Tools of Engagement: A Novel (Hot and Hammered, 3)

It was a great read - not my favorite in the series, but a good story nevertheless. There were just enough details to picture the flips, but they didn’t get overwhelming. The personality part was a little weaker than the first two, which is why it isn’t my favorite. The grammar needs more proofreading too

Book #1 was my favorite in this series, but this was an enjoyable book.

I have loved this series so much! Which may have set my expectation level too high with this book.I never truly connected with Wes or Bethany and I think it's because there's a LOT of telling and not enough showing. I intellectually got their feelings, their fears, their hangups, but I never FELT them.Bethany and Wes each have their own reasons for not being long-term relationship material, and they each have to grow and work at accepting the other into their lives. But it happens so quickly and abruptly, especially for Wes, that it wasn't believable.The base plot was fantastic, if a bit dramatic at times. Bethany steps away from the family business to strike out on her own, and they end up filming a reality show. She and her brother, Stephen, are In a Flip Off, where they each have two weeks to transform a house into a hot piece of real estate. Wes "Zelwiggers" and leaves his job with Stephen to help Bethany with her flip.The opening of the book was great, and scenes with Wes's niece are so sweet. But there's so much internal focus, that I just didn't get how their relationship built. Their bickering was great! It just didn't transition well for me. I LOVE a Hate to Love trope more than any other, but this one just didn't live up to how passionate and real feeling the last book was. Love Her or Lose Her was just sooooooo good, and the pacing was so perfect, that it's difficult to follow that up.I still LOVE Tessa Bailey, and will continue reading her beautiful books, I just felt this one had so much untapped potential.

Well, as much as I loved Fix Her Up, I have a new favorite! Bethany and Wes's story was fantastic with witty banter and some steamy scenes! It's an enemies-to-lovers romance with an age gap...7 years. Bethany is 30 and Wes is 23. While I know some people aren't a fan of a younger man, I was okay with this one. It worked for them.⁣⁣We find out that Bethany isn't exactly what she seems in this book. She's just as insecure and all over the place as the rest of us! I loved watching her walls slowly come down as she challenged herself to be a little less perfect. Wes perfectly balanced her out and had a way of making her more at ease when her overthinking got the best of her.⁣⁣Wes, while 23, was mature enough to learn as he went along with his niece, Laura. Thrown into the situation of caring for a 5-year-old, I think he did pretty well. The interactions between the 2 of them were funny and sweet. Bethany also came into her own where Laura was concerned and it was nice to see this other side of her.⁣⁣The chemistry between Bethany and Wes was insane! You could feel it seeping off each page! They definitely had the best physical chemistry of all the couples in this series. Loved this one!⁣

Very cute and sweet romance. I liked seeing the inner Bethany and her imperfections. I also enjoyed the house flipping aspect. And Laura is the cutest! And the way the child was written was realistic and not overly “cutesie” which was fantastic.Good read overall.

I want to start this off my saying I freaking love this book. I have read both of the prior books in this series and I did not care for Fix Her Up ( I felt broken inside to admit that since it was so popular, but I still can not stand Travis...like he ruined the whole book for me and I hate seeing him in the other two books). I adored Love Her Or Lose Her. So this book was the tie breaker for the Hot and Hammered series for me. I was pulled into Wes and Bethany's chaos from when they first met in the previous book and was excited to see them fall in love. From book one I liked Bethany, she's sassy, but loyal and a great friend and sister. I didn't really care too much about Wes until this book. And then I fell hard. From his feelings for Bethany to his love for his niece I swooned. Speaking of his niece Laura is officially my favorite kid in a book I've read recently. I loved catching up with the past characters (obviously except Travis), and enjoyed the epilogue enough (I wanted something longer than 8 months later personally), but I feel like the series was wrapped up nicely and I for most part really enjoyed my time in this world. This book had everything I look for in a romance. It was swoony, steamy but so sweet. I would definitely recommend it.

Oh man I loved this as much as I hoped I would when I read the previous book about Rosie and Dominic. The tension that gave way to partnership and friendship. The way they saw each other - it was so good.I was pretty annoyed by Stephen every time he showed up. I’m confused by his relationship with Kristen and she seems like an awful person. The level of selfishness - it bothered me the whole time.I’m also not sure I buy the outcome of the home inspection. I’ve never heard of a house being deemed unacceptable because it was too nice? Yeah, okay, sure.But overall the banter and the connection between the two was a lot of fun to read.

Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey deserves ALL the stars! I loved it so much, I didn't want it to end.The third (and final?!) Hot & Hammered novel finds Bethany Castle finally leaving the family house flipping business to branch out and do her own flip. Having never done a flip on her own, Bethany's in need of a crew and the only man to step up for the job is Wes Daniels. New in town, outrageously flirty and seven years younger than Bethany, Wes is hardly her first choice but she has no one else she can turn to.As if working with the cocky Texan isn't trouble enough, a television producer finds out Bethany and her brother Stephen are completing flips at the same time and she decides to turn their flips into a brand-new home design competition. With a ridiculously tight timeline and the pressure of her first-ever flip being broadcast on national television, Bethany will need to trust Wes: the one man capable of turning her entire life upside down and breaking down all of her barriers.I absolutely adored Bethany and Wes's enemies-to-lovers romance! The chemistry between them sparks off the page and the biting banter is absolutely perfect. Bethany's reluctance to let men actually see the real her, constant overthinking and her desire for perfection hit so close to home. I loved watching Wes slowly uncover Bethany's true self and really appreciated how he always strived to be her rock. He's honestly one of my favorite book boyfriends!I cannot recommend Tools of Engagement enough and am already looking forward to re-reading it!

s.o.

Tools of Engagement is the 3rd in @tessabaileyisanauthor’s Hot and Hammered series. If you’ve read any of our reviews lately you’ll know we’ve loved finding some new authors this year and Tessa is one who I now want to read anything ever written! ⁣⁣Bethany is branching out on her own with her first flip. She likes to portray perfection in absolutely everything she does and she wants this house to be no different. Wes is new to Port Jefferson. He’s arrived in town to look after his niece and is learning everything as he goes. ⁣⁣As this is the third in the series we already know main character Bethany quite well. We’re briefly introduced to leading man Wes at the end of the second book and without knowing who book 3 was about I knew these two were going to get together!⁣⁣There’s age gap and while not full on enemies to lovers there’s definitely a lot of contention between these two in the beginning of their story that fuels a fire between them. Wes is observant and wise beyond his years given his upbringing. He sees through Bethany and gets under her skin in a way she isn’t sure she loves at first! ⁣⁣Two things that have been powerful through this series is the sisterhood between all of the women and the message that comes with, along with the message that women can do whatever we put our minds to! I can’t wait to dive into my next Tessa Bailey novel, feel free to leave your recommendations!

This was a brilliant end of the series. I loved Bethany and Wes - they balanced each other out so very well. It was great that this book dealt with some issues so common to many women - the need for perfection and to look like you're living the ideal life. Wes was a great character and his interactions with his niece were beautiful and together they stole so many scenes. An absolutely lovely book.

came in good condition, can’t say the same for my other books