Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I loved Hannah's story so much more than Piper's. It all felt more genuine and I'm a sucker for relationships where the couple starts as friends. I appreciated that it didn't focus solely on the relationship, that Hannah and Fox grew as individuals along with falling in love. Hannah taking control of her career and making "leading-lady moves" was a lot of fun to read. Too often romances forget that individual humans make up a couple but I didn't find that to be the case with this one! This book was a lot of fun!

Hook, Line, and Sinker was one of my most-anticipated reads for 2022 and it did not disappoint!
🌊 a few Sea-puns ahead, you’ve been warned 🌊

It Happened One Summer (book one of this series) was only on my radar because my book BFF urged me to read it, knowing I’m a Schitts Creek fan and always happy for a cute and steamy contemporary romance. I thought It Happened One Summer was really fun and captured the vibe of a flighty IT Girl socialite with self-esteem issues - someone bubbly on the surface but with hidden depths to be explored. Hook, Line, and Sinker blows the first book out of the water!
Fox and Hannah were in supporting roles for the first book, but HLS really does them justice in fleshing out their characters. Hannah and Fox work through their fears of failure and intimacy together with a series of well-worn tropes (fake-dating, just friends, miscommunications, fear of intimacy, I’m not good enough for you). The attention paid to delving the depths of Fox’s trauma is really interesting and heartrending to read. Hannah and Fox are on parallel journeys to steer into the storm and come out the other side whole. When they accomplish it together, it’s just pure treasure.

🌶 Level:
The chemistry between Hannah and Fox is 👌💦🥵🔥

I don’t want to give too much away but it’s easily surpassed all my hopes and expectations and deserves a reread!


Thank you to Netgalley & Avon Books for this ARC!

This sequel to "It Happened One Summer" follows Hannah and Fox as they learn how to believe in themselves and each other. While Fox seems to be way out of Hannah's league, she discovers that there is so much more to him than a pretty face and body. I liked how the author flips the stereotype of the girl seen only superficially for her looks and the hero digging deeper to find the real person. Instead, Hannah is the grounded one and Fox is the one that most people see only for his looks and sex appeal. Both characters are well drawn and the chemistry between them is really hot. He is a commercial fisherman and she is a production assistant for an LA producer that she initially has a crush on. When her production company shoots on location in the Pacific Northwest town where Fox lives, as well as Hannah's sister and her fiance, Hannah ends up staying in Fox's guest bedroom. That's when the fireworks start. Both Hannah and Fox love music and this is what initially draws them together and in some ways gives them insight into each other. While this is the first book by Tessa Bailey that I have read, it won't be the last.

I loved everything about this book! From start to finish it was everything I was looking for and more!

Hannah always considers herself as supporting actress, not a leading lady. She thinks she’s hype girl as her sister Piper always demanded the spotlight. And Hannah patiently waited in the wings, waiting for her right time to be announced as best supporting actress. Fed up with playing the supporting character Hannah take the risk and comes clean with her long-time crush director Sergio. She is share all of it, her feelings, and her passion to work at the musical department.
A last, Hannah misses her sister and her time she spent in Westport. She might also be missing a certain charming king crab fisherman she’s been texting for seven months. Luckily, she convinces Sergio to move the last movie’s production location to Westport from L. A.

Of course things must go wrong… Piper’s parent in laws’ visiting at the same time forces Hannah to move to this charming fisherman’s spare bedroom! Having spent some time at the convention center together, Hannah couldn’t get him out of her mind. Fox felt the same. The element of attraction is there on both sides but both of them were too stubborn to talk about their feelings.

Fox doesn’t think he is good enough. Even his best friend Brendan doesn’t trust him with Hannah. Fox has a reputation in town as a player. His upbringing and an unfortunate incident at college changed his perspective to relationships. He doesn’t trust or believe in himself. He feels like everything he touches is destroyed.
Seeing Hannah in his own apartment, getting envious of her with her jerk of a director change something in him!

Hannah and Fox’s story is more intense, sentimental, and sweet. There were a lot more emotions and big feels in play in this story than I was expecting. I dol like Hannah a lot! I think when she is on the page, she steals the show. She outshines her sister in so many way.

The ten years later epilogue really rounds the story out and will have you sighing in love at the end. The big feels of it will leave you feeling all the things.
I really enjoyed this book so much more than the first one. I loved Hannah and Fox. Hannah has a kindness about her that makes her perfect for Fox. Fox is a sweet and endearing character and is so afraid of his past he keeps Hannah in the friend zone a little longer than I wanted him too. It’s surprisingly slow burn for a Tessa Bailey romance and I did want more steam in this story.

Hook, Line, and Sinker was just as an enjoyable read as the first in the series, It Happened One Summer. The book had humor, good chemistry and the romance was a slow-burn but done so well.

I will definitely be recommending this book to people looking for good romances.

I love that both characters thought they weren't quite good enough for the other person--it was so nice to see each character admire the other. It was a great sequel to the first in the series! Both characters have to learn to see themselves more clearly before being able to commit to to one another.

Thank you Avon for the ARC to read and review.

Hook line and sinker delivered Tessa Bailey’s signature style of humor and intensity. Fox has issues with self esteem from past incidents and others peoples perceptions and Hannah also has self esteem issues. Together they work on their stuff and grow up. He learns to talk honestly. She starts making grown up decisions, HEA.

I was really excited to read this book considering all the wonderful reviews and the fact that I really liked and was charmed by It Happened One Summer. I, however, could not get into this one and was really struggling to finish it.

Before I get into why I didn’t like it, let me say that I really like the way all of Tessa Bailey’s books make sure to deliver on the steamier parts of the romance genre while also digging deeper into the emotional aspect as well. This book is no different. She also manages to never lose focus or sacrifice the other, non-romantic plot points for the actual romance. Additionally, I loved how the story does such a great job of capturing just how essential and magnificent music can be and all the ways it can signify and reflect our experiences.

Now, here’s why I believe I struggled to get into this book:

1. I know this is supposed to be a friends-to-lovers sort of thing, but from the beginning it just kind of felt like insta-love, so I was just being tortured from the beginning on waiting for these two to acknowledge their feelings with one another.
2. There seemed to be almost no character development beyond what we were introduced to in IHOS so we were stuck with very stale, repetitive characters.
3. When they do finally admit their feeling for another, the story itself got really repetitive with multiple points of miscommunication over the exact same thing with Fox’s insecurity and it was just run into the ground.

I, overall, felt like I was watching two immature characters try to be mature and come up short. I think this story just lacked the organic-ness that I, personally, need in a story, such as I would want to see how these two built a solid friendship with one another before feelings ever came into the mix or just even any other relationship issue that they both work through together. The book just felt too long and trying to extract too much from this one thing.

I’m sorry I didn’t like it, I really tried, but like any reader, some books just aren’t for me.

Tessa Bailey comes back with the follow-up to It Happened One Summer with another hilarious sexy book! This time we follow Hannah and Fox- best friends! See where this is going?? Hannah asks Fox for help to catch her crush's attention but we all know how that goes! This book is so freaking funny and a great follow up to It Happened One Summer!

Thank you @avonbooks @netgalley for Hook Line & Sinker! I am so happy to be back and Westport and more of the Bellinger sisters. You don’t have to read It Happened One Summer but I highly recommend you do so you get Piper and Brendan’s story and the sisterly interaction between Hannah and Piper.

This book picks up 6 months later from the previous book and I loved how Hannah and Fox text messages. This was such a beautiful friends to lovers story. I love how they both made each other a better person.

This book was hands down one of my favorite books to 2021. I fell in love with both Hannah and Fox when they were introduced in It Happened One Summer but this book truly pulled out the best of both of them! Tessa Bailey is an artist. I normally don't care for the friends to lovers trope because so often it feels forced but in this case, it felt so genuine I could actually see it happen. If that isn't great writing, I don't know what is.

I have already preordered my physical copy and cannot wait to read it again when it arrives! Maybe eventually I will stop shouting it from the rooftops but it'll be while, for sure.

Looooooved this story so much. Hannah and Fox were so much fun in the first book so I was so excited that we got an entire book devoted to the two of them. I loved this book from start to finish (as I always do with Tessa Bailey books) and I can’t wait to read more from her. Thank you netgalley for my free copy!

Having loved the banter between these two characters in *It happened one summer* I was looking forward to this sequel. It definitely was a slow-burn. These two had issues and walls that stopped them from moving towards each other. Tackling tough topics like imposter syndrome and toxic masculinity helped the characters to feel more 3-D. They both had to come to terms with their baggage and because of that, watching them connect felt more believable.
But can we talk about chapter 10?!
The orange bottle??!
GOODNIGHT.

The perfect follow up to It Happened One Summer. Listen, "enemies to lovers" is the superior trope, but this might convert me to a "friends to lovers" reader. Fox and Hanna are so perfectly each others perfect person. I'm obsessed with their relationship, I'm obsessed with them, OBSESSED. I never thought I'd be simping for fishermen but here we are. At this point I'll read anything Tessa Bailey writes.

While it was great to see Hannah and Fox's relationship develop more, I found this mostly enjoyable but partially tedious. Sure, there were some very sweet and honest moments, but the amount of mental gymnastics that these two did to convince themselves they were "just friends" was mind-numbing at times. Definitely not as good as the first book in the duology but still a welcome addition.

I read this in ONE sitting, at 2 am. I couldn't put it down for the life of me. It was just too good to stop. I was already obsessed with Hannah and Fox went I met them in "It Happened One Summer". Hannah is a strong, brave, outspoken, and loyal bad ass. Fox is a notorious player with a heart of gold and a vulnerable side that I couldn't get enough of. The two of them together made me want to laugh, cry, and my stomach was all butterflies. Hannah's resolve was everything to me while reading this. I loved this book and will recommend it everywhere.

✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️Roommates
✔️He fell first
✔️Slow burn

This is my favorite Tessa Bailey book yet! Fox and Hannah set the bar now for the trope “friends to lovers.” They have honest relationship conversations and memorable moments. I think I was smiling the entire book. Hook Line and Sinker’s dialogue and storyline felt different than Tessa’s other books. The friends to lovers storyline stood out because they aren’t childhood friends. They fall while becoming closer friends which is very realistic.

5 stars because I would definitely read this story again!

It Happened One Summer was one of my favorite books last year. When I tell you that I wanted Fox and Hannah’s book desperately I’m not exaggerating. I would have done pretty much anything for an early copy. Which is why when it landed on my Kindle in October I dropped everything to read.

And I was not disappointed.

This is very much a determined bachelor bad boy turned to mush over a quirky, musical girl friends-to-lovers romance. Also, I fell for Hannah and her connection to music in a way I haven’t fallen for a heroine in a good long while. I loved this woman so much. If you’ve read the first book in this series, It Happened One Summer, then you’ve already met Hannah and Fox. If not here is a quick rundown: Hannah is Piper’s sister and also her exact opposite. Where Piper is an Instagram fashionista/party girl, Hannah’s life revolves around music and working her way up in the movie industry where she can turn that love of music into a career. But these sisters are close and supportive, they really are each other’s best friend. So when Piper gets banished to the small fishing village of Westport, Hannah sticks by her side and goes with her. And this is where Piper meets her love and eventual husband, Brendan, and Hannah befriends Brendan’s shipmate Fox.

Hook, Line, and Sinker opens with Hannah back home and working on a movie. She and Fox are texting regularly and have settled into the friend zone. She has an acknowledged crush on a co-worker and Fox is an admitted bachelor who likes his casual hookups. But as the reader, you can sense that there is interest on both sides and that their friendship could me more. But Hannah regularly feels like she hasn’t yet achieved true leading lady status in her life and career and Fox lets others’ opinions of him rule his actions and thoughts about what kind of person he truly is.

Their romance is special and right from the beginning you can tell they are both truly lovely people. Hannah is just such a caring, supportive, loyal person. Her goodness radiates with every interaction and thought. She often relays her moods and feelings through music and I completely understood that. Fox, despite his insistence that he was bad at relationships, time and again handles Hannah with protectiveness and care. I loved watching them go from friends to falling deeply in love. Fox’s character growth is so well done and I felt for him as he pined for Hannah, not knowing what to do, convinced that he was no good for her, but unable to let her really go.

It must be said that the steam factor is pretty high. Once this couple finally gives in and has each other I’m surprised my kindle didn’t catch on fire with the hotness. This is good stuff, y’all. But it’s the emotional connection that really got to me and kept me rooting for them till the end and their HEA.

This slow-burn, friends to lovers romance should absolutely be on your to-read list. Tessa Bailey hit it out of the ballpark with the Bellinger sisters and their love stories. I’ve firmly placed both books on my favorite, comfort read shelf.

Final grade- A

Hannah and Fox’s story was a great utilization of the friends-to-lovers trope and I really loved how Tessa differentiated their journey to love from Brendan and pipers. They were both so lovable and different in their own way! One of my favorite things about Hannah and Fox is their respect for each other and the fact that they believed in each other is much, even more than they believed in their own selves. Both Hannah and Fox suffered from serious cases of imposter syndrome (something I totally understand and sucks so bad) but the beautiful thing about their relationship is they saw each other's potential. They gave each other the confidence and reassurance to strive to be better, take on more responsibility, and rise to every occasion.

I think the most important thing is to go into the story knowing it is very much a Hannah/Fox story and definitely not a Piper/Brendan sequel. Tessa let Hannah and Fox shine and I loved it, finished it in two days! This story will speak to anyone who has experienced any sliver of imposter syndrome or questioned their potential. And how beautiful it is when the exact right person sees through it and chooses to believe in you even when you fail to do it yourself. On top of ALL that, it's a Tessa Bailey book. C’mon- the spice is top tier and she does not let us down! Make sure this book is on your TBR list for 2022 and be on the lookout for its release: 3/1/22