Review: It Happened One Summer

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

He was a set-in-his-ways fisherman. She was a rich, adventurous socialite. 

The “for Schitt's Creek fans” had some ringing true as Piper, a late twenties socialite starts to feel the creep of social media fame fading away. With a step-father that is over her aimlessness, he tells her about the bar her deceased father left her and her sister in the “wilds” of Washington. Needing a place to lay low out of the lime light and figure out what she wants to do with her life, Piper, and accompanied by her sister Hannah, heads to her father's hometown in hopes of learning more about her father and herself. 

“Which girl are you? The girl in the pictures or the one sitting next to me?” 

“Both, I think,” she said after a pause. 

This was a Tessa Bailey standard (maybe even a little more top tier to me) and you'll get that sexy, sparking, and entertaining usual, with some more emotional. I much appreciated that Piper had vulnerability, lack of self-confidence, front and center to combat the instant dislike that could be brought from a at first-take vacuous socialite. Pairing her with the grumpy widowed (for 7yrs) Brendan hit just right for me. She was the breath of fresh air, shake-up that he needed and he was the solid foundation she needed, I love pairs like that. 

And in that moment, Brendan saw right through her. Saw what she was doing. Making tonight about sex. Trying to keep things casual. Categorizing him as a friend with benefits. With a less determined man, she would have succeeded, too. 

The plot “trapping” Piper in the Washington town, her step-father says he won't pay anymore of her bills until she can prove to him that she can run her father's bar for 3 months will have you going along with it because the ride was just fun. I wasn't totally on board at first with her sister Hannah joining her, questioned reasoning, forcing a secondary character for series bait, but as the story went on, while I not totally lost the not necessary, her character started to also feel very essential (if that makes any sense). 

This girl. He’d be keeping her. There was no way around it. 

Adding in Piper looking for strength and confidence in herself by gaining knowledge and an emotional connection to her birth father was Bailey digging for emotional depth I much appreciated it; I think there were a couple moments that will have eyes watering for some. My heart really liked Brendan taking Piper out on his boat to help understand his job more and work to, while not completely, ally some fear she had in relation to how her father died. This was a deep topic and while we don't sink completely into the trauma of dating a man who works the same job you father died from, it at least was broached for deeper relationship connection. This was all about accepting yourself and finding someone who loves you for you and I enjoyed this little treat of a story. (Now when does the movie/tv show adaption come out? Because NEED)

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Review: Dream Girl Drama

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Somehow, he knew that she wasn't a choice. 

If you read The Au Pair Affair, you'll remember Sig and Chloe and their, ….are they? In Dream Girl Drama we get a look at how they first met and why the tension felt so turned up between them. Sig's on his way to dinner with his father, who he didn't meet until he was eighteen because his mom says the guy abandoned them, when his truck breaks down. He makes it to a country club that doesn't want to admit non-members when a blonde comes out of nowhere and claims Sig's with her. From there it's stolen champagne, a kiss on the green, and love at first sight. Until Sig finally makes it to dinner and finds out that his father's newest wife-to-be has a daughter and it's Chloe. 

Leave...them to chance? Can't do it. 

Look, I can't say I found it wildly taboo that a twenty-nine year old man who didn't grow up with his father and only communicates with him a handful of times in a decade is in love with a twenty-five year old future step-sister that he only met the night before. They're strangers who are adults and will never live in the same house developing a familial relationship. So, fair to say that part of the angsty start-crossed aspect was lost to me. I'm also not one for insta-love, so when Sig is thinking/feeling in love immediately, I wasn't exactly getting the tingles with him. However, I do think that Bailey shows and gives us those falling in love emotions as the story progresses, it just might not be everyone's cup of tea of why/how Sig is in love with her. Chloe grew-up 1%er rich, so she has no concept of taking care of herself, she's also a harp prodigy and used to gliding by on her talents. At twenty-five, and I think a push from meeting Sig, she decides that she wants to spread her wings and move out of her home and to Boston. This puts a bit of a wedge between her and her mother, thus putting a wedge between Sig and his dad, but they're not really in the story, just some occasionally coming in from the sides. Sig's love language is taking care of and he does it all for Chloe, helping pay rent, buying groceries, basically what you learn to do for yourself when you first move out. Chloe's pretty oblivious to it all until the beginning of the second half, so if you can't handle immature, flighty female main characters that take a while to grow, you'd probably struggle with this one. 

They were a messy pair. Everything about what they were doing was messy but stopping seemed impossible. 

This had that trademark Bailey heat, mostly on the back of the repression the two have to observe towards each other. They don't want their reputations ruined, Sig is a professional hockey player who's team is about to make captain and offer a lucrative contract and Chloe is trying for first chair in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I get we're in the TMZ era of being in people's business but since I didn't fully feel the step-sibling taboo-ness, I felt like it was somewhat overplayed (NHL is no stranger to drama, Martin Brodeur's past mess, anyone?) It was a lot of we're not staying away from each other but we can't physically act on our feelings, while Sig hires a private investigator to dig up dirt on his dad so Chloe's mom won't want to marry him. If this is your type of back and forth, you'd be in heaven. 

Had she ever heard him this raw and honest before? Is this what he'd been holding back? 

If you showed up for a sports romance or worried there would be too much for you, hockey features maybe 2% in this, we don't even find out Sig's a winger until 60% and see Chloe at like one game. The scene where they snap and give into their lust was hotly great but there was some, to me anyway, immature actions and feelings that took this a little over-the-top fluffy fun. The whole baseball versus hockey players rivalry game came off pretty goofy to me. When it seems like things are going to be impossible for our couple, a surprise reveal has them getting their happily ever after, which we see in a five years later epilogue, that also teased the next book couple. I didn't completely feel the angst keeping these two apart but I felt their lust and sometimes that's enough.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Oh, you don't use a hockey puck as a bookmark? 

Can't relate. 

After reading The Au Pair Affair, so ready to dive into Sig and Chloe's drama filled romance. 

A serendipitous meeting has Sig and Chloe sharing a moonlight kiss. Only to discover Sig's dad is newly engaged, to Chloe's mom. 

Eek! 

They both know as future stepsiblings, romance should be off the table. But as professional hockey player Sig shows sheltered harp prodigy Chloe around Boston, it gets harder and harder to keep the chemistry at bay and keep things platonic. 

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey purchase link

Review: Window Shopping

Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

This man smiles constantly. 

I hate him. 

Window Shopping was a quick steamy holiday read about second chances. Stella is just out of jail after serving four years for armed robbery, the story is a little more complicating and forgiving than black and white, when she's looking at a department window display and gets a dual chance of a lifetime. Intrigued by her and her opinion on the window, Aiden, the general manager and majority shareholder of the store, encourages her to apply for newly vacant job opening to design the windows. This kicks off a “We can't, but boy do we want to!” relationship as second chances and taking chances fill the season. 

I think because...this is a man who pays attention. This is a man who doesn't miss anything. 

This was fairly typical Tessa Bailey, steamy and hot, but with some very careful, “he's her boss” maneuvering. Aiden was pretty much all in for Stella but she was cautious with not wanting to be seen as “given” anything because of her relationship with Aiden. They both had some family issues to work through on the side, Aiden feeling abandoned by his father when younger, leading him to always want to be pleasant and not cause waves, and Stella feeling guilty for how she acted out to her parents and feeling “lucky” compared to her friend Nicole, who liked to get her into trouble and guilt trip her. These issues created some keeping the two from ultimately coming together but not from their hands always being on each other. 

For now, I'm going to let myself have Aiden and this moment. 

Aiden was a sweet goofy guy who was the calm that our tightly held together Stella needed and Stella helped Aiden be more solid with who he was. Around seventy percent, Stella joins Aiden with allowing herself to be all in and all that's left is her dealing with issues relating to her friend Nicole, which got brushed through very quickly, and an epilogue showing their HEA. This was great for lighter, quick and steamy holiday fare reading.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

My area is not getting snow, but it's in the negatives here. What's a gal to do but have a bowl of chili and a hot contemporary romance? 

Stella doesn't realize she's snarking on a window display to the owner of the department store.

However, it's the holiday season, and serendipity is in the air, so she winds up with a job. 

But so is temptation and romance. 

Can't wait for Bailey to deliver on her usual sweet and spice with a grumpy FMC and sunshine MMC! 

Window Shopping by Tessa Bailey purchase link

Sweet Smoky Pineapple Chipotle Chili recipe

Review: The Au Pair Affair

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

A nanny job should be a cakewalk, right? 

The Au Pair Affair is second in the Big Shots series were the friends of the main couple from book one, get their time to shine. Tallulah is in a cafe across from Burgess' penthouse, when she catches a clip of the hockey player elbowing an opposing player in the nose. Even though her gut told her she could trust Burgess and really got along with his twelve year old daughter Lissa, the trauma of surviving one man who hid his true self until it was too late for Tallulah, is now resurfacing. Even when Burgess walks into the cafe and Tallulah gets those calming vibes from him, she's scared to trust herself. It's not until Burgess' scheme to pay the majority of rent to make sure Tallulah is safe with a teammate's almost step-sister, that Tallulah decides to trust her instincts and take the job. While Burgess is trying to respect the boundaries of their age difference, eleven years, and boss/employee dynamic, Tallulah is ready to act on all that steamy chemistry between them, but wants to keep it no strings. Burgess knows they have the real thing though, he'll accept nothing but hearts fully committed. 

“Give me a chance to show you that you’re safe with me.”

I had no problems jumping into the series here and liked how the story got rolling right away. Tallulah and Burgess had palpable heat right away, something that Bailey excels at and was much appreciated. Bailey also knew what she was doing when she made Burgess the one who wanted their relationship to be real and committed. Having him lay his cards out right away, his serious feelings for Tallulah, worked because it plays into his more mature age, thirty-seven, and helps take away any ick feelings to their boss/nanny relationship with giving Tallulah the decision making control. Tallulah wants to sleep with Burgess but is still working to fully reclaim her daring, live life to the fullest self after her traumatic experience (we get Tallulah telling Burgess about what happened later in the story). Burgess was never pushy but never let an opportunity to show Tallulah who he was pass-by, he says he'll be her bodyguard when she's nervous to do some daring bucket list items, like skinny dipping. It all works because he's there supporting her, while having the hots for her, and Tallulah's in the driver's seat for their encounters but always getting tempted by Burgess. 

Tallulah did a little skip as she reached him and his heart followed suit. Yeah. Yeah, she was worth trying for. 

Along with Tallulah learning to trust herself again, there's some of Burgess having angst over his age and how it's leading to the eventual end of his career and how he's having issues connecting with his daughter Lissa. There's not a lot of hockey in this, more like peripherally job shading in but how Tallulah bonds with Lissa and helps Burgess' relationship with his daughter definitely added a sweet strengthening block to their relationship. Just when Tallulah is deciding to fully go with her gut, some of the danger on the horizon hinted at comes into play and the second half has an angst moment where Lissa's preteen emotions and hopes throws a wedge into Tallulah and Burgess' relationship and when Burgess gets a serious injury, he lashes out with hurtful words, shattering some of that trust Tallulah had built up. 

He usually defended other people, but . . . she’d come to his defense? 

The third act breakup happens early enough in the latter second half, that we get a good look at Burgess actionable working for it to get Tallulah back and a believable working through her emotions Tallulah. A little forced proximity at the wedding of book one's couple, will probably delight readers of the series as they get another look at their HEA. Overall, this felt more refined than earlier works of Bailey I've read and I thought made this read even better, the hotness is still there but I believed in the emotion even more. There feels like a set-up happening between one of Burgess' teammates and the teammate's not quite step-sister that has me desperately wanting to read their book and I hope it's next in the series. This, had Burgess knowing what he wants and won't compromise for it but always supporting and protecting and Tallulah building herself back up with her own strength but only growing stronger when she leaned on Burgess' support, and hotness, don't forget the hotness.

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Reading Update: Page 1

The NHL season is over, Congrats, Panthers!, but summer calls for a Tessa Bailey 

Tallulah needs the money to keep studying to be a marine biologist, so she jumps at the chance to be a live-in nanny. 

Burgess is a hockey veteran and newly single dad, whose daughter wants her parents back together, even as he tries to get back on the dating scene. 

I think we all know where this is headed! Tallulah and Burgess have that inconvenient chemistry that has Tallulah trying to walk away, and Burgess putting it on the line for his second chance 

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey preorder (July 16th) link

Chipotle BBQ Shrimp Tacos recipe

Review: Riskier Business

Riskier Business by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

His tortured gaze finally met hers. “Your father is back in town.” 

Well, I'm posting this a day late for the #TBRChallenge but I finally was able to sit down and finish a book, so glass half full. 

January's theme was Quickie, and novella came to mind right away for me. I typically struggle with novellas because the relationship development is tougher to match the depth I like. Sticking with last years rule of the books I choose for this challenge have to have been on my tbr for at least 5 years, I chose Riskier Business, which has been on my tbr since 2016. Because I've now turned into a messy reader, I haven't read the book that stars the couple this novella is about. However, I have read the first book in the series that book is in, totally counts! 

This novella is .5 in the Crossing the Line series and seems to be the way the author is bridging Crossing the Line from Line of Duty series, which this couple's original book is in. Troy is a detective and Ruby is a former pool hustler who has now gone legit with her own custom pool stick company. This is a Tessa Bailey so the banging is front and center and has some hot moments but since I missed the buy me dinner portion (their first book) I wasn't totally connected to their steamy feels in the bedroom.

The author does a good job giving us the gist of what happened in Ruby and Troy's book, wrong side of the law pool hustler entanglement with detective and a life threatening situation that led to love. Ruby and Troy are now living together, Ruby has an employee named Mya, Troy still has issues with how close she is to her bestfriend Bowen, and now her shady father has come back into the picture. Daddy-o wants Ruby to hustle one more pool game, against her previously unknown uncle. Ruby's mother abandoned her and took off with $100,000 of shady daddy's money. If Ruby wins the pool game, uncle gives up abandoning mommy's location. Ruby has always been curious about her mom and though it makes Troy mad, she agrees to the game. 

Does the premise around the pool game make much sense? No. Nononono. Lol. But it brings tension and angst to Ruby and Troy's relationship while also bringing some mystery to who Ruby's mom could be. If you read their original book, you'd get a lot more out of this, you'd already be invested in their emotions and probably enjoy the glimpses of past couples from the Line of Duty series. There are copious amounts of secondary characters that could entice you to pick up their books. 

This satisfied the Quickie prompt in being short and having a fair share of sexual quickies. It resolved some issues I imagine readers felt had been left open for this couple and it bridged to a new series that looks to start off with Ruby's bestfriend and newly discovered half-brother! Bowen. Bailey delivered with what she's known for, sexcapades with some entertaining story.

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Review: Love Her or Lose Her

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Rosie and Dominic are childhood sweethearts who have let each other drift away from one another. When Rosie declares she's leaving, Dominic has the wake-up call he needed and he's not going to let his marriage go without a fight. It's a second chance for the Vegas' marriage and hard truths are going to have to be told and feelings expressed if they're going to have a chance.

Everything between them was dark, lustful, confusing, and . . . so far off course, she wasn’t sure their marriage would ever point in the right direction again.

If you read the first in the series, Fix Her Up, you've been waiting for Rosie and Dominic's story after getting glimpses of their simmering heat and emotions. Bailey reveals their wounds right away and the story starts with Rosie finally done with going through the emotions of her life. Dominic is on the surface caught off guard but as some of his layers are peeled back, it becomes clear that he was feeling the distance in their relationship too.

“Go, then. No one’s stopping you.”

I thought the story started off well with the hurt and pain Rosie and Dominic was feeling bubbling out from under the surface, Rosie's more overtly. Bailey typically writes her males very protective and Dominic's streak was definitely evident with what he later calls his selfish need to have her all to himself. I thought having Dominic so clearly loving Rosie and admitting to himself, Rosie, and the readers that he would do anything for her gave the tone a good underlining simmering heat. Rosie's emotions towards Dominic were more dominated by her sexual attraction to him. With every “pointed nipple” and “wet thighs” I lost concentration on the emotional angst and the story's tone slid into more lustful. Bailey is known for her strong sexual scenes and those are definitely here but for this couple, I personally, wanted teeth gritting cognitive emotion.

Providing was a no-fail way to communicate love, wasn’t it? So where exactly had Dominic gone wrong?

The author has this couple bring to light and work out their issues through therapy and puts most of their issues on differing love languages. Dominic has a bit of not feeling worthy of Rosie hero syndrome and this made him put his head down and work extra hard to provide her with enough money for security, he inadvertently blocks her out in order to provide. I liked this route the author took but thought she fell short when it came to Rosie. Rosie begins to realize that she doesn't provide or speak the love language Dominic needs and it was a nice moment to see her realize she was also a problem in the marriage but after an attempt to give Dominic what he needs, this avenue with Rosie kind of drops off and it felt like Dominic was going to go back to doing most of the work.

“I’ll do anything you ask me to do,” he said in a gravelly voice. “Except walk away.”

If you read the first in the series, you'll be happy to hear that the Just Us League is still going strong and the female relationships formed from it give readers some great women friendship scenes. I thought the obvious series baiting for Bethany and Wes, through their bantering and bickering, seemed a little forced but Bailey probably has some hot and heavy scenes planned for those two.

Love Her or Lose Her approached and picked at intricate issues of long-term relationships but Bailey's focus on heavier sexual lustful tones kept it from achieving the deep angst ridden emotional path I thought could be felt wanting to burst from this couple and personally wanted. There was a scene of Rosie and Dominic dancing in the kitchen that I thought hit what I wanted, two people who have loved each other forever but are seeing each other for the first time in many years; top-shelf emotion.

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Reading Update: 40%

Saturday soup and a sexy can they save their marriage story.
Happy weekend reading, everyone!
And, go Vikes!

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey pre-order link

Roasted Poblano, Sweet Corn, and Potato Soup recipe
Used turkey bacon, enjoyed the spice of this one

Review: Fix Her Up

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.7 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

They could be friends, him and Georgie. That’s what was wrong. He didn’t want one—especially her. She was too young, too positive, and too related to his best friend.

Starting off the Hot and Hammered series, Fix Her Up is a perfect sweet and hot summer read. Georgie has been in love with her brother's bestfriend Travis ever since she can remember but has never been able to get him to see her any other way, she can't even get her family to see her as an adult. When Travis comes back to his hometown, Georgie can't stand seeing him depressed over having to retire from baseball because of an injury and decides to try some tough love.
Travis' father always said he'd never amount to anything and even though he's won the World Series, Travis is back right where he started. After living the flashy life as a star baseball player, Travis is struggling with who he is now. His bestfriend Stephen's little sister is pushing him to put the bottle down and clean his apartment and all the while Travis can't stop thinking about how sexy she has become.
Georgie and Travis are sick of being stuck in a box and so they make a plan to fake date to get people to see them a different way, but there will absolutely be no real feelings, nope, nope, nope.

But the more she got to know Reality Travis, the more Fantasy Travis started to fade, leaving this real, breathing, complicated man in his place. He appealed to her even more. So much more.

I thought this story was an absolute delight, a perfect summer read. Georgie was a combination of sweet, goofy, determined, and vulnerable. She works as a party clown, which doesn't help getting people to see her as an adult, and wishes her family would see her more than the “baby” of the family. I thought the author did a good job moving Georgie from childhood infatuation to getting to know Travis on a deeper level to make her love for him seem more solid. Georgie finds Travis sexy and grew up starry eyed over him but as she deals with his grumpiness, depression, and abandonment issues, the reader can see a stronger foundation start to grow.

Travis was the perfect amount of grumpy and soft towards Georgie, he's never blatantly mean towards her and I delighted in seeing him starting to crack against his will. He's about five years older than Georgie, so he was off playing baseball when she grew up and when they meet up again, he firmly tries to put her in the no touch little sister friend zone. He fails at this and it is not only because he finds her attractive but because she reaches him and connects with him in a way no in his life ever has.

Travis and Georgie's chemistry, rather it be friendship or sexual, popped off the pages and I loved every second they made me smile or sent a tingle down my spine. There was a little bit of abruptness to their first sexual encounter and from there, it's on with these two. You'll get a kissing in the rain moment that morphs into a Georgie on her knees in a dugout, along with some other heat inducing scenes. For a sexy summer read, I thought there was a good balance between sex scenes and relationship building; the author doesn't completely abandon the emotional aspect.

Seeming at odds with himself, he eventually wrapped an arm around the small of Georgie’s back, tugging her into the warmth of his chest. “A few minutes won’t hurt,” he muttered, seemingly to himself.
She nuzzled into his chest hair to hide her smile.

The fake relationship plot doesn't happen until a little later in the book and you kind of have to just go along with it for the sake of the story. There was also a mini-subplot mainly involving Georgie, her sister, sister-in-law, and a friend where they form a “Just Us League”, a group of women supporting each other to accomplish their dreams, that came off a bit series baiting. It was a way to introduce and get to know some secondary characters that will probably get their own stories later on. It wasn't intrusive and actually added some nice women bonding time while flushing Georgie's character out more but it was also obvious as series baiting.

I thought Travis' relationship with Stephen could have been shown more and the issues he had with his parents definitely was missing some depth but even though Travis and Georgie's relationship moves a wee bit quickly, they still felt true. There were times were it came close overly focusing on Travis being so much more experienced than virgin Georgie but stopped shy of being harped on. These two were there for each other and the way Georgie sunshines her way into Travis' grumpiness, “forcing” him to commit some seriously sweet actions was at turns adorable and sexy.

This girl could make a man crawl and had no idea.

The ending wrapped up far too quickly, in regards to a last minute mess up by Travis and having no epilogue. However, thinking of Travis and Georgie embarking on their new adventure together, left a smile on my face. I'm also dying for Rosie and Dominic's story, a highschool sweetheart couple that has lost their connection, there is a scene between the two that will have everyone turning into a thirst factory for their book. As a summer read Fix Her Up excels, sweet, vulnerable, hot, and oh so sexy.

She’d set out on a sneaky mission to make Travis believe in himself, but he’d slowly been doing the same for her. They’d been doing it for each other, hadn’t they?

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70%

“I’m ready.” The world tilted when Travis picked her up by the waist, tossing her into the center of the bed like she weighed less than a feather. 
He crawled slowly up her body. “No. You aren’t.”

Y'all, this is the perfect summer book, sweet and sexy as hell. This is probably going to get close to 5 stars from me. 
Think Hate To Want You but way lighter on the emotional angst & family drama, more cuteness

30%

"Seriously, Travis was the reason she couldn’t hear “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” without getting horny.

I don't know if it because the MN Twins are having a great season or the fact that this is hitting my personal sweet spots - little sis/bestfriend, grumpy guy/sweet positive woman, a little goofy/a little emotional, but I had to force myself to shutdown my Kindle last night. #GrumpySweetness

Reading Update: Page 1

I’m loving that the series name for this is “Hot and Hammered”!

This one sounds cute, excited to start reading and digging into my dessert. 
Happy hump day!

Fix Her Up Tessa Bailey pre-order link (Jun 11)

No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake recipe