Tools of Engagement
By Tessa Bailey
Release Date: September 22, 2020
Ebook Available from WV Reads!
4 stars - An enjoyable token romantic comedy perfect for the fixer-upper crowd. Loads of banter and sexual tension between surrogate single dad Wes and razor sharp interior designer Bethany. Both leads were fun, and I was hooked from the dedication page.
Thank you, Tessa Bailey, for dedicating this book to us over-analyzers. I started this book with a smile. I've enjoyed probably 90% of Bailey's work going back to her new adult days. Her new rom-coms make me miss some of her grittier work, but they're high quality chick lit. Wes was great though, so adorable with his little niece and all her babysitters. Better yet, he had Bethany's back from the start. The whole sexy southern gentleman thing was a bonus. Bethany wants to spread her wings with her family business, but her family's so real with all their hang-ups and quirks. They're afraid to let her branch out. I confess I keep getting this trilogy mixed up with Lauren Layne's newest due to the tone and the setting.
Fix-Her-Up was first and while it took me awhile to warm up, I liked it by the end. I tried Love Her or Lose Her but skipped it. My only gripes though are small ones. Sometimes the banter is over the top. For example, Bethany says "Did you sit here just to poke me all night?" Cue Wes thinking like a middle school boy. Wouldn't she have said "annoy" or "irritate" in real life? But a little past the halfway point, this book completely won me over. I am certain the push/pull here will drive some readers insane. Bethany can be bratty and Wes can be wishy-washy. The language and steam levels are probably somewhere between PG13 & R. And know this certainly comes off as a slow burn. But once these two stubborn people committed to not just each other but the directions they wanted their lives to go, I was all in. I was cheering them on, like waving a foam finger and whistling levels. My only major complaint was the little monkey wrench thrown in the last 10% that was just absurdity. If you haven't read Tessa Bailey before, I'd consider this a decent place to start.
(NS)
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