Previously titled Tough TalkAn energetic philanthropist and a quiet mechanic are thrown together through a car accident. But the mechanic has a secret and the philanthropist has a fiancé. When the secret is exposed, the philanthropist must make a choice: will she choose love over money?Kelly Irwin just wants to help children like she used to be—underprivileged, hungry, and with a family so mixed … just wants to help children like she used to be—underprivileged, hungry, and with a family so mixed up she wasn’t sure who she really belonged to. None of them wanted the responsibility to raise her. She’s convinced herself that she loves her fiancé and that they’ll make a great team.
Tough Baxter is trying to establish his business and keep his side job a secret. After all, most people don’t think that a man who can barely string two sentences together in the presence of a woman would make a very good relationship advice columnist. Then Kelly moves her children’s center next door to his garage and suddenly not only are his plans to expand his shop wrecked, but his secret is in danger of being exposed.
After spending time with Tough working and helping kids, Kelly can’t deny the attraction she feels for the soft-spoken mechanic. But she has a fiancé and a life plan which doesn’t include Tough, so she turns to the advice columnist all of America is writing to. Will he tell her to follow her heart or pursue her dream?
SNUGGLE up with SWEET romance that will WARM your heart and CURL your toes.
Reviews for Forever With You:
★★★★★ “So I have just found Jessie’s books in the last two weeks and let me tell you I have been on a binge ever since. I have read all the books in this series so far and I’m so looking forward to more.” – Tiffany
★★★★★ “Jessie Gussman writes character-driven stories with all the feels. I held my breath while reading a good portion of this book and kept having to remind myself not to hold my eReader too tightly.” – Charlene
★★★★★ “I love the development of the characters and the overall story. As usual Jesse has a new twist on romance and this one was a winner for me. She writes with humor and insight and I love how the relationship between Tough and Kelly grows.” – swavelykid
★★★★★ “This was a great read. Can’t wait now to order the third book. It was very good from start to finish. I didn’t want it to end.” – Ida
★★★★★ “Humorous, interesting romance with great characters that have you hoping for the best for them. I love books where you get involved and can’t wait for the end to see if everything works out and this was one like that for me.” – Pam
Books in the Baxter Boys series:
- Always With You
- Forever With You
- Still With You
- Second Chance With You
- For Keeps With You
more
Tough Talk is the second book in the Baxter Boys series and once again it is a wonderful story. I loved this book. The characters are so lovable and relatable. It is such a fun story. There are moments that have you laughing and their romance is so sweet. I highly recommend this book. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I was given an ARC of this book.
Tough Talk is the first book I have read by Jessie Gussman. This is a fantastic book! The characters are well developed and you feel like you know them. Tough and Kelly are brought together by a car accident. Tough is a mechanic and Kelly is a social worker who enjoys children. Tough has a hard time verbalizing but he treats the senior men who hang out at his garage with kindness. Kelly is engaged but questioning her feelings for her fiancé. Both of them had tough starts in life. This is a wonderful story and I will be looking for more from this author.
I love these Baxter Boys books. This is the second in the series and I really enjoyed it as much as I did the 1st. This story is about Tough Baxter who is a quiet spoken mechanic who won’t let senior citizens pay for work done to their cars and invites them to hang out in his shop. He has secret side to him where he is Dr. T who writes a relationship advice column aimed mostly at answers men’s questions.
Kelly Irwin is a social worker with a big heart who wants to save the underprivileged children of the world. She gives all she has to making sure that children don’t have the kind of childhood she would have had had it not been for someone who saved her. She is engaged to a politician but their “love” is more friendship and forever kind of romantic love. She doesn’t really believe in that kind of love. In her experience, forever love doesn’t exist. She is comfortable with her fiance’ and what they have until she meets Tough Baxter. The chemistry that sizzles between them makes her start to question if she wants and can have something more. Is she willing to settle for what is safe of go for what she really wants? Is it worth the risk to her heart?
I can’t wait to read Turbo’s story. These Baxter men are men with big hearts and soft sides. They are kind and generous and protective of those they love and care for. Perfect kind of men!
This is a clean romance with no sex or foul language. I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my review.
I “discovered” this author when I read book one of the series titled, What He Wants, and fell in love with her writing. This one has made me a fan forever.
We are back with the Baxter brothers, this time it’s Tough’s story. A quiet man, who keeps to himself and rarely utters a word. He’s always working not so much for himself but to help others. Unbeknown to anyone, he secretly writes an advise column .
Kelly Irwin works with underprivileged kids and her goal is to provide a safe haven for them. She is also the girl he has been attracted to most of his life. But she’s engaged to another man . Fate brings them together when she has an accident. and he fixes her car in his garage.
While the story is engaging and the characters complex, it’s really a story about personal losses. How these, especially if experienced in childhood , will affect how and who you are as an adult. Fear of losing once again, can hinder true love and happiness. Will they find their HEA or will that fear and insecurity of losing and not being good enough make them miss what might be the best thing that could happen to them?
Be reading to have some tissues nearby. It is that touching of a story.
Kudos to the author for another excellent book.
I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.
So enjoyed! Kelly and Tough’s story was so good. Kelly was engaged to her long time friend Preston, but had second thoughts because it was more like a business transaction than love. Tough had lived Kelly ever since he met her at age five. I laughed, fussed and gasped as the things in the book came to light. If you like clean, fun, heartwarming stories, you will love this book. I highly recommend ‘The Baxter Boy’s Silence’, formerly named ‘Tough Talk’! I received this book from the publisher. The thoughts and comments are my own.
Tough Baxter has known Kelly since they were very young. He is a mechanic, and she is engaged to a wealthy man. Tough is in love with her, but he knows he can’t give her what Preston can.
I received a free copy of this book via Bookfunnel and this is my voluntary and honest review. I loved this book about Tough Baxter and Kelly, the girl he has loved since he was five years old. Kelly is now engaged to a man who is wealthy when she and Tough meet again. Tough is a mechanic who does most of his work for free for elderly people and those down on their luck. He has a heart of gold but has a fear of talking unless it is through his advice column where his identity is unknown. When Tough and Kelly are paired together in the wedding for his brother, Torque., Kelly starts having feelings for Tough. Will she stay engaged or end the engagement and start a relationship with Tough? You will have to read the book to find out. I highly recommend this must read book by Jessit Gussman. This is book 2 in the Baxter Boys series and each is a standalone.
A really cute story about a guy who has liked a girl since they were 5 years old. No they have never dated. Oh no, she is engaged. What will happen next? Two people who spend so much time helping others really do deserve each other. I received a review copy from the author and looking forward to book 2. Book 1 was really good also.
Tough is quiet, but quiet doesn’t equal stupid. He has known since kindergarten which woman captured his heart. The problem is that the children of their community need her to provide a stable place for them. For her her to do that, Tough will need to stay away.
After all, he has a secret, one that will be tough to share.
A truly original story with a plot that is at once: surprising, uplifting, and (cleanly) spicy!
This was a great book. I loved seeing the development of characters and their personalities and the decisions they made. A good book on being true to yourself.
Audio:
I was a bit disappointed with this audio. I knew from the previous book that there was some issues with distinguishing dialogue character changes, but I just adore Gussman’s books. I thought this one might be great for the dialogue changes since Tough hardly speaks! However, it proved the exact opposite. You’ll get to the end of a paragraph of dialogue and won’t know if Tough sucked it up and spewed out a bunch or if there were multiple switches, or…. I was even tempted to go back and check a few things against the book so I could know what all he had said.
Tough Talk/The Baxter Boy’s Silence by Jessie Gussman (4.5 stars)
I loved this story and it was an enjoyable read, but…it felt like Kelly’s angst about love and love not lasting was drawn out for too long, and the happily ever after was so abrupt that the reader was robbed of those scenes where we would have been able to enjoy the couple finally together. My last complaint was that Tough had a hard time speaking at first and then, for no known reason, all his difficulties talking seemed to basically disappear. I would have liked to know why…
NOW for the good: Tough was a wonderful (almost perfect) man and Kelly was every bit as incredible as he. Such like able characters with such similar values were meant to be together! I did love how it all worked out for their good and for the good of all the communities that they served. Such a feel-good book!
*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special
A good clean story. I loved Tough, he was real. He is a mechanic and secretly an advise columnist. The way it all came about was realistic. I love how he had problems with shyness. It really is prevalent everywhere, his fear kept his mouth shut. It is also realistic that people perceived incorrect attitudes because of it and/or dismissed him. Tough reminded my of my real life Uncle Tough. Solid and wise (from what I remember).
Patricia Ricketts did a pretty good job narrating. There were a few times I didn’t know who exactly was speaking and I highly recommend she learn out to pronounce correctly words she may not know, like gyros, sounds like yearo’s in greek.
I recieved a free Audible copy of this story, at my request, in exchange for a honest review.
I really enjoyed this story! Two people who were destined to be together find each other. Author worked in details from past and foreshadowed future so nicely. I love the sweet, clean reads from Jessie Gussman
Can Tough talk for himself once in his life and tell Kelly he is been in love with her since they were kids? A sweet love story about friendship, trust and forever love. The audiobook is amazing
A beautifully sweet small town romance that is a standalone but fits wonderfully in the Baxter Boy’s series. This engaging storyline is heartwarming with insecurites, secrets, pressure of a marriage, dedication to helping others, misunderstandings and twists and turns. The characters are well developed, generous, and interesting with amazing chemistry with both have had rough struggles thru life. This clean romance is a great addition with cameoes of previous characters. I can’t wait to get more with Turbo’s story. I voluntarily reviewed this ARC.
Both main characters have their own insecurities, plus Tough doesn’t talk much. It’s never explicitly explained why he rarely talks, but the descriptions sound a lot like anxiety.
Because of their insecurity they misread a lot of what they see. They’re headed in the right direction even before all the secrets are revealed, but, of course, there’s a misunderstanding…
Definitely worth reading to see how it turns out!
Tough Baxter was so adorable, being tongue tied around people, and especially Kelly, who he’s had a crush on for years. I was annoyed that she was more worried about losing the funding Preston could provide to her social work and upsetting his mom if she broke off the engagement that he forced on her. She can’t see that Tough is just like her, wanting to help those less fortunate and that he doesn’t look like he’s prosperous because of that. Since he’s a watcher and not much of a talker, I thought it was great that he gives sweet advice to men about how to improve their love lives. If only he would take his own advice. I love the senior citizens who hang out at Tough’s garage. They were a riot and seemed to adopt him as one of their grandchildren.
This is the story about Tough and Kelly. Everything isn’t as it appears, as we learn during the reading of this book. I have enjoyed reading about Torque and Tough and I’m looking forward to reading Turbo’s story next.
Altruistic Mechanic and Socialite Social Worker Romance
This fun novel is part of the Baxter Boys series. This follows the same vibe as the previous book and should be read in order. The book is very sweet and touching. While the ending is predictable, the journey to the ending is quite fun. The plot is straight forward and the characters are realistic. I love that there are no real bad guys in the story. While some of the characters certainly have moral issues, they all have value. I received this book for free and this is my honest review.
This author has quickly won my heart with her books and style. I love her characters and that I not only get a great read with characters I love and I get a clean read too!! It’s almost too much to bare for this heart of mine. I completely fell for the quiet guy who has to work so hard for the words to come out. The one who is never seen but always there to support and help and never lets on about it. Or how about the woman who was rescued by said boy, who is ready to settle because she can’t possibly have real, long lasting, can’t live without you, kinda love. It’s a great story as Tough finds his voice and Kelly gives her heart. I absolutely love the peanut gallery they were hysterical and sweet too. Awesome standalone read and I can’t wait to laugh my way through Turbo’s story.