Boy, was this an excellent Christmas present to warm me up on a dreary British day. To help you understand what I mean...

"If I ever feel your fingers in my hair again, they'd better be pulling my face closer to whatever I'm licking."

Our hero, Sarge, has been crushing on his sister's best friend since hormones flooded his body, and after running off to make it as a rockstar, he returns four years later to reconnect with his family...and hopefully "connect" with Jasmine. And boy, did Sarge make his intentions clear, toeing the line between too much. This is one of those cases where an alpha male acting up in a book is hot as hell but would not go down well with me in real life.

"You're so arrogant now," she whispered on a huffed breath, unable to put the required exasperation in her voice.
"No, I'm not. I'm overcompensating for the fear that you're going to take one orgasm and run." He sounded almost angry. "You should know I'm going to make doing that really hard for you."

The chemistry was setting off constant chain reactions. I mean, wow. I honestly didn't realise how much I love gutter-mouth. There was a lot of it, too, plus a number of scenes in various locations that turned the heating up in the room. But it wasn't all just sex. The hot stuff sizzled, the cute stuff had my stomach fizzing, and the tense emotional stuff made me feel almost ill, holding my breath as my heart broke. I could understand Jasmine's initial reluctance (it is an age gap I'd be personally uncomfortable with, and I've been on a date with a guy a few years younger than me and felt weird before), but they worked so well together.

"Go get dressed while I make you something."
"Stop being so pushy."
"Stop being so beautiful."

While Sarge was pretty confident and firm in what he wanted, he also pulled back when he needed to. He pushed Jasmine to believe in herself again, and really, it was her that came to him in the end, not him forcing her into anything. Underneath all the bravado, Sarge also showed heart, caring so much not just for Jasmine, but also wanting to make it right with his sister and niece (although I'm not letting him off the hook for getting it wrong in the first place).

And why – why – couldn't they just be together when his heart was clearly being operated from the palm of her hand?

As well as the sweltering heat, I like the focus of this series. Each book centres around characters from a fictional New Jersey factory town called Hook, with regular working class heroes. Well, for the most part, since Sarge made it big. I'll definitely be checking out the other books soon, with Sarge's sister's story already lined up.

It wasn't all perfect. There were some inconsistencies here and there, and some background details didn't quite add up. I couldn't understand how he couldn't find one or two days to quickly nip home to see his family over a span of four years, or why his parents didn't help River with her kid. He's a rockstar; I'm sure he could have afforded a plane ticket home when he lives in the same country! Also, I want to formally acknowledge the poor bass player in Old News, Sarge's band, who didn't even get a name or any interactions despite everyone else having a part to play. Poor guy. Oh, and also, what's up with the name "Sarge". I couldn't take it seriously at all.

All in all, though, it was a really sexy, fun, super quick read. If you're a fan of dirty talk, get your hands on Sarge.

Wow, just WOW! Crashed Out turned out to be such a surprise! This is the fourth Tessa Bailey book that I read and it surprised me – it was so good!

I am a sucker for unrequited romance and this one was perfect! Also, the heroine, Jasmine, is also older than the hero, Sarge. Oh, and did I mention that she used to babysit him? I know, I know, the dreaded ick factor, however, their romance develops a few years later when Sarge comes home for the holidays.

I enjoyed the romance between Jasmine and Sarge. Jasmine is in her late 20s while Sarge is 22, but their age difference isn’t too obvious. Jasmine is also world-weary and was immediately drawn to Sarge. Their chemistry is explosive!

Also, does Tessa Bailey write amazing dirty talking heroes? And feisty heroines, too of course! And those sexy times?! WOAAAHHH!

What really surprised me the most is that this is actually a Christmas Romance. Reading the blurb, you wouldn’t even think that it is. This was definitely a nice surprise for me.

What was a little disappointing for me was the age difference. Sarge was the pursuer in their relationship so it didn’t feel icky but Jasmine was too hung up on their age difference. This was the only barrier to their romance, and although it felt real, I feel like this was brought up over, and over, and over again. Like, I get it! She is older!

The ending felt very satisfying. BUT I felt it was too cheesy when in the end Jas joined Sarge’s band. I mean, too convenient if you ask me!

Overall, Crashed Out is an enjoyable romance and I highly recommend it.

Sarge was in love with his babysitter and his sister’s best friend Jasmine however being eight years older she only saw him as her friend’s younger brother. So as soon as he turned 18 he left his hometown to get away from his feelings and to pursue his dreams of music.

Jasmine had dreams of being a singer but her dream was crushed and she resigned herself to staying in her hometown and working in the factory like most of the town.

Four years later he is a successful musician and returns home to see his sister and his niece. One of the first people he sees when he returns home is Jasmine as he rescues her from a tense situation and she is quick to notice that he is no longer just her friend’s brother but will she be able to overcome the difference in their ages and their lives?

This is a sweet story about Sarge finally getting the woman he has always wanted and their chemistry was intense. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.