Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Big Fix straddles genres between Romance and Suspense, leaning slightly more towards Suspense.

Penny Collins has worked hard, put in the time and effort for five years to make tenure as a Computer Sciences Professor. Now in the homestretch of reaching her goals, the last thing she needs this summer is a distraction. A distraction like finding a dead body in a closet while at an estate sale with her sister. Or a distraction like being mistaken for the girlfriend of suspect number one in the murder of said body by mysterious and dangerous people. Penny quickly finds herself on the run and searching for answers with reluctant ally, Anthony.

The plot is full of plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing. But what was lacking for me was the chemistry between the main characters, Penny and Anthony. The basis of their relationship and attraction is rooted in bonding over a traumatic and dramatic situation. This was a short/quick read and I didn’t feel like there was enough time to truly build up the tension and connection between the two. Also, their banter was a little too quick and witty at times that didn’t feel natural.

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author, one of which I have a solid 5 stars to. I will continue to pick up her books, but don’t think this one was for me.

✰ 3.25 stars ✰

​“​Gotta love life's curveballs.​”


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​Note to self: never argue with someone over a pair of candlesticks you never know what kind of wrong impression it might give someone.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Too bad computer science professor Dr. Penny Collins didn't get the memo, and I'm saying that loosely. 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️​ All she wanted was a nice relaxing summer with her older sister, Lydia and her family, a much-needed break ​to just make tenure, and avoid getting entangled in anything reckless. The last thing she needed in her life was a distraction or an interruption in her simple life​, let alone arguing at an estate sale with Lydia's recently deceased neighbor's nephew, financial consultant Anthony Pierce, over a pair of candlesticks! 😄​ For what was an innocuous argument sets off an interesting sequence of events, one in which Penny realizes that she may be wrapped up in something far more sinister than she realized.

​​​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It surprised me how much I enjoyed this. It wouldn't surprise me if it did become a movie one of these days. Maybe because it had so many of the ingredients of the laid back recipe that used to constitute for those Hollywood films back in the day. Y'know, those ones where the FMC finds herself in a complicated situation, unwittingly, of course, totally out of the realms of her depth, simply a wrong place, wrong time kind of thing with an MMC who is handsome, enigmatic, sexy as hell, but with the heart of a golden retriever.​ ☺️

Y'know, that kind of situation.​ 😌

“It's just a puzzle, Penny. And you're smart enough to solve anything.”

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I really got a hoot out of Penny's relationship with Lydia; very fun, very believable sisterly dynamic that had me chuckling a few times. And even though it might have seemed a bit ambitious of Penny to want to follow up what connection Anthony may have had with a mysterious kidnapping, simply because she felt beholden to the missing woman - having met her only once - I liked her as a protagonist. 👌🏻​ She was smart​ and kind, tenacious, committed to her job, resourceful, and a badass! Not ​that she believed that, obviously, but one where she could use her brains and logic to get her and Anthony out of tight situations. A natural solver of puzzles, she was curious to know how the two mysterious and suspicious events involving this ​big, sexy, reckless oaf​ were connected to her, as well.

​​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It's a fast-paced read, where every minute counts. But, what made it fun was watching the two of them together, with chemistry that was not exactly sparkling, but natural at ease with one another. It was both sexy and adorable how Penny was visibly annoyed with Anthony's evasive remarks, but was so very endeared by his enigmatic, but coy charms - helplessly attracted to him upon their first meeting. 🥺​ How he would blush at her flattery, the casual but earnest way in their friendly quips that bordered on casual flirting, how he found her exasperating yet fascinating, apologetic to a core for how guilty he felt about putting her life in danger... But, ​uff​, the gag removal scene was so deliciously intense! ​❤️‍🔥​ I can see why Penny was smitten with him.​ 🥰

“You seriously don't know I asked.” My voice came out low and breathy. Transfixed.

“Why I find you interesting?”

​​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I mean, she tried! 😆​ Even when it infuriated her to no end that for one simple misassumptions that she was his supposed girlfriend, she found herself in The Big Fix that she really had no need to be a part of, she liked him. Anthony, well Tony to his friends was sweet and honest - well, in a way. I liked how he encouraged her to recognize her strong suites - of how much of a badass she was. Enigmatic, a man of mystery and secrets, there was a softness and kindness to him that proved to Penny that their attraction was not a matter of circumstances but of choice, of want. 'It was the end of a journey and the start of another.' And may have been only a few days of their chance meeting, but it made both of them embrace a part of themselves they didn't know they had.​ 💕

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Well, at least the spice was in a realistic sense - very PG and very chill, too​ - some wholesome but fiery kisses that definitely earned my approval. 🥹​ Much like the mystery and thrills, too, but the writing was so fluid and their dynamic so engaging, that I was not perturbed by it. Like I said - Hollywood vibes. There was no surprise to me, but it was fun to see the two of them work together; they were a good team. Penny was patient, but smart and seeing her step out of her comfort zone and be daring and bold definitely made Anthony's job a lot easier. So, as much as I sensed how things would go down, it was still fun to be along for the ride that felt a bit light in tone, but still enough to make the threat prevalent.​ 👍🏻

A bit predictable, sweet and simple, and like the author hoped that readers would have a great time reading it. And, it was a nice easy-breezy​ read before I left for work this morning today, so can't complain now, can I.​ 😎

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fun and easy thriller/romcom. If you're looking for a light and entertaining read that will still hook you - this is it.

Synopsis
Professor Penny Collins expects a quiet estate sale—until a fight over candlesticks with Anthony, the late owner’s nephew (and who just happens to be gorgeous), ends in a body falling from a closet. Now mistaken for Anthony’s girlfriend and the key to a deadly secret, Penny’s summer takes a wild turn. Dodging bullets, scaling walls, and fending off henchmen, she must survive long enough to solve the puzzle or become another victim.

Thoughts
This was a fun and gripping thriller. More light and romcom lead than a heavy or mysterious thriller.

📖 I found the story predicatable but enjoyable all the same.
👥 I liked the characters. Penny holds her own for a professor, Anthony is your typical broody and yet soft hotty. And the side characters are multi-dimensional. I liked Gio and loved Penny's relationship with her sister.
💖 The romance was predictable but I loved it all the same
🌶 Closed door spice
⏰️ Some fast paced areas but predominantly steady paced. I saw some reviews of a slow beginning and whilst the action took a while to start I thought the beginning had good pacing - the mystery of the plot kicked in quickly.
💬 Believable dialogue and good banter

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When the action starts in the first chapter, you know it’s going to be a good book and “The Big Fix” by Holly James did not disappoint!

💥 Forced Proximity
💥 ONE BED
💥 Banter and wit
💥 Action
💥 Suspense
💥 Found family
Penny’s sister Libby is meddling again.
Under the guise checking out the neighbor’s estate sale, Penny finds herself at the center of another matchmaking attempt instead of poolside like she wants to be. Libby has her eyes set on matching Penny up with Anthony, our MMC and the nephew of the deceased neighbor. Penny has nephew of her own that’s she is chasing around the estate sale and when he opens a door he shouldn’t Penny’s whole life is about to change.
💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥 💥
“The Big Fix” was a quick, action packed read with a delightful sprinkling of romance in there. Both of our MCs are enjoyable characters and I loved the banter and quick wit between them even under stressful situations. While there is less focus on the romance in this book (and the typical Holly James books) I feel like it works with this plot and storyline. If our MCs were having a full blown romance in the middle of all the action I think it would give more eye rolls and less believability to the story.
In the end “The Big Fix” is an entertaining book packed with mystery, action and a good deal of bad guys. What’s so fun is we get plenty of comedy and sprinkling of romance to balance it all out. This is a book I could definitely see getting turning into a movie!
Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the eARC! “The Big Fix” by Holly James is set to be released on March 25, 2025.

A cute rom-com mystery. The beginning seemed a bit sluggish like the author wasn't sure where she wanted to go with the story, but the storyline found its legs and picked up.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Kensington Books for the arc of this book. This book is a very cute rom-com mystery with a side of suspense. This book started out a little on the slow side but when it started to pick up it took off and kept moving until the last chapter. This book had me laughing out loud a few times. This was the first book I have read by Holly James and greatly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books by this author. I enjoyed this book so much I read it in two sittings.

Penny is a computer science professor who is mistaken for a fixer Anthony's gf. She now has to dodge henchmen, the FBI and a ruthless billionaire

Love Anthony and Penny together. Penny is resourceful and smart and Athony is savvy.... Tremendous chemistry... Love the fun and humour.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I'm not sure what to classify this as, a romantic comedy or suspense filled romance. Either way, I enjoyed it. Portia is taken on a wild ride after her sister tries to meddle on her love life and set her up with the neighbor's nephew. At times it's a comedy of errors and at times it full of suspense. The pace of the story works and Portia and Anthony are worth rooting for. Holly James doesn't miss.

What a fun little ride!!

I received The Big Fix as an ARC (Thank you NetGalley and Holly James for this early copy). I really went into it blind based off the cover.

The Big Fix follows Penny (a college professor trying to earn tenure) and Anthony (a "financial consultant" whose real job is revealed in the book). Penny shows up for an estate sale at the home of Anthony's uncle. When a closet door is opened a dead body falls out!

The story takes a wild ride from there! I don't want to give too much away without revealing spoilers. But Penny finds herself in a situation that she never imagined she would. This story is fast paced and you can't help but like the characters.

Very enjoyable read!

A fun, quick and cute read that I basically finished within two sittings. If you’re into fast paced action and suspense and love romance this book will be right up your alley!

This writing is great at times it can be a little bogged down and there were a few instances where what could have been said in 2 paragraphs went on for 2 pages. Regardless it was easy to follow and the pacing for the majority was good.

The characters. I feel like I just didn’t gel with them? penny came off as very immature and honestly a little dumb for someone who’s supposedly a doctor. She could have solved her own issues numerous times and just… didn’t? Her priories were all over the place. I will say she did kinda pick up at the end but not by much. Anthony didn’t have much of a personality for me I really struggled with his character.

The romance unfortunately wasn’t what kept me reading but the action/plot did. Was it a little obvious? Could you see the twists coming a mile away? Was the plot and mystery a little over the top and at times a bit annoying?Honestly yeah but it was still fun and it did make me want to read until the end.

Overall I think the book was good it just lacked a little depth that I typically like in my romances but if you’re looking for a quick, one to two sitting read and you don’t care if there’s inconsistencies and a crazy plot then this is the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the arc!

Another fantastic book by Holly James! Her books never fail to make me laugh and swoon and this was no exception. This book was a blast featuring an excellent blend of humor, romance and mystery. The banter between Penny and Anthony was great and the twist on fake dating made this book stand out.

Cute romance/cozy mystery

I am not a huge romance fan and thought this would be more of a mystery, but I still enjoyed it. A college professor teams up with the handsome neighbor to help save a damsel in distress - a wealthy friend of his with a bad guy husband. There is some blood with several people getting shot/stabbed, but it is not explicit, nor are the sex scenes. All in all a light-hearted, cute romance/cozy mystery.

Thanks @netgalley @kensingtonbooks and @hellohollyjames for the chance to read Holly's adventure romance, The Big Fix. It releases on March 25, 2025.

This book was SUCH a ride. Holly masterfully pulled at the various threads of this story to concoct a novel that was an edge-of-your-seat delight oozing with chemistry between the two leads.

Computer science professor Penny gets more than she bargained for when she lets her sister drag her to the estate sale next to her house in the Bay Area suburbs. And when a dead body falls out of a closet during the event, suddenly she's accidentally thrust into a world of fixers, hit men, missing trophy wives, and more. The most dangerous part of it all might be Anthony, the new owner of the house next door who everyone thinks is Penny's boyfriend, and just might be her only chance to get out of this mess alive.

Steam: 🔥 (closed door)
Tropes: adventure, forced proximity, bad guy who might be a good guy, touch her and die

Although many books have said they are similar to the Fall Guy (a movie I loved and watch 3x in the theater), this is the first book I've read that lives up to that hype. I think what this book has captured that most lack is that ephemeral vibe: fun and almost cozy, but still full of thriller-esque twists that feel realistic.

This book was so much fun, the snarky banter between Penny and Anthony was hilarious. I appreciated the new twist of fake dating - when everyone else thinks you're dating but your not. The mystery was the perfect balance of danger and thrill without becoming too dark or terrifying. The story itself had moments of unbelievable, but overall was so well done that I don't know that I can point to anything I would have changed. I also appreciate that no one is a superhero perfection in this - although quite capable we see Anthony struggle and grow just as much as Penny. Like with Fall Guy, part of the joy is that the characters are more like real people than flawless super-spies put in extraordinary circumstances.

Holly James has become a new favorite author and I need more of whatever magic was put into this book. Please.

Had a blast! I think the cover perfectly describes the vibe of the book (comedy/romance/suspense) in the best way. The characters are all solid and so well drawn from the first moment they're on the page. Holly James is a new-to-me author, and if this is even a little indicative of her other work, I'll be trying more!

A few (very small) quibbles (the sort of thing that stop this from being 5 stars, rather than just Very Fun): this is a very closed door romance. Which is fine, you do you, but you have people being kidnapped and saved and running for their lives and at no point do we see them having sex just to feel alive? There were definitely times that I wished we had Anthony's POV, even just a couple of chapters I think could have really tipped this book.

Holly James has quickly become one of my favorite authors and THE BIG FIX only further cemented that fact. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy!

The eye catching cover art fits this lighthearted romp to a tee. While entertaining with some humor, this one is predictable to a fault.

Just when Penny Collins thought trying to make tenure would be the height of her summer stress, a body falls out of a closet at an estate sale. She soon finds herself on the run with Anthony the guy whose closet began these shenanigans. Banter, danger, and hijinks follow. Oh, and closed door romance!💘

In the early chapters Penny seemed a little immature however as the book progressed her character leveled out and I liked her more. The romance threads in the beginning are obvious. A more nuanced approach would’ve built more tension. That’s where it’s at when it comes to romance. Tension. The supporting characters were intriguing and felt genuine.

I’d recommend this one for those looking for genre bending escapism. Romantic/Suspense

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for providing an Advanced Reading Copy for review. These are my unbiased opinions.

3.5 stars

This started out as a humorous mystery and ended up as a zany adventure. Professor seeking tenure Dr. Penny Collins is estate sale hunting with her sister (who is really looking for a boyfriend for Penny). The hunky house owner is definitely acting strange when things get quite weird: a dead body falls out of one of the closets. Turns out that Anthony knows a bit about what's going on.

Before you know it, sparks are flying between the two but they don't have time to act on that since they are running from some very bad folks. Throw in a kidnapping or two, a homicidal billionaire, the FBI, a disappearance, and Las Vegas. It's all quite improbable but fun in an over the top way. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If you’re looking for a truly hilarious thromance, this is the book for you! I’ve become a bit obsessed with this trope 🤣

So on to the book, Penny is a straight laced professor looking to complete her tenure, she is not looking for drama but the drama happened to find her in the shape of a tall, handsome (of course) fixers nephew. I loved the chemistry between the characters, the banter was on point from the get go.

I usually read books with more spice however the storyline and action made up for the lack of…well you know.

Solid 4.5 stars, I’m now googling what other books the author has written

This book is a genre blend of romance, and mystery, that kept me hooked right from the first page! (Finishing the book in one sitting)

The story centre's around Penny, who gets caught up in a wild adventure while staying at her sister's house for the summer.

Penny’s sister drags her along to a neighbour's estate sale, which becomes complete chaos…. (This is where Penny meets Anthony) and a body falls out of a closet!

Penny and Anthony, find themselves on the run, dodging bullets…. All the while unraveling a captivating mystery. Their chemistry is off the charts… and
I really loved Anthony's mix of practicality and awkward charm… I found it to be really endearing.

Holly James has beautifully blended humour and suspense, creating a fast paced story.…. That I really struggled to put down.

The romance is tasteful and the mystery is intriguing, making it a must-read for fans of rom-coms, mysteries, and thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley & Kensington Publishing!