What a fun sexually charged romance! Handsome confident Wes knows he’s into Bethany who’s a bit repressed and taking a man-break. He’s been called in to take charge of his little niece, Laura, it’s one of my favorite plots, the manly-man who comes down to her level, learning as he goes. Wes and Bethany are thrown together to flip a house and the sparks fly! The tension and chemistry is fascinating and keeps you chuckling! I really enjoyed this and I think you will too!#TOOLSOFENGAGEMENT#NETGALLEY#TessaBailey

While I haven't read the second book in the series, Tools of Engagement is a solid step up from the first book, Fix Her Up. While there are still parts of this book that are pretty intense in the sex department, Bailey has created characters that have more depth to them and more interesting storylines. Bethany has a serious perfectionist complex that forces her to be "on" all the time and uber-competitive which leads to some major anxiety and insecurity issues. Wes has his own challenge in taking on parenting responsibilities for his five year old niece Laura. And naturally the bickering between Wes and Bethany takes a romantic turn when Bethany decides to go toe-to-toe with her brother in a house-flipping contest and Wes teams up with her as her foreman on the project. Both characters have their flaws but still come off as likable, which is something I can't really say Bailey pulled off in her first book, and makes the book much easy to enjoy.

I thought this was an enjoyable, fast paced and light romance! It was a good continuation of the series and it fun to read the story of how the characters were falling in love.

Tools of Engagement follows Bethany and Wes, two people who should get along like oil and water but instead are much more like gunpowder and a spark. Wes is everything Bethany has no time for - young, irresponsible, and messy. Bethany is Wes's polar opposite - organized, overachieving, obsessive perfection. But when Bethany's pride gets the better of her and she's goaded into an unconventional competition with her brother, Wes refuses to let Bethany tackle the challenge alone.

A shockingly relatable characterization of anxiety, imposter syndrome, and overcoming your own toxic traits, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this book. I fully expected a fluffy romantic love story without much substance that would appeal to the DIY, HGTV lovers. And this was definitely romantic and steamy, but it hit on so many topics that I think young women, especially those around the same age as Bethany, can relate to. I loved Bethany's ambition and found her own moments of insecurity or worry to be highly relatable for a woman taking a big career risk. To be honest, I could have done without the tv show subplot. I really think the same events could have unfolded without the extra stress of the tv crew. That being said, Wes's story about taking care of his niece was wonderful and I would've loved even more focus on that.

Overall, a fun and enjoyable read that wasn't nearly the cotton-candy fluff I was expecting (and that was definitely a good thing!) I didn't read the first two books in the series, and it didn't detract from the story, but I'll definitely be going back to read those stories too!

OMG!!! I have to say this is my favorite of the series. I loved the characters and am in general just a huge fan of Tessa Bailey. She has a wonderful way of giving characters flaws that make them relatable and cause you to root for them. I can't wait to read more of her books!!

I keep giving Tessa Bailey’s books a chance, because I get sucked in by the fun-sounding premises. I think, “This will be the one that works for me, I just know it!” Sadly, this was not the one that worked for me. I don’t think any of her books will work for me and I need to develop more will-power when I check out the synopses. This book was just as cheesy and cringe-inducing as all of the other books I have read by her. The characters and situations were flat and unbelievable and I could not get through this fast enough. There are better romances out there.

I received a copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, quick story to read. I didn’t realize until the end that it was part of a series, but that didn’t lessen the storyline any for me. Lots of sex, though, if that’s what you like to read. Thanks for the chance to read this early version.

Thank you to BCG and NetGalley for the ARC. What a fun read this one. Enjoyed the characters and the story line.

I did not even realize that this was book 3 in a series until I came to post this review. It explains the beginning of the story a little better, but honestly it's not necessary to read the other 2 first, as this works fine as a standalone novel.

This was a fun, breezy, sexy read. The leading male wasn't too steeped in chauvinistic ways, and the leading female wasn't completely hidden behind weakness and the need to be saved. Were there elements of this in the novel? Yes. Did they take it too far for this feminist to want to throw the book across the room? No. What I liked about this story (besides the hot sex scenes), was the vulnerability and depth of the characters. Both the male and female leads had complex pasts and challenges that they were persevering through with courage and vulnerability. I also loved the idea of how important the concept of "home" is in this story. It's almost another character in this book, and I loved the nuances of that and how it affected each of the main characters.

Overall, it's a great weekend/vacation read that is a little bit more than it looks. And that kind of book definitely has its place in the literary world.

I really liked this book! I read the second book in the series and enjoyed that but I liked this one more. The characters were very sweet and I was rooting for them all throughout the book.

Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey was a nice, quick, and fun read. It was well paced and enjoyable. Pretty predictable, but sometimes that’s just what we need.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley and Avon for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I could not put this one down and now I'm just sitting here upset that I'm finished with this book and series. I loved Wes and Bethany's story so much, I especially I identified with Bethany's story throughout.

I recommend this one if you're looking for

-enemies to lovers
-close proximity
-age gap
-single father/uncle, cowboy, who has never had a real home before
-perfectionist, middle child, learning its okay to be vulnerable
-so much tension
-reality show competition

This one is steamy in all of the best ways. It is a completely open door romance. The scenes show the growing intimacy between Wes and Bethany as they fall in love without even realizing it. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. There were glimpses of Rosie and Georgie too which I really enjoyed.

A great finish to this series, I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

Tools of Engagement is the third and final book in Tessa Bailey's Hot and Hammered series. Each book in this series features a different trope and in Tools of Engagement there was enemies-to-lovers. I was excited to read this after seeing Bethany and Wes interact in Love Her or Lose Her.

I enjoyed that this book featured Bethany as the older one compared to Wes. I enjoyed watching Bethany get to know Wes better and realize that her initial judgements of Wes might be wrong. It was refreshing to watch her open up.

I felt a kinship to Bethany who was striving for perfection. It was real and honest and watching Bethany and Wes grow made this even more enjoyable.

The third and final installment of Tessa Bailey's Hot & Hammered series--so sad to see it end.

For like 90% of this book I was sure it was going to be one of my favorite books of 2020. I absolutely adore our slightly neurotic heroine, Bethany, who insists that everything must be perfect at all times. And perhaps a little bit in love with and our young, rough n' tumble hero, Wes. Not your average 23 year-old, Wes is matured by the responsibility of taking care of his five-year old niece. When Bethany is tired of merely staging homes for her family's house flipping company, and wants to take on a flip herself, Wes volunteers himself to help.

The chemistry and banter between Wes and Bethany is off the charts! One of my new favorite rom com couples, these two were clearly ship material from the very first book in the series. Their playful arguments and mutual attraction was the perfect setup for this book. I loved their story of working together to flip the house and figuring out how to take care of a five year-old--when neither of them had strong paternal or maternal instincts.

But I'd like to talk about the ending. ****SO SPOILERS BELOW****

Whhhhhhyyyyyyy do some many romcoms feel compelled to end in marriage? Okay. I understand that it made logical sense for Wes and Laura to move in with Bethany after only knowing each other for like two months, talking for three weeks, and hooking up for one. I can live with that. But why would you FREAKING propose after dating for like a week???? And then the epilogue has them get married within nine months of that proposal???? WHYYYYY? Why can't we just be happy with them in a loving stable relationship where they take their time to get to know each other better before making a lifelong legal binding commitment. I was just so frustrated. Because this book was seriously a 10/10 for me until the proposal.

5 Stars - 9/10 rating

Thank you to Avon, Harper Collins, and NetGalley for the free eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.