Tessa Bailey said that Wes and Bethany are her favorite couple of the series and I can see why! The way their banter melts into serious conversations about their relationship and then back to snappy banter is incredible! I love how Tessa Bailey mixed some serious topics in this book, as she typically does. It fits with the story and while this is, of course, a Romance Book, the other topics complement and add to the romance in a really wonderful way. Definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this one. Wes and Bethany as a couple just didn't connect for me quite as much as book 1 or even book 2. It definitely has a more fun tone with some underlying deeper themes such as insecurities and single parenthood (kind of?). Either way, it was super hot and a good time. I'll 100% be reading more Tessa Bailey.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. And let me apologize for being SO LATE. *sobs*

I am seriously kicking my butt so hard for not reading this sooner. I was hesitant because I didn’t want to read the second book in the series.

I don’t know why but I’m not big on the married already trope. But I finally was like I’ll just read it regardless and so glad I did because it’s definitely its own book.

WOW, this did NOT disappoint. At all. Whatsoever. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the best one of Tessa’s books I’ve read so far.

The love interest is a new character that I do adore. We get something new to the series. What makes it perfect though is that he is SEVEN years younger than the MC. This makes me beyond happy because you don’t see many age differences in books (minus fantasy). My husband is seven years older than me so I relayed to this so, so much.

Wes is a cowboy, gentleman, caretaker to his niece, and just all-around perfect. Gosh, the mouth that man has on him. I was blushing. He’s a dream man.

Bethany is such a complex main character! There are so many sides to her. She wants to seem perfect on the outside but on the inside, she has all these insecurities. I’m sure we all can relate. But Wes comes in here and breaks those walls down. *pun intended*

and we can’t forget the SPICE. Um, holy cow. Tessa never shy’s away from it and I am so glad.

The whole house flipping was so interesting. I was invested. And I laughed out loud a lot.

So overall this book is a MUST READ

I ended up liking this final volume in this romcom series much more than I expected. The movie-cowboy-ness of Wes was taken way down in comparison to his few appearances in Love Her or Lose Her, thankfully. The inside look of Bethany was a nice surprise given how perfect she has been in the past books, and it fit perfectly with her character. Her relationship with her family also felt pretty authentic.

The addition of Wes' niece and the family drama on that side of the story didn't weigh down the overall romcom-ness of this book. It actually grounded it a bit from being too over-the-top with conflict that felt a little more serious that the silly house flipping competition. Also, I'm not entirely sure house flips can work that quickly, but whatever. Romance novel, right?

I appreciate the variety in Tessa Bailey's repertoire of sex scenes. I figured after two other books full of dirty talking bad boys, there wouldn't be much that could be different with this one, but I was wrong. Nothing about this feels rehashed, but rather fun and light and entertaining.

There were part of this book I loved and others not so much. I loved the banter between the characters. That definitely made those extra steamy moments. There were a few lulls during the story. I just wanted something to happen. Overall, it was ok but not my favorite.

Not my favorite book in the Hot & Hammered series, but Tessa's a go-to, one-click author for me, so of course I still had to read it. 😁 Enemies to lovers? Check. House flipping? Check. Steamy sex scenes? It's Tessa Bailey, so of course. Plus the hero's got a sexy, Southern drawl... Need I say more?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

My favorite of the series! Wes and Bethany's story was so cute and entertaining, but I'm sad this is the last book with these characters. Enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, age gap, cute kids, a dirty-talking hero, a reality show—this book had so many things going on, but Tessa Bailey makes it work so well. It's sweet and steamy, funny and swoony, and I can't wait to read more from her.

I had SO MUCH fun reading this one!!! I really grew to love Bethany and watch her embrace all of her flaws. She was very relatable in the sense of her anxiety and always wondering what people thought of her. I loved how Wes helped her bring down her walls while also going through his own personal issues like Laura and Becky. I LOVED LAURA!! THAT LITTLE GIRL WAS THE CUTEST! I adored all of her scenes with Wes and Bethany and I was cheering at the end for how it all worked out. I loved the flipping the house competition as well. I really appreciated the metaphor of it all. The two of them actually breaking the walls but also getting intimate with each other. Then the SPICEEE!! The tension!! THAT RAIN SCENE WITH THE ROOF! I was dying in the best during that. Tessa Bailey is known for her smutty scenes and she didn’t disappoint with this one! I really loved all of the books in the series and I’m super excited to dive into the rest of Tessa Baileys books, this was another fun one!!!

Although this is the 3rd and final book in the Hot & Hammered series it can be read as a standalone. It’s a steamy story that wraps up the series well.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

not the kind of book I would teach. but so so important to have romances with older female characters-- especially ones that are strong willed and ambitious

Tools of Engagement is the 3rd book in the Hot and Hammered series from Tessa Bailey and this installment was just as good as the first two titles. Bailey excels at writing funning, charming, sexy characters who have flaws and real emotion under the shiny romance covers. You'll laugh and cry and be extremely turned on by her VERY SEXY writing. And you'll have a smile on your face through the entire book. Isn't that what you are looking for in your contemporary romance. I am!

For librarians, these books are not shy about the sex and dirty words so make sure your romance reader likes it hot and not just glossed over. It isn't for everyone and that is ok. I for one, loved them!

I really enjoyed this book! I found the main character, Bethany, to be very relatable. The steamy scenes were great and not too frequent. I feel like the ending was great and exactly how I wanted it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!

While I love a good lift-me-up female empowerment story - this one just didn't do it for me. I enjoyed the first book in the series and thought the second was just OK so I didn't go into it with high expectations for the third. I did enjoy the little peak back at what the characters from the past two books were up to but wish that would have been included more in this book.

If you are looking for a quick (and a little dirty) romance and you love HGTV this is your book!

Tessa is probably one of my favorite new romance writers. Her style is right up there with Christina Lauren, my very favorite. At times there was a little too much going on in the subplots, it was distracting to the main story. I would have liked to see more character growth together, but enjoyed this non-the-less. Looking forward to more from her.

Sweet sexy and fun, I loved the passion between Bethany and Wes. I loved the background of the house remodeling to the story, I think these characters were so well written and come alive on paper.

I enjoy Bailey’s writing. I’m not a huge fan of the “pet” names all the time. But I love the buildup and the tension in this one. You get the enemies to lover trope in this one and a sweet element with Wes’s niece. It was the sweetest storyline and I adored the way she was loved. This wasn’t my favorite in the series but it was still a fun read.

Tessa Bailey has delivered another steamy masterpiece! I seem to be a minority when I said that Fix Her Up was one of my FAVORITE contemporary romances! I loved Travis and Georgie and still do.

Love Her or Lose Her was...not bad. It wasn’t as bad and I was anticipating given the reviews and DNF’s that I saw. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book. Maybe I felt it was more of a spin off book, rather than actual installment in the series. I was more into reading about the Castle family.

So I was SUPER stoked to read about Georgie’s big sister and her sexy young cowboy, Wes! This story was a perfect genre mix of enemies to lovers and age gap! And oh my goodness did it bring on the steam!!!! I didn’t think I was into cowboys but boy howdy Wes was SEXY!!!

I was also happy to see more of big brother Steven, although I was wondering if he was going to be redeemable ever. Thankfully I’ve decided that it wasn’t completely awful by the end of the book...although I still say his wife is
Completely cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!

Ultimately, I found this book, sweet heartwarming, steamy and totally romantic! Bethany deserved to find love and learn that she can’t hold herself to being perfect all the time.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I think that Tessa Bailey just isn't the romance author for me. I felt really uncomfortable at all the macho alpha male talk, and while it worked in Fix her Up because of the type of person that Georgie was, I felt like it fit. But Bethany is a strong independent woman, and the alpha talk just felt disrespectful to her....

Tools of Engagement is the third book in the Hot & Hammered series.
When I started reading this book I didn’t realize it was the third book so I missed the second. Though I believe this can be read as a standalone.

I actually enjoyed this book more than Fix Her. The plot was interesting and as a fan of HGTV I really loved the competition aspect of it.

Bethany and Wes are both great characters! It was nice to see Bethany face her fears and just learn to be herself.
The steam was off the charts in this one! I went back and forth between the audiobook and I found myself blushing a few times.

Overall I enjoyed the book and plan to go back and read the second one.