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makayla_radford's review against another edition
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Child abuse
chlaraphyll's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
one thing I can recommend for Georgie and Travis is: more talking and less f**king.
Tessa Bailey’s Fix Her Up brings the story of a childhood-crush-turns-husband kind of story between Georgie Castle and Travis Ford. Georgie is the youngest in the castle family, making her siblings and parents perceive her as a kid even though she is already 23 years old. instead of getting spoiled with brand-new items, her wardrobe is filled with hand-me-downs from Stephen and Bethany, her elder siblings. her job as a BIRTHDAY CLOWN also worsens this condition where she is never taken seriously by her family and people at Port Jefferson. but, she still has her own goals. she is determined to expand her entertainment business. this means she has to get people—especially her family—to perceive her as an adult. how? first, she revamps her entire wardrobe and she fake-dates Travis Ford, Stephen’s best friend, who happens to be Georgie’s childhood crush. Travis was this hot, major league, baseball star before his injury that caused him to retire at the prime age of twenty-eight. he has no purpose until his agent contacts him that a network is looking for a baseball commentator whose image is the opposite of Travis’ nickname Two Bats. in order to acquire the PG-13 portrayal, Travis makes the internet believe that he is a changed, ready-to-settle, man.
my review:
i’ve read two of Tessa Bailey’s works prior to this—1) It Happened One Summer and 2) Hook, Line, and Sinker. one thing that i noticed when i was reading this is that this and Hook, Line, and Sinker have a similar formula; about a woman who fixes a man’s problems and these two main characters (in both books) has the same internal conflicts.
i truly don’t understand the way Travis’ mind works because he seems to be aroused ALL THE TIME, there’s not a single moment when he does not objectify Georgie. do people always like this when they are attracted to someone???
i can tolerate the corny dirty talks during their intercourse BUT i CANNOT put up with Travis’ use of baby girl. i gag every time i see the phrase on the screen of my kindle and i don’t think i will ever be able to hear or see this phrase anymore. this is the lowest form of an affectionate name. i beg every author out there to refrain from using b*by g*rl.
this book is ridiculous but i think this one is way beyond my understanding: Georgie forgets to wear a bra. is it a common phenomenon among women because i’ve never experienced this???
every character in this book is annoying. everyone in this book gets on my nerves. except Rosie.
the Just Us League and Tough Mudder thing are useless plot devices. the Just Us League is just like a friend group you have when you’re in middle school and why would these people at Port Jefferson be dying to get in the group????? i assume that this group is supposed to add female empowerment to this misogynistic book but still fails nonetheless. and now the Tough Mudder event… it can be extracted from the book and everything will remain the same until the end.
i know that this is fiction but why does the conflict get resolved in a short amount of time???? also, Georgie and Travis’ internal thoughts about their doubts were not explored enough. the excessive amount of erotica truly wastes the pages of this book when it could be used to add depth to the conflict resolution and the main characters’ conversations. even i don’t remember if these two ever really talked things through without ending up in sex.
i just don’t understand the time setting and how long have Georgie & Travis been fake dating for Travis to propose to Georgie during his commentator job on the public TV network? why does Georgie accept his apology easily? and how about Georgie’s new office?
Georgie girlie you deserve better. yes, you are allowed to realise your dirty fantasy about Travis but his problems are not yours to fix. she should’ve gone on the date with that single father.
this book is such nonsense but i’m entertained nevertheless. such a fun time to see this stupid stupid people doing stupid stupid things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Cursing, and Abandonment
ka_ke's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Tessa never fails to keep me entertained and wanting more. Sure its a little cheesy but sometimes thats what you need. Georgie is a beautiful character and one I aspire to be like when I grow up…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Misogyny
stateofgrace's review against another edition
1.5
Every single character in this book annoyed me (except Rosie).
Georgie was such an unrealistic (and slightly annoying) protagonist. She’s a perfect example of the manic pixie dream girl trope — she’s had a ridiculous job (children’s birthday party clown) yet somehow manages to afford a house, groceries for two, and a boutique wardrobe despite the fact that she seemingly works maybe two days a week for the entirety of the book. Way too much of her mental real estate is dedicated to thinking about her vibrator (which she named, and she thinks about at least once per chapter). Georgie is unable say no to anyone (or even just remove herself from situations that she doesn’t want to be in).
Travis annoyed me so much. He spent the whole book thinking about one of three things: how hard his dick is, how he used to be cool but now he’s a loser burnout, or how it’s crazy that he’s attracted to a single adult woman who he also happened to know when she was a teenager. He spent the entire first half of the book alternating between rationalizing why he can’t be friends with Georgie and putting himself in inappropriate situations with Georgie. I spent the entire first half of the book wishing Travis would just MAKE UP HIS MIND ALREADY.
By the time Georgie and Travis actually started to fake date, I was already so fed up with both of them that I was really to DNF the book. The fact that Georgie used to be obsessed with Travis while he barely cared about her at all kind of turned me away from their romance. My favorite trope is MMC falls first/falls harder and while Travis is definitely into Georgie at the beginning of the book, for most of the book Georgie is way more into Travis than Travis is into her. Plus it takes Travis so long to realize his feelings for her that he comes across as being kind of douchey for getting physical with her before he acknowledges that he likes her for her.
The ending was just awful. The third act breakup was completed contrived, and it was resolved — not by communication or compromise — but by a surprise proposal on live TV. Never mind the fact that Travis didn’t want kids for 90% of the book, and we never actually see him change his mind about that. I can't quite figure out the timing of this book, but I'm pretty sure that when Georgie reunites with Travis at the beginning of the book, it's been at least ten years since they last talked. In the span of a month, they go from basically stranger to engaged. Travis is Georgie's first everything: first boyfriend, first kiss, and he takes her virginity. They fake date for about two-three weeks, and real date for less than one week. Then they break up, and a week later Travis proposes to her. So, at the age of twenty-three, Georgie ends up engaged to the first man she ever dated, a man who was basically a stranger to her a month ago. That's insane.
Now here’s my actual issue with the book: I could not stand Georgie’s horrible misogynistic family. Her brother Stephen (who is described as “traditional”) is so obsessive and controlling over his wife, Kristen, that he tracks her periods to know when she’s fertile (despite the fact that Stephen acknowledges that Kristen hasn’t agreed to have children yet). On multiple occasions, when Kristen is casually hanging out with friends, Stephen shows up and physically removes her from that location to have sex with her. Overall, I hate Georgie’s horrible misogynistic family with a burning passion. Every single page that Stephen appears on was a pain to get through, and Georgie’s parents are just as bad for supporting him.
Furthermore, there’s this attitude throughout the novel that when faced with misogynistic men, women should focus on empowering themselves, rather than holding men accountable and expecting them to change. For example: Bethany’s misogynistic brother, Stephen, refuses to let her participate in the home building aspect of the family business, and expects her to only work as an interior decorator. Despite the fact that Stephen and Bethany should have equal say in this business, Stephen’s word is law. Stephen is also described as “traditional” (this is the word the author uses, but I think that “misogynistic” is more accurate). This is framed as bad, but no one in the book expects Stephen to change, not even Georgie and Bethany. Instead, Bethany has to start her own company just to get an equal say. Obviously, women’s empowerment is a good thing, but men should also be held to a higher standard. I liked the Just Us Club plot line (partly because Rosie is my favorite character) because it was fun to see Georgie interact with her friends. However, I still have the same issue where empowerment is coming at the cost of actually holding people accountable for their actions, which I think sends a bad message.
I know I’m probably reading too far into the misogynistic undertones. This is a romance novel, not a feminist manifesto. Obviously, Georgie’s family isn’t going to be perfect (if they were perfect, there would be no plot of the story). But still, the casual misogyny really turned me away from the story.
I know I’m probably reading too far into the misogynistic undertones. This is a romance novel, not a feminist manifesto. Obviously, Georgie’s family isn’t going to be perfect (if they were perfect, there would be no plot of the story). But still, the casual misogyny really turned me away from the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
zoelou_books's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Mental illness, and Domestic abuse
pandalesque's review
tense
1.5
This is the romance for your "woke republican" in your life...
OMG... I just finished this bcs I paid for it and wanted to have all the information to rant about it.
I thought I get a house makeover romance with smut and interesting family/friend dynamics...
The business/aspekt of flipping houses was so not central or even there it's sad.
The family dynamics are patriarchal, sexist bullshit that wouldn't be a problem if the book didn't try to "fix it" explore it in a even more humiliating way for the women.
+ Talk about being the youngest sibling and wanting to be taken seriously and being noticed positively and working for it
+ Attempt at positive female relationships
- In the first 5-10' mentioning of church and god...
- Characters are so artificially built and the plot so cringy
- 3rd act conflict / misunderstanding makes NO SENSE
- So heteronormative/cis-normative, it seems almost homo-/transphobic
- the smut between the MCs is problematic at best, bcs of the very shakey consent
- Submissive virgin FMC with toxic masc dominant possesif MMC
- Language used to describe body parts during s** was cringy ("(sensitive) flesh"...) to be fair, other authors unfortunately do the same.
- Basically just a story about him getting fixed by a woman and the MMC being/becoming a decent human being for once
- Jealousy and Posessiveness
- performative feminism that made women look annoying, not to be taken serious, .... (Club)
- Second hand talk about why she likes "clowning" but never really shown
- FMC juggling for a kid and it being happy isn't the genius move it's written out to be, in my opinion! All the men impressed because they can't distract a child if their life depended on it???
Problematic representation of wanting children and adult relationships:
- Character (male) not wanting a family and kids, until he falls in love with a woman and she changes his trauma, and insecurities and life... ?
He needs therapy... not her being his therapist, social worker, manager or enabler. Also there are people who don't want kids and don't have to change their minds.
- FMC parents almost neglecting her and never recognizing it
- Her brother *BERRRKKKK*, such a dick toxic masculinity guy adding 0 value to the story. Forcing/Pressuring his wife to have kids?????
- Also brother and MMC have no obvious "best friend" relationship in my opinion
- "she's all that"-moment... Of course she has a beautiful body and just had to wear tighter clothes... cringe
- all the relationships (around them) seem to suck too (brother, Rose's, parents?...)
I "CLIP" in audio books usually for good quotes or insights... this time I clipped bcs I wanted to come with receipts about the cringy, puke-y and misogynistic lines...
OMG... I just finished this bcs I paid for it and wanted to have all the information to rant about it.
I thought I get a house makeover romance with smut and interesting family/friend dynamics...
The business/aspekt of flipping houses was so not central or even there it's sad.
The family dynamics are patriarchal, sexist bullshit that wouldn't be a problem if the book didn't try to "fix it" explore it in a even more humiliating way for the women.
+ Talk about being the youngest sibling and wanting to be taken seriously and being noticed positively and working for it
+ Attempt at positive female relationships
- In the first 5-10' mentioning of church and god...
- Characters are so artificially built and the plot so cringy
- 3rd act conflict / misunderstanding makes NO SENSE
- So heteronormative/cis-normative, it seems almost homo-/transphobic
- the smut between the MCs is problematic at best, bcs of the very shakey consent
- Submissive virgin FMC with toxic masc dominant possesif MMC
- Language used to describe body parts during s** was cringy ("(sensitive) flesh"...) to be fair, other authors unfortunately do the same.
- Basically just a story about him getting fixed by a woman and the MMC being/becoming a decent human being for once
- Jealousy and Posessiveness
- performative feminism that made women look annoying, not to be taken serious, .... (Club)
- Second hand talk about why she likes "clowning" but never really shown
- FMC juggling for a kid and it being happy isn't the genius move it's written out to be, in my opinion! All the men impressed because they can't distract a child if their life depended on it???
Problematic representation of wanting children and adult relationships:
- Character (male) not wanting a family and kids, until he falls in love with a woman and she changes his trauma, and insecurities and life... ?
He needs therapy... not her being his therapist, social worker, manager or enabler. Also there are people who don't want kids and don't have to change their minds.
- FMC parents almost neglecting her and never recognizing it
- Her brother *BERRRKKKK*, such a dick toxic masculinity guy adding 0 value to the story. Forcing/Pressuring his wife to have kids?????
- Also brother and MMC have no obvious "best friend" relationship in my opinion
- "she's all that"-moment... Of course she has a beautiful body and just had to wear tighter clothes... cringe
- all the relationships (around them) seem to suck too (brother, Rose's, parents?...)
I "CLIP" in audio books usually for good quotes or insights... this time I clipped bcs I wanted to come with receipts about the cringy, puke-y and misogynistic lines...
"Her face transformed with "feminine outrage"
"with the hand full of little sister tit."
"And this definitely marked the first time in history he'd been eager to get inside the head of a woman."
"There wasn't the typical feminine urge to squeal to her friends."
"...He kissed her like he was, taking care of her, soothing her, letting her know that he'd stand guard while she wept. And the responsibility made him feel more like a man than he ever had in his life.
"He gave her a look of pure man exasperation. you've got until I say ..."
"A man using her mouth. She never felt more like a woman."
"Sweet girl, so beautiful."...
"Sweet man, ... So strong."
"He never been in this place. torn between aching to f*ck and needing to talk. To just... hold her. "
"You wanna be with me?"
"Want? No. I'm saying I need you. ..."
Also the end... WTF. I think a lot of other low reviews already talked about some points I brought up and had some more good ones.
SMUT 🔥🔥/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Body shaming
amanda_reads13's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Sexism
le3713's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Not to my taste, unfortunately. I didn't dislike the characters, but I didn't find myself rooting for them entirely and didn't love the gender/power dynamics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual content
landawn's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
It was mildly entertaining, but I couldn’t get past the overuse of “baby girl,” and the emphasis on her young age and virginity. If that’s your thing, it would probably be a good fit.
The book itself was fine but I did find it wrapped up way too quickly in the last chapter or two, making the MMC’s change of heart/goals far less believable.
The book itself was fine but I did find it wrapped up way too quickly in the last chapter or two, making the MMC’s change of heart/goals far less believable.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Abandonment
reads2cope's review against another edition
There were so many things I hated about this book. How the sisters treat Kristin, the „baby girl“ nickname, Trevor’s even worse nickname, how he constantly talked about „owning“ Georgie and other misogynistic language, the ending! but in the end it was a compelling romance and I’ll probably be reading the rest of the series in as a guilty pleasure.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse