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!

RomCom between rich boy and selfemployed girl. They are secretly falling in live in their dreams, but they dont know that they are also falling in live in the real life. Real life is not just about love and happiness but also dealing with their pwn demons and ovrrcoming them before letting love of your life in. - Sex is also nice. Not my favorite Tessa Bailey but it was good enough.

I was disappointed in this book. I have read Tessa Bailey’ s books before and enjoyed them but just could not get into this one

Absolutely loved! When I tell you I read this in one sitting. Did not get up, or stop at any point.. just read and read until the end. Cute, funny, and was everything I needed in that moment. I can’t wait for the next one!

A fun grumpy/sunshine romance. The main characters' attraction feels a little too immediate and under-developed, but their dedication and constant support and friendship makes their happy ending feel more earned.

Boy did I need this book! Fun, light, silly, laugh out loud goodness! Opposites in every way and both seemingly with very different lifestyles and attitudes, somehow they seem to make each other better. I anxiously await the next in the series.

Thank you Avon Books for my copy of Secretly Yours! All thoughts are my own.

It’s no secret I’m a fan of Tessa Bailey’s books. I like that they make me step back and get completely lost in the Romance because they’re a little absurd and always a good time. I was excited to dive into a new series by here and while I liked this book some, it won’t dethrone any of my other favorites. I didn’t vibe with the characters, I wish the plus size rep was a little more thought out, and things didn’t align for me.

Synopsis:

“Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small Napa town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless—and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt—and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s grey-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down. “ —NetGalley

What I Liked:

The Setting—Napa always makes me think of Nick Parker from The Parent Trap so I loved the setting so much. I haven’t explored much of the West Coast and this book made me want to book a trip to a vineyard ASAP.

Hallie—I liked Hallie! I found her fun and a little relatable, but the story was still aspirational. She definitely felt like a classic Tessa Bailey heroine in some ways, but she also felt a little two dimensional to me.

What Didn’t Work For Me:

The Tropes—Maybe it’s because I read another book that used letters so well, but I just didn’t buy into this second chance romance.

The Tone—Everything felt a little flat to me. Like, ultimately I just didn’t feel like what was happening made any kind of sense. I’m all for the suspension of disbelief, especially in a Tessa novel, but I couldn’t get into it.

The Structure—I think it came down to the structure and just feeling like the whole situation was just a little confusing to me. And I didn’t vibe with Julian at all!

Character Authenticity: 2/5 Spice Rating: 3/5 Overall Rating: 2.5/5
Content Warnings:

panic attacks, anxiety, PTSD, fire, grief, death of a parent

Another amazing story from Tessa Bailey. So sweet, sexy and fun. Julian and Hallie are such well written and amazing characters. Such brilliantly flawed but feel so real. A must read.

Another Tessa Bailey series? Sign me up. The buttoned-up male lead and wild female lead is a tried-and-true romance formula that's been done plenty of times (including by Tessa Bailey herself), and these two were so much fun the entire book. This book is pure candy -- can't wait for the next in the series.

This was my least favorite Tessa Bailey book so far.
I think she lost a little bit of her excellent dirty talk in this one. I cringed a couple of times in this one which is not something that I normally struggle with in romance much less a Tessa Bailey book.
The romance was pretty good though and I adored Julian for his buttoned-up nature. The anxiety representation in this book was really well done.

This book is a delightful twist on the classic grumpy-sunshine trope. Julian, a professor who thrives on structure, meets Hallie, a free-spirited gardener who is always late and can't stick to a plan. Despite their differences, they find that they need each other in unexpected ways.

I adored both Julian and Hallie as individual characters and as a couple. The chemistry between them is magnetic, and their banter is both funny and sexy. Tessa Bailey definitely knows how to write a steamy sex scene that will leave you swooning!

The supporting characters are equally well-crafted and add depth to the story. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.

This one is as funny as it is predictable, but I enjoyed it perhaps because of that predictability. There's something to say about a book with low stakes that manages to catch your attention with fun characters you can relate to.
Hallie is a bit of a mess. Her unorthodox upbringing makes her somewhat ditzy when it comes to making decisions and sticking to things, yet what makes her endearing is seeing how hard she's working towards finding some balance in her life. Julian runs his life as structured and scheduled as possible because that's how he's learned to cope with his issues, and it gives him a sexy, uptight vibe that really works within the story. You put them together and even they think that it's a bad idea, yet they somehow work perfectly together. They're the counterweight they both need to find balance in their lives.
It's inevitable that they figure it out, which is why I say it's predictable. However, getting to the point where they accept how perfect they are for each other is so much fun and filled with so many memorable and enjoyable moments that it perfectly illustrates why I love rom-coms as much as I do.
There's also the fact that the side characters are interesting and fully formed to the point where you really do feel like they're living their lives off the page as Hallie and Julian work things out. It made me interested in the world around the main characters and added extra depth to the story.
Overall, it's a fun, romantic, and highly enjoyable story that I'm happy I read.

Happy thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the fun romance read!

Another sweet and charming romance from Tessa Bailey! When Tessa releases a new book, I'm definitely going to pick it up. Secretly Yours was a great read that was entertaining and full of swoon-worthy (and steamy) romance. I'm so excited to see how the series continues with Unfortunately Yours. While it's not my favourite of her books, it's still a solid romance that leaves you wanting more!

I just love Tessa Bailey so much. She does a great job at humorous, witty, quirky romance fun, and Secretly Yours has all of that wrapped up in the perfect Summer Romance packaged..

My first Tessa Bailey and I'm glad it was because I was not disappointed. I've read so many reviews about her books being a hit or miss but this one was definitely a hit. I adored both characters. The story was super cute. The only thing was the dirty talk, it had me laughing out loud every single time. What a turn off!!!

Yes yes yes. Tessa girl, you're my person. I feel like we get each other. Secretly Yours made me smile so big and I sped read finished in one setting. Hallie Welch was SO likeable. For fans of Tessa, this one is a no brainer. One click it. Thank you to Ms Bailey and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.