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Discussion: Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey with Ely

May 28, 2020

Today I have Ely from Of Wonderland on the blog. Last year we did a discussion post on Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. And we thought it was high time to do another one. This time it’s Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. I mean what is better than talking about books with your best friend. So here we go.

Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1) by Tessa Bailey

Pages: 400
Publish date: June 11th 2019
Publisher: Avon
ISBN: 9780062872838
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

After an injury ends Travis Ford’s major league baseball career, he returns home to start over. He just wants to hammer out his frustrations at his new construction gig and forget all about his glory days. But he can’t even walk through town without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there’s Georgie, his buddy’s little sister, who is definitely not a kid anymore.

Georgette Castle has crushed on her older brother’s best friend for years. The grumpy, bear of a man working for her family’s house flipping business is a far cry from the charming sports star she used to know. But a moody scowl doesn’t scare her and Georgie’s determined to show Travis he’s more than a pretty face and a batting average, even if it means putting her feelings aside to be “just friends.”

Travis wants to brood in peace. But the girl he used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman who makes him feel whole again. And he wants her. So damn bad. Except Georgie’s off-limits and he knows he can’t give her what she deserves. But she’s becoming the air he breathes and Travis can’t stay away, no matter how hard he tries…

Fix Her Up:

Angel: General contemporary romance isn’t something that I normally read a lot of. That sounds strange I know. However, I normally read subgenre’s of romance like historical romance, military romance and sports romance and this is what I would consider a general romance. I was a little hesitant going into this one, but it received a lot of hype from romance bloggers and booktubers so I was game to give it a go. And Ely is always my partner in crime so I dragged her along for the ride.

Ely: I think I probably read maybe two or three contemporary romances a year, so this is not my normal cup of tea. But like Angel said, we’re partners in crime so I had to give this a go too. And oh boy. This was a ride…

A: We haven’t really talked to each other about our thoughts yet, but I have a feeling that our thoughts are along the same lines? I was disappointed. It’s not a bad book by any means, but it’s not good either. I think I just had quite a few issues with it.

E: Honestly the most enjoyable thing about this book was reading particular scenes and just knowing deep in my soul that you would have disliked it as much as me. Look, it’s going to be the right book for someone out there, but those someones weren’t us. I feel like we should mention some positives here? What did you like?

A: I agree with everything you just said. I was reading it first and I knew, I just knew. But of course, there were positives. Overall, I did enjoy the romance. It uses one of my favourite tropes of all-time best friends siblings. And the angst and romance between Georgette and Travis were really sweet. How did you find the romance as a whole?

E: I also really like Georgie and Travis for the most part. They are sweet together, and honestly, I can’t resist a hot athlete romance. I thought they had some great banter, and the way that Travis really respects and supports her was nice. But I know we had problems with at least one of the same aspects…the sex scenes.

A: Oh gosh they were horrible. Like cringe-worthy, I want to skip, kind of scenes. After finishing the book I went and read some reviews of Fix Her Up and a couple of her other books. And a lot of people had the same response. They were just really bad. They are poorly written and sounded so out of character. The first time it happens I had to stop and re-read because it felt so different from everything else that was written. It really did take me aback.

Photo by Stéphane Juban on Unsplash

E: I definitely agree. They just made me feel so uncomfortable. I think I said to you after I read the first one that I would’ve just left if I’d been Georgie. Like just the things Travis said to her made me want to put my head through a wall. It was just kind of strange, and as you said seemed so out of character.

A: While I didn’t like the sex scenes. I really did enjoy both Georgie and Travis. I think they were both pretty fleshed-out characters. They both had pretty good character arcs and I enjoyed seeing the journey that they both went on. I think I did like Georgie more, she was just easier to connect with and understand. What about you?

E: I think that’s what made me so sad about those scenes—I loved Georgie and Travis so much that it kind of unfair that the sex scenes weren’t more in character for them. I do agree with what you’ve said, but I also felt a little disappointed in part of the story. Maybe the later books will go more into it, but I would have liked to have seen more change in Georgie’s life. I feel like there was a big focus on Travis’ career and less so on Georgie’s. Am I the only one?

A: Oh no I totally agree with you. There is such a big deal made throughout the novel about Georgie’s career, but then I felt that it fell flat and we really didn’t see much from it. I did enjoy seeing Travis overcome everything that did happen regarding his career. But it would have been nice to see Georgie get that satisfaction too. Talking about Georgie’s career. While I really loved seeing such a unique career aspect in a romance novel, I felt that at times it was being made fun of? Or was that just me?

E: Oh it was definitely been made fun of. Like sure, I get it—birthday clowns = funny. Plus, definitely not your typical romance heroine kind of job. But there was something about the way it was dealt with that just got on my nerves. I don’t even know how to put it into words, but there was just something. I did understand why her family treated her like they did, but there was something about that dynamic too that felt flat to me. What did you think about the club Georgie was in with the other two women?

A: I absolutely agree. It was just strangely presented in the book, and the reader is able to tell that Georgie does love her job. But I didn’t feel that the author represented it right. I did enjoy Georgie’s girl group, but again I felt that it fell flat. It was getting some great traction and then bam – nothing. I always love some good women bonding in novels over men and their lives, yet I didn’t feel that it had enough attention. Maybe that was the problem, there were just too many things happening in the novel that there wasn’t enough time to focus on everything. What did you think?

E: I’m glad you said that because I feel the same. Maybe we’re kind of spoilt because we just have each other and so we’ve got to be each other’s number one supporters? But I just felt like they didn’t really care about each other that much. Like just thinking about the girls in the Wallflowers series by Lisa Kleypas, which we both obviously love, those girls are willing to do anything for each other? While these one’s kind of felt like they had this group and they were helping each other, but only to a point. I just feel like there’s so much more they could’ve done. Again, maybe I’m just thinking that way because God knows you’ve gone much further to help me with things than they seem to?

A: YES! I felt that the only relationship through the book that had any connection was Georgie and Travis. Otherwise, everything else felt forced. Talking about relationships, Georgie. Was it only me, but did you hate them? Even after Travis stands up for her, they don’t really change. They still act the same towards Georgie and nothing else is said. I love family dynamics in books and I felt there was nothing in this one. Reality is I didn’t really care for many of the other characters.

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

E: Oh her family is the absolute worst. I hated every single one of them. Her sister treats her terribly, even after they make this girl group thing. Her sister-in-law is just plain awful. And her mother is weird? Like weirdly distant but also a little too involved. And her brother? Ugh. Nope. There was definitely something weird in his relationship with his wife. Like rocking up to everywhere she was and dragging her home? So weird! If I was Georgie I would’ve either left or killed them by that point.

A: I’m glad that I’m not alone. I’ve read a fair few awful families in books but this just felt so strange. I felt that they had no respect for her or even themselves really. Her parents were MIA, did we only meet then once? I can’t even remember. But it was such a strange relationship. And her siblings, argg. You could see that Georgie wanted more from them, but they gave her nothing.

E: I think we met her mum twice? For someone who showed up in her daughter’s life so little, she really overreacted to things. Like when the whole relationship with Travis made the news or whatever, and the sister said she was mad that she didn’t know about it. Like I don’t know, maybe if you actually spoke to your daughter? I know that it’s part of the story and all but you get me. It’s just aggravating. What about the stuff with Travis’ parents, how did you feel about that?

A: I totally get you. It was like why do you care? I didn’t really care much for Travis’ parents either. But I do think it gave backstory to Travis and the way that he interacts with people and the thoughts he has on relationships. It gave the reader reasoning for Travis having this wall. And it was great being able to see Georgie break down that wall, slowly.

E: I agree. It kind of annoyed me at the time that there’s this whole mystery around it. I found it really hard to follow what had happened, and then when we were told I was like ‘oh, that’s really simple’. I don’t know, the build-up made me feel like it was going to be this huge thing. Now I guess it’s time for the big question…would you recommend this to other readers, romance or not?

A: For sure. It was like okay, it was a messy divorce. There are a lot of those. And yes it does mess with a child. But the whole town knew everything about it, why was the reader hidden from it? Ahh, the big question. And I will be honest, I had to say no. There are so many more amazing romance novels out there. Especially contemporary one that does so much more, that are so much more. Honestly, I’m just really disappointed. What about you?

E: Exactly, like divorce is pretty common these days, unfortunately. Doesn’t make it any less sad, but just the way it was hidden made it seem like something really, really bad had happened. I’m going to have to agree with you there. While I don’t think this is the worst contemporary romance out there, it’s definitely not up there on the list either. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely not continuing the series. I cared even less about Rosie and Dominic’s story.

Photo by mari lezhava on Unsplash

A: No I agree it’s not the worst one out there, but it’s not something that I would recommend to customers or other readers. I’m also with you on the series. I will not be continuing it for sure. This really was the only one that caught my eye, and I didn’t enjoy it. I’ve heard some not great things about the other books as well, so I think this might be the end of the series for me. I might be willing to give Tessa Bailey another go in the future, but not for a while.

E: Yeah maybe if she puts out something that really grabs my attention, but I doubt that’ll be any books in this series. I swear, one day we won’t get sucked into romance books because of their pretty covers. But I guess that’s worked out fine for us until now, right?

A: It has worked up until now. We have had pretty good luck when we buddy read a book. I guess our luck had to run out sometime. Hopefully next time we can read something that we both love.

E: Yes, next time we get to do a discussion like this let’s hope it’s less of a rant and more of ‘omg this book’ like most of our regular conversations are.

A: Sounds perfect. Are there any books that you would like Ely and I to buddy read and have a discussion like this? Let us know!

E: Well thanks so much for doing this with me again. We always have way too much fun doing these. But hey, we’d be doing this without our blogs too.

Have you guys read Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey? What did you think of it? Are your thoughts similar to mine and Ely’s? Let’s Chat!

Discussion | Red, White & Royal Blue with Ely

May 8, 2019

Not going to lie, this has to be one of my favourite books of the year so far. So I thought I would do something a little different. Instead of a normal review, I thought I would have a discussion like review, with my most favourite person in the world, Ely from Of Wonderland. I really hope you enjoy reading this.

We both received e-arcs of Red, White & Royal Blue from St Martin’s Press via NetGalley. This has in no way influenced our thoughts and feelings about the book.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Pages: 432
Publish date: May 14th 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN: 9781250316776
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

A big-hearted romantic comedy in which First Son Alex falls in love with Prince Henry of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…

First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.

The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.

As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?

Red, White & Royal Blue:

Angel: As soon as I read the synopsis for Red, White & Royal Blue, I knew that I needed to pick it up, and what better way to read a new romance novel than with your bestie.

Ely: I actually saw this book come up on Goodreads while on the train to have lunch with Angel. I sent her the link on Messenger and told her we absolutely had to read it together. She mentioned it was on NetGalley, so I requested it as soon as I got home.

A: I’m a massive romance reader if you hadn’t noticed, and I love reading new romance books that are different and unique. While Ely isn’t a massive romance reader, I’m always raving about all these romances I read – so she knows how I feel about them.

E: I feel like I am a romance reader just from hearing you talk about your favourites so often!

A: Yer, to tell you the truth I am not even sorry about that. I don’t have any readers in my life, let alone romance readers, so you are the person that I need to let all my emotions out to.

E: No complaints here, to be honest. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved every romance novel that you’ve ever convinced me to pick up. Like, hello Elle Kennedy.

A: You know me too well, I try and recommend Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen to as many. I think the thing that caught my attention with this book first was the cover! It’s bright pink with two very different males on the cover.

King’s Church International

E: The cover is absolutely gorgeous. I’m a sucker for a cover with good typography and some cute illustrations, and here’s one with both. I think I got sucked in by the title as well. I mean, who doesn’t love a good royal romance, right? The pre-teen inside me who loved movies like The Princess Diaries, First Daughter and The Prince & Me was just like yassssssss.

A: Yes! There is something about royal romances that just melt my heart. I think it’s the combination of forbidden love and then the added pressure of representing a country. I’ve also recently enjoyed romances with one of both characters being the children of someone in power. And Red, White & Royal Blue puts those two together and makes even more forbidden – and gosh did it make me smile.

E: Plus we both love the fake dating trope, right? I was actually just about to ask whether you found yourself interested in the politics side of it as well?

A: Oh yes for sure. I think because Alex and his sister were also caught up in their mothers work, that it was easy to be invested in what was happening politically. I also really enjoyed that aspect, it’s only really in recent years that younger people being interested in politics is being represented in books has come about, and I find it really fascinating.

E: I totally agree. I only really became interested in politics following the 2016 election, and we’re not even American. I thought it was really interesting to see a different side of politics. It wasn’t just old, straight white men. Alex and his sister are people of colour, and so is his mother who is the president—I really enjoyed that aspect. I also loved that his mother was the president. Not to get political, but I felt really disappointed when the U.S didn’t get its first female president. I’m glad the country in this book got that chance.

A: That is one of the things that caught my attention immediately. The US election has also intrigued me. Maybe because it’s compulsory to vote here, that I feel all the lead up to the US election was interesting to watch to say the less. I loved that there was a female president, it just made everything a little more interesting.

But what I really loved about this one, was the slow burn romance – holy crap – it got to me so bad.

E: I felt like this book really had a sense of hopefulness to it. A ‘this too shall pass’ kind of message, if that makes sense. I know a lot of people felt defeated when Trump became the president, especially in the LGBTQ+ community and other minorities. This book is like, you know what—we’re going to get through this too. I loved that.

The romance literally ruined me. The whole haters, to friends, to lovers thing? I’m 100% here for it.

A: Yes, I felt exactly the same, this wasn’t just a book about the political side of the US, it was a star shining bright. It’s one of my favourite romance tropes and Casey McQuiston did such a fantastic job.

E: That and fake dating? Like Casey, you could’ve just asked me to marry you.

A: Yes!!! I think one of my favourite things about this one was that nothing felt rushed. I feel like that sometimes in romance books, the romance is rushed and everything moves really quickly. But not only was a past built between Alex and Henry, but also a present and a future.

E: Yes! One of my biggest pet peeves with books is when the romance moves too fast and the characters lose themselves because they’re so ‘in love’ with the other. Alex and Henry are still themselves throughout the book, even though they both grow as characters, and we learn more about them and their personal history, as well as their connection to each other. They get to be Alex and Henry, but they also get to be just Alex, or just Henry. I really appreciate that in romance books especially.

A: Totally. They were whole characters, they had their own stories, and characters arcs that grew throughout the book. And the reader is really able to hook on to this and as the novel goes on, and both Alex and Henry grow so do their stories.

E: What about some of the other characters? I really loved both Alex and Henry’s respective sisters—they are so different, but they both added so much to the story and added extra depth to the history of both boys too, I think. Not that that’s their sole purpose, but they gave a little extra insight into what each family was like and the differences between the ways Alex and Henry grew up. It really added to the understanding of why everything happened the way it did.

A: I feel that family was a massive theme here and like you said it added another layer to both Alex and Henry, but the sisters are also their own characters that have their own journeys. I’ve always been one to say that family, or those that are around you, influence the person that you become. All going back to the saying a nature vs nurture.

What really makes Red, White & Royal Blue stand out for me from other royal/political romances is that it is a gay romance. And it doesn’t shy away from that. I think that Casey did an exceptional job and intertwining something that isn’t very often seen in both books and in real life – but made it very real.

E: Absolutely. None of the side characters feel like side characters. They all have their own lives and stories, and it’s really amazing how Casey managed to intertwine them all without it feeling too busy or making any seem less important.

This is something that could very much happen in the near future. Maybe it won’t be the Prince of England and the First Son of the U.S, but who’s to say a child of someone in power won’t be part of the LGBTQ+ community. I’m sure someone already is out there, but I don’t know of any of the top of my head. I think it’s important that those kids/teens/adults/whatever see that it’s possible and that it’s okay, as well as everyone who isn’t in that position too.

I for one hope that we start seeing some more of this kind of story in books and film/TV more often!

A: When I finished it, I felt hopeful. I was left with a massive smile on my face that made me feel good. It’s not often that a book does that to me. But I felt satisfied. And it’s something that I know I will recommend to people all the time at work now.

E: I absolutely agree. I felt like the huge weight was lifted off my chest after I finished reading it. It made my heart feel full and gave me hope for other books in the future.

A: While I did love this book, I did feel that it did lack a little conflict towards the end. I felt that it was building up to something and was a little flat for me. Did you feel the same?

E: I did. I felt like the stakes weren’t really that high, and everything was sort of tied up a little too nicely. Maybe I’m being too pessimistic, but I feel like life doesn’t always work out like that. I know this is a romance novel and readers want that happy ending, but it almost felt as if Alex and Henry’s lives were suddenly perfect. I feel like they still would’ve had a lot to work through.

A: I am all good for happy endings, I mean I love happily ever after, but like you said I felt that it was tied up a little too neat. Obviously, in the end, I wanted everything to be amazing, but like I said there was all this build up and then nothing. It wasn’t like they are just two ‘normal’ boys. They are in the spotlight, whether they like it or not and that does make a difference.

In saying all this, I liked how the inner conflict was dealt with. Both Henry and Alex have a lot going on in their lives, then to add them falling in love. While it was hard to do deal with it at times. I adored watching then fall in love. It just made me melt so damn hard. Oh, and I was cheering for them the whole way through.

Alex Ware

E: They are truly the cutest. Not only that, but they’re funny together. I love a good romance where the characters can be comfortable with one another and be friends with one another. Sex is great, but I’m all here for that love and support in healthy relationships.

A: I feel they are like puppies, I don’t know why. And yes totally, I would also like to mention that this is a New Adult novel, not YA. Please be warned.

E: Lol, in typical Angel & Ely style, we forget to mention the important details and spend the entire time gushing. You’re all welcome.

Just before we sort of wrap-up, I wanted to mention the next book Casey has mentioned on her Goodreads just because it sounds amazing. There’s no title or release date or anything like that, but I’m already super pumped.

She describes it as ‘two girls falling in love under extremely unlikely circumstances which may or may not involve some light romcom-style time travel’. I just think this sounds so amazing. I get this feeling that Casey is going to be one to watch when it comes to LGBTQ+ romances, and frankly, it’s about time.

A: I am so intrigued by this. It sounds so interesting and I can’t wait to see where and when this time-travel takes place. There so needs to be more girls falling love in both NA and YA so I am all for it.

E: Honestly, I’m kind of hoping for 90s/early 00s time travel. Like I am so here for that. But I’ll happily take any f/f time travel story that Casey wants to write.

So that’s the end of our discussion! I had so much fun reading this book (and writing this discussion) with you, bestie <3 I hope the rest of you enjoyed it just as much, and remember to go check out my blog, Of Wonderland to see Angel and I discuss some other romance books!