Customer Reviews

The Fixer Upper: A Novel

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I like a book that has me laughing as I turn the last page. The Fixer Upper is smart, funny, and pretty much charmed my socks off. The political scandal is secondary to what I think is the main story - no, not the house rehab - I think its more about Dempsey fixing her life. Or at least figuring out what she wants to do with her life instead of trying to measure up to her parents' expectations. In the process she meets some wonderful people in Guthrie who show her some of what life has to offer. If you're looking for a good book to read this summer, you can't go wrong with The Fixer Upper.

I got an early copy of this book and fired through it. It is so fun. The characters are charming and quirky and funny. There is a great plot involving the plucky heroine facing down slimeball DC lobbyists and the FBI--and, of course, a love story and a dose of family drama. The real star of the book is the dilapidated house that is being brought back to life. You'll laugh AND be inspired to fix up your own place just a bit. Good stuff.

What a fun read! The main plot revolves around an old family home in need of some major TLC, but there's so much more! The characters are so interesting and entertaining and the story is paced just right for a perfect summer read. It's a great mix of southern hospitality (or lack of),dysfunctional families, political misdeeds, humor and love. Based on "The Fixer Upper" I am going to read all of Mary Kay Andrews books!

I read some really good reviews of this by professional reviewers who usually review decent books, and so I guess I expected The Fixer Upper to be more than it was. It was too drawn out for me, and could have been edited down. I did like the parts of the book that were about renovation but found other parts too fanciful to be realistic. (Such as the way the FBI agents acted and spoke).

I did finish it, so I suppose it was not that bad. Just a quick, forgettable summer read.

Mary Kay Andrews has done it again. The Fixer Upper is one of the best reads of the summer hands down. She has created characters and a storyline that you cannot get enough of. I wasn't able to put the book down. I would highly recommend that you run out and get your copy of The Fixer Upper today.

I am so sorry the book is finished. I love how discriptive Mary Kay is with her characters and surroundings. I felt like i was there, i would be packing my bags right now if i could find Guthrie on a map. This book has my thumbs up.

I've read all of Mary Kay's books and I had a hard time putting this one down. You're immediately sucked into Dempsey's worlds of political intrigue and small-town shenanigans. You may even find yourself cleaning vicariously as she tackles "Birdsong," the Southern mansion that needs more than a little spit and polish. The main characters are easy to get to know, but definitely have some quirks -- and there's also a smarmy villain who needs to be put in his place. The twists will keep you guessing until the last page.

The Fixer Upper is breezy fun -- and if you're not inspired to do the floors after reading it, you can take a crack at the recipes included at the end!

I was in the bookstore the day The Fixer Upper hit the shelves. Just couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And what a treat! It's way out in front as my favorite of Mary Kay Andrews' books. I didn't want it to end.

I love getting to know Dempsey as she gets to know herself. What a whirl wind she is -- such energy. I would love to meet her and see the house when it's finished. She became very real!!

Honestly, Mary Kay has out done herself on this one!!

MKA does not disappoint with this latest book. I did not really like the premise of her last book, "Deep Dish" compared with the rest of her novels. I do like the overall quality of MKA's writing and I also enjoy have she writes a few different characters and series.

I enjoyed enjoyed everything about this book- Dempsey was an intelligent and likable character; the supporting cast of characters were fun though perhaps a little stereotypical, and there were a couple of smaller story lines in conjunction with the main story.

I don't want to create a spoiler here, but I also really liked the way Dempsey's romantic relationship developed. I do get tired of the way some authors feel like the romantic plot line has to be the whole point of the story and spend the whole book creating unnecessary obstacles until finally they let them get together.

Dempsey Killebrew, junior lobbyist for a large firm in Washington, flees to her father's newly-inherited plantation house in Guthrie, Georgia, when a scandal threatens her career. From there the story revolves around Dempsey's efforts at rehabilitating the house, playing nursemaid to a crotchety old woman and getting rid of the FBI agents who're tailing her. Along the way, as is expected, she meets a wonderful cast of characters and a potential love interest.

I guess my only complaint would be that the conclusion to this story left me a bit in the lurch. Without giving too much away, let's just say that Dempsey needs to make certain decisions about her life that are never really answered on the page. Because of that mere hinting at what she's decided to do, the story just peters out instead of leaving the readers with any of the "warm fuzzies" that are usually present at the conclusion of a Mary Kay Andrews novel.

This is a good story, and at times I laughed out loud at the antics of our Southern friends. But, I couldn't award full marks to this story because, to me, there was something missing.