This is a delicious slow burn, friends to lovers romance. Hannah and Fox are first introduced in It Happens One Summer. Hannah being the supportive younger sister of Piper and Fox being Brendan's friend and fellow fisherman. We see glimpses of Hannah and Fox's friendship building in IHOS so when the opportunity arose to read their story early, I jumped on it.

In Hook, Line, and Sinker, Hannah's work brings her back to the tiny fishing town of Westport. In need of a place to stay, Fox offers up his guest bedroom despite warnings from Piper and Brendan to not get involved. What ensues is the continual build of a friendship that quickly turns into something more for both Fox and Hannah, however both have reservations that keep them from acting on it. This was a really angsty, enjoyable read. I highly recommend to Tessa Bailey fans and anyone who has not read her books yet, the Bellinger Sisters series is a great place to start!

Oh I loved this so much. I loved how confident they were in each other and I loved how they helped each other grow. Their romance was sweet and hot. I love Tessa Bailey and will immediately devour anything she writes. Excellent!

So I guess I like friends to lovers?! Wow, always avoided this trope thinking it was meh, but I was wrong.

This story follows Hannah who loves music and is trying to make strides toward her professional goal of being a movie score creator. And Fox, an experienced fisherman who has always been a “one night only” kind of guy. Sexy fun hijinx ensue! The drama and tension was good although it did feel and bit redundant at times, especially with the writing style; statement followed but the same as a question or a statement followed by “right?”. It got arduous by the end, particularly while reading Fox’s point of view. Some of the roundabout thinking conveyed his internal struggle and demonstrated the conflict he had reconciling his former self with the man he wanted to be, but at times it felt too inconsistent and tiring. Hannah was a delightfully written character - a perfect girl next door. I enjoyed her story arc and felt she was a bit more dimensional. Overall, the tension between Hannah and Fox was delicious and the steamy bits were hot as hell. I would recommend this to any open door romance lover.

Look, I loved Piper and Brendan. But Hannah and Fox have intrigued me since It Happened One Summer and I was so excited to get into their story so soon after finishing the first book.

Hannah and Fox prove why Friends to Lovers is a superior trope. The relationship building was genuine and you spend every minute of their story waiting for them to stop being idiots and just take a risk.

Fox really goes on an emotional journey through this book. He’s been the player for so long, never willing to commit to anything, and he really has to evaluate how he became that way and whether he’s capable of changing.

Hannah has to decide if she’s willing to be a side character for the rest of her life or step up and become a “leading lady.”

From the self discovery, to the slow burn anticipation, and the TOP NOTCH musical sections woven throughout pivotal moments, this book had everything I wanted.

The seeds of this relationship were laid in the previous book when Fox bought a record and secretly left it for Hannah. Since then (6 months or so) they have been trading texts and becoming "friends". When Hannah comes to Westport with her film crew she stays in Fox's guest room and it is increasingly difficult to keep to the idea that being just friends is for the best. A fun and light romantic read.

I was so excited for Fox and Hannah's book! This was probably 3.5 stars for me, rounded up to 4 due to the epilogue. I loved the writing and the story, but I felt like Fox's self-loathing/feeling that he's nothing but a one night stand guy got a bit old when it was mentioned what felt like every other page. Their romance and Hannah's faith in him was touching though.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I was worried after how hard It Happened One Summer hit me that Hannah and Fox couldn't possibly stand up to it... but this totally did.

Fox is a quintessential modern rake - re: man whore - but he is also deeply sensitive and not actually all that happy about his status... or actively pursuing it. He is desperately happy to be Hannah's best friend though. Hannah couldn't possibly be more the settle down and commit type if she tried - but she hasn't quite found someone to do that with.

I deeply loved these two - their friendship stood as its own relationship, unpacking years of toxic masculinity and implied intimacy takes time and these two actually worked through that. I think the other part that was so gorgeous was that their friendship was so natural - it really started in book one but progressed so much and was so solid that when they figured out that they were in love it was even more perfect. I wish there had been more of them unpacking the whole fisherman dad thing? But I loved the references to sea shanties and that Piper and Brendan's relationship didn't overshadow theirs. It is Tessa Bailey - so also there is the perfect level of dirty talking steam and a build of sexual intimacy from page one!

Thank you to the author and publisher for my complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

CW: low key toxic family dynamics, language, mentions of cheating

Wow! I was already intrigued by supportive, quirky, sensible, musical prodigy Hannah and heartbreaker, charming, flirty Fox at “It Happened One Summer”. They might have been supporting characters of Piper and Brendan’s love story but they truly deserved their own book.

And thankfully Tessa Bailey answered our prayers with this spectacular cover and most emotional, tear jerking, sweetest love story!

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 ( we already witnessed how her influential efforts resulted with more heartbreaks) since their childhood. And Hannah patiently waited in the wings, waiting for her right time to be announced as best supporting actress. She was always the one who was bolstering the heroine at her lowest point, taking care of the situation, fixing things!

But enough is enough. She wants to take risks: coming clean with her long time crush bohemian director Sergio about her feelings and her passion to work at the musical department. She doesn’t have to work as production assistant forever! She needs to make changes!

But she misses her sister and her time she spent in Westport. Maybe she also misses the charming king crab fisherman she’s been texting for seven months. Luckily she convinces Sergio to carry the last movie’s production location to Westport from L. A.

But Piper’s parent in laws’ visiting at the same time forces her move to this charming fisherman’s spare bedroom! Yes! The flames are blasting! She puts more gasoline into the fire!
Since they spent time at the convention center and he bought her Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. It seems like Fox felt the same: they already started seeing fireworks: but both of them were too stubborn to talk about their feelings.

Fox suffers from imposter syndrome. Even his coworker, best friend Brendan doesn’t trust him with Hannah. Everybody in the small town thinks he’s just a manwhore. His parental issues and an unfortunate incident at the college changed his perspective to the relationships. He’s always doubtful about his own self worth and he thinks he destroys anything he touches.

But seeing Hannah in his own apartment, getting jealous to see her with her precious douchebag director change something in him!

Hannah and Fox’s story is more intense, sentimental but also heartwarming than I expected. Especially seeing the vulnerable side of Fox affected me deeply.

Hannah might be my favorite character of the series from the beginning. I always loved her more than Piper.

I was thinking to give four stars to this book but ten years later epilogue filled my eyes in tears so I added additional half star to round up 4.5 to 5 sweet, teary, touchy, trust, love, self worth, bravery, second chances stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

An obsessive friends to lovers that makes you crave more of their angsty story filled with two characters from different worlds that collide in the best of ways...

After reading the first book in this series, I knew I was going to love Hannah and Fox. Their starting banter is what makes them the ideal couple to fall in love with. They know what they both want, but are stubborn to admit their true long past feelings towards each other. But with time they both learn that their attraction is not the only thing in they way of them being together. And even though Fox has a past that prevents him from admitting and opening up towards Hannah completely, and not just physically, his struggles to admitting that she is the one is what draws the reader to continue this story;

"She felt like the runrise coming up over the water after a bad storm..."

Without further to say, Tessa Bailey knows how to truly make you obsess over her characters. A healthy obsession that will have your toes curling for much more to come.

Plot: 4/5
Spice: 2/5

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

So I read this directly after the first book "It Happened One Summer". Let's just say it has different vibes when it comes to romance and tension. This is a friend to lovers romance and the tension is oozing when they finally see each other in person again.

One of the main themes that I really enjoyed for this book was the objectification of people. The idea of "fuck boy" and the perceived notions that come with that saying. It really dives into the broader theme of objectification and truly judging a book by its cover.

It also discusses nature vs. nurture. Are we truly our parent's children or are we a product of our surroundings?

Hannah and Fox's relationship is more of a roller coaster than Piper and Brendan's. However, the tension (the sexual one) really makes you hold your tongue and stand on your toes while reading. It was something that Tessa Bailey is able to do.

Make Amazing Page Turners.

I was incredibly excited to get this book because I've been dying to read Fox and Hannah's story since the first book! The beginning was a tad slow, but I finished the entire second half of the book just now. That epilogue got me in the feels!

What can I say except that Tessa Bailey has done it again! Hook, Line, and Sinker was nothing short of a fantastic read that I couldn't put down! I wanted to take my time with this one, but I couldn't! I couldn't stop thinking about Hannah and Fox and wanting to see what happened next with them!
I loved that Hannah could see right through Fox and wanted nothing more than to show him that he deserved more than how others saw him. I loved that Fox cared for Hannah so much that he helped her feel like a leading lady in her life. The two were completely swoon worthy and lovely and I can not say enough about how much I loved the two together! They were absolute magic on the page!
Hannah, had been such a support for Piper in the previous book, It Happened One Summer, that I couldn't wait to see more of her. I loved that she was able to find a common interest with her deceased Father, Henry, after realizing she didn't have the same memories, or any memories, of her Father like Piper had. It was so lovely to see her be able to understand him through his music. It was a wonderful addition to the story. I also loved that Hannah struggled with feeling like a leading lady in her life, but she worked on it. She talked it out and worked towards being more confident in herself and her abilities. But most of all I loved that Hannah loved Fox despite his best intentions to hide his true self from her. Hannah kept reaching out to Fox and let him know she knew he wasn't anything like his father and that someone absolutely could love the real him. Her communication was on point! She made him talk to her and root out their feelings. I loved it! It was so refreshing to read about how important communication is in romance!
Fox was absolutely dreamy! Even when I was frustrated with him for letting others get to him, or laughing off his hurt, you could completely understand why he did it. He had been hurt terribly and told constantly all his life he'd be a heartbreaker. The knowledge of why Fox believed this was undeniably true was hard to read because he'd literally been told all his life, even from a very young age, by adults (who should have absolutely known better) he'd be a certain way with women because of his Father. So unfair. It explained his behavior and let the reader understand why he'd kept on this way for years - it was just expected of him. I loved that he could recognize that Hannah was different and tried to be different for her, even if he messed up. He tried. Fox worked on his communication and himself. I hated that he'd let others get to him, but it was so good to see him fight for Hannah, and even himself, by the end.
The epilogue! Oh my goodness, that epilogue was fantastic! What a way to end the book! I adored seeing Fox and Hannah's future, it was so well earned! Even the glimpse of Brendan and Piper was nice!
I loved Hook, Line, and Sinker - period. It was funny, it was heartbreaking, it was swoon worthy! I already want to re-read it again! I have the book pre-ordered and can't wait to hold a copy in my hands!
This is a perfect read for fans of friends to lovers romance!

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey is a wonderful and touching follow-up to It Happened One Summer. Hannah and Fox's love story is so heartfelt and steamy!
Starting with a chapter of texts back and forth, I loved getting to see their friendship develop. Hannah's love for music and records really adds an awesome aspect to this romance and left me wishing to have a couple of her curated playlists. Piper and Brendan are back and we also meet Charlene, Fox's mom, who is a hoot! While I wouldn't quite call this a rom-com (more romance, less comedy) there is a scene at a Bingo Hall that Charlene works at that made me laugh out loud. At the same time, there are very emotional scenes and aspects of the story that deal strongly with grief, imposter syndrome, self-worth, and being shamed. I really felt for these characters!
This book is perfect for fans of Get a lIfe, Eve Brown and The Hating Game. Tessa Bailey is a fabulous romance author who really brings a ton of heat to her open-door scenes!
Thank you to Avon Books and the author, Tessa Bailey for the e-arc, reviews are my own.

Dare I say this one was even better than It Happened One Summer?!

The beginning of the book was absolutely perfect with the text conversations between Hannah and Fox. It felt more realistic and intimate to see those conversations rather than a chapter trying to explain their friendship over the last seven months. Fox is hot. Like total book boyfriend hot. Does he have some baggage? Duh. But the way he worked on himself throughout the whole book was amazing. Hannah is so strong, funny and caring, but also totally relatable. It was so nice having Piper and Brendan throughout the book too. This book is definitely a lot steamier than the last one (but I’m definitely not complaining!)...like 🔥🔥🔥🔥

The epilogue was absolutely perfect and I LOVED that another Schitts Creek character name was thrown in there! 😉


Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this amazing arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! It’s a little softer and gentler than It Happened One Summer. While that was a pure romcom, this is more of a regular contemporary romance. It was a swoony slowburn friends to lovers story, about a hero who’s convinced he’s only good for his pretty face, and the heroine who wants so much more.

I really enjoyed watching their relationship change from friends to so much more. It is a slow burn but Tessa always delivers on the heat!

The reason this wasn’t a five star for me was just the repetitive nature of Fox’s insecurities. His thoughts just kept repeating themselves, which while that may be realistic, it got pretty old reading the same thing over and over again and I was a little bored.

Overall though I really liked it!

Ahhhhh this was so good! I’ve been waiting for this story and it did not disappoint! Fox and Hannah had amazing chemistry and their love story was so sweet. My only gripe is how long fox doubted himself. I especially liked the music aspect of this book, it really added something special. Thank you to netgalley for the ARC.

Having just read [book:It Happened One Summer|55659629] a few weeks ago, I was super excited to get an early copy of <i>Hook, Line and Sinker<i>, and read it in a single sitting as soon as I got home. I found our main leads a lot more relatable and topics covered a lot more emotional than the first book in this series. Super fun few hours!

Small complaints would include (1) I feel like Piper/Brenden should have had a larger cameo. They barely show up here, and (2) the fishing town vibe is NOT very PNW (I'm from Washington). This has some serious East Coast fishing town vibes. And LOL, a moose showing up in Puyallap! Hah! Has Bailey been there?

I voluntarily obtained a digital version of this book free from Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.

If you, like me, finished It Happened One Summer, and then felt like you were dying for Hannah and Fox's story, you will not be disappointed. Hannah and Fox established that they were "just friends" in the first book of this series, despite Fox suddenly losing interest in all other women and constantly texting Hannah, who has gone back to LA to work for her brooding boss/crush Sergei. When a film Hannah is working on ends up being filmed in Westport, where's a girl to stay other than with her good buddy Fox? Fox has been in denial about his feelings towards Hannah, and he knows deep down that he's no good for her. But with the forced proximity of being roommates, feelings arise, and Hannah realizes that she'll need to be all in to get Fox to trust her and most importantly, himself.
There was so much to like about this book. As usual with Tessa Bailey, this book was hot, yes, but the emotional depth between Hannah and Fox is what really made this book shine. Fox has been told his whole life that he's a ladies man and that he can only offer women one thing. It takes Hannah seeing past Fox's pretty exterior to the good man within for Fox to realize that he has more to offer. I also really loved the way that Hannah's grief differed from Piper's in the first book. Hannah has also lost her father, but unlike Piper, she has no memories of him, so her grief was more complex and disconnected. I'm not usually into music/records in books, but even I was getting into Hannah's vinyl collecting. This book was fun, sexy, and so emotionally satisfying!

This book is so cute! After reading It Happened One Summer, I've been impatienly waiting to read this book, and luckily I got the free ARC thanks to NetHalley and Avon Books! This book is amazing! I'm so in love with how things can turn out to be more complicated (falling in love with the person you're trying to help because the person you're helping is in love with someone else) and written beautifully! The ending is quite predictable (it's romance, of course it is predictable) but this book surely make my heart swoon! I love both of these Main Characters and Tessa Bailey is such a great author. Once again, thanks NetGalley and Avon Books for the free ARC!

I was so excited to get the ARC for this so soon after reading It Happened One Summer. This picks back up with the blooming friendship between Hannah and Fox, which slowly grows into something more than friendship. I loved watching both Hannah and Fox take on their own self-doubt and choose to believe in themselves, each other, and the two of them together. I adored this one and will absolutely be recommending it to anyone who will listen!