Member Reviews
Thank you @netgalley for a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own. Fix Her Up is set to release 6.11.19!!
I finished this book a few days ago and immediately told all my friends to go add it to their to-read list!!! The romance was super steamy, but the storyline contained some great depth and character development as well. Georgie is the baby in her family and is having a tough time convincing everyone to take her seriously. Doesn’t help that she performs as a clown for children’s parties. She has never truly pushed herself or placed much focus on self discovery ... until Travis moves back to town. Travis was a MLB player until an injury ended his career. Unsure of what to do with his life now and haunted by his past, he’s pretty good at wallowing in self pity. Bet you can guess who Georgie has always had a crush on!! Problem is she remains in the friend zone since Travis is her brother’s besties. Desperate to prove that’s she’s an adult now and help Travis shed his negative reputation, the two decide to help each other out and pretend to start dating.
Goodness, the chemistry between these two was so so good. The moments when Travis started noticing Georgie was no longer an annoying little kid were sheer entertaining. The flirtatious banter and inner dialogue only intensified until no one could take it anymore. Bailey definitley didn’t leave anything to the imagination. If you were okay with the love scenes in The Kiss Quotient, then this book is for you!! I promise you will never look at a baseball dugout the same way.
I really connected with Georgie and her struggle with shedding that “baby of the family” image. I marveled at her courage to change stubborn perspectives and cheered out loud when Travis surprised everyone by standing up for her!!! His storyline touched on divorce, verbal abuse, downfalls of being a celebrity and doubt over self worth. I also thoroughly loved the focus on the importance of female support and empowerment. I enjoyed watching the Just Us League take control of their dreams while inspiring others to do the same.
I can’t wait for this series to continue with Love Her or Lose Her. The storyline was set up perfectly for the next two main characters and also left me with a serious craving for empanadas. Until then, I’m off to look up and read as many Tessa Bailey books as I can!!
Tessa Bailey is usually a hit or miss for me author. However, recently her books have been checking all the boxes in what I love in my romance novels. I'm glad to report that this book was one of them!
This book was filled with great characters, humor, and sizzling romance - the holy trifecta of a Tessa Bailey story. I always know when I start one of her stories that this is what I can expect. I have to say, though, that this is one of her best books yet. It was just so good in every way! I loved Georgie as a heroine so much! She was fun. Her personality was awesome. She was funny, sweet, but also had a backbone when she needed to. And I've never read about a character in a book being a professional clown for a living, so kudos to Tessa for her originality in putting that in here.
Travis is, for me at least, one of Tessa's best heroes to date. I fell hard for him. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed the journey of him just thinking of Georgie as his friend's little sister, to realizing how perfect she was for him to then falling madly in love with her. He literally worships her, no question about it. The romantic gestures he pulls out in the middle and end of the book really got me. And well, I don't think I need to even touch upon the sexy times, do I? If you've read a Tessa Bailey book, you already know what you're in for. This may be a rom-com but it doesn't deter from Tessa's standard of ultra hot love scenes. No complaints from me on that front.
So, if you're looking for a laugh out loud, put a big smile on your face, swoon-worthy type of rom-com definitely pick this one up when it releases JUNE 11th! I highly recommend it, and I cannot wait for book two!
First, I want to say thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of Fix Her Up in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!
This is not my first Tessa Bailey novel, but it's definitely my favorite. Fix Her Up had everything I love about new adult contemporary. It had slow burn romance, uplifting women's empowerment, individual character growth, well-developed side characters, a fake relationship trope and a classic character makeover. I went into this one expecting to like it, but it surpassed any expectations. Fix Her Up is officially on my favorites list.
Bailey's writing is of high quality and it made it easy to fly through the story. I loved both lead characters for their romance with one another, but also their individual growth. Fix Her Up is a novel where the leads are not the same at the end as they were when we started. I also loved the myriad of side-characters. They did not feel shoved into the story. Instead, they also felt fleshed out and dynamic. It made me so excited for the next few novels in the series, so we can see move of these characters.
Overall, this is a very sweet new adult story with an emphasis on women's empowerment and personal growth within yourself. I can't recommend it enough. It is a 5/5 from me!
Full review will be posted on my blog, whimsicalandwitty.com one month prior to publication date.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for providing me with the this ARC for an honest review.
I'll start by saying I totally loved Georgie. She was adorable and sweet and easily likable. Travis was hot and rough around the edges but also just a guy who needed some love. Their first scene together had me crackling and I liked how their relationship progressed though I do think the built up could've used more time. It seemed like the lust overpowered the other parts of their relationship in the beginning but slowly as I continued to read, the way they supported and listened to each other made it better. I liked meeting the other characters and seeing their girl group dynamic! There was a little bit of pacing issues here and there but overall, I enjoyed the book!
I loved this story. Georgette (Georgie) Castle is the youngest child and the only literal clown in a family that works in home renovations. She does her best to make people happy in addition to making them see they are capable of doing greater things, but people, especially her family, still underestimate her. Georgie is a delight. She's such a sweetheart and it's a fun, unexpected little element that she's such a baseball fan, or maybe it's just that she's a Travis Ford baseball fan.
Travis Ford is back in town after leaving the major leagues due to injury and he's struggling with it. Working for his friend allows easy interactions between him and his friend's sister Georgie. He's a grump, but she's determined to help him. Those two create a fun, close connection that pushes both to do more and be better.
Tessa Bailey created a great story filled with laughter and love. Wonderful characters had the storytelling flowing fast and easy.
ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.
3.5 Stars
This is the first book by Tessa Bailey that I've read. I liked the cover of the book and the summary only confirmed that I wanted to read this adorable little romance.
Georgie is quirky and funny, an early 20s woman still learning how to grow into her own skin and be comfortable there.
Travis is down on his luck and learning who he is without the future he had planned for himself. He also happens to be Georgie's big brother's best friend and her life long crush.
I like reading romances from both perspectives, getting into Georgie and Travis' heads helped relay the story on a deeper level. This was a cute fast read, it hit all the major romance check boxes. This couple just wasn't my favorite, the behavior didn't always coincide with the words and thoughts that preempted them. I would recommend this book if you like romance, sports (specifically baseball), and/or fake relationship stories.
This was kind of hit or miss for me. Georgie was awesome but her feelings for Travis never quite made sense as he felt very eh to me. I wanted her to have someone better. The steaminess rating is VERY high though, which was a nice surprise. This book was my first Tessa Bailey and I don't know that I'll read more from her.
Hot! So hot! I cannot beginning to explain how much I loved this book; I did not expect to enjoy this so much that I had someone read this out loud to me while I was driving home in traffic so that I wouldn’t have to stop reading!
I loved that Georgie knew what she wanted and went for it. I loved that Beth recognised she needed to do better and she did! And Travis, he’s like book Dylan McKay.
This book most definitely lived up to its hype and now I can’t wait to see what happens next! While I wait for Rosie and Dom, I guess I’ll just have to start her other series....
This was cute and fluffy and exactly what I wanted. This is the first in a series so there is some build up for the next books which was fine, but kind of took away from the main couple. My favorite thing about this was how funny this was and the banter between the characters. I got a little bored with the ~drama~ at the end so I just sort of sped read through it. Overall, this was a fun romance novel that I flew through, but isn't going to be one of my all time faves.
Fix Her Up is a steamy romance featuring Georgie, a professional clown who is tired of being "the kid" to everyone in her family, and Travis, a has-been baseball star back home for good. The two grew up together thanks to Travis being best friends with Georgie's older brother Stephen, and Georgie always nursed a not-so-secret crush on Travis. The two reconnection partly because Travis needs to fill his time and working for Stephen's fix-and-flip business and partly because Georgie takes it upon herself to try to get Travis out of his recently-fired-from-the-MLB funk. The sparks don't fly until they agree to fake date: Travis to improve his image in order to cater towards a family-friendly commentating job and Georgie so that she can stop being everyone's little sister and receive the respect an adult deserves. However, there are WAY too many sparks for this to "thing" to end when their deal reaches the end of the 9th inning....
I have mixed feelings about Fix Her Up. Things I liked:
- Georgie is a virgin, and she doesn't shy away from communicating that (and all it entails) with Travis. This is not something we see super often, and Bailey handles it well.
- Those, um, ~bedroom scenes~ were super, um, bedroom-y.
- Both Travis and Georgie have to mature and grow.
- Travis and Georgie are super supportive of one another. *heart eyes*
Things I disliked:
- That Georgie really catches Travis's eye after her makeover. Really?! I thought we had moved beyond bad 90's teen romances?!
- That Travis is the one with the biggest character development. Like, yes, he has to do the most changing in order to "grow up" into his adult relationship, but Georgie was probably also kinda annoying like most younger siblings are. She doesn't have to do any "work" to help put that childishness behind her and act like an adult (as much as a professional clown can, anyways).
- The whole "fixing" thing re: the title. Like, I get that it's supposed to be a play on the fixer upper aspect, but it just makes it seem like Georgie is "broken" and needs to be fixed up... and that a guy is the one who can accomplish that!
- I get that these two points are in direct contract with one another, but maturing and "coming of age" of your 20's are different from "you're broken and need to be fixed."
- Kristin and Stephen's relationship. That Stephen just barges into Bethany's house multiple times and gives Kristin a look and she just follows him: barf. I actually just hated the character of Stephen 100%. That whole "big brother's prerogative" and his obsession with trying to convince Kristin to have kids. Dude, calm down.
I really liked this book, especially the ties to baseball, because I am trash for sports romance. the only thing I really didn't like was that the main character was a clown for her job. I understand she was good at it and you have to do what you got to do to make money but clowns just terrify me.
3.5 Stars
This was my first time reading a book by Tessa Bailey! I loved the cover of this book and the idea of a storyline involving any type of house flipping/remodeling as that’s one of my personal interests. Unfortunately that’s not really a storyline here, it’s very much in the background, but I still enjoyed this book overall! This definitely falls into a palate cleanser/beach read category for me.
I love books with great dialogue and this delivers that for sure. Tons of witty and funny banter throughout, between Georgie and Travis and also between Georgie and her girlfriends. The supporting characters are only mildly interest piquing, but they did a good job as light background noise.
I didn’t love how we jumped right into talking about Travis’s penis nearly immediately, followed by the book being PG-13 until it was suddenly definitely NOT PG-13. I’m used to authors referring to talking in bed as “they said filthy things to each other”; Bailey definitely expounds on this. We hear everything Travis is thinking. And he has a filthy mouth in bed. (Not super filthy. Just dirtier than I was expecting due to the tone in the lead up, for me it didn’t flow.)
There are a lot of tropes here, most of which I enjoy, but it almost seemed like too many at times. Pro baseball player, childhood crush, brother’s best friend, small town, family discord, broken family, tomboy makeover, Georgie is literally a clown and a virgin... overall, it works, but you can’t think about it too closely. Hence keeping this as beach read status. I also didn’t care for the last minute relationship drama formula that so many use. For once I would like to see a better wrap up than having something blown out of proportion, the MCs cease talking, become miserable and then reconcile. Why does that happen in SO many books?!? I don’t even feel as though that’s spoilery, because you know it’s coming. But why?! Even with all of that, Bailey’s writing style felt fresh and I would read her again.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!!
Tessa Bailey does it again. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019, and I am SO glad I got to read it early. On sale June 11th.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free eARC.
Georgette is the baby of the family, and no one takes her serious. She has had a crush on Travis Ford, since they were kids.
Travis was major leagues baseball's hottest rookie until he got injured. Georgie helps Travis get out of his funk, and soon he is helping the family business by flipping houses. When a job opportunity comes up, Travis needs to prove he has changed, and what better way to do that then fake date Georgie, when there is no harm?
This book was all I wanted it to be! I loved the story and that the childhood crush, turned into something more. Both main characters were amazing, and I would love to get more stories about them. 🙌 I appreciated all the girl power scenes and loved how much Georgie developed in this book.
I'm so stoked that this is book one in a series, and can't wait for the second one. Tessa Bailey is such a great author, and I highly suggest you pick up one of her books, if you haven't yet. You will not be disappointed!
3.5 stars
Baseball? Check. Fake romance? Check. Fix Her Up is a super cute, fun romance that centers around Georgie and her older brother's best friend, Travis, a retired MLB player. Perfect summer romance read.
Georgette is the baby of the family and has always been treated as the baby and she is ready for change. Travis took a hard hit at life and now is unsure what to do with his life. In comes Georgette to help Travis with the wake up call he needs. These two go through growth in their lives together. They help each other by having a fake relationship. I love how Georgette is so strong even though everyone treats her like a baby. It was nice to see how the two characters feed off each other in order to help each other. As always is a fake relationship anything but fake when one is harboring a secret crush. These two take you on their life journey of demanding respect, falling in love, and showing everyone their truselves.
I received an advanced reader's copy of Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I had never read anything by Tessa Bailey before this and had no expectations either way. Happily, I did enjoy her writing style and would gladly read other novels in the future.
The good: I found the novel to be well written and the dialogue between the characters (primary characters as well as secondary) was amusing. In particular, the banter between the main characters, Georgie and Travis, made me laugh out loud several times. Also, I related to the female character, Georgie, being the youngest sibling and not following her family occupation equaling not being taken seriously.
Travis was a solid main male character, too. He had issues from being low priority for his divorced, negligent parents and after an injury lost the one thing that gave him validation: playing baseball,. I liked seeing him go from that low point to being a person who felt worthy of good things and love. Georgie played a huge part in that self validation and it was believable and sweet.
The bad: nothing really bad about this novel (again, in a very good way). It may have been a known happily ever after, but it was a well written/executed novel with likeable characters. I enjoyed it!
Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey is my new favorite contemporary romance! Set in an adorable small town in Long Island (for real I want to go there now). Travis Ford is back in his home town after an injury has ended his major league baseball career. He has baggage and insecurities from his childhood that make him such a relatable character. He is no match for his best friend's younger sister, who barges into his life and becomes just the friend he needs. I loved Georgie so much. I was so like Georgie in my early 20's. Georgette Castle is the youngest sibling in a family that runs a popular home renovation company. Only she works as a clown for Children's parties and dreams of having her own entertainment business. She's also had a crush on Travis forever...
Bailey's writing is so fun and engaging. I don't want to give any spoilers to the romance but it is sooooo good and I got in so deep. Also... the kissing scenes. OMG. Masterfully Done. Travis is book boyfriend material for me!! I could not put this book down. There are many turns in this book that keep it fresh and made me so invested! All the characters seem to be on a journey to self betterment. Whether it is getting their family, the public, their spouse to take them seriously or to spread their wings in their career. The secondary characters in the Castle family and their friends are also so endearing. I really fell in love with the characters and the town. I can't recommend this book enough and will be THE book to read when it comes out in June!
As a youngest sibling, I can relate so much to the heroine of this story. The connection and polar opposite personality of the two main characters is adorable and makes you root for them all the much more.
I LOVED this book! It was a really cute, fun romance. I'm obsessed with "brother's best friend" storylines and Bailey did it so well. It's an all around enjoyable book to read. You can't help but root for Georgie when she's standing up to her family, and Travis as he's trying to navigate his new world after a career ending injury. And the way they supported each other through it all was so endearing. I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading and I didn't want it to end.
oh. my. gawd.
this was everything.
first off, when i saw this i was like YAS TESSA BAILEY GIMME. the cover was super cutsey and there was a teeny part of me that was worried that this wouldn't be the tessa bailey i know and love.... but it was. lord. goodness gracious me this is my favourite tessa bailey yet!!
it's adorable. it's sexy AF. and then some. the banter! the funny! the characters are strong and realistic and i loved them all. it's fast paced and well written, no shocker there it *is* tessa bailey. there wasn't a single thing i didn't like about this book. okay, i wasn't totally in love with the fact that she's a virgin, but i didn't hate it either. it was done well. i put it down at 930pm to go to sleep and i was at 52%. i accidentally picked it back up and finished it because i just had to, okay? who needs sleep anyway!
overall, if you are a tessa bailey fan you NEED this in your life. if you have never read a tessa bailey book, you NEED this in your life. just be warned, don't be fooled by the cute cover, this is steamy as all get out. if you are a romance fan, seriously. you NEED this in your life. i am so buying this when it comes out. SO GOOD.