Book Review: Mr. Fix It by Emily Cale

Title: Mr. Fix It
Author: Emily Cale
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Published: September 27, 2013 by Ellora’s Cave Publishing

Jenni’s home improvement plans have turned into a disaster. The only bright spot in her day is watching her handyman neighbor Rick as he helps out around the neighborhood. Jenni has need of his capable hands in more ways than one, but she refuses to become just another notch on his toolbox.

Rick is entranced by his standoffish neighbor. He has no time for the neighborhood women who throw themselves at him, but he intends to get into Jenni’s house, bed and heart if it’s the last thing he does.

Why I Read this Book: The handyman neighbor setup sounded interesting.

What I Liked: Mr. Fix It had a cute premise, and that’s about all it had going for me.

What I Didn’t Like: I wasn’t too fond of Rick. He had a bit of an ego and some of the narration from his point of view made him out as an ass. Him never ‘getting tired of hearing “you’re right”’. ‘Rather be kissing her than listening to her talk’. “Didn’t do too shabby of a job either if I do say so myself.” Even Jenni thought that he didn’t need his ego stroked any more.

Rick seemed to think he and Jenni were compatible after spending an afternoon with her. I wouldn’t say they were compatible, not after them knowing each other a day. An attraction, sure. But I wasn’t feeling much chemistry between the two.

Now here’s the thing with novellas: they’re good for a short story but not to seal the deal on a romance less than a couple days old. I wouldn’t say that Mr. Fix It had a HEA because it didn’t. It was more of a HFN. But when Jenni has fallen for Rick, ‘fallen farther than ever before’, after only meeting her neighbor the day before, well, it doesn’t work for me. And truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised if this couple didn’t make it past a couple of months. It felt more like a sexual relationship than anything deeper.

Overall Impression: I am all for a HFN ending but I can’t grasp a character falling for someone after just meeting them for the first time the day before.

Brianna’s Rating:

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