When you have to play matchmaker for the person you love…

Synopsis

What do you do when you realise you’ve fallen for your best friend, but he sees you as the sister he never had? And to make things worse, you’re stuck in the middle of a matchmaking scheme to find him someone else!

Best friends Gaby and Raff are inseparable and know each other inside out. But with Raff’s string of disastrous relationships and his newfound fame as Britain’s Best Baker, it’s time to enlist the Ever After Agency to help him find true love.

At first, Gaby is all in – Raff is a catch, after all. But as she secretly helps to find his perfect match, she’s hit with unexpected pangs of jealousy. And before she can act on her feelings, Raff falls for one of his dates.

Can Gaby keep her emotions in check, or will she risk ruining their friendship to find out if Raff feels the same way?

Set in London and Seattle, this romantic and festive romcom is perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Mhairi McFarlane and Lindsey Kelk.

My review

Gaby, Raff and Freya are each other’s best friends. And when Raff’s latest girlfriend breaks up with him, over a text, on the day he wins Britain’s Best Baker, Gaby and Freya are there for him. But they are also realistic, as Raff has a long list of disastrous relationships. And Freya has had enough, as she wants Raff to find his perfect match. As Freya works for the best matchmaking agency in the world, Ever After Agency, why not sign him up? Raff reluctantly agrees, but he doesn’t want to be involved, he doesn’t want to have his time spending completing the questionary, he doesn’t want to go on premeditated dates, nothing. So it’s up to Gaby to help the Agency to find the best possible candidates. However, while searching for Raff’s perfect woman, Gaby realizes that what she feels for Raff goes deeper than just friendship. And just when she makes this realization, Raff is hitting off with one of the chosen candidates…. And as a best friend, Gaby wants Raff to be happy, but what about her own feelings?

My dearest Sandy,

Once again you wrote a magnificent story, making me wish that the Ever After Agency truly existed. Because if it were, I would sign up immediately, being sure that Poppy would find my own perfect match.

But not only the greatest agency of all times made this a wonderful story to read. But also because the great characters that Gaby and Raff are. Even if their world is far from my own, they are both so recognizable, relatable and just loveable, even if at moments the both of them can be a tiny bit frustrating 😊.

Gaby and Raff (but also Freya, let’s not forget about her!) are so good friends, best friends. They are each other’s biggest fans, supporters. They understand each other on such a level that is even something to be envious of. Even if Gaby’s and Raff’s upbringing couldn’t be more different, they have found each other at work, and their bond has become so strong, so important, so wow… These friends want to see each other happy, no matter what. And whatever choice one of them makes, there will always be someone cheering for them.

It’s clear that Gaby understands Raff the best. She knows that he didn’t have an easy upbringing, that his parents are not the best parents in the world, even if she had the complete opposite kind of upbringing. She also knows what truly makes him happy, but also what irks him. She is perhaps his biggest cheerleader, supporting him in every step he takes in life.

So obviously Gaby is the right person to find the perfect woman for him. And even when she doesn’t realize it herself, Poppy and even we as a reader see quickly what her real feelings are. It starts when she dismisses possible matches for the perhaps the most stupid reasons. But even when the penny finally drops, Gaby does not only wants to jeopardize her friendship with Raff, but as she wants Raff to be happy, she doesn’t stand in the way when a match seems to be perfect for him.

Because that is the kind of person that Gaby is, putting everyone’s happiness as a priority. We do not only see that with Raff, as she even goes that far to invite him over to her parents’ home for Christmas, but also how she is hands – on when ‘disaster’ strikes at Christmas.

I have to say, as an amateur – baker myself, Raff for sure ticked off many boxes for me. is there anything sexier than a man that can not just bake, but create actual masterpieces? And just like Gaby is for him, he is a great, supportive friend. He believes in Gaby and her capacities, he knows what she is able to, even if she doesn’t know it herself.

But it also needs to be said, he is also the most oblivious person in the entire world! Just like Gaby and Freya say themselves, women could be have their heads tattooed stating their interest in him, Raff wouldn’t notice it! Yet that is also part of the attraction he holds!

And I have talk about his parents… how obnoxious, unsupporting can you be as a parent? My heart broke for Raff seeing not only how he was treated at a younger age, but still is. And that while Raff is just this amazing, wonderful persona, going after his dreams. Luckily he has the best kind of friends, and the best Aunt in the world!

It was sweet to see their relationship slowly shift in this book. Gaby is in this impossible position, between a rock and a hard place. Because not only she wants to see Raff happy, even if that will cause her own personal heartbreak. But there is also the issue that she doesn’t want to lose what she has with Raff, this strong friendship. And Raff is this utter romantic soul, believing in that happily ever after, despite the example he has had in his own life.

Obviously, seeing Poppy again was also beautiful, as we can to see what happens after a happily ever after. And her strong relationship with Tristan, and their evolutions are for sure couple goals to achieve in life!  

So you see Sandy, what you did to me? You made me once again fall in love with a great story, wonderful characters, keeping me believing that perhaps there will be someone like Raff to Gaby, like Tristan to Poppy, for me, out there somewhere! And it there isn’t, well, I have plenty of your stories to have perfect book boyfriends/husbands/partners! 

Oh, and thanks to this book, I am stuck with Adele’s song with the same title in my head! 🙂