This was a fun and entertaining read.
Many thanks to Harlequin Enterprises Australia and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It's always so nice to see romance novels with "older" main characters, and though I wasn't crazy about the way "A Basic Renovation" ended, I largely enjoyed Sandra Antonelli's novel.

The story follows Lesley, a 40-something woman who flips houses in Chicago, and how she returns to her hometown when she decides to renovate a house with extensive fire damage and spend time with her aging family. Once she's back, we're introduced to an array of complex characters, including her 92-year-old grandfather and her ex-husband, who has, naturally, led people to believe she was responsible for their divorce and largely slandered her good name.

Enter Dominic: Leslie's ex's brother and local hardwore store owner. We get a classic enemies-to-lovers tale, complete with acerbic banter and lots of laughter, as well as emotional moments, especially as Lesley spends time with her family. It's a bit of a messy plot, with lots of secondary characters throwing things out of whack and branching off into their own stories, but that also made the story feel realistic – life is messy, people can be nasty, and things just don't always go according to plan.

Ultimately, I struggled throughout the book with how I felt about Dominic, who I felt needed to do a bit more groveling to earn forgiveness for some of the truly terrible things he said to Lesley, and the ending of "A Basic Renovation" fell flat for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to read A Basic Renovation. Unfortunately, I did not finish the book before it was archived in April 2014. I do not plan to finish the book.

This was a fixer upper of enemies to lovers from the start. Had some elements but was just ok

This just didn't draw me in as I was hoping. Just want for me, I couldn't connect.