The Fixer Upper

De: Mary Kay Andrews

Narrado por: Isabel Keating

“Entirely satisfying, an expert balance of warmth and compassion, terrific supporting characters, a little steamy sex and just enough suspense to keep you from guessing how it will all go down.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A hilarious novel about one woman’s quest to redo an old house . . . and her life, as only New York Times bestseller Mary Kay Andrews can tell it.

After her boss in a high-powered Washington public relations firm is caught in a political scandal, fledgling lobbyist Dempsey Jo Killebrew is left unemployed and broke. Out of options, she reluctantly accepts her father’s offer to help refurbish Birdsong, the old family place he recently inherited in Guthrie, Georgia. All it will take, he tells her, is a little paint and some TLC to turn the fading Victorian mansion into a real-estate cash cow.

But when she arrives, Dempsey realizes that “Bird Droppings” would more aptly describe the moldering Pepto Bismol–pink dump with duct-taped windows and a driveway full of junk. There’s also a murderously grumpy old lady, one of Dempsey’s distant relations, who has claimed squatter’s rights and isn’t moving out. Ever.

Everyone in Guthrie seems to know Dempsey’s business, from a smooth-talking real-estate agent to a cute lawyer who owns the local paper. As if that's not bad enough, pesky FBI agents keep showing up on her doorstep, looking for information about her ex-boss.

All Dempsey can do is roll up her sleeves and get to work. Before long, what started as a job of necessity somehow becomes a labor of love and, ultimately, a journey that takes her to a place she never expected—back home.

Is Dempsey the doormat for the remodeled home?

What did you love best about The Fixer Upper?

The lead character is very cute and friendly but it quickly turns into being cute to the extent of blind innocence. I loved the details of the remodel but I could have done without the predictable romantic plot. I enjoy Mary Kay Andrews ability to make a person fall in love with the town and people in her book. Ella Kate was just unlikeable enough to keep her from becoming a cliché.

What other book might you compare The Fixer Upper to and why?

This book is similar to Hissy Fit, also by Mary Kay Andrews, in that it's renovation with personal drama and love.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Isabel Keating?

Pretty much any narrator would have been better, but I love Moira Driscoll with these southern tales! Isabel Keating makes the surrounding characters sound like bumbling idiots instead of the likeable people you can tell the author intended to paint them as. Her voice works well for the main character but always falls very short where supporting cast is concerned. Isabel Keating has a tendency to sound blunt, rude or angry. Not my favorite.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

If you thought the politics in DC were bad, clearly you've never lived in small town!

A great summer listen!

What did you love best about The Fixer Upper?

The small-town feeling of it! I grew up in a small town in Arkansas, though no longer live there. I enjoy listening to a story with sweet yet spunky southern characters; just one of the reasons I love Mary Kay Andrew's books. Makes me think of home!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oddly, Carter Berryhill. He's such a kind, considerate man. Always the gentleman, and willing to help any way he can.

Have you listened to any of Isabel Keating’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not. But I thought she did a great job in this one!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I was eager to learn how Dempsey's work trouble would resolve, in addition to her renovations on the house, dealings with Ella Kate, and her budding life in Guthrie.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful, easy listen!

Good story but unsatisfying ending

I really enjoyed the entire book until the end. It left much to be desired.

Loved

I always really enjoy her books they are fun easy comforting books I think I enjoyed even more this one because I enjoy refurbishing furniture and what not. The narrators are always great I have listened to allot of them more then once.

Sweet story, Excellent narration!

This was a cute story and easy listen. Isabel Keating did a great job with all the characters, particularly Ella Kate. She brought Ella Kate to life... which I would have never gotten by just reading the book.