Fix Her Up

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Small-town atmosphere permeates bestseller Bailey’s comedic contemporary visit to Port Jefferson, N.Y., where outstanding children’s birthday clown Georgie Castle reconnects with her lifelong crush, Travis Ford, a former star professional baseball player sidelined by an injury. His despair over the end of his career is fueled by lingering trauma from an unstable childhood. Meanwhile, Georgie, at age 23, is tired of being seen as the pesky little sister whose wants and needs are unimportant; even Travis, a close friend to Georgie’s older brother, still sees her as a kid. As Georgie helps Travis out of his pit of misery and into a deeply supportive, protective, and giving relationship, he gets into construction work and makes his way back into the world. Seeing Georgie with new eyes, and appreciating her straightforward, loving honesty, fuels his desire. Meanwhile, Georgie is inspired to seek a new look, expand her business, and bond with other women, especially her big sister. Delightfully intense and creative sex scenes and potent emotions will reward both fans and new readers alike.

April 1, 2019
A young woman fakes a romantic relationship with her brother's best friend in order to show her family she's worthy of respect. At 23, Georgie Castle is a proud business owner, but she hates that her family refuses to treat her like a responsible adult. When an injury tanks his baseball career, Travis Ford returns to their Long Island hometown. He mopes, drinks, and licks his wounds, but Georgie is determined to keep him from hiding. She has been in love with Travis for years but assumed she'd be forever stuck in the friend zone. Both of them are shocked at the now undeniable chemistry between them, and for Travis those feelings are accompanied by confusing and overpowering possessiveness. When Travis realizes his womanizing reputation (his nickname, "Two Bats," hints at his prowess both on the field and in the bedroom) might prevent him from landing a coveted job as a broadcast announcer, Georgie suggests a mutually beneficial fake relationship. Georgie will make him look like a responsible boyfriend, and Travis will prove to her family that she's all grown up. Bailey (Runaway Girl, 2018, etc.) populates the novel with a lovable cast of meddling secondary characters who help and hinder Georgie and Travis. A charming subplot describes how Georgie and her friends create the Just Us League, which is dedicated to helping women reach their goals. The club having captured something in the zeitgeist, soon every woman in town clambers to be a member, and Georgie wryly tells Travis, "You should all be seriously alarmed how many women showed up." The sexual relationship between Travis and Georgie is sizzling, but the emotional journey from fake relationship to true love is just as compelling. Don't let the cover fool you: This romance is as steamy as it self-empowering.

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Narrator Charlotte North adeptly introduces the listener to Georgie Castle and Travis Ford, two 20-somethings who reconnect after not having seen each other since high school. Travis is a former major league baseball player whose career ended when he was injured. Now he's in a holding pattern while flipping houses. Georgie is trying to establish herself as an adult with members of her family, who continually view her as a child. North captures the frustration each character feels with accurate inflections and gusto. Ultimately, Georgie finds her voice and confidence, and sparks fly between her and Travis while also putting raw emotions on display. Steamy scenes make the story that much more fun. B.E.S. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

May 1, 2019
Georgie Castle is in her 20s, but everyone treats her like the baby of the family. It doesn't help that she is literally a clown, working kids' birthday parties every weekend. Meeting a man is not on her radar (she's content with Dale, her vibrator) until her childhood crush Travis Ford comes back to town. Travis needs work since an injury ended his baseball career, so his best friend hires him for the Castle family house-flipping business. Georgie convinces him to pretend to date her so that her family will see her as a fully grown woman and he can gain a more wholesome reputation to land a baseball-commentating job. Bailey creates fireworks in this steamy novel as Georgie and Travis quickly break their own rules about their fake relationship. The story moves fluidly from one situation to the next, with lots of hot sex in between, and Bailey will keep readers on their toes as the "couple" starts to realize this might be the real thing. Perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Helena Hunting.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)