at first, but I remembered enjoying a book read by Marnie’s narrator, so I decided to give it a whirl. I really ended up enjoying it!
    • 5/5
      Funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming and magical ❤️ I listened to this entire book in less than a day
    • 2/5
      I did not enjoy this book mostly because I found the main character’s constant lack of volition or awareness really annoying
    • 4/5
      Very cute romantic magical realism.
    • 3/5
      I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Some of it was cute and charming, but it was also another book that's secretly The Secret in disguise.
    • 5/5
      Astounding

      This book is simply a masterful work of art. What I feel is the true message of this story is that, yes, you will make bad choices in your life, but if you keep trying and follow your heart, you will always find your way.
    • 5/5
      I've tagged this as fantasy because there is a little bit of that, but it's really a superlative romance.