Hot & Hammered

About the Hot & Hammered series

Hot & Hammered follows the Castle siblings, who run a home-renovation and real-estate business in Port Jefferson, a small town on Long Island, as their family rivalry and romantic lives collide. It's one of Tessa Bailey's most popular series, built on her now-signature "service top" hero archetype -- a devoted, almost worshipful romantic lead paired with a blunt, guarded heroine -- and set against a backdrop of sibling one-upmanship, home renovation, and a small town that's watched the Castles grow up.

Published by Avon between 2019 and 2020, the series opens with Fix Her Up, in which party planner Georgie Castle -- the sibling who didn't go into the family business -- falls for her older brother's washed-up-ballplayer best friend, Travis Ford. Love Her or Lose Her follows Rosie and Dominic Vega, a couple in the Castles' orbit whose marriage needs a second-chance "boot camp" to survive. Tools of Engagement closes the series with stylist Bethany Castle going head-to-head with -- and falling for -- her brother's new hire, Wes Daniels, on a televised renovation competition. Fix Her Up became one of Bailey's breakout hits and is frequently recommended as a starting point for readers new to her work.

How to read this series

Publication order, starting with Fix Her Up. The first and third books follow two different Castle siblings (Georgie, then Bethany); the second, Love Her or Lose Her, is a second-chance, marriage-in-trouble story for a couple in the Castles' friend circle rather than another sibling. All three share the same Port Jefferson setting and recurring cast, so reading in order is recommended even though each book resolves its own couple.