An absolutely wonderful follow up to ‘It Happened One Summer’!! I loved this book and characters so much. A perfect friends to lover romance that was done to perfection. The growth of Fox, from a serial man wh*re to a reliable leader and partner and Charlotte from supportive/in the shadows friend for the leading lady was done soooo well!

It’s so unrealistic for main characters in books to change FOR someone else because in the real world it’s so much more complex then this. In ‘Hook Line and Sinker’ both characters challenged each other to BE better. Hannah also felt disconnected from her late father sad see her get closure and finally get a piece of him was so beautiful.

Fox if he wanted to be with Hannah he was going to do a lot of soul searching to believe he deserves her and everything in life.

The backdrop of Westport is so cozy and just paint the picture seaside town.

Hannah’s love of music was also weaved in the story so well. Fox and Charlotte always asking each other how their days were through songs. Those sea shanties...omg I would love to hear them!

I REALLY hope this isn’t the last we see of them. I’ll pay Tessa in gold for one more book with these characters

There are books that come along and find you at the exact perfect moment. Tessa Bailey’s ‘Hook, Line, and Sinker’ is one of those books. The follow-up to the witty, wonderful ‘It Happened One Summer,’ ‘Hook, Line, and Sinker’ turns its attention to the younger Bellinger sister in this glorious friends-to-lovers tale.

When Hannah Bellinger meets Fox Thornton in a small fishing town in Washington state, she buys into his playboy narrative. He’s handsome and charming, and definitely Mr. Right Now. So, she places herself firmly in the friend-zone, and continues her friendship with him after she heads back to her home in LA. Months later, when Hannah’s job brings her back into town and she needs a place to crash for a few weeks, Fox volunteers his spare room. While there, Hannah realizes there’s a lot more to Fox than meets the eye. But she has her sights set on someone else, and refuses to ruin the friendship by becoming another notch on Fox’s bedpost. Fox is convinced that he’s destined to be a player, yet finds himself drawn to Hannah’s goodness and inner strength. So, he does what any good friend would do, and tries to help her snag the man she wants… someone that isn’t him. What could possibly go wrong?

As is typical with Bailey’s work, ‘Hook, Line, and Sinker’ is filled with fantastic character development, layered emotion, and a whole lot of steam. The banter and the explication are top-notch, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way that Bailey develops both Hannah and Fox as characters. There’s a sense of nostalgia in this book; a sense of longing for love and fulfillment. You can tell that Bailey put her heart and soul into this novel, and the results are nothing short of brilliant.

I didn’t think it would be possible for Bailey to top ‘It Happened One Summer,’ but I think she did it. This book is an 11/10 must-read, and the perfect coda to the Bellinger sisters’ collective tale.

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

essa Baily has not let me down! I absolutely loved Hannah and Fox's story! The steam was fantastic, the dirty talk was breathtaking, the love story was so beautiful and emotional. I always look forward to a new Tessa Bailey because she really know how to do a romance the right way with such a satisfying conclusion!

The fact that I received this ACR was actually fate. I read It Happened One Summer earlier this year and immediately fell in love with Bailey's writing. I applied for the Hook, Line, and Sinker ARC on a whim. Months passed and I preordered the book only to find an email the next morning letting me know I got approved for the ARC.

I devoured this book. I probably read it all in one sitting. Hook, Line, and Sinker follows Hannah, sister to Piper and production assistant, and Fox, playboy fisherman. When Hannah must stay with Fox while she works on a new film, they both actively try to deny their attraction to each other while working on themselves and how they are perceived.

This book was sweet and funny and so heartfelt. After reading It Happened One Summer, I had really high expectations for this book and it definitely lived up. The tension alone was worth the read and Tessa Bailey tends to do this thing where she writes a kind of formulaic Romcom, but with a slightly empowering twist and the ending of this book follows this set up very well, letting each character grow for themselves before coming together.

This is definitely worth a read and I'm very excited to get my hands on a physical copy!

I cannot stress how much I enjoyed this book. I was head over heels in love with Fox the moment he stepped on the page in "It Happened One Summer" but reading his and Hannah's story and learning more about who Fox is as a person was so delightful. For a Tessa Bailey book, I would say this was a little bit more of a slow burn, but it was not a slow read, and there was plenty of tension to keep the book moving even when the relationship wasn't necessarily moving.

This is definitely a book that I would recommend to someone who, similar to me, comes to romance because they love the emotional intelligence parts of the storyline. But even if you're more into the spice, there is plenty of that as well!

I really loved the first book in this series about Piper and her story, but would be lying if I wasn't jonesing for Hannah and Fox's story as soon as I finished Piper's. I think I might have liked it MORE than book one....The characters and their relationship really got the chance to develop and shine over the seven months they were apart. I loved the peeks into their dynamic through the text message chains, and I really liked seeing Hannah totally crush it at her job and come into her own. I'm a sucker for a strong boss lady who also gets herself a mans!

Thank you NetGalley and HaprerCollins for this delightful ARC!

It's not often I find the second book of a series better than the first, but this was definitely the case with Hook, Line, and Sinker. I wasn't sure if I was going to like Fox at first (I'm kind of tired of attractive white men bemoaning about being attractive and how that's only what people think they're good for), but I was pleasantly surprised by how much depth he had. He wasn't just an attractive white man bemoaning on how attractive he was, but had a lot of unresolved self-image issues based on his childhood that really was no fault of his own. Talk about a product of your environment. I ended up liking him so much more than Brendan in the first book, and I felt that he had far more growth than Brendan. I also really liked Hannah, and I liked how we could see her come into her own and gain the confidence she needed to move upward with her job. How she ever liked Sergei, I have no idea because I wanted to punch him in the face numerous times, but I guess that whole tortured artist bullshit doesn't work with me. Character wise, I liked Hannah and Fox far more than I liked Piper and Brendan, even after they realized that they liked each other more than friends.

The whole friends to lover trope is one of my favorites, and this one didn't skimp on the good stuff. We got to see how their friendship built through their texts, their interactions for six months after Hannah left to go back to LA. We saw their relationship grow, and it wasn't this instant love as with Piper and Brendan. Hannah and Fox felt more real than their predecessors. Fox also wasn't a jealous buffoon who didn't think with only his dick half the time. By the time Fox and Hannah revealed that they liked each other and wanted to be with each other, I believed it. It wasn't a slow slow burn, but it was slow enough to really get me invested as a reader.

Tessa has a really bad habit of making her previous characters even worse than in their first book. That whole, "Don't fuck my fiance's sister because it could end up bad for me" with Brendan enraged me so badly, and I don't know why Fox was even friends with him in the first place. Did Brendan make amends? Kind of? I don't know, I stopped caring what he had to say after his selfishness in the beginning. Piper wasn't any better, warning Hannah to stay only as friends with Fox because she "heard" about him and didn't want her sister to end up as another "notch in the bedpost." Not like Hannah was a grown ass woman with her own agency to make up her own mind. Honestly, I was surprised at how little time Piper and Brendan had in this book, but I can't say it wasn't better for it.

For me, this book was several inches better than the first one, and I'm interested to see how it reads when it comes out edited and completed. The epilogue was a bit too schmaltzy for me, but it's a rom-com so I'll allow it.

I literally gasped when I was approved for this ARC on Netgalley! I read the first book, It Happened One Summer this week as well and went right into Hook, Line and Sinker! This second novel follows Hannah and Fox, their friendship and them staying together while Hannah is back in town.

"You're a surprise, Hannah. How could I hate them?"

The writing in these books are like a Netflix Romcom playing out in your head! They are so smooth and easy to read and just so so good. I am a sucker for friends to lovers and I loved Hannah and Fox's friendship. I think the talk of toxic masculinity is something that a lot of books don't bring up or even praise so I like that Hannah was helping Fox see that he is more than some guy who girls like to look at.

Bailey is very good at writing "spicy" scenes in a way that don't make you want to cringe and help the story progress and don't feel like they are just thrown in to add spice. I also like that there isn't an ista love storyline, the relationship is more realistic and takes time to mature.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the opportunity to read this book early! I had the best time reading this one!

Hannah and Fox start a friendship after the vinyl convention in Seattle and it hasn’t been the same since.

Hannah is still trying to perdure her dream but she constantly feels she’s the “supporting actress”. Until she convinces Sergei, her boss and crush, to head to Westport and direct the indie movie they are working on.

Meanwhile, Hannah has to stay with Fox in his apartment due to some circumstances with Pipes and Brendan.

The tension is definitely there for Fox and Hannah but Fox insecurities hang in the back of his mind.

This book was not so much about sexy time but more about the character development for the two. HOWEVER, I did want and seek more sexy time. The first book gave it to us so good, I guess I was expecting the same. Especially after hearing Fox was a Ladies Man in book one. The reader is going to want to read about his skills.

Character development is what made this book me. They both wanted more, so they slowly started breaking out of their shell. This book is worth the read for this specific reason.

It's official. This is my favorite Tessa Bailey book. It's been a long road, but we've finally gotten here. I know the first book in this series has only just been released, but I couldn't help reading this right away. I was ready and waiting for Fox and Hannah the minute I finished It Happened One Summer.

Bailey did not disappoint! Listen, friends-to-lovers has been the main trope on the menu this summer, and this book was a great addition! A (self-described) side-character heroine with a (reluctant) playboy hero? Yes, I'm here for it. If this were a regency romance, Fox would be the best kind of rake, and Hannah would be a textbook wallflower. You know the couple. And it translates so well to modern-day Westport, WA. Throw in a lot of pining and a good ol' slow burn, and Hook, Line, and Sinker had all the major elements I look for in a romance novel. Plus, any book that weaves song and artist references into the the couple's chemistry is going to have a special place in my heart.

Where the book fell a little short for me was the lack of Piper (and Opal). Family was such an important part of the first Bellinger Sisters book that I was expected just a little bit more of them in the second book. We only really see Piper once at the beginning and once at the end, and that just seemed a little weird.

But for real, go read It Happened One Summer, because you'll need it to read Hook, Line, and Sinker, I a definitely recommend you read Hook, Line, and Sinker.

I want to thank Net Galley for an ARC of Hook, Line, and Sinker.
Say yes and read this book by Tessa Bailey! Not only is it wrote so well it will have you so invested! I read this book in a day! Hanna and Fox I love them. Please do your self a favor and read Hook, Like and Sinker!

3.5 stars

I loved It Happened One Summer so when I saw this book I was desperate to read it. Hook, Line, and Sinker is a slow burn friends to lovers following Fox and Hannah.

Fox has a reputation for being a player.. the town thinks it, his crew mates think it, even he thinks that’s all he’ll ever be. When he realises he’s fallen for his best friend he’s terrified his reputation will ruin everything! He tries to fight the attraction and when that doesn’t work, he tries to show Hannah that’s he’s only good enough for one thing.

I had very high hopes for this book but it just didn’t quite have the same charm as the first one. It was still good and I love Hannah & Fox but it felt much slower and drawn out than the first, nothing really happened until around 70%. I also would have liked to see Brendon and Piper appear in the story more as the best friend and sister of our MC’s. It was a little unbelievable to me that Piper hadn’t seen her sister for seven months but then is too busy to see her more than a couple of times in the weeks she’s in town.

As I said I love Fox and Hannah, they’re incredibly sweet and I think they would have definitely been my favourite couple of the duology but the pacing didn’t quite do justice to their story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoy Tessa Bailey's writing, characters, setting, and happy endings. After reading both books in this series, I feel attached to the sisters and the town they have stumbled in to. The book does have a heavy focus on sex but it also highlights a dangerous career, superstitions surrounding the sea, and small town life. I love how the book tells the story from two main characters points of view and the chapters move along quickly.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of Hook, Line, and sinker. I thought I would love this one just as much as Piper and Brendan’s story in It happened one summer. But it just didn’t do it for me. I was rooting for Hannah and Fox towards the end of the first novel, when it was hinted that their story would be told next. During this novel, Hannah moves to Westport NEAR her sister and yet Piper is barely mentioned in the book. Brendan in Fox’s captain, and again, barely mentioned. Maybe it’s because I recently read book one so they were still on my mind, but I was very disappointed that the two main characters who are very much in Hannah and Fox’s lives, were mentioned only a few times. Hannah didn’t even hang out with Piper more that two times (was it even two?). She literally moved with Piper out of state in the first book and now Piper is too busy? Ugh that bummed me. Anyway back to Hannah and Fox. Hannah is kind of boring, she didn’t scream “leading lady” as Fox called her. They built up so much angst, it took until 75% of the book for Fox to finally get his head of out his a%$. Easy read, cute romance. But not the 5 stars I was hoping for.

Long before finishing It Happened One Summer I knew I wanted to read Hannah and Fox's story.

Fox, oh sweet Fox. If this was a historical romance novel the author would surely describe him as a rake. He has a terrible, terrible self-image. He does a reputation, sure, he has unintentionally embraced the image people had for him because of his looks (think Chris Hemsworth, that's how I pictured him:) ) and he let this image define his lifestyle. He thinks he is only good for a good time, for empty hookups. He doesn't believe he deserves to be with someone perfect like Hannah and doesn't want the people of Westford to think Hannah was a fool to take a chance on him and being with him. He idolizes her. But but Hannah is not perfect either. She has her own issues.

I loved Hannah, I loved that she didn't give up on Fox. I wanted to shake Fox so bad. He took some time to come around and his big "realization" scene was a bit cliche but

These two share a love of music. Because I am not too big on music some of the references were lost on me. But Tessa Bailey did her research and she even thanks her husband in the acknowledgements for it.

Now this book made me realize it once more that even though I like steam in my romance novels, reading dirty talk makes me cringe. Tessa Bailey's men tend to talk dirty, a lot, and even though Fox is far from the alpha males she tends to write about I didn't enjoy some of their conversations especially the masturbation scene.

Just as wonderful as the first! Anyone who relates to the tik-tok meme “I’m not the main character, I’m _____” will relate to Hannah so hard. But this story, for the most part, is centered on Fox who longs to break free from his playboy reputation so that he can be the man Hannah deserves. He is very angsty underneath all that cockiness and we love to see it!

By far my favorite Tessa Bailey book now! I couldn't stop smiling I love Hannah and Fox so stinking much! Thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Once again Tess Bailey has taken us back to Westport where it all started with Piper and Brenden but this time its Fox Thornton and Hannah Bellinger. I loved It Happened One Summer so when I saw that Hook Line and Sinker was the story of Fox and Hannah I knew I had to have it and it did not disappoint. Hannah is in town working and staying with Fox, the ladies man. Throughout the book Fox tries to help Hannah woo a colleague but instead they end up liking each other.

I really enjoyed this book.It was really fun to go back to Westport and visiting Piper and Brendan and the town.

Thank you NetGalley for the is advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with #ItHappenedOneSummer and could not wait to revisit these characters.

This time it’s Hannah’s turn. I adore Hannah and I love her love for music.
I love how she uses songs to represent her every mood and her day, which is something I do often.
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Hannah and Fox have became best friends but what happens when they decide they want to be more then friends? I love both of them separately and I love them together.
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I especially loved the ten year time jump at the end. I am like Rachel on friends and need closure and this provided exactly the closure I so needed.
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Thank you @netgalley and @avon for an arc in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this sequel to It Happened One Summer. In fact, I think I liked it a little bit more than the first book, most likely because I'm partial to the "friends-to-lovers" trope and I really liked both Hannah and Fox and felt that their relationship felt deep and that their personalities complemented each other.

For a Tessa Bailey novel, this was surprisingly slow burn, but I think it really paid off in the end. The slower build played well into how both characters really needed room to grow individually before their relationship could really develop.