FIX HER UP is super fun and super sexy and super deserving of a place on everyone's shelf. And while I loved the steamy build of Travis and Georgie's romance, it was their character development that really kept me ignoring my family to keep reading. Georgie's journey to being taken seriously and Travis's journey to something similar, both were relatable and real and full of heart. Tessa Bailey is going on my must-read list of authors, and I can't wait for the next book in the series.

So much fun and super sexy!

Georgette "Georgie" Castle is the town clown, literally, she does parties for children. She's anxious to be taken seriously and thinks that an affair with a notorious bad boy baseball legend Travis Ford might make people see her in a new light. It doesn't hurt that she's been in love/lust with him since she was child. Travis needs to remake his life and his image after an injury ends his baseball career and being seen with girl next door, Georgie, might do the trick. He's also unbelievably tempted by her and despite the fact that she's his best friend's little sister he can't seem to keep his hands off her. Let the shenanigans and emotional roller coaster begin! This story kept me up late reading because I couldn't wait to see how it all ended and the ending was everything it needed to be.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced reading copy so that I could review this book.

(free review copy) Swoon 😍 You all know I love sports romance. You all know I love STEAMY romance. Oh, and don’t forget about my love for sweetness ❤️ Well, this one has ALL of that. It takes the steam up from just bedroom talk to a level above that (with a little domination thrown in) and I’m HERE for it.

If you’re looking for a sweet innocent hometown rom com, I’m sorry to tell you that the cover deceived you and this probably isn’t for you. If you like graphic romance with a R and aren’t opposed to consensual power play, sit down and be be prepared to stay there til the last page 😍 Can you tell I absolutely loved this one and am dying for the second in the series to be HERE ALREADY??

A fun romantic chick lit with some really steamy moments! Georgette is a clown who entertains at kids birthday parties. She wants to fix herself up to be the perfect woman of the world. She breaks this plan into many phases similar to a house renovation. Georgette doesn't have much experience in the dating world. Travis Ford is friends with Georgette brother. He flips houses for a living. He has the fun idea to fake dating to not only give her family drama to talk about but also to help him get a new job. This book gets very sexy in some parts to be warned!! But fake dating tropes are always my favorite.

From all appearances (namely, cover design and publisher blurb), this rom-com should be a hit. It features two popular tropes that usually progress from growing romantic relationship into passion: best friend’s little sister grows up and the fake relationship. However, Fix Her Up more closely resembles a tamer 50 Shades of Grey with frequent and ultimately boring sex scenes between a rich, chauvinistic, alpha playboy and an innocent virgin, and further strains plausibility when, following a physically rough deflowering, the couple agree that sex can’t happen again if they’re going to fake date. For washed-up, borderline alcoholic baseball “player” Travis, a good girlfriend will clean up his image, making him an attractive candidate for a sports commentator slot. The reason Georgie, a party clown (by choice) with a business degree, perpetuates the fraud is so she will be taken seriously by her family…and because she’s had a crush on Travis her entire life. The one saving grace is that they both mature by the end, Georgie by taking a stand and proving she can be successful and Travis when he acknowledges his faults, faces his demons, and becomes a better man. Readers who stick with it may root for a happily-ever-after, but, for many, the chauvinism and implausibility of the plot will make this one a hard pass.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Avon Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

This wasn't my favorite Tessa Bailey book , but I still really liked it. Such witty banter and fun characters!
Many times, I like to read books that are about people and places that are different from me.
In this case, Georgie is So much like me. I'm not a professional clown. I DO like to clown around though. I'm the youngest of 4. We're all 4 & 1/2 yrs apart but I was always TOO YOUNG for everything. I still feel bad that I couldn't sleep on the street waiting for the Rose Parade. My 3 older siblings go to go! They slept in a nearby church- but still...
I love Tessa's sense of humor. She almost goes to far-then she doesn't.
Georgie is adorable. She's an eternal optimist. She's had a crush on Travis since she was a little kid. He's a big baseball star that's lost his mojo. Travis is discouraged and is a big mess.
At first, it seems like Georgie is chasing Travis, but she's just determine to pull him out of his downer attitude. They've been friends and she's there for him.
Georgie loves what she does, but is she ready for a change? She's starting to think so.
Travis has to also deal with a new normal and also take charge.
This had the small town feel without being totally out of touch.
The characters are so real and definitely support the backstory for Georgie and Travis.
I gave this 4 stars.

I really enjoyed this book, and am happy to see it made the LibraryReads list. The writer's style was very fun. I really enjoyed the main characters. However, I agree with other assessments that the best-friend's little sister trope was a little over the top. I still highly recommend if you're looking for a good summer read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy for my review.

Super-sexy, fun, sassy, romantic comedy. Love that it is a series so I will being seeing these characters again!

4.5 Stars
This cover is so fun! I was so excited to see this book land on my kindle. Tessa Bailey is an author I always get excited to read.

This was a steamy slow burn book that I devoured. Georgette is the youngest sibling. The rest of her family all have successful careers and hers is a little different.

Travis is a professional MBA player and has returned home due to an injury. He never thought he would be back in the small town he couldn’t wait to leave.

The relationship and banter between these two was fun. Will Georgette finally get the guy she had a crush all those years ago?

If you’re looking for a good slow burn look no further. I read this book so fast and was sad when it was over.

Talk about STEAMY! WHOA. I wasn’t prepared, but this took my breath away! Oh boy! I need to go back to read all of Tessa’s previous books! I love the addictive writing! These characters were adorably quirky! This was a fun read and a great break from the daily chaos. Enjoyed it!

4.5 Stars for this fun, fantastic story!! Baseball player, playboy and currently wallowing in self- pity is Travis Ford. The best friend’s little sister, unappreciated by everyone, birthday party clown, oh and hopelessly in love with Travis is Georgie Castle. Travis may not have ever paid Georgie much mind before, but then she called him out on his crap while throwing a rotten carton of lo mein at his naked body. Yeah that’s when things start getting good.

These two connect by just believing in the other. When they give into the attraction that pulses between them, well it’s hot - really hot! I loved Travis’s dirty mouth and when he called Georgie “baby girl”. I loved watching Georgie come into her own in all ways.

I loved this book! It was cute and I really liked Georgie. So we meet Georgie who decides that she is going to get Travis out of his funk by doing what she is known as, being a pest. Georgie has been in love with Travis since a kid but she is put that aside and help him. Travis is in a funk he got hurt an no longer is able to do what he loves best be professional baseball player and he wants to be left alone but here comes Georgie his best friends littler sister and she keeps showing up, but as he pushes her away he notices that Georgie is all grown up but he can not be having these feelings for her because you do not do that and he has some heavy demons that he needs to conquer and she deserves someone better than him, not someone who is a punch line and has never nor will ever be in a relationship. Georgie is not taken seriously at all, from her family her town, but Travis is going to help her and her him by entering in fake relationship and as these two spend time together feelings arise, and huh it was sweet and hot and the only thing that I regret is that I didn't read this sooner!! I ended up loving Bethany, and I can't wait for Rosie and Dominic's story! I enjoyed this town and its people, and let me tell I did not like Kristin at all and she was not even a villain she was just annoying, I kind of hope that Stephen wakes up..Anyhoo grab a copy and Enjoy! because you will-til the next one!!

Queen of the dirty talkers strikes again. Tessa Bailey is so talented at creating engaging characters and stories that when the time comes for the graphic sex it is somehow tender and romantic. Georgie and Travis are an interesting couple and the secondary characters are rounded and just waiting for their own story. A quick ad enjoyably spicy read.

Ahhhh this book was so great! I devoured it quickly because I just couldn't get enough of Georgie and Travis. I was swooning when they really started to bring out the best in each other and give each other strength. and holy shit I was fanning myself during the sex scenes. DAMN TESSA, girl you can write a fantastic sex scene. I'm only sorry I waited so long to read this. Excuse me while I pick out my next Tessa Bailey book to read.
So excited Rosie and Dominic are getting their own book! I'm sure that one will be delicious steamy as well!

Georgie is the youngest daughter of the Castle family and while everyone eventually works on the family's house flipping business Georgie went her own way making children happy as a clown. Because of this she isn't taken seriously in the family and by others. Travis is known for being a play boy and a major league baseball player, that was until a injury ended his career. So he's back in town and everyone keeps treating him like a playboy, kinda of a joke, which can hurt the possibility of him getting a job as a sports broadcaster. Both come up with an arrangement that they both can pretend to date that could help both to be taken seriously and not as jokes any more

If you like romcoms, contemporary romances you'll like this book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and seeing how different their families were and how they were being treated by those who are suppose to love and be close to them and it was tough tbh. Getting to know their family and how they were raised and such it was clear to see why they were at the point of their lives in the book and why they chose the drastic choice of dating eachother. If you like steamy books your gonna love this, I'm not much of a fan of really steamy book so I skipped those when it was clear where things were going. I loved the romance that was happening between the two they were such a cute couple and as a reader you can't help but root for their happiness but things can never be easy. There was drama, ups and downs with this book and overall it was a pretty great book. I really enjoyed it.

I DESTROYED this. I started it and finished it within 24 hrs. I just couldn't stop. I thought about it obsessively at work. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, but the main characters are so adorable. Georgie is one of my fave female characters I've read this year. Loved it! I'm already selling it at work!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel. Regardless of the way I acquired the novel, the thoughts, opinions, and views stated in this review are completely unbiased and one hundred percent my own.

I am so happy I decided to pick this book up. I knew this was a romance going in, but I was PLEASANTLY surprised by how steamy this book got. Wow-wee!!! This wasn't exactly an enemies to lovers, or even friends to lovers, but a best friend's younger sister to lovers troupe and I ate it up!

This novel dealt with so many important issues seamlessly. We watch as a group of women learn to support one another, and see a man battling through toxic masculinity that had been ingrained in him since childhood. I loved that we got to see these two characters grow in the context of their relationship and individually as people. Our male MC was a former pro baseball player, dealing with rejection from the sport and trying to outgrow his sportsman persona. Our female MC is the youngest sibling in a family who doesn't take her or her life seriously. We watch as these two support one another fervently throughout the novel.

Did I mention this novel was steamy?! And in a healthy consensual way?! What a gift, honestly. I could not swipe the pages of my kindle fast enough during those hot and heavy scenes. The writing style throughout the novel was so well paced, and engaging. Not once did I feel like an outsider or a reader, I truly felt like I was part of the story with these characters. And their love story felt real. The chemistry was there for me, and how they each feel into each other felt organic, and not forced due to circumstances or literary climaxes.

Overall this was very well done: a sweet and sexy romance, and a story of two people coming into their own authentic selves. Bravo.

This was so much fun and incredibly steamy and sexy. It's far from perfect - there were moments where he goes too alpha male for me and I have a lot of questions about the timeline and the baseball aspects - but none of that took away from my enjoyment of the book. I absolutely flew through it and I definitely want to pick up some more Tessa Bailey books in the future.

If I were to commission an author to write me my perfect romance novel, it might turn out a lot like Fix Her Up. My perfect romance novel would feature main characters who are a little lost, a little broken. Not angsty drama magnets, just relatable people at a turning point in their lives, unsure which way to turn. Travis has recently been expelled from heaven, tossed from the professional baseball career he loved. Georgie has a job she loves, but wants her family to see her as something other than just the baby of the family, though she's unsure how to change their view.

My perfect romance novel would include some laughs. A book that opens with airborne lo mein is off to a good start, right? The story isn't silly or uproarious, but provides regular chuckles mostly via characters' clever banter or smart aleck comments.

My perfect romance novel hero would be handsome and slightly cocky, with a filthy mouth and more potential than he realizes. Travis Ford is a Dirty. Talk. Champ. He's also a better man than he has any idea until he sees himself through someone else's eyes.

My perfect romance novel heroine would be smart, independent, and witty. She'd be pretty, but she'd be more than her appearance. Georgie Castle is, at age 23, a small business owner, a homeowner, and a talented entertainer. She has a knack for saying the right thing in the moment, especially when the moment calls for a snarky comeback or an encouraging word.

My perfect romance novel could not be my favorite without some delicious sexual tension and several creative sexytime interludes. Um, yeah. No by-the-book missionary-in-a-bed nonsense here.

My perfect romance novel would have a sweet, cuddly dog who's a little smarter than any dog ought to be and yet fully devoted to its owner and the owner's love interest. This might be the only way that Fix Her Up fell short of being my ideal because there was no dog in the story, but I'm willing to overlook it since it was so terrific overall.

Highly Recommended!

“Dammit, Georgie. You had to be exactly what I need, didn’t you?”

As much as I enjoy the illustrated cover trend, I am finding that a lot of them don’t quite match the story inside. I expected Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey to be light, fluffy and on the clean side, but let me tell you, it was NOT clean, it was HOT. There were some light and fluffy moments, but there were some serious themes that definitely brought the emotion, and there was also a dose of chick-lit inside.

(graphic on website)

Georgie is the youngest sibling in a large family. Her family owns a house flipping business, but she did her own thing and became a clown.

"Georgie had stuck her business degree diploma in a drawer and become a clown for a reason. Making people laugh and spreading joy made her happy."

It’s bad enough being the youngest sibling and not being taken seriously, but being a clown? Obviously, that adds a bit! Travis was a pro baseball player who, after an injury ended his career, is home licking his wounds. Travis is Georgie’s older brother’s best friend, and she has had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. So when nobody can get through to Travis and get him back in the world of the living, Georgie won’t let him wallow. Lo mein to the head anyone?

We also have a side story where some of the women form a group for female empowerment. The Just Us Club is a great part of the story, and I wish we had a little more about their businesses, but I think we will get that in the next books in the series about Georgie’s sister or friend.

“A club. I’m proposing a club for women, of which we’re the founding fucking members. We all want things. Let’s go get them together.”

Travis has a reputation of a player, with the nickname “two bats”, but he is in the running for a sports announcer position at a wholesome station. Georgie is never taken seriously, so they propose a fake relationship to help them both out. She’s be considered an adult, and he’d look wholesome with this sweet little virgin clown.

At first I had a bit of a hard time getting into Fix Her Up. Third person is not my favorite, plus I literally just finished a book with almost the same premise. The tropes were pretty common. But the hot sex and Georgie’s development won me over.

“Whining and shaking on top of me, showing me how hot you’d be to fuck, but baby girl can’t seal the deal on her own. Can you? Need to be held down and told to come while I’m riding your pretty panties, don’t you? Well, go on.”

Travis was so broken inside and grew up so unwanted, that he couldn’t really believe a girl like Georgie wanted him, and I found that vulnerability so sweet.

"The girl offering her mouth in a way that made him feel . . . worthy."

In the end, I really loved Fix Her Up despite my initial difficulties.

(graphic on website)

Likes:
•I think the cover is cute, I am sick of torsos (though it didn’t really fit the story).
•It set up the series really well.
•Georgie’s growth throughout the book from a meek little sister to an empowered leader.
•Travis’s vulnerability.
•The dirty talking, dominating sex was HOT.
•The women empowerment group.
•How much Travis needed her.

Dislikes:
•3rd person
•The cover didn’t match what was inside (though I liked the cover).
•Very common tropes, brother’s best friend, fake relationship, man-whore jock and virgin. Not very unique.
•The ending went too far too fast, especially since there is more in the series.

The Down & Dirty:
Honestly, the hot sex won me over. I haven’t really been into erotic books lately and none of the ones I do read have really done it for me recently. But there was something about this that pressed all my buttons (tee-hee), and there wasn't a lot of it, so it never overwhelmed the story. As soon as the first almost-sex scene happened I was all-in and completely fell for the broken and unwanted Travis. I loved Georgie right from the start and I loved watching her strength and leadership grow. I am fully invested in this family, and I can’t wait to read the next in the series. Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey is billed as a rom-com from what I can tell, and while it does have elements of romcom, I think it is way more of a straight contemporary romance, and it's one I'd recommend.

Rating: 4 Stars, 5 Heat