So Tessa Bailey has written some of my favorite romances, unfortunately this is probably my least favorite of them. I liked this at the beginning, but it just really lost me. I liked our FMC okay, i like the totally opposites that our MC’s were. The MmC was fine, but a bit bland and i didn’t totally understand him, or any of his motivations or anxieties. The plot of this was really not there. And the letter conflict was just kind of ridiculous. I really didn’t enjoy too much about this, and it just didn’t feel like the Tessa Bailey books i’ve loved. I would give this 2.5/3 stars

Secretly Yours: ★ ★ ★ . 5

Tessa Bailey (A Vine Mess, #1)

"...you’re worth burning for. You’re worth turning and driving straight into the fire.”

If Hallie Welch's undying crush on her high school heartthrob already had no signs of stopping, that hope was only exacerbated when stoic, broody Julian Vos returns to their hometown.

Tropes:
- Small Town
- Second chance (ish?)
- Grumpy sunshine
- Opposites attract
- Secret admirer letters

It is obvious that the second Miss Tessa Bailey announced this new series & their cuter than cute covers, I had to read it.

Hallie is sunshine personified with a love for flowers and a bit of a rebellious streak in her. She's loyal to her family & friends and all she wants is to see the business close to her heart thrive–so much so that she would do anything for it. She's really a lovely character overall even if her immaturity sometimes drove me wild. Julian, as Lavinia puts it, is your typical case of tall, handsome, and broody. He's a man with a schedule & sticks to it, no matter what. With family & physical trauma in his past, he's not easy to adapt to change, but can't help it when Hallie keeps throwing him off his strict regime.

The first half of this story really drew me in. I loved the grumpy/sunshine aspect–of course–and I loved the banter between the two of them. Hallie's crush was endearing and Julian's helplessness around her was all textbook Tessa Bailey swoon-worthy goodness. Their interactions were flirty & tension filled. The humor kept me going. It was all so enjoyable.

But then it kind of fell off for me. Personally, the secret letters & miscommunication trope has never done it for me. And then the extent to which Hallie drew out the truth despite knowing she should have told Julian the truth really irked me. She knew how he was as a person & still didn't think she should come clean? The letters also started after they'd been ~intimate~ with one another so it just seemed a little pointless because there was already an obvious connection & attraction between them. That whole storyline wasn't my favorite, and it didn't seem necessary to the story at all, if I was being honest. And the letters being the reason for the third act conflict was just the extra no on top of it all.

Naturally, Tessa Bailey brings the heat with this one too. Even if it seemed out of character for this very straight laced man to say the things that he said, I knew to expect it from Tessa Bailey because even the grumpiest, quietest men–who have themselves admitted that they do not have much sexual experience–are suddenly dirty talking devils.

Natalie is my kind of girl through & though–not to mention, I loved all the crumbs of her & August–so I am buzzing with excitement to read Unfortunately Yours soon because it is one of my favorite tropes EVER!

ARC kindly shared by Netgalley for an honest review.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

2.5 - 3 ⭐️ A sweet, second-chance romance that takes place in beautiful wine country


"All time is not created equal. I know that now. Time with you is the most substantial of all. I'll probably never be able to stop counting the minutes that we're apart, but the ones when we're together, I'm leaving room for anything."


WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ small town setting
✨ dual POV
✨ second chance romance
✨ opposites attract
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ fun-loving, messy, virgin gardener
✨ serious, organized, secret cinnamon roll professor
✨ secret admirer letters
✨ miscommunication
✨ lies by omission
✨ so much tension
✨ smut
✨ mental health discussions


Summary:

Haille is a carefree gardener who's had a crush on Julian Vos since 9th grade. He was a senior. They almost kissed in the vineyards during a high school party, but when he realized her age, he turned her down. Fifteen years later, Julian is back home after needing a bit of a mental health break when his mother hires Haille to spruce up the carriage house garden. Julian doesn't initially remember her, but once he does, sparks fly and romance blossoms. However, upon Julian's return, Haille wrote him secret admirer letters and doesn't know how to broach the topic without ruining what they have.


Thoughts

It's a fine story, but I must say, I liked the first half of the story more than the second.


Here's what I liked:

Tessa Bailey did a great job introducing us to the characters and setting up the story.

The small-town vibes. I've never read anything that takes place in wine country, so this was different for me, and it worked. I also enjoyed the side drama about saving local businesses.

The romance. During the first half, there was so much tension between these two, and I loved how different they are from each other. The second chance romance with grumpy x sunshine characters was fun, sweet, and often clashed. But in the end, they were able to bring out the best in each other.

Julian. He was such an interesting character. He's a history professor at Stanford on a sabbatical to reevaluate his life. We learn that he has anxiety and suffers from panic attacks, and to feel in control, he develops a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder and keeps himself on a very strict schedule. I've never read a story with an MMC with these struggles, so I found it refreshing. Julian is also a secret cinnamon roll who falls hard for Haille, and his inner thoughts about her were steamy and sweet. She's chaotic and messy, everything that scares him and his orderly life, but by being around her, he forgets time and can relax. I loved his character development.


Here's what I didn't like:

Hailee. I loved her sunshine vibes and chaotic nature, but she was incredibly immature. First off, she has been pining after and cyber-stalking Julian for 15 years. She would watch his lecture videos online because she was that obsessed. Also, she's a virgin at the age of 29. I'm not saying that's good or bad, I was just shocked. And her reasoning for not having sexual relationships in the past is that no one has ever compared to Julian, which is psycho behavior since she didn't really know him at all to begin with. Honestly, if this wasn't a rom-com things could have quickly turned into a psychological thriller story.

The secret admirer letters. I didn't really understand their purpose in the story. She writes them AFTER they have their first sexual encounter. So at this point, there is an already established connection, so why write the letters now? Wouldn't it have made more sense if she wrote them before meeting him again? I also think secret admirer letters are creepy, so that didn't help.

Julian's dirty talk. Not only was I not a fan of the actual dirty talk, but it seemed completely out of place with his character. He is a super reserved, serious, straight-laced guy but all of a sudden he's saying things like,

"You've been doing such bad things to my d*ck, sweetheart. Just bouncing with those curls in your tight shorts, not a care in the world, huh? Well, you've got to deal with me now. You've got to let those beautiful t*ts out and deal with me."

OR

"Your curves shake when I'm packing this thing tight. I know it for a fact now. The parts you're nervous to show me are actually what make me hard, Haille."

OR

"You're going to get so comfortable with me looking and touching and tasting every part of your naked body that you'll learn to bend over with your butt in the air, just like this, and ask me to eat it whole."

OMG WHAT?! (lol) EW, NO TO ALL OF THIS! Also, he has a dirty knee fetish which I'm assuming is because Haille is a gardener. But again, Julian's character did not match up with his persona during sexual encounters.


The conflict at the end. I just felt it was weak/pointless. Using the letters to create an issue with his anxiety isn't something I expected, and it just didn't work.

The spice! As with all Tessa Bailey, this was a spicy ride. The story follows Hallie, a gardener in a small town in Napa Valley, and Julian, the prodigal son vineyard family. Hallie and Julian went to high school together and Hallie has harbored feelings for him ever since but Julian doesn't remember her. Julian has anxiety issues and deals with them by strictly controlling himself and his time, which contrasts wildly with Hallie's unstructured approach to life. They reconnect when Julian's mother hires Hallie to garden a the guesthouse where Julian is staying; then after a drunken night, Hallie starts writing secret admirer letters to Julian. The two fall for each other both in person and via their letters.

Things I liked: The chemistry, the small town setting, the spice, a bigger female protagonist.
Things I didn't like: Some hints of not so great gender dynamics, some whiffs of manic pixie dream girl

Always a sucker for a steamy Tessa Bailey number. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this steamy, hot Rom- Com❤️ I normally don’t read these but Bookstagram pulled me in! I was entertained to say the least!
A crush on someone since high school is bound to lead to a chaotic yet charming and contemporary romance! The characters were opposites which usually leads to a heartwarming relationship. She is a ray of sunshine, yet chaotic with her 3 dogs in tow. She surprises him with gopher chasing skills. He is stiff collared serious and needs this to reveal his sexy softer side.

If it is meant to be a light or burst of happiness inside our often routine lives, it did just that! What a fun distraction for a professor taking a sabbatical to write! Julian has been persuaded to help out with the family vineyard and live in his mother’s guesthouse. What he finds is an entertaining yet beautiful landscape artist working in his yard! Hallie, a gardener and a huge admirer of Julian’s intercedes his writing to adorn the yard and his mind. Her unforgettable crush is granted until in a drunken state she writes an anonymous letter to him!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my review!

Secretly Yours should most definitely be on your radar and at the top of your future TBR. If you’re already a Tessa Bailey fan, you absolutely won’t be disappointed with Hallie and Julian. And if, like me, you’ve been on the fence with her past works, take this as a sign to give it all another chance. I’m so happy I did! Hallie and Julian have great chemistry. Sometimes I find the sunshine character in the grumpy x sunshine trope a little exhausting, but I loved Hallie and her energy and thought the trope was well-balanced.

100% as spicy as her other books, but 100% not as cringe as My Killer Vacation.


I have an ARC of this, courtesy of Avon & Harper Voyager via NetGalley.

The synopsis of this book drew me in right away. Vineyards? Wine? Grumpy x Sunshine main characters? Secret admirer letters? You got me Tessa Bailey you really did.
Hallie is a chaotic gardener while Julian is a routine based professor who hates breaking his routine. Julians family owns Vos Vineyards whilst Hallie has taken over her grandmothers gardening business after she died. Hallie almost kissed Julian years ago and has NEVER gotten over her crush for him. So when she gets her chance she goes for it, and drunkenly drops a letter for him to read.
I love the idea of the secret admirer letters, but this book kinda lacked it. Whilst I believed via synopsis it would be more prevalent in the story but wasn’t and that disappointed me. When we did get the letters they were interesting and I loved reading Julain find it.
Their romance was almost instant and was a second chance ( I love that ). And the spicy scenes were kinda awkward? It didn’t fit Julians character to go from straight to just straight up sexual so it was weird but I still enjoyed the scenes.
Overall for my first Tessa Bailey book I’m pretty impressed and I’m super excited for book #2 in this series!
Thank you Netgalley an d Avon and Harper Voyager for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really need to stop reading Tessa Bailey's books because they're always just too much for me, smh. They're easy and funny and spicy, but there is absolutely zero depth to any of them and I always trick myself into thinking that maybe this next one will have more, and it doesn't. They're not bad books, in fact they're perfect if you just want something easy and sexy, but they're just never quite what I want. Sigh.

I have read this title, and will update this review when HarperCollins offers a fair contract and liveable wages to their employees. I fully support the HarperCollins Union Strike. The fact that this strike is currently going on almost 2 months is crazy to me, and I hope that HarperCollins comes to the table very soon with new, fair contracts so their people can get back to work. Until such a time, I will be withholding my review for this title.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars

This book was a fresh change of pace! Hallie is a whirl wind of a character. She is goofy and impulsive and it was fun to see what trouble she would get into next!

Julian was the storm cloud to her sunshine. He liked a strict schedule and needed organization in his life. He suffered with panic attacks and anxiety and I enjoyed how the author portrayed him.

Both characters were flawed and did their best to navigate through them. I enjoyed Hallie not having a set schedule and just showing up and doing her thing. She lived a very free life and it was fun seeing Julian trying to fit into that!

The only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was the secret admirer/letter swap. I don’t feel like it added much to the plot until the end. Other than that I really enjoyed the book and watching Hallie and Julian fall in love!

This is the third Tessa Bailey book I've read and I'm not sure why my stubborn head lets me to continue to torture myself. Her books are not fun for me and this book was no exception. I think I cringed and rolled my eyes the whole time. I only finished it because I was bored at work and needed something mundane to read. I guess it doesn't help that I definitely hate the grumpy/sunshine trope.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

So this is the first Tessa Bailey book I have ever read! I can see why people love her writing. Personally though this book was not my cup of tea. I found it hard to make myself finish it. I couldn't connect at all with the characters. I felt like the plot moved slowly.

I loved this slow burn / grumpy sunshine romance. Hallie and Julian were total opposites and it was fun to read their story. Both are flawed and a little lost in the world in different ways. This is book one of a series and there is a fun scene setting up for book two. Secretly Yours was a lot a fun - I read it in a day!

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the ARC.

“If something happened to you, it would end me. But that fear is only an indication that my heart belongs to you, all right? It’s right here. Please just take it.”

Hallie and Julian. She’s been in love with him since she was a teen, but he doesn’t remember her. Julian’s back in town and Hallie’s been hired to revamp the garden at his family’s estate. They’re polar opposites: he’s all about control and she brings in all the chaos. Despite all that, Julian still can’t stay away from her especially when he receives an anonymous letter from a secret admirer—hoping that it’s from the woman that’s been turning his world upside down.

Julian Vos!! This grumpy man who has a soft spot for his sunshine gardener. The man that would anything to make sure that she’s smiling and protects her! Adding him to the list of book boyfriends! <3

💌READ IF YOU LIKE💌:
- dual POV
- friends to lovers
- grumpy professor x sunshine gardener
- opposites attract
- secret admirer letters
- unrequited high school crush
- slow burn
- family owned vineyards
- grand gestures
- a pack of 3 crazy dogs
- small town in Napa
- prank calls

cw: anxiety, panic attacks, death of loved one, ptsd, grief, parents divorce, estranged parental relationship, mention of fire

Thank you to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the advanced copy! Secretly Yours is available on February 7, 2023!

What can I say, I’m a sucker for a Tessa Bailey series with each book featuring a different sibling. This was a fun twist on a grumpy x sunshine though I’d say Julian was moreso just stressed than grumpy. Not my favorite Tessa Bailey of all time but I still enjoyed it! . Now here’s hoping I can get an ARC of the next book because I LOVED Natalie!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of Secretly Yours in exchange for my honest review! I’ve been a fan of Tessa Bailey for awhile now and no one does romance like she does!!

In her new novel we follow Julian and his neighbor Hailey. It’s your typical grumpy x sunshine plot line but with added Tessa Bailey humor! Although I must admit I will be chasing the high “It Happened One Summer” gave me my life this novel was still a great 4 star read!

Personally, I loved this new novel from Tessa Bailey. It was fun to enter into a “new world” and meet a new cast of characters after the pleasure of the “It Happened One Summer” duopoly.

We won’t be bringing this into our store as we have trouble selling inventory of seasonal/holiday based stories but I have no doubt this title will do well!

Let me say this up front: I love Tessa Bailey and will ALWAYS love Tessa Bailey. She is an absolute goddess of romance, and I will buy every single book she puts out. That being said....

I had some issues with this one. The premise is simple: Hallie is a nutty florist who has had a crush on Julian Vos since the 9th grade. He was a senior, so he didn't want to date her. Well, fifteen years later, Professor Julian comes back to Napa for a much-needed break, and to help his family's vineyard. The two MCs meet again, and once he remembers who she is, start a hot fling. In between this, Hallie has been putting anonymous secret admirer letters to Julian in the trunk of a tree. These letters quickly turn philosophical, and of course, they have an HEA.

I have no issue with the story. The plot was fun and interesting. I love the idea of a professor and a florist. Here's the main problems I had:

1. Hallie was absolutely ridiculous. Hallie acted like a 14-year-old throughout the entire book. Seriously. And she's 29! It's one thing to be adorably quirky, but it's another thing all together to be super immature and crazy. She literally made me cringe. I can see what Tessa was going for; an adorable, messy florist and a strict, anxious professor. However, it was like she made Hallie a giant caricature. It was grating. I think Bailey was going for a screwball-comedy type vibe, but it just didn't work to me. She was reduced to an immature stereotype. I couldn't stand Hallie from the first page. She definitely didn't deserve Julian.

2. The secret admirer letters were an obvious attempt to show that even though Hallie and Julian are complete opposites, they still connect over more than just sex. It was so obvious that it was like being beat over the head with "These two are complete opposites, but look! They connect on a deeper level!" And already knowing how immature Hallie is, her letters to him sound way too intelligent. And Hallie's backstory isn't really explained, either. Not enough, at least, to understand why she is the way she is. The letters were completely unnecessary to the story.


Now on to the few things I liked:

1. The storyline (minus the secret admirer letters).. I loved the IDEA of a quirky florist and a starchy professor having sexual tension and then finding their HEA. Napa as the setting was an interesting, unique choice for a location. With more three-dimensional characters, the plot would've been a home run.

2. Julian. JULIAN.. What can I say about Julian? Bailey writes the hottest dirty-talkers better than any romance novelist I've ever read. There were quite a few lines from him that had me fanning myself. Whoa. If you have a thing for grumpy, starchy MMCs, you'll love him. I loved Julian's story, too. He's a history professor at Stanford who has really, really bad anxiety, and because of this, has structured his life with strict timetables that he has to follow. Julian seems to have some form of obsessive compulsive disorder because of this. His backstory is also unique, as is his family and their dynamics. The entire time I was reading, I just kept wishing he had a better love interest. He truly deserved more. However, because Tessa Bailey wrote this book, he will still go down as a 2023 Book Boyfriend, because WOW, can she write a sexy MMC.

It boils down to this, though: you either love Hallie or you don't. The secret admirer letters and Hallie are the only reasons I'm giving this book 3 stars. Otherwise, it would have easily been a 5-star. And as I've stated before, I will buy and read anything Tessa Bailey puts out. She's amazing and I can't wait to read her next one.

I am so torn! First: I L O V E Tessa Bailey. Period. Second: I wasn't super feeling this one. I think the problem is that I have set the bar SO HIGH for Tessa Bailey, that this one fell short. Another problem could be that there were several things in this book that are not my cup of tea- no matter who writes them.

A drive-by summary:
Hallie is a rainbow tornado. Her smile brightens any room she walks into and then she leaves it messy. She is unapologetic in her chaos and can make fun of herself. She has been harboring a crush for fifteen years-- that's right, read that again-- 15 years! for the Julian Vos, eldest son of the vineyard royal family turned Stanford professor. After 4 years away from home, Julian is back to hunker down and write his book. He is ruthlessly regimented and never deviates from a plan or schedule. That is, until Hallie is hired to redo the garden bed in his guest house. They become friends who are desperately attracted to each other, which only gets complicated when she writes him a secret admirer letter on drunken evening.

I liked Hallie and Julian's banter and interactions, what I wasn't a fan of were the circumstances surrounding the story. The secret admirer thing was fun at first and then I think dragged the story down. The whole time, it felt like it was an easy thing to fix (on Hallie's part). Harboring a crush for 15 years is....oof! I wouldn't have minded if she still went out and tried to find another romantic connection. But this was NOT the case. Hence, this was a personal peeve of mine.

Was it well written? yes
Did it have the typical Bailey humor we all love? YES
Did we have a dirty talking hero? Hell to the yeah
Was it my favorite? Nope.

Now, I am SO SO looking forward to reading the sister's story. She was funny and just came alive on the pages. Even the short interactions we got of her and August was enough to have me running to read it when it comes out.

Thank you #NetGalley and for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.