Love Her or Lose Her: A Novel (Hot and Hammered Book 2)

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I stopped cleaning her up; she needed new accessories but I was too busy doing my job; she didn’t feel the same love I once had towards her.” 11) Your relationship was toxic and codependent

Love Her or Lose Her" is about Rosie and Dominic, a married couple who have been together since they were in middle school and two people we met in the first book "Fix Her Up". I fell in love with Rosie and her quiet strength in the first book and reading this book only made me fall more in love with how awesome she is. And Dominic...my god did this guy steal my heart away. I swear, I think I cried no less than 5 times while reading their love story because I just could feel how much they loved each other and the angst of their marital troubles was killing me and I just fell so much in love with them. I needed them to be happy and whole together again but the angst was so deliciously slow burn, I couldn't stop reading and I really didn't want to stop either. This book shows the couple really working to fix their relationship and falling in love all over again, one step at a time. Neither person is perfect and I loved being able to watch them work through their issues both individually and together as a couple. There was never a moment in my mind where I didn't know with absolute certainty that Rosie and Dominic belonged together and were soul mates.

I've been eagerly anticipating this release ever since I read and adored the first book in the series last year. And boy, does it deliver! Most romances focus on the initial honeymoon phase, when couples meet and fall in love and everything's perfect. Yet everyone can relate to a long relationship slowly losing its vitality as the years pile on and the drudgery of real life takes its toll. That's why I found this story to be particularly appealing. I thought the story started off well with the hurt and pain Rosie and Dominic was feeling bubbling out from under the surface, Rosie's more overtly. Bailey typically writes her males very protective and Dominic's streak was definitely evident with what he later calls his selfish need to have her all to himself. I thought having Dominic so clearly loving Rosie and admitting to himself, Rosie, and the readers that he would do anything for her gave the tone a good underlining simmering heat. Rosie's emotions towards Dominic were more dominated by her sexual attraction to him. With every “pointed nipple” and “wet thighs” I lost concentration on the emotional angst and the story's tone slid into more lustful. Bailey is known for her strong sexual scenes and those are definitely here but for this couple, I personally, wanted teeth gritting cognitive emotion.

What was with the pet names? I don't think Dom called Rosie by her actual name in the whole book, it was honey girl this honey girl that, and it annoyed me. I know that some people use pet names, but it was in every interaction 🙄 Or on a bus route with a girl I’d liked for months on the last day before her bus pass ended and she went home for the year to France… After crying for the whole process of the novel because yet again, this is an emotional novel that totally dragged my dark soul into falling in love with Rosie and Dominic, I learned that Tessa can write basically ANYTHING and I will bow down to the novel, to the story, and to her. Because she is not only a goddess of the romance genre, but she is also genuinely a sweet heart! You will not regret reading this novel, and after coming across the character that Bethany will be ending up with... AND MY GOSH I AM SO READY! It will be based on my favorite romance trope!Rosie is done; her dreams have dissolved and she can no longer bear just existing in a loveless marriage. So she finds the courage to leave.

This was...I don't even have words. Perfection! Swoony, sexy, and brimming with feels. It was everything I wanted in their story and yet so much more.This was my favorite book in this series so far. I binged this and was up way past my bedtime - with flushed cheeks! 😉 But you need to keep going and let them make you stronger. Think of the incompatibilities of the girl you love and the times she treated you like dirt. Relationships tend to bring out insecurities and self-sabotage, especially because we become vulnerable to someone we care about.

It’s important to do our best to build self-confidence, but also to recognize when you’re building something up into too much inside your head. But one day at a time you can pull through and find that strength and love inside yourself that you never thought you had. This is one of the hardest signs you’ve lost her forever, because it can be tempting to think that keeping pushing will eventually produce results. When she walks away from you for reasons like this, then it’s not the starting point for another try.I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence. Love Her or Lose Her I also loved Dominic and his love for Rosie, I loved seeing him grow in every single aspect to be happy and make Rosie happy as well. I did have some trouble with some of the things he said or thought that I didn’t agree with at all. He was definitely old fashioned with some ugly ideas, and we do see how his upbringing developed those ideas. As I said, we do see him change a lot by the end and fight what all that made of him but I would’ve liked to see more emphasis in him viewing things differently because it was wrong and not just because it would make Rosie happy. Losing someone you love is a gut punch that can hurt for months or even years. It can leave you on your knees, lost and reduced to rubble.