Marrying the Matchmaker
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 3 Feb 2026
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- USD 5.99
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- Pre-Order
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- USD 5.99
Publisher Description
"A historical romance reader's delight. Treat yourself! Jody Hedlund does not disappoint."--ROBIN LEE HATCHER, award-winning author on Calling on the Matchmaker
As the middle child of the Shanahan family, Zaira does her best to keep the peace. She doesn't share her dream of becoming a published author with her family to spare herself their disapproval. When she's caught in a scandal involving the local matchmaker, Bellamy McKenna, she must put her storytelling ability to good use and feign a match with him to avoid wagging tongues and her parents' anger.
Feeling the growing pressure to marry as a well-known, yet single matchmaker to St. Louis's Irish community, Bellamy reluctantly agrees to a temporary match with Zaira. But even though the matchmakers in his family might be able to find love for others, they have a history of disastrous relationships for themselves. When secrets and danger force Zaira and Bellamy to work together, is it finally the matchmaker's turn to be lucky in love?
Hedlund delivers another captivating closed-door historical romance with sizzling chemistry, witty banter, a fake relationship, and close-knit Irish families where the matchmaker finally meets his match in this final installment in her series for fans of Mimi Matthews and Elizabeth Camden.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hedlund (A Wager with the Matchmaker) concludes the Shanahan Match series with a fun mid-19th-century romance between a handsome matchmaker and a fiery author. Zaira Shanahan, the middle daughter of a wealthy St. Louis family, secretly writes romances under the pseudonym K.S. Flanders. When her editor challenges her to add more emotional depth to her novels, she turns to local matchmaker Bellamy McKenna for some hands-on kissing experience. In return, she promises to help Bellamy find a match for the daughter of a demanding senator. Zaira holds up her part of the deal, but Bellamy backs out for fear of stoking the attraction he already feels. When Zaira rashly kisses Bellamy in public, they decide to fake a courtship to quiet the rumors. Real feelings ignite, but Bellamy's all too aware that the matchmakers in his family are doomed to end up in dead-end marriages, and Zaira doubts that a relationship begun in deceit can turn into true love. Both must look to their faith for the strength to be honest with their loved ones and themselves. The flirty banter between the leads enhances the romantic tension, and the vivid backdrop of 19th-century St. Louis in the midst of a cholera epidemic adds texture. It makes for a sweet and satisfying historical spin on the fake-dating trope.
