A young painter, Lily has reached a crossroads in her life. Her career hasn’t taken off, her best friend may no longer be the trusted friend she thought, her boyfriend is a disappointment, and now she can’t keep up with the rising cost of living in the city. With no one to turn to, Lily is forced to move from her beloved apartment, but while packing she comes across a piece of mail that had … slipped to the back of her junk drawer: a letter detailing further action needed to finalize the annulment of a quickie Vegas wedding. Ten years ago
Lily decides it’s time to turn over a new leaf and the first item on her list of things to fix is getting the annulment… but you can’t just send a reply ten years later, “Hey by the way we are still married.” This is something that must be addressed in person. Lily takes to the road to track down her husband – the charming, fun, and sexy man she connected with all those years ago – Ben Hutchinson.
Ben Hutchinson left a wealthy dot-com lifestyle behind to return home to his family and the small town he loves, Minnow Bay. He’s been living off the grid and the last thing he expects is a wife he didn’t know he had to show up on his doorstep.
By chance, Lily arrives at the magical Minnow Bay Inn, and there she will discover not just a place to lay her head, but new friends, a thriving art community, and maybe even the love of her life.
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The perfect feel-good read. Don’t miss this delightful novel!
The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay thoroughly entertains as it explores friendship, flings, and finally finding yourself. Harms tells the story in a funny, fresh voice ideal for this charming coming-into-her-age novel.
The temperature in Minnow Bay, Wisconsin may be cold, but its people are anything but. Kelly Harms has created a world so real and so inviting that you absolutely will not want to leave. The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay proves that a little small-town meddling never hurt anyone and that, sometimes, it takes a village to fall in love. Kelly Harms has done it again!
Kelly Harms has once again written the kind of characters you want to be friends with — funny, loyal, and lovably flawed — all set against a charming canvas of small town life
In The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay, Lily Stewart is Shopaholic’s Becky Bloomwood meets Capote’s Holly Golightly. This charming tale is filled to the brim with eccentric characters, uproarious predicaments, and a charming (if not chilly!) setting. Kelly Harms has created the most lovable character in Lily, a starving artist with a penchant for disaster and a completely unbreakable spirit. One for the beach chair!
Delightful, and sure to captivate readers and gain new fans for author Kelly Wimmer Harms. Sparkling dialogue and a winning heroine, who finds her big-girl panties amid the disaster zone her life has become and head in a new direction, finding love along the way, it had me turning the pages into the night.
I loved this book! Fresh and devastatingly funny, The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay is romantic comedy at its very best. The talented Kelly Harms is one to watch.
In The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay, Kelly Harms weaves together a small town and big dreams into a delightful and heartfelt tapestry of friendship, love, and getting what you deserve, in the way you least expect. I was hooked from page one, then laughed out loud and teared up while reading — exactly what I want from romantic women’s fiction. Kelly Harms is the real deal.
Filled with witty dialogue and an unforgettable cast of characters, The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay, is a complete charmer. I rooted for Lily from the first page and didn’t want to leave the magical town of Minnow Bay. Kelly Harms delivers another heartwarming novel that lifts the spirit.
Kelly Harms writes with such tender insight about change, saying goodbye to her beloved yet troubled city life and hurtling into the delicious unknown. Her characters sparkle; I loved Lily and wished I could have coffee with her in the enchanted town of Minnow Bay.
Sometimes you read a book that hits all the right notes: funny, charismatic, romantic, and empowering. The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay is that book. Kelly Harms’s enchanting writing lured me into the quiet, yet complicated world of Minnow Bay and I never wanted to leave. I loved it in every way!
The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay is a glorious read, full of heart and humor. Lily is the kind of character you’ll root for to the end, and the delightful residents of Minnow Bay will keep you chuckling with each turn of the page. Kelly Harms is a talented author with a knack for writing a story you’ll want to read again and again.
I stayed up until one in the morning finishing this entertaining romance about a serious artist who tends to let everything else slip, and who also lets herself get taken advantage of by too many people. However, at least some of them do have her best interests at heart. It’s as much about friendship and community as romance, but it all works together rather expertly. The last scene is a bit Hollywood for my taste (honestly, Netflix should buy the rights to this novel), but I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a whole — perhaps especially the parts about an artist at work, and a small town struggling to keep it together, though the central relationship was fun, too. Very nicely done.
One of my favorite novels!
4.5 STARS!
(Read: April/2017)
I loved this book! I’m just sorry I let a few overly critical reviews hinder the speed at which I finally picked it up to read.
The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay was funny, compellingly frustrating, heartening, and romantic. Lily is the stereotypical messy and somewhat oblivious artist who is transformed by her stay in Minnow Bay and the people who lovingly interfere with her life. Ben is the husband she married on a whim in Vegas ten years before, whom she now seeks an annulment. The “husband” is just one hint at how oblivious Lily is to the life around her and the pace at which it’s leaving her behind. Minnow Bay becomes the conduit to change that she never saw coming. That change comes in the form of a handsome dot-commer/HS teacher who is rejuvenated by Lily’s presence and the quirky Minnow Bay residents that plot to keep her there.
I don’t think there was one character that I didn’t enjoy reading about. There may have been a couple of abhorrent individuals in the story, but they served to enlighten and make the ending a satisfying one. The author drew me into this story with her writing style and wit. My only selfish complaint is that I wanted more of Ben. Selfish, because the story is perfect as is. I’m looking forward to what Kelly Harms has for us next.
I won this book from Goodreads Giveaways. This is a wonderful story about an artist who is trying to be a great artist but has had put herself into really bad situations. First and foremost is that she has been evicted from her apartment for being late with her rent and is pretty much having to beg friends and family for a place to live. And this were is finally realizes that she has been support in one way or another for everyone in her life but who the rough spot hit no one wants to help. She is selling her art. Her boyfriend/art dealer doesn’t want her to move in, her best friend is afraid to because she married Lily’s ex-boyfriend, her step brother will take her money but won’t help. She when Lily go to pack up her apartment she finds the manila envelope from the state of Nevada. She realizes that she never mailed it back and she is still married to the guy she met when she took her friend to Vegas for bachelorette party. She goes to Minnow Bay to get everything straightened out and he pretty much treats her like she is only there for his money. Because not known to her he is a millionaire. Her credit cards are maxed and the one card she has to pay for the B&B works when she checks in but when processing check out it is maxed out. With twist and turn Lily finds good friends, a old friend realizes what a real friend she is and she finds out the her art dealer is stealing from her on her sales of her paintings. I loved this story.