Review: Fix Her Up

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"Fix Her Up" is the first book I've ever read by Tessa Bailey. I was really looking forward to reading it based on the cute cover and description, but ended up being mostly disappointed.

On the bright side, the writing was very good, there were some amusing moments, and the characters were mostly likeable. Unfortunately, those positives were outweighed by several negatives, such as the fact that the fake relationship plan that forms the basis of the plot didn't make a lot of sense to me. Neither Georgie nor Travis really seemed to think the plan through. It seems to me that Travis's need for a more "family friendly" reputation would have continued even after he got the job as commentator for the Bombers, so breaking up with Georgie immediately after being offered the position didn't make much sense. If Travis went back to being a manwhore right after being hired, wouldn't he have been in danger of getting fired? His contract, like many others for jobs like that one, probably would have contained a "morals clause" that would have allowed the network to terminate him for any behavior that cast the network or team in a bad light.

As for Georgie, why would she think that dating Travis, or even having a boyfriend in general, would make people see her as more of a grown-up? (My 14 year old cousin has a "boyfriend" but I still don't consider her to be an adult!) If anything, given Travis's reputation as a womanizer, her decision to "date" him could have been interpreted as an example of Georgie's immature decision-making.

Then there was the relationship itself. I HATED that Travis called Georgie "baby girl." I cringed every single time he did it. The worst part? She actually liked his choice of pet name for her! It seems like a really belittling name for a woman who is trying to prove to everyone that she is an adult. Also, Travis really struggled with the idea of dating his best friend's younger sister, so why would he want to call Georgie by a nickname that emphasizes youth, and EXTREME youth at that?

That wasn't the only bothersome aspect of Travis and Georgie's relationship. Out of bed, I mostly liked the progression of their relationship (although Travis did seem to overcome his issues awfully quickly in the end IMO). In bed, however, I hated it. Travis was just way too dominant for my tastes, and Georgie's wide-eyed innocence didn't seem believable or likeable to me. This is a woman who, at the beginning of the book, had seemingly taken charge of her own sexuality - she had a vibrator named Dale and wasn't afraid to use it! I would have liked to see Georgie be less submissive, and to see Travis treat her as more of an equal rather than a child.

The sex scenes were plenty steamy, though, so they will certainly appeal to many readers. And as previously mentioned, the characters were mostly likeable. It would be fun to see some of the secondary characters, such as Georgie's sister Bethany, featured in future books. Overall, even though this book wasn't quite my cup of tea, I will still plan to check out more of Tessa Bailey's books in the future.

*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

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