This was a beautiful breath of wine flavored air! I loved it so much....even more than the first one. Natalie was epic. Her rebranding after such a hard blow was simply the best.

August is the new GOAT of book boyfriends.

Marriage of convenience and some book cameos! Loved it!!!

Thanks so much to Avon and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. All thoughts are my own.

I knew after Secretly Yours that I couldn’t wait to hear Natalie’s story and boy was I right. I loved Julian and Hallie’s book so so much, but this one blew me away!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
August was so perfect for Natalie. Also enemies to lovers??? Yes please! Probably the best trope if we’re being honest here.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This book is full of wit, sarcasm, love, and it had me bawling a few times. I was surprised by that but man was it fantastic.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
4.5/5 🌟

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

Tessa Bailey's books are either hit or miss for me. Very few now have been a hit and this one I would consider a hit. I read it fairly fast and never felt bored or done with the book.

I of course had some issues but that's normal. I wasn't the biggest fan of the very fast deciding of the two characters tolerating each other after their enemies' type relationship. Some of the banter was cringe worthy but I have found that's normal in Bailey's writing.

I could not stand Natalie's mom and unfortunately that has been an ongoing thing in the books I've been reading. Authors have been making the mom or parents in general very unlikable.

I did like that August was a veteran and had some bad memories and lost his best friend. I like the character development because of that. Also love a good console from the heroine when the hero has issues with the past memories. Gets me every time.

Was a decent, solid read. Nice surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book in the series, and can be read as a standalone but to see how it all started I'd read Secretly Yours first

CW: death of a loved one (past), grief, PTSD, family tensions, brief mention of past fire, self-medicating with alcohol (past)

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-marriage of convenience
-he falls first and hard
-wife guy
-I hate how attracted to you I am
-denial

August and Natalie had some chemistry in the first book and I was so intrigued to see how these two were going to make it work. They did not get along at all, knowing exactly what buttons to press. But they also just had an inability to see each other and appreciate the things that they saw as flaws about themselves and what no one else appreciated.

August was just a simp for Natalie, not pushing her but gone on her all the same. Loving the pushing and pull of their relationship and just loving her. Ready to defend her, fight for her, and fight with her for their relationship. And this is a TB book so you know he's amazing at the steamy talk, telling her exactly what he wants to do to her, despite the way she tried to fight their attraction and her growing feelings for him.

I love how these two finally got to the point where they could admit that maybe this was something more than a marriage of convenience, all while banging it out in the bedroom. And fiercely independent Nathalie who didn't need anyone to take care of her, but August was there to support her in any way, and let her be a partner in her life.

This was a fun read with just the right mix of banter and sexual chemistry.

Steam: 3.75

4 stars - I really enjoyed ‘Unfortunately Yours” from Tessa Bailey. Natalie needs her to gain access to her trust fund while August needs some funding for his winery. So, these two marry out of convenience to access the monies. However, they share more in terms of lust and fall in love and learn to trust each other. The story is well written, the characters are developed nicely and the steam is pretty steamy!

Please note that this is book 2 in this series from the author. While it is an independent stand alone novel, the characters and some details make so much more sense if you have read book one.

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC copy of Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie is bottom of the wine barrel low. After being ousted from her job in New York and unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé, Nat returns to Napa to drink the rest of her inheritance on the family vineyard and plan her next business steps. Unfortunately, those next steps are tied to an archaic rule that she walks down the aisle to a husband. Insert August Cates. August knows nothing about making wine but knows how to spot money when he sees it. And Natalie Voss is his personal walking bank to get his vineyard off the ground and into bottles. It seems like a perfect marriage of convenience except for the fact that the two cannot stand each other. One shotgun wedding later and Natalie and August begin to realize how drunk in love they could actually be.

Enemies to lovers is my bread and butter and Tessa Bailey gave it to us in full swing with Nat and August. The quippy sarcastic comments between these two just built the sexual tension throughout the book. Both characters are hot headed and stubborn which led to great tension between them. I much preferred this to the first book in the series, but that may just be because I like this trope and these characters more. Do not get me wrong, the dialogue can be cheesy as hell, but it had me laughing and made me like Natalie and August more!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I think I like this one just as much if not more than IHOS. It was that good! Natalie and August were a perfect example of enemies to lovers and it certainly didn't hurt that there was a marriage of convenience, forced proximity either, and he falls first. These are all some of my favorite tropes so it was a recipe for success!

August's pov chapters were my favorite and I loved him so much, he had a great voice. I really adored his whole purpose behind starting the vineyard and his marine background too.

I think my only complaint is that, shockingly, there really wasn't that much spice in this? At least compared to Tessa's other books! Don't get me wrong there were definitely some spicy scenes, but they just weren't on the same chili pepper level as her other books. This wasn't a good enough reason to knock a star off, just a little disappointed since Tessa is usually the queen of spice and dirty talk lol

RATING: 2.5/5 STARS

Most Tessa Bailey books really hit for me, but a few... not so much. I did enjoy the first book of this duet but this one didn't live up to my expectations. It had the ingredients that I thought I'd like - enemies to lovers + marriage of convenience - but it was lacking in originality for me! I will read future books by her though, as she is one of the queens of romcoms.

I wasn't into this one! The wine plot didn't engage me and I felt it was a little too cavalier about alcohol abuse.

Unfortunately Yours was a super cute read! August couldn’t have been sweeter when it came to Natalie, it was clear from their first moments on page that he was completely enraptured with her and their banter was excellent! I love a story with a good heart and this one had it in spades—a former Navy Seal trying to bring his dead best friends dream to life and a girl who, despite appearances, never felt like she had a true place; like she was needed. The two have separate dreams they want to fulfil—August wanting to make the vineyard a success and Natalie wanting to start her own finance company in New York. Problem is, neither of them have the money. So, a marriage plan is hatched so she can get her trust fund and he can get a loan from the bank—only thing is, neither of them realize they’re playing for keeps.

Unfortunately Yours is a fun, super sweet read and definitely recommend it with a good glass of Cabernet!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for the arc!!

Unfortunately Yours, by Tessa Bailey
funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75

This was an interesting take on the marriage of convenience trope! I do enjoy when both parties benefit from the marriage, so it was interesting to me that in this situation, they technically didn't need to get married but they did anyways because of the spark.

I enjoyed this book more than Secretly Yours. I do wish, however, that there was more set up for the main characters without having to read the first book. It really relied on those previous interactions and I think the perspective of those interactions was missing from this book.

The pining made sense (and was great, honestly!) but I wish the overall plot and timeline of the book was longer. I know people can fall in love in three weeks, but more time and story (and character) development would've helped here.

As always, I wish the cat was featured a bit more. :)

Spice was great, as usual! And this book was not as awkward or forced as the first in the series. Loved it.

Wrapping up, the third act was a nice surprise and deviation from the normal and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Decently solid read!

Thanks to Avon & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge fan of MoC and this delivered on all fronts. I really enjoyed the setting and the dynamic between Natalie and August. The one thing I wish we got was a wrap up or a little clarity on Natalie's relationship with alcohol, but the message came through (about it being associated with her acting out as a child) enough that it didn't affect my rating. Definitely one of my favorite Tessa Bailey books. She just keeps killing it!

natalie & august’s follow-up is better than the first book. bailey is an auto-read (and always will be), even if some of the dirty talk and/or harried thoughts can be cringey & eye-roll-inducing. tropes such as he falls first, marriage of convenience, & forced proximity are all done well. the main characters can be annoying at times, but i was still anxious to read what came next.

#netgalley

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. Tessa Bailey is truly one of my favorite romance writers. Unfortunately Yours is my new favorite and was such a good follow up to Secretly Yours. August and Natalie were phenomenal characters and I *loved* the enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes in this one!! I feel like
I’m officially in a book slump after reading this gem!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars, rated up

After being fortunate enough to read an early copy of the first title of this series (Secretly Yours) and loving it, when I saw this, I requested it and hoped I’d be fortunate enough a second time, and yay!

I started this immediately because I’ve been desperate for Natalie and August’s love story since I was reading Julian and Hallie’s story. This one is a MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE and I am always good with that. I read it over the course of 24 hours because it was like the pages were just turning themselves.

I loved Natalie and August and the two together are terrific. The chemistry between them was fantastic.

I wasn't crazy about some of the energy I felt from this and August's "sexy" talk just left me cringingly cold.

Despite my own issues with this I enjoyed it a lot.

Looking forward to what Ms. Bailey writes next!



Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the DRC!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me an ARC for review!

I'm going to level with you: I forgot I requested this at the same time as the first in the series, and I was NOT a fan of the first. So when I got the notification that I'd been approved for the second, I was quite honestly less than enthused and expected it to require a similar level of trudging through.

This was decidedly not trudge-worthy, though! I've landed on a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars, and it was sincerely enjoyable. Though the tropes are different, I think this will really speak to the crowd who loved Brendan and Piper in It Happened One Summer.

Natalie Vos is a sharp, fun lead character who, after being excommunicated from her Wall Street finance sphere, feels lost and in need of feeling useful while trying to claw her way back up the investment ranks. August Cates is a former Navy SEAL unsuccessfully trying to run a winery in memoriam of his best friend. Both of them need capital—Natalie, to launch her own investment firm, and August, to keep his failing winery in business. Good thing Natalie has a trust fund that unlocks when she marries, and the local loan officer trusts the Vos family name so much that a marriage-level cosign is apparently enough to secure a business loan!!!!!

I've complained before that Tessa Bailey occasionally seems to fall into a trap of writing a book completely centered around smutty scenes, to the point that any additional plot feels thrown together and nonsensical. The reason this worked for me so much more than the first is because the characters' motivations really made sense to me. With Natalie in particular, we spend a lot of time getting to understand her and see her insecurities and struggles in a way that makes it easy to buy into her choices throughout the story, something that I'm so glad to see after feeling it was missing entirely in the previous installment.

But here's where Tessa Bailey and I REALLY link up: we both love a woman calling the shots and a man who's constantly ready to grovel, and THAT is the winning combo we have here!

I enjoyed this way more than I expected to, and I think others who have enjoyed Tessa's past work will as well.

After reading the previous book and meeting Natalie and (briefly) August, i wanted this book in my greedy eyeballs so badly.

I am straight up obsessed with these two. Natalie is all crunchy exterior while she's nursing past hurts. August is the gooiest inside his SEAL exterior. Together they have banter, button pushing, and chemistry for days, but also a line of open communication. Each gets and supports the other so wonderfully.

Plot wise, it was exactly what I wanted. The angsty part was no where near what I was expecting and the last few chapters were so perfect, I read each one about 3 times before I could continue. And don't get me started on the epilogue...

Overall, this is probably one of my top Tessa books ever and definitely making the top 10 of 2023 list. I already can't wait to read it again.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

I approached this novel with some caution, as I wasn’t the biggest fan of Secretly Yours (the first book in this duology). I was so thrilled that Tessa put a little bit of her spark back into this one!! I found myself giggling at the dialogue and losing it over the spice!

As always in Tessa Bailey novels, there is a level of cheesiness involved in this story, but the romance and pining from the MMC balances this well! Both characters are very well developed, and the plot had enough layers that there was never a dull moment.

One thing I wish the author would’ve explored more was Natalie’s relationship to alcohol. It’s hinted that she may be bordering on alcoholism; however, this was skimmed over and not addressed as much as I would have wanted. Natalie very clearly has familial and emotional trauma, but it seems as though being with August magically fixes this side to her, which is unrealistic.

Also, the readers get the majority of closure to the HEA at the 90-95% mark and then all of a sudden in the LAST CHAPTER, the CO reveals the investment to Natalie, opening up a new can of worms. I felt like this was way too close to the book’s end and made the last few pages feel too rushed to reveal that A & N never “needed” to get married in the first place.

Overall, this one was *significantly* better than Secretly Yours and I will be an August and Natalie supporter until I die.

This was so cute! I always love a marriage of convenience trope and Tessa Bailey always delivers. I just loved the banter between Natalie and August throughout the entire book.

Another incredibly steamy, sexy love story from Tessa Bailey featuring a heroine with a plan and a hunky hero! I loved this enemies to lovers, fake marriage, Napa based romance. The cameos from the characters from the first novel were fun and I LOVED the sassy cat references. I appreciated the heart and humor of the plot. And of course the swoon and dirty talk was off the charts!

Thanks Avon and Netgalley for my copy!