Good Bones

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Pairing: MF
Heat: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Scorching
Tropes: Second Chance, Fixer Upper, Age Gap

She inherited a crumbling mansion. He’s the contractor hired to fix it. Neither expected to rebuild themselves in the process.

At forty, Claire Montgomery has mastered the art of starting over—divorced, laid off, and now the bewildered owner of a decaying Victorian manor in a town she’s never heard of. Left to her by a great-aunt she met twice, Blackwood Manor is less inheritance and more elaborate punishment.

Beckett Thorne knows old houses. He knows their secrets, their quirks, the way they settle and sigh. What he doesn’t know is what to do about the sharp-tongued woman who’s just inherited his current project. She’s guarded, she’s grieving, and she’s absolutely determined to prove she can handle this on her own.

As they work to restore the manor, something else starts to rebuild—trust, connection, the possibility that starting over doesn’t mean starting alone.

You’ll love this if you enjoy:

✓ Heroine over 40 getting her second chance
✓ Fixer upper with renovation romance vibes
✓ Patient hero who sees past her walls
✓ “The house brought us together”
✓ Small-town charm with big heat

Good Bones is a steamy second-chance romance featuring a divorced heroine finding herself again, a patient contractor with secrets of his own, and a house that might just save them both. Guaranteed happily ever after.

Read Chapter One Free

Claire

The house looked like it was trying to die with dignity.

Claire Montgomery stood at the end of the overgrown driveway, her rental car still ticking behind her, and stared at the Victorian manor that had just become her problem. Blackwood Manor rose three stories against the gray Pacific Northwest sky, its wraparound porch sagging like tired shoulders, its windows dark and accusing.

“Well,” she said to no one. “This is going to be fun.”

She’d driven six hours from Seattle for this. Six hours of bad coffee, worse radio stations, and plenty of time to contemplate how spectacularly her life had fallen apart in the last eighteen months. Divorced at thirty-eight. Laid off at thirty-nine. And now, at forty, the proud inheritor of a decaying mansion.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Good Bones spicy?

Yes! Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Scorching). The slow-burn tension between Claire and Beckett builds through the renovation before exploding in explicit scenes. The chemistry is absolutely worth the wait.

Is the heroine really over 40?

Yes! Claire is 40 at the start of the book—divorced, starting over, and figuring out who she is outside of her failed marriage. If you’re tired of romance heroines who are always in their twenties, this one’s for you.

Is this similar to Caulk of Shame?

Both feature renovation/contractor heroes, but Good Bones is more emotional and slower-paced while Caulk of Shame is a laugh-out-loud rom-com. If you loved the fixer-upper vibes of Caulk of Shame, you’ll enjoy this one too—just with more depth and a heroine at a different life stage.

Is there a happily ever after?

Always. Every Fractal Enigma book ends with a guaranteed HEA. Claire gets her fresh start, Beckett opens his guarded heart, and they build something beautiful together.

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