Freya and Charlie are old school friends who bump into each other after not meeting for years and find that they could join together to both get in the property ladder.
I found that I really enjoyed this book, although I've never been so deeply involved in a house refurbishment to that level I could almost taste the building dust. It gave a realistic impression of how much is actually involved in a Homes Under the Hammer rebuild and that idyllic cottage might be much harder work than initially thought. Freya's grandfather was a character and you can't help falling for Ted, his dog. Underneath all the rebuilding action there is the undercurrent of will they / won't they with Freya and Charlie going to fall for each other?
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

Such a fun and fast read! It is a really cute beach read and will have you rooting for Aly from page 1. I hope this turns into a movie- it would be so good!!

The story had an interesting premise. Two childhood friends reconnect after a chance meeting and decide (basically over night) to buy a fixer-upper starter house together.

It takes a felt eternity (first third of the book) for Freya and Charlie to acquire and move into their fixer-upper-home. From deciding to buy a house together at the beginning of the year and eventually opening the front door for the first time in April nothing much happened, although the two MCs must have been in constant contact to iron out their renovation plans. This is probably where the root of the romance between the two of them lies, but it's glossed over and the reader only sees how the two of them find each other while trying to turn a ruin into a home.

Primary school friends, Freya and Charlie buy a "fixer upper" house in order to get onto the property ladder .Freya is totally organised, Charlie follows her instructions. Can living in such close proximity work out? Can they stick to her rule of staying as platonic friends ? Ideal holiday/ wet weather reading, I really enjoyed it.

A fun novel with plenty of detail and an excellent dog (which is OK throughout). Old primary school friends Freya and Charlie end up throwing their lots in together when neither can get on the housing ladder. With lots of nice detail about how they learn DIY skills and gradually start to piece a manky old cottage together, we see their friendship grow (into something else: of course it does) but with plenty of respect and kindness and naturally a big dollop of misunderstanding.

I like the story arc of Freya's grandad, still advising them into his late 80s and coming up with novel solutions for all kinds of things, and Freya has a great best friend who's there to support her and give her a kick (and a hot shower) when she needs it and she's not a chaotic millennial but a woman with a career and strong family ties. The village setting is done well, with the odd bit of enforced jollity but decency and support when it's needed. A fun read that's just the thing when you need something light but decent.

My blog review out 10 May here https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2023/05/10/book-review-emily-kerr-her-fixer-upper/

What happens when 2 childhood friends meet up again and decide to buy a fixer-upper?

Freya and Charlie grew up together and were inseparable in their youth. A chance outing finds them running into each other and their friendship picks up where they left off. Both are young professionals who can't afford to buy a house on their own. so Freya has this crazy idea that they should pool their money together and buy something together to build equity. Charlie has the perfect property - Oak Tree Cottage. It's a real fixer upper, but the two friends decide to give it a go. Freya drafts a long list of rules, which includes not getting involved. They will be strictly roommates who are rehabbing the property so they can flip it and make enough to buy their own homes. As time goes on, Freya starts to fall for Charlie but he seems to have other interests. Will they? Won't they?

This is the 3rd book I've read by Emily Kerr and she is fast becoming a favorite. It was a nice light romcom and the characters were very likeable. I plan on reading many more books by Emily Kerr!

Freya and Charlie were childhood best friends and have a chance encounter as adults in a pub. Both discover they are experiencing the woes of trying to get a mortgage and buy a house. Charlie jokingly says they should get a mortgage together and fix up a house to solve their problems. To his surprise, Freya agrees to the crazy idea. Ever the rule follower, Freya makes a long list of house rules for the two of them to abide by. To appease Freya Charlie agrees to these rules. As they set about buying a disastrous fixer upper and begin the renovations Freya and Charlies friendship begins to feel more like love. With calamity, humor, and cringe worthy misunderstandings, Freya and Charlie find their way to the truth and the home they both long for.

Thank you NetGalley, Emily Kerr, and One More Chapter for Her Fixer Upper. This is my personal review.
Freya and Charlie can’t afford a house of their own to live in, so they decide to buy and renovate a house together.
They are childhood friends and know they can get the renovation done together and sell the house.
I liked the chemistry between them. It was a feel-good romance. I enjoyed the time I spent with them in the story.

Freya and Charlie both have the same ambition. To own their own house.
So they decide to pool their resources and buy a dilapidated cottage. But Freya sets rules.
It isn't easy as each have their own ideas but could it become more difficult?

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Charlie and Freya have been friends since early years. They decide to buy a house together, one that needs work doing to it.

Oak Tree Cottage needs a lot of work, and it was lovely to see what they did together to make it habitable. That was until the Oak Tree in the garden fell through the roof and Freya, then realised that she’d not completed the insurance procedure.

I recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/ One More Chapter for letting me apart of the list that got to read this book early.

This book is a sweet rom-com about two friends who have reunited, bought a home together and rekindle their friendship & find love along the way. It was a bit slow for me, but I think that was the point, to really give you the experience of them coming together, genuinely.

It was a lovely read and I think many people would enjoy it and find it quite charming.

4/5 ⭐️

Very inevitable from the off what is going to happen in this book. However, its a decent enough storyline and interesting characters to keep you reading until the inevitable does happen.

A good read, |Two old schoolfriends meet up by chance and they decide to buy a fixer upper home. |Find out what happens along the way. 4 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

I found this book boring in the first part.It became pleasant and light to read from 60% of the plot.

Freya Hutchinson is a teacher who is desperate to buy her first home, but it's more difficult than she thought. On a trip for a quiz at the local pub, she bumps into Charlie, who was a childhood friend. Both are struggling to buy their first home & after an unwelcome visit from her landlord, Freya moves out that night to stay with her best friend Leila. She then asks Charlie to join her in buying a house & they buy a dilapidated cottage, which throws a lot of problems at them. Watch their friendship change.
Lovely feel good book, predictable but an enjoyable read. Emily Kerr never disappoints.

A sweet rom-com to bring a smile to your face. Two long lost school day chums meet up by accident in a pub and renew a friendship and on impulse buy a house together as a ‘do it upper’ so that they can cash in and be able to afford to go their separate ways. Friendship is renewed and stretched before kindling into romance. . A knock it down and build it up again read.

I loved this story. Two people who had been friends since childhood decided to buy a house together. A fixer upper that by all accounts was in a dreadful state. The characters Charlie and Freya were really nice. Their journey renovating Oak Tree cottage was fun to follow until the oak tree fell and Freya realised she hadn't sent off the insurance documents. That really was a twist to their story. It was really nice to follow their love story despite all their ups and downs.

Really enjoyed this story with a great "will they, won't they" thread running throughout.
An emotional journey through the friendship.

I just could not get into the premise of this romance. Freya and Charlie, childhood friends with no adult relationship, to decide to buy a fixer-upper together despite having no skill or experience in renovation and no disposable income to hire help. This seemed like such an unwise and bizarre decision, based on nothing except a nebulous and irrational desire to "climb the property ladder". Perhaps for a different main character, it would be a *funny* unwise decision, leading to all manner of hijinks and compromising situations. But for Freya, who likes to stay in control and doesn't have a lot of margin for error in her life, it seemed more like *stupid* unwise. I spent a lot of the book concerned for her physical safety as she and Charlie camped in a semi-unsafe house and did things like try to build a kitchen in less time than it would take a team of professionals.

Still, the fact that I was concerned for Freya at all is a positive. And in the second half of the book, as the story's focus shifts from home purchase and renovation to Freya's relationship with Charlie, the story hits all the right romantic beats. I just wish we could have gotten there without Freya's 20th-century conviction that being underwater on a money pit will make her rich.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

DNF ~30%. I'm not the target audience for this book. It seems to be one of those quiet, slice-of-life British novels that moves too slowly for me. There was no real chemistry between the main characters in the first third of the book—it focused more on buying and renovating the home than on the relationship between the characters. It probably picks up later in the book, but I don't have that kind of patience.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.