I couldn’t put this book down! This is another fantastic romance by Tessa Bailey. I love the opposites attract between the characters. One is super rigid and strict with his life. The other is a little bit chaotic. They pair perfectly together. This is also somewhat of a second chance romance. They weren’t together before but had a small spark of attraction as teenagers. I also really felt a connection to one of the characters struggling with anxiety. I can’t wait for the next book!
*thank you to NetGalley for an arc.

Secretly Yours was a really cute kind of second chance and a whole lot of opposites attract romance. It dealt with some heavier topics (warnings: grief, anxiety, panic disorders, traumatic environmental events) but still managed to be mostly light and fun. I loved Hallie as the FMC and found her relatable as she was trying to navigate a new normal, grief, and just entering a new season of life.

Julian was a little more bland and one-dimensional as he was hyper focused, but that was also part of the challenges he was dealing with in life, so it made sense!

There was plenty of signature Tessa Bailey dirty talk. The end felt a little rushed and also a little unfinished. Part of me also wanted there to be more about the letters—by the end, they seemed more like an afterthought.

Overall, Secretly Yours is worth a read—preferably while enjoying a glass of wine in the sunshine!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Im actually removing this from the humor romance that I had shelved this book in. It wasn't funny. I don't know whats going on with Tessa but she needs to go back to her og writing style. The plot didnt flow very well for me and the main characters I definitely didn't see them connect. I may not read the next book as we knew it was going to be Natalie's story.

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Tessa Bailey does it again in this new series. She is one of my all-time favorite romance authors and did not disappoint with this new series. Let me list the tropes for ya: grumpy-sunshine; second chance romance; protective; so many more I can't honestly recall.

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey is an irresistible opposites-attract romantic comedy that will have you laughing out loud with its witty banter, swooning over its steamy dialogue, and falling in love with its well-developed characters. I couldn't put this book down and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating read.

Three stars. Quick read, funny and sexy. The only things that bugged me were a few pieces of awkward dialogue and something I can't quite put my finger on. All in all, enjoyable especially if you love small town romances which I do.

Thank you, Netgalley, for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I love Tessa Bailey books, but I felt like the couple needed to spend more time together getting to know one another. It felt like a “love at first sight” kind of book.

I was hoping for more of the fun banter she is so good at in her books!

Another heart warming romance by Tessa Bailey, this time set in beautiful Napa Valley. As always, I'm obsessed with Tessa Bailey's character descriptions that bring them to life and have my heart aching as they navigate their sticky romances. Second chance love, slow burn, swoon.

If there's one thing Tessa Bailey can do, it's write a smutty book. This was no exception. I loved the love letters that were shared, the witty humor, and the undeniable chemistry that Hallie and Julian had. Not to mention... it was just steamy. Such a good addition to Tessa Bailey's collection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Opposites attract, right? Well Hallie and Julian are definitely opposites. Hallie is a free spirit, while Julian is regimented and adheres to a very strict schedule. It's easy to like both Hallie and Julian, especially when you have 3 dogs that can't get enough of either of them. I loved how their personalities conflicted, but also how they both showed such a huge desire for love.

The one thing I didn't like was the stupid letters. There were really only a few of them and when you think a story is going to revolve around something (since it's in the title!) and it totally doesn't, it can annoy me. It's a cute story, but a little too romance trope-y for me.

I didn't realize that Avon was an imprint of Harper Collin when I requested this book. I won't do anything to hurt the author but want to stand by the union, so I'll be posting my review at a later point.

Where do I even start? This was the cutest stinking book ever. Tessa Bailey did it again.

Hallie and Julian could not be more opposites if they tried, but you know what they say about opposites right? And boy oh boy do they certainly attract in this one.

Julian has the filthiest mouth on him, oh my word. I’m not mad about it though but I certainly was not expecting it from him.

I see a lot of myself in Hallie. She’s chaotic, never has anything planned, lives life day-by-day, and loves flowers. My kinda gal.

Only reason I knocked this down a star was because, comparing to the way I felt reading It Happened One Summer, I didn’t have the same “can’t put this book down” feeling. However, that is the only fault I found, which mostly boils down to my own personal experience rather than the quality of the story itself.

4.5 stars

Let me start by saying that I really loved this book. For a Tessa Bailey book, this was more on the slow burn side of things and had a similar feel to Hook, Line, and Sinker. Of course, you still get the public sex scene (couldn't be a Tess Bailey book without one of those), but this one was very well done. I loved the chemistry between Hallie and Jillian. I loved that this was funny at times, but also had very serious moments. Hallie has had a serious crush on Jillian for over 15 years, and while he is back in town, she starts writing him secret admirer letters. I feel like this book shows Tessa Bailey's progress as an author. It shows that she can write funny and serious moments, and I found that to be one of the best things about this story.

Read this if you love:
- Crush from high school
- Letters
- Small town romance
- Anxiety representation
- Second chance romance
- Dirty talk
- Slow burn
- Open-door romance

Romance books are a very fickle genre. If your love language and quirks aren't represented, then the book can feel disconnected or awkward. Sometimes romance books represent fetishes and dynamics that turn people off, which happens occasionally for me.

Secretly Yours was of those cases. Specifically, the intense sexual dominance of Julian in regards to Hallie was not something I enjoyed. Don't get me wrong—I love dominance when done right *insert It Happened One Summer* but that wasn't the case here. The power dynamic just felt odd since Hallie had a crush on Julian since she was fourteen, so a lot of times this whole relationship felt more like infatuation than an actual healthy relationship. Hallie is emotionally at a disadvantage in this relationship because she has so much history with her crush on Julian, whereas he did not remember her at all from their near-first kiss. Plus, my feelings over this unequal power dynamic worsened when Hallie's virginity was brought up. Now I like the fact that this book shows virgins can be any age, and there is no shame in that, but the fetishization of virginity is not something I'm personally into. Julian just gave me the ick, to be honest, as he gushed for pages on her tightness/ lack of other partners. It just wasn't for me, so this book was pretty much tainted with that the rest of the length.

Now I'm VERY excited for Unfortunately Yours. The synopsis already makes me think this relationship dynamic will be much more my speed. I have a physical ARC of it staring at me through time and space over on my shelf, so I'm really REALLY hoping I can have a fun ride with the sequel. Who doesn't love enemies to lovers involving a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience?

Overall, Secretly Yours wasn’t bad, wasn’t good—just neutral for me since I did not vibe with the romantic personalities of the characters.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this early. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

this was fun and cute, with a good dash of tension, as always for me and tessa's work, i have a fun time but something is missing, it could have hit stronger but it didn't. but thats only my experience, i feel like it is perfect if you want a cute romcom for valentine's day

I’ve always loved every book I’ve read by Tessa Bailey, but this one was definitely not my favorite.

That said, I did appreciate the mental health representation of anxiety (VERY heavy in this book, be warned), but it’s regularly viewed as a weakness and something to overcome by both characters who refuse to seek out help for their struggles.

I liked Hallie’s character as the book went on, but at first she felt a bit too childish to me. Being in her late 20s, she behaved as though she were still a teenager. That said, as the book went on, I came to love her wild ways.

Honestly, I really loved Julian. I loved the struggles he faced, his dirty mouth, and how he was overcome with desire for Hallie, BUT his shift from needing everything perfectly in order to throwing his hands up in the air and getting down and dirty was a bit too drastic of a shift too quickly. For a book that felt a bit drawn out, that part felt like whiplash to me.

I loved the steamy scenes – Bailey always knows how to make her readers’ knees weak! I just wished for a bit more of an arc in the character development rather than full upheaval of personalities. Hallie’s felt a bit more gradual than Julian’s though.

All in all, I’ll still read book two – like I said, I love everything she writes, even if this series might not be my favorite of them all.

Tropes:
👀 second chance romance
👀 childhood crush
👀 secret admirer love letters
👀 anxiety representation
👀 small town romance

I loveee this author, but overall I just didn’t connect with the characters or enjoy the tropes in this one. Hallie was chaotic in an annoyingly immature way for a 29 year old, I did not find her endearing. There’s no way you could stay in business with the schedule you run, which is to say- there’s no schedule. The dirty talk did not do it for me. It felt so cringe. I absolutely loved the dogs, I would have liked more scenes with them.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is on par with It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line and Sinker!

She spicy 🌶️ , like all Tessa Bailey books.

Wine, high school crushes, opposites attract, fun and flowers!

I thought this book was very very cute! I loved the way both MCs worked through and helped each other with their personal struggles.

This was fun a quirky. Quick read. The idea was good it just fell a little flat for me. Just didn’t really have the Tessa feel I’m used to. In my opinion.