I've read this described as "black cat girlfriend and golden retriever boyfriend." Spot on.

The characters are largely entertainining, however, the plot is exhausting. There are too many subplots and mini-obstacles that seem irrelevant to the relationship. This could have ended about 100 pages earlier. I like Tessa Bailey, but this one just doesn't hit the same.

Natalie Vos is licking her wounds back in the Napa Valley at her family's vineyard after losing her New York finance job and fiance. All she needs is her trust fund so she can re-start her career going into business with a friend. Unfortunately her sexist and absent father won't give her the money.

Veteran August Cates also needs money to prop up his failing winery that he started in honour of a fallen friend whose dream was to own a winery in Napa Valley.

The solution to both their woes? A marriage of convenience.

This book was the first Tessa Bailey book I could read to the end. I adored the wit, banter and off the pages chemistry between August and Natalie. Bailey also infuses both characters with a depth to their backstory: August is suffering survivor's guilt, while Natalie is feeling underestimated by her family, hence moving to New York to work in a completely different sector.

Plotwise I also found the spin on the marriage of convenience story refreshing, as both characters realise mid-way to their scheme that neither needs to get married. However, I wasn't a fan of the ending - why does Natalie need to change her surname and have her career subsumed by August's winery, its 2023? Also, why is August still deadset on making the winery work when really his motivation for doing so is guilt? I'd much rather see the two of them take off to New York and have August focus on something that is his passion instead of something he's stubbornly doing because of friend.

Thanks to Avon/Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Swoon worthy Enemies to Lovers, HEA romance. Emotions are intense & angsty through the entire book which can at times feel a bit exhausting but there are also enough laugh out loud moments to rejuvenate you. The chemistry between Natalie & August was out of this world, I especially enjoyed their banter & the love sick August Cates is up there as my new favorite book boyfriend! Fun, sexy, page turner - 4 stars

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon / Harper Collins and Tessa Bailey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey - how do you continue to produce such swoon & squeal worthy books!
If you haven’t read any of Tessa Baileys books previously, that’s okay because you can actually start here - (but you totally have to go back to the first book after - you’ll want to, trust me)
All of Tessa’s books have this thing to them… this thing where you absolutely fall in love with all the characters and never stop loving them. This defiantly adds to the list.
Unfortunately Yours has the perfect combination of witty banter, tension & romance. The best chemistry!
Read it! You won’t regret it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this beauty of a novel by one of my favourite authors!

I am yet to read a Tessa Bailey that I haven’t enjoyed. Unfortunately Yours is an enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience romance set in the Napa Valley. Navy Seal August and finance broker Natalie can’t stand each other so to solve all their current financial problems they decide to get married. Problem sorted!
I found Unfortunately Yours a really fun, quick read. I loved the dynamic between August and Natalie, always trying to outdo one another with snarky remarks, without giving away how much they really want each other. A lot of their bickering had me laughing out loud and I couldn’t have been happier with the ending. Heart eyes all round.

“If I had one wish, it would be to slow down my time with you, Natalie. A hundred years won’t be enough.”

The latest Tessa Bailey! Jam-packed full of some of my favourite tropes, comedic moments AND a sunshine hero and grumpy heroine, I loved this! My only issue is the pacing of the book, which is entirely rectified by the very cute epilogue and amazing spicy scenes.

I loved the dynamic between the hero and heroine in this story, and our hero reminded me of another one of my other fave Tessa Bailey heroes, Brendan Taggart! August Cates has my heart. One of my new favourite Tessa Bailey books!

This book was kindly sent to me as an ARC from HarperCollins via NetGalley.

5 ⭐️

August Cate has just achieved the title of Book Husband. Not book boyfriend, book HUSBAND. This man… I have never read a more obsessed, more protective, filthy mouthed, golden retriever MMC in my LIFEEEEE - add to that he’s an Ex Navy Seal with the training to perform literal water rescues? 🫠🫠

Unfortunetly yours was a complete and utter win for me. I wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. I found Natalie, the FMC, to have extremely realistic and relatable insecurities that gave a depth to her character and allowed you to feel for her even when she was frustrating me!

The tropes in this book were perfectly balance:
- “enemies” to lovers
- secret feelings
- he fell first
- reverse grumpy sunshine (to an extent!)
- fake dating and
- marriage of convenience

Best of all, there was no full blown third act break up which was the final push to 5 stars for me!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Harper Collins & Tessa Bailey for the opportunity to receive and review this E-Arc in exchange for an honest review!

Unable to review book title as the Netgalley file is not readable from Kindle device.
Ebook not accessible.

A sizzling story in the enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience tropes. There’s something about Natalie I absolutely love. She is so relatable because she takes all the criticism and seems fine on the inside but bottles it up and is hurt by it. She cracks jokes to get attention and always has a come back ready. I can also relate to the way she tries to do something different from the family business but is drawn back in because that’s what she knows.
The banter is great with these two as is the sparks and chemistry.
August is such a big teddy bear who puts his foot in his mouth all the time.
Don’t pick it up if you don’t like Insta love as they seem to fall pretty quick.
This light hearted funny romance was just what I needed!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love Tessa Bailey’s books! I am never dissatisfied or disappointed.

In this one you will encounter:
Enemies to lovers,
FMC (that’s the heiress)
MMC (ex seal)
Chemistry
Chemistry (chemistry, chemistry and chemistry!)
Spice


This book gives you a lot of feels, laughs and sexy times! The 🔥 is turned up and you would want to read this in the comfort of your own home…. 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Okay. This book has enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, an heiress FMC,an ex-Navy SEAL MMC who’s trying to keep his friends dream alive, and bucketloads of chemistry.

From the beginning, August put Natalie firmly into the ‘rich girl’ box without delving any deeper to who she is as a person. We very quickly learn there is a lot more to Natalie and she does not have her life as put together as it may seem.

To release her trust fund Natalie needs to be “gainfully employed and married”. August is also in a poor financial position, and in order to keep his friends winery dream alive, he needs Natalie’s help. Helloooo marriage of convenience.

August and Natalie’s sarcastic banter had me hooked from their first interaction on the pages. Their progression from enemies to lovers was absolutely immaculate and they had incredible chemistry.

If you are looking for a book that’s funny, sexy and at times hits you in the feels - this is it. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers Australia for giving me access to this ARC!

Firstly, I am usually a romantasy girly through and through who has just recently started to dabble in contemporary romance and non/fantasy romance! And I am completely obsessed! A grumpy (her) x sunshine (him) marriage of convenience and fake engagement story?! I was literally hooked on the first sentence!

Think “The Proposal” but Ryan Reynolds is a ex-Navy SEAL and Sandra Bullock is a Napa Valley Wine Princess.

The dynamic between the two characters was my fav and I love the golden retriever energy that August has.

Everything about this book was great. I loved it! It was also my first Tessa Bailey book I have read <3 what a great start!

"You didn’t say them in front of God. they don’t count.”
“I just said them in front of a goddess. They count.”

The only thing I know for certain in this life is that Tessa Bailey writes the best smut.

'Unfortunately Yours' is captivating, light hearted and filled with laugh out loud moments. Read in public at your own risk.
This latest book by Tessa Bailey is packed with her wonderful sense of humour. It's easy to read, and the spice level is getting up there.
I still don't like Natalie's mother but overall the book was adorable and ended well. I would have loved even more of August's POV.

If you are in the mood for a Contemporary Romance, then this is the book you need to pick up.

I was gifted a digital copy of 'Unfortunately Yours' in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm signing up for an August Cates, please and thank you!

Unfortunately Yours the next instalment from Tessa Bailey and I have to say I loved this one so much more than the last book. Former SEAL August and Little Rich Girl Natalie were all about the hate early on. You could feel it in every one of their early interactions.

This is a fake marriage book with both characters looking to get something out of the union - for Natalie, it's access to a trust fund so she can open her own hedge fund and return to her previous hoity toity lifestyle in New York (and show them all), and for August it's access to a business loan so he can fulfil the promise he made to his dead comrade.

What worked in this book was the level of friction that we see early in the book between these two, was transferred to the marriage between them. They bonded of their joint venture but really you could tell these two were well and truly the ones for one another from early on. August is the men of men, in all his wounded, dirty talking and sensitive glory. There was a little too much talk with his dead mate Sam IMO which could have been dialled back a bit but otherwise .... so so good. Natalie was abrasive, so driven and you could tell August really ground her gears. Then inch by inch the small things August did broke down all Natalie's barriers and she began to rethink what true happiness would mean to her.

A big thumbs up to this one from Tessa Bailey. And of course the love was all that and more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A solid 3.5

I liked this one way better than the first in the series! Slight issue though: this book didn’t stand alone very well. It’s been a while since I read the first one, and I felt like there was too much assumed backstory. I needed a reminder!

That aside, August was a hilarious hero. He has some classic one liners, some eyebrow-raising, some snort-laughable. Natalie was a good lead, and I liked her assessment of her life priorities throughout. Go get it, girl!

The enemies-lovers trope had a nice twist, with August clearly enjoying the animosity and being gone for Natalie no matter what. I loved their marriage of convenience. This usually isn’t a trope I go for, but combined with the enemies-lovers vibes it was quality entertainment.

The spice was… very spicy. Tessa Bailey, I both do and don’t want to know your research methods.

In short: pros - funny, spicy. Cons - doesn’t stand alone well, complications due to poor communication frustrate me

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Natalie & August’s story technically starts in ‘Secretly Yours’ so I 100% recommend reading that first as it sets the foundation for Natalie’s family dynamic a little more before jumping into her own story of finding her way

I really enjoyed their story, Insta love and marriage of connivance tropes are always fun

4 stars!

This book had some sentimental and sweet moments! It’s pacing was better and the story itself was stronger than Secretly Yours. The characters August and Natalie had more depth and there was a real chemistry between them. Also, their fights were funny!
The only issue I had with it was that some scenes felt really long and at times, there were sex scenes in parts of the story where it wasn’t necessarily needed.
Overall, if you like funny banter, an interesting storyline, spice with a whole heap of sentimentality- this book may be for you!

ARC from HarperCollins Publishers Australia on Netgalley

This was great! Marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers. Phenomenal banter and great characters.

Natalie Vos belongs to a family of winemakers, the only issue is her family don't trust her decisions, and she just lost her fiancee and job in New York. She's ready to start again, but cannot access her trust fund until she is married.

August Cates is an ex-SEAL who is trying to make his late best friends dream come true of owning a successful vineyard. Only issue is, he is bad at making wine. He needs a loan to get off the ground but nobody will take him seriously.

The two decide on a marriage of convenience, even though the two hate each other: banter and wit follows featuring pranks and hot sex

I hated the first in this “series” but I loved this book, Tessa has created a great story that I know her readers will love

Thanks to Harper Collins Australia, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

Firstly, it helps if you read Secretly Yours first. Not just because it's a fantastic book, but because August and Natalie's story sort of begins in the first book in the Vine Series. This enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience romance is full of hilarious banter, swoony moments and moments when my glasses steamed up so much I could barely read through them. Tessa Bailey writes dialogue like no other author and her style is irreverent at times and so very moving at others.
There's a particular scene by a grave site that tore my heart out and stamped on it several times over.
Reading this author just makes me want to read more of her wok - it's so much fun to read!

This was my first every Tessa Bailey book and it did not disappoint! I loved it so much that I immediately got my hands on the first book in this series (also can be read as a stand alone) "Secretly Yours", devoured that and also have it 5 stars on Goodreads. "Unfortunately Yours" is sent in the world of vineyards so romantic setting = check. The characters are so well thought out, loud, charismatic, tender AND hilarious. I had no idea what to expect aside from the romance and was absolutely floored by how funny this book was. I was also incredibly moved by the growth these characters experienced and just felt so gripped by these two people falling in love with each other and learning to make it work.

A huge congratulations to Tessa Bailey for publishing such a wonderful book and earning a new lifelong fan!