Miranda Elaine's Fixing Us ARC Review

I want to thank Miranda Elaine and SocialButterflyPR for the advanced reader copy of Fixing Us.

Check out the Goodreads synopsis below…

“Gabriel Starr is the love of my life, even if he breaks my heart time and time again.

Like a fool, I keep going back, so I’ve made a promise to myself—one final night and then I’m done.

One night of passion.

No pressure. Most importantly, no future.

One month later, a positive pregnancy test tells me different.

Our only option is to raise this baby as friends, but how can we make it work when we can’t even keep our hands off each other?

We finally have the chance to be the family we never imagined we could be.

But first we need to focus on Fixing Us.”

Here are my more detailed thoughts…

Characters: Leigh and Gabe are the main characters of this story. I loved Leigh’s strength and determination throughout all the struggles she faces head-on in this story. Gabe is your classic broken boy, that sees himself as undeserving of love. Gabe though is not in a losing battle when it comes to his struggles, he goes through amazing development over the course of the story.
Setting: The town of Red Oak is a great setting. The nature of it lends itself to this companion style series. As the characters easily interact due to the smallness of the town.
Pacing: No complaints here. Nothing happened too quickly I would argue, the nine months were paced really well.
Romance: This cannot even be described as a second-chance romance, as the characters have their first breakup after high school but keep making their way back to each other, even if it is just for one night. Leigh and Gabe were meant for each, this story is not really about watching people fall in love rather it is about watching two people come to terms with the fact that they deserve each other and should take the risk of being together forever.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, check out this excerpt…

“Finally, after what feels like a millennium, the door opens and Dr. Mallard enters, smiling. He’s an older man who is always overly happy. I like him, even if I find his cheerfulness somewhat off-putting at this exact second.

“Mrs. Simms, how exciting to have you here today. This must be your husband.” He walks over to Gabe, who stands, hand extended.

“Sorry, no,” I chime in. “Definitely not my husband.”

“My fault,” he apologizes. “Your boyfriend. This is a new age. Lots of people in lifelong relationships nowadays without marriage.”

Awkward.

“Nope,” I say, popping my P with a bit more attitude than intended. “We aren’t together.” I look over at Gabe, who’s holding his laughter in and I silently yell Help me!

“Just got her knocked up,” Gabe finally speaks. “Classic fairy tale story of ex-sex turning into a baby. Turns out those silly condoms serve a purpose and really shouldn’t be skipped. Who knew?”

“Seriously!” I yell while shooting him daggers with my eyes. All he does to respond is shrug his shoulders and give me an evil grin.

“Okay, Miss Simms, if you can lie back and put your feet up we can check on this little miracle,” Dr. Mallard finally says as the nurse pulls the stirrups out and helps me assume the position.

Even if you don’t want your ex-boyfriend back you still always want them to think of you as the sexy one who got away, not the girl nude and exposed with her legs in the air while a doctor probes her. Great, fucking great.

“Sure.” I lie back and my head jerks to Gabe. “But you stay north of the equator.”

“Not a problem, Leigh.” He smiles at me. “But it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“Well, it’s definitely something you’re never seeing again,” I snap back at him, causing the nurse to let a small chuckle escape.

I try to act cool by the fact that the doctor seems to think sticking a huge wand up me is perfectly normal.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Our bickering immediately stops. The room is dark and the monitor next to me is lit up.

“Is that—” Gabe starts.

“That’s your baby’s heartbeat,” the doctor interrupts. “And if you look over here, you see that small little bean shape in the middle there.” He points to the picture on the ultrasound machine. “That’s your baby. It’s currently approximately the size of a raspberry.”

“Wow,” Gabe and I both somehow say at the same time.

We finish the appointment with a plethora of information. Gabe is quiet and the silliness that existed in the examination room is gone. We check out and walk side by side. Neither of us bringing up everything we need to discuss.

Does him showing up mean he wants to be involved? Does he assume we will get back together? Can we even do this together? Do I want to?

All the questions are running rampant in my head and instead of saying a single one of them I simply say, “I’ll let you know when I have another appointment.”

“Thanks.” He holds the door to the building open, letting me walk outside, him close on my heels. “I want to be here for you and our child as best as I can.”

I nod, but my mind is still back in that office with that beautiful baby. My baby.

“We ought to talk, Leigh.”

“You’re right. But today I got to hear my—our, baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Let’s not ruin it, okay?” We’re standing in the middle of the parking lot, neither of us moving to our respective vehicles.

“Okay, but soon.”

Fixing Us receives four out of five stars.