Tools of Engagement (Hot and Hammered #3) by Tessa Bailey-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 22, 2020

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.

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REVIEW:TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT is the third instalment in Tessa Bailey’s contemporary, adult HOT AND HAMMERED erotic, romance series focusing on a group of friends in Port Jefferson, Long Island. This is twenty three year old construction worker Wes Daniels, and thirty year old, interior designer / house stager Bethany Castle’s story line. TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Wes and Bethany) TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT follows twenty three year old construction worker Wes Daniels, and thirty year old, interior designer / house stager Bethany Castle. Wes Daniels is currently raising his half-sister’s five year old daughter Laura and doesn’t have time for a personal relationship but his back and forth, tempestuous relationship with his best friend’s sister Bethany finds Wes hoping for something more. Bethany is an interior designer, a home stager who works for her brother’s house flipping business but a business she is hoping to step out on her own. Hiring Wes Daniels as her construction foreman may be good for business but it also pushes our couple closer together. When a television producer offers to film a reality show series featuring Bethany and her brother Stephen pitting each other against one another, all bets are off. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Bethany and Wes, and the potential fall-out as Wes’ time in Port Jefferson comes with an expiry date; and his relationship with Bethany is threatened by our heroine’s need to sabotage all of her dating relationships.

Bethany Castle is a successful home stager with issues of low self-esteem . Struggling to venture out on her own, a chance to prove she is able is threatened by her insecurities heightened by her brother’s need to push all of her buttons. Wes Daniels is currently raising his five year old niece, and the opportunity to work with Bethany Castle means a chance at his own happily ever after but Bethany continues to struggle with their age difference and the possibility of Wes’s time in Port Jefferson coming to a close.

The relationship between Wes and Bethany is an older woman/ younger man, frenemies to lovers that quickly develops into something more. As Wes and Bethany work together on the show, Bethany falls for Wes’ niece Laura, a young girl whose future with Wes is not a permanent arrangement until Wes files for temporary custody, and a home visit threatens everything and more. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate without the use of over the top , sexually graphic language and text.

All of the previous story line couples plays secondary and supporting characters.

TOOLS OF ENGAGEMENT is a story of family and friendships; rivalry and acceptance; romance and love. The premise is engaging and entertaining; the romance is captivating and sensual; the characters are animated, colorful and energetic.

Reading Order and previous reviews
Fix Her Up
Love Her and Lose Her

Copy supplied by Edelweiss

Reviewed by Sandy