"Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair" by Laura Piper Lee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair" by Laura Piper Lee is a charming standalone romcom full of sizzling chemistry, laugh, and some steamy bedroom scenes. 

Meet Hannah Tate, a disaster comms specialist and a single mom, who can't handle the mess that her life has become. After getting fired from her job and dumped by her boyfriend and father of her baby, Killian, she takes stock of her life. She always dreamt of a stable family home after her tumultuous childhood and swears to give it to her child, comes hell or high water.

She leaves Atlanta and moves back in with her mother and step-daddy, who bought a cabin in the mountains of Blue Ridge. She will help them to fix the rundown cabin downstairs so they can rent. Meanwhile, she will try to get her life back on track.

Enter River into the picture, a sexy contractor and free spirit to boot with his own issues. He avoids responsibility at all cost, lives off the grid, and runs away when the going gets tough. Hanna hires him to make the cabin habitable and is surprised to find out she feels at home in the mountains.  Sparks fly between them, but is it enough? Will her dreams of the perfect family come true?

This is a book about family, trust, friendships, and unconditional love. There is more than one way to be a family, as Hanna finds out. The cast is well-drawn, and each character has their own unique style. I liked that there was a LGBTQ+ representation -  Hannah's lesbian couple friends were cool and dealt with their own issues. I disliked Killian and the way he put Hanna down, criticized her, and didn't support her. I liked the development he went through.  River was great! I love that he took time off work to read a book series. And he lives in a tree-house! How cool is that??

I loved the book and rooted for the heroine. Balancing work and motherhood isn't easy, and the author manages to depict it accurately. Every mother will identify with the hassles described. I felt Hanna was a bit hard on her parents at first. It took her a few life-changing events to realize that they are just human, and one shouldn't hold grudges.

The plot was beautifully constructed, and there was even a bit of intrigue thrown in for good measure. It was a bit slow-paced in places, but it was still enjoyable. As it’s an unproofed copy, there were some formatting errors, such as two words running into each other, which should be fixed before the book is published. That being said, I enjoyed the book very much and even shed a tear or two at some sections. I definitely recommend this sweet romcom to anyone looking for a feel-good book.

* Thank you Edelweiss and (publisher) for the opportunity to read this arc.  All opinions are my own.

* For more info about the book: "Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair