Member Reviews
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. We follow Natalie and August on their journey to love. From enemies, to flirtamies, to married for convenience, and eventually *spoiler but not really* true love. Natalie is a disgraced New York big wig who has returned home to her families vineyard to recoop. August is a former Navy Seal trying to start a vineyard in honor of his deceased best friend. This book had a nice pacing, some fun moments, laughs, and spice. Another Tessa Bailey hit!
The second (so far) of a romance duology starting with Secretly Yours (February 2023), Unfortunately Yours is the satisfying sequel. These steamy opposites attract romance novels are recommended for adult readers who enjoy spicy fun. These will be perfect romances for the beach readers out there. Don't miss the fun.
Did I enjoy reading this? Yes! Does this couple stand a snowball's chance in hell of surviving? Absolutely not. They're good in fiction only. Should they exist in real life, I would hate being anywhere in the vicinity of their relationship. I could not sympathize with Natalie's particular brand of insecure-and-snappy, nor could I appreciate August's immature sense of humor. I don't know how either of them navigate the world without toppling over from the massive amount of baggage they each carry and refuse to deal with, and they honestly don't seem to have much in common aside from chemistry and geographical location.
That being said, this is fiction, and I liked it. It's an enjoyable read and a solid follow-up to the first in the series. I am just overwhelmingly thankful that if these two people exist in the real world, I do not know them.
My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.
This enemies-to-lovers trope book was well handled, with a sub-trope of learn-to-communicate. Lots of interesting bits about creating and blending wine was included.
The use of an 8-years-in-the-future epilogue would seem to imply that this is the last book in this series, which is unfortunate as I would have liked to see the mother get her own story told as well.
A fun and funny follow up to Tessa Bailey's Secretly Yours, this enemies to lovers romance has a steamy build up with plenty of heart!
Natalie desperately wants to return to New York to start her own investment company. After being kicked out of her previous job for making one bad investment and her fiance dumping her at the same time, Natalie is down, but not out. She is determined to get access to her trust fund despite the antiquated stipulations that her father placed on it. 1) She must be gainfully employed. 2) She must be married. Too bad her only marriage prospect is the maker of terrible wines, August Cates. The pair always fight when they are together, but could a marriage of convenience lead them to a deeper understanding of each other? Their relationship quickly turns from sour to sweet, but both August and Natalie's pasts may stop them from finding a truly happy marriage.
An enemies to lovers romance with plenty of snark and spark. Fans of Tessa Bailey's previous novels will find more to love in Unfortunately Yours. Bailey's humor shines through, and readers will root for Natalie and August to end up together. As an added bonus, Hallie and Julian from the previous book in this series make a few appearances and the Vos family continues to repair their relationship in this novel.
I really loved Natalie's story after we met her in Secretly Yours and start the start of the budding romance between August and Natalie.
This is my first Tessa Bailey, but it won't be my last! I really loved the banter between August and Natalie. I really connected with August, sometimes I say things and immediately after wonder why I said it, or sometimes as I'm saying it. I loved the situations they got themselves into and also loved watching them and their relationship grow. I literally couldn't have read it any faster, I just had to see what happened. I love that Tessa wrote August with flaws to go along with his confidence. Sometimes the Hero in the story can be so confident he's arrogant. August was confident without the arrogance, he seemed more human than some characters I've read in the past. LOVED the epilogue as well! Off to read Tessa's backlog! :)
Tessa Bailey definitely seems to be the mother of writing absolutely enjoyable contemporary romance that has a little oomph of humour/fun factor. And I am her to love and enjoy it. I had so much fun reading it. The characters were entertaining and adorable. I love the banter and the chemistry between them. Also, I couldn’t have asked for any other perfect ending than the one they have been given.
This was such a fantastic follow up to Secretly Yours. I love when I read a book and actually like both of the main characters. Natalie and August were such amazing characters and I loved the chemistry between them. I also adored that this book didn’t have me absolutely devastated at points. It just had me happy and and laughing the whole time. I honestly can’t count the amount of times this book made me laugh and not just a “I blew air out of my nose” laugh but a full on out loud laugh. They banter between the two was perfect. Oh and this book was STEAMY! I’m talking ON FIRE STEAMY! Absolute perfection. Highly recommend this novel if you enjoyed the first one.
Tessa Bailey did it again! This is the perfect companion to Secretly Yours. I love series like this that follow different couples. Tessa Bailey always knows how to incorporate just enough spice into her books to keep you coming back!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.
This is the second of the series but absolutely stands alone. I really enjoyed it. The plot moved along quickly, for the most part the relationships felt natural, and it wraps up with a bow.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.
I love a good enemies to lovers romance, but often find them frustrating because they hate each other a bit too much and the romance is implausible. This one avoids all those pitfalls, fortunately, and adds Tessa Bailey's patented spice. Well done!
Another Tessa Bailey hit. I loved jumping back into the vineyard with Natalie and August. Marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, what more could you want!
Thanks netgalley for letting me read and I have to say this book was so good, I loved the chemistry, the banter and the spiceyness of the entire thing and I could read this book over again. I really loved that it was suppose to be a marriage of convenience but neither of them needed to get married and just wanted to be married to each other I love it
So cute and so much chemistry between the main characters! I loved this and devoured it within hours of being given the arc!
August Cates is the perpetual frat boy with no filter, but God love him, he's just as loyal as they come. Natalie can come across as uptight, but it's soon discovered that her armor is in place to protect her fragile heart. And who better to fight alongside her than August Cates himself.
The banter between the two was amazing. I laughed out loud many times - August was hilarious. And he was honest to a fault ("under the bra or over?" hahahaha). I loved being able to see Hallie and Julian and the evolution of their relationship as well as the Vos family's changing dynamic.
A book filled with some of my favorite tropes... marriage of convenience/enemies to lovers/Gump and Sunshine and Tessa Bailey did not disappoint! I love being able to see the relationship develop between Natalie and August and the way that he is so tender with Natalie when he needs to be, but in the next breath he'll throw out a snarky comeback and put her in her place. I love that they were so open with their insults (ha!) but they truly never said anything degrading or intentionally hurtful to each other. If there was even a hint of hurt that appeared from a comment or two, the guilty party would immediately pull back. They had fun together but not at the expense of the others' feelings. Such a fun book to read - will make a perfect summer read in 2023!
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Ok, I liked book one of this duology (Secretly Yours) but I love, love, LOVED this one. Unfortunately Yours may even pass the Bellinger sisters as my new favorite Tessa Bailey book.
Natalie Vos is a daughter of wine country royalty who is miserable in her hometown and is trying like hell to get out of Napa. Her last chance is her trust fund, but she learns her estranged father added a clause that she must be married to collect.
August Cates is a retired Navy SEAL on a very personal mission to start a winery but he is completely out of his depth and his business is going under.
A quickie marriage to the princess of wine country would lend August much needed credibility and allow Natalie to collect her inheritance. Unfortunately, they started off on a spectacularly bad foot and haven’t stopped fighting and sniping at each other since. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
I just fell in love with the characters in Unfortunately Yours. They are likeable and well-realized and their issues and baggage make their marriage-of-convenience (arguably the least believable of rom-com tropes) ring true. August is swoon-worthy in a traditionally masculine way but stays well clear of problematic. Natalie is smart and relatable.
Oh and it is spicy, spicy, spicy. Much more than spice than Secretly Yours, and spicer in my opinion than either the Bellinger sisters or Hot and Hammered series.
I read this book on a single day and I’m already ready to re-read it. 6 stars!
Definitely the favorite of the two books in this series. I loved the snarky banter between Natalie and August. This book was a fun, fast ready with a lovely amount of sexy spark!
LOVED! Tessa Bailey is one of my favorite authors, so this did not disappoint. The chemistry between August and Natalie was perfect and I loved their banter. This was a great series!!