Love Her or Lose Her: A Novel (Hot & Hammered, #2)

by Tessa Bailey

Charlotte North (Narrator)

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.

"Her voice feels as fresh and contemporary as a Netflix rom-com." -Entertainment Weekly

• ISBN10: 0062988301
• ISBN13: 9780062988300
• Publish Date: 14 January 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperAudio
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 8 hours and 40 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[neurospicybookworm]

⭐️4.5

[mrs_mander_reads]

Another home run from Bailey. This one (I think) is more graphic than the first of the series, so be warned if you're sensitive to sex on the page. I really liked getting a married romance story that wasn't a marriage of convenience. It was heart breaking to read the journey of Rosie and Dom, and such a victorious moment when the HEA happened. Recommend for readers who like contemporary romance like Christina Lauren or Talia Hibbert.

[leelu92]

I attempted to read this book a few months ago but the subject matter- marriage in trouble just wasn't my jam at the time. I put it back on my TBR because I knew I wanted to read Rosie and Dom's story. So, I picked it back up and thoroughly enjoyed Love Her or Lose Her. Bailey took a sensitive subject and handled it with care and humor and I ended up loving Rosie and Dom!

[pagingserenity]

I enjoyed this one! So much so that I stayed up reading it until 4 AM. And of course, I finished reading it first thing in the morning. That said, it's more of a 3.5 star book for me. I was prepared to give it 4+ stars before I went to sleep but I found the second half disappointing. I mean, it says a lot when my favorite character is the marriage counselor, not one of the two leads. But then again, I did DNF Fix Her Up so I don't know what I was expecting.

[Berls]

Omg this book! Tessa Bailey's best (that I've read). If you're married, I think this book will speak to you - because who hasn't had rough moments? Maybe you haven't reached the breaking point like this couple, but their pain, the ways they show love - it resonates. Dominic reminds me so much of my own husband - they speak the same love language - that his silent acts of unrecognized devotion to Rosie made me tear up. I immediately picked up the first book when I finished this one (wish I'd read it in order!), because I want more of these characters!

I listened at 2x speed and the narration was perfect!

[whisperingchapters]

Rosie and Dom were high school sweethearts. They got married young and soon after, Dom left for the military. After his last return home, things were never the same.

What he'd given wasn't enough.

This rom-com was hot! One thing Rosie and Dom have always had is their physical connection. Those two can seriously go at it, but not where it matters most. They don't even kiss unless it's on Tuesday's, their scheduled sexy time. Rosie has felt like her marriage is going nowhere. When she decides enough is enough, Dom opens his eyes and realizes he's about to lose the love of his life.

"You're the most incredible woman I've ever seen. So beautiful you make me ache. And you've got a heart to match. You're patient and loyal and dedicated and kind. A man who never worried about doing enough to earn you? That man would be an idiot."

Love Her or Lose Her starts with this couple's separation. I admired Rosie for making the decision to separate and start to live her life by following her dreams. I loved that she didn't crawl back to Dom when he went to look for her. I loved she looked for hippiest of counselors to help them out.

I kept looking forward to those counseling sessions because it's when we see Rosie and Dom at their most vulnerable. It's when they open up and truly share what has made their marriage fail. Everything about those sessions were heart-warming to me.

"You're incredible with or without me. I can do my best to learn to live with both if it means I get to keep your heart."

I have to say, while my favorite is still Fix Her Up, I truly loved Rosie and Dom's marriage--it's full of hope and warm feelings. Something I thought wouldn't do it for me was Dom's alpha male side. But I really think Tessa Bailey made it work really well. Sure, his alpha side would come out at some interesting moments, but at the same time, it was great to see him letting Rosie be her own person and letting her blossom and grow. The love these two had for each other was astounding and beautiful.

"You're going to rule this world, just like you rule mine."

Tessa has done it again! I was rooting hard for these two. And now I CANNOT WAIT for Bethany and Wes' story! It's an enemies-to-lovers romance!

"Texas called, Wes. It wants its rodeo clown back."
"Oz called. They're missing a witch."

--

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[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Rosie and Dominic shared their first kiss in middle school, and thus, their romance began. However, Dominic seemed to be distancing himself from Rosie since returning from active duty, and Rosie, now tired of trying, decided to move out. This appeared to be a wake up call for Dominic, who agreed to last ditch marriage counseling. The question is whether love was enough to save this union.

Second chance romances are my kryptonite, and sweetening the deal, is the fact that these two shared so much history. I found it so easy to root for them to find their way back to each other, because it was obvious that they belonged together.

I have never been married, but I like that I am seeing more and more of these romances, where married couples try to work through their issues. A fairytale romance is great and all, but there is something so much more meaningful and hopeful about two people trying to save and reignite the love they had.

Bailey may have given these two a kooky therapists, but there was a method to his madness. He was able to get Dominic to open up, while also getting the two to understand each other's love language. Dominic was a man of action and he performed deeds to show his love. The problem was he did most of them in secret. The things he was doing on the DL for Rosie were really sweet, and I was happy, when she finally discovered all the small ways he expressed his love for her, and also liked the wonderful small ways she started showing her love for him.

Rosie needed words, and Dominic started small, with a letter, which was quite lovely, and definitely made me a bit misty. He would often share bits of their long history, and it was all so sweet and just turned me into a puddle of mush. He began to better understand what grown-up Rosie needed, and it was fantastic to see him rise to the occasion.

The thing I loved the most though, was seeing Rosie regain her confidence and go after her dream. The Just Us League was always behind her, But it was good that her husband was finally aware of her heart's desire as well.

This was a very heartwarming story, and all I can say, is that I smiled and teared up a whole lot. It was fun being back with the characters I loved from the previous book, while also meeting some new ones. There were laughs and love and grand gestures, which all enhanced my enjoyment and left me full of joy.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[Romance Schmomance]

I've been eager to get my hands on a romance with an already married couple. After reading the synopsis of Love Her or Lose Her, I was absolutely dying to get this one right away.

It started off really great and Tessa gave us a great foundation to Rosie and Dominic. All the emotions were there and I was ready to go on the journey with them as they try to work through what happened with their marriage.

Individually, I really liked the characters. I think we got more depth from Dominic than we did with Rosie. I felt like by the end, we truly understood how Dominic dealt with things, we saw the inner workings of his mind.

But when it came to the connection between them, I couldn't really see it beyond a physical thing. And that really knocked down the read for me.

And I got a bit of whiplash from going through some really emotionally stuff and then boom, we're into a steamy scene(which I'm not complaining about at all because they were HOT). But it definitely threw off my reading flow.

I didn't love it as much as I hoped, but there were several moments that I absolutely loved when it came to Rosie and Dominic.