Catherine Walsh | The Rebound

The Book: 

The Rebound by Catherine Walsh
Published February 14th 2022 by Bookouture
Date read: December 30, 2021

The Characters: 

Abby
Luke

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Buy it on Amazon


The Plot (from Goodreads):

A newly single girl. A tall dark handsome stranger. What could go wrong?

It’s 7 a.m. on a Monday morning and Abby Reynolds isn’t where she wants to be. She wants to be in her beautiful loft apartment in Manhattan, drinking a coffee with her fiancé.

Instead, she’s heading back to the childhood home in rural Ireland she swore she’d never return to, with some big old secrets. Namely that she’s suddenly found herself unemployed, homeless, and absolutely 100% single.

She’s feeling all out of luck. Until the first person she meets after she touches down is an absurdly hot guy called Luke, who offers her a lift home. Gazing deep into his sparkling emerald-green eyes, Abby knows instantly that he’s exactly what she needs to take her mind off everything. The perfect rebound.

It’s a flawless plan. Until the next day, when Abby realizes who he actually is. Not just a stranger. He is, in fact, Luke Bailey, aka the boy next door. Luke Bailey who—so help her God—she’s pretty sure she once shared baths with, back when they were kids. Not that she can allow herself to imagine him in a bath now, not without blushing from head to foot.

And judging by the smirk on his face, the same Luke Bailey who’s known exactly who she was the whole time… And who, like everyone in the village, still thinks she’s a high-flying New Yorker… who’s getting married next year.

Abby is certain getting under Luke will help her get over her ex. But the truth is stopping her. Can she admit to everyone back home that she’s single and has lost everything? Because, if she wants the boy next door, she may just have to.

The Review: 

The Rebound was a cute rom-com about Abby, who moves back home to her small town in Ireland after losing her job and breaking up with her fiance.

I loved the setting and loved Luke, although I would have liked to learn a bit more about him. My favorite part was how Abby rekindled her relationship with her sister Louise, and how she learned to love her town again. Her new best friend Beth was also a great side character!

However, the whole plot could’ve been resolved with a few honest conversations. I didn’t understand why Abby would hide that she had broken up with her fiance, especially when it hurt Luke. This type of plot is always frustrating to me. I just want the main characters to be grownups and talk to each other!

Read this book for a lighthearted escape to small-town Ireland, but if you get irked by plots that could be resolved by a simple conversation I’d give this one a pass.

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