TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT – Tessa Bailey

 TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT – Tessa Bailey

Hot & Hammered, Book 3

Avon

ISBN:  978-0062872937

September 22, 2020

Romantic Comedy

 

Port Jefferson, New York – Present Day

 

Home designer Bethany Castle is known in town for her beautiful and elaborate home designs, which has worked well with her working alongside her brother, Stephen, who flips houses. However, she has decided to branch out on her own flipping houses, which has turned into a competition that has caught the attention of a HGTV-style TV producer. Bethany has never swung a hammer into plaster, but she is hoping her newly hired foreman, Wes Daniels, can guide her. However, he’s not too happy to learn that she agreed to have their construction work filmed for the show. There are also the sparks that are flying hot and heavy between them. Bethany has no plans to get involved with Wes because he is six years younger than her. But sexual chemistry doesn’t care about the age difference if there’s smoking hot chemistry.

 

Wes is originally from Texas but came to Port Jefferson after his estranged half-sister contacted him for help. She then took off, leaving him with her four-year-old daughter, Laura. Family comes first for Wes, so while he wishes he was back in Texas, he has to make a temporary life for his niece until her mother comes back. He appreciates Bethany hiring him, though she is a bit of a pain in the ass. She prefers things around her to be perfect, which means she is set in her ways. As they argue about how to proceed with the house rehab, things get seriously hot between them. He wouldn’t mind a fling with his boss, but she wants to keep things business only. How can Bethany not see that their age difference doesn’t matter?

 

With his life in upheaval, Wes isn’t in a position to provide Bethany anything except being a good employee—and a potential roll between the bedsheets a couple of times. He has to be protective of his niece because his half-sister is not only a drug addict but unstable. The television show is being filmed as they work and is fast-paced because both houses (Bethany’s and Stephen’s) must be completed in one and a half weeks, after which a winner is chosen. With the help of two older men that Wes hired, they get to work. Along the way, there is plenty of interaction between Bethany and Wes, and the chemistry that’s been there for a while really begins to heat up, leading to some heavy petting. Will they end up making love? How can they be discreet about an affair without having others around them find out? Will the house get finished in time?

 

TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT is the third book in the Hot & Hammered series by Tessa Bailey. The others in the series are FIX HER UP and LOVE HER OR LOSE HER. While all the characters from those books appear a few times, you can read TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT without having read the others.

 

Sexy banter and a few chuckles along the way will have readers not wanting to put down TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT. Bethany and Wes prove that opposites do attract and fall in love. For a cute and engaging read, don’t miss this tale.

 

Patti Fischer

A HIGHLANDER IS COMING TO TOWN – Laura Trentham

 A HIGHLANDER IS COMING TO TOWN – Laura Trentham

A Highland, Georgia Novel, Book 3

St. Martin’s

ISBN: 978-1250315052

October 2020

Contemporary Romance

 

Highland, Georgia – Present Day

 

Claire Smythe (not her real last name) is hiding out in Georgia, far away from her home country of Scotland. Her family wants her to work for the family busines, but this is something she has no interest in doing, and her father won’t say no. Claire came to Highland as a singer for a band but left that to start a job as a caregiver to gruffy old Mrs. Meadows. Since she fears being recognized because of her family’s social standing due to having tons of money, Claire has kept a low profile in the past few months. One day while grocery shopping, she is riding home on her bicycle when it develops a flat tire and lo and behold, neighbor Holt Pierson comes along in his truck and stops. After first refusing his offer of a ride, Claire changes her mind. The crackle of sexual chemistry causes sparks to fly between them. But Holt is too dangerous for Claire to get involved with because she might get her true identity exposed. Add in that her employer doesn’t trust the Pierson family because they want to buy her land, then it’s another reason to avoid Holt. However, fate—and an attraction that won’t go away—has a funny way of finding excuses for Holt and Claire to end up around each other.

 

A HIGHLANDER IS COMING TO TOWN is set around Christmas, but the holiday pretty much stays in the background in this cute and funny tale from Laura Trentham. Claire is biding her time until she’s twenty-five—December 26^th—when she can return to Scotland and claim the inheritance that’s waiting for her. But she also knows that the family will once again push her, the only child, into working for their company, a worldwide famous whiskey company. Meeting Holt has her trying to avoid him at first, but he is way too irresistible. And their sexual attraction is off the charts. Knowing she might be leaving, can she have that last fling before she has to leave Highland, Georgia? A sort of a memory of a time when she wasn’t living in a fishbowl.

 

After his parents retired to Florida in their recreational vehicle, Holt has been running the family ranch. Yes, they would have liked to buy Mrs. Meadows’ land, but that ship has mostly sailed since she has repeatedly turned them down. However, her caregiver, Claire intrigues him. She is beautiful and mysterious—and stubborn. She has no driver’s license and uses a bike to get around, but that isn’t a sensible mode of transportation when it comes to the distance from town, and of course, the finicky weather. After several interactions, the attraction between Holt and Claire heat up, and soon they’re sharing hot kisses. Holt would love to know who the real Claire is, but she keeps things close to the vest. Will making love help her to open up to him about her past—and future?

 

In A HIGHLANDER IS COMING TO TOWN, readers return to the small, quaint town of Highland, which is like a Scottish town in America. This tale is filled with interesting and quirky characters, all of whom help make this an interesting read. Will Claire make the right decision on her future? Will Holt find his one true love in her? Don’t miss this fun and entertaining read.

 

Patti Fischer

MISTLETOE AND MR. RIGHT – Sarah Morgenthaler

 MISTLETOE AND MR. RIGHT – Sarah Morgenthaler

Moose Springs, Alaska, Book 2

Sourcebooks Casablanca

ISBN: 978-1-49269316-1

October 6, 2020

Contemporary Romance

 

Moose Springs, Alaska – Present Day

 

The citizens of Moose Springs do not like socialite Lana Montgomery because she is rich, and they are suspicious of her ideas to make their lives better. How can someone who didn’t grow up in a small Alaskan town tell them what to do differently? But one person in town does like Lana: bar owner Rick Harding. He has watched Lana try to blend in as she flits around town suggesting and bringing about changes. Right now, she is determined to find—and tranquilize—a marauding moose that is destroying Christmas decorations. Lana is intrigued by Rick. He is stoic and quiet, plus he will always step in to help others, including her. After some time spent together talking to each other, feelings develop. But Lana is on a short leash with her family as they want her to leave Moose Springs by the end of December to get back to “family” business matters. Can she bear to leave Rick and their fledging romance behind? Do they have anything to offer one another—besides love?

 

Christmas is approaching and Lana is gunning for a moose playing hide and seek in MISTLETOE AND MR. RIGHT by Sarah Morgenthaler. Yes, this book will definitely tickle your funny bone and make you smile. Lana is all business when it comes to Moose Springs. She works for her family’s corporation and has been overseeing the building of condos while living there. Her family is making noises about wanting Lana to return to Chicago and concentrate on other projects. But she loves living in Alaska and promises she won’t leave until she catches the moose, while secretly she wants to stick around to see the town transformed into one that is more vibrant and making money. Right now, very few tourists visit. Lana wants to change that.  Or is it because Rick has caught her eye? They have spent many nights chatting in the bar, and he’s easy to talk to, as well as being easy on the eye.

 

Rick has been somewhat bitter over his divorce. He did just about everything to keep his wife, but in the end, she wasn’t satisfied and moved on. Rick must admit that living in Alaska isn’t for everyone. It’s cold and isolated, plus you must deal with wild animals, such as the moose that’s been terrorizing Christmas decorations in Moose Springs. Lana claims she likes staying in Moose Springs, but how soon will the novelty wear off and she hightails it back to Chicago? As their feelings for each other heighten, maybe a Christmas fling is in order to “scratch the itch.” Yet, the attraction they have for each other appears to be deeper than just a temporary fling.

 

There is plenty of fun and hijinks galore in MISTLETOE AND MR. RIGHT, the second book in the Moose Springs, Alaska series. The townspeople are a quirky bunch who love their town and view Lana with suspicion. Will she commercialize their town and destroy it? Lana insists that won’t happen, but can they trust her? If you love a cute, funny, and entertaining holiday romance, then be sure to put MISTLETOE AND MR. RIGHT at the top of your to-buy list.

 

Patti Fischer

THE WRONG MR. DARCY – Evelyn Lozada, with Holly Lorincz

THE WRONG MR. DARCY – Evelyn Lozada, with Holly Lorincz

St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN: 9781250622143

August 25, 2020

Romantic Comedy 

Boston – Present Day 

Hara Isari is a reporter for a small newspaper in Oregon, but her goal is to be a sportswriter at a bigtime newspaper. She enters a contest to for a chance to interview pro-basketball superstar Charles Butler, a player who is normally media shy. She hopes to use the published interview to be noticed by major publications. Hara flies to Boston to attend a game, and then afterward, she will have an opportunity to be alone with Charles to interview him. One of the first players she encounters is Derek Darcy, who is not only teammates with Charles but also his best friend. Derek isn’t friendly at all with Hara, which annoys her. Why should she care?

 Derek recently learned something about Charles that would be a huge scandal if it comes out. He is afraid that Hara is looking for something juicier than a simple interview with his best friend, so he tries to warn her off. However, one thing after another has Hara digging her heels in. Derek and Hara continue to do battle, which takes their love-hate relationship to another level. Will she find out what is going on, or will the truth continue to be hidden? Or, is there something else going on that neither is aware of? 

THE WRONG MR. DARCY is more of a dramedy than straight comedy because there are underlying elements of danger that lurks in the background. Hara didn’t go to Boston to be an investigative reporter; her plan was to complete the interview with Charles and hope it goes viral enough to capture the attention of editors. But after accidentally overhearing a conversation that really isn’t what she thinks it is, she is soon on a mission to find out what is going on. Derek only wants to protect his friend, yet he may not have much of an option because the owner of the team is putting additional pressure on him in other ways. What is going on? 

Readers get an inside look at the sport of basketball and sports journalism in THE WRONG MR. DARCY. Hara has a complicated relationship with her parents: her father is in prison and her mother wants her to forget journalism and marry a rich man. Her mother thinks hanging out with the rich in Boston is just the way to do it. Hara has her own goals—and marriage is not one of them. As she delves into trying to find out what is going on, danger lurks on the horizon. Hara becomes friends with a woman who is in love with Charles, and after a historic Nor’easter hits Boston and delays her flight out, it is her new friend that offers her a place to stay. Things then really begin to spiral out of her control and this tale takes off.

 If you love a good sports romance that is part comedy and part drama, then don’t miss THE WRONG MR. DARCY. 

Patti Fischer