*** slight spoilers below***

4.5/5⭐ 4/5🌶

Tessa Bailey has done it again! I LOVED Hook, Line, and Sinker so much! I instantly fell I love with Fox and Hannah! The tension and spice is *chef's kiss* While I was reading I wanted to make a playlist of all the music they talked about. I really liked the emotional journey Fox and Hannah go on, it was much deeper than I thought it would be for a rom-com.

One of the things I didn't like though was the epilogue, don't get me wrong this is an amazing book I just don't like the 10-years-later-HEA epilogue. I think I generally don't like most endings like that,

- Friends-to-lovers
- forced proximity
- HEA


Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for the e-ARC

This book has my very favorite thing: texting dialogue! I just find it so fun and realistic to our real lives right now! I really liked both Fox and Hannah - I thought they were unique characters. The music focus was so much fun and Hannah’s love for it really shone through. This one had a very slow burn - worth the wait bc in true Tessa Bailey form she brings the 🔥🔥🔥🔥

But…. Overall this book fell super flat for me. I just did not feel invested in the characters and I found myself frustrated with the redundant conflict. I wanted more banter. More chemistry. I wanted less thoughts in their heads and more words to each other.

In the books defense, I had a super crazy week while reading, SO don’t let me deter you!!

•Did my mood affect my reading? Probably.
•Did most of my friends love it? Yes.
•Will I keep reading EVERYTHING Bailey releases? Also YES.

I was gifted a copy of the book by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Dear Piper and Brendan (from It Happened One Summer)
I love you both, you were one of my favorite couples from 2021 and I thought there was no way it got any better, so please do not take offense when I say it DID get better for me. Not to take anything away from your story, but I was completely unprepared for all that is Fox and Hannah. - Sincerely, your biggest fan from last year

Now that that is out of the way, and in case you couldn’t tell, I absolutely loved this book! It was funny and steamy and I was surprised to find myself crying more than a couple of times, but most of all it showed that you could overcome your past with the right person at your side supporting you. Slow burn, friends to lovers, this was a story where you literally feel the solid friendship they had first while at the same time knowing there was so much chemistry between them underneath the surface.

We talk a lot about book boyfriends in the book world, but Hannah is my book girlfriend! She really is one of my all time favorite characters, with how unassumingly cool she is and how she takes care of everyone. Best of all, she is definitely a ride or die chick with anyone she loves, and that is what Fox needed, someone who believed in him and would be by his side no matter what. Gah, I wish I could adequately put into words how much I love her! And Fox, he was a real surprise for me, because his love and leave ‘em type is not my favorite. However, I fell hard and fast for him once I got to be inside his head, and my standards for Hannah were so high but he was so deserving of her love.

I loved being back in the town of Westport, and getting a glimpse of my other favorite couple. I just wish there were about 10 more Bellinger sisters so that these amazing books could continue! The book title is fitting because everything about this book, including the happy tear inducing epilogue, had me falling for it hook, line and sinker.

Tessa Bailey is one of those authors you can pick up and just smile once you begin. Her books are always sunny and make you believe in the good in people.

Hook, Line, and Sinker is the second book in the Bellinger Sisters duet. I will be honest, I hadn't read the first one IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER, so I was a little lost in some aspects. I do think I would have enjoyed the book a little bit more if I had the background from the first book, so beware.

However, in total the book was adorable and cute. Two opposites brought together by music. This book has a bit of a slow burn so be prepared but when they finally come together and admit they like one another...It's fireworks!

Tessa Bailey doesn't write bad books. For fans of slow burn romance, boaters, lovers of music, and any fan of Tessa Bailey.

A huge thank you to Avon Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5🌟 4🌶

This duology is everything I ever wanted in romance novels and Tessa Bailey never fails to deliver when it comes to captivating stories, complex characters and the most delicious smut! If you haven’t read It Happened One Summer, do it now (before this comes out!)

What I LOVED: This slow burn, friends to lovers romance was everything I wanted and I had the best time going on this journey between them towards what they deserve! What started off as a ploy to make Hannah’s crush Sergei jealous eventually became the love story for the ages! The journey they had to go through first between Hannah finding her confidence and Fox battling his demons, it was so worth it finally seeing them together as they deserve! The smut and romantic dates hit me right in the feels 😫

What I LIKED: I’ve had a soft spot for Hannah since IHOS when she was Piper’s supportive litter sister so to see her in this book, working towards her dreams and in becoming the main character of her own life made me so emotional! It was inspiring seeing her move forward in her professional life and love life all the while being an amazing friend and sister.

I loved Fox so much more in this! He was flirty as ever, a master at dirty talk and adorably obsessed with Hannah but learning about his backstory and how the toxicness has affected him as a person drew a different light to how I saw him and it was so heartbreaking, I just wanted to give him a big hug 🥺

What I DIDN’T ENJOY: I’m never a fan of HEAs that happen on the very last chapter unless it has a really good epilogue but with this, I felt that I just needed more story before the very emotionally fueled epilogue 🥺

THIS BOOK IS PERFECT FOR: fans of romcoms with love stories that just capture you from the first page and unforgettable characters whose stories will stick to you forever! I highly recommend this duology!

My god, I absolutely LOVED this. I can’t even describe how much I adored this book.

I was a big fan of It Happened One Summer, so much so that I requested this ARC immediately after finishing, but I am absolute TRASH for Fox and Hannah. This was a slow burn of the best type: sexual tension and emotion GALORE. I read it in one day because I neeeeeeded them to get together!

I’ll admit this wasn’t what I was expecting at all. I thought we’d get playboy Fox and straight laced Hannah doing the whole friends with benefits thing but what we instead got was a ton of character growth wrapped in a super emotional love story. This was DEEP. It had those regular feel good rom-com vibes but it was so much more. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time!

In Tessa Bailey's sequel to It Happened One Summer, we are introduced to younger sister Hannah Bellinger and her movie career. Hannah is only a production assistant, but she lives with a music soundtrack to everything in her life. She longs to lend her musical mind to movies. When her idea to shoot the latest film in Westport is accepted, she not only gets to see her sister Piper again, but she may just get the opportunity to jump all in with her music aspirations.

Fox Thornton is still viewed as the ladies' man in Westport, but ever since the previous summer when he met Hannah, something has changed. No longer has he gone on his escapades out of town...he's been caught up in texting Hannah almost every day. But he knows he doesn't deserve someone like her. There is no way someone like him should even have a chance at the perfect, girl next door.

Both Fox and Hannah struggle with inner demons. Fox has lived up to the "good time" reputation he believes every one expects of him. Hannah longs to be a leading lady but has resigned to being the supporting friend. Both are given the opportunity to lift each other up and to perhaps heal and soar.

Hook, Line, and Sinker has to be one of the steamiest novels I've read in a while! The story quickly envelops you, and you become invested in the lives of both Fox and Hannah, hoping they each find what they need to mend themselves and their relationships.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and to NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Yup! I'm in love with this book and the Bellinger sisters. Just take me to Westport now.

If you've read the first book in the Bellinger Sisters series, It Happened One Summer, then you have met the love interests for this book. Fox and Hannah. And these two have my heart. Both are in vulnerable places in their lives, but they also are both such strong characters and they don't even know it. It just takes their friendship and support from one another to acknowledge they are much more than they thought.

After Hannah spent her time in Westport helping her sister, she left to return to LA and her life there. She is working on a film and has had an attraction to the director, Sergio. When he is needing something MORE for his film, Hannah suggests filming in the the town of Westport. She will get to see her sister and her fiancé, and she will get to see a friend that she has grown close to by texts over the months, Fox.
Fox is a self proclaimed manwhore, if you will. He knows he's not made for the forever. He is made for fun. He's the sidekick and never the one in charge. He's second place. Not someone you see as number one. But Hannah sees something more in him through their texts and through the music they share with one another. They become friends.

Can I say how much I enjoyed their text exchanges? I'm not always one to like texts or letters in books, but this was perfect for their relationship. I got to see a friendship blossom and see their personalities evolve. They got to show the people around them and each other who they really were.

Hannah glowed in this story and she got to become the leading lady in her own journey. I LOVED her. I loved the way she cared for those around her and I loved her passion for music. She cared for Fox as a friend and so much more. To see them together was to see relationship goals. They lifted one another up.
And Fox?? I knew there had to be more to him than meets the eye. He could be #1. He may be the good time guy, but you could see so much more in him when he was with Hannah. But I knew he was going to have to f it up at some point.

Hook, Line, and Sinker is for you friends to lovers, forced proximity, slow burn romance lovers. While it was slow burn, you could feel the tension throughout. It was burning right off the pages and you could feel it was only a matter of time. The characters and their journey moved at the perfect pace for them. We got to see these two vulnerable people become who they were meant to be and we got to see them come together as a couple. It was sweet, it was hot (duh, it's Tessa Bailey) and it was perfect. I just wish there was another sister so we could hang out in Westport even longer because I'm in love with the whole crew of Westport.

I posted this on goodreads: 4.5 stars! wowowowow so freaking good! thank you so much netgalley and avon and harper voyager for the arc!
i loved this book so much! hannah and fox had me hooked from page one! i truly adored the slow paced romance and watching the two of them fall in love! hannah is such a strong and true leading lady seeing her and fox both gain and learn to believe in themselves through their own journeys was beautiful! i really really loved how this book focused on fox and his healing journey, so many times it is only female mc focused but to see the emphasis on him and how he came to terms with his past in order to love himself was truly a work of art.
i highlighted and annotated so many lines in this book tessa bailey truly has a way with words! i am so so excited for this book to come out on march first and everyone can fall in love with these characters just like i did.

I was so excited to continue with this series as I loved Piper and Brendan's love story. I liked this but it did not give me the same warm and fuzzy obsessed feelings as the first book.

I loved the chemistry between Fox and Hannah, the intimate moments were done so well. I liked the pacing of their relationships and loved how they got together. Friends to lovers is typically not a trope I like to read about but the banter and chemistry between them border friends the whole time which kept me intrigued.

My biggest problem with this was the plot and drama felt non-existent. The first book had SO much happening which created drama besides just the coming together of the couple yet this lacked that. I felt the whole book encompassed them talking about their feelings. Where was the drama?

I loved the epilogue in this story and am so glad I got that moment in this world but this book did not live up to the expectations I had after reading the first one!

Thank you Netgalley & Harpercollins for a ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This is just a delightfully fun rom-com. I loved getting to see Hannah have her "leading lady" moment. I honestly wish we'd gotten a little more of her at work. I also liked seeing more of Fox. In the previous book he was fairly one-dimensional, so I was a bit worried he wouldn't carry the weight of an entire story. I do wish that more of Fox's development had been spurred by something other than Hannah. It went a little heavy on the "changing myself for another person" than I think is ideal. Overall, though, the book was super engaging and a fun read.

This book was amazing! It was so good to be back in Westport among all these fun characters!

Fox was his usual charming self, but in this book we got to see behind the sexy smile and it made him a much more interesting character. Watching his growth and the hand Hannah played in him growing was a joy!

Hannah also found herself and her confidence in both her family life and her career. I feel like both her and Fox really grew up and came into their own.

And let’s not forget the spice! These two were a bit of a slow burn, but the story called for it and the foreplay was off the charts hot! I loved every second of the will-they-won’t-they!

Definitely a 5-star read, would gladly read anything this author writes in the future!

This was a little to slow for my liking especially with a friend's to lovers romance. I absolutely loved the first book which I think i had me going into this one with high expectations but it was just falling flat for me.

Look. I don't need to tell you that Tessa Bailey is a queen among women when comes to writing extremely sexy romance books, but just in case you don't know: She Is A Queen of Romance. This book was no exception!

Picking right up where It Happened One Summer left off (so we can just jump right in to the good stuff) this book opens with some mild epistolary texting (my favorite format!!) and evolves into a classic “forced proximity” romance. The shades of “friends to lovers,” mild “fake relationship” and so much personal growth and self discovery blend into a love story that is sweet and ever so spicy all at once. You are rooting for the couple from page one and the conflict is understandable, realistic and resolved with life-like behaviors, not a wild rush to insane grand gestures. The HEA here is pure perfection.

Bailey has absolutely done it again!

So can we all agree that this author knows how to write some chemistry cuz my gawdddd. 🥵❤️‍🔥🌮🍆

This is the perfect friends to lovers situation. And on top of that, Fox and Hannah have to share a small space…GASP! Whatever could happen! 😱😱

This was a great romance read with characters that show sensitivity and battle with expectations thrown upon them. The small fisherman town backdrop is so perfect for this romance to bloom between sweet Hannah and rugged hottie w a body Fox.

If you know anything about my preferences, you know that I need romance to be more than 🍆. I need a relatable story with real feeling people. This was it. We get both.

If you enjoyed It Happened One Summer, you’ll enjoy this. FYI- these is just as much steam. This was the perfect follow-up to close out this duology. The epilogue ties up the Bellinger Sister series up w a nice bow.

Tysm @avon @tess for this ARC.

First off, thank you Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyage for the ARC. After reading the previous book in the serious, I was so excited to see Fox and Hannah’s story. In the first book I adored these two, their interactions had me screaming. The events of the book happen right after the first, starting off with cute text messages (AHHHH I LOVED THIS PART!!). As the story unfolds, this book was the perfect friends-to-lovers. The tension, jealous, banter, and confessions were unmatched. The plot itself heavily relies on the characters and sort of follows the same concepts of the previous book, the main difference being Hannah and Fox. However, I did not complain and enjoyed reading both Hannah and Fox’s character development, they were both interesting and were deeper than I originally thought. Overall, it was an addictive read full of good tropes.

Hook, Line and Sinker was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and it exceeded my expectations. I loved Hannah’s character in It Happened One Summer and I knew I would love her in this one too. Hannah is compassionate, creative and thoughtful. Fox has been conditioned to be a heart-breaker and has quite the reputation around Westport. After meeting the previous summer, they bond over music and continue their friendship through texting while Hannah is in LA. Hannah finds herself back in Westport to film a movie and ends up staying with Fox and they discover their friendship might actually be something more. This book isn’t as spicy as IHOS and is definitely a slow burn. However, I think the spice level was perfect and fitting as their focus is more on emotional intimacy and trust. I love how Fox adores Hannah and I love how Hannah pushes him to challenge himself, professionally and emotionally. I absolutely loved this friends to lovers book, 5 stars!

Things I adored about this book:
• Fox calling Hannah, Freckles
• Their shared loved of music
• Hannah’s protectiveness of Fox
• Bingo night with his mom

Definitely read if you love:
• Friends to lovers
• A reformed playboy
• Books where the guy falls first
• Forced proximity
• Temporary roommates

Thank you Avon Books and Net Galley for the digital ARC!

Holy angst! I have loved every Tessa Bailey book I've read and I really enjoyed It Happened One Summer, the first book in this duology. I have to admit that I was expecting it to continue and was bummed at the 10 years later epilogue. This story follows Hannah (Piper's sister) as she navigates her role as a production assistant trying to earn the role of her dreams in film music. She makes the suggestion to the director (who seems to be possibly interested in her romantically) that Westport, the town her sister now lives in with her sea captain hunk, would be perfect for the film they are shooting. Unfortunately, her sister does not have room and her friend, Fox, has a room that she can stay in while there. Fox is a well known player and ladies man but the two are just friends. ::smirk::

What I really enjoyed about this book is that the two so obviously like each other but are both torn. Hannah thinks she should be involved with the director who is in the same field and same lifestyle as her instead of Fox. Fox thinks he just can't be in a relationship because that's what everyone expects of him. So they carry on acting like friends with the motherlode of angsty goodness thrown in. I didn't really care for the conflict and how it played out but I feel like I'm really picky with conflicts in these rom-com books. Just a personal preference and it wouldn't stop me from ever picking up another Bailey book because I truly love the characters she creates. They are fantastic.

How freaking cute are Hannah and Fox?! I really enjoyed how the characters evolved and developed through the story - how they helped each other figure out who they are and what they want out of life. The spicy scenes were an added bonus! There were a few times that I got a little annoyed with Fox’s thoughts and how repetitive he always was with being a player. Overall though, Hannah was such a great FMC, strong, bubbly and positive. And I adored how well she and Fox fit together. I also absolutely loved the epilogue and the little peek into their lives 10 years down the road!

Music. For me, I don’t feel right if I don’t listen to some kind of music every day. It’s been a soundtrack of sorts over the years. I can mark certain times in my life by what I was listening to at the time. I felt like music was the third main character in this story, next to Fox and Hannah and I loved it! 🎼🎶⁣
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There is something about a player slowly realizing he no longer wants to be a player that gets me every time! 🥰 Fox falls for Hannah as they build on their friendship while Hannah realizes she wants something more from Fox than just friendship.⁣
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The support these two gave each other was probably my favorite part of this story though. Fox encouraging Hannah and showing her that she is, in fact, leading lady material. Hannah, helping Fox realize that he is more than a means to physical pleasure. ❤️❤️⁣
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As always, Tessa Bailey gives us the banter we all love and brings the steam, even if she made us wait a little longer for it this time. And the dirty talk is on point! 😉⁣
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This will absolutely be on my reread list! I loved these two so much! Are we sure there’s not another sister out there that needs their own book??⁣
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Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.