Tessa Bailey has finally hit on a winning formula, with imperfect but good protagonists and a lot (A LOT) of well done spicy moments. Already waiting for the next one!

This book was a big no for me. I really didnt like the constant description of the MC's body. I also just don't like the rough/dirty talk that was used. The relationship was weird. This book just wasn't for me. Other people might like it!

It's not often that the girl gets to woo the boy, and I liked that aspect. The secret is that they kissed way back when and she's still not over him, while he doesn't quite remember their kiss and therefore is also not sure why she gets under his skin so spectacularly or deliciously. Impulse-driven meets anxiety-driven regularity in a bubbly and heady mix.

Tessa Bailey is a force to be reckoned with. This book is the perfect balance of plot and character development. The characters are polar opposites with so much amazing chemistry. I really enjoyed their growth separately yet inspired by each other. The spicy scenes are breathtaking and I can’t wait to reread and reread and reread. I love how they fit together and build up each other.

Tessa Bailey does it again! She has become one of my automatic reads, and I have yet to be disappointed in anything she writes. These characters are a bit chaotic and a lot perfect. I can’t wait to hold this in my hands!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.

This book started off strong for me- I liked the big difference between the characters. They did have an insta-love type of attraction (which may not appeal to some readers). I liked the complicated relationship of the Voss family. I’m excited to read Julian’s sisters book that is coming out next!

The odd part about this book was the letters- I think it took away from the storyline overall. Which is unfortunate because I love an epistolary romance. The letters then created “the secret” which was super dramatically handled by the heroine. I started to roll my eyes a lot towards the end of the novel with the drama of the letter reveals. The heroines inability to communicate reasonably was a lot to handle.

3 out of 5 stars
4-5 out of 5 steam level

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Julian Vos is a very buttoned up, ordered, starchy professor who obsesses over his schedule to keep his private anxiety at bay. The last thing he needs is chaos incarnate, Hallie Welch, to intrude on his peace and destroy his focus while he is writing a book.

Hallie is a gardener, hired to plant flowers outside the guesthouse where Julian is staying. She's also been pining for Julian since they were in highschool... but he doesn't remember her!

What I Loved:
-Secret admirer notes
-Wine! Julian's family has a vineyard, this is set in Napa Valley, and there's a "save the local wine shop" subplot.
-Hallie is sweet, spontaneous, gets messy for a living, and has three dogs to complete her chaos squad! She is irresistible to Julian, who cannot fathom how he could be so gone for her so quickly! I loved her innocence and connection to her grandmother. She also had a great friend in Lavinia and I liked that she started becoming friend's with Julian's sister.
-Julian, my starchy dream man! He was created from Tessa Bailey's imagination, so you know his dirty talk game is strong! He has hidden depth and trauma as well... and I love him.
-Grumpy / sunshine is fantastic, but there's really nothing better for me than starchy / chaos.
-I absolutely love it when a free spirit comes along and ruffles up that scheduled, tidy man's ordered life and then they just FALL in so much love and they don't even know what do with themselves!! Ah, so good!
- Slow burn, yummy, Tessa Bailey romance goodness!! ENJOY, folks!

I think my favorite thing about this book, other than the gorgeous connection between the characters, was the way the conflict was resolved and how the characters came back together for their happily ever after. This was such a feel-good, gorgeous, swoony romance! I loved it so much!

Thanks so much Netgalley and Avon for this e-arc. All opinions are my own!

In light of a recent tiktok Tessa did, that was body shaming, I feel uncomfortable reading her book. So unless she does an apology and addresses it then I will not be reading this.

It just seemed pretty flat with characters that that never seemed real to me:.. I know they aren’t real… but by 10% in, I was skipping paragraphs

Please note: this will be posted on my instagram book blog closer to the release date of the book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Secretly Yours" by Tessa Bailey
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
✈️ to: Napa, CA 🍷
TWs: anxiety, panic attacks

It took me a few chapters, but pretty quickly into "Secretly Yours" I was sold and I was SWOONING. To be brief, Tessa Bailey's newest romance is about a chaotic free-spirited Napa woman named Hallie, whose high school crush (Julian) is back in town. It's an opposites attract, secret admirer love story that made me completely giddy.

There were a few times where I wanted to shake some of the characters -- I'm not a fan of the miscommunication trope, but those instances were resolved quickly and I was mostly just smitten with Julian for the bulk of this book 😅. He gave me major Mr. Darcy vibes. The side characters were also wonderfully quirky and I'm really excited for the second book in this duology. I'm already a big fan of Natalie and can't wait to see what's in store for her!

🌟 Some highlights: "grand theft gouda," alien documentary, Fudge Judy, all the spice

Synopsis: Secretly Yours is a steamy rom-com about a bubbly chaotic gardener and a grumpy stiff professor, they couldn’t be more opposite. Hallie Welch fell for Julian Vos when she was just fourteen, after an almost kiss in the vineyards of his family’s winery. Years later he has returned to their small town while on his sabbatical from his ivy league job to focus on writing his novel. His mother hires Hallie to provide a makeover to the gardens around the guest house Julian is staying in; he is nothing like the teenager she remembers. Being polar opposites their personalities clash, but Hallie can’t shake her feelings for him and on a drunken reckless night she decides to leave him a secret admirer letter. Julian plans on focusing on writing his novel, but having Hallie right outside his window gardening is a huge distraction. She is completely his opposite, always late, quirky, and often covered in dirt. He then finds anonymous secret admirer letters from a woman of his past. Julian is wondering who that admirer is, but cannot get Hallie out of his head. Hallie is an explosion of color in Julian's gray life. Her presence is turning his world upside down and he wonders why there is something so familiar about her.

Thoughts: Hallie is all over the place and she brings light everywhere she goes, it was impossible for me to not love her character! She was unapologetically herself and I absolutely loved that. It was really inspiring to me that she was that way and makes me want to try to be more myself without caring what others think. I loved how Hallie and Julian were completely opposite, Julian sticking to strict schedules and Hallie having zero schedule or timeline to get things done. But Julian is so much more than what he first appears to be. He’s thoughtful, caring, sweet, and has a dirty mouth that is panty melting! Like hot damn he got me all hot and bothered, I don’t blame Hallie for wanting him at all. Also the lengths he would go to just to put a smile on her face *swoon*. Literally goals. While they are opposite, they are perfect for each other!

Easily will be a book I recommend to everyone! I am definitely pre-ordering this book and I cannot wait to read Natalie’s story next!

This book includes:
-Polar Opposites
-grumpy/sunshine
-Second Chance Romance
-Secret Admirer
-small town
- dual POV
5/5 stars
2.5/5 spice

Thank you Tessa Bailey, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for providing an arc for an honest review.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book and I have to say it was a delightfully quirky and fun romantic comedy. The angst was super low, and the characters were utterly charming, I could not put it down. This book is written in 3rd person POV which was a change from what I’m used to reading. However, it didn’t detract from the story like I thought it might. I’m a sucker for opposites attract romances and Julian and Hallie legit could not be more different.

I loved Hallie she is so unapologetically herself. She’s chaos personified but in the most endearing ways possible. This girl is a giant ray of sunshine that left a perpetual smile on my face. And Julian was perfection. He was so much more than you initially believe. The care that he exudes regarding Hallie will melt your heart into a puddle. Seriously, this man went to great lengths to make sure that Hallie smiled, and it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a book where the MMC did all he could to just make the FMC happy.

Simply put I cherished this book. It was light. It was entertaining. It’ll put a smile on your face and a warmth in your heart. So, if you’re looking for a sweet, fun romance than look no further this one will check all your boxes.

A gardener and a professor, two individuals from different worlds but come together in a passionate way with a connection that is beyond palpable...

From the beginning of reading the synopsis, I just knew that Tessa would be writing something that I will instantly fall in love with. And I did. Julian and Hallie have become one of my favorites because of their sweet banters and their chemistry that goes way beyond anything. From that first kiss, it became one that Hallie could never forget. One that she became infatuated with. And from the moment she found out that the handsome college professor was coming back to their home town for a "visit", her obsession grew more.

Julian being the type A gentleman that he is, finding someone like Hallie and not remembering their first kiss, became something of an obsession to him to find out and try very hard to remember were it is he knows her from. But getting distracted by her beauty, quirky ways, and her three rumbustious dogs, he knows that being with her is not something that he can do. But his mind and body are telling him different things. Reacting in ways that makes him crave her presence. Her laughs, her overall emotions and energy. And of course, it makes him crave her smiles and mindless thoughts;
"But he found himself wondering what it might be like to fill that role for Hallie. In another life, obviously. A full-time giver of Hallie smiles..."

Hallie, being the type of person who is all over the place knows that being with someone like Julian would go anything against her non-existent values. She is totally type B personality, and I love everything about it. Her presence makes any room and environment shine like the type of person she is. And when they both finally come to a realization that they are meant to be together and their time apart is inevitable, their spark is one of the ages.

Tessa has delivered once again with her amazing main characters AND side characters. Natalie and August being said side characters in which I know I will instantly fall in love with.

Very enjoyable read. Great characters, dialogue and plot. Very satisfying ending while nicely setting up next book in the series.

Loved the opposites attract troupe in this one, the quirky and stiff personalities really worked well here. Don't forget, the sizzling chemistry! I'm a sucker for that angsty longing! Overall, a fun and easy read was exactly what I was looking for and what I received!

This was such a fun read! Tessa’s books are always fun and I was excited for this one. Glad it lived up to my expectations.

I love Tessa Bailey. She’s a fantastic author and a fantastic person.

That being said, I’m a little disappointed about this one. I ended up DNFing at 30%. I genuinely could not get invested in another insta love story with mediocre characters that were just surrounded by quirky chaos all of the time.

I wish I had loved this more.

This book was fun and cute. The smut was steamy and entertaining in a raunch way. The writing style always hooks me and it feels like I finish the book in mere minutes.

My problem with this book is the incessant need to harp on how Julian is a manly male in all his maleness and how Hallie is a feminine female in all her soft feminity. Weirdly gender essentialist and borderline transphobic. This isn't a book about queer people and that's fine but there's no need to make them uncomfortable by reinforcing how body parts make a gender identity. It's gross.

I will give props to this book for being body positive. On Tiktok Tessa seemed to imply that Hallie was plus sized but the cover and the book doesn't imply anything other than busty with full hips. She's curvy and that's mentioned on page. There is no wrong representation of plus sizes in this book so that's probably just a miscommunication on social media.

Otherwise it was fun to speed through.

I've got expectations when it comes to a Tessa Bailey romance. I expect great couples with more than a little hilarity, tenderness, and raunch on the side. Secretly Yours 100% delivers.

Set against the backdrop of Napa Valley wine culture, Secretly Yours is the story of Hallie, a gardener, and Julian, the guy she's been nursing a crush on since high school who happens to be back in town for the first time in years. I love a long-standing crush romance, and this one fully delivers on the trope. Plus, it acknowledges that the people we crushed on at 15 aren't the same as they were then - and neither are we. Both Hallie and Julian are given the space to grow over the course of the book, and their relationship comes out stronger for it.

This book is also laugh-out-loud funny, especially in Julian's POV chapters. He really takes "no I'm not in love with her I just feel like I'll die if she's not happy" to the extreme, and it's never not funny. Hallie's chaotic approach to life also offers several hilarious moments - including some grand theft cheese - and the supporting characters of friends and family were also guaranteed for some funny lines. On top of that, Julian and Hallie have tons of chemistry, both in terms of their heart-to-hearts and their steamier scenes, which are definitely the Tessa Bailey Special (tm). (Let's just say, Julian says some Things.)

My only complaints about this book were that the narration could occasionally feel stagnant, especially on Hallie's side, and that there were a couple side plots that felt a bit extraneous (particularly Owen's whole existence). These are super minor critiques though, especially compared to how much fun I had while reading overall.

Definitely a great time! And definitely can't wait for book 2!

4.5/5

Overall, a very average romance that had some cute parts.
Back in high school, Julian and Hallie almost kiss at a party. Julian stops when he realizes she is just a freshman, he’s a senior. Hallie has been “in love” with him since. Julian is back in town, staying at his family’s guest house, while he works on a novel. Hallie is a gardener that is working on the flower garden around the guest house.
Hallie is a DISTRACTION. She wears short shorts, has curly hair, a polka-dot bra(!), her chaotic nature, it is just all so much for the strict, schedule-crazed Julian. He can’t focus, Hallie is so chaotic, so beautiful, so much of a distraction! Julian has stuck to perfectly timed scheduled for the past four years but does not have the willpower or knowledge on how to close blinds. (I think if there were a couple of times of Julian calling Hallie a distraction in one way or another, it would be okay. It was just too many times.)
They talk, there is chemistry, though they could NEVER, EVER work, they are just too different.
Julian was a bit too perfect for me. His only weakness is his *gasp* ANXIETY. As another reviewer said, I didn’t 100% love the handling of the anxiety attack, but I also didn’t find it offensive. His dirty talk seemed to come out of left field, but I guess everyone has hidden depths.
Hallie is 29 years old and while she is going through a rough time, some of her antics were a bit hard to believe for a 29-year-old that is still running her own business and at least somewhat taking care of herself.
Lavinia, Hallie’s best friend, seems to be in the story for convenience of having Hallie someone to talk to and doesn’t really have much personality besides for that.
The secret admirer letters seemed shoved into the story. Like there could have been a story without them, but there needed to be some sort of end drama, so they shoved something in there that could work. The end conflict was unnecessary.
Conclusion
Meh, I’m not angry I read it, but I won’t be rushing to read the next in the series either.
Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Tessa Bailey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.