Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Handy
SERIES: Four Bears Construction
AUTHOR: K.M. Neuhold
NARRATORS: Tim Paige and Liam DiCosimo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 5 hours and 38 minutes
RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025
BLURB:
My new neighbor may be grumpy but he’s also hot, and very good with his hands…
I definitely overestimated my own handyman skills when I bought this fixer-upper. I have to say, the view from my new place is worth it though. Especially around seven o’clock every morning when my big, furry bear of a neighbor drinks his coffee shirtless on his back porch.
He’s dedicated to the bear thing too. Growly, grumpy, and as it turns out, he really likes belly rubs.
Am I a sucker for a touch starved grump? Yes. Am I sorry about it? Absolutely not.
Getting Griff into my house and into my bed is the easy part. Convincing him I’m actually interested in him is so much harder.
I didn’t mean to turn myself into his secret admirer, but if sending him anonymous presents and notes is the only way to wear down his gruff exterior, then that’s what I’m going to do.
Sooner or later he’ll realize he’s more than just my grumpy handyman, right?
Handy is a super low angst, high heat, romantic comedy featuring a grumpy “Bear” (not the shifter kind 
), and his sunshiney neighbor who becomes his secret admirer. It can be read as a stand alone but the most enjoyment will be from reading it as part of the full Four Bears Construction Series.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the eighth book in this series, despite thinking that the last book was the finale! So it contains lots of spoilers for previous books – although nothing that takes away from this one 
I do recommend listening to them in order because you will love them.
I can’t tell you how happy I am to be back in the world of Four Bears Construction.
Griff was a bit of an enigma in the previous books so we finally get his story He’s a new member to the Four Bears crew. And he’s truly the epitome of a “grumpy bear” barely evening talking – instead communicating mostly in grunts. He’s pretty antisocial, much to the chagrin of his coworkers and now his neighbor, Ledger.
Ledger is intrigued with his grump neighbor from the day he moved into the fixer upper he bought with an unexpected inheritance. Perhaps fixer upper is being a bit generous It’s a disaster that needs a ton of work. How lucky that said grumpy bear neighbor is in construction! Now if he can just convince him to help with the house beyond the immediate plumbing emergency resulting in a flood!
Griff isn’t exactly averse to helping Ledger out. He’s funny and flirty and is his proposal for real or just teasing? Griff hasn’t touched anyone since well. It’s been a long time. He pretty much works, comes home and watches TV, rinse, repeat. He usually tries to even beg off of get togethers with his coworkers. So yeah. He has the time. And sexy times with Ledger? Yeah, he’d be a fool to say no to that.
Thus they begin an interesting relationship. Griff is helping Ledger with his house and Ledger is helping Griff with his . . . well lets call them needs. In additional to their sexy times, Ledger sends Griff little gifts. Without any cards. Griff thinks there’s been a mistake. These gifts can’t possibly be for him. Who would have a crush on a middle-aged anti-social grump???
Then there is Ledger’s exotic pet. Ledger is a park ranger and his pet is sort of contraband Griff finds it pretty funny actually. Ledger’s best friend Jericho is not a big fan of this relationship or Ledger’s secret admirer setup. He feels like Ledger constantly sets himself up to be hurt by picking the wrong guys. But Ledger knows that there is something deeper there and he just needs to get Griff to open up. It takes a while, but he gets him there 
I love this series so much. It’s low angst which I really need at the moment. There is a lot of humor – even a reference to butter which will have fans of this series guffawing! Ledger is so sweet. He’s quite endearing and his pet is so cute (although they don’t make good pets for real ). And all the birds! I’ve just gotten into birding in the last few years and this just made me so happy that Ledger shared his knowledge in such a fun way. Griff was only existing – certainly not living. There’s a reason for that, but he really needs to move forward and he’s totally been stuck. Ledger is the perfect guy to help him move forward with this life. There no strings setup gives Griff the push he needs to work on changing his life. The rest of the four bears crew are there to help too Stone is back with this mistaken phrases that are sometimes hard to argue against. Ledger and Griff are so hot together. Ledger just knows he is good for Griff and that he’s found his person! He just has to work on getting Griff to realize it too. This world in Fall Crosse is full of entertaining characters and so much fun and love and support amongst this little community. I loved the crossover from Big Bull Mechanics and from Ink Slingers series too There’s even a reference to Palm Island
The narrating team of Liam DiCosimo and Tim Paige once again bring this series to life in the best possible way! It’s been quite a while since the last book in this series and I feel like they just stepped right back into it. These two need characters fit in quite well with all of the other guys in the series in Fall Crosse. I love the dual narration and all of the sweet and steamy scenes are just so perfectly performed. The listener is definitely drawn into Griff’s melancholy. He’s pretty much stopped enjoying life and Ledger is not having it. He wants to bring out Griff’s true personality – not the grumpy bear he’s hiding behind. He’s damn successful at the end of the day Griff’s actually speaking in full sentences – not just grunts! Plus that fair fashion show? That and the stick of butter are worth the price of admission right there If you’re in the mood for a fun, sexy, heartfelt romance between two opposites who are perfect for each other, I heartily recommend this audiobook. This author and narrators combo can’t be beat!
RATING: 
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