2.5⭐️ rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper’s Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Okay guys, I was so excited for this book, but it honestly didn’t live up to my expectations. I am a huge fan of Tessa Bailey’s books and I absolutely loved the Bellinger Sisters books, as well as the Hot & Hammered series, and Secretly Yours did not have the same charm or captivating characters (for me) as either of those series. I feel like Secretly Yours had a lot of potential, and maybe if it had a bit more substance or a little more to it, than the book would have delivered. It just felt like it wasn’t fully developed to me. I liked both Julian and Hallie, they just also weren’t as fully developed as some of TB’s other characters (or to put it in a better way, they didn’t have a robust character arc). I loved Hallie’s hijinks in the beginning of the book and found them hilarious. I appreciated the mental health rep in Julian, even though it felt shaky and not fully addressed at times. The last 20% of the book kinda through me for a loop, because the big conflict was kind of a mess and made Julian and Hallie’s relationship feel strained and juvenile. This was definitely a slow burn for TB, but I think it takes away from Bailey’s strengths. I was also really excited for the letter aspect of this book, but it played a really small part of the book at the end of the day. The side characters really shined and I enjoyed all of them. I’m excited to read Natalie’s book, as she definitely shined on every page!

Secretly Yours tells the story of Hallie, a gardiner, who has been in love with Julian since she was in high school and met him at a party, they took a walk together, and he almost kissed her. For 15 years she has been fantasizing about him and that almost kiss, so much so that no other man can live up to her fantasy man. Enter real Julian who returns back to his home town to write a book and sparks fly between the two of them, making the novel quite a steamy read. I enjoyed it but I also found it very hard to get into until about half-way in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for something that is so cute it makes your stomach flutter, this is it. Secretly Yours is absolutely adorable and a must read for everyone that enjoys romance.

The chemistry and tension between the characters made this a hit from the start. It's a classic grumpy x sunshine and the dual pov's made it even better. Seeing Julian's struggle from his side made it so much sweeter when you get to the end. Plus, his internal monologue obsessing over his need to make Hallie smile also made me smile like an idiot every time. In classic Tessa Bailey fashion, the dirty talk (while unexpected from such a buttoned up mmc) is top notch. Hallie is one of my favorite characters from Bailey to date. Between her bright personality, façade of a carefree attitude, and general indecisiveness she was far more relatable than most fmc's that I've read.

Unfortunately, this would have been a knockout 5 star read but it fell short in a few areas. For one, the secret admirer story line really took a back-seat for the majority of the story. It felt like it was almost forgotten until it was needed as a plot device for the classic rom-com conflict at the end. While I appreciated the anxiety representation she showed with Julian, I wish this had been explored more in his pov. There's pretty little detail on why he actually experiences such significant blackouts when he has a panic attack. It left me asking "why?" each time they were discussed and I feel like this could have been developed more. Lastly, I felt like the addition of Hallie's virginity was pretty unnecessary. I don't know a single woman that casually makes it to 29 having no sexual experiences. It would have been fine if she was less experienced than Julian, but it honestly doesn't match her character and they way they approach her "purity" made me cringe.

Overall this was still a 4.5 star read for me. Great for a quick and easy modern romance which Bailey has clearly perfected. I look forward to the next of the A Vine Mess duology in June!

4.5/5 stars. First and foremost, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Secretly Yours was a sweet romance and I devoured it within a short amount of time. I adored the MCs, as well as the side characters. The differences between the MCs made for a very interesting dynamic. Julian was very adamant about schedules and Hallie the opposite (ensue chaos). Julian the MMC also struggled with anxiety and I enjoyed seeing the mental health representation. The banter of course was top notch as per usual when it comes to Tessa Bailey. Lastly, the secret letters were a nice thought, but in the end I just felt that they didn't add much to the story. Overall I enjoyed the story and would recommend if you're looking for a fast-paced romance that will give you the feels.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC!

Secretly Yours is absolutely adorable AND STEAMY!! The chemistry between Hallie and Julian was flying off the pages! As with all the Tessa Bailey books I've read, once I was on the last page, I ONLY WANTED MORE.

Hallie Welch's long time crush, Julian Vos, who she almost kissed, is back in town. When she is hired to revamp the gardens of the Vos Estate, she wonders if she will be getting the kiss she's been fantasizing about for the last 15 years. However, the Julian she fell for at 14 is definitely not the man standing here today. He's now a grumpy professor, while she's sunshine in a bottle. Being polar opposites, their personalities inevitably crash.

One drunken night, Hallie decides to write Julian a secret admirer letter. Julian can't think of who it's from, but when Hallie starts becoming a distraction (one he clearly was unprepared for), the more he wishes the secret admirer was her.

This book is too cute for words. It has grumpy x sunshine, dual pov, opposites attract, small town romance, childhood crush, and secret admirer letters. There's also something about a grumpy character who wants to provide endless smiles to the sunshine character, very endearing. And Julian Vos is so good at doing just that. All he wants is for Hallie to smile and it's EVERYTHING.

Secretly Yours comes out February 7, 2023!! Happy Reading!

“All moments are not equal. Every second was not a grain of sand in an hourglass. Time was bigger than him. Maybe time wasn’t something that could be controlled at all; it was about making time matter with the people he cared about.”

I've always been told Tessa Bailey books are hit or miss. I've only read her Bellinger Sisters duology prior to Secretly Yours, both of which I enjoyed, so I had high hopes for the first installment of A Vine Mess. Although Secretly Yours is quite different plot-wise from both Bellinger Sisters books, this novel still had the same humor and flow as Bailey's previous books.

Summary:
Hallie Welch plays by her own rules. As a florist, she goes into each garden without a plan, letting the flowers tell her where they want to be planted. Her house is a mess, she wears ten necklaces at a time rather than choose one, and at 30 years old, she's never had a boyfriend because she's still hung up on her high school crush.
Julian Vos, on the other hand, has life scheduled down to the minute. He's taken a year off from teaching at Stanford to write a historical fiction time travel novel, and like the creative he is, Julian has scheduled his writing into meticulous 30 minute non-stop sprints.
To ensure his focus, Julian is staying in the guesthouse on his family's vineyard, home to the luxury vines that produce Vos wine. But when his mom hires Hallie to redo the landscaping around the guesthouse, Julian's practiced concentration is broken by the beautiful, bubbly blonde and her three crazy traipsing outside his window. Meanwhile, Hallie is ecstatic to have a second chance with her crush after their almost kiss when she was fourteen. Except Julian doesn't remember her.
Determined to not let the snub affect her, Hallie decides she and Julian will be friends. But after a drunken girls' night, she makes the mistake of pouring her feelings into a letter (anonymously, of course)--and leaving it for Julian to find. Much to her surprise (and embarrassment), Julian responds, beginning their whirlwind secret correspondence just as Hallie and Julian grow closer in real life.
Week after week Julian and Hallie learn more about each other, breaking down their walls and playing into their ever mounting sexual tension. As their relationship becomes more and more real, Hallie knows she should tell Julian that she's his secret admirer, but after living life precariously for so long, it suddenly feels important for Hallie to be cautious with Julian.
Will secrets ruin Hallie and Julian's burgeoning relationship? Will their polar opposite personalities clash irredeemably? Or will they provide each other the balance they've been looking for?

Thoughts:
I thought this was a cute, classic romance concept falling perfectly in line with Bailey's collection of books. I'm definitely more of a Julian than a Hallie, so at times I found her character annoying, but Bailey did a good job adding depth and backstory to round out her carefree attitude. I really connected to Julian's intense scheduling and anxiety, but I wanted to know more about his black outs--especially following the vineyard fire years prior. Although Bailey eventually describes the scene, I was still left with more questions than answers, and I think exploring Julian's mental health more could have been a good choice.
Something that caught me off guard were the salacious sex scenes. After reading the Bellinger Sisters duology, I knew Bailey had a penchant for spicy sex, but there were certain scenes in Secretly Yours that went a bit further than I was used to. I would definitely recommend caution for any readers who don't like anything racier than a typical Ali Hazelwood or Emily Henry sex scene.

Overall:
Secretly Yours is cheesy, raunchy, and a classic example of a 'just kiss already!' romance. Bailey clearly knows the genre like the back of her hand, and has followed up her extremely successful Bellinger Sisters series with a promising start to her new duology A Vine Mess.

Secretly Yours will be published February 7, 2023.

This is a sweet romance story of a gardener and a vineyard owner, but don’t let the sweetness fool you! This book is spicy. Like, four-jalapeños-next-to-it-on-the-menu-level spicy.

I enjoyed Hallie and Julian as the main characters. I love when love interests challenge each other, and seeing their development as individuals was just as enjoyable as reading about their interactions and seeing the dynamics of their relationship change throughout the book. Anxiety and grief are strong themes in this book, but they’re dealt with in a tastefully light manner that is artfully done. (Though it’s not mentioned by name, there are undertones of OCD in one of the characters in this book as well.)

I am personally not a fan of the “possessive/authoritative/jealous man” trope, so that was a bit of a pitfall of this book for me. It’s not a major character trait, but it features enough that it stuck out to me and I found it a little off-putting. But that’s absolutely a matter of personal taste — if that’s your thing, this book is definitely for you.

This is actually the first book I’ve read by Tessa Bailey, even though I’ve wanted to check out her books for a long time! She has a really beautiful way with words. There are some sentences and phrases throughout this book that are just absolutely gorgeous. I like her writing style quite a bit. My only qualms with this books were primarily character-related, so I will still definitely be reading more Tessa Bailey.

“Secretly Yours” will be out in next week, on February 7th, 2023!

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A SONG THAT PAIRS WELL WITH THIS BOOK:
“Adore You” by Harry Styles

READ IF YOU LOVE:
— Grumpy/Sunshine
— Steamy spice galore
— Opposites attract
— Small town settings
— Dual POV
— Body positivity

Oh. My. Gosh. Julian and Hallie might be my favorite book couple yet. You have a high strung anxiety ridden male main character matched with a free-spirited wildly disorganized female character. And it could not be better! Plus, add in secret love letters? I ate this book up in 24 hours. Tessa Bailey doesn't fail you, ever, right? Hallie is a normal curvier sized woman and Julian a toned muscled runner and he loves her body and she is confident in hers. They both grow a lot in their love story but also come to accept themselves for who they are. The banter is solid and the happily ever after is perfect. Chefs kiss to this book. Its not Tessa's spiciest book but I felt like the amount was perfectly fine, and the plot was stellar. You will not want to miss this book as the perfect valentines release!

This book was so cute! I’m a sucker for a Tessa Bailey romcom any day of the week and this one did it’s job. I loved Hallie, with all of her chaotic energy and sunshine. I also loved Julian, and I adored getting to get more of his point of view throughout the book. Overall, it was a very cute, relatively lighthearted romance and I would recommend it for romance lovers!

I was so excited to get this arc! It was a really fun read with one of those really kind of nerdy, quirky heroes that isn't always on tap socially, but who's heart jumps all in. I love those guys! Julian has a history of panic attacks (really only one up to the point that the book starts) and has put himself on a ridiculously strict time line for every aspect of his life. Along comes Hallie. She owns a landscaping business and doesn't really put any forethought into anything she does. She shows up to a job when she shows up and plants things where her mood tells her to put them.

Hallie drives Julian absolutely crazy...in more ways than one. There's plenty of unexpected heat from Julian. When he goes crazy, he really goes crazy! He is also one of those guys that is all in once his heart gets involved. He will do absolutely anything for this woman.

There's a part of the book involving secret letter writing between the two (Julian doesn't know that she is his secret admirer). I guess it helps them get to know each other a little better, but it definitely wasn't the highlight of the book for me.

Thanks to Avon Books, Harper Voyager US and NetGalley for the gifted copy.

Tessa Bailey has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and Secretly Yours is one of her best. I love Hallie and Julian SO MUCH. This book is the epitome of grumpy/sunshine in the best way. The number of times Julian gets angry or aggravated on her behalf because “she should always be smiling”….SWOON! And of course the steam is on point 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Seriously, go read it. I’m about to go preorder my copy because once won’t be enough.

I love Tessa Bailey books and she hit it out of the park with another sexy, fun romance, Secretly Yours. I loved how Hallie and Julian were so different and tried throughout the story to overcome those differences to be together. I also enjoyed that each character was flawed and how those flaws affected each of their personalities and outlook on life. Of course, I'm a sucker for a HEA, which of course this story has a great one. I can't wait to read the next one in this series!

Meet a type-A professor, Julian and a bubbly gardener, Hallie, in this opposites attract, small town romance.

Read if you love:
⁃ Small town
⁃ Opposites attract
⁃ Grumpy sunshine
⁃ Vineyard setting
⁃ Body positivity
⁃ Mental health awareness
⁃ Family baggage

This one did start off a little slow for me but I enjoyed it at the end. I am not really a wino/vineyard person but I imagine some will really love the setting!

As always, Tessa Bailey, queen of romcom spice, delivers! My favorite aspect was the mental health/anxiety in the male MC. It’s not often anxiety is brought up in the male MC and I appreciated the vulnerability and rawness it brought to the story.

I cannot wait for Unfortunately Yours, out in June! This book will star Natalie, Julian’s younger sister! Natalie was one of my favorite characters in this one, with her dry humor and sarcasm! I can’t to read more about her!

For me, this is an author that either works or doesn’t, and unfortunately for this book, I felt underwhelmed. The writing overall was good and the story flowed nice, but I couldn't get behind the characters themselves. This author is amazing at writing a love story, especially a steamy one. There’s an undeniable chemistry between her characters, but with the book, there were a lot of outside storylines that took away from the love story.

I think for those who loved the grump and sunshine trope with It Happened One Summer, will be sadly disappointed with this. There’s a bit of magic that is missing with this book and Julian and Hallie are not as strong as a couple like other couples in other books from this author. I think if the author focused on Julian and Hallies romance rather than outside factors, I think this would have been a huge hit with me. The moments we got with both of them and the steamy scenes were what kept me I treated in this book. Though I wasn’t a huge fan of this one, I am excited to read more from this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC

I’ll be honest – I’m really struggling to write this review. Something about this book just didn’t work for me, and pinpointing what that is has been really difficult. As I was reading, I messaged a friend to joke that “the whole plot of this book is just that everyone is really horny,” which isn’t a problem in and of itself. But I think the emotion that usually captures me in a Tessa Bailey book just didn’t hit me like it usually does to balance things out.

The premise is really fun. Hallie and Julian barely knew each other in high school, but she never quite shook the crush she had on him back then. When they run into each other fourteen years later, their chemistry is off the charts. But Hallie also writes him secret admirer letters, admitting to her past feelings in a way she’s never able to face-to-face. It’s fun to see it play out as he realizes he’s falling for IRL Hallie and his mystery letter writer.

I really liked Hallie (and I truly loved that it wasn’t treated as a big deal that she was a virgin – she’s just picky and that’s perfectly fine!), but the supporting characters felt too stereotypical and I couldn’t connect with Julian. And it’s his big emotional arc keeping them apart, so if I’m struggling with that arc, then I’m just struggling with the main plot of the romance. There were too many moments when I thought Hallie just deserved better. We get there in the end, but a romance novel is about enjoying the journey of getting there as well.

All that said, I actually think most people will like this book more than I did. I think I just should have temped my expectations, which were built up too high after how much I loved Fox and Hannah’s love story – and how hard Fox’s emotional arc punched me in the gut.

TB never disappoints with the spicy stories with unique twists. The way Julian was drawn to Hallie was so intense and sexy. I was less excited by the letter storyline but that was overshadowed by a very sweet story. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is out this week!

Let me start by saying that I liked the vibes of both Hallie and Julian, apart and together, because I love a good romance where grump-meets-sunshine or straightlaced-meets-chaos agent. This is worth the read for the inexorable build toward the moment when he can't resist her chaotic charms--a great trope. Plus, there are some sexy moments in and around vineyards (perfect for those of us still mooning over Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds) and tons of unexpected dirty talk from the professorial Julian. And by the end, I think even I was in love with Hallie's wild, curly hair and cheese-stealing ways, so Tessa Bailey was doing something right in her depiction of Hallie.

However, be prepared for an overly full plot. There's the version of this book where Hallie's this sunshine-y whirlwind tipping his life on its side, with all the resulting effects that would play out from there. There's another version of this book where Hallie writes her long-time crush a series of anonymous love letters and they inevitably connect from there. But smooshing the two plots together made the whole story feel a bit nonsensical at times--nevermind that there wasn't any room left to examine questions like "why does a 29-year-old woman still hold a torch for a boy she almost kissed 15 years ago and hasn't seen since?" I also found myself Googling certain mental health issues to assess the likelihood of specific plot points, which is not exactly how I want to be spending my romance novel time.

Anyway, this book can be fun if you skate along on its surface and don't question the plot too much. And Natalie, Julian's sister, seems like she'll be a good heroine, so I'll be picking up her book next to see how she and the hot Navy SEAL settle their differences.

Secretly Yours was classic Tessa Bailey; sort of insta-love, a standoffish hero who turns into a crude yet sweet hero, and a sunshine heroine who was kind of a mess.

I enjoyed Julian and Hallie's story, but I did not care for the miscommunication trope in the form of secret admirer letters. I also felt like their romance went from 0 to 100 too quickly.

Overall, Secretly Yours was an enjoyable read, but I am much more excited to read Natalie's story because enemies to lovers/marriage of convenience is much more my cup of tea.

Tessa Bailey reigns supreme when it comes to bedroom talk that isn’t squeaky clean. If you know what I mean. Secretly Yours was utterly wonderful from start to finish. I love the curvy girl pride. I love the anxious, starchy professor. I loved their second chance romance in a small town setting. And I loved the secret admirer/pen pal situation, even though it eventually leads to some major conflict. I can’t wait to have this one on my shelf with the rest of my Tessa Bailey books!

Secretly Yours will have you drunk on romance in this Napa Valley based story. I loved the grumpy/sunshine tale, with both characters finding their place in life and working through issues that seem to be holding themselves back while also finding rekindling a relationship years after a missed opportunity kiss in high school. This was a fun and flirty read that is the perfect mix of sweet and spicy!