I found this to be a wonderful story about a married couple Rosie and Dominic. Rosie feels that she is not being seen by her husband except for one night a week the night that they have sex. As much as she still enjoys sex with her husband, she feels that something is missing. When she comes home from work one night she has decided to leave. It is also the night that they usually have sex. Dominic is shocked, confused and panicked he loves her with his whole being and he has thought Rosie has known that. She leaves that night and he is a mess. She is to but she feels she has lost her dream of opening a restaurant and part of herself.
She does not want to divorce him and when he asks what he needs to do when she says counseling he agrees. More than that he shows up and really tries to make an effort at the beginning. You see the struggles he has since he has come back from Afghanistan, also from the way he was raised. Not bad but just different and men did not cry and took care of the family without a big fan fair. He also realizes he has put he dreams about a restaurant aside because he did not hear her talk about it but it was still important to her. He then begins to see other things that he has let go by the wayside that happens at times in a marriage. He starts to make an effort to change.
She begins to see the things he has been doing for her that she knows nothing about and this surprises her. She wants him to tell her these things but he feels it his responsibility to do it, not in a bad why but his way of showing love without her knowing. I get that. Though most people nowadays don’t understand.
Overall, I liked the story the characters, even the therapist they end up going to. I found this to be really a story that is close to true life relationships and that though the two people love each other very much they both had things they needed to work on. A very good book.

I had a hard time getting into this one. I thought the husbands behavior at the beginning was pretty aggressive and made it hard for me to get into. It left a bad taste in my mouth the rest of the book.

This was a book I finished about a week ago but I gave myself time to write my thoughts on it and it wasn’t until yesterday that I found what I wanted to talk about. Does this happen to any of you?
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I read Fix her Up about a week before I started this book. While I enjoyed parts of the book I have to say that I was able to enjoy this one a bit more. We meet the characters from this story in Fix Her Up, Rosie & Dominic. They are a married couple that no longer communicates but are still sexually attracted to each other. Another book about an already married couple? YES, PLEASE!
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So here’s the kicker. I wasn’t a complete fan of the dominating behavior Dominic showed but I also loved how it was written in the book. Growing up in a home where his father provided for the house and maintained a “stiff upper lip” and didn’t express his emotions or concerns for fear of appearing weak affected the way Dominic acted in his marriage. His parents were comfortable around each other but didn’t seems to express feeling and were happy in their roles. Since that’s what Dominic saw growing up he felt that he was expressing his love for Rosie by “providing” for her and doing stuff for her that she didn’t even know about. While this mindset works for some it can also be really toxic in a relationship. Rosie had put her dreams to the side and lost her identity in the marriage along the way.
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I loved how they went to marriage counseling even if it was a bit unorthodox. They were very much still in love with each other and they slowly found ways to better communicate and learn each other’s love languages. Overall, I found this story really meaningful. I am so excited for the next one. I’m anticipating lots of banter! Thanks to netgalley and avonbooks for my free ebook.

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey is the second book in her Hot & Hammered series! We're first introduced to Rosie and Dominic in Fix Her Up and you guys I loved every moment of their story!!

From the very first chapter until the very end I was swooning and emotional. This book is everything you love and want in a romance. Rosie and Dominic are soulmates who have been together since they were teenagers. They've been through it all. They're flawed. Their marriage has taken a turn. Rosie and Dominic aren't the same people they used to be when they first got married. Now the two must fight and fall in love all over again, rediscover each other, and reunite once more but for good this time.

Their relationship has been all-consuming from the moment they met that at one point they forgot to communicate with one another. The passion and the fire has never waned but Rosie needs more from her husband and she takes a stand and decides to leave. Dominic gets a wake up call. All he's ever wanted is his honey girl . He's been taught to provide and now he must also learn to show his emotions and reveal his needs as well. This is hard for Dominic at first because he's such a quiet and broody man. When Rosie suggests couples therapy he's willing to do anything to win her back.

So much emotion, growth, and love with amazing friendships and secondary characters who were truly adored in book one. I loved Dominic's troubled side as well as his fierce and loving side. Rosie, too, grew so much. She became independent and fought for her dreams and for her marriage. These are two people who saw their faults and worked together. I was captivated and charmed until the last page. And enough said about the new hero introduced to torment Bethany!! I'm dying for their book next and I just know it's going to be a lot of fun. That being said, please do yourselves a favor and start this series!!


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon (HarperCollins Publishers) through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Rosie and Dominic are on the brink of divorce. Their marriage hasn’t been happy for a long time. Rosie is unhappy in her job and her dream of opening her own restaurant now seems unattainable. Dominic isn’t the best communicator and Rosie hasn’t felt closeness between them, except for their scheduled sex every Tuesday night. So she decides to leave Dominic.

And this wakes Dominic up; he doesn’t want to love the woman he loves more than anything. He’d go to the ends of the Earth for Rosie, so they go to couples counseling to try and salvage their marriage.

Rosie learns that Dominic isn’t the only person to blame in regard to their marriage’s failure. And Dominic learns that his communication, especially in regard to his feelings, has been extremely lacking.

When two people want so badly to make things work, will they be able to mend the cracks in their marriage or are the differences between them too irreparable to fix?

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey is book two in the Hot & Hammered series. Dominic is the classic brooding man that never expresses his feelings; he’s more show than tell. And it’s very clear that Rosie and Dominic’s marriage is suffering from lack of communication. I really enjoyed seeing them give couples counseling their all because at the end of the day, they truly love one another. I also liked that book three’s couple was highlighted several times, making me excited to pick that one up in the fall! 4/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Tessa Bailey for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love Her or Lose Her examines the failing marriage of Rosie and Dominic, a couple we get to know and love in Fix Her Up. It takes us on their journey as their marriage appears to be beyond saving when Rosie finally finds the strength to walk away. Can they both put in work in to find the love they once had? Or is their marriage unsalvageable? ⁣
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You know how some churches require pre-marriage counseling? Well, this book should be included in every course as a textbook. This book offered such a realistic look at marriage, particularly a struggling marriage. I think it provides guidance, life lessons and even hope. I know I sure learned a lot in this story that I can apply to my marriage. I now know what my love language is but more importantly what my husbands’ love language is. ⁣
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Please don’t think because this book deals with marriage that it lacks anything in the romance and sex department. This book is romantic as you could hope. Watching Dominic learn how to open up and be what Rosie needs was amazing. For a man who thought he couldn’t find any romantic words he sure did make me swoon. And I loved how Rosie also learned that she had a part to play in the downfall of the marriage and that her actions needed to speak louder than words for Dominic. And let’s talk steam. Holy cow do they have chemistry. Wow! This is hot, a little dirty and definitely spicy. ⁣
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Overall, I am so happy Tessa took the chance to write a romance about a marriage. I really enjoyed all the emotions, chemistry, passion and steam Tessa brought with this story. I highly recommend to everyone but especially married couples.⁣
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I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Tessa Bailey's books were some of the first I read when I began reading ebooks and they quickly became some of my favorites, so it pains me to say that I was a bit disappointed in this one. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I just didn't feel the connection between the characters like I generally do. I enjoyed the premise of the book and I definitely didn't hate it, but it wasn't one of my favorites. I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

I just did not find this book enjoyable. It reads very old-fashioned, like Men Will Save The Day when I think modern romance deserves more equally-footed heroines. I probably will not read any more of this author.

Rosie and Dominic have been together for a long time. Lately, their relationship has been on the rocks, and Rosie has had enough of it. Through extreme marriage boot camp, the couple explore their love languages and relationship to see if they can figure out how to make it work.

There will be a LOT of people who love this book. I am just not one of them. Yes, I understand life/love marriage are complicated and working on a struggling marriage is a very realistic story that many people will find relatable. However, it's not what I'm looking for when I read a romance novel. I wanted to give it a chance since I am relatively new to reading romance and hadn't tried it before. I couldn't connect with the characters, I didn't enjoy the storyline, and I was constantly aware that I was reading a novel instead of finding myself lost in it.

SYNOPSIS | Rosie Vega married her childhood sweetheart (Dom), but since he returned from the military he has been emotionally absent. Rosie isn't sure what has happened to the man she fell in love with but she feels like her life has kind of stalled. Her girlfriends encourage her to demand more from life and to take the leap and finally pursue her dream of opening up a restaurant and she decides to demand more from her relationship too.

MY THOUGHTS | So this was even raunchier than Fix Her Up and whilst I am all for some steamy sex scenes, a lot of these just didn't sit right with me. Dom was extremely possessive of Rosie and it felt like he often referred to her as a sexual object. I also couldn't stand his pet name for her and every time he said "honey girl" I had to stop myself from cringing. BUT overall this was an enjoyable read, it felt better written compared to the 1st book in the series and I like that it was using the Love Languages as a foundation of the storyline. I am not sure that I will be carrying on in the series though.

I actually think I liked this one better than Fix Her Up. It wasn’t as light-hearted but I think I related to it more as someone who is in a long-term relationship. Tessa Bailey does a good job developing characters that you want to root for and I can’t wait for the next book!

3 1/2 Caffeinated Stars. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love Her or Lose Her is the second book in the Hot and Hammered series by Tessa Bailey. I read the first one earlier in the year, and I genuinely enjoyed it. Georgie and Travis were so much fun, so I couldn't wait to read about Dominic and Rosie.

Dominic and Rosie sure had chemistry, but I have to say I just never felt fully invested in them. I liked both characters, but I honestly didn't like them together. I just hated how one character seemed to take while one always gave continually, and I hated how they both didn't communicate with each other. Communication is such a massive part of a relationship that it annoyed me with how little was present.

The plot was quick-paced and straightforward. I obviously didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I enjoyed Fix Her Up, but it is a solid book. The characters had chemistry, and there were some genuinely humorous parts. I just wish that I liked the two characters together. I never felt the need to root for them, which ruined the whole romance part for me.

All in all, this book was cute, but I didn't connect with them. I wanted more growth and more communication. All in all, it's a solid 3 1/2 star book.

Love Her or Lose Her was more than a little disappointing to me. The chemistry between Rosie and Dominic just didn't do it for me. I didn't feel the connection between them. I was hoping this would be the first rom-com of the year that I loved, but sadly that wasn't the case. I tried so hard to love this book but I just couldn't get into it.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Love Her or Lose Her is the second book in Tessa Bailey's 'Hot and Hammered' series. After reading and loving 'Fix Her Up' I was so excited for this one. It wasn't as fun or endearing, but I actually loved the romance more. Maybe it's the old married person in me, but sometimes I love reading about already established/married couples and this hit the spot for me.

Dominic and Rosie were high school sweethearts who married one another. They've always been so in love and had a great relationship, but lately things have changed. I wouldn't say they've lost their spark... their chemistry is still there. But that seems like that's all that's there. They don't talk anymore, they don't spend time together (outside of their Tuesday night bedroom date) and Rosie has had enough. She decides they need some real help if they're going to make it work, so she moves out while they undergo some 'extreme marriage therapy', which is unconventional but a hoot.

Dom is a great guy. He loves Rosie something fierce and always provides for her, but with their sessions they both realize they aren't doing the right things for one another. Some people show love in different ways, and some people need love shown to them in different ways. It was the breakthrough they needed. I think this will be so relatable for some people. If you've been in a long-term relationship/and or are married especially.

Dominic is the type of hero Tessa Bailey loves to write. Alpha, stoic, sexy, and protective. This would have maybe been a 4.5 or 5 star read for me if I felt more connected to him. I feel like the biggest part of his character was his proving himself and providing for Rosie. Rosie had all these dreams and all he wanted was to be there for her and help her succeed. I guess I wanted a little more of what he wanted, and to be in his head a bit more. I think my favorite part of the book was watching Rosie come to terms with the fact that she had some blame in this and trying to do for Dom what he'd always done for her. I loved watching them love each other in the way they both needed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was emotional, steamy, and made me laugh more than once. I enjoy Tessa Bailey's writing and characters and I'm loving this series. I have a feeling Bethany and Wes's book is next and I'm so here for it!

I was cautious going into this book after seeing some mixed bag reviews, but this was the book for me. I really enjoyed Fix Her Up, but Rosie and Dominic. YES! So first, I briefly have to say that I identify with these characters and their marriage in some ways - Rosie loves cooking (me), Dom was in the military and deployed (my husband), they are middle school sweethearts (married my hs sweetheart - close), and they have always had chemistry throughout their relationship (same). I really appreciated the whole love languages thing that was brought up. The army did a couples "retreat" that Nick and I attended and we learned about the love languages and although it's still kind of that weird pseudoscience type junk, it also has some truth to it. Different people give and receive love in different ways. This story kinda broke my heart 20 million times. Idk if it's because I'm already emotional (thanks, period; thanks, husband is away for army training), but I teared up/cried multiple times during this story. It was SO heartbreaking at times. It was sweet in other instances and it had the perfect amount of smut in my opinion and the smut was ON POINT. Of course, there were a few things that were cheesy and the pet names still aren't really my thing, but I can forgive those slight things because I loved seeing this marriage implode and Rosie & Dom work to save it. Also, I so loved the curly hair stuff mentioned because same, Rosie. Same. I'm dying for book 3 that will follow Bethany. There's no real news other than Fall 2020 and I AM READY.

Love Her or Lose Her is quite a good second-chance romance. It's a sweet story about a married couple who need to find their way back to each other. I really enjoyed this story and ALMOST gave it four stars, but I wish I had seen a little more story and a little less sex. This book is probably half and half. A good sexy scene can be great, but I really wanted to see Dominic open up more. He gets there in the end, but it takes awhile.
There's a lot of drama in this story. These two face so many issues. Well it's one issue with each of them, but they comes up in various ways throughout the plot. If you like several points of tension that build and resolve back and forth through the story, I say you should definitely give this book a shot. I really enjoy this Hot and Hammered series from Tessa Bailey.

It took me a while to get used to the structure of this book. It wasn’t your typical romance structure but the author’s smooth writing style helped ease the transition. I thought the pacing of this novel was really excellent but I wish the author had used the therapy sessions to provide a tighter structure.

I was very impressed with all the supporting characters and loved that this book portrayed a working class couple. I liked Rosie but never warmed to Dom. I thought his revelation about Rosie came too late in the book. I was also not very pleased with how paternalistic he was even in regards to his grand gesture. He gave Rosie to other people instead of realizing she wasn’t his to give. The narrative really robbed Rosie of her agency. Great writing and great structure were let down by the main couple.

Let’s start this review by reminding everyone that if books were thai food I’d generally order mine “mild.” A well-written and meaningful sex scene brings so much to a book. Unfortunately, I find that well-written and meaningful sex scenes are few and far between. Particularly in this genre.

This was the story of a marriage on the rocks. The only thing still working was the sex. So every few pages the heroine had pointy, tightened nipples and sopping thighs (thighs?!?!?) to remind us that the sex was so so good. I guess. It feels like a book where the heroine soaks her panties when her hyper-possessive husband looks at her is alienating and nearly farcical by the 8th or 9th “squirm” or “pulse.”

Also - just being nit picky but “honey girl” doesn’t work as a nickname. It yanks me out of the story when I’m already struggling amidst all the moisture. And it feels degrading. Also, “Wife” lacked charm the first time. By the last it was nigh infuriating.

As always - thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to offer an honest review.

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Rosie and Dominic Vega were high school sweethearts and got married when when he enlisted. They’ve always been each others best friend able to talk about anything and their chemistry? It sizzles! Ever since Dominic came back from Afghanistan their relationship has changed. They don’t talk as much, living together as husband and wife but except for their once a week sex-date not interacting. Rosie is heartbroken but wants to move on and start living out her dream and feels like Dominic isn’t going to stand beside her and help her accomplish them. She asks for a divorce and is surprised by how vehemently Dominic wants to make things work. So she comprises by going to last chance couples therapy. Love Her or Lose Her is a love story that puts communication first while still delivering the heat.

I really liked the premise of this novel and after reading Fix Her Up and liking it a lot, was confident Tessa Bailey would deliver a good story. Did she? Well, yes and no. I was really conflicted and my emotions were all over the place.

What I liked: I really liked Rosie. She obviously loved Dominic a lot but wasn’t going to settle for less than what she thought she deserved from her husband. She was confident, sassy, and her cooking sounded amazing. Seriously, I got hungry for cuban food reading this novel! What I also liked about Rosie was that when she realized she should take part of the blame in their failed marriage, she did…and felt horrified by it. I also liked her friends. Georgie was our heroine in Fix Her Up and she was just as charming in this novel, and Bethany, Georgie’s sister, who will star in her own novel next. Their sisterhood and support system were amazing and I had a lot of fun reading about that group.

What I didn’t like: I’m just going to say it.. Dominic. I usually like an alpha male, but this guy had way too much testosterone. Whew! His old fashioned attitude about what makes a good marriage definitely needed to be brought up to date. The heat between the two of them was crazy hot, but the way he spoke to her during those hot moments, for me, was a complete turn off. I hated his moniker for her… gosh, I’ve blacked it out of my mind, I think it was honey girl? Every time he said it, I just cringed. It seemed like the author was trying way too hard. Would such a taciturn guy really start calling her this name only when they had sex? To me, it was just weird.

So, the fact I didn’t care for half the couple wasn’t a good sign. However, I did like how going to therapy made them open up and see things in each other and in themselves. That, and Rosie’s character elevating their coupledom out of the trash heap with her genuine likability? I gave Lover Her or Lose Her a 3 rating, which on my scale is average. I like this author but I think she missed the mark on this couple. ❤️❤️❤️

I received a free copy of this ARC for my honest review and it was honest!

I was really looking forward to Rosie and Dominic’s story! Romances with married couples are few and far between and we need more if they’re anything like this one! This story was filled with so much heartfelt emotion. I definitely found myself in tears quite a few times. And call me old fashioned, but I love Dominic’s caveman style. Give me allll the heroes just like him. I really enjoyed the way these two worked through their problems and figured out their issues. It was gut wrenching at times and super sexy at others. This was such a fresh, unique story; I couldn’t get enough. Plus I loved the set up happening between Wes and Bethany and I can’t wait for their book.