Mary Kay Andrews does it again! I love how the book starts and without giving anything away, I'll leave it at that! Needless to say, it's a great hook! My Andrews fans will enjoy it and it is, as always, the perfect beach read!

I love the fresh take of an HGTV-esque show turned into a romance/whodunit. I was not expecting the plot to be so heavily based in the thriller and have the romance be secondary, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. The scenes were not super gory or gross, but explained the scene well. This is a great novel for fans on HGTV, Magnolia, or Nicole Curtis. Thank you for the advance copy.

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews 🏠

First, thank you @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the eARC! The Homewreckers releases May 3! 💞

Hattie restores homes as a living and gets the opportunity to star in a new reality TV show about renovating homes in Savannah, GA. But as they begin to work on a house located on Tybee Island, they end up discovering clues of a murder case from twenty years ago.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ; I loved the plot of this book! It’s like mixing a murder mystery with an HGTV show, which was super fun! I loved the mystery, but really struggled with the romance because it just wasn’t developed at all, making it hard to find the love interest believable or engaging. But I did enjoy other relationships in this book! Overall, I think this was a fun read going into summer time! ☀️

Have you ever read any books by Mary Kay Andrews? This was my first one!

Every since being widowed at 25, Hattie Kavanaugh has thrown herself into her work restoring old homes with her father-in-law for his business, Kavanaugh and Sons. When producer, Mo Lopez comes to town, she gets the opportunity to restore a storied old beach house as part of a reality television series. However, having to deal with demanding network executives, and an untrustworthy antagonistic co-star, and more, Hattie may find herself in way over her head and that's before a wallet related to a decades-old disappearance turns up and mysterious events start occurring.

This book is both a mystery and a romance. The romance, however, is extremely slow-burning so if you are in it for the romance you may be disappointed. The mystery part of the story is much more satisfying. Plus, it's fun to read about the inner workings of a reality show. If you ever had any dreams of being on a reality show yourself, this book will probably cure you of that ambition. It's also nice to see a capable female character in a role that many would consider more of a male domain and what's more she is a kickass character who can take care of herself and does not need a man to come and rescue her. Hattie is an extraordinarily refreshing character to center a novel around, and although the story could have used perhaps a little more romance, overall, it is an enjoyable read.

I thought this book was going to be a cute rom com, but I knew immediately I was wrong.
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Hattie started restoring homes at 18, married at 20 and widowed at 25. Still so young, with so much life ahead of her, she pours of all her time and energy into restoring houses. Unfortunately, all of her money too.
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When Hollywood comes calling and offers her a renovation reality show called The Homewreckers she begrudgingly accepts. She expects to find chaos behind the walls, what she doesn’t expect was a clue that could crack open a cold case.
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Part rom com, part cold case mystery, this book had a little something for everyone.
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Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
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Two genres are blended beautifully together for a cozy story full of mystery and romance. This novel delivers some southern sass, a mysterious death, a house flip, some smooching in the beautiful town of Savannah. LOVE THIS CITY.

Homewreckers will be a hit on the beaches this summer in true MKA fashion. The lot of characters are fun with distinctive personalities creating hilarious banter. This house sounds absolutely fabulous after its much needed TLC.

Thank you St. Martins Press for the advance reader copy of this novel.

Mary Kay Andrews writes a other great southern beach read. Or so you thought, but this book is so much more. This story is a family house flipping business, a romance, a decades old murder mystery and so much more you never saw coming. Thank you to Net Galley, the Author and Publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

MONEY PIT BECOMES A BEAUTIFUL RESTORATION!

Mary Kay Andrews is the Queen of “Fixer-Upper Stories” and she is back with another wonderful plot in The Homewreckers! Readers will be thrilled to meet and fall in love with the main character of Hattie Kavanaugh and get to know the other characters as well. Andrews is masterful in drawing up quirky scenarios that draw you into this story, keeps your attention from beginning to end by adding in surprising twists when you least expect it and is also filled with all manner of mischief, mayhem, and even murder. Readers will not be disappointed in reading this fun story of how a money pit becomes a beautiful restoration!

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are completely my own and without my influence.

This is a true summer read - perfect book to bring to the beach or poolside. You have your predictable storyline and romance but with colorful characters and banter to keep it lively and fun. Hattie is such a great character, I love her strong personality and wittiness, and especially the fact that she is a jack of all trades who can get her hands dirty doing carpentry, electrical, plumbing, the works. Not to mention she is smart and wise, though maybe not entirely, otherwise there would not be much of an enjoyable book.

This book combines a breezy, sexy romance, a chilling mystery, loads of laughter, and some great home DIY tips layered throughout - a little bit of everything for everyone. A delightful summer read about flipping houses and finding true love.

I really enjoyed this one. A great mix of romance, remodel and mystery. The story had good characters and I really enjoyed all of the various aspects of the novel. It was a great mix of the three genres. I haven't read this author before, but after this one, I definitely will!!

A combination of a great women's fiction and a mystery in this one book. Hattie Kavanaugh lives in Charleston, SC and a young widow who is working with her father in law to renovate older homes around the city. After a poor purchase, Hattie is trying to undo her mistakes and prove everyone and herself wrong that she can be the future of this company. While at a coffee shop telling her friend her woes, a tv producer hears their conversation and is coincidentally in pursuit of his next show idea.

While the romance part of the story was predictable, but great. I loved the inclusion of the mystery and the author perfectly tied it to the home renovation and tv show, so it didn't feel from left field! The plot perfectly twisted and turned and I was so hooked from beginning to end.

AND Hattie was so fun! With each page, I wanted to find a Hattie and have her as my friend. Mary Kay Andrews creates women who are, sure fictional, but they are fun and quirky and full and the women that you want in your crew. I love that these women are whole and they love they have loss, they work and have fun.

After finishing this book, I immediately wanted to hop into another one of her books and I am making it a goal to get into her backlist and just enjoy the women that Mary Kay Andrews creates.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest story by Mary Kay Andrews, wonderfully narrated by Kathleen McInerney - 5 stars for a wonderful book to get lost in!

Hattie Kavanaugh met her husband, Hank, when she went to work for his family restoration business. But she became a widow at age 25 when Hank was killed in a motorcycle accident. Hattie continued working for her father-in-law, with her best friend as her construction foreman. But their last house renovation lost money and she's desperate for money so as not to hurt the business. When a producer shows up in Savannah with an idea for a reality TV show, she decides it's her chance to make back some money. But she may have gotten more than she bargained for with the house she bought at auction.

I love Mary Kay Andrews' stories - it feels like summer is definitely here when you can immerse yourself in another of her books. I loved the mix of house renovation talk, romance, a cold case mystery, and the Hollywood lights come to shine in Georgia. Highly recommended - this should be your first beach read of the year!

The Homewreckers by Mary Kay Andrews is part romance, part mystery and part DIY-her life after tragedy women’s fiction. However, it is all one well-written intriguing read. I wasn’t sure how the beginning fit into Hattie Kavanaugh’s life in this story but it wasn’t too long into it before the connections were all made. Another thing from the beginning I wasn’t sure who would be Hattie’s love interest. I would have been so disappointed if she had not chosen my choice but great minds do think alike.

More than once I have written that a book kept me turning the pages but this one did more than many others. Not as first because it was interesting but not compelling. Actually it was when the Tybee Island house and murder mystery kicked in that everything took a riveting turn for me. Well done.

I recommend The Homewreckers. This title fits this book but for the plot media show title, I loved Saving Savannah! In this book you get both. Perfect for a summer or beach read this has something for everyone.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love MKA's books! She is how I learned about the deadly "Bless your Heart" comment. As a lifelong New Englander, I enjoy the southernisms she puts in her books. In this latest book, Savannah contractor Hattie has gotten in over her head with her reno/flip of an old home. What makes it worse is that she is dragging her father-in-laws company down with her. When producer Mauricio (Mo) Lopez offer her an opportunity to work for a national home improvement channel and do a show about rehabbing a Savannah house, she initially refuses. Eventually she agrees and all of a sudden she is down the rabbit hole. Procuring a beach property previously owned by a well known area family, she discovers she has to share the spotlight with a studly California designer. The network pulls lots of strings, the timeline gets accelerated, and they find themselves in the middle of a decades old murder.
This story is a pleasant mix of romance and mystery with the addition of an inside look at a home improvement show workings. Hattie, a widow, finds herself attracted to one man and then a different one. The family whose house she bought from the town, makes their displeasure known and small town authorities make the job even more difficult. Then, there is that pesky possible murder mystery. This is a great warm weather read and MKA fans will love it.

Thank you to St Martin Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A more detailed review to come but this book was incredibly cute and refreshing! A good kickoff to the upcoming summer season I enjoyed the plot and the overall vibe. I’m an avid reality tv show watcher so being able to read about one in a book was an interesting and unique idea.

What I really liked was the balance and mix of both the reality show plot but also the air of mystery involving the cold case. Overall I really enjoyed it and think people will love this!

Romance, home improvement, and a mystery… what’s not to love? This Mary Kay Andrews had a lot going on, which inevitably made the read that much quicker. As long as you can suspend disbelief, this is a fun story. Despite a cryptic mystery, there’s a lighthearted tone throughout that makes it absolutely perfect to read poolside this summer. The characters were cute and the pacing was quick. I’m a sucker for home improvement, so I also loved seeing those aspects of the storyline. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Absolute 5 star. MKA is like a fine wine. Her books just keep getting better and better! 30 years and counting.

—Book Review—

Title: The Homewreckers
Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
@stmartinspress
Genre: Women’s Fiction

Happy Pub Day to The Homewreckers!

Thank you to the publisher @stmartinspress for sending me an eARC widget via @netgalley to read and review in exchange for my honest opinion!

Summer begins with Mary Kay Andrews! Who’s with me!? I look forward to her new books every year. Her writing is superb. The dialogue, the pacing and strong characters, especially the woman characters; it’s all so effortless.

While I did enjoy this one, it fell more on the like meter than love for me. What I liked:

🛠 The scenery and atmosphere. Savannah and Tybee Island, GA . . . need I say more. The southern atmosphere was great and as we get into the mystery of this story, despite it being a cozy mystery it definitely had some eery vibes.

🛠 Main character Hattie was tough as nails. I loved that her and her best friend Cass were two bad a** construction woman determined to prove their worth in this man’s field.

🛠 The beach house renovation show. Ok, I don’t watch a ton of tv, but when I used to have cable, I loved HGTV. This was definitely a nod at some of their shows. Crossed with a dating show. That did kind of have me rolling my eyes a bit, but still a lot of fun.

Rating: Somewhere between 3.5-4 ⭐️s. I didn’t really love the romance part of this book. I didn’t believe the forced fake dating between Hattie and the tv show’s designer Trae. I also didn’t buy the chemistry between Hattie and Mo the tv show’s producer. The cozy mystery was great. All in all fans of this author are going to gobble this one up! Out today 5/3!

This book wasn’t really for me. The premise is nice but there is so much detail and such a long drawn out book. I couldn’t get into it at all.

Hattie is a young widow who works with her father-in-law buying an flipping historic homes. She enjoys working with her family and her best friend and doing what she loves. When a television producer approaches Hattie about being on a home renovation show, she wants to say no, but she has sunk her savings into a home and against her better judgment says yes. When Hattie finds herself right in the middle of a mystery, a designer who wants to cut corners, and a television producer that will stop at nothing to get his show, Hattie may have bitten off more than she can chew.

I am a huge fan of Mary Kay Andrews and this book was no exception. It was cleverly written; the characters were diverse, and they all had interesting back stories. The element of a mystery was an added bonus to an already fabulous novel, and one that I loved. I was also kept wondering just who Hattie’s love interest would be, which was an unexpected surprise. The book was an easy read, but it also keeps you guessing which to me is the perfect recipe for a great book. St. Martin’s Press kindly gifted me this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. A perfect five star read for summer friends.