Tessa Bailey offers a delightful blend of romance and humor, set against the backdrop of a charming small town. The plot follows Bethany Castle, a skilled home renovation expert, as she navigates a high-stakes reality TV competition alongside her handsome but infuriating competitor, Wes Daniels. Bailey crafts a compelling narrative filled with witty banter and steamy tension, making it an enjoyable read for fans of contemporary romance. However, while the romance between Bethany and Wes is undeniably engaging, the character development feels somewhat lacking, with both protagonists relying heavily on familiar tropes rather than fully fleshed-out personalities. Additionally, the pacing of the novel occasionally feels rushed, detracting from the overall immersion in the story.

Despite these shortcomings, "Tools of Engagement" remains a light and entertaining read, perfect for anyone in search of a feel-good romance with a touch of competition. Bailey's knack for crafting sizzling chemistry between her characters shines through, ensuring that readers will be rooting for Bethany and Wes to find their happily ever after. While it may not break new ground in the genre, It also needs to be said that I am not typically a rom-com reader, so while I found this book just okay, "Tools of Engagement" offers enough charm and heart to make it a worthwhile addition to any romance enthusiast's bookshelf.

This was my favorite of the books in the Hot & Hammered series. In each book, especially this one, I love the details included about flipping a house and doing renovations, I think it added some depth on a subject that I don't know a lot about. I also liked the main couple, I thought they were very believable together--not something that I felt in all the books. The atmosphere is great, as the blurb says the two main characters are forced into close quarters and that led to a lot of great banter and steamy moments full of tension. Tessa Bailey is masterful at writing romance that perfectly balances the romantic aspects while including plenty of her signature humor.

A fun home reno novel to close out this trilogy. It was fun with two strong-willed characters, each going through their own journeys. Small town charm, family drama, this was a fun quick read!

Thank you to Netgalley for the RC!

I enjoyed this book and the series overall. Bethany and Wes’s story was a little more in-depth and complicated than some romances are. The child, Laura, was quite adorable too. It was a good conclusion to the set of characters and I’m glad I discovered this author.

Fun rom-com! I love The whole home improvement show setting.

Thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, Book Club Girls, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm sure there are a lot of readers who love this type of romance and enemies to lovers storyline, but the writing and language is just not for me.

I’m at a bit of a disadvantage since I didn’t read the first two books in this series. I know they can stand alone, but I usually find it adds more to the story to have rea$ the background books as well.

I loved this book and I love this author! I've got two more of her books in queue and can't wait to dig in. Fun and flirty rom com that would make a super cute movie!

While I really enjoyed the other 2 books in this series, I wasn't drawn to this one for some reason. The enemies to lovers between Bethany and Wes was Ok. The home improvement reality show aspect was fun and added much need excitement. I really couldn't wait for this one to end.

Tessa Bailey is the queen of steam and dirty talk. She hits the mark again with Tools of Engagement, the enemies to lovers conclusion to the Hot & Hammered series. Wes and Bethany are always at odds, but find themselves on the same side when a reality show comes to film their house flip competition versus Bethany’s brother. With close proximity, sparks begin to fly and Bethany finds herself falling for the man that could crumble her entire life.

Bethany is more than meets the eye, constantly guarding her insecurities behind a perfect and pristine facade. Wes is the perfect man to break her out of her shell and melt her heart (and also her panties). Their chemistry was on fire and both made emotional self journeys throughout the story.

Tessa Bailey can do wrong!! Delightful and entertaining, this book will surely keep your attention while at the beach or poolside. Fun to discuss with friends over drinks. Witty writing, and relatable fun characters

Wes is young, but he knows what he wants in life. He’s mature and easy going, despite being saddled with heavy responsibilities he’d not really prepared to handle. Bethany has had everything she’s needed and wanted in life, except for a sense of security. She has trust issues, and isn’t sure a younger man is reliable—that any man is reliable. It’s going to be a complicated relationship when they meet.

It was a steamy and interesting read, watching as Wes and Bethany attempt to work through their issues. They take two steps forward and one step backward. On the construction front, they work well together, on the personal level, they have some problems. As they work side by side to flip a house on national television, competing against her brother Stephen, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

My favorite character in this book was little Laura. She’s Wes’ niece, and he has unofficial custody of her. It was lovely to see how Bethany’s entire family and her friends joined to welcome Laura. It was also lovely to see how everyone pulled together to help Bethany when she thought she was all alone. Her brother Stephen proved himself a complete pain, until he steps up and does the right thing.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my favorite in this series, but it was entertaining. For those who have issues with crude language, this might not be the book for you.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

One thing I love about contemporary romances is the way they capture reality. Some of the time, it can be fantasy where the prince rides in on a bourse, but a majority of the time true human emotions are captured and made relatable to a wide range of readers. To me this author has a wonderful way of creating characters that stem from reality rather than fantasy and present an inert monologue that opens a conversation to deep emotional topics.

Under the premise of an enemies-to-lover trope, the story has characters that overcome personal issues with and display growth through their internal emotional struggles. Though at times, outside of this story, Wes and Bethany wouldn’t have work, but the author writes amazing exchanges that make this book entertaining. They are made to push each other’s buttons and get off in doing so. Their chemistry is only illuminated with each comeback and it makes for delicious sexual tension. You couldn’t help but root for them personally and professionally and care about their outcome.

Though I did enjoy the story as a whole, at times the flow felt disconnected because I would easily get lost because the subject would change so quickly or the point of view. Having the story told from a third person perspective while trying to exhibit first person insight made this book hard to follow. Some of the descriptions became too much, not in content, but in dialogue. It felt out of place and uncharacteristic to the characters I have gotten to know. And even though this book is a part of a series, it easily can be read as a standalone. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a fun romantic comedy situated on the production set of a home renovation show, with a sparkly dialogue between the thorny love interests. A good solid read!

I have not read the others in this series, so I’m not sure if it’s necessary to read them in order. I think this can stand alone. If there was a back story, I didn’t need it to understand and follow these characters. There was a lot of steam, too much for my liking, very open door. Overall, the story was ok. Not all of this storyline was believable, but I did want to find out how it all turned out.

The final installment of Tessa Bailey's Hot and Hammered Series doesn't disappoint. You don't need to read the others before. They do stand alone but it does help. Lots of figuring out who you are and taking that first step to accomplish your dreams. Steamy sex scenes. Fun summer read.

Fun, interesting read! Wasn't sure I would like because not normally a romance fan, but grabbed me from the beginning and kept me invested through to the end. Loved every single character in this story!
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the Author and publisher for a copy of this book. The Opinions expressed are my own.

Tools of Engagement was a cute contemporary romance, third in a series, although it was fine as a stand-alone read. The story was a bit predictable, as with most romance novels (boy always gets the girl). Bethany is a perfectionist in every area of her life, especially when it comes to the family business of flipping houses. She decides to strike out on her own to do her own flip, and winds up on a reality tv show in competition with her brother. Wes, one of her brother’s contractors, offers to help, and sparks fly! I found the storyline about the reality show a bit of a stretch, but it added to the drama of Bethany’s need to be perfect. I really enjoyed the story about Wes and his niece that he was caring for. Also, this was the first Tessa Bailey book I have read, and I found some scenes a bit steamy for my taste. However, it was an enjoyable read!

This was a solid book that, while part of a series, was a solid standalone book. I enjoyed reading it, and read it fairly quickly. Is it my favorite book ever? No. Did it make me want to read the rest of the serious? For sure.

DNF. Cheesy + smutty romance, I will admit, is not my style. There’s just no depth to it unless you want to read a story about two people who desperately want to sleep together, yet try to deny it, banter and fight with each other, and talk about sex nonstop. The whole thing is trite and repetitive. For some, this type of story works. I’m not the one and need more in-depth characters and plot.

Thank goodness I received this for free in an exchange for an honest review. I still feel like I paid too much in time for the 20% I gave this.