A review by bribreez
Too Hot to Handle by Tessa Bailey

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5⭐️/ 4🌶️

Rita Clarkson hadn’t fully realized that taking a cross road trip with her siblings wouldn’t be as easy as planned especially when they found themselves on the side of the road with car troubles, it seemed like the beginning of a rocky start to their plans. Thankfully, with Jasper Ellis, bad boy extraordinaire was ever so kind to stop and help out the Clarkson’s. Trying to fulfill their mother’s last dying wish, the Clarkson siblings took on the journey to reach their destination and along the way they found more than they expected like in this book for instance, Rita and Jasper were curious about one another, and couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities lingering between them. 

Rita, Belmont, Aaron, and Peggy were all pretty different from one another, and despite being siblings, it seemed like over the years they became distant, that is until their mother, Miriam passed away. I liked seeing the differences between the siblings because, it gave me a better idea of who each of the Clarkson’s were, as well as illustrating their distinctive personalities. Rita was the cool, tough chef, Belmont was stoic and quiet, but also protective especially about his siblings, Aaron was the golden boy who worked in politics, and Peggy was the carefree bubbly girl who somehow found herself constantly getting engaged. With the premise of trying to complete their mom’s last wish, I feel like the destination to where they were going was part of the story, and what allowed for Rita and her siblings to reconnect. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the story was seeing the Clarkson siblings reunite and being there for one another in the way that I’m imagining their mom had hoped.

Aside from trying to get a move on in their journey, it seemed like Rita and Jasper had their own thing going on. Jasper was intrigued by Rita and for the first time had met someone who didn’t know him as the man that slept around in town, and it felt nice. So, with that in mind and obviously being insanely attracted to Rita, Jasper wanted to seize the moment and try to show Rita he was more than what people assumed about him. Rita on the other hand, while she too was attracted to Jasper, she felt conflicted on whether or not to pursue things with him, especially after their kind of /almost hook up turned a bit messy in Jasper’s office. I will say, Jasper had every intention to seek his chance with Rita and for that I admired him for it. 

Safe to say, Jasper was a man bound all aboard the Rita train, and he was gunning it with all his might. Jasper fell head over heels for Rita from the moment he saw her so, if you’re looking for, “He falls first” or “insta love” trope, then this story gives you just that. I really liked seeing how Jasper couldn’t help, but constantly want to be around Rita and show her in any way possible that he wanted more from her that just a night in the sheets, but even then he couldn’t help imagining all the fun ways he could have her unraveling underneath or on top of him. Jasper was a smooth, charming, dirty talker with a foul mouth that I loved every bit of. Tessa Bailey is a queen in her own right, but the way she always manages to create these fictional men that love to dirty talk and absolutely dominate in the spicy scenes just gets me going! WOO! Yeah I was digging Jasper’s personality as well as his sex appeal. From bringing Rita pleasure before their first date to constantly trying to be gentleman before giving into his desire made for some delicious sexy scenes! 

A big part of this story wasn’t just Rita and her siblings coming together to complete their mother’s wishes, and regain the bond between one another, but also acknowledging all their fears, especially for Rita. Rita was a strong woman, and despite achieving a good start in her career as a chef, she always felt like a failure from not perfecting the recipes her mother taught her, or getting kicked out of the cooking competition she was in, or even being there for her siblings. Rita struggled with her insecurity of feeling like a failure and that weight a lot on her mentality. Somehow being stuck in the small town of Hurley, Rita not only found something special with Jasper, but she found a way to work through her fears, as well as openly admitting how she really felt about her life overall. Throughout the story, Rita was able to shed her walls and fully understand what she wanted and to overcome her fears when it came to finding joy in cooking again. For that, I really admired the courage it took for Rita to work through her fears and insecurities, and ultimately find a place in which she felt at ease. 

“Too Hot To Handle”, definitely lived up to his title because, the way that Rita and Jasper were was A LOT OF HEAT AND SPICE UP IN THIS BOOK! Rita and Jasper’s romance was steamy and full of great moments shared between them from opening up about their fears, learning about one another, and finally falling head over heels in love with one another. I also genuinely loved seeing the Clarkson siblings all get back together to form the close bond they once had. Family was a big part of the story, and will continue in the series since it plays into each of the siblings stories. I feel like by the time I get to Belmont’s story, I’m going to love learning more about his quiet personality and more. Aaron and Peggy were also pretty interesting so I’m curious to see how their stories will play out too. The ending was very much romantic and highlighted just how much Rita and Jasper loved one another. The epilogue set up the stage for the next book focusing on Aaron, and of course showed even more steamy romance that I loved seeing between Rita and Jasper as they started their new beginning together Awwww! A fun read with great spice, romance, and lovable characters. 
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