ARC Review: "The Reno" by Maggie Grant (Everly Heath #1) ★★★★★

ARC Review: The Reno by Maggie Grant (Everly Heath #1)

Okay, this had no right to be the masterpiece that it is! How will I ever manage to narrow down all my favourite quotes?? Haha. But really what a beautiful small-town grumpy meets sunshine enemies-to-lovers slowburn romance! A classic combination of all things hilarious and heartful. I cannot believe this is a debut novel, Maggie Grant has produced something wonderful here. Fans of Tessa Bailey, Tarah Dewitt, and Abby Jimenez will adore this!

Liam pulled back and pressed his forehead against mine. “I would have followed you anywhere if I could. But I can’t. So this is my chance to ask you properly. Stay. But stay because you love it here. Stay because you want to. But most importantly, stay because I love you.”

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
27-year-old Kat Williams lives in Reading, Berkshire with ADHD and is a graphic designer working at her friend Willa’s company – or, at least, is *supposed* to be working. After her father’s funeral 8 months ago, where she not only had a mental breakdown but had an obnoxious man take her parking space at the church (which she did not take kindly to), she has not been able to focus very well. Her parents divorced years ago, her mother remarried, and her father never visited or attempted to contact them.

It is revealed, though, that her dad bought a house in Everly Heath, Manchester, that they had seen when she was 10 years old, which she has now inherited. Kat wonders if this is her chance to get some closure by spending time away from work renovating the place to sell. Her overbearing unsupportive mother, who is a teacher and often criticises Kat, disapproves of the idea. Ignoring this, she goes anyway, not telling her mother. After all, Everly Heath is where her aunt Sandra, uncle Brian, and cousin Lydia reside who she has not seen for years.

She discovers the builder is none other than the obnoxious man from the funeral (how very *not* meet cute), single dad and aspiring chef, Liam Hunter. He is bitter towards Southerners, . After getting off on the wrong foot, the two concede that they must work together: Kat because there are no other builders available; Liam because he wants to make up for his behaviour from the funeral, plus he is a friend of the family and offers to do the labour cheaper.

From renovating to dancing with the elderly to sharing his house due to construction to helping with his daughter Abigail, the two become very close. Kat cannot stay as she is only there for 2 months so wants to keep things casual and discreet from the gossiping town. But Liam bets he can convince her to stay, not realising he will fall helplessly in love with her. Will Kat push him away like she has with everyone else? Or will she take the biggest risk in her life? And what happens when her mother finds out where she is?

This is told from the first-person past-tense POV of Kat.

OVERALL OPINIONS
To sum up this book “it was something out of a fucking Hallmark film” – which is exactly why this needs to be made into one!

For a debut, this book is incredible, you have to read it to understand where I am coming from! There are some hilarious sequences like Kat hitting Liam with a lamp thinking he is a burglar (I laughed so hard at this!), or when she insists on camping for the night but the tent rips and she gets soaked and Liam saves her despite her protests. But this is not just your average rom-com, there is so much depth to the characters that a lot of it resonated with me and I could feel it in my soul! In that sense, this reminded me of Abby Jimenez and her work except this book did focus more on the romance which is what I prefer. Hearing Kat’s mother putting Kat down, I felt this. I really hated her mother (surprised that even I liked her by the end of it). I know those sorts of conversations and having to be defensive about it – Maggie captured this perfectly. Nobody deserves to have to defend their dreams.

Maggie Grant acknowledges her own husband in her Acknowledgements thanking him for his “steadfast encouragement when doubt and imposter syndrome sets in”. This is so sweet and a lot like Liam with Kat, so clearly Grant’s own beautiful relationship is reflected in her work.

Indeed, the exploration of healthy and toxic relationships was done very well. We get the toxic relationship between Kat and her mother Paula, but a more positive one between Kat and her stepfather Graham and (bless him) he is always the voice of reason for Paula and helps diffuse situations. Eventually, Kat’s mother sees the error of her ways and tries to be there for her (and has even paid attention to Kat’s designs and admit she’s proud of her). Her friendships with Lydia and Willa are very wholesome and they are supportive.

Liam and Kat’s relationship is so healthy. They communicate all the time which is something couples are not good at. Their conversations flowed so naturally. I especially love their “It’s fine” or “I’m fine” and they respond “No, it’s not. Talk to me”. And they are super supportive of the other person. Kat encourages Liam to finally open a restaurant, and Liam helps Kat find her own self-worth, gain confidence and also follow her dreams. This is so beautiful. Their talk of grief moved me the most.

The descriptions Maggie Grant writes alone are amazing, very witty and poetic. Some examples I love are “She had the energy of the Duracell buny and the spirit of a children’s TV presenter” and “Lydia’s eyes were wide, bouncing between us like it was the final at Wimbledon”. At the end of chapter 2 there is a great repetition of “I didn’t tell her” which strongly emphasises how much she really wants to tell her mother all these things but cannot due to the person she is. A clever one is “Mum’s face flickered with pain, then she schooled it.” – schooled like the teacher she is.

This is the first book of the Everly Heath series. Book 2 will be about Kat’s cousin Lydia and Liam’s brother Ren. There is only one interaction with them, in which Lydia greets him curtly (which Kat notices because that is not like bubbly and bright Lydia). We get a little of their backstory:

I’d been led to believe that Ren and Lydia had spent their childhood together, inseparable. Liam said they were two sides of the same coin—best friends. But these people weren’t best friends.
Ren’s gaze finally shifted away back to his dad with a cocky smile. But call it ADHD perception or whatever, but I knew the expression Ren wore on his face was longing. Longing and regret.

Then she snorts at Ren saying he is staying for good, claiming he won’t stay because “You never do.”. Later on in the story, Ren is “stealing glances at [Lydia]” while she is with her girlfriend. I love the tension between them, to be honest! I suspect there may be a Book 3 about Willa and Aidan – which I hope I am not getting my hopes up about. We will have to see.

Overall, I adored this and I am hope very much to return to Everly Heath soon!

<< Positives >>
🠚The cover is really cute – it has essentially all aspects of the book in one picture. There is the renovation in the background. They are linking their pinkie fingers, something which occurs various times in the book – and I immensely love it when authors include scenes straight out of their book! Kat and Liam make around 7 pinkie promises in this story, starting out as a joke because Kat thinks that a macho guy like Liam making a pinkie swear is funny.
🠚The to-do lists at the beginning of some chapters are both relatable and adorable. I especially like that it goes from “Kat’s To Do List” to just a “To Do List” that she is sharing with Liam (with various things scored off because Liam is the best).
🠚Neurodiversity representation through Kat’s ADHD and dyslexia. This is handled exceptionally well! We have various aspects covered: how getting a diagnosis is life-changing for a lot of people “It all made sense. It all slotted into place. There was a reason for the struggles”, how it can be a nuisance, how it is perceived (through the mother’s lack of sympathy and “just apply yourself more” attitude), how it can be handled but, most importantly, how it is *not* an excuse to deem someone as weak. Grant has written this in such a way that many can relate to, and I love to see that so much. As someone who knows people with these conditions, I know they will appreciate this story.
🠚Bisexual representation through Lydia.
🠚Pop culture references! They were a bonus for me. From The Shining to Clueless, it was fun! I love it whenever people mention Gollum haha.

<< Negatives >>
🠚I expected more spice but what was here was *chef’s kiss*, ‘scuse the pun. Other than that, I found very little fault.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Kat꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ When she said “Impatience should be my middle name instead of Jane” I felt that haha. I related a lot to her. I hate when people fuss over me, I am also a people pleaser like her and I like my lists too. I too will forget things unless I write it down.
🠚Seeing her confidence build, the way she stands up to her mother, the person she becomes at the end of the book is so lovely to see. I nearly cried! So proud of her!

“People say that grief is love with nowhere to go. But what happens to all the anger and longing and frustration or the crippling disappointment? Where does that all go? What happens when it’s not as simple as just ‘love’?”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Liam꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ No because oh my goodness. Right, I know I say this every time I read a book but I am telling you this time this man right here is the most walking green flag I have ever seen! I like that he was not a perfect man, but now he essentially is. It shows how much he has matured as a person.
🠚Oh, and I love that he wears the colour hunter green. Absolute perfection! 🠚He does so, so much to put Kat first:
  • She is uncomfortable at a social event? He asks if she wants to leave.
  • She mentions how she loves the art gallery in London? He rents out the art gallery for the day in Manchester.
  • He notices she likes caramel syrup because of that one dive-through order? He gets it for her again – and his response is “It’s been hard not to notice you, Red. Even when I tried my best not to.”
  • She has a Pinterest board with all the different designs she likes for her dream home? He spends two months while she is away recreating that dream house for her, with everything perfectly so!
🠚Marry that man right now or I will!

“Did I tell you how beautiful you look when you’re excited about something? Your eyes light up, a bright blue. For the past hour, I’ve wanted to take you home and see how I can make you look at me like that.”

-ˋˏ ꒰ Other characters꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I love Willa she has to be my favourite side character. I love how she is like “I will say this as gently as possible because it’s what you need to hear. And because we have no HR.”

FAV QUOTES
• I’d tried to move on. But this particular brand of grief wasn’t all that straightforward. It was thorny and prickly, and the more I ignored it, the more I bled.
• I didn’t want to work with this man who had seen me at my worst. He’d seen me angry. He’d seen me cry. He’d seen me hungover. If I were a mafia boss, I’d call in a hit on Liam.
• “Let’s make it interesting. I bet you that you end up falling in love with this place. I bet you that you never go back.”
• “Distracted, Red?” Liam murmured, that voice smooth like honey. I glanced up to find Liam much closer than I’d expected. His eyes bore into mine, intense and fiery.
• Liam was clearly an “acts of service” kind of man. I’d always wondered what it would be like to meet one of those. I’d always dated guys who could say lovely, honeyed words but then would inform the barman that we were paying for our drinks separately. Liam seemed the type to pay the whole bill and help you move a sofa into your apartment on a Saturday afternoon.
• Liam smiled at me. It was the first proper smile I’d seen on his face, and it felt like an offering. Tentative and sweet.
• I should have felt exposed, divulging that information to someone I’d only known a week, but something about Liam’s way made me feel comfortable. I knew he wouldn’t try to make me feel better with useless words. He would just listen and I’d never had anyone just *listen*.
• “I like you. I think I’ve liked you since you ran at me with a lamp.” His lips twitched. “Or maybe since you called me a prick in the church car park. I liked you even more when you were determined to renovate a house all by yourself, with absolutely no experience.” He tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And I couldn’t resist helping you because when your beautiful face drops in disappointment, it’s like a punch to my stomach. I can’t stand it.” Liam shook his head, like he still couldn’t quite believe it himself. “So yeah. I like you.”
• Liam’s pinkie wrapped around mine. “I’d pinkie swear my life away to you, apparently.”
• “If you want the designs, we can make it happen, Red. You just tell me, and I’ll fit whatever you want. As long as that look stays on your face, I’ll move mountains.”
• “Don’t make noises like that in public. Or we’ll be paying the bill and going home.”
• I wanted Liam. I wanted him so fucking much. I wanted him, even when I shouldn’t. Even when I’d suppressed it for so so fucking long in a misguided attempt to protect myself.
• I had Liam. Liam, who loved me. Liam, who wanted me to stay. Liam, who looked after me when I was spiralling. Together, we’d be okay.
• Liam leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Take as long as you need, Red. But come back to me, will you? When the fog is gone.”
• Don’t invite nosy designers into your home if you don’t want them to redesign every aspect of your life.
• “Yours forever,” he murmured onto my lips. “Promise?” | “I pinkie promise.” I gave a watery laugh and wrapped his finger around mine.

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Maggie Grant for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“The Reno” is out August 28th