| 9 hours 59 min. | Avon | Contemporary Romance | Release Date: 06/11/19
This is one of those books readers either love or hate. And judging by the top Goodreads reviewsa lot of people hate it. The cover designs for this series betray the raunchy, alpha male, borderline cheesy romances Bailey tends to write so, I get it but…IDK, I enjoyed this one.
After an injury ends 28-year- old Travis Ford’s baseball career, he goes home to Port Jefferson, Long Island to drinks himself into a depressive stupor. Georgie Castle, his best friend’s 23-year-old sister and *checks notes* professional birthday party clown, wants to help Travis see he can still be the guy they all looked up to growing up. She knows she cares too much, but she’s not letting him become a failure without a fight.
Fix Her Up is truly a rom-com that is equal parts silly and steamy without any trauma as backstory. Ty. I’ve been going through a few of these illustrated romcoms and a lot of them take unexpected dark turns that this book veers from.
Bailey troped out with this book. It’s, of course, got the Best Friend’s Little Sister/Older Brother’s Best Friend but it’s also got some Small Town Romance, Athlete Hero and even a splash of Fake Relationship. There is some of that sexist cringe that comes along with Best Friend’s Little Sister but Bailey keeps it light.
This was my first Charlotte North audiobook and her voice has this Anna Kendrick-y /Zoe Deutch quality. Her delivery is chirpy and playful so I think it takes away from the agro male vibe some reviewers had with Travis. While I’m definitely adding North to my rotation, I do hate wish that Avon had used a different narrator for the next book which features a biracial Black/South American heroine. That just feels like it should have gone to an #ownvoices (literally) narrator.
I really don’t know what is about Bailey but her storytelling is exactly what I want in a romance.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget this book because it was the last one I listened to on my commute before my state shut down for quarantine ):