Book Review – Fix Her Up

Title: Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1)

Author: Tessa Bailey

Publisher: Avon Publishing

Publication Date: June 11, 2019

400 pages

5/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

New York Times bestseller Tessa Bailey launches a super sexy new series featuring the blue collar men who work for a HGTV-esq house flipping business.

After an injury ends Travis Ford’s major league baseball career, he returns home to start over. He just wants to hammer out his frustrations at his new construction gig and forget all about his glory days. But he can’t even walk through town without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his buddy’s little sister, who is definitely not a kid anymore.

Georgette Castle has crushed on her older brother’s best friend for years. The grumpy, bear of a man working for her family’s house flipping business is a far cry from the charming sports star she used to know. But a moody scowl doesn’t scare her and Georgie’s determined to show Travis he’s more than a pretty face and a batting average, even if it means putting her feelings aside to be “just friends.”

Travis wants to brood in peace. But the girl he used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman who makes him feel whole again. And he wants her. So damn bad. Except Georgie’s off limits and he knows he can’t give her what she deserves. But she’s becoming the air he breathes and Travis can’t stay away, no matter how hard he tries…

Review

Maybe it was the way she only reached his shoulder that sent protectiveness surging up to his jugular, while somehow—at the very same time—he wanted to seek refuge in her.

Fix Her up, tessa bailey

Okay, so I have been wanting this book pretty much since the day it came out because I saw so many people loved it on bookstagram. I was wandering around Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, DE and thought it was the perfect time to buy it. Knock one off my to buy list while supporting a local business. BEST. IDEA. EVER. I picked it up right before we were driving back to Baltimore so I had the WHOLE drive to read it. I just about finished it before we got home, but once we unloaded the car I dove right back in! Finished it all up in one day.

I fell in love with Georgie’s character within the first few pages. She was such a complex character (which frankly isn’t something you see much from smutty romance novels) who knew what she wanted. She had the best banter with Travis, which is something I could never do with the person I had been in love with forever. It was amazing to see her progression through the story and with Travis.

Travis was a great character too. He was just coming off a failed baseball career, living in his home town, living down his Two Bats nickname that he got from sleeping with everyone in America apparently. He also had this deeply sad part of him and believes he deserves the worst in the world. His type of character is my favorite in romance novels.

The side characters were good and obviously served their purpose in getting Georgie and Travis to the ending. The plot moved along well and hit all those Romance Novel check boxes. I don’t read Romance or Adult Contemporary super often, more just as a palate cleanser after the barrage of YA Fantasy I throw at my brain. But when I do, there are certain aspects I look for and this book had all of them.

Also, the smut. I mean come on, it had to be discussed right? Fix Her Up had a good level of smutty content without being too in your face, Fifty Shades style. There was mostly anticipation to the deed, which was honestly the best part. There’s this scene during a family dinner party that I needed to read again, for scientific purposes of course ;).

This book is the start of what appears to be a series where Fix Her Up’s side character become the main character and looks at their love story. Rosie and Dominic are up next in Love Her Or Lose Her, publishing in early 2020. You bet I’m picking up my copy!

Happy reading, bookish friends 🙂