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Hot and Hammered, Book 2

From the publisher:

One of Oprah Magazine’s 21 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020 + Marie Claire’s Best New Books of 2020

New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with a unique, sexy romantic comedy about a young married couple whose rocky relationship needs a serious renovation…

Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be anyway. Now Rosie’s lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with ten years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.

Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emote husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he’s all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous—yet surprisingly helpful—assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they’re getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret… and it could demolish everything.

It’s not often that you find a fresh approach to romance, but that is the case here and I loved it. Or maybe I just haven’t stumbled on any other marriage romances? The story centers around a couple that were high school sweethearts, got married, and were happy. But Dom changed while he served his country, like so many men do. I loved that he was still madly in love with his wife, but the problems in their marriage are like so many marriages, no communication. He for sure isn’t talking, and she’s afraid to so she keeps everything in. That is never good, and it basically implodes the marriage.

Rosie & Dom still have a passionate, albeit scheduled, love life and it just isn’t working so much for Rosie on an emotional level. But it takes Rosie moving out to wake up Dom to all the problems in their marriage, and it actually takes Rosie a little longer to see that she also contributed to their problems. Marriage counseling doesn’t always help, but it does here, and it also adds a lot of humor to the story.

Bailey is a terrific storyteller and writer – it’s not easy to put passion on the page without making it feel banal or hackneyed. The sex is definitely steamy, it works in the story and even has some funny moments thrown in, just like real life. Putting a marriage on display is always interesting, and this story and these characters really drew me in. I couldn’t help but root for them and their happy ending. Another excellent addition to what is becoming one of my favorite series. I can’t wait for the next book!

2/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™