I really enjoyed this book. I found the character were written perfectly and how each person changed within the story. It was a smooth gentle read which I would recommend

This was a fun lighthearted story that even though it was a little predictable it was a very enjoyable read with plenty of giggles along the way, loved it!

I have been a fan of Phoebe's work for a while now although I haven't quite caught up with everything that she has written. I read the synopsis of 'The Fixer Upper' and it certainly sounded like the sort of book that I have come to expect from Phoebe- a fun, light hearted, romantic comedy, which will make you laugh out loud. Well 'The Fixer Upper' was certainly that and so much more. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Fixer Upper' but more about that in a bit.

I soon got into 'The Fixer Upper'. In fact I must have laughed out loud on more than one occasion whilst reading the first couple of chapters. From then on, it's safe to say that I became addicted to the story and couldn't put the book down. My Kindle wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. I suppose I didn't want to break the spell that the book seemed to have cast over me. I loved the main character of Alex, who ended up feeling more like a friend rather than a character in a book. I had to keep reading to see if the story was going to turn out in the way in which I thought it would. I was so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the book. All too quickly I reached the end of 'The Fixer Upper' and I had to say goodbye to Alex, Callum and the rest of the characters. I found 'The Fixer Upper' to be a fun and light hearted read, which made me laugh out loud on several occasions.

'The Fixer Upper' is extremely well written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Phoebe MacLeod. Phoebe has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. In fact reading one of Phoebe's books feels more like a chat between friends rather than reading a book. I hope that makes sense. Phoebe's love for her characters shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. As I mentioned earlier, the main character of Alex felt more like a friend rather than a character of a book I love the way in which Phoebe makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story and at the heart of the action. That's how I felt anyway.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'The Fixer Upper' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Phoebe's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

This was a really fun, light, closed-door romantic comedy. I liked the main character, although it took a while to get a sense of who she was. I really liked the mmc, especially the fact that he was inexperienced with women and was reserved, but kind. The main character’s friend and roommate was suitably frustrating, but it was nice to feel a bit of redemption for her towards the end. I liked the writing style and pacing of the book. It was a quick, breezy read. It may not be a book that sticks with me for a long time, but it was fun while it lasted. I would definitely consider checking out more by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

There was a bit of time between when I read the blurb and when I read the actual book, so it was not what I was expecting. I was expecting something about doing a house up, but this book is so not that at all. It was a really nice story about two people gently falling in love and it had me grinning from ear to ear. Lovely characters (mostly) and some really hilarious side stories. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.

A funny and sweet ook which made me laugh out loud. A very pleasant read and I finished it very quickly. Although the ending was predictable I still loved it. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

First, I want to thank Phoebe Macleod, Boldwood Books, NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for this book so I may bring you this review.

Ohh The Fixer Upper was just the Rom Com I so needed to read! I have never read anything by Phoebe MacCleod in the past so I thought I would take a chance. I am so glad I did because she had me cracking up laughing left and right!

Right away the storyline piqued my interest and wondered where the story would go from there.

Being single and remembering what it was like to live with my parents after my divorce I could not stop laughing! I totally agreed on all of her points for moving out on her own!

Tommy’s storyline regarding getting into the art school he wanted was one of my favorite storylines.

Phoebe did an amazing job with all the sexual humor and banter within The Fixer Upper.

Phoebe MacLeod is one of my go to Romcoms authors. When you want a story that is light and fun that just make you feel good with a good dose of LOL, I definitely recommend her books. The Fixer Upper does not disappoint.

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc. I liked the premise of this book and love a roommates to lovers trope, but the pacing was a bit off for me, and I didn’t love the characters. It felt at times there were too many things going on, so I didn’t get to get to know Callum and Alex as a couple much.

Finding others the home of their dreams
Can sometimes prove easier than it first seems.
Alex is an estate agent who enjoys making such matches
But has dreams of her own - a new plan she hatches!

A new flat, sharing with her best friend is the start
Whilst her current romance, may be flying apart,
As her long term boyfriend goes to the US to explore his art
And his messages have another artist taking part.

Two new neighbours in the other flat
A new romance - any chance of that?
With her flat mate falling for one of the men next door,
And the other being taciturn, perhaps a bore!

With travels, surprises and new friendships, too,
This is a fun read I recommend to you!
There are revelations, discoveries and so much more
In this laugh out loud romance, a delight to explore!

For my complementary copy, I say thank you,
As I share with you this, my honest review.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This amusing and uplifting romantic comedy follows Alex, an estate agent who manages to convince her friend to move into a flat share with her.

Soon her flatmate shows interest in one of the tenants next door, and when her friend struggles to speak to him, tries to help by inviting them round for dinner. This leads to unlikely friendship with the other tenant Callum.

Alex has a long-term boyfriend, but when he travels away for an art course she starts to wonder if someone else may be a better match for her.

Has her flatmate found love? Will Alex discover a new love interest of her own?

This romantic comedy has many of the awkward moments which make these kinds of books as amusing as they can be. The first interactions with the tenants next door are just a few of these moments.

The love-life of Alex is another part of the storyline with the decisions she must make regarding her long-term boyfriend, and then an unexpected love she wasn’t expecting to discover. I really did feel for her at times.

There is an extremely humorous moment in her estate agent role, which will certainly make you laugh out loud, I know I did!!!

Overall, an amusing and uplifting romantic comedy where an estate agent has an unexpected decision to make in her love life.

Alex, girl Alex, not boy Alex (iykyk), you’ve charmed me! I have to start my review by stating how much I LOVED the FMC in this book. She is independent, kind, funny, empathetic AND knows her worth, a person you’d want at your side because she brings out the best in you.
I agree with other reviews I’ve read the book is slow in the sense that she breaks up with the ex around the 50% mark, if not a little later and she doesn’t really interact with the actual love interest that much up until that point, which is a little late, given that it is a romance novel. But I did not bother me as much as I thought it would, because Alex endeared me and I wanted to read about how she deals with the circumstances. I also believe Callum is charming and sweet enough to make up for it, but I also am, admittedly, a sucker for the shy, socially-awkward, reclusive and yet incredibly sweet and thoughtful guy.
The side-characters fell a little flat for me, except for Michelle, whom I love. I simply could not muster up enough interest for them.
Also, yes, the plot was very predictable but I found comfort in that. I think the book does what a rom-com promises: it’s a light, funny, romantic and fast read and I had a good time reading it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for providing me with an earc in exchange for an honest review!
The Fixer Upper is out now!

The Fixer Upper by Phoebe MacLeod

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Finding a man is like buying a sometimes you have to look beyond the exterior to see the potential underneath.

As an estate agent, Alex’s job is to create happy-ever-afters. It’s just a shame she can’t work the same magic on her own life. Her long-term boyfriend Thomas still lives with his mother, and her hopes of them taking the next step are dashed when he announces he’s spending all his savings (savings she’d quite hoped he’d want to put towards their future home) on an ‘artist retreat’ in San Francisco.

With Thomas thousands of miles away, getting a little too friendly with his fellow artistes, Alex strikes up a friendship with her new neighbour, Callum. Taciturn, grumpy and nerdy, Callum couldn’t be more different to Alex’s bubbly personality.... So why is he the one she wakes up wanting to talk to?

As they get to know each other, Alex starts to wonder if the answer to all her problems might be closer to home than she thinks…

My Opinion

For me this was a nice and easy book to read and I was easily able to finish it in a few hours. In a change of pace to what I have been reading recently, this was a nice slow read, but I thought that it really suited the book. A lovely, sweet read if you are looking for a bit of an escape. This wasn't a heavy read and it is easy to put down when life gets in the way and pick it back up again when you have the chance to read.

This is my second book by Phoebe MacLeod and both have been relaxing reads. A light-hearted read with some funny moments.

Rating 4/5

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, cute and I wanted to find out how it was going to turn out. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

The Fixer Upper is Phoebe Macleod‘s stand-alone romantic comedy set in England. Although the book cover implies that a house may be renovated, the “fixer upper” is actually the man living next door. He doesn’t need fixing up except for a flattering haircut and new glasses; he just lacks confidence with women.

Alexandra “Alex” Griffiths is a successful estate agent in a small English town. She has been living on her own for years, so she’s excited when her best friend, Emma, agrees to share a bigger flat with her. Emma had lived with her parents and commuted to work in London, so she has no idea of boundaries and personal responsibility for household chores. Alex has been dating Thomas, a preschool teacher and wannabe artist, for three years. She had hoped that he would want to buy a flat with her, but he decided to spend his savings on a month-long art program in San Francisco, California.

Shortly after Alex and Emma move into their new flat, a pair of single men move into the flat across the hall from them. Mark is Hollywood handsome, and Emma is totally gobsmacked whenever she encounters him. Callum is a polite introverted computer nerd who works from their flat. Callum isn’t grumpy, he’s just very shy and lacks confidence around attractive women.

Almost immediately, Emma and Mark begin a romantic relationship and quickly irritate Alex with their selfishness and lack of boundaries. When Alex discovers one Sunday morning that they have eaten all of her food and dirties all of the dishes, she walks to a neighborhood café to have brunch. There’s a waiting list but she spots Callum eating and decides to join him. They strike up a sparring conversation and eventually become “breakfast buddies”.
Alex becomes concerned when she notices a change in Thomas on their phone calls. She can tell that he seems to adore a fellow student at his art school. When Thomas’ mom offers to pay Alex’s way to an exhibition at the school, Alex agrees to go. The events that occur in San Francisco are hilarious due to the author’s foreshadowing.

Slowly Alex and Callum become friends, and then flatmates when Mark and Emma decide that they want to live together. Then Alex and Callum take a slow journey from friends to lovers. Alex keeps reassuring Callum that he’s fine as he is; the poor guy just lacks confidence. Naturally Thomas finally sees the light and tries to re-kindle his relationship with Alex.

The Fixer Upper is an entertaining, slow-paced rom-com that readers will enjoy. It does contain some sexual references and scattered profanity, but there’s not any graphic sex scenes. This story is more of what British readers call a “gentle romance” because the romance between the hero/heroine doesn’t occur until the last part of the book. Mostly The Fixer Upper is about Alex’s life as an estate agent, her hilarious interactions with her clients, and her frustrating experiences with Emma and Thomas.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Boldwood Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

When Alex and her best friend Emma move in together, it's not long before Emma is attracted to the neighbour, Mark.

Alex is in a long-term relationship and chooses to help Emma by inviting the neighbours over for a pizza.

But while things are moving forward for her friend, Alex's life isn't as smooth going as she hoped; as her boyfriend travels to America on an art course.

When circumstances change, Alex and Callum are thrown together, and what started as an awkward encounter, will soon flourish.

Macleod gives us characters we have very individual emotions towards.

I found the character of Emma annoying however, I also think this was done on purpose because you could see the frustration within the character of Alex towards her. I liked the way the character of Alex took charge of protecting her friend, but you can see this as draining while trying to make things easier for herself.

The character of Callum reminded me of someone in a certain industry (no spoilers here) and as soon as Callum said his industry. I burst out laughing because it was exactly what I was thinking of.

This author writes a narrative which is easy to read and easy to follow. I do feel there was a lot happening within this narrative that slowed down the pace, but it didn't put me off the story.

I really like the premise of this book, but sadly it fell short for me. The begginging was a bit slow for me, and the pacing continued to be slow for most of the book. l also felt like I didn’t get to know Alex and Callum as much as I could’ve- they felt a bit flat, especially Alex.

Alex has been with her long term boyfriend, Thomas for a while and he isn’t showing any signs of moving forward, especially when he chooses to leave for a program miles away.

Alex gets to know her nerdy neighbor, Callum more and things between them take a turn… what will happen with the future Alex was hoping for?

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book!
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a really enjoyable read. The characters were vividly written, the plot was well thought out and I would absolutely read more from this author. My only complaint is that the book was a little short, I could have read about these characters for longer. Thanks netgalley

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is my first Phoebe MacLeod and it took a while to get into it but it became interesting as it progressed. The book follows Alex who is an estate agent who moves in with her best friend, Things change when her boyfriend Thomas instead of using his savings for a home uses it on his himself. However the perfect grumpy sunshine romance of our dreams occurs with her neighbor Callum. It's a cute read and slow paced at first but it's a cute read.

From the title and book cover I was expecting a book about flats that were undergoing renovation, but this is about 2 sets of friends moving in to two flats opposite each other. It was pretty low drama and a few moments where I laughed out loud. But it was a 3 star read for me. The characters were a bit flat and I didn't like how much of the storyline was taken up by Alex's ex boyfriend. Quite a few of the characters weren't that likeable and it felt like there were too many side plots that didn't need to be there.

In all it was quite bland but a quick and easy enjoyable read with a little romance.

3 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️