A life – fixer is sometimes all you need.

Synopsis

A heart-warming, uplifting romance served with a generous slice of cake. Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde and Cathy Kelly.

There’s no problem Becky Watson can’t fix. Except her own love life…

Struggling single mother Becky Watson longs to revive her career as a life-fixer, working miracles to solve her clients’ problems, no matter how big or small. Since the birth of her two-year-old son she has been stuck preventing wedding fiascos for the richest and rudest residents of the Comptons, a charming, leafy area of southern England known for its artistic heritage. 

So when semi-reclusive local artist Charlie Handren reluctantly hires Becky to fix his six-year creative slump, she’s delighted to set him up with a come-back exhibition and Rachel Stone, the woman of his dreams. 

Though they get off to a rocky start, Becky and Charlie soon become close. But as the beautiful Rachel becomes Charlie’s muse, Becky is forced to wonder: will giving Charlie everything he wants mean giving up her own happily ever after?

My review

Becky Watson is a single mother, trying to resuscitate her job as a life – fixer. So whatever problem you have in your life, you can hire Becky and she works her magic.

When Charlie Handren, local artist,  hits rock-bottom, under pressure he hires Becky to get his inspiration and why not, love life, back on track. Only problem: this means he has to trust whatever she does, even if he doesn’t like it all!
Opinions crash, arguments are never far away. But when Charlie sees the result, and even has a new muse, he must admit that hiring Becky was not so stupid at all!

 

After a slow start, all I can say it: what a great story!
Initially I didn’t truly comprehend what Becky was actually doing. A life – fixer? Never heard of it!
But the more I saw Becky at work, the more I comprehend what a miracle – worker she really is!

 

Somehow Becky manages to foresee upcoming problems, and succeeds in solving them in a subtle way. She sees things that are invisible for others, and jumps in with one of her magic tricks (not real magic of course, but the solutions she thinks of, I couldn’t have thought of them myself!).

This is made clear in the weddings she is in charge of, which shows that she knows what she is doing.

 

On the other hand, we get to know Charlie. He is a local artist, having for a long time now no inspiration at all. So when forced by his daughter and sister to hire Becky, he is not eager to give his life in hands of a total stranger!
His reaction is understandable. I wouldn’t be so happy if someone just starts dictating me what to do. Even when you know she has the best interest, it’s not easy!

 

The way Charlie and Becky collide is funny to read, especially when there is some overreacting! But when Charlie realizes that there is some actual result, he has to admit that Becky knows what she is doing.
The more time they spend together, the more they create a friendship that is not work – involved. So are Charlie and Becky spending evening together, just watching movies. And Becky can rely on Charlie for babysitting – duties!
These sweet moments are just adorable to read about!

And when Becky sees that Charlie finds his inspiration back after meeting with Rachel, she puts her own growing feelings aside, because Charlie’s happiness is more important than jeopardizing everything they worked so hard on.

 

I loved this story, even if it took me some time get into it. As cakes are also an important part of the story, reading this story is like baking a cake. Initially you are eager to see the end result, and mixing all the ingredients are a bit of a hard job. But when the cake is in the oven and you see it rise, you get the instant boost of happiness! That is also with this book, you want to skip immediately to the end, but trust me, it will be all worth it reading about the developments!

A sweet, funny story about giving your life in hands of someone else, trust someone to make the right choices. But also about making new friendships and even put your own feelings aside, daring to take a chance in life and never give up!