I'm a huge Tessa Bailey fan, but I feel that this is one of her weaker novels. For me personally, the chemistry between the two main characters always felt like a stretch. I did like the development of the female lead throughout the novel and found that satisfying, but not her relationship. I'd still recommend it to Tessa Bailey fans though for background for Unfortunately Yours, the second in the series.

I hear so many great things about this author but this is my second read by her and I don’t get it! I could not finish this book, it was not for me.

This was extremely disappointing.

Tessa Bailey has made a name for herself by writing MC's who are strong and developed by this book was just disaster after disaster.

If it had been handed to me without an author's name on it, I would've never thought it was her.

‘Secretly Yours’ by Tessa Bailey was super sweet and super fun - the perfect romance - and I absolutely recommend it!

So OBSESSED!!! I have been in such a terrible reading slump the last few months and I genuinely feel like this book has pulled me out of the trenches! It was such a fun and adorable read! I ADORED Hallie and Julian together and apart - they were two people who collided so intensely and helped each other evolve separate and together in such a beautiful way. She was the chaos he needed and he was the structure she needed and I loved it so much. The vibes were absolutely PHENOMINAL, the chemistry was HOT and the characters were just so lovable. I didn't even care that this was a bit of a slow burn and Tessa made us work for it because when it happened it was PERFECT! AND the mouth on this man OH MY GOD! Hallie didn't stand a chance like AT ALL! This had me SWOONING, laughing, and blushing so much, I cannot recommend this enough!!! I was in love with both Julian and Hallie but I also loved all of the other characters too, and I cannot wait to read Unfortunately Yours next!

Thank you to Avon Books / NetGalley and Tessa Bailey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Secretly Yours was a fun and cute romance. Quite steamy at times too. I enjoyed the cast of characters and can't wait to read the next one!

Really loved Tessa Bailey's latest: Secretly Yours! A coming-of-age mixed with angsty romance, this one will have you turning pages and rooting for the main character!

Awful. Just awful and I love Tessa Bailey. But these were the most unlikeable characters I have ever encountered in a book. I put it down about a quarter of the way through. I won't read the sequel, either.

I suppose I'm not a great fan of Tessa Baileys. This book read with very limited plot and is for a more immature reader.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishing co for this read. Opinions are my own

I love Tessa Bailey and have been a fan since the beginning. I adored what happened last summer so much, but I feel like with popularity Tessa is writing not for love but instead to ensure suit Tiktok, and it isn't working,

Beyond the fact that the meet-cute between Hiley and Juian was pretty weak - the fact that the premise of this story is that Hailey is upset that Julien doesn't remember her, although they barely had any interactions. This is what starts the letters.

I feel like there may be something here, but it just wasn't good - but beyond all that, Julian's sex talk should automatically put him in jail.

I have never been so uncomfortable with sex talk - it was wildly long and descriptive for no reason - NOT sexy.

Unfortunately - this was a no for me.

Back in high school, Hallie had the biggest crush on Julian. She hasn’t seen him in years but when he comes back home on sabbatical to write a novel, she finds the butterflies are still there. One night after too many drinks, she decides to write him a secret admirer letter and leave it along his running path for him to find.

I usually adore anything Tessa Bailey writes, but this book just didn’t capture me in the same way her books usually do. I wanted to love it, and there wasn’t anything I particularly disliked about it, it just never fully had me engaged in the story. I love a chaotic main character so Hallie was exactly the type of whirlwind I love, but I didn’t fully buy into Julian being the right match for her whimsical nature. What I did love was the steam - this book had the Tessa Bailey steam we all know and love and it did not disappoint in that regard.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Tessa Bailey is the Queen of romance. These characters are funny, relatable, and so cute. Patrons will enjoy the steamy content, the easy language, and believable premises. Bailey hits all the big tropes in her books and there is truly something for every type of romance reader.

This was a bit disappointing - it felt like he didn't really like her? Or appreciate her for what she was? Something was just a bit off with these characters and I didn't see why they even wanted to be together. I think this could have been fleshed out a bit more.

Tessa Bailey does it again with this sweet and flirty rom-com. I loved learning more about the wine business and loved the setting. I can't wait for book two!

I liked that Hallie was this chaotic gardener and that Julian was a college professor. Kinda different and fun. Liked that Hallie didn’t have the typical body type always described in romance novels! Also liked that Julian struggled with anxiety and panic attacks because representation matters and I could personally relate.

Moving on to the things I didn’t enjoy…we don’t get many details on Julian’s job as a professor at Stanford or his life there. Overall you learn more about Hallie’s past than Julian’s. I felt like the side stories were just not worth being in the book (the secret admirer letters, what was the point?) and then the wine shop was resolved very quickly. Also, Julian’s obsession with Hallie having dirty knees was kind of a turn off but that’s just my personal opinion. Also missing was any type of fun and sexy banter.

'm normally such a fan of Tessa Bailey (It Happened One Summer was one of my top books last year) but this one fell really flat for me. Both of the characters were fine on their own but I didn't love them together. The spicy scenes were interesting to say the least- he seemed to have a dirty knees kink as her dirty knees (from gardening) came up repeatedly. Most of the spicy scenes just made me laugh at how odd they were honestly. I also kind of thought his grand gesture was pretty lame.

I've heard a lot about Tessa Bailey and I just dont think this was the best one to start with.... this is one of those instances where the grown-up, adult characters were written to act very teenager-y in a way that wasn't entertaining or enjoyable.

Tessa Bailey can do absolutely no wrong. She is EVERYTHING. I cannot wait for Unconditionally Yours!

Rating: 2.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC! Secretly Yours follows the love story of Hallie and Julian - a gardener and local vintner, respectively. Set in a small California town, this second-chance romance provides some laughs, swoons, and a few eye-rolls.

I've read several books by Tessa Bailey, and unfortunately, this falls on the lower end of my ranking. I felt the main storyline of the secret admirer letters to be immature and nonsensical. I couldn't wrap my head around how the secrecy of these two MCs was such a hang-up...especially after they had already slept together. Take that plotline out and I would've enjoyed it a lot more. I also couldn't buy into a 29-year-old woman being hung up on a teenage crush that *literally* did not even remember her.

On a positive note, some things I loved were...
- Small-town setting
- Slow-burn spice
- Unique MC professions
- Cute side characters

Overall, this was a light, fluffy read, but took me far too long to get through and didn't have me rooting for the couple. Not what I want in a romcom. I'll continue to read this author though, because this is the first I've read from her that I haven't really enjoyed!

im going to be 100 here, I ALMOST nfed this at one point. the plot was ok, but kind of odd. I found myself being more invested in the side characters and side plots than I was the actual mains.
i really loved the bellinger sisters series and this had so much potential, but it just didn't give what it needed to OR COULD HAVE given. i didn't really feel the chemistry until late in the book. and I also feel like it was zero to I love you in 4 pages. the mme was complaining that they could never be together because he is so clean and organized and she is a wild tornado, and then two seconds later he is in love and is cured of his anxiety? mmmmmm not vibing with that unfortunately. but there were parts i really enjoyed. i loved the vos family coming together. i thought the spice in the book was nice. there were definitely parts that made me lol overall a mixed bag. so glad if you enjoyed it, but definitely not an all time fav or a book I would very readily recommend