Second chance romance at its best. It was funny, heart wrenching and unbelievably sexy. This is an intense emotional rollercoaster.

I'd give this book 4.5 steamy stars. Tessa Bailey is a fantastic writer and world builder. Her characters are well fleshed out with interesting back stories. I enjoyed Rosie and Dominic's story as much as Georgie and Travis's from the first book in the series (and it was fun to see the latter couple again). I would describe this series as a very sexy small town contemporary romance. And when I say very sexy, I mean VERY SEXY. The sex is hot and there is a lot of it. All the males are Alpha with a capital A but they absolutely adore their women. I'm looking forward to Wes and Bethany's story - Bailey set up their relationship well.

A marriage on the brink. A last chance effort to improve their communication before it snaps. Tension so thicc. Angst. Fluff. Humor. This romance was HOT, complex, and made me cry from happiness more than once.

Writing: ★★★★
Romance: ★★★★★
Sexy times: oh mama
Character arcs: ★★★★

Oh oh oh, Tessa Bailey, this was so good. Thank you so much for writing this. The romance between these two characters was so perfect, so sweet—ok, also seriously intense and sexy—that now I don't know how to read other contemporary romances.

Maybe I'll just avoid the genre until the next one in this series comes out.

Y'all think I'm kidding, but I'm not—Love Her or Lose Her was absolutely jaw-dropping.

If you weren't a huge fan of Fix Her Up, I'd really encourage you to check this one out anyway. A lot of the things Fix Her Up did that polarized readers (ahem, the pet name being a big one, I believe) are fixed (pun intended) in this one. This isn't about two characters with undiscovered compatibility, and it doesn't feature an age gap, wage gap, or experience gap.

In fact, there are NO gaps—this is about a 10-year established relationship between two high school sweethearts who never, ever thought they'd get to this point: they're on the brink of a separation.

Years of dwindling open communication and misunderstood desires have lead Rosie and Dominic Vega to a marriage of silences. They're both unhappy, but afraid of broaching the subject because they're both worried of the conversation they'll have if they do. Will their marriage crack? Will they break it if they acknowledge the elephant in the room?

Love Her or Lose Her follows Rosie and Dominic in alternating chapters, giving us the full, 360 perspective on their feelings while they decide to pull the plug on the silence and figure out how to fix their marriage, or whether to call it quits.

I could not get enough of this story. Given the tough emotional opening, Love Her or Lose Her was surprisingly funny, uplifting, and happy. Rosie and Dominic are one of my favorite fictional romantic couples—mainly because they're so singular. I don't think I've read a duo with this much personality, and their love for each other made my heart ache in the best way.

A casual warning: This book is SEXY. If you're not a fan of graphic sexual content, I would give this a library try before taking the plunge. I loved it a lot and the plot definitely balances out the romantic/sexual moments, but when we arrive, we ARRIVE.

Thank you so much to Avon via NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

ARC courtesy of Netgalley

Second chance romance here, a rom com with POC: a married couple living on Long Island who are having difficulties after the husband returns from his stint in the army, difficulties that stem not from PTSD, but from confusion over changing norms of masculinity. Puerto Rican-American Dominic and African-American/Argentinian Rosie were middle school sweethearts, and married young. After high school, Dom spent years in the military, and when he comes back, things between them have turned "dark, lustful, confusing, and... so far off course, [Rosie] wasn't sure their marriage would ever point in the right direction again" (Kindle Loc 156). After quietly accepting the state of their relationshiop for months, Rosie, now 27, decides that it's time to shake things up. She tells Dominic she's leaving him, despite the explosive sex the two continue to have. And ends up disappointed when Dom doesn't protest her leaving.

But Dom is feeling Rosie's absence; even if he doesn't know how to talk to her, he still loves her deeply. And so he asks her to come home. Her counter-offer: couples therapy.

The rom com aspect comes from said therapy, dished out by a hippy psychotherapist gung-ho on Gary Chapman's "love languages" theory. Rosie and Dom's problems stem from the different ways they prefer to give, and to receive, love: Rosie's more about words of affirmation, Dom more about acts of service. The answer may be simple, but actually fixing it will take a lot of practice. Practice which their therapist doles out in the form of weekly homework assignments, home work which challenges both Rosie and Dom to look more closely at one another, and share more of themselves with each other. Without having sex...

Their homework gradually puts the couple back in touch with their feelings for one another. But will Dom and Rosie's newly on-track relationship falter over the different plans each has for the future?

Interestingly, Dom's real problem isn't PTSD; instead, it is insecurity about not being able to provide for his wife. Before he went into the service, he thought he was doing well, having followed his father's example and purchased a good home for his wife. But in the military, he'd become more aware of class differences (although he sees it in a personal, rather than a class-conscious way): "He'd met so many soldiers during the service who had bigger, more elaborate plans for the years ahead. The money to make them all a reality. They'd gone on weekend getaways with their in-laws and already had plans for tech startups or to take over the family business. While Dominic had... nothing to give. Just himself." (1454).

Bailey's story is a humorous, but very real, interrogation of shifting norms of masculinity among working class couples.

I knew what to anticipate from the blurb- however- I was not prepared to see so much of my own life reflected back at me. Early on I had to stop reading and hit my group chat in disbelief. Rosie was the embodiment of so much of the same feelings and thoughts I am experiencing in my own 10+ year marriage. Featuring an already married couple isn't the norm in romance and it was refreshing. I still love- love my girl meets boy storied, but "boy and girl are married and sh!t isn't going right" is definitely a lane that should be explored more, so thank you for highlighting it!
The love languages, the way Rosie felt about her intimacy, the way Dom felt about his responsibilities, their friends and family supporting both of them. From top to bottom so many married people will see a piece of their lives in these pages.

This book was heartfelt, SEXY, and an enjoyable read. Reading a story about couples who are working through their problems together is something I've found I enjoy--seeing the reality within relationships. This one has all of that! I especially enjoyed the characters' views on couple's therapy and their therapist--the fact that they both had times where they thought, "Is this really worth it," was particularly insightful... especially since they still decide to attend therapy sessions.

This story was awesome!
I loved it very much!

(We met Rosie and Dominic in the previous book within this series. You can read each one on its own if you want - Just know you will be missing a little of the backstory. To me, this is missing out on a critical parts since it is the beginning in a sense.)

These two are clearly meant for each other. Somehow, they just lost their way a bit. Lost how to communicate with each other. This was very relatable to me. Easy to see. Could happen to any married couple.
So Rosie decides she wants him to agree to go to couple's counseling and shockingly, he agrees. She picks the most out there therapist for them thinking he will back out, but hoping he doesn’t. She's hoping he wants to save their marriage just as much as she does.
Dominic loves Rosie and always has since the day he saw her. He sees no one else. He does little things for her like starting her car to warm it up which she never knew he did. But he is also keeping a secret. A secret she senses.

I absolutely recommend you read this series. And this book. Both books in the series have been great!

Sexy and fun romance. Enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous book again but also more of Rosie and Dominic. Will definitely also pick up the third book in the series.

Fix Her Up was all about baby girl...Love Her or Lose Her was the book of honey girl! Dominic and Rosie’s chemistry is everything. We love a ripped and tatted love interest. As always, Tessa Bailey is the queen of dirty talk. While a married couple fighting for their relationship isn’t my favorite trope, I really enjoyed these characters. Bonus: The next book will feature Bethany and Wes! I’m so ready for that hate to love situation!

This story of a married couple that lost themselves and each other was beautiful and touching and hot with just the right touch of comic relief from their friends, I loved every minute of their journey back to each other.

Very cute book with a couple just trying to make their marriage work! A little slow build in the story but the ending made it worth the read!

Love Her or Lose Her was a total miss for me. I enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s previous novel in this series well enough, but this one did not do it for me. I really did not enjoy reading about the two main characters trying to save their failing marriage. It feels like you’re dropped right in the middle of their mess without even knowing them. There was no connection to either narrator. Plus, the romance was a bit off putting, to be honest. The overprotectiveness and possessiveness of Dominic’s character was really unappealing. The best part of the book was the The Just Us League and Bethany and Wes’s hysterical banter. Overall, if you’re looking for a lighthearted romance novel, you should look elsewhere.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall it was a great romantic story. A couple who have been together since high school are in a huge rut. It's not until Rosie is hit on at work by a very attractive man that she realizes that something has to change. I found the conflict very fascinating because it definitely reveals how men and women communicate differently and how everyone expresses their love in different ways as well. It's obvious that this couple is still very much in love, they just don't speak each others' love language.

Characters are easy to relate to and having the luxury of getting both pov's in alternating chapters helps readers realize long before the couple themselves that the love is true. The question in the end is if both are willing to change to give the other what they need to feel appreciated and loved.

I feel a little conflicted about this book. Okay, a lot conflicted. On the one hand, I was interested in it because I love finding romances about couples who are already together. As a person in a nine-year long relationship, this interests me. On the other hand, this book just made me feel sad for most of the time I was reading it. I read romance books because they are fun and happy, but this one was super angsty, that I wasn't even sure if they were going to have a HEA.

It was nice to see them actually try to work their things out, and it was interesting to see them doing all the weird stuff their therapist wanted them to do. I have to say, the sexual chemistry between them was kind of off the charts! Oh boy, don't be fooled by the illustrated cover, because this book is steamy!!

Dom is super stoic and doesn't express his feelings (something I super understand) but he did do a lot of things like keeping stuff from his wife. I was also wondering if his time overseas had to do with him being so closed off. But nothing about his actual time there seems to be talked about. I feel like that was a slightly missed opportunity.

This book does have a HEA, so I was happy about that, but I felt like the author really put my heart through the ringer with this one. So I'm pretty conflicted because while the book was interesting, it wrenched my heart a little bit and didn't give me those same feels that other romance books do. This totally could be a "me" thing though.

*I received a review copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

I really enjoyed Fix Her Up, honestly way more then I had anticipated, partially since I don't always like contemporary romance and because it was my first Tessa Bailey, so I couldn't WAIT to get my hands on Love Her or Lose Her. However, though I liked Love Her or Lose Her, I didn't think it was as good of a fit for me.

I'll be the first to admit that the marriage on the rocks romance isn't my thing. I don't love established couples, so right off the bat that's a strike against the story. However, Tessa Bailey writes sex scenes that I love to read, so I was hopeful that I would still love the story.

I have to say, I loved that we got two non-while MCs (POC in romance rep, baby!), and I liked the friendship/girl power aspects of the story. Tessa Bailey can write well, and I'll never stop liking her dirty talking sex scenes (yes, please!). But the rest...

I was really annoyed at how contrived the relationship troubles seemed. I mean, Dominic was insanely devoted to Rosie, so I couldn't help but wonder if just a little simple communication, like Rosie saying she was deeply unhappy about how they haven't been talking enough, would have been enough. Dominic didn't even resent her or anything... it was drama from nothing.

I also hated how Dominic busted in on Rosie's girls night out in the city. I would have flipped out on my husband. A girl is allowed to go out for drinks with her friends, god damn it. Dominic edged towards too overprotective and possessive for my tastes, and I know that's how Tessa Bailey likes her men, but I didn't love it here. I also think the story just had too much sex in it (I can't believe I'm saying that...).

While I enjoyed Love Her or Lose Her, It isn't my favorite from Tessa Bailey. However, I think book number three is going to be a REAL winner!

This was an alright romance, I finished and got some vague enjoyment out of the story.. Too cliche, Tessa Bailey is beginning to feel like she's just writing the same thing with different characters, the tone is barely distinguishable imo. Maybe if you haven't read many of her works you would enjoy this more. It just lacked any depth and uniqueness, I needed a little more from the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ecopy!

Thank you Avon Books for the opportunity to read and review Love Her or Lose her. This book was a joyful ride but also an awakening as marriages are hard and take so much work. Rosie and Dominic had my heart the entire time.

I am usually not a fan of second chance romances but Tessa Bailey may have changed that for me. I absolutely loved the dynamic of this couple and the push and pull they naturally have. Watching them fall in love again gave me all the feels.

I was completely riveted by the unique and charming story, Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey. Rosie and Dominic Vega are high school sweethearts who are now married and though they love each other, life has gotten in the way. Rosie wants more from her husband and their marriage. Dominic loves his wife deeply and will do anything to make her happy. Which is how they find themselves working on their marriage with a very unique marriage counselor. Now they are remembering why and how they fell in love. I loved reading about Dominic and Rosie as they found their way back to each other. This story was full of all the best kind of feels through an emotional and tender journey.

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy.

I enjoyed this book so much. The characters were very entertaining and fun. I loved their banters. Dom and Rosie had an amazing chemistry. The side characters made the story that much more fun and interesting.

The sexy times were a little too much. I feel like it could have been turned down a notch. But overall really good book.