Spotlight & Giveaway: The Matchmaker’s Cottage by Kat Sloane

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Kat Sloane to HJ!

Hi Kat and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Matchmaker’s Cottage!

Hi, thanks so much for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

THE MATCHMAKER’S COTTAGE is a cozy fall romance about the owner of a lakeside bed-and-breakfast who is reunited with her childhood sweetheart for a celebrity matchmaking scheme designed to revive both their careers. But as they work together, they’re forced to confront the memories, regrets, and unresolved feelings they’ve spent years trying to leave behind.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Ethan’s eyes caught hers, and she found the softness in his gaze, the affection, and the hint of guilt inordinately cruel. She didn’t want one ounce of it. He could take his nostalgia and shove it.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• This book is actually the second book I wrote (and not the one I queried with!)
• My agent chose the title The Matchmaker’s Cottage and I considered it a “working title” until final edits
• The Matchmaker’s Cottage is inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma—both the novel and the 2020 adaptation in terms of plot points and overall vibes
• I have yet to sample Julia’s famous brown butter cinnamon rolls

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

My hero and heroine are childhood friends, so the attraction builds slowly over the years from what starts as a genuine friendship above all else. But, as adults, even after they stop speaking to one another, my hero would likely say that Julia’s loyalty, perseverance,

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

There’s a scene where Ethan and Julia are fighting in the rain and, well—

“In two strides he was there, gathering her in his arms, her body, drenched now and trembling, drawn into his. To his everlasting relief, she didn’t pull away and instead allowed him to shape her body to his, pressing her into his chest and holding her tightly. He tilted his head back slightly to look at her, and she did the same. He would never know who made the first move, but before he realized it, their lips collided and they were kissing.”

Readers should read this book….

Readers should read this book if they love second-chance romances filled with longing, nostalgia, Hallmark-esque small towns, and a beautiful autumn backdrop.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently working on the third book I’d like to write, which I can say literally nothing about, but my upcoming 2027 release is a wintry tale of redemption, rejuvenation, reunions—and *only one bed*. Stay tuned for more details soon!
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: One finished copy of THE MATCHMAKER’S COTTAGE, US only.

To enter Giveaway, please share this post on your Socials and Leave a comment below to this Q: Were you rooting for Julia and Ethan right away, or did one (or both!) of them have to win you over? And, follow up: how do you feel about main characters that are more realistic and/or flawed than truly, objectively likeable from page 1?

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✨ Winner(s) will be selected at random.
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✨ If you win, I'll need your full name and mailing address to send your prize. 
This information will be shared with the author, publisher, or publicist solely for prize fulfillment purposes.
✨ Giveaway closes 3 days from the date this post is published.  
 

Excerpt from The Matchmaker’s Cottage:

LIKE AN APPARITION—or a bad dream—Ethan Duchamp was on her property. Standing about ten feet in front of her. The closest he’d been in more than eight years.

He was clutching the handle of an expensive-looking suitcase in one hand, a gray blazer thrown over his opposite shoulder. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up halfway, exposing tan forearms that she knew were dusted with light brown hair even if she couldn’t see them from her vantage point.

He looked the same, basically. Perhaps his shoulders were a bit broader, looking like he’d filled out more across the chest and torso, his hair a little longer, now brushed back from his forehead in neatly curated waves. The most telling difference was the beard. Julia had only ever known Ethan to be clean-shaven, even in middle school when all the boys were growing out bad mustaches or in those early college years when goatees had unfortunately been a thing. Ethan had always defied the facial hair trends, claiming nobody wanted to see his poor excuse for a beard anyway.

It wasn’t a poor excuse, though, Julia noted, trying to stay as dispassionate as possible. It was certainly not sparse or inadequate in any way, nor was it unruly or overlong. Instead, it gave the appearance of a man who took care of himself. Perhaps he had some sort of kit that he maintained it with. Certainly a brush of some sort. Maybe even an oil.

She almost laughed at the ludicrous direction of her thoughts. Here she was, confronted with this man she’d known almost all her life, minus the last decade, and all she could think of was the presumed maintenance of his facial hair.

It was sick. Deranged.

Were there hints of auburn in there?

Stop.

“Hi, Gem.”

Ah. There it was.

She’d noticed how he’d avoided using the nickname over the phone, although at the time she’d thought maybe he had almost said it right at the beginning of their conversation, the J sound of her name lingering a bit too long before ending in –ulia. It had been a small blessing, honestly, a reminder that they were no longer Ethan and Gem but instead were now strangers. And how it needed to stay that way, if only for her sanity and all the work she had done to forget how much he had meant to her once upon a time.

Except now—

Now the bastard had shown up, interrupted her from getting the pillowcases off the clothesline in a timely manner, made the goddamn wind stop itself dead, and then, to top it all off, he’d called her Gem.

Don’t call me that! she wanted to scream.

Instead, she responded: “Hi, Ethan.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

A cozy fall romance wrapped in small-town charm reunites the owner of a bed-and-breakfast with her childhood sweetheart for a celebrity matchmaking scheme which has them both seeing stars.

Julia Schaeffer might run the most romantic little bed-and-breakfast in Upstate New York, but as far as that infuriating Ethan Duchamp is concerned, this older, wiser Julia has a strict “no vacancy” policy. Sure, she’s teetering on the edge of a financial cliff, and his half-baked plan to pair up his celebrity clients at her inn will undoubtedly be good for business…but how much forced proximity with the man who abandoned her is she supposed to take?

Ethan needs this to work. The dreamy, autumnal—and blissfully secluded—cottage from his childhood summers is the ideal setting for playing matchmaker to Hollywood’s next power couple. It’s the only way to save his PR career from the tabloid toilet. He knew that the inn and Julia’s warm, comforting homemade touch would inspire real feelings—he just didn’t expect them to be his. Again.

But as old wounds reopen, and their connection rekindles, Julia and Ethan are forced to confront the truths they’ve both tried to bury. In a town where nothing stays hidden for long, they’ll have to decide if they can rebuild what was lost—or if their second chance will be derailed by scars that have yet to heal.
Book Links:  Amazon | B&N | kobo | Google |
 
 

Meet the Author:

Kat Sloane has been writing stories for as long as she can remember, with a particular knack for dreaming up new ways to get her characters to kiss. These days, as a teacher, she also channels her English literature and fine arts degree into other outlets. When she’s not teaching, she’s spending time with her family in the suburbs of Toronto. Most of her writing takes place late at night, during her coveted revenge bedtime procrastination hours.
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