Matched

Misfit Brides, Book 2

By: Jamie Farrell

Narrated by: Karen White

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Welcome back to Bliss, the land of happily ever afters!

Lindsey Castellano couldn't ask for more. She's the most successful divorce lawyer ever raised in Bliss. (Never mind that she's the only one.) She's her nephew's favorite aunt. (For the moment, anyway.) And thanks to a little gift (or curse) from the universe, she's an expert at avoiding love, commitment, and inevitable heartbreak. Or so she thought until the night of her sister's wedding.

Will Truitt might've grown up living a country song - his momma died, his daddy went to prison, and his dog ran away - but as an adult, he's been blessed by the country rock gods. Being Billy Brenton on stage isn't an honor he takes lightly. He likes to give back what fame has given him, which is how he finds himself happily crashing a wedding in this quirky little bridal-obsessed town. The one thing he isn't counting on, though, is colliding with the only girl he ever let himself love.

It's been 15 years since Lindsey shattered his heart. Then, she'd been a sorority girl on her way to the top, and he'd been a lowly janitor with a little bit of a dream. Now he's on top of the world, and she's the last person he should need or want.

But she's the only person who has ever inspired his music. And he's the only man she's never been able to forget. Have the years made them wiser, stronger, and better able to love, or this time, will they simply crash and burn harder?

©2015 Jamie Farrell (P)2016 Jamie Farrell

Entertaining

Lindsey Castellano is a divorce lawyer in Bliss and Will Truitt is now Billy Brenton the famous country music singer. Lindsey broke Will’s heart 15 years ago but he has never forgotten her. When he crashes her sister’s wedding she isn't ready for the unwanted turmoil his presence causes in her life. Will she break her own rule that she doesn't do love and she doesn't do commitment? This second story in the Misfit Brides series is entertaining and well written. Funny situations with characters from the first book make for an enjoyable story. It is fun, romantic and has a very, very satisfying ending!

Fun! Fun! Fun!

Read/Listened for Fun (Kindle/Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.75
Story Rating: 4.50
Character Rating: 5.00

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

Quick Thoughts: This is going to be one of my top reads of 2017. Very seldom does a straight contemporary romance make my list but this had it all. It was funny, charming, smart-ass filled, and delightful. I LOVED Will and Lindsey! Their chemistry was fantastic but I also loved that their path was not easy. PLUS, that end was sooooooooooo perfect for the two of them. Especially Lindsey, who you just have to love! All the side characters added to the charm and I can't wait to continue the series.

Audio Thoughts

Narrated by: Karen White /Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins


Karen is an excellent fit for this series. She has that breezy, quirky, yet stubborn type of voice that can match all the women and their attitudes. She very much sales the quirkiness of the town and nailed that last section which just had to be fun to record!

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews

Matched by Jamie Farrell

Where does Matched rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I gave it 4 stars.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Matched?

I would have to say the boyfriend competition.

What about Karen White’s performance did you like?

She did a fine job with the accents and attitudes of the characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

No idea.

Any additional comments?

MATCHED by Jamie Farrell was a really fun book that I can highly recommend and that can be read as a stand-alone story. However it is a great follow up to Blissed, the first book in the series, which I also highly recommend. This series is set in a town called Bliss where the whole focus of the townfolk is about love and weddings. Sort of like a Santa's village idea, but all year round and about weddings and with cast a delightfully quirky characters whose antics will make you smile and that you can't help but love.

Matched is a second chance love story featuring Lindsey Castellano, a daughter of Bliss, who lives in and works as a divorce lawyer in the next town over because there are no divorce lawyers in Bliss. Lindsey sees her mission as saving people from their mistakes so they can have a second chance to find true love.

Will Truitt AKA Billy Brenton, first met Lindsey when she was still in college. They were both young, but he fell hard for the girl who made him believe his dreams could come true. Now he's a country music superstar and mostly due to the songs his "Angel" inspired. The ones she inspired when she broke his heart and even so, she's still the only woman he's ever loved. So when he finds himself in the town of Bliss as a favor to a friend and realizes the wedding he's there for is that of Lindsay's younger sister Natalie? He's more than ready to try for a second chance with his "Angel" and this time there will be no walking away.

I listened to the audio version of this book. Which made this great story even better. The narrator did a fabulous job on the accents and attitude of the characters. 4 stars

Finding yourself and embracing love

I enjoyed Will and Lindsey’s second chance love story. This is a romcom but also an emotional tale about embracing all the parts of you even when it’s scary and weird. The story will give you all the feels - laughing, crying, swooning, cringing, teeth gritting, and cheering. Lindsey is a divorce lawyer who also has matchmaking gift that she keeps to herself. Will is known professionally as Billy Benton, a country megastar. But 15 year ago, Will and Lindsey spent a week together that ended with heart break. They meet again when Billy crashes Lindsey’s sister’s wedding. The journey to an HEA is a hilarious, swoony, and painful journey but I enjoyed every minute of the ride to get there as Lindsey and Will stretched and grew into their skin. The story included sweet moments, steamy scenes, chuckles, supportive friends, messy families, painful pasts, and heart squeezing love. The story was well written and included witty dialogue, three dimensional characters who grow, and an engaging storyline. I am looking forward to the next story in the series. Karen White did a fantastic job narrating the story and breathing life into the story and the characters with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly.

Heart warming

These books so far have been so heartwarming With honest believable characters that you feel like you’re fully immersed in their world. That’s always what I’m looking for in a book. I like to lose myself and feel like I’m part of it. Thank you for the experience.

My Snow Angel

Cute and sweet. Will is a true southern gentleman with a heart of gold, who falls for Lindsey at Spring break, and she crushed his heart after he professed his love on stage. He was a nobody when they met and she inspired him to follow his dreams in writing and singing country music, but her dream and insecurities of her gifts was not what he needed so she broke his heart and ran. 15 years later they run into each other at her sisters wedding and all those old feelings resurface for both. Will is now a successful Country Singer and songwriter who lost his creativity and his last success are the songs he wrote about his Snow Angel he met long ago. Sit down and enjoy watching their story unfold, the insecurities and heartbreak come crashing around them and what they do to understand each other and work to reach their HEA.

Perfect RomCom Listening

This cute, quick story is a winner! Will and Lindsey are a great match, but being a matchmaker herself makes Lindsey question what they have. As she begins to realize what she feels is love, she has to work through what she really wants out of life.

Better than Blissed!

The author outdid herself in this story. I loved learning about Lindsay and I found her more fascinating than her sister from the first book. I had no idea her matchmaking ability was more psychic than intuition. Only complaint is that I wish the narrator had actually sung! I had to keep rewinding to sing the song myself and get the meaning behind it. The audio company could have done better on performance with guitar and actual singing...even the bad kind ;)

Great story!

I have to say that I absolutely LOVED Matched. This story was fast paced,witty, and reminded me of Jill Shalvis' writing style. Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge fan of Jill Shalvis so when I compare these two authors it is a compliment. I could easily relate to Lindsey and her desire to be normal even with her special talents. Will was sexy, real, and down to earth despite being a country star. I found myself falling for him right along with Lindsey. The book hooked me from page one and was long enough to satisfy. I really can't say enough good things about Matched by Jamie Farrell. It is a must read in my book and gets 5 stars from me. Karen White is a fantastic narrator and brought out the humor in this story.

Lindsey and Billy

Will was a struggling performer when Lindsey fell in love with him....and found out she couldn’t handle any limelight with him.......years later ‘Billy’ crosses her path and Lindsey realizes that her Will is all she ever needed and wanted! I still struggle with this narrator BUT the story is so worth the listen!