In three words...Fun, flirty, and sexy! ( )

This book was so cute, wholesome, fun, and at times sad. I shed some tears reading this book because it reminded me of my life at some parts. Which another reason I liked this book a lot was because it could be low key relatable. But I’ll definitely be checking out the next book in this series. I love the author’s writing and her characters. ( )

Call her "baby girl" one more time and I swear I'll fuck you up, Travis.
Also, some of the cringiest dirty talk EVER. The story was nice tho. ( )

Tessa Bailey’s romance novels seem to be everywhere recently, so I thought it was time to try one. I enjoyed Fix Her Up so much that I went and bought a few more of her novels. They are light, funny and hot (and not ‘just TikTok books’ as a bookshop worker commented). Perfect for a holiday or midweek read.

This is the first book in the ‘Hot and Hammered’ series, which focuses on the Castle family who renovate and sell houses as a business. Georgie is the youngest sister and often ignored by the rest of the family for being too young. Georgie is also the only one who didn’t go into the family business, instead deciding to become a clown for children’s parties. Georgie has also had a crush on Travis, best friend of older brother Stephen for years. So after the hot shot baseballer retires early due to injury, Georgie is determined to help him find her way out of his rut. Travis begins to see Georgie as something other than the annoying younger sister and they become friends. Then, to get what they both want – family recognition and a new career as a commentator – Travis and Georgie decide to fake date. Of course, they end up falling for each other with a misunderstanding and a make up session that is definitely unique. Meanwhile, other characters such as sister Bethany and friend Rosie are introduced. They aren’t happy with the men in their life, so they set up the ‘Just Us League’ to support each other in new endeavours. This ends up attracting the attention of the entire town. I’ll be interested to see if it continues into the next novel in the series.

The romance scenes in Fix Her Up are multiple, prolonged and pretty spicy. While Travis’ reputation as a love ‘em and leave ‘em man has been done before, he is redeemed through his recognition of the effect of his past and his father on him. Sometimes his dirty talk was a bit too alpha male, but deep down his gestures show that he is a good guy. Georgie in comparison is very innocent and perhaps a little too accepting of Travis’ dominance. But throughout the book she does learn to stand up for herself and tell people how she feels. I am still a bit unsure of her occupation though – surely being a clown doesn’t pay enough for her own house? It made for a couple of cute moments but it didn’t really seem to gel with her lifestyle or add a lot to the narrative (could have been easily replaced with her being a teacher). Also, brother Stephen seems a bit out of the last century, often appearing angry and roaring up to places, demanding that his wife leaves with him. For the most part, she doesn’t seem to take him seriously, but it was a bit disconcerting at times.

I did have a couple of issues with the timing in places. At one point Georgie and Travis get down and dirty in a baseball dugout on a school day (baseball isn’t in season though) and at another, all the women in town appear at one of the character’s houses midweek. Do they not have jobs? They are minor points though. The majority of the dialogue is witty (some is a bit cringy, thanks to Travis) and overall, it’s a light, fun read.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

I mean I had to close this off because I really didn't see myself going back to it because of the characters. The female protagonist is great but she's bogged down by a male love interest that just doesn't seem up to mark. Could've been better if fleshed out properly. ( )