Tessa Bailey has done it again folks!! The adoration her characters have for each other is always so unmatched and makes the reader feel all warm inside from it. I love the little quirks that make up Hallie's personality and way of being, and that it gives Julian the push he needs to overcome what hold him back from truly experiencing life.

Another win from Tessa Bailey!! I loved this one so freaking much. Just the sweet love story and the wine, all the freaking wine. I can’t wait until the next book!

Tessa Bailey is a hit and miss for me. This book was okay. I had high hopes for it in the beginning, but got bored easily. I really like Hallies spunk, but I started to dislike how she wrote Julian’s character during the sex scenes. It wasn’t sexy at all. Sometimes, Tessa’s make character seem like predators to me.

I read and really got into two excellent books by this author—It Happened One Summer and also Hook, Line, and Sinker. I expected to feel the same about this book, but I just didn’t.

I liked the main character Hallie, a gardener struggling to find herself after taking over her recently-deceased grandmother’s business. The author did a good job making her appear quirky, creative, and caring.

Hallie, now 29, has been in love with Julian, whose family owns a winery, since high school. Julian, a Stanford professor with anxiety issues, has taken a leave to return to his family’s winery to write a novel. The two connect when Hallie is hired by Julian’s mother to landscape the winery’s grounds. The two seem to be polar opposites, with Julian being super-organized and Hallie being super-spontaneous.

The title, Secretly Yours, refers to some secret admirer/anonymous letter exchanges that the author uses to advance the plot and spur growth and development of the main characters. I would have liked the book better if it included less about the letters and more about the wine and gardening businesses. Overall, the book was a decent rom-com with a satisfying HEA.

Going into this book, I knew I was in for a sweet rom-com, and I can confirm that Tessa Bailey delivered!

Bailey’s books are typically light and fun, and while this one definitely had those qualities, it also had some heavier topics, including anxiety and panic attacks. I liked the romance between Hallie and Julian, but my favorite part of this book would have to be the accurate and relatable representation of anxiety/anxious thoughts.

What I liked about this book:
📈 Anxiety representation
🍷 The winery / small town setting
💥 Hallie’s spontaneity
📆 Julian’s dedication to routine
✌🏻 The opening to the second book in this series

What I didn’t love about this book:
😬 Some cringey scenes
🤦🏼‍♀️ A tiny bit of miscommunication

I am looking forward to reading book two of this series, Unfortunately Yours, out June 2023!

I really wanted to like this as the beginning half had so much potential but the characters feel flat for me. They were very typical of a clumsy girl and a strict boy who both have inner demons they have to overcome. The banter between them was funny as time but there was no physical contact between them until almost 60%. It was more of zany awkward love story set on a winery.

This was cute! I enjoyed it! Not my favorite Tessa Bailey book but I totally recommend if you are looking for a rom-com that's silly and mindless.

Hallie had a crush on Julian in high school, but she was just a freshman. As a senior, he graduated, and she never saw him again. Now he has returned to their hometown in Napa Valley, and she still finds him incredibly attractive.

This is an extreme example of opposites attract. Hallie is a "pinup earth mother" who gardens according to her whim. Julian is a rigorously structured and detailed history professor.

At first, I didn't find Hallie particularly likeable. While I appreciated her lack of planning and structure, she went far beyond that with inappropriate, and even criminal, behavior. Her grief manifests in these destructive behaviors. And while that's understandable, it made the book less enjoyable for me. I cringed frequently while reading the first part of the book.

I liked the book more once the secret admirer letters finally began. Those wete a fun detail and an interesting play on miscommunication tropes. And I greatly liked the setting in Napa Valley and the other characters. The steamy scenes and dirty talk matched my expectations for Tessa Bailey. But most, I appreciated that she included mental health representation, even though parts were tough to read.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

CW: anxiety, stigma about mental health

3.5 stars rounded up

I really wanted to love this book. I really have enjoyed all of Tessa Bailey’s other novels. This one just missed the mark in my mind. I did love Hallie’s character and thought she was precious. I also related to Julian’s need for schedule and timeliness. It took me several days to read this book when normally it would take me a few hours. The plot just felt pretty drawn out and slow.

A new series from Tessa Bailey?! Yes please! I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope here and how Hallie pulled Julian out of his comfort zone.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC of this novel. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this novel - the first 25% didn’t fully grip me but let me just say this: Julian’s dirty banter? Exceptional.

Quick Synopsis: Hallie is a gardener called to add some foliage to her customer’s garden, but she’s had a crush on her customer’s son for years. Now a professor at a university, Julian has returned home to write his historical fiction novel, but he’s having a hard time concentrating with Hallie always around, planting without planning, her dogs running around barking, and her presence distracting him from his very rigid and rigorous writing schedule.

Trigger warnings: panic attacks, PTSD, anxiety

What I liked:
-This is an insta-love, super over the top, sweet rom-com with low stakes and funny sub-plots that keep you entertained.
-The spicy scenes are it. They’re spicy. And the dirty talk is top tier.
-I liked the juxtaposition between how Hallie has longed for Julian for years and while Julian hasn’t reciprocated as long, the second he sees Hallie it’s basically insta-love and he’s even more obsessed with her than she is with him.
-The UNCORKED v Corked situation was funny. It was enjoyable.

What I struggled with:
-I know the whole “secretly yours” aspect was supposed to be the critical part of the novel but it really felt unnecessary? I didn’t see the point of that whole arc and what it really brought to the narrative.
-I struggled with the first 20% of the novel but once I got into it held my attention from then on.

Altogether, this was a really enjoyable read and I’m very glad I got to review it! I will most likely buy a physical copy and I definitely can’t wait for Natalie’s story next.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this book. Thank you Avon books for the opportunity to read and review. I noted many of the reviews mentioned that she was a steamy romcom writer and that she is.

Hallie operates a gardening business that she ran with her grandmother who passed away. She is still adjusting to life after her grandmother’s passing when she hears that her high school crush has returned home. She decides to come up with a strategy to bump into Julian and get to know him better. Julian is back at the winery for the summer working on a book he is writing. He is incredibly routine and time driven. Is it possible for a free spirit and someone who can only function on a schedule be compatible ?

This is the second book I read where letters are exchanged by the main characters in the book. I really like that and enjoyed it in this book. This book is definitely a steamy romcom for those who like to read spicy scenes. In a few books I have read it became more about the sex but this story holds its own without the steam. I would recommend this book with a warning about the spice level.

I have a 50/50 track record with Tessa Bailey but after moving Hook Line and Sinker, I was excited to jump into this one. Then I started seeing some of the reviews which were decidedly not great. So maybe that colored my option at the beginning and caused me not to be as psyched while reading. But then I wound up liking it a lot!

Hallie is not my favorite character. But she’s not terrible. A little hard to believe she is a 29-year-old Virgin who has been pining for the same man (who she barely really knew) since she was 14 years old.

Julian’s character also wasn’t my favorite. He seemed to have some real issues that needed to be dealt with before he entered into a relationship.

All of that notwithstanding I enjoyed their romance. The dirty talk did seem out of character for Julian but I still thought it worked!

I wanted to keep reading and found myself enjoying the story. I will read the next in the series. 3.5 stars for this one.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has Tessa Bailey’s signature sweet and steamy mix to create yet another compulsively readable rom-com.

Hallie has had a crush on Julian since they had gone to school together years ago and that doesn’t seem to have changed when she returns to town.

In true grumpy-sunshine fashion (my favorite trope) Julian is buttoned up and reserved and Hallie is exuberance and sunshine. The two start to grow closer and closer as friends while Hallie is also leaving Julian secret admirer letters, as she hasn’t quite gotten the courage to tell him her feelings outright yet.

I do feel that despite the steam this novel reads a little more juvenile than It Happens One Summer and some of Tessa’s other novels but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of
this sweet romance.

4 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I love Tessa Bailey, I just adore her writing and her flow. So getting this book in my hands was a DREAM.

I really liked the concept of this book, however I feel like the characters just lacked chemistry and the book wrapped up extremely quick.

The book was cute and spicy, but it was just hard for me to form a connection with the characters.

DNF

2023 is the year of DNFing books i can't finish. and unfortunately, this is one of them. i adored tessa bailey's recent duology about the bellinger sisters (so much so that i bought a physical copy of 'it happened one summer', which is rare for me. but if i'm being honest, this book doesn't have the charm that the bellinger sisters had.

the main characters are honestly forgettable. i truly did not care for them and whether or not they got together. in fact, hallie was so annoying that i actually skipped some of her chapters. i will say i enjoyed having julian's POV as well. it was a refreshing change and he was a bit more interesting to read about. but despite the mild interest i had in him and his POV, he (as well as hallie) were about as flat as flat stanley.

this book just seemed like a cliche. and after bailey had done such a wonderful job with the bellinger sisters (cliche but with some depth), i couldn't help but compare the books and see how this one lacked in comparison.

Secretly Yours is the newest book from Tessa Bailey and it gives a fine read. Hallie and Julian are as opposites as can be. While Hallie is fun and outgoing, Julian is more stick to himself and refined. They keep running into each other and while Julian is determined to stay away, he keeps getting drawn back to the lively gardener. I did enjoy their interactions and banter. The push and pull was captivating. They were the ying to the other's yang. Even it didn't seem like it, they did fit nicely and got the other. They were sweet together. The only thing I wanted was more of their relationship. The slow burn was pleasant so it would have been great to see Hallie and Julian being a couple at the last few chapters. I liked the small town feel especially in wine country. I am interested in Julian's sister's book next.

You’re going to love this if you love
✨ Napa & winery settings
✨ opposites attract
✨ grumpy/sunshine
✨ secret admirer letters
✨ slow burn

Overall, I liked this one. I love a bubbly blonde and a grumpy stoic professor. Who doesn’t? Hallie is adorable and fun and also a hot mess. Julian has untreated anxiety and is a whole mess.

I often say that I like my romances pretty cozy, I don’t usually want a lot of conflict. But this one was a little *too* conflict-free for me. I just could not buy that they were “too different” to try dating when they were both SO into each other. I was so ready for them to get together so much sooner than they did! There were some subplots that were introduced but didn’t feel completed. I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had the audiobook, since I’ve been in an all audiobook all the time kind of mood.

Thank you to @netgalley & @avonbooks for my review copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I am so obsessed with this book that I ordered right after I read this arc! This is a perfect grumpy/sunshine romcom with a You’ve Got Mail feel and “good girl” spicy vibe… I mean, I needed this book in my life. Hallie is a little chaotic in the best way, and Julian is utterly rigid… yet they’re somehow perfect for each other. It’s a he-falls-first, and you have to love it!

Aside from how delicious and sweet this romance was for Hallie and Julian, I adored how the core of this book was self-acceptance for who we are, not who we’re expected to be. This is what I’ve come to expect from Tessa Bailey, and it’s why she’s an auto-buy author. I only wish I could give her MORE STARS!! Go buy this one- you’ll be so glad you did!

This was a book that I read. Hallie and Julien were cute but the book was not good. The entire point of the book/title doesn’t make sense. What I mean by that is that the letters are not that significant in the book and he doesn’t even find out until chapter 22 out of 24. Also I don’t know the proper terms but Tessa Bailey writes everything very gender oriented. It throws me off and I don’t love it.

I received an arc through net galley.