After reading Piper and Brendan’s love story in It Happened One Summer, I didn’t think I could fall in love with Tessa Bailey’s characters even more. It should come as no surprise that I was wrong!

Musical prodigy Hannah Bellinger has always considered herself a supporting actress, nothing like her leading lady sister Piper. While Piper demands attention and respect, Hannah is more content filling the role of the dutiful assistant or faithful sidekick. When presented with the opportunity to impress her long-time crush (and director boss) Sergio with the perfect movie location, she runs with it.

Missing her sister living in Westport, the seafaring town they both were sent to months before, Hannah gets the movie crew to pack up and move the set from L.A. to the coastal city. Of course her desire to return to Westport has nothing to do with Fox, the charming fisherman she’s been texting for seven months...

Fox Thornton is a self-proclaimed womanizer. He doesn’t like that title, but growing up in the shadow of his playboy father convinced him that it’s easier to become the person everyone assumes he is than to fight against it. Combined with a heartbreaking incident that occurred in college, Fox believes that serious relationships aren’t for him. That is until he starts texting his best friend’s soon-to-be sister-in-law.

This slow-burn romance starts heating up when Brendan’s parents take up residence in his and Piper’s house, leaving Hannah with no choice but to shack up with Fox. Both too stubborn to admit their feelings for each other, Hannah and Fox tiptoe around what is obvious to the readers: they belong together.

I absolutely loved this book and its characters’ developments. Hannah learns to trust herself enough to become the leading lady in her own life, and Fox learns how to believe that he is more than others’ perceptions of him. The witty banter between the two just seals the deal: this is a 5-star book perfect for those who love friends-to-lovers romances!

Special thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This made me want to run to the nearest record store and buy every record that was mentioned. When I was younger I wanted to create movie soundtracks for a living so I loved reading Hannah’s story! Plus, who doesn’t love a flirty fisherman with a soft spot for his best friend!

I loved the first book in this series and possibly love this one more?! I loved the two main characters and the steamy scenes were so steamy!

I LOVED this sequel to It Happened One Summer. In the first book, we’re introduced to Piper’s younger sister Hannah, a loyal and supportive young woman who gets pushed into the path of local “himbo” Fox when her sister begins dating a fishing boat captain.

The relationship between Hannah and Fox is hot and heartwarming at the same time. It’s a slow burn in that they’ve been flirtatiously texting for the past seven months, but things escalate quickly once they’re in the same apartment. For me, the pacing was perfect because it provided background as to why they felt so strongly for one another, but the reader shows up just in time for the action.

In other books, the reasons people avoid getting together can sometimes come across as contrived. But this book made the drama believable, and I enjoyed the dynamic tension as they both tried to do right by the other person. It reminded me of the “reformed rake” trope in historical romance, which I’m always here for!

I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes romance and think that it could be read either after the first book or as a standalone. I love these characters and this fishing community, and I hope the author comes up with a solid reason to revisit it for another book!

Absolutely amazing. Like amazing. Fox is one of the most complex male characters I've seen written. He was like a damn onion and the more Hannah peeled, the better he got. Binge read this in a day because I couldn't put it down. Will be writing more for Verve Romance at release time. Overall 10 million stars.

I loved this sequel to It Happened One Summer. Hannah's returning to Westport, but this time instead of going to support Piper, she's going to be working on Sergei's latest movie, while staying in her friend Fox's extra bedroom.

I loved how this novel really dug into the insecurities both Fox and Hannah had about themselves and how their romance blossomed as they worked through them.

After reading and loving It Happened One Summer, I was so excited to recieve an ARC of the follow-up about Piper's sister Hannah from @avonbooks @harpervoyagerus and @netgalley 😍 I almost always prefer standalone books, but I made an exception for this one and I'm so glad I did!

I absolutely loved Hannah and Fox's journies, both together and individually. There was more depth and emotion to the character development in this book, and the 🔥 was more measured and purposeful. The speed at which they worked through longstanding insecurities was a bit unrealistic, but I loved the grit and dimension of the characters and plot! The only thing I didn't love was the epilogue. It felt out of place and the story just didn't need it.

This one is out March 2022 and all you romance fans need to add it to your TBR!

If you loved It Happened One Summer, you’ll be ‘hooked’ on this sequel/spin off following the budding romance between Piper’s sister Hannah and commitment-phobic fisherman Fox. And if you didn’t read the first installment of the series (why not?), don’t worry— this works as a standalone, too. Tessa Bailey has delivered yet another sexy, escapist story that is grounded just enough in reality that it’s easy to almost imagine yourself as the protagonist, which I think is the core of the Romance genre’s success. Unlike so many other books in the space, Bailey’s characters retain at least a shred of logic throughout, so we’re able to relate to and empathize with them. There was never a moment that I was taken out of the story because they were behaving nonsensically, for the sake of will-they-won’t-they plot tension. Which isn’t to say that tension is lacking, but that it’s motivated. At one point, I really wasn’t sure whether Bailey was going to upend conventions and end with our couple apart. My only real gripe with this book is that the filmmaking element doesn’t feel authentic at all, but it’s probably not anything that will go noticed by the average reader, who likely has limited knowledge of how films are made and what the dynamics are between a director and his or her crew. That being said, I still really enjoyed the book, and was struck immediately by how perfect it would be as a Netflix movie.

As soon as I finished this book, I dashed over to my phone and texted one of my best friends who had also read an ARC of this. We proceeded to gush about how much better this was than the the first one and how happy were were that something like this existed.

A friends to lovers, slow burn romance set in the fictional fishing village of Westport, Washington. That's always a solid set up, but what shone for me was the main character (a good-looking playboy) had some serious come to Jesus moments about how his perception of his own value came from a-- how people made assumptions that just because he was good looking, automatically made him good with women, and b-- that men tend to gain societal respect and value revolving around their dating successes. I'm probably not explaining this very well, but if there is one thing that grabs my heart is a romance with strong social justice/challenging societal norms/mental health reckoning Evie Dunmore, I'm looking at you). It's not strong on social justice, but has the other two elements covered.

The music and musical references in here are also great. I'm tempted to create or find a playlist (knowing BookTok, something probably already exists out there). Also, I'm thrilled to see that Bailey is fully on the sea shanty bandwagon.

I had fun with this, and while I did miss Piper and Brendan from the first book, it was worth the slight trudge through 'It Happened One Summer' to get to this gem.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A great follow up to Tessa Baileys first book in the series. A steamy romance with two great love interests you can’t help but root for!

I'm so pissed I'm not going to get to read this for the first time ever again.

I knew after reading It Happened One Summer that I was going to fucking LOVE Fox and Hanmah. I KNEW IT.

It's disgusting how much I loved this story. I just want to read it over again right now. I haven't felt that way about a story since The Hating Game. I loved this book.

Hannah, with her big dreams and her peppy personality and the wounded and abused Fox who never knew what love really was. I JUST LOVED EVERYTHING.

So, thank you NetGalley for the ARC. You've made my September.

Hook, Line, and Sinker is now one of my new favorite reads. I really enjoyed It Happened One Summer, but I think Tessa Bailey really outdid herself with this one. This was the perfect friends to lovers book. I highly recommend!!

Okay WOW. I loved Piper's story in book 1 and I figured I should see what Hannah's story was all about. And I was floored.

Hannah is such a unique character! She's musically driven, smart, funny and sexy too! She is Fox's perfect match and it's clear from page one that their romance is inevitable!

The chemistry between the two MCs is smoking hot. I felt the heat from the texts in the prologue that they were meant to be. I love stories where they're friends first and can really understand one another. This book did that. The way they helped each other overcome obstacles in their lives without making it all about their romance was great.

This is one of my new favorite romcoms!! Thank you Tessa Bailey!!

3.5 stars. This is the sequel to “It Happened One Summer” and in it we follow Hannah and Fox. While at first glance this appears to be the standard story of a player falling in love and finally settling down for one girl, it’s actually more than that. Fox struggles with his reputation and how others perceive him, and it goes a lot deeper than most think. He uses his reputation as a defense mechanism, and Hannah is determined to show him he’s worthy of love just for being himself. One thing I liked about this book was the emphasis on how much their friendship meant to both of them, and how both of them were reluctant to go further because of that. One thing I did not like was that it often bordered on the miscommunication trope, which I hate. But even so, it wasn’t enough to really affect my rating of the book.

Overall, this book was a cute rom-com with a well deserved HEA and a satisfying epilogue.

love a romance where one of the characters has clearly gone to therapy so the “disagreement” isn’t a petty misunderstanding/miscommunication but rather moving through real, relatable personal problems and traumas!

I read It Happened One Summer a few weeks ago and as soon as I saw Hook, Line, and Sinker appear to request I jumped! HL&S picks up not long after IHOS and follows the story of Hannah and Fox in the small PNW fishing village of Westport. It was full of all the tension, pining and chemistry I was hoping for and I found myself falling in love with Fox more than I expected. His story with struggling how he’s perceived and viewing his worth as centred around his sexuality was heart wrenching and Tessa Bailey handled it delicately and expertly. I thought it was heart warming and satisfying as a romance novel and overall really enjoyed it. The only downside for me is I felt it could’ve used a *little* more spice to be comparable to IHOS, but in the context of Fox’s story perhaps that would’ve have been appropriate. Overall, I’d give it 4/5 stars!

A classic Tessa Bailey mix of steam and heart. She writes characters you want to be friends with. Hook, Line, and Sinker checks all the boxes of a classic friends to lovers story while still feeling fresh and new. It will certainly bring out the fisherman fetish you didn't know you had while also making you wonder if your next big purchase should be a record player. Hannah's inner soundtrack needs needs to be a Spotify playlist ASAP! I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this!

Thank you to netgalley and Avon books for providing me with an ARC!

Hannah and Fox! We meet them in It Happened on Summer and I’m so glad they come together for their own story.
These two are so stubborn and know what they want.
They are friend to lovers at their finest. They both have individual growth and grow together as friends and an eventual couple. I love when a book shows individuals character growth as well.
They are so cute and so easy as friends that they make so much sense when they do come together

3.5 STARS

I want to preface my review by saying that I have not read the first book in this series, so that might have been the reason as to why I didn't enjoy this one that much. But I wanted to share my honest opinions about this book. HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER is one of the most anticipated romance books of 2022. Unfortunately for me, it just didn't quite hit the mark.

HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER in an adult romantic comedy that is the sequel to IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER. When Hannah, a hardworking production assistant, convinces her coworker and hopeless crush to film in Westport, she finds herself living with her friend, Fox. They are both too stubborn to admit that they are more than just friends.

Here is what worked for me in this book: the characters and the discussions of toxic masculinity. I thought that Tessa did a great job with the characters and the serious topics were handled well. However, the one thing that just really missed for me was the romance. I am normally a lover of friends to lovers romance, but this one just didn't draw me in as I had hoped. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with it. It was just not compelling enough for me to become completely sucked in by it. I never found myself having an urge to continue reading this book—it felt more like a chore. Of course, reading is subjective and I have heard so many good things about this book that I would still recommend it!

I love Tessa Bailey but was NOT a fan of the first book in this series. However, this second book really rocked it out...literally. With music references galore, complicated characters, and messy relationships, this book hit the spot. Bailey's trademark dirty talk and steamy sex scenes were all present and it was a great read.