Ivy Clarke has a secret, she slept with her best friend Savanna's brother Jackson a while back - seven days of wonderful carnality until she realised she as developing feelings and broke it off. Brutal words were said on both sides and now their legendary sniping at each other has taken a nasty turn.

Ivy's mother Cora was the poster-child for women who only feel completed by a man. Ivy's childhood was a revolving door of new step-dads and dubious father figures as her mother latched on to one man after another. Why get a job when a man can provide? All too soon Cora would fall out of love, or the man would, and Ivy and her mother would be back with Cora's best friend Dixie, until she had the audacity to fall in love with one of Ivy's mother's cast-offs. Ivy has learned from her mother's failures and her own experience that the Clarke women can't do love, can't do commitment, can't do relationships. If her best friend Savanna is a relationship guru, Ivy is an anti-relationship guru.

When Ivy drives past Dixie's old house, the most constant 'home' in her childhood, and sees it up for sale she is hit by a wave of nostalgia and, in a fit of enthusiasm fuelled by to much HGTV, persuades Dixie to let her 'flip' the house by renovating and splitting the profits. Unfortunately, DIY isn't quite as simple as they make it look on TV and soon the house is looking worse than ever. Savanna calls Jackson behind Ivy's back and suddenly Ivy and Jackson are working together renovating the house, arguing about tiles and paint colours and, Ivy at least, resisting the chemistry that sparks between them.

I do love TV renovation programmes and I love a woman who has hardened her heart against love with a hero who's not afraid to keep trying to make connection. For me this was light-hearted, flirty, DIY heaven. I haven't read what I assume is the previous book in this series and TBH I didn't warm to Savanna so I'm not devastated, you certainly don't need to have read her story to enjoy this one.

3 1/2 Star Review....

A little drawn out, but a fun read overall. I liked the main characters, but when I realised they had also featured as secondary characters in 12 Steps to Mr.Right, I sort of felt like I may have missed getting to know them before, and should have read 12 Steps first. That said, it was an enjoyable read and my first by Cindi Madsen.

Sweetly sexy love story

This is the first book I've read by Cindi Madsen but I'm confidant it won't be the last.
Her 2 main characters Ivy and Jackson were likable and very believable. The dialogue was smart. I also enjoyed their interaction with the secondary characters.
I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed this one, but it didn't have enough substance to take it from like to love. The main characters are well written and I found myself rooting for them, even with all that baggage. I haven't read the first in the series and I think I'll check it out. 3.5 stars.

Madsen does a wonderful job of developing the characters and I felt as if I knew them. Jackson is sweet, sexy and patient. I loved the way he pushed but showed patience. If you are looking for a feel-good read filled with laughter and fade to black heat. then grab Nailed It.

Love this one. Sweet, Sassy and Sexy. The banter and bickering between Ivy and Jackson is hot and hilarious. This one had me both laughing out loud and fanning myself. That sexual tension is something else. I love the growth of Ivy. It's hard not to feel for how Ivy become Ivy. It was lovely to see Jackson not wanting to give up on her. Jackson was not trying to fix her but embrace her as she is. Oh the man glitter. Sigh. Home improvement at its finest. Cindi Madsen nailed this one for sure. Now this is a standalone. But really read 12 Steps to Mr Right so you get a better feeling of the steps that Ivy's best friend Savannah talks about and you get more of the group too.

a few bumps that made the main character so annoying and immature (on my pov) but at the same time I loved.

This stubbornly cute story will break your reading slump and will make you ask for more. (Thank heavens for Epilogues!!)

Overall, this book was pretty good. The story line and characters were interesting. It was a slow start for me and I couldn't really get into it. With a lot of books I'm practically glued to them and can't stop reading until I've finished. That wasn't the case with this one, unfortunately. There were a lot of inner monologues and not enough conversation between characters (especially Ivy and Jackson) which is why I had a hard to getting hooked. Ivy's resistance to relationships, while understandable, was extremely frustrating and annoying, and how hard she kept fighting with Jackson on everything kind of turned me off to her character. I thought Jackson was a saint for how patient and persistent he was with Ivy. Decent book but not my favorite.

Pretty cute romantic comedy. Extremely predictable but had a lot of heart.

I love second chance romances, and when I saw this would have some sort of HGTV angle, I was all in.

Ivy was a person with a LOT of commitment issues. She couldn't really commit to a job or even a wall color, so how could she commit to another person? After watching her mother serial date/marry her whole life, and then fall apart when it was over, she had resigned herself to living loose and hook-ups only.

Jackson was also known for his chronic dating, but he was ready to settle down, should he find the right woman. He thought he had, but she fled when he expressed wanting more. This was his second chance, and he was not going to let her slip away.


So much to love!

• The chemistry between Jackson and Ivy was undeniable. The temperature rose every time they were on page together.

• Family and friends played a large role in this story. I really enjoyed the side plots involving Ivy's mom and Dixie were a nice little something extra, and I liked the way Madsen worked that tread into the main plot.

• Jackson, Jackson, Jackson. My word! He melted my heart. He was so honest, patient, and sweet, but he had a backbone too, and I applauded him when he laid down the law.

• The banter and verbal sparring was quite amusing. I loved the exchanges between Jackson and Ivy, but I also really liked the interactions between Savannah and Ivy. They were often fun, but they were also honest and heartfelt and you could tell they came with some love.

• The walk down memory lane was such a great way to give us insight into Ivy's psyche. Ivy was not always the best at explaining her motives, but these vignettes let us see what was behind all the resistance to Jackson's requests.

• The renovation was a lot of fun to be a part of. I love those makeover shows, and there were a bunch of descriptive scenes, where I felt like I was a part of one of those shows.

• This one had a strong ending. If you have ever read any of my reviews, you may know I am a stickler for endings. I have often loved a book, just to be let down at the end, but this one did not disappoint. The ending was great and left me with a nice pitter-patter in my heart.

Overall: A fun second chance romance, filled with humor as well as heartfelt emotion, and left me with a sappy grin on my face. I couldn't help but root for this hero and heroine!

I received a copy of NAILED IT on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here's why:

Ms. Madsen NAILED IT! I love this story. I am addicted to HGTV and this story had all the feels, so I immediately got sucked right into the story.

Ivy is a bartender with the inability to commit to anything. When her childhood place is going to be sold, she comes up with the bright idea to flip the house, but soon finds herself over her head. In walks Jackson, her nemesis, and sparks fly. There's bickering and insults and pranks galore. Jackson is swoon-worthy - he wants a happily ever after, complete with the white picket fence - with Ivy, but she's a commitment-phobe and his dream for their future is the furthest thing from her mind. What happens next is a very well told story, full of sexy humor and fun, but at the same time, it tugs at your heartstrings. If you love sexy romance with a side of home improvement and fast-paced writing, this story is for you. Highly recommend.

Having already read Savannah and Linc’s story in 12 Steps to Mr Right, I knew immediately that I was going to thoroughly enjoy Ivy and Jackson's journey in finding their HEA. Their getting there was so completely captivating I just knew hands down that I was in for a fast paced story with the type of writing I've experienced from this author in her previous books.

Even though I was often frustrated with Ivy and her roadblocks to happiness with her rules to NOT having a relationship with Jackson, her finally getting there was quite the ride. Her banter with Jackson was priceless, the dialogue quick, smart, and engaging. The emotional aspects and gentleness that Jackson brought to the story was one of the reasons I couldn't put the book down and read it in one sitting.

I will continue to be a loyal reader of Ms Madsen's book and look forward to what she has in store next.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

What I liked:
The writing style
The characters
The snarky dialogue
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from this author.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36303439-nailed-it

4.5 Nailed it Stars

If you need a pick-me up book, this is definitely one that you should read.

Ivy, has commitment issues, due to her past. However, when she finds out the only place she once called home is up for sale, she decides to flip the house. Little does she know that HGTV shows you only the easy things house flipping. She quickly realizes she’s bitten off more than she can chew and needs help. In walks Jackson, an oh so swoony contractor. However Jackson is her best-friend’s brother and they had a fling a while back and can barely get along without throwing barbs at each other. Jackson and Ivy work together to flip the house but not without quirky and entertaining back and forth banter and smoking hot chemistry.

I loved this book. It’s a quick and entertaining read. Cindi Madsen has quickly become one of my favourite go to authors. Her books always brighten my day and make me laugh. This book was no different. Madsen really “Nailed It” with this book. I highly recommend it.

<i>ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!</i>

The characters from this book were the 2ndary ones from, 12 Steps to Mr. Right. Ivy is Savannah's bestie and Jackson is Savannah's brother. And while it's really not necessary to read "12 Steps", I think that reading "12 Steps" first will give one a better appreciation for this book. Besides, "12 Steps" was a really cute and fun story so reading that book wouldn't be a hardship anyway. 😉

But back to the review of this book.

If you're a fan of HGTV, of shows like Fixer Upper or the Property Brothers, then I think you'd enjoy this book. Heck, if ever you've tried to DIY something in your own home and have it turn out distressingly awful, you'd get a kick of the things that happen to Ivy. However, it was really Jackson who stole my heart.

He's sweet, sometimes gruff, but oh-so-swoony and gentle. And maybe it's just me, but there's just something about a guy who knows what to do, who is so capable, that really gets to me. Because you know guys like that will take care, good care, of you and your heart too.

So if you want a light, fun, rom-com type of read, you might want to give this one a shot because Jackson is totally a DIY hottie.