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Book Review of The Matchmaker (Morrow Creek, Bk 1) (Harlequin Historical, No 674)

The Matchmaker (Morrow Creek, Bk 1) (Harlequin Historical, No 674)
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Because I'd enjoyed another book by Lisa Plumley, I decided to start the 'Morrow Creek' series. To say this book is lighthearted is an understatement.

The town of Morrow Creek is in an uproar. Actually, it is the bachelors in town who are agitated. It seems that there is a new matchmaker in town who is encouraging the unmarried lasses to approach a man they are interested in and persuade the man to attend them. Now these young men think the men should be the ones to initiate contact and don't look kindly upon the matchmaker. In fact, they would like to give the matchmaker a piece (or three) of their minds. Unfortunately, the identity of the meddlesome matchmaker is unknown.

The members of the Morrow Creek's Men's Club think they must unmask the matchmaker and short-circuit some of the unmarried women's plans, if they are going to have any peace. They convince lumber mill owner Marcus Copeland to get close to Molly Crabtree to find out the identity of the pesky matchmaker.

Molly Crabtree is a member of the free thinking Crabtree family; Adam is the editor of the town's newspaper. Molly is the youngest of 3 daughters and she is the most stubborn of the lot. She has been babied and protected all her life. She wants to prove her worth by going into business with her own bakery. Unfortunately, her goods are awful.

Marcus just wants to find out who the matchmaker is and get back to his lumber mill. He has no interest in romancing some girl. But once Molly meets Marcus, she washes over his whole life like a tidal wave.

This sounds like a cute yarn, so why the low score? The story was essentially finished about the half-way point in the book; the rest seemed to be filler to produce a 300 page manuscript. Also, there is the HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING -- also used to extend the story. And finally, there were parts that seemed downright silly -- not just lighthearted. On the other side, be sure to pay attention to Molly's accounting system for her business. It is priceless.

Morrow Creek
*** 1. The Matchmaker (2003)
2. The Scoundrel (2006)
3. The Rascal (2006)
4. Mail-Order Groom (2010)
5. Wanton in the West (2011)
6. The Bride Raffle (2011)
7. The Honor-Bound Gambler (2013)
8. Morrow Creek Runaway (2015)
9. Morrow Creek Marshal (2015)