From the bestselling author of Matchmaking for Beginners comes a novel about love, loss, and the beautiful mess of family.
Marnie MacGraw and Patrick Delaney have been in love for a few years now, enough to realize that they are imperfectly perfect together. Still, there are some things that maybe need a little attention. Marnie’s ebullient; he’s brooding. She thrives on change; he prefers … change; he prefers stability. She sees marriage and parenthood in their future, but he can’t see beyond the shadow of an earlier tragedy.
Then an eight-year-old surprise from Patrick’s past shows up on their doorstep, cartwheeling into their lives and spinning things in all directions. While it’s not exactly the change she envisioned, it looks like instant family to Marnie. But Patrick, afraid of being hurt again, retreats further into himself. Suddenly, two very different pieces of a beautiful puzzle find it harder and harder to fit. How can Marnie trust in the magic of the universe when it seems to be doing its best to knock her off her feet?
But some love stories are worth waiting for. And what’s love without a little chaos anyway?
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I absolutely loved this book. It started out a bit slow and I wondered how she was going to infuse this sequel with the same magic as she had in Matchmaking for Beginners, but she did so in the most wonderful way. The characters are genuine and believable and you will find yourself rooting for them to make this work. I honestly fell in love with the little girl Fritzie. Highly recommended.
I loved this book. Maddie writes with such a brilliant combination of sparkle and depth, I just wanted to jump inside the pages and live with the characters. That’s really the only way to describe it. If you want to read a well-written story that captures the very essence of family and forgiveness, joy and pain, love and all its nuances…including magic, this is it. Brava, Maddie Dawson. I need to know what happens next with these characters!
What an adventure! This has ended up being one of my favorite books of 2020. I read Matchmaking for Beginners first (which I highly recommend doing) and was surprised at how I completely FELL IN LOVE with the characters and craziness!
A Happy Catastrophe continues the story of Marnie and Patrick. They are so different, yet so perfect for each other. But things start to get complicated. Marnie wants a family-Patrick wants to keep things the way they are. Then an 8-year old little girl shows up from his past. Instant family? Or instant chaos?
Maddie Dawson has created the most lovable characters. Marnie is a matchmaker, always wanting to help people, and a believer in the universe. Everyone is naturally drawn to her. Patrick is a realist, and an introvert who is stuck in a battle of his past and determined to keep people at a distance. Their love seems solid, but is about to be tested through some of the strangest events and darkest times.
I loved each and every minute of this book, but at times wanted to wring Patrick’s neck!!! Marnie is so lovable though. It makes me wish I were her friend . The only thing I wish for is that were a book between these two books. There’s about a 4 year gap in Maddie and Patrick’s relationship that I would really love to hear! I feel like I missed out on a big part of their early days! But nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read!
I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own.
Marnie MacGraw and Patrick Delaney’s story continue with more funny and crazy situations that will have your stomach hurt after so much laughter.
Many new scenarios and characters will show in A Happy Catastrophe that will make this story more enjoyable.. if you love Matchmaking for beginners this book is for you.
Marnie is having a great life with Patrick until somethings happened that change their lives forever, making them even have tenser and without any answers feeling more confused, especially Patrick. It is time for Patrick to finally face his fears and insecurities to be able to move forward and continue his happy love life with Marnie.
Marnie is not so convinced, she was really trying to help and make everything way easier for Patrick so that they can continue their regular schedule but this new situation was nothing planned and way too scary for both of them. love and life have many ways to change and bring out things in people and this is the case.. soon Marnie and Patrick will find the solution to any “problem” that is stopping them to be fully happy
So many great new characters that will bring so much more to this story. I really enjoy A Happy Catastrophe I really dont know what else to say without giving too much away.. just that it is a very enjoyable story, something light for these types of days.
I love a quirky and heart warming story about how families take shape. This one landed on took Marnie and Patrick for one heck of a surprise. Nothing is perfect no matter the countless hours of planning or dreaming of the perfect and ideal family. I found myself once again connected and journeyed with the characters throughout the story.
This was truly an enjoyable read that was truly endearing and quite satisfying. I recommend this for a magical read full of hope and love.
The perfect effervescent antidote to these strange times, Dawson’s book sparkles with wonder, delight and a true sense of what love can mean and how it might reconfigure when faced with chaos. Honest to God, when I finished this novel, I put my hand on my heart and sighed.
This book was such a pleasant surprise. I loved Marnie’s spirit, and that she was always trying to find the good in a situation or person. And the fact that she was a matchmaker who saw sparkles? Yeah, I loved that, too. But I also appreciated that the whole story wasn’t all sparkles and rainbows, that there were some heavier emotional topics weaved in that balanced it out. I truly love it when a book surprises me with how good it is.
This book was a tonic for my beleaguered COVID soul—I needed some color, sparkles and magic injected into my life and this charming book delivers. I’d already listened to the Audible version of Matchmaking for Beginners, and was elated that I didn’t have to say goodbye to Marnie and the enigmatic characters she ensnares into her net, this reader included. I hope there is a third, to follow!
I enjoyed this book, it is the second one in a series (?). The first book was so good, I ordered the second right away and had to wait for its publication. It is heartwarming and leaves you feeling good, which is what I needed in this era of the coronavirus.
Solid Combination of Zany and Drama. I think the title says it all here. This is one of those books with enough off-the-wall WTF moments to make it truly fun, but also quite a bit of pulling your heartstrings. Few characters here come out looking spotless, but all look very, very human. Excellent story, very well told. Very much recommended.
Love and Family and Surprises
This is a wonderful piece of women’s fiction. It is about healing, growing, loving, family, friends, and finding oneself. It is a fun read that can also be heartbreaking. I plan on reading more of this author’s work. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
I absolutely adored Matchmaking For Beginners and was so excited to see Patrick and Marnie get an entire book. A Happy Catastrophe is absolutely everything, hilarious and devastating at the same time. Both Patrick and Marnie were so relatable in how life can drag you down sometimes without even realizing it’s happened, my heart thoroughly ached for both of them. I love Marnie’s whimsy seeing sparkles and talking to Blix through the old toaster, her kindness, patience, and love for others, she’s everything I want to be. I so badly wanted to help Patrick, at times he was so frustrating, but his actions and words accurately captured the very real struggle with mental health issues. The descriptions in this story made me feel as though I was right there with these characters, right down to the way Fritzie smells. This is an absolutely fantastic book, it had me laughing and crying, it was a definite roller coaster, I can not recommend it enough. A huge thnk you to Lake Union Publishing for an ARC.
A triumphant tale about the redemptive magic of love—and the way life sometimes drags us through the muck before giving us what we never knew we wanted. Marnie is one of the most delightful heroines in contemporary fiction, and you won’t want to miss her!
In A Happy Catastrophe, author Maddie Dawson works magic on the page as she takes us into the life of bighearted Marnie MacGraw, a woman who can literally see the sparkle of love in the air. Marnie is surrounded by a constellation of vivid characters who, whether searching for connection or confronting loss, keep pressing on through the rich and wondrous catastrophe of life. A beautifully written testament to the tenacity of hope and the power of love.
A Happy Catastrophe is one of those interesting books that follows up a HEA romance ending with a look at how the relationship’s doing, several years on. I think it does a tremendous job at exploring how hard it is when two people’s needs change, but they still love each other. When one person retreats, they’ve usually reasoned it out for themselves, and it’s hard to follow their logic and bring them back – this is really evident in this book. Well-done writing.
Loved this as a follow up story.
I don’t think this stands alone without its prequel, or at least you’d be missing out on a lot by reading it first, but it was a fine continuation of Patrick and Marnie’s story, especially as Patrick’s demons exert a pretty profound hold on him. You can’t help feeling for everyone and rooting for the happy ending. You know it’s coming (I mean, look at the title and the cover!), but there’s enough suspense that you’re not sure everyone you care about is going to actually get to participate in it. Another fine read by an author I always enjoy.
June 28, 2020
Matchmaking for Beginners part 2!
I loved Marnie and Patrick from the first book and thoroughly enjoyed continuing the journey. Great characters having some fun and not so fun times.
“Whatever happens, love that.”
When I read Matchmaking for Beginners back in 2018 I fell head over heels in love with Marnie MacGraw and Patrick Delaney. I knew I needed both more of them and more of author Maddie Dawson in my life. Enter A Happy Catastrophe…
Marnie and Patrick are back and have settled into a lasting relationship. While their love for each other is evident, so are their many differences. When Marnie tells Patrick that she wants to have a baby, Patrick’s response is less than joyful. Add to that a broken condom, the arrival of a spunky yet insecure 8-year-old, an unannounced in-law visit, and a teenager in need of a temporary home, and even the strongest relationship might start to crack. While Marnie tries her best to embrace and thrive on this newfound chaos, Patrick retreats further and further into himself and his tragic past.
This book brought all the emotions – happiness, sadness, frustration, despair, hope and love. There were times when I laughed out loud at Fritzie’s antics, saw red at Patrick’s behavior, and ached to reach through the pages to wrap Marnie in the hug I knew she needed. This book is for anyone who has doubted themselves or their partner, for anyone who has both loved love and been simultaneously torn apart by it, and for anyone who steadfastly believes in its magic anyways.
I read A Happy Catastrophe during all of the crazy that is my life, while recovering from COVID. This quirky and whimsical book just touched my soul. From laugh out loud humor to sheer heartbreak this story and the characters wedged themselves inside me and took up residence.
Marnie believes in magic and matchmaking, her partner Patrick is a tortured artist with character flaws galore, Tessa is Patrick’s 2 night fling that produces a daughter, Fritzie that Patrick knows nothing about for more than 8 years. Fritzie is the most precocious child I have ever encountered and reminded me of all 3 of my own children at various stages in life rolled into one ball of fun.
The overreaching story here is that life is messy, miscommunications happen, we take each other for granted, some people shouldn’t be parents while others definitely should and that accepting happiness in your life is your responsibility, when we rely on other people for happiness oftentimes we end up disappointed.
This character driven story was a great escape during a time that I really needed it. I am determined to read Maddie’s other book Matchmaking for Beginners with Marnie and Patrick now because I’m invested and need more of them in my life.
Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours, @maddiedaws, and @lakeunionpublishing for a copy of this book to review and fall in love with!