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Hard to Fix: A slow burn small town romance
A quiet mechanic. A single mom on the run. A town full of ghosts.
Sometimes the safest place to fall is the one you swore you’d never return to.
Mari
Coming back to Salt Point was never part of the plan.
But when you're fleeing a man who promised to destroy everything, the place you once swore off starts to look like the only safe option—no matter how many memories it holds.
I’ve got a five-year-old to protect, a trailer I can barely afford, and a past I’m still trying to outrun.
The last person I expected to offer help? Dean Halvorsen—the quiet, gruff boy I once crushed on.
Now he’s all grown up, owns a garage, and looks at me like I’m something breakable.
But I can’t afford to break. Not now.
Dean
Salt Point doesn’t change. You keep your head down, fix what’s broken, and don’t ask for more.
I’ve spent years keeping my life small. Safe. Predictable.
Then Mari Hart shows up with a busted car, a kid who looks like her, and eyes full of things she won’t say.
She needs a job. I need help at the shop. But letting her in? That’s a risk I haven’t taken in years.
I don’t do feelings. Don’t do messy.
So why does every part of me want to try?
Hard to Fix is a slow-burn, emotionally charged small-town romance with trauma recovery, found family, and a cinnamon roll mechanic who’s better with engines than words—but would show up for her every single time.
Perfect for readers who
Grumpy/sunshine (but make it soft)
Single moms and emotionally safe men
Trauma recovery that’s tender, not toxic
Found family and quiet devotionActs of service as love language
Small-town romance with emotional depth
Her past isn't finished with her.
But neither is Dean.
And Salt Point might not be far enough to hide.
Each Halvorsen Brothers novel can be read as a standalone, but reading in order brings deeper emotional payoff.
Sometimes the safest place to fall is the one you swore you’d never return to.
Mari
Coming back to Salt Point was never part of the plan.
But when you're fleeing a man who promised to destroy everything, the place you once swore off starts to look like the only safe option—no matter how many memories it holds.
I’ve got a five-year-old to protect, a trailer I can barely afford, and a past I’m still trying to outrun.
The last person I expected to offer help? Dean Halvorsen—the quiet, gruff boy I once crushed on.
Now he’s all grown up, owns a garage, and looks at me like I’m something breakable.
But I can’t afford to break. Not now.
Dean
Salt Point doesn’t change. You keep your head down, fix what’s broken, and don’t ask for more.
I’ve spent years keeping my life small. Safe. Predictable.
Then Mari Hart shows up with a busted car, a kid who looks like her, and eyes full of things she won’t say.
She needs a job. I need help at the shop. But letting her in? That’s a risk I haven’t taken in years.
I don’t do feelings. Don’t do messy.
So why does every part of me want to try?
Hard to Fix is a slow-burn, emotionally charged small-town romance with trauma recovery, found family, and a cinnamon roll mechanic who’s better with engines than words—but would show up for her every single time.
Perfect for readers who
Grumpy/sunshine (but make it soft)
Single moms and emotionally safe men
Trauma recovery that’s tender, not toxic
Found family and quiet devotionActs of service as love language
Small-town romance with emotional depth
Her past isn't finished with her.
But neither is Dean.
And Salt Point might not be far enough to hide.
Each Halvorsen Brothers novel can be read as a standalone, but reading in order brings deeper emotional payoff.
414 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2025
57 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 22, 2025
What an absolutely lovely unexpected surprise of a book.
I’m not quite sure how the Insta algorithm knew I needed to read this book but I’m so glad it did.
This book and its MC - Dean, is the definition of quiet strength through acts of service. Consistently showing up - providing what he can, when he can. Demonstrating his love through a million small moments each day - fixing what needs fixing without a lot of fanfare and bombastic overtures.
Maybe I’ve fallen into a reading rut lately but it was so refreshing to have two people that didn’t have oodles of money to throw at a problem, didn’t have all the right, sexy words to convey their emotions, and didn’t have all the easy answers right away when things got tough.
There was miscommunication, there was heartache, there was pushing each other away out of insecurity and years of building walls. It all felt so incredibly REAL. Which made the payoff at the end feel earned and right on schedule.
This story, these characters felt authentic in aspiring to live a mundane, routine, comfortable, stable life. It’s not flashy and it’s not loud - but it is real and I just really respect that artistic choice by this author when it feels like other books in this genre would have gone in a different direction.
I loved it and can’t wait to read more by this author. ❤️
I’m not quite sure how the Insta algorithm knew I needed to read this book but I’m so glad it did.
This book and its MC - Dean, is the definition of quiet strength through acts of service. Consistently showing up - providing what he can, when he can. Demonstrating his love through a million small moments each day - fixing what needs fixing without a lot of fanfare and bombastic overtures.
Maybe I’ve fallen into a reading rut lately but it was so refreshing to have two people that didn’t have oodles of money to throw at a problem, didn’t have all the right, sexy words to convey their emotions, and didn’t have all the easy answers right away when things got tough.
There was miscommunication, there was heartache, there was pushing each other away out of insecurity and years of building walls. It all felt so incredibly REAL. Which made the payoff at the end feel earned and right on schedule.
This story, these characters felt authentic in aspiring to live a mundane, routine, comfortable, stable life. It’s not flashy and it’s not loud - but it is real and I just really respect that artistic choice by this author when it feels like other books in this genre would have gone in a different direction.
I loved it and can’t wait to read more by this author. ❤️
July 6, 2025
Dean and Mari. My loves. Their relationship was BUILT off of tension. Mari only seeing Leo (her son) as her world at the beginning definitely made me love her. Though, she was able to find solace in Salt Point with Dean.
Dean the dark broody mechanic who likes cars better than humans, because, cars tell you what’s wrong. Mari is running from something but won’t tell anyone what. She’s got to keep her son safe. And she’ll do anything to do that. It was a very quiet love that they formed between each other. In between learning about Deans brothers, I found myself sucked into the story of the Halverson’s and not wanting it to end. Mari was able to find herself in this town she fled from when she was younger and Dean was finally able to express his feelings towards Mari to show how much he loved her and Leo. Leo was a bundle of joy to read about. His friendship with Mazy (Caleb’s daughter, Dean’s brother) was the sweetest thing ever! I can’t wait to see them in the future stories of the brothers. The spice wasn’t too high for this one, and I liked that. I don’t really like to read the spice in stories anyway, and me not reading the scenes didn’t pull away from the story and I was still able to connect with the characters a lot.
Dean the dark broody mechanic who likes cars better than humans, because, cars tell you what’s wrong. Mari is running from something but won’t tell anyone what. She’s got to keep her son safe. And she’ll do anything to do that. It was a very quiet love that they formed between each other. In between learning about Deans brothers, I found myself sucked into the story of the Halverson’s and not wanting it to end. Mari was able to find herself in this town she fled from when she was younger and Dean was finally able to express his feelings towards Mari to show how much he loved her and Leo. Leo was a bundle of joy to read about. His friendship with Mazy (Caleb’s daughter, Dean’s brother) was the sweetest thing ever! I can’t wait to see them in the future stories of the brothers. The spice wasn’t too high for this one, and I liked that. I don’t really like to read the spice in stories anyway, and me not reading the scenes didn’t pull away from the story and I was still able to connect with the characters a lot.
July 9, 2025
Most depressing book. Gave up half way through. No guy is that dumb. Just not worth my time.
August 26, 2025
Fantastic storyline but I probably would have enjoyed it more if it had been a little shorter. Parts just felt unnecessary.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews