I understand where the author was trying to go with the plot line but the execution wasn’t amazing. I found the main character, Hallie, a little too childish and annoying. I get she’s suppose to be the complete opposite of the love interest, Julian, but I think it could’ve been done without making Hallie a 29 year old virgin who has been pining for the same guy for 15 years after she’s had one conversation with him in the middle of a party. I did like Julian a lot and thought his character had a lot of depth. It’s still a cute book with smutty scenes that screams classic Tessa Bailey. I would recommend Secretly Yours if you like cheesy, fluffy, romance novels with a glass of wine.

I’ve loved all the Tessa Bailey books I’ve read thus far, but I just wasn’t super invested in these main characters. Especially odd after this long of a book. There was some solid spice and slow burn action. I just felt like the same things were said over and over and over, and I eventually got worn out and skimmed through to the end.

Secretly Yours was a cute and spicy book. I would say it was a typical Tessa Bailey book in terms of spice. Hallie is a very quirky character while Julian likes clean, order, and control. They are completely different in so many ways yet compliment each other so well. I liked how although they were so unique there were parts of each of them that I found to be very relatable. My favorite parts of this book was how in their own ways they went out of the way for one another with their actions. I feel like in many books the MMC will say a lot, be protective but doesn't always show it. In this book actions spoke as loud, if not louder than the words they spoke. My least favorite part of this book was the letters. I honestly did not feel like they were needed. I would rather have heard more about Corked, or them building their relationship in other ways. I think they could have shown a deeper or more in depth connection of how the two opposites attracted. This is probably rated in the middle of the Tessa Bailey books I have read. I still liked It Happened One Summer, and Hook Like and Sinker better, as those are some of my all time favorite books, but I still enjoyed this book and am curious to read about Natalie in the next book. I also wouldn't mind Owen getting a HEA.

Thanks Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the free ARC.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book and overall I really enjoyed this book. Julian and Hallie are opposites and second change couple. Hallie is the type to fly by the seat of her pants and is very carefree. Julian likes his routines and strict schedules. Julian falls for Hallie fast and will do anything to make her smile. This was a sweet small town romance with some good spice. I rated it 3.75 stars and 2 spice.

I’ve read 5 of Tessa Bailey’s book, and I don’t think this one is my favorite. It all just felt too rushed between Hallie and Julian. this is an opposites attract romance but it felt too rushed and I didn’t really connect with the characters.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me. I tried desperately to get into the story but it all kind of felt ridiculous. The story line was a bit uninteresting and the characters were nothing special. I’m just a tad bit disappointed

n Tessa Bailey's newest book, Secretly Yours, Hallie Welch runs her own gardening company in the small town she (mostly) grew up in. Hallie's life is somewhat a mess and full of chaos, so her long standing crush on the upstanding and predictable Julian Vos doesn't make sense. She's had thing for him since she was 14, but the feelings weren't returned. She doesn't know what to expect when he turns up back in town to work on his novel, but getting drunk and writing him a secret admirer letter is where she ends up. Meanwhile, she wrangles herself a job redoing the gardens at his family vineyard and the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other despite their differences. Through their unlikely friendship in real life and their anonymous one on paper, can Hallie and Julian heal from their past and embrace a different future?

There are a lot of tropes at play in this steamy romcom- a bit grumpy-sunshine, secret admirer, opposite attract, miscommunication, and second chance romance all in a small wine town setting. I really wanted to love this book. The wine country setting intrigued and I loved seeing Hallie owning her own business. However, the plot just didn't do it for me. I didn't really like how the letters would used. They seemed to be there to create drama that was unnecessary in my opinion and led to a frustrating final conflict.

I also found some of the dialogue made me cringe. I should know by now that the steam scenes in Bailey's work probably aren't for me. I had the same response to It Happened One Summer, though I overall enjoyed that book. Some of what Julian said was just bleh and came out of nowhere because it didn't match his personality in the entire rest of the book. It seemed out of character which made it feel forced.

Overall, I think I may be in a minority on this one. It wasn't for me, but it could be for you! It publishes February 7th, just in time for Valentine's Day if reading romance is in your plans!

Girl and boy share an almost-kiss back in high school. Boy completely forgets about it, girl spends the next fifteen years daydreaming about it. Then boy shows up back in town. Despite their completely opposite nature - he's anxious and driven by schedules, she's wild and impulsive and chaotic - they can't stay away from each other.

Does anybody else find it interesting how romance books have really similar pacing? I can think of SO many books across multiple authors and romance sub-genres (contemporary, historical) that follow a similar plot structure. For example:
10% mark: the main leads meet and have sort of physical attraction that starts to build
45% mark: first physical event (usually a kiss that gets interrupted)
75% mark: expressing love/devotion to each other; usually a big physical culmination (cough cough, they bang)
80% mark: some unnecessary conflict (miscommunication, secrets, etc.)
100% mark: happily ever after

Does this kind of pacing get old? Sometimes, but usually it doesn’t bother me too much as long as the plot isn’t too ridiculous and the characters are entertaining. <I>Secretly Yours</I> definitely had the latter, but the 80% mark conflict felt particularly silly. IMO miscommunication as a romance trope is already over-used, but felt really blown out of proportion here, and left me finishing <I>Secretly Yours</I> slightly annoyed.

That being said, Bailey knows how to write romantic tension and spicy dialogue. For this reason alone, I’ll keep reading her contemporary romances. I’d probably recommend the <I>Bellinger Sisters</I> series over <I>A Vine Mess</I> for better pacing and characters, but I’ve been entertained by both.

I voluntarily obtained an eBook version of this book free from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review!

3.5/5 ⭐️

Tessa is Queen and nothing will ever change my mind on this.

Secretly yours had a fast moving plot, and I'll chalk that up to the fact this was a 2nd chance romance. So cute! The MMC anexity was delt with in a good way, especially at the end of the book. TW for wildfires, if you were in Tubbs/any of the fires in 17/18/19 this might be a little triggering.

When opposites attract, my favorite HEAs happen.

Wildly-out-of-control Hallie Welch has been hung up on strict-schedule Julian Vos since high school. She has followed his career and when he returns to their home town, she is cautiously excited to see him again. They re-meet while Hallie is working on the garden in front of his place and learn all about one another. Can these two find a common ground to find love with each other?

Thank you to Tessa Bailey, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm such a Tessa Bailey fan but I have to say that this one did not live up to my expectations.

Now those expectations were super high given her two latest releases which I absolutely adored but I just couldn't get into this story and didn't care for the characters to continue.

Unfortunately, I think this was a result of the first chapter. I was kind of lost with Hallie's rant about the new wine store. I'm sure the story would circle back to this issue but I just found it boring and not a great opener.

Even if I can't initially get into a story, I'll stick with it if I fall for the characters. But again, unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with either character and didn't care to see where things went with either of them.

It was hard to buy into and understand the torch Hallie was holding onto for Julian for so long when it seemed very childish and without much substance given the slight non-kiss. Maybe there was more to their connection then but I wasn't seeing it nor cared to learn more.

While I was intrigued by Julian's OCD-like behavior and issues with anxiety, it wasn't enough to sustain my interest. His immediate reactions to seeing Hallie work outside his window felt forced and odd.

I'll forever read Bailey's new releases but this one just wasn't a hit for me.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

It truly pains me to write this review, this was a highly anticipated book for me and i had high hopes for it so when I received it the other day for an arc I was bouncing off the walls about it. Until I finished the first chapter and realized there was no shot I was going to like the book. However I kept on reading, stopping myself from DNFing multiple times until I hit about 60% and had to start skimming because I was just really over it.

I want to state that this book quite literally put me to sleep multiple times.. 😬

I liked Hallie and Julian as separate people however together they were just.. not it. The book itself felt way too all over the place and lacked any real structure. Everything felt either extremely forced or extremely weird. (Especially the spicy times)

There were some really cute or funny moments during the book which is why I gave it two stars instead of one. But all in all this book was a let down for me and I hate that because I adore Tessa Bailey, I’m still going to give Natalies story a shot when it is released so hopefully her story will be better suited for me 🤞🏼

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for my e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Tessa Bailey is a hit or miss author for me. I really loved her Bellinger Sisters series. This book is sadly another miss for me. The plot felt all over the place. There's the anonymous love letters and the rival wine stores; but neither of these plot points feel well thought out or executed. The relationship felt way too rushed on Julian's side; Hallie at least had a lifelong crush on him so it made sense why she had feelings.

Hallie also is supposed to be 29 years old, but she is very immature. She comes across very unprofessional. Overall, I didn't connect with either characters. The plot/pacing felt slow and boring. Not even the spice was enough to save this book for me.

This was my first book by Tessa Bailey and now I know she is just not for me. I do love romance books but this felt like that plot was just filler to get from one sex scene to the next. I needed a bit more story to keep me interested. I also didn’t love the dark and brooding man who thinks he’s broken and then is a totally different person in the bedroom. That scares me.

I know these books certainly have an audience. I appreciate getting the chance to test it out but it’s just not my thing.

I will not be doing a full review on my page do to the Harper’s Union strike.

4/5 stars

A spicy little rom com about optimistic Hailee who’s high school crush Julian returns to town and shakes up her life. The chemistry was great, the plot moved quickly and the spice was just right.

A few things that I’m not a fan of that played out pulling it down from a 5 star read
- the Virgin who’s also really into sex, just feels like a bullshit male fantasy and just irks me every time.
- Theres a comment early on that basically implies Hallie had been causally drunk driving (she had to stop the afternoon wine tastings the car keys were in the microwave…) which went against her good girl standing and also just bothers me…


All in all a fun little read, thanks to Net Galley for the arc

You know a book is gonna be a doozy when you can’t stop picturing the hero as Niles Crane from the 90s sitcom, Frasier #notsexy. Needless to say this was another DNF for me, dog. 2023 is the year of the DNF.

Hallie is a gardener in Napa with seemingly no frontal lobe. She acts impulsive, irresponsible, and immature. It’s like 30 going on 13. She brings her annoying dogs everywhere and has no ability to control them (audacious)- listen bitch not everyone likes a dog. She’s also a virgin and writes Julian secret admirer letters that make me think she is for sure going to make a skin suit out of him.

Julian is a buttoned up Sanford professor who must be rigid and obsessively timely to control his anxiety. His attitude about his anxiety is so archaic, like send the hysterical lady to the seashore archaic. Dude- get some meds and therapy and live your life.

These two dingdongs are pretty boring. Hallie is a spaz. Julian is hot for her but can’t understand why. She writes him anon love letters. He writes back even tho he doesn’t know she’s the writer which is sorta shady. I didn’t even make it to the point of him devirginizing her, but the first hookup of theirs was so cringy…Julian’s dirty talk literally mentions Hallie’s dirty knees and then he tells about scheduling masturbating to her on his daily calendar #timliness.

This book wasn’t good. I’ve decided I’m not a Tessa Bailey fan. Her characters are cartoonish and unrelatable. The relationship between Hallie and Julian made little sense to me and his immediate possessiveness of her was off putting. I made it 50% of the way into this one, but should have quit sooner. It was boring, the characters were garbage, nothing made sense. Read at your own risk.

Smut- unstageable
Romance- 1 star
Story- 1 star
Niles from Frasier as a love interest- neg 781 stars
Using literal dirt talk as dirty talk- neg 912 stars

This book was a mess for me.
First off, the male main character gave me the ick. The first encounter Julian had with Hailey, the can only focus on her boobs. It’s creepy and very sexist. There are also several times in the book where Julian gets really territorial over Hailey in almost an animal like way that was a total turn off. Finally, his dirty talk was weird and dominating in a very forced and aggressive way. Overall, he was a tough main character to root for because he had all of these red flags.

Now onto Hailey. I appreciated the author trying to create a messy character that was sunshine on the outside but battling things inside. But for me, this just didn’t work. Hailey was really immature for her age. She was cyber stalking Juliane, committing childish pranks, and overall a total mess. She felt like a sterotype and not an actual person.

Overall this book just did not work for me and it was a rough read.

Secretly Yours is the first book in the A Vine Mess series, but it is still considered a standalone. A small-town, grumpy/sunshine book that revolves around Hallie Welcher, who has had a crush for years on Julian Vos. Their paths crossed again years later when Hallie was hired to patch the Vos estate. Knowing full well they are extreme opposites; they are still drawn to each other. One drunken night, Hallie did something reckless by leaving a secret admirer letter for Julian. As they insert themselves into the other’s personal and professional problems, along with the private letters, they begin to realize specific characteristics about themselves they tend to ignore… as well as strong feelings for each other.

If you’re expecting something as lighthearted and amusing as the Bellinger Sisters series (especially It Happened one Summer), this is nothing like that. There are fun moments in this book too, but it felt a bit more subdued than her recently released books. I like that both our main characters have an equal focus in this book and don’t feel one-dimensional. I like their opposite personalities; it works well for the plot of this book. I also love their thoughts and process as they realize their tendencies to significantly impact their lives and take the courage to change themselves for their betterment. I didn’t like the horny thoughts though. I would have preferred less of it in certain scenes in the book; it felt unnecessary.

I do enjoy how much impact they make on each other, which leads to positive character development. It’s something I look for in romance books, and this book delivers.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"If you can’t hold still….. make it count.”
"You want me to-“
"Touch yourself. Yes. It’s only fair, since I’ve been fucking my hand on a regular basis since you started working outside my window.”

This book started out pretty slow for me. As much as the characters interested me I found the pacing slow and kind of boring. Then it all picked up about a little less than halfway through from that scene I quoted! Hallie has had a crush on Julian for over ten years. It was infatuation but when he comes back to his family’s winery in need of a desperate break, she gets to know who he really is as a person and just falls harder. I really enjoyed all those scenes where Hallie is hired and works for the Vos’s estate. It was fun reading how Julian is just enrapture by her. He can’t help but follow her wherever she goes. He finds her so freeing while he lives by schedules. Now I got to talk about those steamy scenes! You would not think with Julian being so stuffy and time managing that he would be such a dirty talker! The things that come out of his mouth! 🔥🔥🔥 This is the first book in the new series and I can’t wait to read the second book featuring Julian’s sister, Natalie!

Read if you like:
3rd person Dual POVs
Small town romance
Vineyard romance
Opposites attract
Forced proximity
Professor hero
Virgin romance
Dirty talk hero
Open door romance
Pen pals