**I received a complimentary copy of this book for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

About the Book

Book: Matchmaker’s Best Friend

Author: Kari Trumbo

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Release date: March 30, 2021

“You’re just like a brother to me. I don’t like you in that way.”

When they dated ten years ago as teens, it almost destroyed their friendship. So Pen Reese did the only logical thing. She lied about how she felt—and still feels—about him.

She’s still paying for that lie.

A brilliant plan to set Mike and a friend up and get over him has one problem.

It’s breaking her heart.

When Pen pushed him away, Mike Gaines assumed she just didn’t understand his faith. People like her persnickety aunt even claim he’s part of a cult—ridiculous, but it’s true. Still, if she wants him to play the part of a big brother, fine. At least he can stay close this way.

At first, Pen’s attempt to set him up with one of her close friends hurts. But what if it’s the perfect opportunity to show her what she’s missing if she sees him with someone else?

In this friends-to-more-meets-second-chance romance, The Matchmaker’s Best Friend continues the Elnora Island romances of the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.
The Independence Islands Series: beach reads aren’t just for summer anymore.

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Where western meets happily ever after.

Kari writes swoony heroes and places that become characters with detail and heart.
Her favorite place to write about is the place her heart lives, (even if she doesn’t) South Dakota.

Kari loves reading, listening to contemporary Christian music, singing when no one’s listening, and curling up near the wood stove when winter hits. She makes her home in central Minnesota, land of frigid toes and mosquitoes the size of compact cars, with her husband of over twenty years. They have two daughters, two sons, one cat, and one hungry wood stove.

More from Kari

Pen is Mightier than the Sword

Especially in sparkly, stacked espadrilles and pink power suit. Don’t let Pen Reese’s pink façade fool you, she’s a businesswoman to the core, with a heart of gold. She has built a party planning business from the ground up, and she’s about to create another.

Pen is one of those characters that I could just see CLEARLY as I was writing. She is about ninety percent Elle Woods from Legally Blonde and ten percent a close personal friend. I heard her voice in my head. I could hear her talking as I wrote the book. Her personality was perfect for the energetic party planner.

I’m sure if I put a character description up without context or clarity many people wouldn’t want to read the book, they would write Pen off as shallow. But she’s not. She’s heartbroken.

Do you still remember your first love? Maybe you still care for them? Pen fell hard for her first love and no matter how professional she is or how many lavish weddings she plans, she can’t forget the one wedding she’ll never get to create. Her own.

Pen things that if Mike falls for someone else, goes off and gets married, she’ll finally be able to move on. So, she sets a plan in motion. That’s when her world completely falls apart and you see the tender parts of Pen that she doesn’t show to just anybody.

She is a very complex character and I hope she touches you like she touched me.

I hope you enjoy Pen’s tale of matchmaking gone wrong.

My Thoughts

Matchmaker's Best Friend has all the makings of a good romantic comedy. After having put Mike in the friend zone after they dated in high school, Pen decides that the best way to move on many years later was to set him up with another friend... I mean, that's the most logical idea, right? As one can imagine, her plan goes very, very wrong!

I loved the idea of this story... it was a unique idea that I'd certainly never seen anything else like in the past, and it was for the most part a rather enjoyable read. But my goodness was Pen's character frustrating!! From the outside looking in, it was easy to see that she was making everything much more complicated than it needed to be and I found myself just wanting to shake some sense into her! Still it was that drama--- be it self making or not--- that drew me into the story anyway! I'm always there for either a second chance romance or a friends to more, and this had a little bit of both... with perhaps a hint of marriage of convenience mixed in for good measure.

Another unique aspect was Mike's faith. It is not often (or ever) that you find a Christian book with a Messianic Jewish character as the lead. For those who do not know, this is essentially a faith in which many of the Jewish customs and traditions are followed, but those practicing believe that Jesus is the Messiah. (This is the most basic explanation, but I would certainly encourage more research for better details!) I only personally learned about this a few years ago and found the topic to be fascinating so I enjoyed this character, though I do perhaps wish more details would have been discussed. Had I not already been familiar, I think I might have missed out on exactly what that meant for this character.

While this is part of the The Independence Islands Series, it can definitely be read as a standalone.

Overall, if you enjoy a fun romance, this is certainly one to check out.