I just couldn't get into this one! I didn't connect with the characters, and I wanted more from them. The spicy scenes were great, per usual Tessa, but I just didn't feel the relationship overall. I really wanted to like this book, but it wasn't for me. I love Tessa Bailey's writing in general so I already bought the next book in the series, because I'mm sure I will enjoy it.

This was a cute romance novel to cleanse my thriller palate! With that being said, this book kept my focus and made me laugh and cry! I love a book that can bring out some emotions! Great book and well written!

I can definitely see the appeal of this book as a beach read or something, but it fell flat for me. I think both characters really clearly needed therapy before they entered a relationship with anyone, let alone each other. The secret admirer thing added nothing to the plot and the ending was rushed. Ultimately not for me.

I love Tessa Bailey, but Secretly Yours just wasn't for me. The smut was great though! And I'll definitely keep reading Tessa's books.

This book was a great addition to our stores Summer Dreaming display. The setting of Napa had many readers such as myself thinking I was there instead of the many rainy days we have had. While not as intense as Bailey's other novels Secretly Yours and Julian as a character had us reading all the way.

Tessa Bailey is a hit-or-miss author for me, and unfortunately, this title was a miss.

Starting with what I loved: the setting. I feel that Bailey really brought Napa to life for me. I loved the dichotomy of the locals and the new-to-town wine people. It felt like a fun and romantic smallish town setting for a romance.

The main thing that didn't work for me in this book was the characters. They felt very one-dimensional; Hallie was only her quirks and chaos, Julian was only his discipline and regiment. While they did change slightly by the end to make a path for their romance (and for themselves), this didn't feel like enough to base an entire romance on. This led to a lack of chemistry, which was especially apparent during the (in my opinion) cringey sex scenes. Overall, Hallie and Julian's romance felt superficial. I never believed they were actually in love.

I also didn't love the secret admirer plotline. It felt shoehorned in, and the letters didn't feel like they came from the characters we were reading about. The time spent thinking and talking about those letters would have been better spent developing the characters in a meaningful way.

That being said, I don't think this was a total slog. I could see myself recommending this to regular romance readers looking for a quick, breezy read. However, this would not be the first book I reach for, nor do I think it's Bailey's best work to recommend.

I love Tessa Bailey and her romances are always so fun and hot! Secretly Yours was no exception. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next one in the series!

Tessa Bailey always does a great job of making the books feel real. This story of love for convenience turned true love is well done and truly brings you into the life of the characters.

Tessa is an auto-buy author for me! I loved the subtle twists in Tessa's writing and Hallie was one of my favorite characters. The secret love letters was fun, and gave an amazing spin on a story I didn't know I needed! Thanks for the opportunity to read this book!!

A delightful read! Tessa can do no wrong in my eyes and this series is another amazing addition to her backlog.

Tessa Bailey is one of those authors who I feel like I can never go wrong with. Her books always brighten my day, and I know I’m going to enjoy every cheese filled page of her books. Contemporary Romance romance isn’t something I’d say is a favorite genre of mine, but it’s something I find myself reading often. It gives me a break from bigger series or from books that have an intense amount of world building. Sometimes I just want to space out and read about a comedically mismatched pair finding love and doing it on page (if you know what I mean), but I feel like a lot of people forget that these books are meant for just that.

Allow me to explain…
I am not saying that Tessa Bailey’s books are not just as well written as one that comes with a map in front where 60% of the first book is just world building, but what I am saying is that I go into each of these books with completely different expectations. When I pick up a huge fantasy novel, I want it to be transported to a magical world. When I pick up a Tessa Bailey novel, I just want to read something funny and cheesy so that I am so entertained that the entire time I forget that I haven’t washed a dish in my house in about a week.

On page angst

There is just something about the way that Tessa writes her men that has me crawling back every time. I have yet to be disappointed in one of her men yet, and I hope that day never comes. The men in her books are so angsty, obsessed, and possessive of their women it makes everything in me melt. Our man Julian in Secretly Yours was no exception to this rule. He is obsessive over his schedule and his habits, but when Hallie comes around and messes all of that up for him, he finds something new to obsess over. He is determined to be sure he’s the reason she is smiling, and he never wants it to go way. THAT is the energy I want out of a RomCom leading man. I want him so unbelievably in love with his girl he can’t think straight.

Haters are everywhere
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people hate on authors because they have become to mainstream or too popular. You don’t get cool points just because you only like small authors or books that are more “intellectual” than literally every book on my kindle. Don’t get me wrong, I love indie authors and think they should be protected at all costs, but I don’t think I deserve a gold star when I read one. When I finished Secretly Yours, I scrolled through some of the reviews on Good Reads because honestly I was surprised to see the rating sitting just below 4 stars. I was very surprised to see people saying it just didn’t wow them, or they couldn’t get into the story. Now, I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but these really caught be off guard. I thought this book was witting and entertaining just like all the others I have read from Tessa. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what other people think. But for some reason these reviews stuck with me…

All of that to say…
All of this was my very long winded way of saying I think people hold completely different books up to the same light when they shouldn’t. Tessa Bailey writes fun, cheesy, comfortably predictable stories with a sprinkling of smut that I personally enjoy every moment of. I don’t want her books to feel like anything but that. People trying to pick her books apart under the same lens as anything other than a RomCom are just wrong.

If you want to read something that will put a smile on your face and make you think you should find a uptight man to unwind, you should most definitely pick up this book. I can still hear Julian’s filthy words he whisper to Hallie in that garden as I write this… and it makes me want to go outside and get a little dirty.

Narration

I didn’t get this ARC as an audiobook, but I was having a hard time finding a moment to sit down and finish the last couple of chapters between work and my terrible time management skills, so on release day I snagged the audio with my monthly Audible credit that costs more money than I can reasonably afford, but here we are. This one was narrated by Callie Dalton, and I hate to say how much I did not like it. I went back and forth between even adding this into my review. But I cannot get over the fact that this narrator felt so mismatched to the story. Her voice sounded too serious for something about a fun, slightly off center gardener finally finding love with a high school crush. I was just very surprised with the way she chose to read this book. And the worst part is she kept going back and worth between saying Hollie and Hallie. I even listened to one instance over and over just to make sure I was hearing her right. I just didn’t understand how that happened…

Final Words
In the end, Secretly Yours was a super fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It wasn’t my favorite Tessa book because I’m not sure anything will ever beat Hook Line and Sinker for me. And because honestly I can always go for a lot more spice, but it was still a solid 4 star read for me! I even picked up the Target exclusive version on my way home from work last night because it has bonus content in the back!

Secretly Yours is an exciting second chance romance set in beautiful Napa Valley wine country. Tessa’s writing made me feel like I took a mini vacation while reading this book.! Our heroine Hallie Welch is still working through or rather avoiding her grief of losing her beloved grandmother that raised her. She’d always been a secretly pining for our hero, Julian Vos. At fourteen, they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Julian is now a professor is back in town after many years, with demons of his own he’s working through. The anonymous love letters were such a cute way to expand the story and deepen their connection. I really enjoyed how each character took responsibility for working through their own individual issues and came together so genuinely.
I only have four stars because I found Hallie’s self awareness of her issues so early on in the story kind of unbelievable and it forced her to reiterate those issues over and over instead of unpack them more naturally as she realized it. Kind of minor but it belabored the point a few too many times for me.
Great story, cute relationship, would recommend.

DNF @ 4%

Thank you so much to Avon and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this. All thoughts and opinions are still my own.

I put this book off for a long time after seeing so many low ratings. But I decided to finally give it a shot.

Unfortunately I knew very quickly that this one just wasn't going to be for me.

The heroine is 29 but acted like a child. She vandalized and broke private property (repeatedly) over the fact that the business merely existed. All because the business next door was frequented by her grandmother.

On top of that, Tessa Bailey's characters are always so over the top quirky and sexualized. And that was definitely the case here. The heroine is running away from the bar she vandalized and takes the time to comment on the way her boobs bounce. Why are we still doing this?...

But the final straw was the set up for the romance. The heroine is obsessed with a guy she nearly kissed 15 years ago. As a high school freshman. And despite not knowing this man, still stalks him on social media and during his visits home.

Move on ma'am... you're nearly 30 and thirsting over a dude you met at 14...

As much as I've loved this author's books in the past, I think it's time we part ways.

This book was an easy, quick read. It didn't quite live up to what I find to expect from Tessa. It was fun and cute.

Tessa Bailey did it yet again. I loved this deeply. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a swoon worthy, grumpy/ sunshine style romance with tons of spice. thought this was a hole lot of fun!

LOVE LOVE LOVE TESSA BAILEY! Fun read, great steamy parts. Everything I am looking for when I am reading to escape reality. Looking forward to more from this author.

I have mixed feelings about Secretly Yours. I wanted to enjoy this book much more than I actually did. At first, I really loved the “opposites attract” dynamic and the obvious tension between Hallie and Julian. They were both so enjoyable as individuals, too. I thought this would for sure be a new favorite, but then I hit a certain point in the book where I just grew frustrated. I understand that miscommunication is a big thing in rom coms and I’m usually willing to work past it, but something was different here. Usually miscommunication is rooted in unconscious decisions, but Hallie and Julian’s actions felt so deliberate and it ended up being so detrimental to both of them. This period in the book kind of overshadowed the rest for me. I won’t say I hated it! Because there are definitely elements I enjoyed. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

I DNF'd at 50% because nothing was happening. There was no chemistry between the characters, no tension moving the story forward. and the characters were flat

Cute, funny and ever so readable - the characters are approachable and hilarious. Have actually picked up twice again for a quick and funny read.

Julian and Hallie honestly were cute but I felt there wasn’t much of a deep connection that they claimed to have. I do tend to love the “opposites attract” kind of romance but this didn’t necessarily help like it usually would. After a while, the whole story just felt repetitive and I lost interest, but obviously not enough to make me stop reading. Despite the light nature of this book, there are some serious elements to it that I guess were incorporated to remind us that they are humans with real-life issues. I didn’t mind these parts but I wasn’t connected to the characters, therefore it was a bit hard for me to care.