Maith thú, Mrs. Walsh. You did it again!

After One Night Only this book is just what I needed right now. The Rebound is not an ordinary lovestory/romance, it is so much more.
In The Rebound we are given the opportunity to accompany Abby on her way to find herself again after a series of unfortunate events. As she tries to evaluate her path of life from now on, she finds herself making some new friends. And that’s where my heart became all warm and fluffy.

The characters are so well written and displayed, it felt like I’ve known them for years. Abby’s relationship with her sister hits close to home and I truly felt inspired by them (cheesy, but bear with me..). I love people in books, who are driven and ambitious, regarding work or their personal life. I like that our MC’s don’t see the world through rose-coloured glasses and realize, that you have to work for relationships to work the way you want them to. Them taking small steps towards each other and really building their trust and their relationship makes it so much more authentic and relatable.

The way Catherine Walsh describes Ireland feels like she introduces another (long-lost) friend of Abby. Like Ireland used to be a close companion, but they lost touch over time. It made me miss Ireland so much more, but in a bittersweet kind of way.

One thing MUST be said in this review: Thank you for not including miscommunication and outrageous drama. It’s refreshing, that the characters are able to communicate like adults and willing to speak their minds.

If you haven’t read The Rebound yet, please do. I strongly recommend.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: February 14, 2022

This is a delightful little read with witty banter between our mains, but I found it difficult to maintain my focus in the latter half of the book. The characters are lovely and I really enjoyed the moments with their family members—I just never really developed a strong connection with the characters to be invested in the outcome. If you want a light read with a HEA, this is a good pick!

It’s such a small detail, but I just cannot reconcile Louise being the person she is and only having a coffee machine that uses coffee pods—she would 100% have ethically sourced beans and use the grinds for compost!

Let me start off by saying that there was not a SINGLE character that I disliked. Not a single one.

I think this might be a new personal best? Walsh has truly outdone herself by allowing the characters to be complex and nuanced and yet still likeable as well as relatable. She’s achieved the holy trinity of character creation and I adore her for it.
I will say that the sisterly relationship between Abby and her sister was something that truly anchored the story, as well as her friendships. They felt true! And Walsh did not compromise on chemistry and romance to maintain the reality of Abby’s other platonic relationships which was so refreshing and an absolute joy to read.

Anyone who knows me knows that I would not touch love triangles even if you paid me (scratch that, if you paid me I would absolutely devour a love triangle - a girl has to eat.) but I was exceptionally grateful to see that while there was grief for the lost future Abby had cultivated herself, Walsh did not vilify her previous relationship. Yes, mistakes were made and anger was felt, but I did not feel uncomfortable reading about the breakdown of the relationship, or while Abby built a new future for herself. How does Walsh manage it? To walk the line between love triangle and a healthy relationship? Incredible, and I will be taking notes.
Luke Bailey was incredible, handsome and flirty and a wee bit of a grump (honestly, same though), and while the romance compelled me to read it in one sitting, that was not the single reason I was reading.
We’ve all had those moments, don’t lie, where the plot is truly secondary and all you want is to sink your teeth into the romance and chemistry of the lead characters. But not this time. The Rebound was the perfect balance of all the right ingredients that when I sat down to read, I didn’t go “oof this needs a little more salt”.
This story was perfect, life doesn’t go the way you plan for so many people, and sometimes you start over feeling like you’ve fallen to the bottom of the ladder, and this book reminded me that it is okay. You pick yourself back up and you start again, and you can do it.
That’s the message I want to come away with.

Thank you Catherine Walsh, this is the love story I will be reading again on Valentine’s day!

This was a cute read. It was more than a standard rom com. I enjoyed the secondary characters. Each played a great part in the story. Abby having to reevaluate her life and the personal growth was great. Loved this story over all.

I received this ARC through #netgalley and I am voluntarily reviewing this book

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was so cute. Abby was relatable but so were the side characters also. She admits she is not perfect. She is trying to hide her failures, however. Abby and the relationship she has with her sister Louise I found out after the fact was not even originally in the story. Thank god it was. This played a huge part in the story. Not only is this story about Abby and Luke but it is also about Abby and Louise. Plus Beth is amazing, even her high society friend Jess from New York was so much fun. I really enjoyed this read and can't wait to read more by this author.

First and foremost, thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for allowing me to read an ARC of this book by @catwalshwriter .

Now, on to the review. I genuinely enjoyed this book so much, it was funny and real and the romance was there for sure.

However, this book was so much more than just a rom-com. It spoke about sisterhood and friendship and how important it is to be there for the ones you love, even (or specially?) when they drive you nuts. For me, the dynamics outside the romance were one of my favorite things about the book.

As for the romance itself, well this book brought it. It was cute and swoony and above all, healthy. Sure, I got a little exasperated at Abby here and there, but once she got her stuff together, she really got it together. Who would want to miss out on a Mr. Luke Bailey? The answer to that is: no one.

So, if you’re looking for a cute read with a side of family relations and friendship shenanigans, this is the book for you.

You can get your hands on this book February 14, 2022 and it would definitely make for a cute Valentine’s Day date.

✨ BOOK REVIEW ✨ The Rebound by Catherine Walsh

~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 💫 ~

Do you ever read a rom-com a get the “butterflies-in-the-stomach” kind of feeling when the first “I love you” is said?! I’m an absolute romantic and my stomach was full of butterflies during the last few chapters of this book 🦋

The Rebound was such a fun read for me and actually my first ARC ever! I went in a bit blind, expecting solely a romance in Ireland and finished the last page, in love with the characters (and now, this author). I related so much to the narrator’s Irish heritage and unfortunately, even more so to her workaholism and how much she defined success by her career. While our main character was forced to replenish and refresh in a town where most would dream of reprieve, she had a drive for success that I found uncanny. As someone who’s so career-motivated, relationship-driven and emotionally-tied, the idea of losing my job, company, home and significant other would absolutely rock me, yet our girl has a drive that kept her, yes pessimistic and somewhat paralyzed, but also very much progressing forward. While this romance didn’t blow my mind with depth, it was the right book at the right time filling me with the warm, fuzzy and conscious-enough vibes that I crave around the chilly Christmastime ❄️🌲

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🍀 Pub Date: February 14, 2022 🍀

P.S. Grab a hot drink ☕️ & this book when it’s published, because it will give you all of the warm and fuzzy feelings🧣

I really like the cover for the book. What do you do when you’ve lost everything? Why, fly back to Ireland, surround yourself with familiarity and begin anew. Abby is at her lowest ebb, but Luke, an old childhood friend has her perking up. But, as usual, there are complications. Is Luke just a rebound for Abby or is there something there worth fighting for? Read The Rebound and discover for yourself what Abby will do.

This was a cute and easy read! It, definitely, had it’s comedic moments and I can see it being adapted into a cute Irish rom-com. I do wish that I could have felt more sparks between Abby and Luke. I felt like their romance was just okay. I did love Abby’s growth within herself throughout the story and her relationship with her sister, as well. I do recommend this book if you are looking for just a quick feel good read!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC! Truly appreciated 🤗

3.5 stars.

So can I just say Abby annoyed me a lot in the beginning to almost the end? She’s super selfish and only cares about herself. She doesn’t care about the people around her and it’s hard to like her at this point. She’s stubborn and arrogant. This heroine was hard to like she was so set in her ways and what she wanted.

She also kept playing this hot and cold game with Luke while also lying and miscommunicating with him. I feel like there were a lot of issues that could have been resolved with a simple conversation.

This same thing happened with her sister Louise, they couldn’t get along because they didn’t talk. They just continued to assume what the other was thinking or feeling, it drove me insane!

But lets talk about Luke, can you say swoon??? Ugh tall, dark and handsome what more could a girl want? He's also sweet and kind and always helping Abby out. And sometimes I feel like she doesn’t deserve it.

So fast forward into the book, I started to see a different side to Abby and thing maybe she's not as annoying as she seems. Then she starts to treat other people better and starts to really think about what she wants when it comes to her career and future.

Since she had a life all planned out and that blew up in her face, she had to figure out what she really wanted out of life, because she was forced to, which was a good thing because I think this made her happier when she knew what she really wanted.

So even though I really didn’t like the miscommunication between Abby and Louise, I really enjoyed seeing their relationship grow and they become closer. I started to enjoy the dialogue between them, instead of getting annoyed.

“That’s Luke!” I exclaim, twisting in my seat to watch him go. “He just drove past!” “What?” Louise’s eyes widen as she glances in the rearview. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” I almost strain my neck as we miss our exit, going around again. “That’s his car. Where’s he going?”
“That’s the road to the hotel. It can’t be him.”
“It is.” I slap the dashboard in frustration. “We have to follow him.”
“But what’s he doing out here at this time of night? Unless he—” Louise breaks off with a loud gasp. “Do you think he’s going beat up Tyler?”
“What? Why would he do that?”
“For your honor!”
“I lost my honor the summer before college, thank you very much.”
“I mean the honor of you. He could be going to fight Tyler for—”
“No one is fighting anyone! Go after him.”

“What if he is going to go beat him up?” Louise glances at me. “Please don’t tell me you find that attractive.”
“Of course not,” I say automatically. “That’s so unhealthy.”
“Right.”
Right. “I mean, I guess a little part of me wouldn’t mind if—”
“Abby!”
“Well, don’t put the idea in my head then! He’s probably just—”
Louise blasts the horn, cutting me off as Luke’s brake lights turn on.
“He heard us,” she says, waving triumphantly at him as he slows down.
“You think?” I glare at her.
“We could have just met in the parking lot.”

Abby and Louise following Luke was the funniest! And the way that they seemed so confused! It was hilarious.

WOULD I RECOMMEND:

I would recommend this book because even with everything going on it was very captivating and it pulls you in.

But the name is a little misleading, there's not much rebounding, but there's a whole lot of miscommunication and assumptions.

I do feel like this book was really slow to get into, I feel like things didn’t start happening until the book was almost over. The whole beginning and middle wasn’t really much going on besides Abby getting use to living in her small hometown again.

Abby returns home to Ireland from NY after loosing her job and a break up. While trying to find a rid to her sisters, she ends up hitching a ride from a stranger, who turns out to maybe not be a stranger after all.

The concept of this book was very interesting, what I thought would be a typical romance that could play out on the hallmark channel was instead more of a romantic fiction then just your typical romance.

Abby knows what she wants, even when she doesn’t know what she wants and won’t falter to the men in her life! As much as I loved Abby and Luke, the true highlight of this book was the estranged relationship between Abby and Louise and watching them come together in their adult lives

The rebound was a fun and light romance that explores Abby coming back home from New York after being dumped by her fiancé and losing her job. Although Abby was a likeable character and her romance with Luke was cute, I felt that the book was quite slow paced, and nothing really differentiated it from a typical romance book.

This was a fun read that draws you in from the start. The heroine Abby is a go-getter who returns to her small town home in Ireland after a series of setbacks in New York City. Back in the town where everyone knows each other, she restores her relationship with her sister and reconnects with childhood friend, Luke after a series of conflicts. I enjoyed reading this and was rooting for Luke and Abby from the start. I also really enjoyed the development of Abby's relationship with her sister, Louise.
However, I felt annoyed at some of the misunderstandings that arose between Luke and Abby because they seemed like the issues could have easily been resolved with a conversation, making the conflict seem unnecessary.

3.5 stars

** A huge thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC for my review.

The Rebound was fine. I didn’t love it, and didn’t hate it. It’s the kind of light easy read that you could pick up and put down easily. There’s nothing new to add to the rom-com genre with this one, and that’s ok!

I had the incredible chance to read another ARC by Catherine and, honestly? Before I knew about the book, I knew I would love it. So it's no surprise when I tell you how much I loved the book. Instantly going into chapter 1, I was already so connected with the characters and by the time the book ended, I got so upset as if I was losing someone close to me. My favourite thing about the book was that not only does it focus on the characters, their development and their story, but it also talked about the place. I've never read a book that describes the scenes so perfectly that it makes me want to pack my bags and take a trip to an unknown place just so I can experience the book 10x better. And god, oh god, Abby has my heart. There is a way about the author writing her books, that I just instantly fall in love with a character that is not common for me. Where in ONO, I fell for Declan before I even loved Sarah? Abby felt too much like home to me that I knew after the first paragraph that she would be my girl and all I wanted to do was hug her. Moving away to a different country when I was 18, I could connect to this book in SO many senses. That might just be the reason that it was the first and only book this year that made me cry when it ended. Even writing this still makes me emotional and, oh how I wish I could get that first feeling I got when I opened my ARC. I'm so incredibly excited that this book will be out in the world before we know it but don't mind me for feeling smug that I had the chance to read it earlier because I'm in love with this one - just like the last one.

The Rebound
Catherine Walsh
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Abby Reynolds is a success story… until, she isn’t. Reeling from the loss of her job and her fiancé, she flees the big lights of New York City and heads back to the one place she never wanted to return…. her hometown of Clonard in Ireland. While there, she struggles to repair relationships with family and old friends, including her old neighbor, Luke. Will Abby ever make it back out of Clonard… and does she even want to?

This book was very cute and, as someone of Irish descent, I really enjoyed the setting of the novel. This book was a veryyyyy slow burn and some of the miscommunication/lack of communication between Abby and Luke was frustrating - you just want to shake them and say just make out already! I loved the banter between Abby and Luke; it was laugh-out-loud funny and just really endearing…I just wanted more of it! To me, this book felt more like a general fiction story of Abby and her growth/relationships with a small romantic side plot than a full-out romance novel. The ending felt a little rushed in terms of their emotional relationship to me, but I did enjoy the epilogue.

Overall, a very cute, solid three stars!

I was so excited to receive an arc as I loved this authors previous book. Sadly I was a bit disappointed. There was so much drama and so many issues (although they all get resolved neatly and pretty quickly) I would not consider this a “hilarious rom-com. Towards the end, I was like “ugh what now”. I love the writing style and the general idea of the book and will absolutely read future books by this author. I really appreciate this opportunity and my thanks to the publisher and author for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc.

Unfortunately for me this booked missed the mark. It was overall a light and easy read but I felt that the connection between our two main characters just wasn't there. I thought the idea of this book held so much promise but in the end each chapter read more like a short story. The writing was really good though and I loved the relationship between Abby and her sister Beth. I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Typical chick lit, didn't hate it didn't love it. Might consider reading other books by the author.

I think this is a wonderful book full of small town nuisances that make you feel as if you are visiting. The main character is going through a tough time and unexpectedly catches feelings for a childhood friend. The story that unfolds is sweet and lovely and a great weekend read!