Title: THE FIXER UPPER
Series: N/A
Author: Anne Conley
Publish Date: 02.23.15
Publisher: Anne Conley
Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Received from: Anne Conley (in exchange for an honest review)
Tour by: My Family’s Heart
Goodreads link: The Fixer
Upper
Date completed: 02.28.15
Description from the publisher:
James, a UK based chef, has tried to
make a career with EAT-TV, but his womanizing ways aren’t what they’re looking
for with their wholesome family style image. However, the producers of a new
reality show about single life, The Fixer Upper, think he’s perfect. Against
his wishes his agent convinces him to give it a shot. His overpriced bachelor
pad is needing a mortgage payment, and he needs a job to support the tween-aged
daughter that’s recently been dumped in his lap.
Margaret Dumas is control freak who has micromanaged her marriage to shambles. When she makes a deal with her mother to quit fixing her up if she’ll do this new reality show, she thinks she’s won. No more blind dates, no more friendly advice, no more “chance meetings” with her Mother’s friends’ sons. The only catch is she’s got to go on detestable reality television and expose her dating habits to a total stranger who is supposed to “fix” her and make her a dating machine. As if.
When Margaret meets James, they clash on the surface, but deep down they recognize something in the other that they want. Redemption.
Margaret Dumas is control freak who has micromanaged her marriage to shambles. When she makes a deal with her mother to quit fixing her up if she’ll do this new reality show, she thinks she’s won. No more blind dates, no more friendly advice, no more “chance meetings” with her Mother’s friends’ sons. The only catch is she’s got to go on detestable reality television and expose her dating habits to a total stranger who is supposed to “fix” her and make her a dating machine. As if.
When Margaret meets James, they clash on the surface, but deep down they recognize something in the other that they want. Redemption.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a stand-alone story / not
part of a series.
Of course, I identified with
Margaret – newly divorced and wondering if dating is worth the potential
heartache and stress. The answer is
always, “yes!” That is one risk that is
more than worth the possible rewards. In
this story, Margaret has made a deal with her mother – participate in the new
reality show, The Fixer Upper, and her mother will forever after refrain from
setting up dates or pressuring her to make a relationship. Margaret sees it as one week in exchange for
freedom. When she meets the host, James
Fleming, the sparks fly immediately. First
they are sparks of conflict, but always with an undercurrent of desire.
This is another enjoyable
contemporary romance from Anne Conley. She
knows that I adore her and her stories.
I only need to hear that she is ready and she knows I’ll want to read.
Grammar/editing: A – near perfect
Other Books from Anne Conley:
- Best Laid Plans of Boys and Men
- The Fixer Upper
Stories
of Serendipity Series:
1.
Neighborly Complications
2.
Dream On
3.
Chef's Delight
4.
Hot Mess
5.
Falling for Him
6.
Gambling on Love
7.
My Mistake
8.
Wrecked
9.
Saving
Charlie
The Four Winds series:
1.
Falling for Heaven
2.
Falling for Grace
3.
Falling for Hope
4.
Falling for Faith
5.
Falling for Sin (coming soon)
2
ecopies of the Fixer Upper
1 ecopy of The Best Laid Plans of Boys and Men
$5 amazon giftcard
1 ecopy of The Best Laid Plans of Boys and Men
$5 amazon giftcard
James watched as she picked up her
onion sword and dipped it into her mouth, extracting one and swirling it around
her mouth before taking a drink. He sipped on his scotch, churning it around
his mouth and letting it cleanse him as it went down his throat, bloomed in his
chest, and spread through his stomach. He relished the burn.
The bartender came over to wash some
glasses near them, and after catching James’s eye, lowered to whisper to him,
“Are you her decoy?”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s in here almost every night,
beating men off, explaining why she doesn’t need to actually have a boyfriend
to not be interested. I was just wondering if you were pretending to be her
boyfriend, so she wouldn’t get hit on. I’ve been tempted to offer myself.”
“No, I’m not pretending to be her
boyfriend.” James couldn’t hold back the grin at the image of Margaret fighting
off potential admirers.
“Are you really her boyfriend?” The
poor man’s eyes were huge with disbelief, and James could completely
understand. She did put off the cold fish vibe, but he ached to change that.
“I can hear you two idiots,”
Margaret hissed at them. Turning on the poor boy, “You are no longer my
favorite. Where’s Marcy? She’s almost as good at my martini as you are.”
“Sorry. She’s not in tonight, you’re
stuck with me.” He grinned at her boyishly, and James watched her blush. Was
she flirting with the bartender? He left to go help someone at the end of the
bar, and James turned to her.
“You like him, huh? Is he the one
you want to take to dinner?” Her lucky date for tonight would get dinner out on
the show.
“No! He’s a child!”
“That’s right. That pesky age
thing.”
Before he could elaborate, a
sharp-dressed CEO type walked up to Margaret on her other side. The man exuded
money, from his Armani to his Rolex. James watched with interest.
“Hey there sweet thing. Can I buy
you another?”
James felt a prickle of jealousy and
again questioned himself. He had no claims on her, in fact, he was here to help
her get a date, in spite of what the producers said. Even so, he cheered inside
his head when her mouth shaped the word no, before snapping shut. When she
re-thought her response, his unease returned.
“Sure, why not?” Her voice was
blithe, but James saw the underlying tension and resignation to the simple
statement, like she knew exactly what was going to happen next, and dreaded it,
participating only to please the show.
As soon as the bartender brought
another drink for the two, the man bent down close to Margaret’s ear. James
didn’t hear all of it, but he managed to see red darken his Maggie’s chest and
knew exactly what that meant, he’d done it to her himself. Before he could
react, she’d thrown her drink in the CEO’s face, who took it all with aplomb.
Removing his handkerchief from his
breast pocket, the man wiped his face before smirking and leaving. No more
words were spoken.
“What the hell did he say to you?”
Angry tears sounded in her voice,
and sudden understanding dawned on him. Men were fucking pigs. “He told me to
come back to his place so he could stick his dick in my hot, wet, cu—
“Never mind. Forget I asked.” Her eyes shined at him, as if tears were just under the surface, and James wondered if it was always like this for beautiful women with no self-esteem. Margaret knew she was pretty, but didn’t give herself enough credit for the rest. That’s why she kept her standards so high, so she didn’t get hurt. And the men who came on to her were total assholes. James knew she’d only allowed the wanker to buy her drink because he’d told her to lower her standards. If she kept up with her normal routine, that man wouldn’t have stood there more than thirty seconds.
James held out his arms, trying to
be comforting, and to his surprise, Margaret sort of slumped towards him. He
took a step forward and enfolded her in his arms. It was similar to last
night’s embrace, except she wasn’t trying to beat him senseless. Instead, she
was just… limp.
Stroking her back, feeling her
warmth through the thin material of her dress, he inhaled the scent of her
shampoo, lavender and vanilla. Scents that should remind him of his gram, only
on Maggie, they made him want her naked.
He was such a fucking tool, no
different from the others.
She relaxed in his embrace, her own
arms coming around his waist and squeezing him, pressing herself against him.
Something welled up inside, something a little foreign, something that
surprised him. He realized he cared for her, and not just enough to sleep with
her. James cared for Margaret enough to want to know what happened to them
after the sex.
“We should just go. I’m hopeless.”
She sniffed into his chest, and he could barely hear her. “I’ve thrown my drink
at one guy, and I’m hugging on you. Nobody’s going to want to go out with me
now.”
“I do.” His words shocked him, but no less for the meaning behind him. He did want to take her out. He wanted to make her feel desired, undo all his words of yesterday and the day before. He regretted them, immensely, and didn’t know what to do to take them back.
She looked up at him, her brow
furrowed with confusion, but didn’t take a step back. Still holding her with
one arm, he reached his other to smooth the wrinkles on her forehead, and
shrugged, murmuring, “Masochistic tendencies.”
Her lips curled into a smile, and she
laughed. He’d never heard the clear tinkling sound resonating from her before,
and suddenly he lost all of his senses. Something changed in both of them. As
abruptly as she started laughing, she stopped, and James watched as her gaze
focused on his lips. Maggie’s tongue snaked out and stroked her bottom lip,
leaving it sparkling wet, preparing it for him. James was lost. He wasn’t sure
if she raised herself, or if he lowered his face, but in the next second, their
lips were on each other’s.
Thank you [My Family’s Heart] for hosting this tour.
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