![I wanted more groveling. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey [ARC Review]](https://i0.wp.com/www.eyeheartromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ihrya-genre-contemporary-romance.jpg)
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![I wanted more groveling. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey [ARC Review]](https://i0.wp.com/www.eyeheartromance.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/love-her-lose-her-tessa-bailey.jpg "I wanted more groveling. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey [ARC Review]")
Love Her or Lose Her written by Tessa Bailey
Publisher Avon
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hot & Hammered #2
Format: eARC
Pages: 384
ISBN: 0062872869
Rating: 
Flame Rating: 
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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 hippy. 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.
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Love Her or Lose Her is one of my highly anticipated books of 2020 and I am here to report that it did not live up to my hype – for me, at least.
I really, really, really wanted to love Love Her or Lose Her, unfortunately, I was really disappointed in Rosie and Dominic’s second chance romance. In Fix Her Up, the first book in the series, we are introduced to Rosie and teased with a hint of her relationship with Dom that is on the rocks.
What really disappointed me is that this book doesn’t really focus on Rosie and Dom’s relationship development. I feel like there needed to be more emphasis on the rekindling of their relationship since this is a second chance romance and the second chance also happens immediately after Rosie leaves Dom.
I also think that there was more emphasis on the sexytimes (not that I am complaining) instead of relationship development. Another thing that I wanted more of is for Dom and Rosie to talk more and reconnect more because lack of communication was initially the root cause of their growing apart.
Love Her or Lose Her still has Tessa Bailey’s stamp of steam and romance, and it is well written. Unfortunately, I did not believe that Rosie and Dom’s relationship would survive the second time around because we weren’t shown that their relationship was indeed repaired. To be honest, I also think that Dominic should have groveled more. Especially about the secret that he was keeping from Rosie.
On a positive note, I appreciate the fact that Rosie and Dom are diverse characters. I liked the fact that there was really an emphasis on their culture and how they grew up – especially for Dom and Rosie. I also liked that Tessa Bailey made this book about Rosie realizing her dreams in the midst of everything she was going through.
Overall, I thought this was an okay read, but nothing in this book really wowed me, as the first book did. We are also teased with the next book (I hope) and the next couple, and I can’t wait to read it.
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| Overall: | 3 |
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What is your favorite second-chance romance with a good groveling scene?
About Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey is originally from Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing continued to demand her attention. She now lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived, she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling in love.
100% agree with this review! The machismo didn’t ebb even an inch even though the events of the book could actually have made that happen. I kept hoping there was going to be a big twist to make up for all the missed opportunities but it just never happened. Oh well.
I don’t tend to like second chance romances in general, so I didn’t plan on picking this one up, but I’m still really sad to hear that this book didn’t live up to the hype for you. Especially because I know you loved the first book so much! Although in general, when it comes to people that mess up in romance novels, I’m definitely a fan of actual groveling and discussing and apologizing, instead of brushing over wrongdoing and having a steamy scene that supposedly solves everything. I don’t count those scenes as resolution of any kind!
Malka @ Paper Procrastinators recently posted…Don’t Trust My Ratings
I agree! In this case, I really think that they should grovel or at least show that the person who was in the wrong is really sorry and sincere in the apology.