I was so excited to get the chance to read this book and the continuation of the Bellinger sisters. Overall, I was a bit let down though. There was a lot of internal dialogue that droned on, both Hannah about her insecurities and Fox about his reputation. It was also an extremely slow burn, I don't think it got spicy until about 2/3 of the way into it. I would have liked to hear more about Fox's job on the boat, I think that would added more to the story.

“You can’t live life worrying about what people will think. You’ll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.” –Tessa Bailey

I’ll be the first to admit that the first book (It Happened One Summer) was not my favorite. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as good as everyone told me it would be.

This book, however, was everything I wanted out of the first book.

Hook, Line, and Sinker follows Hannah, younger sister to Piper, and Fox, best friend to Brendan. Both have lives where they stuck are in roles they are comfortable with but don’t necessarily belong to. For Hannah, her role has always been a supporting one, hyping up those she feels are more suited to the spotlight. For Fox, his role is that of a casanova–he’s a ladies man who deals exclusively in fun, one night stands.

When Piper and Hannah first came to town, Fox and Hannah met, liked each other, and started a long distance friendship that has blossomed into something a little more. But neither of them can move past the constraints of the roles they are used to in their lives.

This book is such a cute and sexy friends to lovers romance. It’s fun, it’s sweet, and it really shows how two people can help each other grow and create a lasting, healthy relationship. I enjoyed seeing how Hannah and Fox show up for each other and teach each other that they can be more than the roles they have been stuck in.

Another thing I loved about this book is all of the tension. Two people who like each other and are sharing the same space creates a lot of sexy moments between them. They’re attracted to each other. They both know they’re attracted to each other. But at the same time, neither wants to act on that attraction because they believe that there can’t be anything more than friendship between them. This creates a lot of pining, a lot of tension, and a lot of miscommunication–all things I really enjoy in romance books.

My main issue with this book is that, even though Fox and Hannah have been friends for months, we really only see two weeks of their relationship within the book. This made it a bit more of an insta-love story, which is not my personal preference (and was one of the things I didn’t like about Piper and Brendan’s book). However, having the repeated references to their friendship and even back to their initial encounters from book one helps smooth away the insta-love vibes of the story.

All in all, this book takes a deep dive into the characters of Fox and Hannah. Their characters develop individually and together over the course of the story in a way that left a genuine smile on my face when I finished the book. If you like romance books in any capacity, you will enjoy this book.

*I received a free electronic copy of this book from Netgalley
*Review also posted to Goodread and The Book Keeper's Blog

"I've never even had you, and your body haunts mine."

I LOVED THIS BOOK! The friendship, the tension, the backdrop of a film production as part of the plot. It was truly the perfect follow-up to "It Happened One Summer."

Hannah Bellinger views herself as a supporting character—always cheering others on from the sidelines and selflessly helping her sister Piper in any way possible. Fox Thornton carries the weight of his past, leaning into his reputation as a promiscuous flirt, even though he desperately wants to be respected for who he really is. No one will take him seriously—except for Hannah, who is determined to prove to Fox and herself that they can take on starring roles in their own lives.

While this can technically be read as standalone, most of the development of the setting and sisterly bond between Piper and Hannah takes place in book one. While Piper and Brendan make a few cameos, they're largely absent from this story. The foundation for Hannah and Fox's relationship is built before this book begins, and having that background makes the story more meaningful.

Hannah and Fox's chemistry and sexual tension was palpable from the very first page, and so was their witty banter. The use of text conversations really added to the story, and I appreciated that they were written in a modern format (no outdated acronyms here).

As someone who also lives a life on the sidelines, I found Hannah to be extremely relatable. She dealt with imposter syndrome, insecurity, and rejection, and yet was resilient in her efforts to push herself into better opportunities. She learned to be assertive and step into a main character role of her own, which was inspiring to see.

I wish there were more books in this series, but Tessa Bailey gave us a TEN YEARS LATER epilogue that did not disappoint!

Spice level: 3/5

✨Book Review✨
Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
⭐️⭐️⭐️
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While this book was entertaining, and I found myself wanting to keep picking it up, it did not end up being a favorite.
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I loved being back in the world of Wesport that Bailey created. It was also fun to get glimpses into what Piper and Brendan were up to. However, the trope in this book was just not for me. Fox is supposed to be the town's handsome player, and everyone, including himself, has stereotyped him in this way since he was a kid. So when his friendship with Hannah starts to develop into more, he is torn between falling in love with her, and living up to his life-long reputation.
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He just went back and forth waaaaaaay too many times in the exact same way. This book could have been a lot shorter for that reason. Fox's dilemma felt a little like a white man saying, "life is hard for me, too!" I don't know. The epilogue was also the cheesiest thing I've ever read. No wonder I have unrealistic expectations for love! Not my jam, but if you loved It Happened One Summer and want a trip back to Westport, this one might be for you. Thank you to @netgalley for my advanced reader's copy.

Hannah and Fox . . . are amazing. Their story makes my heart burst. Tessa Bailey balanced the cute and light elements of a rom-com with thoughtful character development that made for a delightful read.

What I liked:
- Fox, our emotionally intelligent king. Fox had a tough childhood and had always felt he was destined to be a womanizer, but I loved watching him find hope to break expectations and live the way he wanted. He put himself out there to Hannah and wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind, which prevented any pesky miscommunication plots.
- The slow burn. Such a long build up but it was worth it. There was no insta-love to be seen and it felt so real. With their history of friendship, nothing felt rushed. Tessa Bailey killed it on pacing here.
- The humor!!! The banter!!! Hannah and Fox both had some killer one-liners in this book. Their banter built the tension up across the book. I loved the text snippets in the beginning and Hannah's willingness to call Fox on his bullshit was so refreshing.
- Hannah's assertiveness. Hannah is such a strong character, but in the realest way. She has moments of self-doubt and knows she needs to go after what she wants, but she struggles. Her desire to move from a supporting actress role to the leading lady role was personally so relatable and I loved seeing her get more comfortable standing up for herself and others.
- The supporting characters. Family was so important to both Hannah and Fox, it just felt right that the family members get their time. Hannah and Fox each had some issues related to family, and I really enjoyed seeing them work through that with the support of people they love.
- The music references. Tessa Bailey pretty much gave us a playlist for this book and I think it's just a great touch.

What I didn't like:
- I wanted more sea content, we got a little bit of time with Fox on the boat but I would've loved to get a bit more. But maybe I just think it's so cool that Fox is a fisherman.
- I didn't read It Happened One Summer prior to this and I do think I should have read that to make this story a bit fuller. It was amazing on its own but I imagine it would be supplemented by the first book in the series. (This can barely be categorized as a dislike, just a thought I'd like to share)

Overall rating: 4.5/5
Spice: 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the second book in the series but can be read as a standalone. It's a cute and quick romance. Hannah's job takes her back to her fathers hometown where (you need the previous book to get more details) she's a PA assisting in filming a movie. Her true love is music and old records and she's crashing at Fox's place (he's known as the sleep with them and leave them but not is his town). There's chemistry between the two of them but Hannah sees more in him then just sex and it upsets her then no one else does. It's a cute romance with a quick read. 2.75 stars.

**********************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley.******************************

Bellinger's Sisters #2 YES please!

If you love romcoms as much as me you've likely heard of Tessa Bailey. If not, do yourself a favor and grab one of her series, I promise you won't regret it at all.

Tessa Bailey is one of my go to authors for romcoms. I love her books and this series did not disappoint.
I am never a fan of spoilers, they ruin it, but you need to read them in order for sure. If you have not read that Bellinger Sisters series grab them! Consider yourself lucky, you don't have to wait for the follow up book to come out! They'd be perfect for a long weekend!

Hook, Line, and Sinker...gosh I love her titles! This one was a great follow up to It Happened One Summer. Two sisters find themselves living in a strange place, their journey to love begins here. In this one, Fox & Freckles will have you swooning. There is a lot of referencing from the first novel, so trust me read that one first!

Enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for this E-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Ladies’ man Fox Thornton’s world is rocked when he meets Hannah Bellinger who’s immune to his charms, yet wants to be friends. After maintaining their friendship via text for several months, Hannah returns to Westport for work, staying at Fox’s apartment. Despite promising to keep things platonic, the line between friendship and flirtation becomes blurred the longer Hannah stays in Westport.

Review: This sweet rom-com features several beloved tropes such as a slow burn romance, forced proximity, and friends-to-lovers. I wanted to love this book as much as I did It Happened One Summer, but it fell kind of flat for me. The build up to Hannah and Fox’s relationship was really slow during the first half of the book and was relatively tame spice-wise compared to Tessa Bailey’s other books. The one redeeming quality this book has for me was the really beautiful epilogue at the end of the story. Overall, this book for me was just okay, but I definitely recommend it as it’s a cute sequel to It Happened One Summer.

I received an ARC of this precious gem from Netgalley and boy was it EXACTLY what I needed. I can't explain how happy this book made me. Tessa Bailey has quickly become one of my all time favorite authors. Her books are so fast paced and entertaining, I love binge reading them and escaping into my happy place. I loved our main characters for this book especially. Hannah has a passion for music and Fox is a misunderstood dreamboat of a love interest! I really FELT their connection and the love the had for each other and they're one of my favorite couples I've ever read about. They reminded me so much of the way me and my husband goof off and love each other. This book was like a warm hug during a crazy time in my life and I'm so thankful for this story!
5/5 stars

I thought I had read the first in this series but realized I had ordered it in and my coworker snagged it before I got my hands on it. Then customers requested and I forgot! Now I need to go back and read it because this was delightful. Only bad part was I felt I missed out on the nuggets that mentioned things from book 1. While you don’t have to read in order I think it would only add to the enjoyment of the storyline!

absolutely one of my favorite rom-coms of 2021! the connection that fox and hannah share is so fresh and beautifully written. on their own, hannah is an interesting and relatable character! fox is the boy-next-door whose suave personality has many layers to. everything from their banter to their work lives had me hooked! absolutely a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. While reading It Happened One Summer is not necessarily a pre-requisite, they are both fantastic books so try to read it before Hook, Line and Sinker comes out March 1st, 2022.

We saw the early connection between Fox and Hannah in the first book, but neither character are ready for the slow burn romance that takes place 7 months after the events of the first book. Hannah returned home to Los Angeles to her job as a production assistant to movie producer Sergei at Storm Born. She had a bit of a crush in him, but the seeds of friendship with Fox were planted and Hannah has goals to further her career and her goal to choose the music to accompany movies. Meanwhile, Fox is trying the resist the leadership role Capt Brendan is trying to foist on him. It's not so much he isn't confident in his skills as a king crab fisherman, but his reputation as a ladies man who will never settle down. Unfortunately Fox has a heartbreaking back story, which takes time for Hannah to break down those walls.

It takes a while before they finally give into temptation, but there are a few sexy scenes leading up to THAT moment. Then hot hot hot. The emotional connection came before the sexual connection which is so rare in contemporary romance. The author writes these characters with care and tenderness. Even after Hannah and Fox get together, they have the work to do to get past the fears of others expectations and assumptions.

Hannah fought to be the leading lady in her career goals, which wasn't easy for her and Fox fought people's beliefs about him that were planted by him father's reputation. Fortunately he was able to work that trauma out with help from Hannah and an honest conversation with his mother. If you enjoy a sexy, slow burn romance and a lot of introspection, you will enjoy this book. 4.4/5☆

Thank you Avon & Harper Collin’s Publishers, Netgalley and Tessa Bailey for an advanced copy of Hook, Line and Sinker, a much awaited follow up to book 1 of Bellinger Sister series- “It Happened One Summer”.

Book 1 of the series was a knockout so anticipation, especially after the cliffhanger of an ending featuring Hannah and Fox was sky-high. So did it meet the expectations? It did and how! The book features two characters who were more of a “supporting” cast in the 1st part. The immensely likable Hannah, who just moves to Westport to support her sister set up the bar in memory of their father, Henry Cross, has since moved back to LA to continue working on her project as an assistant for her crush/director when she receives an unlikely gift from the last person she expects to receive it from, the perennial Casanova Fox Thornton. Text conversation ensues between the pair and in a moment of impulse, Hannah convinced the team to relocate the shooting to Westport. Whether romance is kindled between the pair, will Hannah find a connection with her father’s roots in Westport, will Fox change forms the crux of the narrative.

Straight of the bat, the book works fine as a standalone. Everything you need to know about book 1 is intelligently seamed into the flow. If you were a fan of Piper and expect a lot of Brendan and Piper, you would be disappointed. More importantly, the tone of the book is completely different from the first book. This one is more for classical romance fans with a lot of words spent on the psyche of the individuals. There are some portions of the book which might seem to be slow and repetitive which can be edited to speed up the flow. The portions where Hannah realizes her connection to her father, Fox’s anguish while forcing Hannah away from him, the sexual undercurrent- especially Hannah’s turning down Fox the first time- are highlights.

As mentioned, this is a completely different take on romance compared to book one- “Maybe humans couldn’t change, but nature could. Nature lived to change” - Watching Fox break his outer shell and Hannah’s transformation from a supporting cast to a leading lady are enough to ignore the minor flaws. A highly recommended read.

#BookReview #HookLineandSinker #NetGalley

Thank you to Avon, netgalley, and the author for the eARC of HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER by Tessa Bailey

I freaking loved the story of the first Bellinger sister, so I was so excited to read this copy and get an early look at Hannah and Fox’s friends to lovers story. For the most part, I really did love this one, especially the first half of the book. Hannah and Fox have chemistry right off the book and they’re a couple that feels right. Overall though, I did find some of the plot points to be really repetitive, and at the halfway point I definitely put the book down for a while because it seemed to drag and I wasn’t into it. There was a lot of build up in the plot to have action happen really suddenly in a way that felt clunky and kinda weird to me.

Overall, I would probably rate this one a 3.5. I still really enjoyed it and totally recommend it if you loved IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER like I did, but it didn’t quite live up to book one.

HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER comes out March 1st, 2022!

When I requested a copy of this ARC, I NEVER expected that I would actually get the chance to read it. After I got the notification that my request was approved, I squealed and did a happy dance!

Hook, Line, and Sinker is the second book in the Bellinger Sisters books and it had some big shoes to fill in my eyes. Piper and Brendan's story was wonderful and Brendan is one of my all time favorite book boyfriends. I was beyond thrilled when reading Hannah and Fox's story to see that it goes toe to toe with how amazing it is.

I loved Hannah and Fox individually, but their relationship together makes this book. They have such an effortless friendship that's so full of love and laughter, neither understand that they're already 75% of the way to falling for one another. Fox's lack of confidence in his ability to be the man Hannah needs broke my heart and also made me want to knock some sense into him. Hannah's intuition when it comes to Fox and vice versa is the stuff most readers dream of having. Being able to read your partner and make it better the way these two do is a beautiful goal.

Usually third person writing isn't my jam, however, as with It Happened One Summer, it worked for Hannah and Fox's love. Overall, this story is a strong 5. It has depth, wit, a great soundtrack (thanks to Hannah), and some super sexy scenes! Where can I get me a fisherman because at this point, we're two for two with drool worthy alpha men and I AM HERE FOR IT!

Tessa Bailey has quickly become one of my one click, favorite authors and she delivers with this book. The epilogue at the end gave my heart just what it needed, even though I could live in the world of The Bellinger Sisters forever and never get tired. Just amazing, I'll be doing a reread of both books when this comes out and have already purchased my signed copies for my shelf at home!

I didn’t think I would love a book just as much as I loved It Happened One summer, but Tessa Bailey’s next installment proved me wrong. Hook, Line, and Sinker follows Hannah and Fox as they not only struggle with their feelings for one another, but also the emotional damage they have with how the world perceives them. I normally don’t read Friends to Lovers trope, but this book is the only exception. It is also verrrry slow burn, but I felt that it was necessary to help the emotional relationship develop before the intimate relationship. Plus, the pure TENSION from Fox and Hannah had from their close proximity situation made it just as enjoyable as a fast burn romance for me! 10/10 would read again

This book did not come to mess around!!! The chemistry between Fox and Hannah was already incredible but this book just elevated it. Between their emotional connection becoming stronger and great growth for the two characters I couldn’t put it down. Easily a new favorite and a top tier friends to lovers book. Perfect for: music lovers and romantics.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Avon Books and Harper Voyager. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5 stars

Tessa Bailey has done it again. Hook, Line, and Sinker is the second book in the Bellinger Sisters duology, and it is even better than the first one.

This is Hannah and Fox’s story. I was worried that its timeline might overlap with (something I don’t love in book series) but that wasn’t the case. That being said, I highly recommend reading the first book first. Often romance series can be read out of order, and Hook, Line, and Sinker could technically act as a standalone, but it will make much more sense with the first book as context.

This book was perfect - I don’t have words for how much I loved it. Hannah? Fox? Friends to lovers? Emotional vulnerability? There is absolutely nothing better.

If you loved the first book, you will love one as well. If you haven’t read the first book:
(a) where have you been?
(b) read the first book, then
(c) read this one

thank you to netgalley for an earc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

i thought this was so cute! i read it really fast. fox is really hot ...
i thought that the problems that each of the characters faced were interesting and fairly unique. however, hannah didnt seem to have any (????) flaws which always annoys me, and the smut was not great (ex: the word "buns" was used...)
overall 4 stars, i think i like it better than the first one!

Tessa Bailey has an ingrained habit of writing characters that are likable and realistic. I love the stories she comes up with and the worlds she creates. She gives readers an amazing journey that leaves you with that squishy feeling inside and often begging for more.