I think readers of It Happened One Summer will love this story as it explores people they already know, but it can definitely be read as a standalone as well! I loved Fox and Hannah's growth throughout this and the banter was a 10/10! I love that they didn't let miscommunication be an obstacle and that things were pretty much on the table for the most part. Definitely had great spicy scenes with enough heart that I genuinely cared about the characters.

Would recommend to any romance readers out there!

This sequel does not disappoint. I love the first book in this series, but Hannah is even more approachable and relatable. I want to be her friend. Fox and Hannah’s banter is delightful. I appreciate the importance shown towards self reflection and believing in one’s self-worth in this book.

You don’t absolutely need to read “It Happened One Summer” first, but I’d highly recommend it.

Essentially, if Tessa Bailey writes a book, I’ll be read it and probably love it.

After reading It Happened One Summer, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. The beginning starts off with text messages between our main characters Hannah and Fox and I mean come on, it was just soooo cute I was instantly sold on the book.
I was super excited about this book because Hannah was my favorite character in the first one. I loved that she was always there to offer some advice or a song recommendation if Piper needed but I always wanted to know more about her. I loved that we got to get inside her head and understand her more. And I mean come on who didn’t wanna know more about Fox too! Turns out the hot playboy has major issues none of us could’ve seen coming, I really felt for the man. Whereas Brendan was Pipers steady rock in the first book, Hannah was Fox’s steady rock in the second book and honestly it was a nice change. I enjoyed being able to watch these characters grow and find healing, acceptance and ultimately love.
Now while I love almost everything about this book I will say that the pacing felt a little slow. I feel like whereas the first book was fast paced this one seemed to drag a bit at times.
Nonetheless, I loved this book and I will be singing its praises for months to come.

I absolutely adored this book! After devouring It Happened One Summer last year, I was thrilled to get a chance to read Hook, Line, and Sinker early. It lived up to my expectations and then some! Bailey is an auto-buy author for me and this absolutely solidified that. Hannah and Fox’s relationship was so layered and real, and I love both of these characters so much.

Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey was a steamy friends to lovers romantic comedy. Hannah and Fox met in a previous book, It Happened One Summer. I had not read that book and didn’t feel like I missed anything from Hannah and Fox’s perspective. Even though from the reviews highly recommend It Happened One Summer also.

Hannah and Fox met and became friends and communicated through text for the last six months. Hannah is back in town and is staying with Fox while her company is filming. There were some fun scenes with them both being in the same apartment.

I liked the fact that they had become friends remotely and were not just a hook up. I wasn’t expecting the serious nature of Fox’s childhood issues.

Sexual content - 4
Drinking 2
Language 4

I wanted so much to love this book--I had a lot of fun reading IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER (the first in this series), and I liked two of its side characters even more than the mains: Piper's music-obsessed sister, Hannah, and fisherman Fox Thornton. Unfortunately, Fox and Hannah in HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER didn't *quite* live up to their promise in book one for me.

Starting with the good: I loved Hannah's relationship to music, and the journey she goes on not just professionally, but in grappling with her (lack of) connection to the deceased father she never knew. The plot climax around her job (no spoilers, but it's music-related) was SUPER cool, and I wished so much there was audio to go along with it! I also thought Bailey did an exceptional job drawing together the various threads of Hannah's goals and wishes and emotional alienation from her father and his legacy and what he'd meant to the town.

Fox's emotional throughline, on the other hand, felt convoluted and didn't quite track. He's a wildly attractive man in a high-paying and respected "masculine" profession who has always had his pick of women for one night stands or <other>--in a society which rewards men for those things endlessly!!--and we're supposed to believe he . . . isn't respected by his fellow crew members for this? That he, in fact, has an enormous complex around it? UMMMM. Are Tessa Bailey and I living in the same patriarchy??

Also, I could've died happy without ever seeing the phrase "the maestro of feminine wetness" in print.

So, super hard to star-rate this one. It had so much good! But then also some bewildering near-dealbreakers..

If you are like me and haven’t read It Happened One Summer, you should read it before reading this book. No, it is not absolutely necessary but it definitely makes you feel at a loss for not reading it. I jumped right into the game with Hook, Line and Sinker but still really liked it. The Bellinger sister’s are just two LA girls taking over a small town outside of Seattle. Piper met Brendan in the first book and apparently blew his socks off, because they are now engaged as of the second book. Hannah, the younger of the sister’s, meets Fox, Brendan’s lifelong friend and coworker, in the first book and they immediately hit it off. Fox, the constant ladies’ man, quickly falls for Hannah but what follows is 7 months of text messages and platonic fun. Until that is, she comes back to the small town of Westport. Was this my favorite book ever? Definitely not, but it was short and sweet.

ARC provided by the author and Netgalley for an honest review!

Tessa Bailey has done it again! I loved IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER -- it was one of my favorite releases of 2021, and unsurprisingly, HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER has quickly made my list of favorite books of 2022. I loved the romance between Fox and Hannah -- it was just as steamy and endearing as Piper and Brendan's romance.

Hook, Line, & Sinker! My first book of 2022 and it did not disappoint!

Tessa Bailey, my queeennnnnn, has done it again.

I was a little thrown before starting this book because I had heard that some were saying it wasn’t that good compared to It Happened One Summer. And I’m here to DISAGREE! Like whattttt, did we read the same book!?? I flipping loved it, legit just as much as Piper and Brendan’s story. I honestly can’t pick between them. They are equals!

Soooo anyways…

Hannah & Fox meant the summer before when her sister, Piper, got them whisked off to Westport after partying a little too hard and landing in jail. Fast forward to 7 months later…. The company Hannah works for is going to be filming a movie in Westport. Hannah can’t stay with her sister and ends up crashing with Fox at his apartment. Fox was told to mind his manners with Hannah due to his bad reputation as a player. As their story unfolds, Hannah peels back his layers and the true Fox is revealed and so is his love for Hannah.


The steam, the romance, the lifting each other up….. it’s everything y’all! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for letting me scoop this up for an honest review! This book will be released on March 1st, 2022. Go preorder it now! You won’t regret it!

3.5 stars

I think I went in with my expectations a little too high ... and maybe it's because I've read so many 4 and 5 stars lately, but this one kind of missed the mark for me. The pacing felt off and I wish there was a little more communication between the MC on how they were feeling (they were pining for each other from day 1).

Loved the characters though! I think a lot of readers will relate with Hannah and she may even give you the courage to be the "leading lady" in your life. Plus she seems like such a cool chick with an awesome job and great taste in music. And Fox's character was something different and refreshing that I haven't seen in another romance. Readers that appreciate depth and character development in their romance will really enjoy this one.

If the banter and pacing had been a tad better, I think I would have enjoyed it more! (and maybe part of it is my fault since i went in waiting for the steam and it does hit until 60% or so into the book)

Thank you Avon Books and Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhh I do not want to say goodbye to Westport and the Bellinger sisters! "Hook, Line and Sinker" is the second in the series following "It Happened One Summer" and in this story we watch Hannah really come into her own as a "leading lady" while she develops a connection with Fox. Yet again Tessa Bailey's writing shines with wit and charming characters. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading!

The growth of each of the characters was really amazing to see. I felt sad to see how hard Fox was on himself and was cheering both of them on as they grew to be more confident. For me what makes a good romance is when I find myself rooting for the characters and I absolutely was rooting for Fox and Hannah. Does a man like Fox actually exist?! Because he sounds perfect. I also appreciated all of the music references and Hannah's taste in music was good - a playlist needs to be made from this book!

The epilogue put a huge smile on my face as well. It was such a cute way to wrap up each of the stories. But I loved all of these characters so much I hate that it's over!

I really enjoyed this book but would say that I liked "It Happened One Summer" more. Something about that book gave me literal butterflies while reading and I didn't have quite the same reaction to this story. But still highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I very, very, very rarely like the later installments of a series more than the original. But WOW. This was so good. Hannah was easily my favorite character in It Happened One Summer, and I’m so happy she got her moment to shine in this book. I loved how we got to watch her grow as a person outside of the romance storyline. Her insecurities about being a supporting character made her so relatable and made it so easy to root for her. I also love how we got to see Fox’s individual character arc, too. Don’t get it twisted – I definitely came here for Hannah and Fox’s friends-to-lovers story. But it was so nice to see them grow as people and be better versions of themselves for each other. Something I also really love about this duology is the role of the supporting Westport cast in the story. None of the side characters feel extraneous and I’m so attached to literally all of them, which is a testament to Tessa Bailey’s ability to create a very realistic, well-thought-out world.

Returned to the cute fishing town of Westport for book two following the Bellinger sisters in Hook, Line and Sinker. This time around we follow Hannah and Fox. Hannah is Pipers music obsessed, quiet, younger sister. Hannah has always taken a back seat to Piper, seeing herself as a “supporting actress” to Pipers “leading lady”. When an opportunity presents itself for Hannah to return to Westport for a work project, she jumps at the chance. Not only will she get to spend time with her sister, but she also might be missing Fox. The towns playboy and best friend of Branden, Fox has been unusually drawn to Hannah and they’ve kept in touch since she returned to LA. Forming an unlikely friendship that definitely can not lead to more. Or can it?

As usual, I flew through this one. Tessa Bailey writes books that are so relatable, funny, vulnerable and romantic. The way that she brings life into her characters and their story gets me every time. I loved Hannah and Fox.

Going into HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER, I didn't expect to love it as much as I loved the first book, IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER, but I ended up loving it even more. As hot as Piper and Brendan were together, Hannah and Fox were even hotter in this one. I appreciated the fake-dating trope, although I felt the author could have done more with it. But what I really enjoyed was how this one was more of a slow burn romance. It was sweet seeing how Hannah tried to so hard to break down the walls Fox put up and help him change his negative feelings about himself. I don't know if I've ever seen a romance hero dealing with toxic masculinity quite like this before. Everyone expected Fox to be a player his whole life, so he internalized that and thought he would never be good enough for someone to want a real relationship with him. I loved how the author explored this, even though it did start to feel a bit repetitive by the end.

The one thing I wished we'd gotten more of in this book was the exploration of this small fishing town, especially with Piper and Hannah now owning the bar. It makes sense that the author developed the town in the first book and wouldn't need to do so as much in this second one, but the town is such a fun, rich setting that I just wanted to see more of it. But overall this book was steamy, sweet, and funny. Definitely a didn't-want-to-put-down romance for me.

HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER comes out March 1st! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a fun and feel good book. The characters were extremely likeable and their chemistry was perfect. Tessa Bailey write the perfect romcoms and this one did not disappoint.

very good and funny. really enjoyed the humor and seeing a strong and emphatic leading lady. I also really enjoyed seeing a male struggling with self perception issues about being too promiscuous. I enjoyed seeing toxic masculinity being taken on in this way

This utterly delightful romance was filled with compelling characters and fun vignettes. From the beginning, it was clear how the story should play out, and the writing, pacing, and characters made the journey enjoyable and more of a page turner than I would have guessed. The settings were rich and detailed enough to feel that you were in the story with the characters. I'll be recommending this one to my friends.

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Genre: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞
Format: 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤
Length: 𝟒𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬


𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘉𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘝𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸!

This is book two in the Bellinger Sisters series, you really need to read It Happened One Summer before picking this book up! Let me just say right off the bat, I enjoyed book one but I loved this book even more. I had no idea what to expect from Fox and Hannah’s story but I didn’t want to put this book down!

To me, this book was really a coming of age story for both Fox and Hannah. Their whole lives they’ve had these perceptions about themselves; who they are and what they’re capable of achieving. This is their journey about their growing friendship/closeness and really discovering themselves as individuals.

What I loved about this book:
* I love well developed characters and it was such a treat to learn more about Hannah and Fox. I care so much about both of them and the growth they go through in this story. I will protect Fox at all costs!
* So many great tropes! Slowburn romance with plenty of angst, friends to lovers, close proximity, guy falls first.
* Tessa Bailey doesn’t let you down when it comes to the spice!!

What I didn’t like:
* I would have appreciated seeing more of Brendan and Piper, especially if this is the last book with all of them.

This series has been such a pleasant surprise and I am honestly so sad if this is the end. The Bellinger Sisters will always be a special experience for me!

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book: the friends-to-lovers trope, chemistry, small fishing town, all of it. Hannah and Fox's story carried over really seamlessly from It Happened One Summer, but I think this book probably works really well as a standalone too.

There were a few minor annoyances. First, I sometimes felt like we were really being beaten over the head with the conflict, which was Fox being so caught up in people's perceptions of him as a playboy. I think it's fine for him to care about that and be frustrated by it, but it seemed like the reader was just told the same line over and over sometimes and I wanted a little more development there. Along those same lines, the scene when Fox walks into the party didn't make a lot of logical sense to me. Hannah is upset that the women are talking about him like a sex object and not like a full person, so she...kisses him? And then asks him if he wanted to meet any of the women who called dibs on him? I just didn't really understand how any of that was supposed to show that SHE even saw him differently, much less that she was trying to show him and all these women that he's more than just a good sexy time. Aaaaand lastly, the author seems to use the words "score" and "soundtrack" interchangeably, and it really threw me off. Not that the same person who composes a score couldn't also be involved in picking songs for a soundtrack, but a score and soundtrack are not the same thing. I will ignore the fact that composers/music folks would really have no reason to be on set during the duration of the movie shoot--in the book, the music coordinator's presence did at least move the plot forward--but I can find no justification for Hannah not knowing the difference between a soundtrack and a score. In this case, I think they were talking about the soundtrack 100% of the time, and would not have ever been talking about the score. That probably seems like a nitpicky complaint but I swear, every time Hannah mentioned the movie score in reference to picking out songs, my brain started screaming and I couldn't focus on enjoying the story.

All that said, I'm thrilled to have gotten an arc of this book, I enjoyed this series more than any other Tessa Bailey I've ever read, and I want more books like this!

Well I did not think it was possible to love this one more than It Happened One Summer but somehow I did! Hannah’s story was even more swoon-worthy and adorable than Piper’s. I truly think Tessa Bailey has hit her stride with these books because I’ve read some of her other works and while they were still great, the Bellinger sisters are just next level fun. I truly hope this book is one of the “must read’s” of the summer and I know I will for sure be recommending it.