Cassie Stubinski is the divorced mother of two active young sons. She's been working in the IGA's bakery department, where she and her best friend, Angelina dream about one day having their own business. Angelina and her fiance, Paco, have been trying to set up a date between Cassie and Paco's best friend, Mike. While the two have been putting their friends off, they finally give in to the pressure and arrange a meeting.

Cassie and Mike are in similar financial straits, and circumstances force Mike to take Cassie up on her offer for help. He ends up renting a room over Cassie's garage, much to the delight of her sons. The boys are getting a man's attention, something which was rare when their father was around. Can Cassie and Mike get past the dirty deeds done to them in the past, and create a new future?

Cynthianna Appel's character driven story of two hard working people hits on a problem that's more common than we'd like to believe. Mike's ex girlfriend has maxed out his credit and gone, leaving him deep in debt. Cassie's ex husband hasn't been paying his child support, making it almost impossible for her and the boys to make ends meet on her paycheck.

Both main characters are well written, and reveal their individual stories as they forge ahead and try to overcome the mess their former partners left them in. The boys, J J and Lance, add some light moments as they act like any two normal brothers. Paco and Angelina contribute to the plot through their support of the main characters. Then there are the exes, Jack and Haley, who show up looking to create more trouble. How much more damage can they do?

The Fixer Uppers has a lot of heart, courage and determination. It's the sort of story that'll have you believing in second chances.