Fix Her Up
Ratings127
Average rating3.4
DNF at 15%.
She was going to cry in front of her childhood hero turned mega-crush turned object of her every sexual fantasy. Seriously, Travis was the reason she couldn't hear “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” without getting horny. Meanwhile, if she cried right now, he'd probably lose his boner next time he smelled blueberries. Of course, while all these thoughts raced through her head, she said absolutely nothing, simply stared up at the former Hurricanes shortstop while her eyes ached.
Just LOL. Listening this was funny but mostly CRINGE.
The rating is because of the narrator engagement with the story tbh 😂🫠.
Cute Read
I wasn’t prepared for how much I would enjoy Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. Going into this book, I had never read any of Bailey’s work before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The only reason I picked it up was because I needed a book with some kind of tool on the cover for the final day of a 10-day readathon. Thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited, which delivered this unexpected gem right when I needed it. This was my first Tessa Bailey book, but it definitely won’t be my last.
From the very beginning, I was drawn in by the vibrant characters and the charming small-town setting. Georgie and Travis felt like real people with real struggles, and I couldn’t help but root for them as their story unfolded. The chemistry between them was electric, and Bailey did an excellent job of building tension and anticipation without rushing the romance. The book is the first in a trilogy, and it’s safe to say I’m eagerly looking forward to diving into the next two installments.
The story centers around Georgie Castle, the youngest in her family and often overlooked or seen as just "the little sister." She’s had a crush on Travis Ford, her brother’s best friend, since they were teenagers. Travis, a former professional baseball player, is down on his luck after an injury ends his career, and he’s wallowing in self-pity when Georgie storms into his life, literally throwing takeout food at him to snap him out of it. What follows is a delightful fake dating trope, where both characters agree to pretend they’re in a relationship to solve their respective problems—Georgie wants to be seen as an adult, and Travis needs to clean up his playboy image to get his career back on track.
What I loved most about this book is how Bailey takes the time to develop the characters and their relationship. Georgie isn’t just a quirky, cute heroine; she’s a woman who is determined to be taken seriously and to pursue her dreams, even if it means stepping out of her comfort zone. Travis, on the other hand, is more than just a brooding, sexy athlete. He’s a man who’s lost his way and is trying to figure out who he is without the sport that once defined him. Their relationship starts off as a mutually beneficial arrangement, but it quickly becomes clear that they’re exactly what each other needs to heal and grow.
As they navigate their fake relationship, both Georgie and Travis undergo significant personal growth. Georgie learns to assert herself and embrace her own strength, while Travis realizes that there’s more to life than his baseball career and that love, true love, is worth the risk. The romance is steamy and heartfelt, filled with moments that made me smile, swoon, and even tear up a little.
Bailey’s writing style is engaging and witty, with just the right amount of humor to balance the emotional depth of the story. The small-town atmosphere adds an extra layer of coziness to the book, making it the perfect read when you’re in the mood for something warm and uplifting. And the side characters, including Georgie’s family and the members of the “Just Us League,” a group of women supporting each other through life’s ups and downs, are well-developed and add richness to the story.
Fix Her Up is more than just a romance; it’s a story about finding yourself, taking risks, and discovering that sometimes the things you need the most are the ones you never saw coming. If you’re a fan of the fake dating trope, small-town settings, or just love a good, steamy romance with heart, then this book is for you. I’m so glad I picked it up on a whim, and I can’t wait to see where Bailey takes the characters in the rest of the series. This book was a great start to a trilogy.
I feel like three stars is a safe and reasonable rating for this. It wasn't my favourite book but it wasn't the worst.
I feel like it had major potential and I loved that Georgie was a very strong character in the way that she wasn't afraid to go for what she wanted and she spoke her mind. I also loved how empowering the ‘the club' that Georgie made with her sister and Rosie was. I love the idea of women supporting women.
What I think let me down was that I didn't feel like I could connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. Also, I'm the biggest fake relationship fan but the idea that Georgie felt like she had to rely on a man to be taken seriously bothered me. Maybe I am reading into that too much (could be possible).
Also, if I have to hear ‘baby girl' one more time...
There were many cute moments between Travis and Georgie. I enjoyed that they always had one another's back. Overall, I did like this!
The more I think about this book, the less I like it.
The book switches between infantilizing Georgie and empowering her. Georgie is birthday clown, but she runs her own business.
The book harps on her virginity and how she's Travis's friend's little sister, but Travis constantly calls her “baby girl” as an endearing nickname.
Her family doesn't trust her in the family business, but they are absurdly overbearing and overprotective.
The last conflict in the book also feels shoehorned in. The further along I got in this book, the less I liked it.
If you're a fan of brothers best friend romances, then this is for you.
I love how Georgie started to become more confident in herself... not just because of the new clothes, and maybe the Just Us League had something to do with it but she was coming into her own. And I loved that.
Georgie and Travis... I think that since they knew each other from childhood and then got to know each other romantically (no matter how it started) is so sweet.
Georgie is the only one that could pull Travis from his darkness... she is exactly what he needs.
spoilers
The on air proposal????? Oh my god. My heart was racing it was so romantic. And crossing through traffic to get to her???? Wow.
The plot and characters weren't good and I absolutely hated the ending, it made me cringe so hard. But the steamy scenes were hot as f*ck and that's also the only reason I read this book.
“Little sister tit” uh okay lol ... someone needs to not watch pornhub while also writing a book
Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)
Nope, dit boek werkte niet echt voor mij. Het deed me meermaals ineenkrimpen van plaatsvervangende schaamte en het verhaal was saai en dwaas. Voorspelbaar, dat ook, maar dat heb je wel meer in het romantische genre, maar hier stoorde het me gewoon te erg.
3.5 Rounded to 4
Aside from the annoying babygirl endearment and the many, many, many soft porn steamy love scenes...this was a cute story.
I adore Georgie and her funny comments had me laughing a lot. I've never read a book where the MC is a clown lol. What I loved most about this book was Georgie's struggle to be seen as an actual adult by her family. As the youngest child she was thrown to the wolves and left to function on her own. Her family treated her like a child...even at 23. Her growth and confidence, through Travis's love for her, had my heart swelling and eyes filling with tears.
If you can get past the very heated love scenes, the underlying story makes this one a worthwhile read.
I have seen this around and while I was interested in reading it I wasn't in a rush to get to it. I listened to the audiobook of this for a romanceopoly prompt and I absolutely loved it. I went in thinking it sounded like something up my alley but I had no expectations beyond that. This is the 4th book to get 5 stars from me this year.
This has the best friends sibling trope as well as the fake dating trope which I of course love because I love all the tropes.
I laughed several times while reading this and I also thought it was very hot. I didn't expect it to be as hot as it was though I am not complaining because I love me some steamy scenes.
Pretty much all of the characters show signs of growth throughout this book especially Georgie and Travis the main characters. The side characters as well although I have a feeling that some of the side characters are going to get their own books so I am looking forward to seeing them grow even more.
I don't really have much else to say. I just really loved this book. The romance, the humor the story just everything about it was perfect to me. I can't wait to read the next book.
Great story and I loved Georgie's character, but Travis was blend and he did not bring much to the story character wise. And there were a little too much emphasis on the sex scenes compared to the other parts of the story, I felt a little like I was reading an erotic novel.
This was a lighthearted book and I enjoyed it, I will probably read the next book in the series because I care about Rosie and Bethany's stories, the All for us club is a great thing to focus on in the series.
This is just so bloody cute!! Everything about Georgie and her story is adorable, I loved her the whole time.
There was something about this, and I think it was Travis as a character, which put me off very slightly that meant I couldn't give it a full 5 stars. I know characters go through redemption arcs but there was just something about Travis that I couldn't connect to for most of the book.
Definitely a great read though and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
I rarely give a 1 star rating to books but this one clearly deserves it. If I tell you that I hate this book, I really fucking hate this book. Sexualizing the fuck out of your friend's kid sister, calls her boobs “little sister tit” and uses “baby girl” as an endearment? Um, no thanks.
The writing style is so bad that I couldn't understand how the author explained things in this book. Trust me, Its ridiculous.
The characters, I just don't like them and I don't really care about them. The main characters have no personalities. Sure, Travis is an ex-famous-baseball player who calls his dick two bats (who even does that?) and is always hard for Georgie. Georgie is a clown and is in love with Travis since forever. Basically, they were horny for each other everytime. The side characters felt like they're just there for the sake of having more characters in the story, and they're completely pointless in my opinion.
The smut, I swear to god, it sounded so bad in the audiobook. I was cringing so hard that I felt so sorry for my ears to have experience that.
In conclusion, this is not romantic nor cute at all. It made me uncomfortable the whole time and I wished I've never read this.
I haven't read a TON of romance because I definitely had some outdated impressions of what ~romance novels~ were like, but in recent years I've dipped my toe in the genre thanks to carefully curated suggestions from trusted pals! But I picked this one out for myself because I saw a review in PW or something that mentioned it was a fake dating story between a birthday party clown and a forced-into-retirement baseball player, and I was like, sounds hilarious, sign me up!
It was....kind of funny? I kept reading (ok sometimes skimming) until the end mostly because I did really like Georgie's character, the party clown. But Travis, the ~alpha male baseball player~ was GROSS. And he was supposed to be on a ~redemption journey~–as a pro athlete he'd gotten a bad reputation for sleeping around (his media nickname is “Two Bats”, the other bat is his dick) but honestly by the end of it....still gross.
Also it was STEEPED in this gross patriarchal thing where Travis was friends with Georgie's older brother and they're all VERY concerned about the bro code violation and how her brother is going to hit Travis for getting with Georgie because like, obv Georgie is her brother's property. GROSS. STOP IT.
There were also just a lot of wildly implausible things in here, and not even like implausible in the fun way like “secretly a prince” but like, Georgie named her vibrator “Dale,” which...do any real women do this?? Doubtful??? But then–very early on before they are fake or real dating–Travis finds Georgie taking a nap and when she's half-asleep she murmurs, “Where's Dale? I need Dale” and Travis is obv SUPER JEALOUS >:( that she has a man named Dale in her life that he didn't know about. Like??? Really?? Another time she just straight up FORGETS TO PUT ON A BRA before she leaves the house?? (I gather this might be an actual thing for those with smaller breasts but Georgie allegedly has big ones! I have NEVER IN MY ADULT LIFE forgotten to wear a bra outside the house.)
anyway also Georgie is a 23-year-old virgin which, fine, and so part of their fake dating arrangement is that they're not going to have P-in-V sex but they fool around. OK. But then she gets her legs waxed before a fake date (because the papparazzi are there bc Travis is famous-ish, which, sure I buy that) but then they have THIS DIALOGUE:
“Question one. You wax this pussy for me?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Correct answer. I'm going to worship this thing next time we're together.”
“See? Romantic gestures. You're already a pro.”
“I'm a rookie at virgins and fuck, while we're on the subject, you're closed up around my finger so tight, I'm probably never going to look your father in the eye again.”
later on..
“Where are your panties? Forget I asked. You should never keep this covered when it's just you and me. Ask me why.”
“Why?”
“Because if I'm not licking it, I'm going to be figuring out a way to spread your thighs so I can.”
ew grosss. Also he always calls her “baby girl” which she seems into but ewwww
There's also a B-plot of Georgie leading a women's empowerment group called the Just Us League which I liked in theory. But also, yikes Travis.
Anyway clearly this author does something for a lot of readers but I couldn't get over how gross this dude was to me!! eeew
PS did unlocking Travis's tragic backstory make him any less gross to me? nooo
3.5⭐
Sweet and Spicy, Spicy, Spicy!!
Georgie and Travis were so adorable, I loved how they worked together to overcome their confidence issues. They really were a team and the whole story just came together so nicely.
This book was talked about and loved by many people I follow on social media (youtube, insagram, goodreads). The main premise of a friends to lovers romance is one that is right up my alley. I picked this up, expecting to love it, and I wasn't disappointed. If I hadn't seen other reviews of this book I would have expected a less “graphic” romance book based on the cute cover. The only reason I gave it 4 and not 5 stars is that some of the scenes were a bit much for what I wanted at the moment. Other than that, it was a cute fun romance book.
Read this for August/September Bookopoly prompt of reading a Romance book and August/September book bingo challenge of reading a book with a purple cover.