Hello there, bookworms! Happy weekend! It’s been another exhausting week in my neck of the woods but I wanted to hop on here before I get eyeballs deep in NaNoWriMo and bring you all a book review in time for the weekend! If you read my last post with a bit of a life update, you’ll know it’s been about a week since my mother’s surgery so it’s just been a lot to try to juggle work, help her and my dad out with their lives, errands, pets, cooking, writing a book, and managing a blog.. and I suppose.. sleep as well. It is what it is and life happens so I’m just trying to take it all a day at a time (and just hoping I survive).

I digress. Let’s get to the review so that you can grab a copy of this book for yourself to enjoy with your Halloween candy. Let’s talk about Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey!

A brand new romantic comedy from New York Times bestseller Tessa Bailey!

Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World… whatever that means.

Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)

Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)

Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)

Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)

Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?

Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her…

I picked up a copy of this book at my local B&N over the summer but only got around to reading it more recently and trying to review it for the past few days (I began writing this post on Thursday).

Fix Her Up was such a refreshing take on a romance novel. I’ve been reading (and now writing) romance for years and while I enjoy many of them and can’t seem to accumulate enough book boyfriends, I could see how people might tend to lose interest in the genre from time-to-time as it has a tendency to have fairly redundant plot lines. I was so glad to meet Georgie and Travis. When I first encountered these childhood friends, they were both at such turning points in their lives and while they got off to a bit of a rocky start, once they started meshing and getting reacquainted as adults, the sparks started flying.

With my work schedule, my writing, and book club, I felt I had drifted from losing myself in a solid romance novel, and as soon as Georgie and Travis began to blur the lines of friends and hookup buddies, this book was everything I was looking for. I thoroughly enjoyed the humor and awkwardness that goes with testing the waters of a new relationship and I adored their chemistry even more. Travis brought Georgie out of her shell and helped her step into her fierce womanhood that she had buried deep beneath all her clown makeup. In return, Georgie brought out the super sexy, monogamous man in Travis. His dirty talk was enough to get you hot and bothered while simultaneously making you fall for him just as easily as Georgie did.

What began as a bit of a game becomes something steamy, genuine, and totally swoon-worthy. Georgie and Travis had to wade through a lot of grey areas to not only experience a wonderful love story, but they also brought out wonderful things in each other that allowed them to grow as individuals. Travis is no longer seen as a playboy and Georgie is no longer seen as the town clown and gains the respect of the people she loves most.

This was the first book of Tessa’s I’ve read, but I think it’s safe to say I’ll be reading more of her work in the future. She not only builds a wonderful story, but she incorporates so much more than a sensual romance. I thoroughly enjoyed my journey with these characters and tried so hard (and failed) at devouring this book. It was quirky, funny, sizzling, dramatic, and heart-wrenching. I’m thrilled this book is part of a series because I need more of these two (or any of the supporting characters) in my life. If you’re looking for a sweet couple to enjoy, go meet Georgie and Travis!

Until next time, happy reading!