How We Started

The MacBains #.5

by Nan Dixon

Sabotage or Matchmaking?

Mac is determined to prove his value to both his grandfather and parent/s To do that he must finish the six houses under construction by Christmas, then his grandfather, Joe, will turn over control of MacBain Construction. But Joe goes around Mac and hires an inexperienced cleaning company with a pretty, feisty woman at the helm. Mac's not sure if Joe is creating obstacles, teaching him a lesson or playing matchmaker.

On top of finishing college, Patty's trying to keep her family's cleaning company afloat while her mother suffers through chemotherapy. Joes helps her get the cleaning job for MacBain Construction, which will east the financial pressure on her family. Unfortunately, Patty's stuck dealing with Mac, a control freak, who disagrees with Joes' trust in her. She doesn't need a bossy, handsome man telling her how to run her company.
But Joe's matchmaking is spot on and as Mac and Patty get to know each other, their attraction builds, crossing the line between business and personal. Then one of Patty's employees endangers Mac's timelines and goals.

Will Mac's need for control destroy their love?

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 15, 2022

About the author

Nan spent her formative years as an actress, singer, dancer and competitive golfer. But the need to eat had her studying accounting in college. Unfortunately, being a successful financial executive didn’t feed her passion to perform. When the pharmaceutical company she worked for was purchased, Nan got the chance of a lifetime—the opportunity to pursue a writing career.

She’s a five-time Golden Heart finalist and lives in the Midwest.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Nan Dixon, for the ARC of How We Started -- a charming bit of holiday cheer! Others readers of the McBain series will be as delighted as I was to witness Patty and Mac's courtship. Like their children's romances, Patty and Mac's love story contains ups and downs. When Mac hires Patty's cleaning company for his office and the properties he's building, readers might be sure that this is a Cinderella story in the making, But real-life roadblocks like overbooked schedules, family conflict, and miscommunications seem to be steering these two career-driven young people away from a happily-ever-after. Even Patty's roommate has a hand in the troubles. Arriving drunk hours late to the jobsite, Fran does the evil stepsisters proud. Patty herself finishes the job, making good on her promise, but Mac has a lot of work to do to forgive her and to change his behavior so she will forgive him.This being a romance, of course he does the work, Patty forgives him, and their lifetime together can begin. The final scene wraps up everything a reader might want in a Christmas romance, including snow. If you need a short read to up your Christmas spirit, this is the one!

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mac McBain is trying to show his grandfather that he can take over MacBain Construction and he is given the task of building 6 houses and he is doing well, until he has to fire his cleaning service and his grandfather hires a new service without consulting Mac. He is sure is grandfather is trying to put roadblocks in his way to see what Mac will do and he is certain there is other forces at work with his grandpa Joe.

Patti Murphy is trying to hold her family’s cleaning service together while her mother is going through cancer treatments, as well as going to college and working part time in a coffee shop where she meets Joe McBain and he hires her cleaning service without consulting his grandson, as she learns when she meets the very intense and focused Michael “Mac” McBain. He is also a control freak and when he tries to interfere with her business, she takes exception to that. Patti takes exception to that and lets him know that he can’t always be in control. There are other things at work with Patti and Mac and it is their strong attraction to one another. Can Mac give up his control while falling in love and can Patti show Mac there is more to work and proving himself to see that love can’t be controlled?

This was a wonderful and heartwarming story that introduces us to the love story of Patti and Mac MacBain. Talk about opposites attract with these two strong willed people. Patti teaches Mac to bring out his softer side and Mac shows Patti that he is will in the end to compromise and together they can accomplish everything. I loved being introduced to Grandpa Joe and his willey way of loving interference to bring these two people together and watch them fall in love. It’s a wonderful and emotional story that brings the magic of the season to the reader. I look forward to the next MacBain book.

I was given a copy to review for my honest review.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book and I am voluntarily reviewing it.

This lovely story is all about the parents in the MacBain series. Hence you don't have to read the prior ones to thoroughly enjoy this one.

Patty is temporarily running her mother's cleaning service while she goes through chemotherapy. Patty has her hands full with going to college, working part-time and running the cleaning service. She doesn't have time for romance.

Mac (Michael) is working hard to get 6 houses built by a specific time. Hopefully his grandfather will turn more of the construction business over to Mac. Mac wanted his grandfather to retire and enjoy after years of hard work. He also doesn't have the time for romance.

This is a sexy read but those sections are small in quantity so you can skip over them if you prefer as this is wonderful story and not erotica.

[Monique Westwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved going back to the beginning with this story!  This is an amazing series.   Patty and Mac are quite the couple.   It was great to meet the families and see how they shaped Patty and Mac. This can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading them all starting with this one.  They're just that good!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

How We Started is the prequel novella to Nan Dixon's The MacBains series, telling how the MacBain parents (Mac and Patty) originally got together. It's billed as a standalone, and since it takes place before the two other (so far) series books ( Maid For Success and Edge of Friendship ), overall that's an accurate statement. You don't have to have read the other 2 books to understand what happens here. *However* I found Mac to overall be an unlikable hero--a bit of a jerk and an overbearing my-way-or-the-highway kind of guy to his employees, family, and especially to Patty in 95% of the book--but maybe if you've read the two books featuring the second generation it's easier to take him here?

(Another tiny little niggling point--reading the excerpt for Maid for Success immediately after reading this novella raised some questions, the most notable of which is why in Maid does (MC) Kate think about how her parents' companies were started by them while in Started Patty and Mac each take them over as already established companies from their own mother and grandfather, respectively? Which is it?)

Overall, this was a quick if somewhat uneven read. Their transition from two people who are pretty antagonistic toward each other (while simultaneously thinking each other is hot, of course) to ILYs is pretty quick, and it didn't really feel like they (but Mac especially) did all of the work getting there should have involved. It was hard to pinpoint when exactly this story takes place--people have landlines, because one character wraps a coiled phone cord around her finger at one point and another is impressed by a car phone--and they talk about listening to "radios" but other than that it's difficult to say even which decade we're supposed to be in. Not a huge problem, but it was disconcerting.

This is one that's probably best for people who already love the characters of this established series and are wondering How We Started.

Rating: 3 stars / C+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Michelle Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed the MacBains series so far and thought this prequel story (the parents) is a perfect addition. It was interesting to see that Mac had made a bet with his grandfather Joe while Joe was, some could say, secretly matchmaking behind the scenes for Mac and Patty who works for the new cleaning company (her mother owns) he hired behind Mac’s back. For the most part Mac and Patty get a long however when the bet and business comes into play, Mac is not a nice person. I feel like Trouble, Mac’s dog, has more people skills than he does. The story is good, and I was wondering if Mac and Patty could find something more beyond friendship. We also understand and see how Mac is by watching the interaction between his parents, siblings, and himself. Unfortunately, when something happens that could derail all of Mac’s hard work, he definitely takes things too far and whatever was starting between he and Patty is no longer there. I do feel however that that was the wakeup call he needed plus a stern conversation with Joe, and he realizes he needs to change the way he handles business. His grand gesture of sorts to Patty and her crew on the last house of the project and the way he shares things with Patty, went a long way to seeing he truly wants to be with Patty and change his ways. I’m definitely going to be re-reading the first two Macbains series books now that I’ve read this prequel story. Enjoyed the book.

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the books before this one. Mac was an jerk. He was upset with his grandfather for firing the last cleaning crew. The new cleaning crew was Murphy’s Maids. Patty Murphy was young to say the least, but she was doing this to help her parents out. After all this was the family business. Once she started Mac was happy about things. He even felt something for her, and wanted her in his bed more then he could say.
What I didn’t like was it seemed that whenever he took her out, and that was on two occasions that the women one knew who he was. One wanted him beyond friendship. The other Patty knew they were item. When Mac explained it was just they got drunk, and well we all know what happened after that.
But when Mac jumped down her employee and friends throat it was rude beyond words. If anything Patty had the upper hand, and should take care of things not him.
When Mac realized he made an error he apologized, but Patty was not happy.
He tries really hard.
The ending was sweet.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Maid for Success so I was looking forward to reading Mac and Patty's story. I was not disappointed! I wanted to find out how the Macbains' family started. Nan Dixon does an excellent job writing about the two main characters. Mac is aloof and serious. He wants to take over the company but his grandfather tells him he must finish the six houses first. When Grandfather Joe (who is a sweet, kind man) fires the cleaning company and recommends Merry Maids, we all know that Joe is trying to set up Mac and Patty. Patty is a sweet, young woman, working her way through college but helping her mom run the cleaning business due to her mom fighting cancer. You can feel the tension and chemistry between Mac and Patty. It's interesting to see how Patty breaks down Mac's defenses. The reader needs to remember it's a novella so the timeline moves quickly. I was worried that Patty's roommate Fran would run the cleaning contract but in the end there is a happy ever after moment. Fans of romance will definitely enjoy the latest installment of The Macbains.

[Elaine Coghlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How We Started ~ The MacBains by Nan Dixon
The storyline was great, the character work was fantastic and the book had a smooth flow to it. This was another great addition to the series. This is the prequel to Maid for Success and it kept me entertained from beginning to end. Nan has given us characters that we can care about., with a story that pulls you in and never let's go.

[Barbara Tobey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story starts before there were cell phones. That amused me. It was interesting to watch the growth of Mac. As usual, I skipped the amorous activities. Sweet romance. Loved Grandfather Joe. Thanks to the author for providing a copy. My review is voluntary.