Short Take Reviews: Fix Her Up & Twisted

FIX HER UP
Tessa Bailey
Publication date: June 11, 2019
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: Audiobook, 9 hrs 59 min
Source: Overdrive
3.5 STARS
GOODREADS 

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.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

I can’t say that I was dying to read Fix Her Up, but I had been meaning to try something by Tessa Bailey and I’d seen several friends rave about it, so I decided to give it a go. This kinda/sorta friends-to-more romance was fun and cute and mostly enjoyable. What really made it work for me was main character Georgie. Loved her! She was an amazing heroine and the girl you really want to be friends with. She’s sweet and genuine, plucky and smart, and quirky without being annoying. She worked hard and was willing to put herself out there to succeed – both personally and professionally. She was continually overlooked and underestimated by her family and I loved watching as she began to stand up for herself and push for the respect she deserved.

Where Fix Her Up fell short for me was Travis – the, ahem, hero. Try as I might, I never warmed to him. I’ve gotta say, it doesn’t take much to make me fall head over heels for a good hero. I’ve got a big, squishy, romantic heart and it’s so easy to make me go all swoony for the love interest. So when I don’t, I feel like the author really dropped the ball. I can’t even pinpoint what it was about Travis that turned me off (maybe he was too alpha?) but I was not a fan. I liked the times he stood up for Georgie and supported her. I liked the ending. But most of the time I was decidedly underwhelmed. Oh, and the way he talked to Georgie during the sexytimes often left me cringing. (Side note: I just have to mention how much I loathed Georgie’s brother. He was a total ass and the ever so slight way he redeemed himself at the end did not change my mind. Few characters have ever enraged me like he did.)

I’m not sure Fix Her Up is really representative of Bailey’s usual style (I feel like he books are usually straight contemporary romance rather than rom-com) so I’m still interested in trying something else by her. I just hope that Travis isn’t representative of her usual hero. 

TWISTED

Emma Chase

Publication date: March 25, 2014

Genres: Contemporary Romance
Series: Tangled #2

Format: Audiobook, 7 hrs 2 min

Source: Overdrive

4 STARS

GOODREADS

There are two kinds of people in this world: the ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I’ve always been more of a looker. A planner. Cautious. Then I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself. He made it easy to leap with him.

Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after? So did I. But life is about choices, and Drew already made his. In fact, he tried to decide for the both of us—but you know that’s not my style. So I came back to Greenville, to spend some time alone . . . sort of.

Because old habits die hard, and sometimes you have to go back to where you began before you can move ahead again.

M Y   T H O U G H T S

I read Tangled several months ago and while it wasn’t my favorite by Emma Chase, it was still a good time and I loved Drew and Kate together. So I was looking forward to diving into Twisted for some Drew + Kate goodness. Only, Drew + Kate weren’t doing so great. And before I knew it things were falling apart, Drew reacted horribly, and Kate was leaving. Say what?!

If you know me at all, you know that my #1 bookish pet peeve of all time forever-and-ever-amen is the miscommunication trope. And had I known that was used here I might have skipped this one entirely. But I have to give serious kudos to Emma because she performed some kind of bookish magic and made it work for me. *fist bumps Emma Chase* I mean, seriously, not once while reading (well, listening) did I roll my eyes or bemoan the tired, old miscommunication trope. Nope, I was 100% invested and feeling all the angst and emotion. And I think it’s because the conflict didn’t hinge on the fact that the main characters weren’t talking. Drew and Kate did talk… it’s just that they were talking about two different things and didn’t realize it.

I loved getting Kate’s POV (Tangled was told solely from Drew’s POV). She was a strong woman while still being able to recognize her weaknesses. The supporting cast was even better here and several played important roles as Kate licked her wounds and tried to decide how to move forward. This was a great look at a relationship in flux and characters growing and learning to be true partners. The epilogue, which shifted to Drew’s POV, was priceless and made me excited to read all the bonus content available on Emma’s website.

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