This one was a bit much for me the storyline was cute but I don’t care for the amount of horrible language that was in it. I don’t cuss personally and I don’t think there needs to be quite so much in a book to make a good romance story

I love illustrated trends, but the cover of Fix Her Up doesn’t quite match the story. I thought I was jumping into an uber cute rom-com, but this was an emotional and a crazy hot brother's best friend story instead. This book is the perfect blend of fake dating meets I've been secretly crushing on my older brother's best friend my entire life. I love romance novels that start out with a fake relationship. In true Bailey style, she put together two destined hotties in a delicious romp! This book was a win for me.

How hot can you handle it? If you like your romances steamy and funny and sweet, this one’s for you! .

The heroine: Georgie Castle, the youngest sibling, the perpetual joke of the family—and she even runs her own clown business for kids’ parties. The hero: Travis Ford, her older brother’s best friend and super-hot professional baseball player. The set-up: When Travis returns to their hometown after a career-ending injury, he soon realizes his next best career move is commentating on family-friendly TV Network—the trouble is, his reputation is decidedly NOT family friendly. Enter Georgie. She’s determined to make her family and friends see her as an actual adult, not a silly kid sister, and what better way to do that then by pretending to date Travis? He’ll look wholesome by being with her, she’ll look like a grown-up by being with him. What could possibly go wrong? Oh yeah, they’ll fall for each other...

This story started out absolutely adorable. It’s impossible to not love Georgie, and the author perfectly captures the way her family continually overlooks her. There’s a scene in which she invites her family to come over to her new house for breakfast and no one shows up...heartbreaking! No one, that is, except for Travis. His feelings for her grow and deepen in the best way as he slowly changes from protective older-brother’s friend to fake boyfriend to real, true love.

Speaking of love. This is a very steamy book! 🔥 🔥 Do not be fooled by that sweet cartoon cover. I’d rate the steam factor on par with something like The Kiss Quotient, and in my opinion, the raunchy sex clashed with the sweetness of the story. I was also a little disappointed to watch Georgie undergo a typical romcom transformation from frumpy overall-wearing clown to chic and stylish siren. Still: lots of fun. Lots of cuteness. Lots and lots of hotness.

Releases June 11, 2019! Thanks @Netgalley and @avonbooks for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 1/2 stars My favorite Tessa Bailey yet! I think it started out kind of slow - but it picked up as it went on. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Hard personalities and romance, something I usually like. But this one was a bit problematic for me. The depiction of women at large was either invisible, or when female characters did come up or were discussed, it was like they were caricatures tinted with negative stereotypes.

This is perfectly perfect book. I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished it. It is so cute. I loved story is perfect. The main characters are lovable. I definitely recommend this book.

my blurb!
A literal birthday clown decides that dating her high school crush and towns bad boy will help her be taken more seriously.

2.75 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 steam level

what I liked:
This book was a cute and funny romcom. I chuckled to myself a few times while reading it. The family dynamics were written really well. As the youngest child in my family, I liked reading about the siblings and their struggles to all be taken seriously. My favorite part of the book was the girl gang. The Just Us League was a crew of women supporting women and I can get behind that all day every day! I could tell as I was reading that there were going to be some other companion books in this series and when I finished the story, that was confirmed! As I was scrolling through my kindle notes for the novel, I found quite a few funny lines highlighted. This was a true romcom (and a steamy one)! The amount of clown jokes in this, was perfect in every way. I laughed a lot at Georgie’s humor. Also, her sister Bethany was awesome. She definitely has to have her own book because she was amazing in every way. I loved the scenes she was in. Here’s a little snippet of humor to wet your pallet:

“You look like a live childbirth just went by in your Facebook feed.”

Funny right? Haha! I definitely busted out laughing when I read that line.

what I didn't like-
There was a flaw with the whole plot. It didn’t make any sense why Georgie would be taken more seriously as an adult by dating Travis. He was a playboy… who dates a playboy and then is suddenly taken seriously?
There is a big scene regarding professing a relationship status. That scene just wasn’t for me. It perhaps has to do with my personal taste public displays of proposals. But oh my gosh I was cringing while I was reading it!
There was a sentiment in this book that was repetitive. The reader was reminded that Georgie was attempting to show Travis that he was worthy of commitment. Did I tell you he was worthy of commitment? Travis, you are worthy of commitment! Oh did you get it already? I did too.
Holy steam-room steam level! This book was STEAMY!!! I think a lot of romance readers are really gonna like that about it. However, for my personal preferences, this was too steamy.
I couldn’t get a read on whether or not Travis was supposed to have an accent in the book. That doesn’t really matter but he gave Georgie a nickname that they used THE WHOLE BOOK (in fairness I do not like cutesy nicknames in books. It rarely seems genuine to me) and that seemed like it was kind of more a southern style of talking. I’m not sure.
Travis. Travis, Travis, Travis. I just didn’t like him. Isn’t that the WORST in a romance read? It’s not the writing of him, I just didn’t like his character. I would NEVER date him. He was super domineering and gave intense mixed signals. He was possessive and had a dirty bedroom mouth. He was just kind of a douche. I know, strong words but really how else do you describe someone like that?!

This book was not for me but honestly, I do think a lot of readers will really like it. I would probably recommend it to a few friends who’s reading style I’m familiar with.

while reading you should:
Do: write down your ultimate goals and dreams. Find your support group that will encourage you to get there.
Eat: a big waffle breakfast!
Listen: God Only Knows by Brandi Carlile

Happy Reading,
Dux

I really enjoyed this book! I'm always a sucker for a jock and a quirky/weird girl romance. Georgie is a literal clown and Travis is her older brother's friend who is back in town after an injury that ended his professional baseball career. He's grumpy, she's quirky and smart but has a hard time being taken seriously. They fake date to help each other out and of course fall for each other. So many tropes! The characters had major chemistry and Georgies friends are set up nicely for their own future books. Loved it!

After a career-ending injury, Travis Ford left MLB and returned to his hometown of Port Jefferson. His childhood best friend, Stephen Castle, works for his family’s home-renovation business—Brick & Morty—which does pretty well for itself around Port Jeff. After sulking in his apartment, licking his baseball wounds, Travis works up the nerve to ask Stephen for a job. Not that he needs the money, but a distraction from his personal failure is welcomed. Travis thought he could escape his fame, but it appears his reputation as a playboy has followed him back home. The women of Port Jeff have even created a bet to see who can get into Travis’ bed first. Usually this type of competition would be Travis’ dream come true, but he's left that lifestyle behind with his baseball career.

Georgia Castle, the youngest of three siblings, has always felt left behind. Her two older siblings—Stephen and Bethany—work for the family business, whereas Georgia decided to become a clown for children’s parties. If her family didn’t take Georgie seriously before, they certainly aren’t taking her seriously now with her magic tricks and clown costume. Georgie wants her business to expand, as people want more than just a clown at their kid’s party. She also would like to date more, focus more on herself, but neither part of her life has been making much progress. When Travis, her brother’s best friend and her childhood crush, returns back to Port Jeff, Georgie’s attraction toward him has re-entered her life at full-force. But low and behold, he doesn’t seem to be taking her seriously, either.

Travis is dying to get out of Port Jeff and resume some type of normalcy. His agent alerts Travis that a commentator position has opened up and they're interested in him. But there’s one catch: they want a wholesome family man to take the position. And it’s quite obvious that family man Travis is not. So he either needs to give up on the job or find a way to renovate his reputation. It just so happens that Georgie is trying to fix up herself to succeed more in both her dating and business life. She wants prospective jobs and her family to take her more seriously. So Travis and Georgie agree to a fake-dating arrangement, which will boost both their social appearances.

What Travis and Georgie weren’t expecting was that a fake relationship might blossom some real feelings. Travis starts to see Georgie less as Stephen’s annoying little sister and more as a confident, beautiful young woman. And he finds himself wanting to treat her with the respect she deserves, rather than using her like he usually does with women.

Georgie finds that her makeover boosted her self-confidence more than she was expecting and she realizes she deserves a man who shares the same values as she does. The only problem is the man she's fallen for has made it pretty clear that his dreams aren’t aligned with Georgie’s and they aren’t even in Port Jeff. Travis and Georgie’s relationship wasn’t supposed to turn from fake to real—it was supposed to remain casual and mutually beneficial. But things don’t always go as planned, especially when it comes to matters of the heart…

Fix Her Up By Tessa Bailey is the first installment in her new Hot & Hammered series. Having never read anything by Tessa Bailey before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the cute cover and premise drew me in. Georgie is such a quirky character—I mean, c’mon, she’s a clown—but she has a heart of gold. But Georgie isn’t the unassuming good-girl that everyone thinks she is. She is sexual and confident—she wants to be seen rather than be disregarded. And I enjoyed seeing her blossom and truly find herself. Travis is your traditional playboy jock, but he changed when he came back home to Port Jeff. For the first part of the book, you’re waiting for him to finally see Georgie as more than just a friend, but once he does, the story really picks up. The fake-dating-turned-real relationship between Travis and Georgie was fun to read about and the perfect combo of sweet and sexy. I look forward to seeing what Tessa Bailey has in store for book two—4.25/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Tessa Bailey for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many thoughts about this book. First of all, I adored the heroine. She had a really interesting arc, and I loved her interactions with the other women in the story, especially Bethany and Rosie. (Less so Kristin and her mother, but I think those characters were less well developed.) I loved her quirky job and her quirky dreams and her kick-ass attitude towards achieving her dreams. I really did.

But oh, I hated the sex in this book. It was so patronizing and gross and patriarchal. I hated the way the hero talked to the heroine during sex. I hated how her virginity was...talked about in the story. I just hated it. It was really off-putting. I don't know if that's the author's normal style, or if that's just who this character was (gross, and he was otherwise very appealing), and I feel like I might give another book in the series a try, but if I encounter more sexist sex scenes, I'm done.

Anyway. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book but it won't be my last! This book could have easily been a mess but it was fantastic! Even though Fix Her Up uses tropes we've all read before, it felt fresh and new. The characters were fun, interesting and sexy! Helllllooo hot baseball player! I really loved the chemistry between Travis and Georgie! The writing was witty and fun. I couldn't put this book down once I started it

I can’t tell you how much I loved this book! I love it when I find a new author that I haven’t read before and immediately want to read everything that they’ve written. Tessa Bailey is definitely my new favorite author.
This book sucked me in from the moment I read the first page. I literally started it and finished it within two days. Travis is the perfect brooding, alpha male who is back home after a baseball injury ended his career. Georgie is sweet, bubbly and plans children’s birthday parties; she’s takes it upon herself to get him out of his slump.
Sparks fly when Travis realizes that Georgie is no longer his best friends kid sister and instead wants to “date” him for purely selfish reasons that will help both of them meet their end goals. Nothing wrong with that scenario right?! I love a childhood friends/fake romance trope and Tessa Bailey delivers.
Sometimes when authors write secondary characters they get lost or are underdeveloped. This was not the case in this book. I loved learning about Rosie, Bethany and the girls club that they created. The scenes with these three were some of my favorites of the book and I can’t wait to read Bethany and Rosie’s stories.
This book had it all - definitely the sizzling romance between Georgie and Travis, but also a sense of finding and believing in yourself, messy family dynamics and a great girls club to bond over. Thank you Tessa Bailey for writing an amazing book and for giving me a new author to binge read :) **ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own**

This is my first Tessa Bailey book and based on the cover and the description, I mistakenly thought this would be a sweet or clean romance. There's nothing wrong with erotic romance/lots of sexual content but I just wasn't expecting that - total shocker. Maybe replace the cover with a half-naked man with just his abs showing because that would've been a more fitting cover for this book.

Alright, so I did like the actual book with the fake romance trope once I knew it was a high heat level romance.

I wish I could rate in half stars because this is a 4.5 star rating for me. It's like Kristan Higgins meets Fifty Shades of Grey on steroids. It has the humor, heart, and small-town setting of an old school Kristan Higgin's novel (my favorites!) and the alpha male + virginal heroine love story of Fifty Shades. Do not let the illustrated cover fool you: there is a TON of sex in this book. It's hot but there is a lot of it :)

I need more! I want to know everything! I enjoy romance novels, but also due to the fact that they are my go-to genre I rate them harshly. This however was a solid 4.5! Super cute, relatable, contemporary romance that not only had great character build to the point that you felt a part of their lives, but it was a fantastic storyline, great banter, over all just a really good book!

Travis and Georgie are an unbeatable team together. It just took a while for Travis to get there! Fake boy friend trope is not my favorite, but I really enjoyed this. I loved how Travis slowly became aware of how fabulous Georgie was and became her champion. Stephen was a bit of a jerk, but he did mange to see reason in the end. And I loved the set up for the future books. But I think my favorite bit was that Travis haD every intention of making it real. Tessa Bailey did not take the easy route for the conflict; where he would just walk away. Plus, her dirty talking bad boys are THE BEST!!!

I really wanted to like this more. It’s very trope-y, which I normally adore in my romance novels, but it all feels just a little overdone. I think it probably would have been better if the author had picked one or two less tropes to play around with. I was also pretty troubled by how Georgie’s makeover was handled—how, in 2019, are we still relying on makeovers to make a heroine appealing to her partner in romance novels? That said, I adored Georgie’s character; she is the best part of the book no question. The writing is also excellent. I would still recommend it as a cute, trope heavy romance.

I really, really enjoyed this one! It was funny, sweet, and an absolute blast to read. If you like that forbidden romance / childhood crush / brother's best friend trope in romance, then this is a great pick.

Georgie is the youngest sister in a prominent family and has always been treated like a kid because of it. It doesn't help that she works as a professional clown, running birthday parties for kids. Travis Ford is the town's claim to fame and had a growing career in major league baseball until an injury sent him back home. Georgie has been in love with him - her brother's best friend - since she was a kid. She's thrilled that he's back. When they discover that they can help each other out by fake dating, chaos ensues and feelings start to emerge.

Gah! Such a good book. Georgie is hilarious and witty and I absolutely loved her. She added so much humor to the book. As for Travis... Travis was smokin' and the book could get pretty steamy at times (so be forewarned). The relationship, chemistry, and tension were all very realistic and fun. I was definitely tearing through the pages so I could see their relationship evolve.

More than just a romance though, this book tackled deeper subjects too such as family dynamics and struggling to fit in and feel good enough. I liked that through the laughs and sexiness, there was also some heart to be found in this book.

Perhaps one of my favorite parts of the book was the female friendship and empowerment showcased through a girl's club started by Georgie, her sister, and a friend called the Just Us League. The women each had big goals and aspirations, and they encouraged each other to work for those things.

I also loved the setting of Port Jefferson, NY which is based on a real small town near New York City. I loved the vibe and feeling of the place so much that I started researching it a bit after I finished reading (cost of living way too high for us though - ha!). Small towns are just the best. I'd love to live in one someday!

I'm super thrilled that this is the first in a series and cannot wait for the next one!

A fun to read romance with characters that make you want more! Georgie is the clown of the family, literally. She runs an event planning business and is looking to expand, but no one takes her seriously. With some new cloths and confidence, Georgie can reach her dreams. Travis is down on his luck from a baseball injury. With Georgie in his life can he find a way to be happy?

4,5 stars

First and foremost, I have NEVER been so in tune with a third person story. My attention did not waver one bit, and that is a testament of this authors writing abilities. Being a new author to me, I was not sure what to expect from her and her capabilities. She completely astounded me, it was very easy to follow along with each character. They each had their own personalities, that didn't feel forced. They all had amazing development, which was amazing to go through with them. There was explosive chemistry, with even more explosive sexy times, that quite honestly had me fanning myself. Fix Her Up had everything a romance novel should have, and the best part is the trope UNREQUITED / BROTHERS BEST FRIEND love story.

Georgie is hilarious with a huge dose of wittiness that you can't help but love. She is little but fierce and has the heart the size of Jupiter. She enjoys second hand shops, and the simplicity of being comfortable. She has a not so average job, that she would not change for nothing. She loves kids with her every being, and gets along with them more than adults.

Travis Ford had everything in the palm of his hands until a career ending injury occurred in the middle of his Major League Baseball season. Now he is back in his hometown of Port Jefferson flipping houses with his best friend Stephen. He is trying to escape being known as ' Two Bats' and the Players player, and find a balance now that his dream is over.

When Georgie proposes a deal that will help them both, they both think, what can the harm be? But what happens when Georgie realizes her long time crush is more than just a crush?