This is the second book in the the Vine Mess duology. This is Natalie and August‘s story.

While you SHOULD read the first one to get the fill picture for this one, you don't have to.
But the first book does give a lot of info that will help you understand this book and the characters better.

That being said, out of the duology, this Unfortunately Yours is the better book.

Natalie is not involved in the family wine business, but is home with her tail tucked between her legs after being fired from her big wall street job and being dumped by her fiance. She needs start up capital to make her come back but can't access her trust fund due to some archaic rules set by her father.
Enter August. August is a Napa Valley outsider trying to keep his best friend's dream of having a winery alive and failing miserably. He needs capital for his winery.

A marriage of convenience is born.
This has one of my favorite troupes: the he falls first one.
I loved these two. Even though sometimes the pacing was a bit slow.

The spice was awesome, the build up to the spice was awesome. Tessa Bailey does a good job of telling a story outside of the romance too.
I enjoyed it. It will be a good summer read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately Yours was a cute read and I think it was overall better than Secretly Yours, though I will say that you have to read Secretly Yours to understand this one. There is a decent amount of set up for the main characters in this book in Secretly Yours, and Unfortunately Yours just jumps right into it. So if you don't ready Secretly Yours first, you will miss out on a lot of the backstory between these two characters.

Rating: 4.25/5

Synopsis: Natalie had a high powered job in finance until one REALLY bad investment causes her to lose her job and her fiancé. She's returned to her family's winery in Napa, where she feels like an outsider. She wants to start her own investment firm but needs to access the trust fund her estranged father set up for her, which requires that she be employed and married.

August is a former Navy SEAL who is trying to honor his late best friend's wish of having his own winery. The only problem is, August is absolutely awful at making wine. He needs a loan to turn his business around but no bank will give him one. The only thing he's enjoying in life right now is trading verbal spars with Natalie, who he sees as a spoiled brat.

Although they are enemies, once they realize that a marriage could benefit them both they agree to get hitched and life together for a couple months so that Natalie can access her trust fund and August can bank on her family's good wine reputation to get a loan, and then go their separate ways. So what if underneath the constant verbal sparring, they are deeply attracted to each other?

Review: I really enjoyed the dynamic between Natalie and August. In Secretly Yours, they meet for the first time and seem like they're going to hook up, until one wrong comment from August turns them into enemies. They both give each other a lot of grief and poke at one another's insecurities, trying to ignore their mutual attraction.

Although this is a marriage of convenience, there are some twists that I think make it really interesting (I won't spoil it!). Of course it's Tessa Bailey so there is also great smut throughout the book.

I do like that there is also some depth to the characters - Natalie is interested in helping out at her family's winery and then at August's once she moves in with him, but both turn her away for different reasons and it's so hard on Natalie, who just wants to be wanted and given a chance to show that she can help. This causes tension between her and August because he doesn't even realize that he's shutting her out and hurting her, he just feels like he needs to run the winery entirely by himself as a way to honor his friend. I really liked the way this was addressed in the third act.

Overall this was a cute read with loveable characters! Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey is the second book in the Vine Mess duology. This is Natalie and August‘s story.
 
Natalie is Julian‘s sister from the first book and she isn’t very involved with the family business. She does her own thing in the financial sector in New York, and I really liked seeing her hard work. Currently, she is back in Napa Valley to get back on her feet to start a new business venture. However, Natalie needs money for doing it and her trust fund is tied to the stipulation of her being married.
 
August is a bit of an outsider in Napa Valley, and he tried being a vintner and keeping the dream of his friend alive. He is not the best at it, but I admired his loyalty and motivation. August is a former Navy SEAL with a heart of gold, and he is just amazing.
 
Natalie and August can help each other out and they start this fake relationship and later marriage. This concept not only sounded amazing, but the story was everything. I loved the way it developed, and Natalie and August went from being convenient to being each other’s half. They are a stunning couple, and the steam (like the shower scene) was also immaculate.
 
Overall, I wholeheartedly loved Unfortunately Yours and it’s a new Tessa Bailey favorite. 5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Unfortunately Yours is a captivating enemies-to-lovers tale that explores the complexities of a fake-marriage romance. The novel is filled with clever banter and intense chemistry that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. The protagonists are well-developed, with deeply emotional backstories that add depth and complexity to the story. As the plot unfolds, readers will witness the characters' growth and transformation, making for a truly engaging and satisfying read.

This book was ... fine. The banter is top notch, and I liked the depth and growth we get from both main characters (and the cat, Menace, is maybe the most accurate book cat I've seen in a while). This is a formulaic romance, but in the typical Bailey way. The enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience where both well done by an author who is no stranger to the genre or tropes.

I saw a review that called this a republican romance I think that is the best way to describe this book and nails why this book just missed for me. I think it might be the overwhelming hero worship of the MMC's military background (don't forget that Bailey has an entire copaganda series with MMC police officers), or maybe it's the insinuation that all every woman wants is to be married and have kids. Or maybe its that every single character (main and side) is always white, straight and hetro.

Genre: Romance
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, a marriage of convenience
Spice Level: 3/5
Part of a Series: Yes (A Vine Mess #2) - but it could be read as a stand-alone.
Cliffhanger: No

TLDR Synopsis of Review: I'm really starting to think that there is nothing Tessa can write that I won't love more than the last one I read. That being said on to the review.

Review:
Tessa Bailey absolutely KILLED the marriage of convenience trope, throw in some enemies to lovers, and where he very clearly falls first? Yeah, sign me right on up for that. I did like this Natalie and August's story better than Hallie and Julian, and that had everything to do with Natalie, okay, and a bit to do with the Navy Seal that is August Cates.

The tension between the two is so well written that I found myself wishing they'd just give into it, save us all the trouble of wanting to scream at them just to kiss already, but at the same time, I wanted it drawn out as long as possible. I loved the verbal sparing between the two, and I loved that August could see Natalie so clearly that he knew when his barbs went too far and made decisions to avoid similar ones in the future. Though that didn't stop him from blundering in other ways and we loved him even more for those. Especially when you picture this Navy Seal love interest is the epitome of a golden retriever husband.

Overall, I flew through this book and loved every second of it, I love romances where not only are the two MCs who know they aren't perfect and actively work together to create something that is theirs.

So get it love it, and lets hope Tessa keeps gracing our bookshelves with new books every few months!

4 stars.
This is better that the first book. I love Natalie and August Banter. The steam. and the way August really love Natalie.
Marriage of Convenience, He falls first and harder. trope. I just love it more than the first book.

Another hit from Tessa Bailey!

I haven’t read a marriage of convenience trope outside of fanfiction, so it was fun to see this in a modern setting. I thought the set-up was interesting, but I honestly felt like the first 50% of the book was slow, boring, and drawn-out. I wish we had gotten to the actual marriage quicker and hadn’t wasted so much time on the buildup.

However, once I got to the married life portion, I was hooked. I loved the dynamic between August and Natalie, including the A+ banter.

This would have been an easy 5 stars had the beginning been as good as the back half. Averaging this out to a 4 star rating.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Tessa Bailey for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Tessa Bailey is one of my favorite authors, and Unfortunately Yours is now up there as one of my absolute favorites of hers! August Cates and Natalie Vos are enemies (she threw wine in his face in book one of the series) yet somehow are the answer to each other’s career issues: August needs help obtaining a small business loan to help his fledgling vineyard survive, and Natalie needs a husband - and gainful employment - to release her trust fund so she can go back to NYC and start up a new hedge fund. When enemies get closer, sparks start to fly - and they might start to realize that who (and what) they need has been there all along. (Also, there’s a cat who is aptly named Menace.) Natalie in particular had a lot of growth to do and a lot of past hurts to work through in this book, and reading her come into her own was very satisfying. I highly recommend this to fans of Tessa’s, fake marriage books, and those who love a great redemption story. I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I love a good enemies to lovers plot, and a marriage of convenience plot, so I’m always nervous yet EXCITED to dive into stories that have them both. This book excelled and I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite Tessa Bailey book!

Natalie has become conditioned to rely only on herself and has built up walls because people often dismiss her or hold her past against her or even just want to use her. So when she moves back home to her family’s vineyard after losing her job on Wall Street and having her fiancé call off their wedding, she isn’t doing great.

This is when she meets August, a retired Navy SEAL, who is trying (and failing) to open a winery in honor of his late best friend. Their attraction is FIRE at first, but they immediately rub each other the wrong way and cannot stop fighting.

When they both realize that a marriage might fix several of their individual financial problems, they walk down the alter and aren’t sure if their future will be one of mutual destruction or bliss.

I felt like the plot really was entirely believable and the conflict wasn’t this dramatic third-act break up. Both characters grew so much thanks to the other and watching them each year down their walls was so beautiful.

Also, V V spicy and I loved it. Let’s just say, they started to rub each other the right way eventually 😉.

I absolutely recommend picking this one up! If you haven’t read the first book in this duology, have no fear, this book is entirely it’s own stand-alone. However, you do see a lot of Julian and Hallie, so I recommend picking it up too!

Tessa Bailey does it again! She brings us back to Napa Valley in the continuation of the story of the Vos children. Natalie needs her trust fund released, and August needs funds in order to keep his Vineyard operational. They quickly agree to a marriage of convenience that is anything but. Bailey’s voice is fun, and she has a way of creating relatable characters that you love to read about, and this is no different. Can’t wait to read it again and again!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Pub for this earc

Okay. I’m just gonna say. Just like the wine in this book, this book needs more time to be better. It’s not a bad story. I like marriage of convenience and I love enemies to lovers. What I don’t love is “I love you”s after 6 days.
You want to be in lust? I’m okay with that. But don’t tell me you were in love with each other all along without one meaningful conversation.
Like I said, if we got a little bit more time and a little less sex, this could have been absolutely adorable.
Also, the whole secret resolution? Very very anticlimactic

“for as long as august cates could remember, his dick had ruined everything.” talk about an opening fucking line to a book my god 💀

alright so, i dont want to talk too much about secretly yours but as someone who didn’t care for it (hated it) and know tons of others who didn’t as well i feel like its really important to mention to anyone hesitating to read this one for that reason that it is a COMPLETE 180 from how secretly yours went.

unfortunately yours was everything secretly yours wasn’t. it felt like it was much more thought out with the over all plot, the chemistry between august and natalie developed much smoother and in a fun way, it didn’t feel rushed and like 10+ things were missing to the story, and most importantly there was no cringe spicy scenes or dirty talk.

i had SUCH a fun time reading this book from front to back. it was cracking me up for the longest how august was always calling natalie princess and in return she’d call him rat king. i LOVED that there was no third act break up. and the banter was top notch, they were so unbelievably awkward and weird at times which made things even funnier to me.

dare i say august cates will forever remain a top book husband for me??? i loved everything about that man.

unfortunately yours gave me all the feels and vibes that it happened one summer gave me and reminded me just how much i adored TB and her writing.

One thing I love about TB is that she has a formula and sticks with it. When I read her stuff, I know exactly what I’m getting. Unfortunately Yours is a great little summer read. While parts of it did make me cringe because the dialogue was just too much, overall this was a good book. August is the ultimate golden retriever guy who desperately wants the “cool” girl to love him. But that “cool girl” has her own insecurities that she has to work through. Overall, Tessa Bailey did it again.

I love this series. The dynamic between Natalie and August is so real and raw. I loved the banter back and forth throughout the book.

This book was an acquired taste. Going in I was definitely concerned I was going to hate Unfortunately Yours. But the more and more I read it, the more I came to care for the characters and like them.
The miscommunication was strong in this one, which is something I’m not particularly fond of but I managed to get over. The characters were complete opposites and have very strong personalities, combine that with the miscommunication and very often, it’s the recipe for disaster. I mean it when I said it depended on the reader who was reading it.
But August and Natalie manage to make me stay with them and end up loving them. August is just one big doofus and a completely unserious person but he absolutely adored Natalie. Like awestruck in love. And he loveddd to push all of Natalie’s buttons. It was so funny. August is like a brainless golden retriever sometimes, imagine that one Tik Tok sound “Not a thought behind those eyes” that was August 60% of the time but it made me so lovable.
Natalie was stoic, cold and pretty guarded. She’s screams parent issues, like both of them. Which you will see throughout this book. But I loved seeing her let her walls down thought out the book especially because August loves her so much and making her smile became literally his life’s purpose.
Their love was what made this book so much more enjoyable. I really liked it and I’m so glad I did because Secretly Yours was a big meh for me which I am still bummed about. Overall I recommend you at least try the book, I can’t guarantee you will like it but at least give it a shot, I think you could really end up enjoying it!
Tessa Bailey will remain a hit or miss for me but I’m excited to see what’s next in her writing.

Format - E- ARC (Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶 🌶

Series- A Vine Mess #2

Troupes- Enemies to lovers, Grumpy/Grumpy, Marriage of Convenience, Insta attraction

CW- Death of a loved one, asshole dad

We met Nat and August in the first book in this series “Secretly Yours" and I hate to say it but I was more intrigued by their dynamic the Halie and Julian.. It might be because I love an enemies to lovers troupes more then most others, so I was super exciting to get this ARC!

Nat and August are red hot and constantly sparking off of each other, when Tessa said she enjoyed writing the banter between this two, way to much she was not kidding. I don’t care for mean banter IRL but I freaking loved it in this book! It works so well for the character personalities and makes that slow burn oh so steamy!

Both of these fictional humans are struggling to over come some pretty heavy trials and this Marriage of Convenience is exactly what they need to bring them together to help each other and to heal.

As always Tessa’s signature spicy times are hot and steamy after all the bantery build up with one particularly hot AF shower scene…

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I haven’t met and Tessa Bailey book yet that I didn’t like!

TESSA BAILEY BRINGS IT!!! Let me preface this by saying I am a big Tessa Bailey fan and I think if you're looking for that cutesy, silly, heartwarming rom com... this is not it. Tessa's books are big, bold, a little outrageous and a lot spicy so just... just don't pick this one up if that's not your jam. What I will say is that behind all that spice is, not only a fun plot but some really human-like qualities in these potentially silly characters.

We have Natalie Vos, napa wine heir and family disappointment who is desperate for attention and a second chance, and August Cates, retired navy SEAL who is really just a big goofy softie but is also trying his best to carry on his late best friend's legacy at his vineyard. Natalie and August epitomize black cat girlfriend/golden retriever boyfriend. August seems like a big grumpy tough guy but around Natalie he's silly and horny and these two are hilarious together.

Enter the very contrived, very ridiculous premise: a marriage of convenience. I know that many people don't like the marriage of convenience trope because of its very contrived, fake nature but I love indulging in the silliness of it all. Essentially, August's wine sucks and he needs money to try to make it better. Natalie needs to be married and employed to access her trust fund. They get married. With Natalie's wine knowledge, the bank will see some hope for August's vineyard and give him a loan. With her marital status, Natalie can access her trust fund to stick it to her asshole ex-fiance who dropped her after her career mistakes.

Like I mentioned, the BANTER here. Recently, Bailey's work has not been hitting like IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER and HOOK LINE AND SINKER did. This one comes very very fucking close. It is a bit of insta-lust, with both Natalie and August immediately attracted to one another (they did meet at a wine event and immediately try and hook up). But besides the excellent banter, the development of the relationship between these two watching as it moves from lust, to respect, to admiration and eventually love was so fantastic. The pacing is perfect and I think Bailey always has a strong, albeit hilariously ridiculous at times, tone to her writing.

August. Mf. CATES. Man he was so fucking adorable. The right amount of gruff, grumpy, and protective, while also being SO SOFT HEARTED <3 truly love him. This is how you do golden retriever boyfriend. He was at times juvenile (he's rlly mf horny and literally admits to thinking with his dick), but he also had the biggest heart eyes for Natalie and I loved it.

Obviously, not thrilled about the military complex propaganda at work here (i mean there's literally a scene where he saves a family and Natalie is frothing at the mouth at his heroism and big muscles). But at the end of the day I think this really was the perfect smutty, funny, and even cutesy rom com to get me out of a big slump with romance. There's a lot of romance out there these days and it takes a lot to get me really invested in a story. Tessa Bailey delivers for me once again.

Oh and did I mention the SPICE??

All’s fair in love and war when Napa Valley’s top enemies turn lovers…well fake lovers.

Desperate to revive her reputation on Wall Street Natalie Vos is determined to use her trust fund as capitol in her new firm. The only problem is, her asshole father has antiquated terms for how she gets it: she needs to be married.

August Cates is a retired Navy Seal with dreams of a successful vineyard. His problem: his wine sucks and he has no clue how to make it better.

Together, Natalie and August decide that a marriage of convenience is their best option. (And of course, ignoring their intense attraction.) can they convince the town and keeper of the money that their marriage is true? Or will they both be unable to forgive when they realize the secrets could trash their marriage before it becomes true?

What I liked:
I loved the overall theme of forgiveness. It made the HEA worth it and feel real.
I loved that both Nat and August had major flaws and worked through them. It wasn’t easy. They are real.

What I didn’t like:
While I appreciate the lovey nicknames…. The word “princess” was annoying me by the end of it.

Another amazing installment by Tessa Bailey just in time for summer. Grab your wine and get ready for all the tea.

My thanks to NetGalley and Avon for this Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

5 stars 🌟

I have been super excited for this book ever since Natalie threw wine at August’s face in Secretly Yours and it did not disappoint. I mean enemies to lovers, fake marriage/marriage of convenience, a navy seal and a vineyard princess, absolutely delicious. The chemistry with these two was scorching, as always with Mrs Bailey’s characters, but I loved their vulnerability as a result of their past and how their emotional connection and relationship developed while overcoming their issues.

Another really great read from Tessa Bailey.