Tools of Engagement (Hot and Hammered #3)

Tools of Engagement (Hot and Hammered #3)

By: Tessa Bailey

Blurb:

Hair, makeup, clothing, decor… everything in Bethany Castle’s world is organized, planned, and styled to perfection. Which is why the homes she designs for her family’s real estate business are the most coveted in town. The only thing not perfect? Her track record with men. She’s on a dating hiatus and after helping her friends achieve their dreams, Bethany finally has time to focus on her own: flip a house, from framework to furnishings, all by herself. Except her older brother runs the company and refuses to take her seriously.

When a television producer gets wind of the Castle sibling rivalry, they’re invited on Flip Off, a competition to see who can do the best renovation. Bethany wants bragging rights, but she needs a crew and the only member of her brother’s construction team willing to jump ship is Wes Daniels, the new guy in town. His Texas drawl and handsome face got under Bethany’s skin on day one, but the last thing she needs is some cocky young cowboy in her way.

As the race to renovate heats up, Wes and Bethany are forced into close quarters, trading barbs and biting banter as they remodel the ugliest house on the block. It’s a labor of love, hate, and everything in between, and soon sparks are flying. But Bethany’s perfectly structured life is one kiss away from going up in smoke and she knows falling for a guy like Wes would be a flipping disaster.

Review:

I felt a lot of emotion while reading Tools of Engagement. I’m not a type-A personality, but I think just about everyone can relate to the anxieties and pressure that Bethany put on herself. Especially with the prevalence of social media, that desire to present a perfect façade is ever-present. It doesn’t bother me most of the time, but Tools of Engagement perfectly hit the feelings when it does.

As we’ve seen in the previous two books, Bethany always seems to have things together. Her appearance is perfect, her home is continuously ready for a photo shoot, and she knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. Only, it turns out she’s a constant ball of nerves and anxiety. Bethany over analyzes everything and second-guesses herself at every opportunity. It’s exhausting to read, let alone live.

Wes is a former bronco rider who has found himself in New Jersey taking care of his niece. He’s younger than Bethany, and it borders on the age difference I’m uncomfortable with, especially since he’s in his early twenties. His life has given him experience that others of his age don’t have, though. He doesn’t plan to stay, but it’s clear, even before he and Bethany get together, that he’s not going anywhere.

You saw their reaction to each other in the previous book, and it was obvious that they were attracted to each other, even as they traded verbal barbs. When Bethany finally gains the courage to strike out on her own, away from her brother’s company, Wes joins her immediately. There’s a lot of chemistry here, and they brought out the best in each other.

Tools of Engagement, like the other books in the Hot and Hammered series, was very emotional. The main characters were fleshed out and well written. There weren’t many supporting characters, so I’m not sure if there’s going to be a book after this one, and if that’s the case, this is a high note to end a series on.

4/5

Christmas Movies I’ve Watched This Week – 11/29/2020

I’ve been avoiding posting movie reviews because it’s just too much on top of my book reviews. But as soon as Thanksgiving was over, I started gorging on Christmas movies, and I wanted to post a little something about them.

I love Christmas movies, books, and TV episodes. They’re generally of lesser quality than their non-holiday counterparts, but I still can’t get enough. This year especially. So I figured I’d post weekly updates on what I’ve watched and short little snippets of my thoughts. Maybe I’ll even write a 2020 Best Christmas Movies list. Though, that might not be fair, considering it would end up just being older movies.

Home Alone (1990) – This is a yearly re-watch. When I was a child I enjoyed seeing Kevin handle business. Now that I’m an adult I go between horror that he was forgotten at home to completely understanding how it could happen.

The Grinch (2018) – I’ve never watched this version of the movie and frankly had no desire too. It was about what I expected and I’ll probably only watch this again if my kids want too.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) – This version came out at the perfect time for me to attach nostalgia to it. I remember watching Regis and Kelly (yes I’m that old) when Jim Carey and the little girl were interviewing. I love the music, so this is a yearly re-watch for me.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) – Another re-watch that I got to enjoy with me kids for the first time.

A Christmas Prince (2017) – If I had cable my DVR would be full of these types of Christmas movies. I am so glad that Netflix has started making them. The movie isn’t perfect, but it’s fun to just have in the background watching.

A Christmas Prince Royal Wedding (2018) – I love the fact that a universe was born from the first movie. This one continues on with the feel of the first, though, it is a bit saccharine.

A Christmas Prince Royal Baby (2019) – Easily the worst movie in the Christmas Prince franchise. They pushed Amber past naïve and into stupid territory. Also, they did a freaking horrible job with her makeup. At 31 her crow’s feet should not look like that, I felt horrible for her.

The Princess Switch (2018) – My feelings for this movie remain the same as the first time I watched it. It’s not as good as The Christmas Prince. It’s a fine movie, but the prince is unimpressionable and boring. The man playing him is attractive, but he’s basically an accessory. There isn’t enough romance here. It’s hard enough to build a believable enough romance during these short movies for one couple, it’s pretty impossible to do it with two.

The Princess Switch 2: Switch Harder (2020) – Not the real title, but it should be. Romance wise this one is better than the first, but it really doubles down on my feelings for the prince. He comes off as pathetic and stupid and I can’t help but feel sorry for him.

Happiest Season (2020) – My favorite new movie of the year. Omg I nearly ugly sobed with this one, but in a good way. I could soooo relate to Harper in this movie and I felt such sympathy for Abby. Ughhhh I loved this movie. I’m going to re-watch it, not sure if I’ll do it this year, or every year from now. We’ll see.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Despite all that’s going on in the world I have a few things that I’m thankful for. The obvious and basically required one to mention is my family. There are no other people I’d like to be locked up with for months on end while I slowly slip further into insanity. They’re the best.

Entertainment wise this year has brought me one of my favorite games of all time. Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’ve spent over 450 hours playing and there is still so much I want to do. The turkey day celebration today has been wonderful, and I highly recommend.

Bill and Ted Face the Music also came out this year. While it won’t be making an all time favorite list, it is a movie that has brought me a lot of comfort and joy this year, and I am thankful for that.

Book wise I have a lot to be thankful for as well. Old favorites as well as new ones. It can not be over stated how therapeutic being able to escape into beautiful worlds where all the problems are solved in the end has been.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Library Haul 11-25-20

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving I went to the library today. They’ve changed how things are done so I no longer have a set library day.

I finished reading Crazy Stupid Bromance and posted my review earlier. Out of the three books I checked out I’m most excited about Tools of Engagement by Tessa Bailey. I liked the previous two books in the series so I’ve got high hopes for this one.

Surprising no one, I went on a library hold spree last night and requested about twenty books. I tried to be picky with what I picked in the hopes that I don’t slow down when they all inevitably come in at the same time. Hopefully, that works.

I’m about sixty plus books behind on books that came out this year that I’d like to read. Which means my best of 2020 book list is not going to come out on time. Which is fine. No movies came out this year and I’ve basically only played one game this year so those lists will be easy.

Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃🥧

Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3)

Crazy Stupid Bromance (Bromance Book Club #3)

By: Lyssa Kay Adams

Blurb:

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef’s sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they’re sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.
 
Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He’s madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush. 
 
Noah’s pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved “manuals” to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he’s ever had.

Review:

Alexis is a survivor of sexual assault. You met her in a previous book when she came forward to accuse her celebrity boss of the assault. This is about a year or so later, and she’s come a long way. During this time, she’s made a best friend in Noah. They were able to bond over their geeky hobbies and the fact that they both lost a parent young.

Pretty much since the beginning of their relationship, Noah has had a crush on Alexis, but he doesn’t want to destroy the relationship they already have to pursue something more. She is the best friend he’s ever had. They’re almost codependent, and it feels like they’re already in a romantic relationship without the sex.

In the beginning, he’s not a member of the Bromance Book Club, but he’s friends with several of the members and always hanging out with them. They spend most of their time with him trying to get him to join so he can get out of the friend zone. There were several good moments with the book club that I enjoyed. Listening to them explain toxic masculinity and push to form healthier relationships with each other were some of the book’s best parts. By far, my favorite scene was when they were at the spa. I laughed soooooooo hard.

The big conflict in the book was Alexis’ family drama.

BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD

Alexis was raised by a single mom and never knew her dad. She didn’t feel like she needed to know him, even though there was a part of her that wanted a family. One day a woman comes into her café and tells Alexis that she’s her sister. Then the real bombshell, their father is dying, and he needs a kidney. I knew as soon as this happened, Alexis was going to give him the kidney. The man did not deserve it. He’d known about her for three years and hadn’t attempted to reach out. He’d sent flowers when Alexis’ mom had died, but that was it. Now he was asking for a kidney. The rest of the family wasn’t any better. The sister was weird, and the brother was a dick. That plotline was the worst part of the book, and I’m taking away a whole star because of it.

I could never be a romance heroine because there is no way I’m giving a long lost relative a vital organ. Other people in my life have first dibs on that shit. Alexis was nice and was supposed to learn to stand up for herself, and she kind of did, but not in something as huge as organ donation. It was disappointing, but I’m petty. If you aren’t, you might not care.

Alexis and Noah were a cute couple, but there was a lot of angst since there was no getting to know you period. I liked seeing the other members of the book club, but there were a few things that I didn’t like about Crazy Stupid Bromance. However, the spa scene alone is worth reading the book for.

3.75

Side note: The geeky references were clearly written by someone who knew some of nerd culture, but not enough to make the type of references that were made. There was always something just a bit off, not in a way that can be pawned off on a creative license. There weren’t many of them, so it didn’t hurt the book’s quality. It was just something I noticed.