Tessa Bailey has ruined the rom-com genre for me. NOTHING will ever compare to her creativity, laugh-out loud moments, adorable characters, and 🔥(IYKYK). Natalie and August are her best yet, and that’s saying something! ♾⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tessa Bailey stan for life. ❤️

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was fun! I will say, I had a difficult time with the first book in this series, but this one was definitely the favorite out of the two. The enemies to lovers/marriage of convenience was believable and fun. There were some cringe parts, which I think just comes with the territory of romance. But still, it was a fun, easy read in Tessa Bailey's signature fashion!

I've read 4 Tessa Bailey Books. Two I really enjoyed and two that just weren't for me. This is book number 5 and the tie breaker!

I'm happy to say I LOVED Unfortunately Yours.

The banter between August and Natalie was hilarious and I really enjoyed their characters. I'm also a fan of the fake dating/marriage trope so this one worked for me. I was hesitant after not loving book 1, Secretly Yours, but I'm so glad I gave this one a chance.

This book was exceedingly well balanced. The tropes were great and they all worked well together. The banter was perfection, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Natalie and August fall in love. This is the perfect addition to any contemporary romance collection.

This was such a sweet follow up to the A Vine Mess series debut, and completely blew its predecessor out of the water. I completely fell in love with August Cates and the gentle way he cared for Natalie. At this point in her writing career, Tessa Bailey does a great job of showcasing her characters flaws and wrapping them up into the romantic arcs of her characters' relationships. They fall in love not despite their baggage, but with everything in full view of one another. It's an aspect of her books that I really appreciate.

While I usually love Tessa Bailey, I found this book to feel a little...rushed. Perhaps that is the slow-burn romantic in me, but I did not feel as much of a spark for this book as I did with her previous ones.

Those who love the "marriage of convenience" and "love at first sight" tropes may enjoy this book more than I did. Tessa Bailey's writing is beautiful and engaging as always, I personally just found that I couldn't identify with the characters or the story as much as I had with her previous characters. The "marry to get your trust fund" patriarchal idea is outdated in my view; and while this was an updated version, it wasn't quite progressive enough for it to feel modern.

Tessa Bailey NEVER disappoints and Unfortunately Yours is no exception. This book is filled with so much humor, heart, and steam, you won't want to put it down!

This book has been hard for me to get into. I’ve come back to it multiple times because I think the main characters have good chemistry but the overall storyline has been slow paced or maybe just isn’t grabbing my attention.
It matches Book 1 of the series “Sincerely Yours” well but I also didn’t love that story as much as I had hoped.
I believe this book has great qualities, just wasn’t my cup of tea this time around.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC.

Tessa Bailey is an author I go back and forth on in terms of enjoyment. The first book in this series was very difficult to get through and enjoy. This take is definitely better, and I do enjoy a good marriage of convenience. But, this still falls short for me compared to her It Happened One Summer Series. While maybe not fair to compare the two separate series, it is hard for me to take it apart in my mind. My expectations maybe were too high. 2.5 stars rounded up.

I recently delved into the second installment of this series, and boy, did it devour the marriage of convenience trope with an insatiable hunger! Let me just say, Tessa Bailey's writing in this book was a massive leap forward from the first one. Her storytelling always manages to tickle my funny bone and ignite my imagination with its boundless creativity. I can't help but fall head over heels for these characters. It's like witnessing the perfect blend of a mischievous black cat and a lovable golden retriever coming to life on the pages. If you're searching for a love story that announces its arrival with a bang, this book is the one for you.

The tension between Natalie and August crackled like a bonfire, and the sparks that flew through their witty banters and scorching encounters set every page ablaze. Their chemistry felt so palpable, as if it had a life of its own, pulsating with an intensity that was impossible to resist. It was like succumbing to the temptation of a decadent dessert or indulging in your favorite guilty pleasure—it simply left me craving for more. Their love story unfolded before my eyes, intertwining warmth and excitement in a way that left me grinning like a fool and completely captivated.

Overall, this book was a revelation, surpassing all my expectations. Tessa Bailey has once again proven her mastery at crafting engaging characters and magnetic relationships. With its perfect blend of humor, creativity, and an irresistible love story, this second installment had me hooked from start to finish. If you're ready for a reading experience that will leave you swooning and yearning for another chapter, I can wholeheartedly recommend this gem. It's an absolute winner that will make you believe in the magic of love.

One of my Tessa Bailey favorite couples .... so much interesting that the simple log line of disgraced Napa heiress meets ex-Navy SEAL. Their banter is reminiscent of the best Hepburn -Tracy films, except a little less innuendo and a lot more explicit. A marriage of convenience story has never been so fun and you'll definitely be rooting for them.

Great book! This is definitely one if my favorite authors, and I've had the pleasure of meeting her at a few signings! But that doesn't affect my review! This book had a bit of everything! It had intrigue, romance, angst , and some hot hot hot moments! The storyline was very interesting and super cute at times! I highly recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me! Can't wait for more!

This book was a huge letdown for me.

After finishing the first book, I was excited to read Natalie's story. She intrigued me, and I was thrilled to read about her getting her happy ending. However, this wasn't even close to what I expected.

First, there was way too much discussion about August's male parts. Why was I reading about his dick on literally the first page? Also, why did it happen to work its way into nearly every conversation? It just seemed like sloppy writing, and that the author had no idea how to make them have chemistry. It was one of the biggest turn offs of this book.

The other was how August had zero backbone and fell into instalove. Him and Natalie were acting the same exact way every time, yet he was in the middle of having a heart attack because he felt like he was messing up. It was boring and redundant.

To be honest, the more I write this review, the more irritated I get.

I received an ARC of this book and ended up not reading it right away so I could read Secretly Yours first.

I had major ick for certain parts of both and I can’t get past it. Focusing on this book, can we please never use terms of endearment like princess or sweetheart (special place in hell for men who say a woman is a good girl when she comes for him 🫠) for grown adult women? I seize up every time.

The other thing that had my hackles up is the reliance on extremely narrow gender stereotypes. Primarily the description of August’s penis size basically being portrayed as some magically perfect appendage. Why are so many MMC slinging big dicks? Natalie’s body is equally perfect so it’s not one sided. I’m glad August has more depth than just being a perfect physical specimen, but I also feel like he has a lot of class clown, goon characteristics too. He seems like “that guy” from high school . I don’t know, they just fell into the whole thing so quickly and there was no drama for me. I hate an unearned third act breakup but like nothing major happened in the story. Kudos to the epilogue though cause that was super cute.

*And maybe I missed it but how in the hell did a retired Navy SEAL afford to buy a vineyard in Napa at all? Someone explain this to me!

This is the second in a series. Tessa Bailey set up Natalie as an abrasive, privileged heir to a wine fortune. Slowly we learn Natalie has grit, and August is set up as a grumpy ex navy seal that thinks he's better than everyone. As we get to know these 2 we find that they are good souls with rough parts in the own way. Their love story is a treat to read!

A Marriage of Convenience between enemies? Sign me up.
Natalie is back in her hometown after losing her job and fiancé in New York. August is a retired Navy Seal in Napa hoping to fulfill his buddy’s dream of opening a winery. August’s winery is on the verge of closing and Natalie needs money to start a new business, with no other choice they get married so Natalie can have access to her trust fund.
I absolutely loved how Natalie and August’s story unfolded, and how they came to love each other despite all their past struggles. Tessa Bailey outdid herself with this book. 10/10 would recommend!!

⭐️: 4.5/5- nothing can compare to It Happens One Summer & Hook, Line, and Sinker (two of my favorite books of all time) but this one is so good! Tessa Bailey said that August is her favorite Hero she’s ever written- and I can see why. August and Natalie have the steamiest chemistry, the most playful banter, and the most protective love 🫶🏼 I struggle to love enemies to lovers because I want everyone to be nice to each other 🤣 but in her acknowledgments she says “What is going to make me feel better after the harshly spoken words?” The answer came to me right away. I need irrefutable proof that the hero has loved the heroine all along.” And you definitely feel that. If you like enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience this may be your favorite Tessa Bailey book ever 💕

📖: “After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him—and kiss him, in equal measure.”

🌶️: 4/5 Tessa Bailey has a way with words 🥵

I absolutely loved this book. The first book in the Vine Mess Series set up the quirky small town-esque vibe, but also showed Natalie and August's fateful hatred. It was set up so perfectly and had fans itching for book two, and let me tell you it did not disappoint.
August is just such a great guy that honestly just doesn't know how to speak to Natalie and his reasons for his vineyard are just so wholesome. Both need money, and a marriage of convenience is a very quick way to get it...but when they are both faced with opportunities to back out of the marriage, neither of them go for it.
I loved the dynamic between Natalie and August and how August tried to effectively communicate with Natalie to ensure that his jokes never went too far or they were truly angry for long.

Overall the book has a lot of amazing tropes and great writing. I would highly recommend this to everyone interested in romcoms and marriage of convenience tropes.

This was a GREAT story to listen to! AWESOME narration! Great main characters. The plot was easy to find. The story was engaging and easy to follow. Will be purchasing this book. Shout out to Netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story.

4 STARS!

Secretly Yours was such a fun book, so I was so excited that the wait for Unfortunately Yours wasn't that long. Especially after I found out this would be a marriage of convenience romance, which is a favorite trope of mine. This book ended up being everything I wanted and more!

Natalie is still recovering from the fallout in New York, but just wants to get back on her feet. When she realizes that she can't get the money she needs without a marriage, she's just angry. And she should be! It's a ridiculous clause to have in the first place. My heart broken for Natalie at times. She really felt like she couldn't do anything right or wasn't worthy when it came to her family. I loved seeing her stand up for herself and realizing what she was worth.

August didn't need long for me to add him to the top of my book boyfriend list! August was just a big teddy bear. He was so caring and wasn't afraid of telling everyone what he felt. He was grieving for his best friend and just wanted to realize his dream of having his own wine. August needed to stop blaming himself and realize he didn't have to do everything all by himself. Natalie really brought that out in him and it was amazing. August is also very protective and will do anything to keep people safe. Even if it takes him a little to realize what's stopping him from having everything he really wants.

Natalie and August start out as enemies, but their chemistry was there from the start. I loved their banter and when they started pranking each other I couldn't stop smiling while I was reading. This book gets steamy, but it builds gradually and the tension jumped off of the pages. The grand gesture and epilogue made my heart happy.

My review will be posted on https://thebookdutchesses.com on July 8th!