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.

10/10. Complete page turner! She always blows it out of the water! There is a Hannah in all of us. Loved her character!! Thanks!

I loved Hannah & Fox as the side characters in It Happened One Summer so I knew I absolutely had to read their story. It did not disappoint!!!! 😍 This book was everything you could want! Well developed likeable characters, a relationship you're actually rooting for, hilarious moments, and of course the steam factor! Now I need to go find more Tessa Bailey books.

Received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest opinion.
OMG! I just absolutely loved this book! I read the first one and then saw that there was going to be a second one, and I was so excited. I looked on Netgalley to see if there was an ARC to read, and was ecstatic to see that I was auto approved for it.
This is the continuation of the story that started in the first book it happened One Summer. I always wondered about Fox reading the first one, and I'm glad that we got a deeper look at him and what was behind his personality and his woman addiction. It was nice to see Piper's sister Hannah come out of her shell and be the person that we all knew she could be.
If you read the first one you can't not read this one! It's awesome!

First of all, I think it's important to note that this is the second book in a series. I did not read the first book, but got this Advanced Readers Copy (thank you Netgalley and Avon Books)!! However, even though I didn't read the first book, I did not feel lost reading this one, but I'm definitely intrigued to go and read the first one now. There is a waiting list at my library for months. So we wait.

It had been awhile since i've read contemporary romances since I've been in the Fantasy/scifi/paranormal romance mostly this year. I'm usually an enemies-to-lovers girl, but I loved this friends to lovers. Moreso, I think what I really enjoyed was that it the type of friendship that they always knew they were never just friends because the attraction had always been there.

This book gave me butterflies in the best of ways. Tessa Bailey does a lovely job of bringing you into both Hannah's POV and Fox's POV without needing to be in first person. You were in each of the MC's emotions. Although I did find myself just saying "just communicate and be honest!" and when they did and were, it made me so happy for the characters. You just were cheering them on the whole time.

I immediately was hooked and even told a friend immediately "I'm only in Chapter 3 and I need this book to come out so I can gift it to you." I can't believe I have to wait until next year for her to revel in the giddiness this book created. I will definitely be going back to read "It Happened One Summer," so I can return to Westport and see how Brendan differs from Fox.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved It Happened One Summer so much, so I had high hopes for this book. I didn't feel connected to Fox and Hannah as much as I connected to Piper and Brendan, but I still loved the connection between Fox and Hannah. I didn't expect it to be a slow burn, but that didn't bother me at all. I have been loving the friends-to-lovers trope lately, and this book perfectly captures the true friendship the main characters have. The dynamic between them was really great, and they support each other so much. It’s just incredible. Overall, this book was great, and I will be grabbing a physical copy on release day! Hook, Line, and Sinker comes out on March 1, 2022.

3.5/5

okay... this book was one of those books that I was waiting until the perfect moment to read. I loved It Happened One Summer SO MUCH and I just knew the second book in the Bellinger Sisters series was going to be a new favorite. I was dying to read it ever since I got approved for an ARC.

alas... it simply did not hit the same as the first one.

This book follows Hannah and Fox from the previous book. Hannah is still crushing hard on her boss, and she's struggling to make progress in her career and in general because she thinks of herself as a supporting role in her own life as opposed to the "leading lady." Similarly, Fox is struggling to make progress and accept Brendan's offer to captain the Della Ray because he doesn't think he'll be respected and doesn't want that much responsibility.

There's a forced proximity trope in this when Hannah needs a place to stay while her job films a movie in Westport, and Fox fixes up his guest room for her. Tension and cuteness ensues 🤌🏼

The book deals with important topics like toxic masculinity since Fox was taught from a young age that the only thing he's good for is physical intimacy. This book also discusses the idea of thinking of yourself as the hero in your own story and acting like the main character, which I loved. I also really liked the focus on music, and I loved how Fox and Hannah understood each other through music. i ​liked many parts of this book but it just felt kind of forgettable overall for me.

also, I didn't like Brendan or Piper's behavior in this one which makes me sad 😭 why did we have to make Brendan unlikable in the sequel to his book? I don't want to dislike him :'(

i just wasn't as in love with this as I was hoping. I was ready for this book to fully convert me into a friends-to-lovers fiend, but Hannah and Fox's relationship, while adorable, was just missing something that I think Brendan and Piper effortlessly had.

now, don't get me wrong, this is still a cute romance book! It was sweet, heartwarming, and definitely had some moments that made me go all heart eyes. if the premise is interesting to you or you just want to revisit these characters or this town, I think it's worth reading. But honestly, if I'm ever looking to return to Westport again, I'll probably just reread the first one.

4.75 stars!

I loved this book! Friends to Lovers continues to reign supreme! I'm happy this story took place 7 months after It Happened One Summer which helped established the friendship between Fox and Hannah. This was a slow burn compared to its sister novel but man oh man was it worth it. Getting to the root of Fox’s behavior was essential to making his relationship with Hannah work and I'm glad we spent a lot of time unpacking his shit.

I do wish we got some more moments with Hannah and her family. However the moments we did get between Hannah, Piper, and their grandma was sweet.

The sweetest part of this novel was the epilogue! It was nice knowing that both sisters found their happily ever after with their fishermen.

First of all, this is the second book in a series. I did not read the first book, but got this Advanced Readers Copy (thank you Netgalley and Avon Books). This is an epistolary romance…via text message. Before I even made it to chapter one- just reading the initial text conversation- I tried desperately to get the first book from the library. But alas, there was a long hold line (I’m still in line while writing this) and I could not stop reading the second book!

I’m obsessed with this book.That’s it. That’s the review.

There are a LOT of songs in this book. And you should listen to all of them (except the classic rock bc I don’t like it. Don’t @ me haha). But I’m going to include my own recommendation for this book. (Although obviously you should be listening to Sea Shanties while you read…) OK… my recommendation is Golf on TV by Lennon Stella and JP Saxe. Let’s just talk about the second verse of the song…

”You just been so consistentThat stabilityIt's so healthyIt's confusing meI'm done with romanticizingDysfunction and compromisingYou treat me so wellIt's weirdBut I love how much I like it”

I mean…

Ok, I should say other things other than me saying READ THIS BOOK. But I can’t think of anything else.

steam level 5stars 5