June 22, 2020
House-flipping leads to a love connection in Bailey’s sweet and super-spicy third Hot and Hammered rom-com (after Love Her or Lose Her). When San Antonio cowboy Wes Daniels’s sister decides to take a break from her responsibilities, Wes travels to Port Jefferson, Long Island, to take care of his five-year-old niece, Laura. Home renovator Bethany Castle is competing on the house-flipping reality TV show Flip Off and hires Wes to be part of her construction crew. The reality show setting adds both tension and comedy as the macho Wes immediately begins pursuing perfectionist Bethany. As Wes settles into his uncle duties and his chemistry with Bethany evolves into bold, erotic sexual encounters, his resolve to return to Texas once his sister comes back wavers. Wes’s swaggering, often expletive-filled flirtations, and Bethany’s insecure internal monologue paint clear pictures of both characters, but sometimes slow the plot. Though Wes and Bethany are solidly drawn, it’s adorable Laura who sparks the most authentic and evocative moments. Chick-lit lovers will flip for this sexy, heartwarming story. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary.

Starred review from July 1, 2020

Rodeo rider Wes Daniels has recently moved to Port Jefferson, NY, to care for his five-year-old niece after his sister decides she needs a break from parenthood. Wes adapts to a lifestyle of responsibility, which includes working construction at Brick & Morty, the leading local house-flipping company. It's also Bethany Castle's family business. Bethany has helped Wes with meals and organizing child care, but she seems uninterested in anything else. Bethany is on a self-imposed break from men, and while presenting the picture of poise and polish, she struggles with fierce insecurity. She enjoys staging homes for her family's company, but longs to flip a house on her own. When Wes joins her in this venture the attraction between the two intensifies. Quirky secondary characters, inviting small-town setting, and sensual scenes are highlights of this charming and funny novel. VERDICT Fans of the "Hot and Hammered" series (Fix Her Up; Love Her or Lose Her) will delight in visiting with familiar characters, but this can certainly be read as a stand-alone. Fans of Christina Lauren and Helena Hunting should add Bailey to their list of go-to rom-com authors.--Maureen Roberts, Baltimore Cty. P.L.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2020
A woman desperate to prove her value to her family's house-flipping business falls in love with her foreman. Bethany Castle used to embrace her perfectionist tendencies, but lately, those urges are starting to control her. Even a job she used to love--staging homes for her family's Long Island construction business--has become stultifying and unsatisfying. Bethany dreams of leading her own project; she knows she's capable of more than selecting paint colors and arranging furniture. When her brother responds to her dream with derision, Bethany furiously quits the business. She starts her own project and hires handsome newcomer Wes Daniels as her foreman. Wes is a recent transplant from San Antonio. When his sister's marriage disintegrated a few months earlier, she asked him to care for her 5-year-old daughter so she could get her head together. Wes has taken a job working construction, awed and bewildered at how, at 23, he's settled down into sudden respectability and what feels a lot like fatherhood. Wes thinks his razor-sharp banter with Bethany is flirtation while Bethany is horrified at her wild attraction to a man seven years her junior. Catching wind of the Castle family feud, a TV producer persuades Bethany and her brother to appear on a reality TV show that will judge which one of them flips their house most successfully. Although Bailey creates likable characters and writes snappy dialogue, the subplots about the TV show and Wes' guardianship of his niece interferes with Bethany and Wes' emotional development as partners and lovers. The two are conquering their own demons on separate journeys, and their unevenly paced romance only flares to life in the final third of the book. A romance between charming characters is sidelined by weighty subplots.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2020
Bethany Castle is the most sought-after home stager in Port Jefferson, Long Island, and her family owns Brick and Morty, the well-respected house-flipping business. But she wants more out of her career. She wants to branch off and flip houses on her own, despite not having the right experience. She breezes into her brother Stephen's current flip, making jaws drop, and announces her plans. It is then that construction crew member Wes pulls a Ren�e-Zellweger-in-Jerry Maguire and volunteers to join her on the project. Almost before the hammer hits the first nail, the two are getting tangled up in more than a construction job. Bailey brings the heat back in her third installment of the Hot & Hammered series (after Love Her or Lose Her, 2020). Though it's full of steamy scenes, the book is more than a romp, as Wes reveals himself to Bethany and vice versa, with emotions that will pull on readers' heartstrings. Excellent as both a stand-alone and part of the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

"Books by Tessa Bailey are an insta-buy for me." — Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine

"If you adore romance and HGTV, this is just the book for you." — Oprahmag.com

"this enemies-to-lovers rom-com is perfect for fans of romance and HGTV." — Popsugar (11 New Romance Books to Fall in Love with This September)

"Bailey brings the heat... Though it's full of steamy scenes, the book is more than a romp, as Wes reveals himself to Bethany and vice versa, with emotions that will pull on readers' heartstrings. Excellent as both a stand-alone and part of the series." — Booklist

"FIX HER UP ticks all my romance boxes. Not only is it hilarious, it's sweet, endearing, heartwarming and downright sexy. It's a recipe for the perfect love story." — Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author of Meet Cute

"Funny, and SUPER hot, and also full of sooooo much heart... I AM SO EXCITED there will be more books in the series!" — Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author

"I could not stop smiling. Romantic comedy perfection." — Lauren Layne, New York Times bestselling author

"Fix Her Up was a complete, utter, unrelenting delight." — Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author

"Tessa does it again. I laughed, swooned and had to look over my shoulder to make sure no one was reading the sexy scenes with me. Well-written, with great pacing and lovable characters, I absolutely loved everything about Fix Her Up." — Mariana Zapata, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

"sweet and super-spicy... Chick-lit lovers will flip for this sexy, heartwarming story." — Publishers Weekly

"Quirky secondary characters, inviting small-town setting, and sensual scenes are highlights of this charming and funny novel... Fans of Christina ­Lauren and Helena Hunting should add Bailey to their list of go-to rom-com authors." — Library Journal (starred review)

"Bailey creates likable characters and writes snappy dialogue... A romance between charming characters..." — Kirkus Reviews