I received the ARC of this book before it was published and unfortunately JUST got around to reading it.

While I liked this book and give it 3 stars it wasn't my favorite Tessa Bailey book I have ever read. In IHOS I was so excited to see what was going to happen with Hannah and Fox and it unfortunately just... fell a bit flat for me and I can't really explain why.

Fox was just as charming as the first book and Hannah just as amazing I just didn't connect with them like I thought I would which made me a bit sad. Who knows, maybe I will give it another shot and re read this after I read IHOS again that way I don't have so much downtime between the two as I did before and I will change my opinion.

Overall it WAS enjoyable just not my favorite.

Such a delight of a book - a slow burn romance between a supposed player and a music lover. This is the second in this series and I enjoyed it immensely for a slow burn friends-to-lovers romance with a big splash of heat at the end!

I was so excited to dive back into this small cozy town for Hannah’s love story after finishing “It Happened One Summer.” I flew right through this book, mostly hoping & waiting for Hannah and Fox to realize they were perfect for each other!! I loved how both Hannah and Fox motivated and supported each other to grow and become “the main character” in their own career and life aspirations. In my opinion, that is the ultimate partner for you! I loved the tension between them as they navigated living together while also resisting getting to close based on outside factors. I do wish they came to some revelations about their relationship quicker, but overall it was worth the wait! I also enjoyed getting pieces of Brendan and Piper again ❤️ Lastly, the 10 years later epilogue was icing on the cake!

I loved this story and hope this isn’t the end for the Bellinger Sisters! Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed their journies and want to transport to this small town that they love so much. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the e-ARC!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Having not read the first book in the series, I'm happy to say I did not feel lost or that I was missing parts of this story.
I love a good friends to lovers trope and this one did not disappoint- Bailey approaches trauma respectfully and made it easy to connect with the male lead, Fox, as he struggled with feeling "good enough" to have a relationship with Hannah. And Hannah has a lot of patience.
Tessa Bailey's latest immediately sucked me in like I thought it would, and now I'm eagerly diving into book one since installment #2 was THAT good!

Me ha encantado! Su historia es un friends to lovers monisimo, con una protagonista muy divertida pero a la vez madura y un chico “malo” que en realidad no lo es.

Después de leer “it happened one summer”, “hook, line and sinker” era lectura obligatoria! Aunque estos dos me han chiflado, Piper y Brendan siguen siendo mis número 1😍

Os lo recomiendo 100%! Es un libro súper ligero, divertido y con un amor súper puro!

Another fun and funny Tessa Bailey romance! She is not an auto-buy for me personally, but this one, like her last one, are fantastic. They are sexy and sweet and it's sure to be a hit.

Tessa Bailey could write a phone book and I'd read the whole thing, cover to cover.

I loved this book! I think Bailey is perfect at writing steamy scenes while also giving you those intimate and cute and meaningful moments that will stick in your brain.

Also, her covers happen to be consistently FANTASTIC.

⚓ Book Review ⚓

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

I am new to the Tessa Bailey club and let me tell you, I am obsessed!!! This is the second in the series after, It Happened One Summer, which is also fabulous! 🤍

Read if you like:
🎧 Friends to lovers trope
🎧 Steam reads 🥵🔥
🎧 Northwestern scenery
🎧 Music themed

Hannah and Fox are one of my new favorite fiction couples. Tessa does such an amazing job with writing inner dialogue of characters, which leaves no stones left unturned. 👏

This beauty of a book was published on March 1st, check it out now and I promise you won't regret it. ☺️

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for this opportunity to read this novel. I feel so honored. 🤍 Thank you Tessa for blessing us readers with a fictional, picturesque escape from this world, you are incredibly talented. 🌍✨

This was as amazing as we can always expect from Tessa. I really connected with the characters and the romance/steam was pitch perfect.

I couldn't get behind this one. I just dragged on and on. Also the chemistry was good but the "I can't love anyone because I'm not worth it" isn't particularly interesting. DNF due to lack of interest.

This was, in my opinion, even more steamy and fun than the first book! There's actual depth to the characters and I feel like they are more relatable and easy to root for. Would have given it 5 stars if only the ending wasn't your typical Bailey book with the hero realizing things a bit late. If you loved and enjoyed book 1, I'm pretty sure this too will do the magic again.

The second book in the Bellinger sister series didn’t disappoint. Another steamy romance following Hannah and Fox’s relationship. I must say I think I enjoyed book one a bit more - not sure if it was because I’m obsessed with Schitt’s Creek & Piper was the epitome of Alexis Rose…? But I definitely fell more in love with the story of Piper and Brendan more than I did Hannah and Fox.

Fox’s past was a bit too much for me. It seemed like he knew from the beginning of the book that he loved Hannah, but he didn’t make it clear to her which was frustrating.

I did love the continued presence of Hannah and Piper’s grandma in this story because it made me think of my relationship with my late grandmother.

Overall another great book from Tessa Bailey and I can’t wait to read more!

****AVAILABLE NOW - AUDIOBOOK ****

4 STARS

I really enjoyed this one. It had humor and a depth I wasn’t expecting.

What I loved:
1. Fox was a surprisingly deep character. I loved the bit of role reversal and the examination how a guy having a playboy reputation can affect this psyche, even making him feel unworthy of love or commitment.
2. Hannah was a great heroine. I loved seeing her fight for Fox.
3. The steam is great as always with a Tessa Bailey book.
4. The theme of forget the world and do what makes you happy was chef’s kiss. I loved the message of those critics won’t be there in the end but you’ll be there counting all the days you were unhappy listening to people who never even mattered in the first place.
5. Great narrator.

What I need more of:
1. This was a lot of the heroine fixing the hero, and I think I would have loved it to be a bit more balanced.
2. There some words or phrases during steam scenes that were a bit yuck for me (and I know this personal preference) but it made some scenes hard to listen to. Split of my femininity or something close to it comes to mind.
3. While the narrator was great, single narration is just hard for me, and I know book one was narrated this way, but I my love of that book made it to listen to. I found myself zoning and rewinding a bit here and there.

Overall, I would still highly recommend these two books. Great themes with a great range of hilarious, steamy and sweet moments.

10 things I loved about Hook, Line, and Sinker
❤️ This was a great sequel of It Happened One Summer and a natural continuation of both Fox, Hannah, Piper and Brendan's stories.

❤️ Fox surprised me so much! Not only was his story a refreshing take on the "hot" playboy archetype, but also prompted an interesting discussion of toxic masculinity.

❤️ The many MANY gifts and gestures between Fox and Hannah. Fox is the king of hoarding meaningful gestures and those reveals throughout the book were so heartwarming.

❤️ The slow burn friendship. It was so clear that both of them were attracted to each other but for their own reasons didn't feel like enough for the other person.

❤️ ALL the music references! Seriously I wish this had a playlist attached.
The extreme jealousy over Hannah's director Sergio. Fox milking his looks whenever Sergio was around her made me so happy.

❤️ Hannah's push from "side character" to "leading lady" in her life.

❤️ Fox's struggle with imposter syndrome. His friends, coworkers, and neighbors see him as an untrustworthy "manwhore" so he never reaches for anything beyond what he has. (As a side note I really loved that we get to see a character who outwardly has it together struggle with imposter syndrome)

❤️ Piper's meddling and makeovers.
The sexual tension buildup between Fox and Hannah during their cohabitation.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @avonbooks for this ARC, Hook, Line, and Sinker is out now, make sure to grab your copy!

I love this series. The first book was sexy but this one somehow outdid it. Hannah and Fox's love story was smoldering from the very beginning, which is why this slow-burn was torturous in the best of ways. Tessa Bailey makes the reader wait for it, but the pay off is very satisfying. 4.5 stars.

Hook, Line, and Sinker
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Another excellent romance from Tessa Bailey! Dare I say I enjoyed this one even more than It Happened One Summer? (Yes, I dare)

The chemistry was spot on, the character growth even more nuanced and emotional than Brendan and Piper’s story, and it was so much fun seeing Hannah become her own leading lady and Fox work through his greatest insecurities and fears.

If you haven’t read this one yet and enjoy sizzling chemistry, a heartfelt love story with a HEA, vinyl records, and quaint fishing towns, pick this one up!

Thank you to @Avonbooks and @HarperVoyagerUS for providing an advance copy of this book for review purposes (even though I was late reading it because of baby’s arrival 👶)

Absolutely adored this. I can not believe how much I loved Fox as a hero and our down on his luck type. He really couldn't see himself as more than he thinks people make him out to be.

Hannah is just as lost and searching for validation externally. Slowly the power of them coming together was magnificent. I loved this book.

I have wanted to read this book ever since I read that scene in It Happened One Summer when Fox is amused and impressed by Hannah standing up to Brendan. I absolutely adored Hook, Line, & Sinker! Fox's development from background character to leading man was perfect - we get to see why he has such a womanizer reputation and what he's so scared of. Hannah is an absolute delight, she gets to grow and change so much in this book, and their friendship-turned-romance is a sweet scorcher. I can't wait to read it again!

this one was super cute. tessa bailey has been up and down for me over the last couple of years, but i quite liked the first in this series even though the trope isn't normally my jam. pleasantly surprised by how much i liked that one, i couldn't wait to get to this one. it didn't disappoint! it was adorable and i loved the two main characters. and the epilogue, gah. love a good epilogue!

I loved Brendan and Pipers story in IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER, but Fox and Hannah's just blows everything away. Hannah is everything a leading lady should be. She brave, funny, courageous, supportive and encouraging. Watching her and Fox's relationship grow from cute texts to a live long love was beautiful!

Fox's character growth was phenomenal. Hannah's determination to have to him see that she loves him for him was perfect. Fox's drive to prove to Hannah that she is a leading lady was beautiful.

I HIGHLY recommend this duology to EVERYONE!