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 … 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.
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Way way more than 5 stars. This series and these ladies have my heart and each time I get to read about them makes me swoon for their friendship AND their men! This series also has a special place in my heart with their town called Red Oak since it’s my hometown but not based on my hometown. (I still love the fact it has the name!)
Leigh has the typical run back to her ex issue but the dates she met online would have me running back to my ex if I had to encounter them too. She is such a sassy little thing that has no filter and just throws it out there. I love how we can see her grow so freaking much but also help others grow. I had moments when I freaked out thinking something devastating would happen and it had me on edge!!! I absolutely love Gabe and I can feel the heartache in him throughout this book that broke my heart. But I also wanted to slap the crap out of him most of the time… he just became the typical man with jealously issues and I couldn’t handle him that way. The power of connection really shows here and the fact that they decided to do something not normal than I expected had me swoon for them but also the author. Oh my goodness and I feel like I need more Milo!!!! I can’t just feel his story could be incredible to read.
Miranda, these get better and better and I get so wrapped up in their lives I get so sad when it ends. I felt like I became apart of the trio of friends who meet up for “Wine Wednesdays” I felt every excitement, sadness and even the loneliness but most of all I felt the love. The last chapter is the greatest freaking thing ever and I got super giddy and jumped up and down!! I loved that you did that and made that so worth the sadness I read about at times.
Fixing Us is all about that once in a lifetime kind of love even if it does take Gabe and Leigh a few tries to get there. The story is told in the here and now, but just to put this up and down relationship into perspective, we get a few memories along the way so we can see where things went haywire in the past. And there’s been plenty of haywire for this pair. Gabriel and Leigh have terrific chemistry, but it takes more than that for them to figure it all out. I’ll admit that there were times I wanted to shake Gabe until his teeth rattled to make him see his own worth. Nevertheless, the more I read, the better I liked him, and wanted these two to get it all figured out. This is the third in the series and can be read as a standalone, but Miranda Elaine has a talent for breathing life into her characters, so once you’ve been introduced you’ll want to know more.
The story was nicely written, although it was a little too lifelike for me. Here is a young man who, from a very young age, knew he didn’t want to perpetuate, an all too familiar. problem. He wanted better for himself than he had as a child. I can’t fault him for that. Unfortunately, he met and fell in love with his perfect mate and, in doing so, set her up with years of heartache she didn’t deserve nor understand because he made a unilateral decision with no explanations. After making this decision he continued to bounce in and out of her life never allowing her to go forward with her own life.
The characters were strong in that they both stayed true to their love even though there didn’t seem to be a way to make their relationship work. Again, while reading, the thought kept running through my mind, why don’t they sit down and talk; why doesn’t he just tell her about his fears. I was impressed with the way she handled the problem with the pregnancy. She knew he deserved to know about it whether or not he would take part in the raising of the child. I was happy to see he wasn’t going to allow a person he already knew was toxic into the life of his child and, finally, did what was necessary. He stopped enabling his mother by stepping away from her. I was impressed with the way the author wrote her parents handling of all things Gabe-related. I’m not sure I could have been so open-minded watching her being hurt continuously.
The road to their HEA was fraught with obstacles, but they got there. I did enjoy the story in spite of the problems along the way. I’m sorry Gabe missed the birth of his son. They’ll just have to have another one…….
This book was gifted to me by the author in return for an honest review.
This sweet romantic story is a great read. Fixing Us is full of drama, comedy, and steamy scenes. It is a stand alone novel, but it does feature characters from the previous two books in the series. I really enjoyed reading Miranda Elaine’s first two novels, and Fixing is was just as good.
(I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book.)
This was such a fantastic and emotional read. Poor Gabe thinks he is not worthy of the love and life of Leigh. He was raised in a horrible environment by awful parents and then was taken from them and put in foster care. Because of his upbringing he just cant reconcile that he will be a better person than his parents so he walks away from Leigh again and again. Leigh knew Gabe was the love of her life and he was all she wanted but she was tired of fighting for something that Gabe wouldn’t allow them to have. Their push and pull kept me intrigued and sucked in the entire time. I was routing for them, especially Gabe and was hoping he would figure out that Leigh loves him as he is, flaws and all. This book had amazing line up of secondary characters that loved their friends and were so loyal it made me glad they had these people in their lives. I truly enjoyed this book and it is book 3 of a series but I haven’t even read the other 2 but I will be changing that now and going to read the other characters stories.
I always choose my rating based upon if I would read this book again or if I would recommend it to someone else, the answer is yes to both. Have you ever read a story and your heart hurts for a character? Well my heart did hurt for Gabriel Starr and Leigh Ann Simmons. A love that was on again, off again for years. They find out she’s pregnant, and they will need to raise the baby as friends and have to figure out their feelings for each other. I found this funny, romantic, sad, but with a total HEA that I enjoy.
The third book in a series of standalones, Fixing Us by Miranda Elaine is a sexy, second-chance, surprise baby romance in this new author’s Fixing series. The whole series has been fantastic. Miranda has written stories full of heart, humor and simmering heat in this series, and she’s saved the best for last with this story.
I love second chance romances, and this was a fantastic one given Gabe and Leigh’s long-standing, on-again-off-again relationship. Miranda packed in all the feels here with a hero who had to overcome the demons of his childhood, and heroine who has had her heart broken by this man more than once. Their already complicated relationship becomes even more so when Leigh finds out she’s pregnant, but the way they came together in friendship, determined to do right by their child, had me rooting for them the whole time.
I’ve been waiting for this story since I met the heroine in the first book of the series. She’s feisty, sassy but with a sweet, vulnerable side, and exactly the kind of heroine I love. I loved everything about their story, and I devoured it experiencing all the emotion, all the laughs and all the love that this endearing couple shared. Miranda Elaine has captivated me with her engaging, sexy-sweet brand of writing, and I’m excited about what will come next from this author. Five smooches from me for Fixing Us by Miranda Elaine.
~Danielle Palumbo, Red Cheeks Reads
***4 Stars***
After thoroughly enjoying Fixing Her & Fixing Him it was a no brainer that I’d be all about getting my hands on Fixing Us and finding out all about Leigh and the guy that would hold her heart, but the ride this one took me on was a rough one. Totally worth it in the end, no doubt about it, but lemme tell you, it took something out of me.
I really, really liked Leigh and Gabe. I did. Leigh is vivacious. Crazy, sassy, snarky and yet has a huge and golden heart. Gabe has a lot of demons riding him that he’s never really dealt with and it makes him doubt himself a lot, but beneath all that is a man with a huge heart and the capacity to be so much more than his past. But as much as I liked these two, and I really did, they drove me batshitcrazy as they bounced back and forth in their relationship. Now, we don’t get to see the mass majority of their crazy, but what we do get made me feel like I was the frog in Frogger and my controller (them) were just winging it. It was kind of exhausting. I will totally admit that they belonged together, the chemistry between them was undeniable, but their revolving door style had me growling a lot until “That” moment happened. Now, that moment had me growling too, but it was the catalyst that finally made them both pull their heads out of their butts and take the steps they both needed to get to their HEA, which after everything they put themselves and those around them through, was well deserved.
This was, overall a fun second x 100 chance romance that showed that sometimes what the heart wants, it gets, even when it takes the longest and most rocky road to get there. As for the issues this one brings up, I thought they were handled well for the most part, though there was one issue that happened kinda quick for me, but I’m not mad at it. I actually liked how the whole ‘Oops I’m pregnant’ thing was dealt with. And as for the supporting cast of characters, I loved catching up with Kade, Temperance, Sam and Montana and Ellie was awesome as always. And then there is Milo, I’m crossing my toes that he gets his own HEA because I’d love to get to know him a whole lot better!
~ Copy provided by Social Butterfly PR & voluntarily reviewed ~
RATING 4.5 STARS
Fixing Us is the third book I have read by Miranda Elaine. I get more and more impressed with this author with every book. This can be read as a stand alone. The characters from the other two books do recur in this book but if you haven’t read them, it won’t take away from your enjoyment of this at all.
Leigh Ann Simms and Gabriel Starr were high school sweet hearts. They met in their junior year when Gabe came to school where Leigh attended and they have been attached at the hip since. The difference between them was that Leigh had a normal home with loving parents. She loved living in Red Oak and her dreams were to stay, marry Gabe and be a hair dresser. Gabe, on the other hand, had a past filled with foster homes and despair.
Leigh and Gabe are deeply in love. There is no question about that. But as graduation nears, Gabe knows that if he really loves Leigh, he has to let her go. She has so much promise in her future. He doesn’t feel worthy of her. He feels like he would drag her down into his own darkness and that eventually, she would regret her life with him. He is convinced that by being with her, he would hold her back. So, he lets her go.
Over the next twelve years, Leigh and Gabe have an on again, off again romance. They can’t seem to stay apart but can’t seem to stay together either. Leigh knows that if she doesn’t accept that Gabe will never be her future, she’ll never move on.
“He’s my own personal addiction, one I need help breaking away from.”
After a couple of failed attempts at trying to put herself out there, Leigh once again finds herself needing the comfort that only Gabe can offer her. Just one more time. Maybe she can finally get him out of her system after just one more time.
“I need to be a little bad tonight. Please, Gabe. Please be bad with me.”
Their night together leads to the one thing that Gabe never wanted, a child. He has worked so hard over the recent years to overcome his demons. But after his childhood, he is convinced that passing on his genes would be a mistake. When he finds out, though, that the woman he never stopped loving has his child growing inside of her, something happened. He started loving that child.
“I used to think Gabriel Starr would be the end of me, but now I know that falling for him is only my beginning.”
Gabe and Leigh find themselves in a very different sort of relationship. They agree to co-parent when the baby is born as friends. They spend time together in a way they never have before and finally really get to know each other as the adults they are now. The love they have always shared grows to something new and different. Only this new connection is still shaky and both are still so unsure of how to navigate.
I loved this. I loved watching Gabe and Leigh find a whole new love for each other. Yes, they never stopped loving each other. But they never really knew each other. Not the right way, anyway. Leigh lives next door to Temperance so I loved seeing them interact throughout the book. I never had a best friend like that so the two of them were so much fun to experience. I also loved seeing the man Gabe had become. He really had come so far. Does he stumble along the way? Of course, but don’t we all. Most of all, I loved the love that was between these two. Through all the years, through all the break ups, it never wavered.
I see on Miranda’s Goodreads page that her next book planned is Overdue! I can’t wait to see who this one will be about!
Fixing Us is book #3 although it can be read as a standalone as it suggests since there is nothing about it being a series. It does have characters that were in Fixing Her and Fixing Him.
This is a romantic and emotional story. Gabriel Starr doesn’t think he is worthy of Leigh Ann Simms. Gabe and Leigh were BF & GF in high school until graduation day when Gabe didn’t get to graduate. They had plans but it now seems that they will never happen.
Zoom forward 12 years later. This is what happens when you get a second chance!
Fixing Us is the best story yet. I love Gabe and Leigh’s story and I loved reading Fixing Us! A true romance!
Whenever I pick a book by Miranda Elaine, I know I am in for a fabulous treat of hundred percent swoon worthy, sweet and sexy romance. Fixing Us gave me the same feeling. The feel good factor of this story is sky high. And she balanced the sweetness with the right amount of heartbreak.
If second chance and starcrossed lovers are your trope, this is a must read story for you. Gabe and Leigh are highschool sweethearts. And now twelve years later they stand in weird situation. Gabe has been breaking Leigh’s heart repeatedly over the years as he is scared to committ to her. And that is due to his traumatic sordid past. But none of them has moved on leaving their undeniable intense addictive bond behind. When Leigh decides to give up after one final meeting, something happens to destroy all her plans. Now they can either move forward and embrace the new life or break away from the love forever.
I love how the men in Miranda’s story has layers of issues yet manage to be a good man in their core. Gabe is no exception. He could have turned a mess and a failure like his parents. But he has made something out of his trouble past. He loves Leigh so much that he doesn’t hesitate to leave her. Leigh is a sassy, smart and strong woman with a beautiful accepting heart. Their chemistry gave me real goosebumps. I was so happy to revisit my other favorite people from other Fixing novels! Miranda Elaine nailed the warm fuzzy small town feels with great friends and support system.
Fixing Us is an emotional love story. The soft and heartwarming moments made me smile like crazy. The heartbreaking turns made me tear up. A great romance for any hardcore contemporary romance fan!
Received ARC for Honest Review
This is the 3rd book in this series, and each one just keeps getting better and better. Gabe and Leigh have had an on / off relationship since high school, and as adults they realise that no matter about the love they have for each other, they just cannot seem to make any relationship between them work, so they decide to have one last hurrah before moving on separate paths. Bring into the mix an unexpected pregnancy, and the complex dynamics change. This is a beautifully written second chance romance, which is an emotional roller coaster, as well as heartbreaking, heart-warming, humorous, and entertaining. I was totally captivated throughout this addictive page turner and I cannot wait to read more from this talented author, whose work I highly recommend for all readers who love a second chance romance.
ALL THE FEELS! I don’t think I was ready for this book – and I loved every second of it! I devoured Leigh and Gabe’s story. I am new to this author and this series, but I will be going back to read Fixing Her and Fixing Him (books one and two in the Fixing Series).
This is a beautiful second chance/surprise pregnancy story. I truly hate spoilers in reviews, but I will say that I loved how Gabe handled the ‘break’ – most authors would have made him a manwhore, but I think Miranda Elaine wrote him in a beautiful light. FIVE STARS will never be enough! LOVED!!
Note: This review contains NO spoilers
I am gutted! Fixing Us pulled at my “heart strings” from beginning to end. This a first for me reading any of Miranda Elaine’s books. I am so glad that I did read this! I didn’t realize that it was the third book in a series; however, Fixing Us can be read as a standalone. I did not feel like I missed something while I read. But then again, after reading this, I want to read the first two tiles in this series.
I loved Leigh Ann and Gabriel’s story. From the beginning, I was drawn into their love (and hate) story… Haha! The emotional journey they both went through and endured felt so real and heart-wrenching. The pacing was just right as every chapter revealed more and more of each of their ongoing progressive of fixing their on and off and on again relationship. Told in both their points of view, it gives both sides to the story… AND, there always is two sides. So, anyways, I loved all the well-developed and multilayered characters that the author created. For the most part, I think some will be able to relate to these two characters… and/or even the other characters as well. Of course, after all that dysfunctionality (don’t think this is a real word, but I’m just going with it… Ha!) there was a feel good ending to their story.
I think I definitely need to read the other standalone titles in this series as well. I mean,, seriously, I just could not stop turning the pages. I wanted to find out how this would end for Gabriel and Leigh Ann. Fixing Us is an emotional and captivating love story that had me all twisted up inside… sometimes, hoping for them and, other times, frustrated with them….
Reviewer: Jasmine
Blog Sol and Us
EN/PT-BR
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I was excited to read Fixing Us. Or any book by Miranda Elaine to be honest. So it was a big disappointment when I didn’t like Fixing Us.
I am not saying the book is bad, it just isn’t the kind of book that I like. Read and draw your own conclusions. If it helps, it has the same style as Lass by Harloe Rae.
Follow Sol and Us: https://linktr.ee/solandus2
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Eu estava animada para ler Fixing Us. Ou qualquer livro da Miranda Elaine para ser sincera. Então foi uma grande decepção quando eu não gostei de Fixing Us.
Eu não estou falando que o livro é ruim, apenas não é o tipo de livro que eu gosto. Leiam e tirem suas próprias conclusões. Se ajudar, tem o mesmo estilo de Lass de Harloe Rae.
Sigam Sol and Us: https://linktr.ee/solandus2
Leigh knows Gabe is never going to be rid of his demons that makes him leave when he starts to open up to her, after twelve years of going back and forth, she’s going to try to move on, although the dates don’t go as planned. With the dates not working she ends up at Gabe’s but a few weeks later she knows it’s not a stomach bug and has to tell him, she knows it’s not what he ever wanted, but she’s clear and lets him know that he can’t walk in and out of their lives and break their hearts all the time, if he comes back he has to be sure.
Gabe can’t believe he let Leigh walk away, wishing he could be that person for her, he’s never wanted kids he doesn’t know how to be a parent. Needing to make some sense of it all he goes to his sponsor to talk to, he’s sponsor asks him if he is willing to miss out on everything because of his fear of what could go wrong and at that point Gabe didn’t know, can he fight his demons for her.
Leigh has her appointment with her OB/GYN, she hasn’t heard from Gabe since she told him, but her friend is coming to support her, she didn’t expect Gabe to show when she was filling out the forms, she told him that he couldn’t keep coming in and out of her life now, he starts to show her that he’s trying to do everything that he said he couldn’t do, will they finally get their chance.
Can we talk about how great this standalone series is? Fixing Us is the third book and I swear it’s my new favorite. This story is second chance romance with Gabriel and Leigh. They are high school sweethearts who had planned to spend their lives together. That was until Gabriel makes a decision he thinks is best for both of them. They spend the rest of their lives still having to deal with each other in their town. They can’t seem to forget each other. There is a reason! After one night of hooking up an unplanned pregnancy happens. They plan to raise the child as friends. I had to laugh out loud. I totally felt their chemistry with each word in this book. They are way more than friends. They were supposed to be together. I wanted to scream at Gabriel in the beginning. I know he thought he was doing what was best but what was best for Leigh is him and vice versa. This couple had a big road ahead of them. I loved every second of this book. I can’t suggest it enough. This book has passion, romance, hilarious moments, drama and it’s truly addicting. I can’t wait to see what Miranda Elaine gives us next!
So this is the first I have read by Miranda Elaine and man did it pull me in. I loved that Gabriel is the bad boy yet he is far from bad. Here is a guy who has not had a good life but Leigh Ann makes him feel like anything is possible seeing them interact as friends but the love sizzling between them was hot. Seeing Leigh freaking out about her love for Gabriel, becoming a mom and still wondering if they deserve a second chance was like WHAT. All in all Miranda Elaine totally rocked with these two and the family they create was awesome. Loved it.
“I received an eBook copy from the publisher for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own.”
Loved this one . I absolutely loved Gabe and Leigh. These two meet in high school and automatically have something. But because of his life at home he runs. They get back together sort of and yep you guessed it all it takes is one night and everything changes. But will Gabe be able to deal with this change without losing it and going back to his past? Will Gabe and Leigh be able to get together finally and be happy? I loved these two together. I loved the banter these two have the give and take between them is enjoyable to read about. This was a very enjoyable book from beginning to end about a very adorable couple who has great chemistry. Highly recommend.
5 fantastic stars!
I love, love, love this book! Funny, heartbreaking, heartwarming and beautifully romantic it’s a gorgeous second-third-fourth-and more-chance romance between two people who love each other deeply but who just haven’t been able to make it work… until a surprise pregnancy changes everything.
Squee! I love a surprise baby book, and I absolutely adored how this story all played out. It’s messy yet functional, it’s funny and sweet, and it’s so beautifully romantic, and I was captivated from start to finish.
This is the third book in the Fixing series, but it can easily stand alone. The couples from the previous books appear in this book as friends of these characters, but you don’t need to have read their stories to become invested in this one. This is the story of Leigh (best friend of Temperance from Fixing Her, and who also featured in the second book, Fixing Him) and she is an absolute riot – wild and filterless, she is smart, funny and independent and she cares passionately for her friends and family.
Leigh and Gabe met in high school and fell into mad, wild, all-consuming love. She was the happy, carefree girl with the stable, loving family, dreams for the future and a plan to get there. Gabe was the boy from the group home with a terrible family life, no future plans and few prospects, and he knew that Leigh deserved better. On graduation, he broke both of their hearts when he let her go and encouraged her to chase her dreams without him, knowing that he would only hold her back.
Twelve years later and Leigh is running a successful hair salon, while Gabe runs the local tattoo shop. Their relationship over the years has been complex, falling back together, only to break up when they again come to the conclusion that their future goals don’t align. Leigh wants a family, children and security, Gabe doesn’t think he can provide her with that. Though they love each other fiercely, they just can’t get on the same page and though they’ve tried over and over again, they can’t make it work.
A failed blind date for Leigh leads to her turning to Gabe for comfort, and as always he is there for her. But even while they easily fall back into their familiar passion for each other, they agree that they can’t carry on like they have been and promise to make it their last night together.
“Gabriel Starr, you are nothing but trouble for me.” She’s still tipsy, but her words are the truth. “Please let me move on. Fucking twelve years of us doing this to each other is enough, don’t you think?”
Their plan for a clean break fails dismally when Leigh discovers that she is pregnant. Sensibly and functionally, she goes right to Gabe and puts it all out there for him, with her trademark honesty and forthrightness, which I love. And thankfully, Gabe recognises this as his wake up call as he is faced with having to make the decision of what he truly wants from life, while also recognising that it’s his chance to give Leigh, the love of his life, everything she has ever wanted.
“I was fooling myself if I thought I wasn’t going to try to work my way back into her heart and her life. She’s mine, and now all I need to do is prove I’m worthy enough of her trust again.”
I love this relationship! Though we haven’t witnessed everything that has gone on between them in the past, I was feeling their connection right from the very beginning. We get a few small glimpses, and the chemistry between them in the present is absolutely undeniable. It’s clear that they love each other, they have a fantastic dynamic, and the blend of banter, snark, flirting and complete honesty is fun and emotional. And I love the playfulness of their relationship as they bicker and argue, trying to be friends in their difficult situation.
“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.
… 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.”
But friendship soon gives way to so much more. They’ve never been able to resist each other, and that’s certainly true the more time they spend together. Things shift and chance in a natural and realistic way and I loved the swoon and the drama of them figuring things out.
“We can do anything as long as we’re together.”
“It’s not that easy,” he says softly.
“It doesn’t have to be easy. We just have to want it bad enough.”
The whole ‘I love you but I’m not good enough so I’ll walk away’ storyline is not a favourite of mine, and it can bring unnecessary angst and drama to a book, but this story is handled beautifully! Gabe’s feelings of worthlessness are absolutely heartbreaking, his situation is completely understandable, and his battle to work through it all and come to realise his worth is beautifully written. His feelings for Leigh are never in doubt, he loves her with everything that he has, and watching him find the strength to grab hold of that and move forward with her is so, so gorgeous.
“I don’t deserve you or this life, angel. But I want to.”
And Leigh is wonderful as she balances the difficult position of supporting her man while not being a doormat. She is there for him, encouraging him every step of the way, but she also stands strong for her and her baby. She protects herself while putting her heart out there, and I just love her!
“I can do this on my own. Don’t show up at my door with a hero complex thinking I need saving. Don’t sacrifice what you want in the process. I don’t want you there unless you are one hundred percent sure that’s where you want to be. I’ll understand. Just don’t come in and out of mine and this child’s life, killing us both a little each time we watch you walk away.”
It’s a wonderful journey for these two as they find their way forward together. I laughed and swooned, and I honestly loved every moment of them together. Their teasing and banter is lots of fun, the heartfelt declarations had my heart pounding, and the sexy time is sizzling! Leigh and Gabe are two people who belong together, and I loved watching them figure that out and then work to make it happen.
“You are so incredible, Gabe. I hope you know that.”
“I must be if in any universe I deserved to have even a slice of your heart,” he says, his chin still atop my head.
“All of it,” I admit. “You possess all of it.”
The story ends in a great place, providing closure for not only Leigh and Gabe, but also some progression for the previous couples in the series – though, again, this can stand alone.
It’s sweet, fun and emotional, with characters that you cannot help but fall for, and I loved this book!
5 stars!