Georgie Castle has been in love with her older brother's best friend, Travis Ford, for as long as she can remember. But just as long, Travis has only thought of her as the pesky little sister of his lifelong friend. Georgie is fed up with everyone overlooking her; sure, she's a birthday clown but she has plans to turn her one-woman show into a full- fledged party planning business. If only her family, friends, and Travis would take her seriously...

Travis was once the major league's most promising player, but an injury and a scandalous reputation cut that dream short. He's back home in Port Jefferson, drowning his bruised ego in alcohol, working for the Castle family's renovation business to pass the time. However, it's Georgie who gives him a jolt to figure out what he's doing with his life instead of wallowing. And it's Georgie who makes him admit he misses baseball and wants to continue working in the sport he loves...

When Travis is on a shortlist to become a new play-by-play commentator on the national level, he knows he needs to turn his image around. And Georgie knows if she can show everyone in her life that she's more than just a sarcastic pushover, her plans to grow her event planning business could actually take off. So, for appearance's sake, they decide to have a fake relationship. Georgie is the wholesome girl-next-door to convince the network that Travis is family friendly, and dating Travis will show everyone that Georgie can have a serious relationship and be treated like the adult woman she already is... But when their fake dating leads to very real feelings, Travis and Georgie will have to figure out if they're ready for the big leagues.

FIX HER UP by Tessa Bailey is a sexy start to Hot and Hammered, a new contemporary series. A familiar yet timeless setup, Georgie and Travis have known each other for most of their lives, but it isn't until just the right time that they are able to see each other as real, individual people. Georgie is a great romance heroine: smart, hilariously sarcastic, forward-thinking, confident, but also vulnerable, complex, and trying to do the best she can with what she's got. Her profession as a birthday clown was totally original, and her desire to turn it into an event planning business was really interesting and made sense. Reading about her develop her business acumen was refreshing - I wish there had been more of it! Travis is a hero that took time to warm to; he's understandably feeling sorry for himself and in turn, many of his actions are selfish in the beginning. The rest of the Castle family offers up a cast of lovable characters, and they eventually come around to treating Georgie and Travis as more than the preconceived ideas they've always assumed them to be. The steam-level in FIX HER UP is super HOT, and if dirty-talk is your thing, it's here in spades. The angst is minimal, with much of the conflict coming from the two lead characters trying to figure things out, while managing to fall in love along the way.