Crazy K.A.L.M: The Fixer Upper - Maggie Mae Gallagher

The Fixer Upper
Maggie Mae Gallagher
(Echo Springs, #1)
Published by: Blushing Books Publications
Publication date: September 6th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Abby Callier is more in love with Shakespearean heroes than any real man, and she’s beginning to wonder if there is life for her outside the pages of a book. It doesn’t help that her esteemed parents tend to view her as they would one of their science experiments gone wrong. On the eve of finishing her dissertation, she escapes her staid existence to live in the house she inherited from her Great Aunt Evie in the small town of Echo Springs, Colorado. Because, let’s face it, when a woman starts comparing her life to horror films, it might be time for a break.
Sheriff Nate Barnes believes in law and order and carefully building the life you want. In his spare time, he has been remodeling his house in the hope that one day it will be filled with the family he makes. But Nate doesn’t like drama or complications and tends to avoid them at all costs. And yet, when Miss Abigail Callier, his newest neighbor, beans him with a nine iron, he can’t help but wonder if she might just be the complication he’s been searching for all along. It doesn’t hurt that he discovers a journal hidden away by the previous tenant and decides to use Old Man Turner’s advice to romance Abby into his life.
Abby never expected her next-door neighbor, the newly dubbed Sheriff Stud Muffin, to be just the distraction her world needed.
The problem is she doesn’t know whether she should make Echo Springs her home, or if this town is just a stopover point in her life’s trajectory. And she doesn’t want to tell Nate that she might not be sticking around—even though she should because it’s the right thing to do, the honest thing—because then all the scintillatingly hot kisses with the Sheriff will come to an abrupt halt. Did she mention that he’s a really great kisser?

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Author Bio:
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Maggie grew up listening to Cardinals baseball and reading anything she could get her hands on. She remembers her mother saying if only she would read the right type of books instead binging her way through the romance aisles at the bookstore, she’d have been a doctor. While Maggie never did get that doctorate, she graduated cum laude from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with an M.A. in History.
Maggie is a bestselling and award-winning author published in multiple fiction genres. She also writes erotic romance under the name Anya Summers. A total geek at her core, when she is not writing, she adores attending the latest comic con or spending time with her family. She currently lives in the Midwest with her two furry felines.

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My Review

I didn't expect to read this book as quickly as I did. While there are some romance books that I fly through because they are quick and fluffy reads, this book doesn't really fall into that category. I got through it in a day because it was so well written and I didn't really want to put it down. It also had something to do with the fact that it's a rainy wet winters day here in New Zealand and I could read while also keeping an eye on the kids playing with lego.

This is the first book in the series and it's already fairly easy to guess which characters might be featuring in future books. As well as the main characters in this book, we've also been introduced to the friends of both the hero and heroine and I think it's a good guess that they will all get their own stories later.

Set in the small town of Echo Falls, this time we focus on Nate and Abby. Nate is the local sheriff and Abby has just moved to the town while she tries to finish her dissertation and decide what she is going to do with her life. The chemistry between the two is strong and I enjoyed reading about their growing relationship. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I will mention that there are two other aspects to the storyline. Firstly is the problem of the break-ins that Nate is dealing with. I will admit that I had a good idea who was behind them from the beginning and I was right, even if Nate hadn't a clue. Then there was the diary left in Nate's house by the previous owner. Again I don't want to give anything away, but there is a story here that also unfolds as the book progresses.

For me, this was a quick read, but as I said previously, not because it was light and fluffy and lacking substance. It was easy to get swept up in the life of the people who live in Echo Falls and I hope that I will be making a second visit there for future books. I'm certainly looking forward to reading the other books in the series.