DNF at 28%. I feel like ever since Tessa Bailey got a multiple book deal and has been pumping out books so quickly, the quality of her novels has been so painful. Her last release, My Killer Vacation was a 3 star read for me and this one I couldn’t even get through after trying to push past the first 3rd of the books for weeks.

This book was absolutely perfect. I loved the characters and definitely found myself rooting for them from the get go. I think this will be forever my new favorite Tessa Bailey novel.

I don’t know if it is me or what but this book was just so cheesy?? It was cute but just way too much cheddar for my tastes.

I have had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with Tessa Bailey books. I either love them with a ferocity that only the truest fangirl can know, or I...just really don't. And maybe it's a mood thing? But unfortunately Secretly Yours did not deliver the high I was looking for.

I really struggled to connect with the characters, and it was giving "zany" vibes, when I was looking for quirky cute - and ultimately it was a disconnect that I couldn't get over and this was a DNF for me at 20%.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to read and review. I do love Tessa Bailey and am positive I will fall in love with future offerings. This one was just a swing and a miss for me.

I have really enjoyed Tessa Bailey's previous books, but this one didn't hit the mark for me. Maybe because I was expecting something more than her others had provided? Not sure.

Overall it was. cute story about opposites attracting, with solid character development and story line. At times though, it seemed that the story dragged a bit, especially near the end and could have possibly been wrapped up a bit more succinctly.

I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC of this book.

Thanks Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley for the digital ARC!

DNF'd @ 15%

I went into this excited based on the description! Unfortunately this is definitely not for me. I didn't feel any connection between the love interests and the way that Julian constantly only focused on her breasts from the first meeting was off-putting for me.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book, so i can't compare this to her other books!

Just finished this advanced readers copy, thanks NetGalley: I really enjoyed this and the characters. The characters really grow throughout the book, and I liked the side characters as well. It was a bit slow moving at first but then got plenty spicy 🌶️.

The Napa/Wine country setting was an interesting backdrop and I am looking forward to the next boom in this series!

This book was not Tessa Bailey's best. While I typically love opposites attract and small-town romance tropes, this book felt like it was trying to force both of these tropes together and let the tropes save the plot. I loved the spice and the tension between the characters. But the story outside of the romance was rushed and didn't always make sense. I love Tessa Bailey, but this book fell a bit flat. But I'm still excited for the second book in this series and hope I will love it like I love Tessa Bailey's other books!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon for letting me read an eARC of Secretly Yours! I’ve loved all of the Tessa Bailey books I’ve read so far, so I was the most excited to read this one!
Secretly Yours 3/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: A steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn...
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 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 to 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 gray-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.
I was so, so excited for Secretly Yours and as I was reading it, I was just so disappointed! It was so hard to stay in the book, because I just really did not like Hallie as a main character and I felt nothing for Julian as a love interest, so their story meant nothing to me and everything either of them did annoyed me. The whole secret admirer letters could have been such a fun element for their relationship, but nope, didn’t happen. The fact that they had a tiny bit of history was drawn out more than the baby kiss they shared should have been. I get why Tessa Bailey did the whole saving the small, local wine bar thing, but man, it felt so forced at the beginning and I was not a fan. The world seemed really cool though and I feel like there’s so much promise in this series, but this one just didn’t work for me. I know book two is about Julian’s sister though, and I already know that I’m going to like that book more, so I cannot wait to read it! So, overall, while Secretly Yours wasn’t 100% the book for me, I think if you’re bored and if you’re looking for an easy read (and you have a high tolerance for books that are a little annoying), definitely pick this one up, because book two is on the horizon!

Link to be added once post goes live

Hallie has had a crush on Julian Vos since high school, and he just returned to their small town for the summer. She’s planting flowers on his family’s estate, and all her feelings come rushing back. Julian, is a grumpy professor who has a type A personality and the polar opposite to Hallie a carefree down to earth wild child. After a drunken night, Hallie writes Julian a secret admirer letter to let him know how she feels.

I really enjoyed Hook, Line, & Sinker and It Happened One Summer, but this one didn’t hit the mark for me. I was a little disappointed by Secretly Yours, but I also enjoyed it! But it was a lot of lows with little highs. The plot was slow, the characters were inconsistent and immature, and the secret admirer letters didn’t add anything to the plot for me, just added unnecessary conflict. The plot with the rivalry of the wine stores, just felt really immature and didn’t add much context to the plot. I did enjoy the romance and the spice, the polar opposite of the main characters. Hallie was really immature and just not an attractive personality, Julian was a very type A personality but then he would objectify Hallie and his dirty talk didn’t add up with his demeanour. This novel wasn’t my cup of tea.

My copy was given to me from Harper Collins Canada and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review #ad

Romance: ❤️❤️
Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶
Plot points: 💥💥
Stars: ⭐️⭐️

I have a little bit of a love hate relationship with Tessa Bailey. I love her books because they’re fun and steamy as all get out.

But her men don’t always hit quite right.

I like Julian much better than some of her older MMC’s, but he’s definitely no Fox (iykyk). His character was a little rocky to me. The mental health part of his story was wonderfully fleshed out, but the some of him felt a little stilted and forced.

Hallie was sunshine through and through, though. I loved her quirks; they felt really believable.

The plot itself for this one was so stinking cute. It was really fun overall, but not my favorite by Tessa.

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

Tessa Bailey writes the most feel good, funny, romance books. I was grinning from start to finish during this dual POV opposites attract story.

This is the romance book for you if you love:
- wine
- saving a small business
- grumpy professors
- she falls first but he falls harder
- secret pinning
- a healthy amount of online stalking
- lite vandalism (totally justified, no worries)

Full of laugh out loud moments and a bit of spice, Secretly Yours will hook you from the start. It was released on February 7th and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I really wanted to love this as I love Tessa Bailey; however, I’m not sure why this book didn’t click with it. As expected, it is a summer, day at the beach type fluff read, but it took me several attempts to finally power through the book. I didn’t love the plot or characters. For a lighthearted read, it felt like the story dragged on way too long. I did love the small town, second chance of love setting though.

I love romance novels but this one was just ok for me. The main character is supposed to be 29 years old but it's not believable, especially the "secret admirer" letters she writes. And I like a good spicy sex scene but this book was cringey. This book was a no for me.

I struggled with this one. The story was ok and unfortunately I didn’t like the characters for some reason.

This one just wasn’t for me .

The plot for this one wasn't really my jam, but Tessa is always a treat. I can't wait to read the next one.

Tessa Bailey does not wrong. Sexy, funny, and fun. This is one of her best books yet. Tessa has my money each and every time she puts pen to paper.

I have loved literally every book I have picked up by Tessa ! I was SO glad to receive this on netgalley. Unfortunately I just got around to it but I am SO glad I didn't put it off any longer. I really enjoyed Hallie and Julian's story. It was fun, relatable and just another fast paced read I couldn't seem to put down all weekend. I honestly can't wait for the sequel and hope to read more about how Julian has adjusted to the newfound chais he has welcomed in his life thanks to Hallie.

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager and to Netgalley for an earc of Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey.

This one is for lovers of:
-secret admirer
-opposites attract
-grumpy/sunshine
-Spicy romance
-anxiety and panic attack representation

This one started out strong for me! I loved how quirky Hallie was and how serious Julian was. Their interactions were good at the start and you could see how they were both going to help each other develop. I felt like Julian’s personality changed so much from every day to steamy times and that was a bit jarring for me. While I loved the secondary characters, I felt like there were so many different possible story lines added to the novel that it felt a little all over the place and it didn’t allow for full resolutions for events that had already started. I also felt the 3rd act conflict and its resolution was a bit off to the rest of the story.

The writing was well done and while this is a solid 3 star read for me I know that many others will love it so much.

Love these books of the Napa siblings. This is the story of Julian who has returned to the vineyard to write a book. He runs into Hallie a crazy uninhibited grader, but doesn’t realize she has been into him they almost kissed during a party when he was a senior in high school. Julian is serious and all business, and Hallie is utter chaos. Can a little secret admirer spark life back into Julian?