Hi friends- it’s been a minute! I apologize for my long and unexplained absence. Other creative endeavors requested my attention, and unfortunately my posts were one thing that feel by the wayside.
However! I have been requesting some arcs (advance copies of books provided in exchange for a review) and so I will have a few posts in the next few months reviewing these.
In the past year or so, I have been reading more adult romance- I love a guaranteed HEA (Happily Ever After), and sometimes I just need to read something light and breezy to clear my head. (If you are looking for some adult romance recommendations, check out chelseadolling reads on Youtube!)
Anyways, this past summer I read Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey and I was head over heals for the story’s heroine, Georgie. I couldn’t wait to read the next book in the series titled Love Her or Lose Her, following Georgie’s friend, Rosie, as she attempts to live her best life- even if that means leaving her husband.
Rosie and Dominic have been together forever, but since he returned from his deployment over five years ago, their relationship has not been the same. They rarely talk to each other, and live mostly separate lives except for their scheduled weekly “sexy time.” Dominic thinks that everything is fine, but Rosie is unsatisfied. When she finally decides to call it quits, Dominic agrees to try a last ditch effort to save their marriage through counseling.
Overall, I thought this book was ok. Dominic’s hyper-masculine approach to his relationship with Rosie was too much at times (especially his so-called “dirty talk”). It often took me out of the story because of the [cringe] awkwardness. Dominic’s character often rubbed me the wrong way, especially his secretive nature. Not cool, man. His need to provide for Rosie was taken to the extreme and I found it difficult to believe. I wish Dominic’s character had been more developed.
I really enjoyed Fix Her Up because of the balance of humor and romance. Love Her or Lose Her is a much more serious story. That being said, this was a fairly quick read and I didn’t hate it. I appreciated how the concept of love languages were worked into the story. The ending was very sweet and I enjoyed their misadventures in marriage counseling as well. Tessa Bailey did a good job of showing these two characters falling back in love.
While I had hoped for a more humorous approach, I anticipate that most romance readers will probably enjoy this book. I look forward to reading more from Tessa Bailey in the future!
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
Hidden in the Stacks 