Secretly Yours - Tessa Bailey

Secretly Yours

By Tessa Bailey

  • Release Date: 2023-02-07
  • Genre: Romantic Comedies
Score: 4
4
From 413 Ratings

Description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From Tessa Bailey—#1 New York Times bestselling author, TikTok favorite, and "the Michelangelo of dirty talk" (Entertainment Weekly)—comes a spicy small town rom-com about a grumpy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn...

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to Napa Valley, and when Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she'll finally get that smooch. But the starchy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly.

One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless—and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt—and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past.

Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s grayscale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

"Tessa Bailey is the queen of rom-coms. Long may she reign!" — Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Merry Little Meet Cute

Reviews

  • Enjoyable & Steamy

    4
    By C Reader
    Loved this opposites attract romance that dealt with the main characters’ challenges and quirks in a way that encourages self-acceptance.
  • Might be my new favorite of hers.

    5
    By edenjjb
    Read in one night I couldn’t put it down
  • Secretly Yours Review ❤️

    5
    By Princesskierra
    Hallie’s and Julian’s love story is amazing! I loved this book!❤️ -Kierra❤️
  • Heartwarming story

    5
    By princezz24789
    Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒ Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey is her first book in the Vine Mess series about life in a California vineyard. This steamy opposites attract story is the perfect start to a wonderful new series. Story Recap: Hallie Welch had a crush on Julian Vos ever since he almost kissed her when she was only fourteen years old. Now, she’s been hired to plant flowers around the guest house he’s staying in at his family's winery. Julian can’t take his eyes off Hallie as she digs around his garden. Julian is a professor on sabbatical to write a book at his family's winery in Napa, California. He’s guarded and focused on his book. Hallie is the opposite, she’s a bit of a mess but in a good way. She’s fun and outgoing, even if ‘s still grieving her grandmothers’ death deep inside underneath her bright exterior. Will this grumpy sunshine romance work out? Or will Julian go back to his university position alone? My Thoughts: Tessa Baily is such a talented author. I loved these characters, especially Hallie. She’s a bit of a mess, but also a force to be reckoned with! She’s grieving her grandmother’s recent death, but that doesn’t stop her from being her usual outgoing self. And grumpy Julian is still hot, and sexy even if he doesn’t talk much. As with most of her books, Secretly Yours is a bit steamy which is either good or bad depending if you like that or not. But, it’s also a slow burn, so it takes a while to get to the steamy bits. Secretly Yours is a fun, light book, and the start of a promising new series set in wine country. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Recommendation: I highly recommend Secretly Yours to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
  • Couldn’t get into it

    1
    By ksimms26
    Bummed I paid $10 for this one. It was slow and I just couldn’t relate to any of it.
  • Meh.

    3
    By Lorela1 0891
    You lost me at 29 year old virgin with perfect curves and gorgeous blonde hair. It’s not like I’m looking for a lot of reality in my romcom fiction but come on. 29-year-old Virgin isn’t sexy anyway. Not to any women I know. The plot had potential, and I really enjoyed the flawed hero, although his dirty talk could use a lot of work. As a character I like him. I like her too. So, good concept, needed a much better editor and a better idea of who the audience is. Sometimes it’s just way too obvious when an author is writing out their own personal fantasy without talk to you more universal appeal.
  • I was expecting more WOW

    3
    By majobellecase
    I love TB, she is my favorite author but this just didnt do it for me. I was expecting something greater and with more pizzaz than Julian and Hallie. It was almost methodical the way Julian though which was a bit annoying, like text book reading but wanting to shake said book into making some sense. Looking forward to Unfortunately Yours, i think that book will be better.
  • 4 Stars!!

    4
    By Carey1586
    4 Stars! Cute read! This is the first book in the new series ‘A Vine Mess’ by Tessa Bailey and can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed this book, especially the ‘sexy time’ scenes - soooo hot! The main characters are Julian and Hallie and they are total opposites. He’s very structured & regimented while she is haywire & very ‘fly by the seat of your pants’. At first I started to think Julian might be somewhat autistic with how seriously he took his time management, but he seems to get better throughout the book. I smiled throughout a lot of this story, some of the things that go on and what they say just had me wanting to be apart of the friend group. I’d probably become BFF’s with Hallie, her best friend Lavinia & Julian’s sister Natalie, if they were real people! I’d say this is an opposites attract, secret crush, second chance all rolled into one. I do love me a good Tessa Bailey read! I’d definitely recommend this book & I really can’t wait for the next book in the series! *I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*