Tessa Bailey is the queen of fun and easy romance novels. I really enjoyed this one! I liked Julia and Hallie, the way they balanced each other out and getting to know Julian's family. I loved that there was anxiety rep thrown in and I would have liked to see more about Julian and his mom. I really loved Julian. This was fun!

I was absolutely enamored with this story and the characters!! Tessa Bailey has done it again with this one. I found the main characters absolutely endearing and the differences in their personalities were so funny and their banter was next level!

Hallie Welch has been infatuated with Julian Vos since they were in high school, and she was the lowly freshman he didn’t notice after their almost kiss in his family’s vineyards. Now he’s returned to their small town and Hallie has been hired to refresh the gardens at the guesthouse where he’s staying. She wonders if her fantasies of kissing him might finally be realized, but soon sees how unlikely that is given the starchy professor is her polar opposite. That doesn’t stop Hallie from leaving him a secret admirer letter after too much wine at girls’ night.

Julian has taken a break from his job as a professor at Stanford to write a fiction novel. He certainly doesn’t need the distraction of Hallie gardening outside his window and her refusal to adhere to a timetable is wreaking havoc on his schedule. He can’t help but find Hallie beautiful, even when she’s covered in dirt. With his focus already shaken, Julian is completely taken aback to find an anonymous love note addressed to him. Even as he wonders at the author’s identity, he’s drawn even closer to Hallie’s vivaciousness. For someone who thrives on strict order, Julian soon comes to realize that Hallie’s cheery chaos is exactly what he’s been missing in his well-ordered life.

This was a fine read but after how much I adored this author’s previous two releases, I was a little letdown by this one. So much was done right, but other parts fell a bit flat for me. I loved that we got anxiety rep here and bonus points that it was the hero. Yet again in this season of grief for me personally, I’ve found a main character who is struggling with grief, Hallie in this case, though that was also handled quite well. Julian and Hallie felt like such a mismatch, but I also really liked how they each brought about a change in the other that resulted in more happiness and less rigidity and chaos, respectively. I wasn’t crazy about how abrupt the ending felt. After such a slow burn, it definitely felt rushed, so their relationship didn’t feel as permanent as I would like. I loved how hard Julian fell for Hallie and I wanted to see more of him embracing that rather than having so much of him fighting his emerging feelings. I guess I just wanted more of a balance between those two sides of his character. Also, this could’ve been a super-hot book but thanks to that agonizingly slow burn, it ran right up to that potential and then ran away just as quickly. Overall, I did like Hallie and Julian, and I loved the supporting characters and the themes of self-acceptance, but I wanted somehow just a bit more from it all the same. I’m nonetheless charmed by the premise and setting and am looking forward to Natalie’s book and actually hoping for a HEA for Owen as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#SecretlyYours #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an E-Arc copy of this novel. A funny, witty, cute novel of romance.

DNF. I don't finish a book that often, but the immaturity level of the characters put me off almost immediately.

I tend to love all of Tessa Bailey’s books, this one being no exception. If you like opposites attract, second chance, and maybe a bit of grumpy/sunshine, give this one a go. It’s just a nice lighthearted romcom that had me giggling and smiling, and the spice is 🔥 as usual! Can’t wait to read book 2!

DNF 22%

The FMC is insufferably immature.
Rather than using her words or taking actual impactful action she vandalizes, prank calls and steals cheese from a business. She is an adult that still has a school girl crush on a man she barely knows and has had a crush for 15 years.

Can’t stomach it anymore

I wouldn't call this grumpy vs sunshine but this is definitely an opposites attract situation. The letters didn't do it for me but the vineyard setting and the spice certainly did. Looking forward to book 2!

Frankly, this felt like not the best-written book. I love Tessa Bailey's writing, but it wasn't cutting it for me. Didn't enjoy the characters or the romance.

Thank you Netgalley for the book, this is my honest opinion.

This book is trademark Tessa Bailey. There is her humor, spice, charm, and chemistry all wrapped in a cute pink book.

This book had me giggling and kicking my feet in joy. I absolutely loved how in love Julian was with Hallie. I wished we got to see them fall in love a little more instead of it being so quick and kind of insta-lovey but I did love the parts where they were together.

Overall this book is just comforting and cute and I can't wait for the next one!

A grumpy/sunshine romance that is classic Tessa Bailey, but not a favorite of mine. I had a hard time connecting or getting into this story, but I will still be giving the next one a shot.

Tessa Bailey never disappoints and this was another book that I absolutely devoured! Julian and Hallie were perfect and I had the best time reading their story. Tessa Bailey has never disappointed with the spice, either. The difference in their personalities was fantastic,

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #secretlyyours

3.5 stars

She’s pure chaos and he’s pure structure. Wouldn’t think this match up would ever, ever work.

They also both need therapy. They go to unhealthy extremes, her in grief and him in control.

Read if you like: grumpy/sunshine, a teenage crush
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Hallie had a crush on Julian science she was fourteen, and when Julian returns to town to write a book, she can't help but still like him. She works in his mother's garden, distracting Julian from his work.
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I thought this was cute! I liked how different Hallie and Julian were, and how fun and eccentric Hallie was. Overall a cute romance!

Another stellar read from Tessa Bailey!! Love opposites attract plus second chance romance. Julian & Hallie are super cute

What do you do when you have an opportunity to see the man you've been in love with since you had an almost kiss in high school? Do you come right out and tell him that you've met before? Of course not. When Hallie is hired to do the floral landscaping of the guest house her life-long crush is occupying, she plays it cool. Totally cool. And Julian, an anxiety-prone, schedule-adhering professor absolutely does not have his days thrown into chaos when she arrives with her three massive dogs and go-with-the-flow attitude.

Who am I kidding? It's madness from the beginning.

Julian is a great hero, albeit a deeply flawed one. Any reader who has struggled with anxiety and had to fight to cope with it will relate to him and root for him. He's also a secret dirty-talker, an aspiring author, and a big fan of self-love if you catch my drift.

On the opposite end of the personality spectrum, readers may find Hallie slightly insufferable. She's impulsive, reckless, and frankly a little obnoxious. Her whole personality in the book is that everything new is bad and only the old things are good. I found myself cringing almost every time she did something.

But together, they're cute and make for a sweet love story, as convoluted and messy as it is. The steam was top-notch, which I found surprising coming from this couple. But it was thoroughly enjoyable and definitely worth a reread for their chemistry alone.

Overall, I rate Secretly Yours 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you liked Tessa Bailey's other novels, specifically My Killer Vacation, this one will be right up your alley.

Thank you @avonbooks and @netgalley for the eARC of Secretly Yours which is out NOW!


I was so excited to receive the eARC of Secretly Yours because I really love Tessa Bailey, unfortunately, I did not love Secretly Yours.

Secretly Yours felt like the literary embodiment of a manic, fever dream. And not the good kind. I struggled to connect with or care about either main character and the plot.

As a reader, I felt thrown into the story and into the characters without much development or lead in and then dragged along for the ride.

There were some charming and heart warming moments throughout, but I felt as though I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did.

Overall, this one was not for me but I’m hoping that I enjoy Unfortunately Yours more!

This was so great. I love Tessa Bailey and a story about a professor and a gardener at a winery is like catnip for me. Amazing.

This author is an autobuy for me and this book did not disappoint. Hallie is a fun sweet character that I immediately connected with. Julian is the hot grumpy guy that you end up loving. I was rooting for them from the start. Their romance was steamy and so sweet. I love the unrequited love and grumpy sunshine tropes. I cannot wait to read the next in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the Ebook arc in exchange for my honest review.

In Secretly Yours, Hallie has been lost since the death of her grandmother. She's taken over the family business, but feels like a total mess. When she goes to landscape the local vineyard, she's shocked to learn her high school crush, Julian, is back in town to write a historical fiction novel. The two could not be more opposite, but as they spend time together, they start to fall. The only problem? Julian's also falling for his secret admirer who writes him notes.

This was such a fun book, with lots of layers and action. I loved how opposite Julian and Hallie were. Julian is so uptight and scheduled and Hallie knocks him off his tracks with her fly by the seat of her pants mentality. I loved watching them fall for each other, while also trying to help save the town's wine bar in the process.

Secretly Yours has fantastic mental health rep, including anxiety and panic attacks. It shows the complexities of families that go through trauma and how they come out on the other side of their hurt.

This is definitely not one of my favorites of Tessa's, but it was a fun read. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. I felt like it was set up so well!