Readers will love this spicy hot opposites attract romance. The perfect novel to kick off romance season in February. Watch for the second in the duology in June - these are perfect romances to escape into and recommended opposites attract romances. Recommended for adult readers. They are perfect beach reads for next summer as well since book 2 arrives in June.

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

If you can handle a main character who is a bit scatterbrained and quite impulsive, you may enjoy this book a lot more than I did. The rest of the book was pretty good in my opinion.

***Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc.

Tessa Bailey is has become an auto-buy author for me since I read It happened one summer. I devoured this book. The angst between the two main character was amazing! It was that sweet spot where my chest feels tight but not to the point where I’m anxious. The chemistry and banter was just as amazing as Tessa’s other books which is one of the reason I love her books so much. This isn’t as spicy as some of her others but the tension and the growing connection make up for it.

Hallie is a gardener in Napa trying to find herself after her grandmothers death. Jullian is on hiatus from his teaching job, writing a novel while trying to regroup after a friend had a meltdown. When Hallie finds out her high school crush is back in town she offers to update his mothers lawn for just a chance to see him. Hallie disrupts Jullian’s insanely structured routines, with her 3 dogs and inability to keep time. But quickly they start feeling this instant attraction but being polar opposites they try to stay apart.
I loved this book so much it was everything I wanted! To say I’m excited for the next book is an understatement.

Hallie grew up with a mom who bounced around when her grandmother took her in she finally felt some stability in her life. After her grandma died the instability came in her life. Julian who struggles with anxiety is trying to take a break from work after a coworker had a mental break down. He is finally writing the novel he has dreamed about until a certain gardener comes to plant some begonias.

I really like the representation of mental health in this book.

This book was cute! Not my ultimate favorite Tessa Bailey book but probably in the top 5. I had a little issue with everything feeling pretty cliched but overall I had fun with the characters and their chemistry, I also really really appreciated the representation of mental health as these are things I think myself and a lot of other people struggle with as well. I will be recommending this one!

This was a really adorable book. I loved the characters, and the setting was lovely. The relationship ships are wonderful- friendships, mother/son, brother/sister- and I loved the sense of community.

I'm looking forward to the next book.

I had really high hopes going into this one after loving It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker. Secretly Yours had the trademark instalove, laughs, and dirty talk that I enjoy so much about Tessa Bailey's writing, but unfortunately, I just never felt fully invested in the characters or love story. There was just too much going on - saving the local business Corked, saving Vos vineyard, family drama, setting up the next book, etc, that I think the love story got overshadowed. The opposites attract trope felt extreme and too chaotic. Julian's personality in the bedroom was jarring because it was a 180 from how he normally acted/spoke. I know that was pretty much the point since he was so buttoned up and repressed, but it didn't flow naturally for me. I also had hoped (given the title and cover) that the epistolary element would have been a larger plot point, but the book could have been exactly the same minus the few letters and it wouldn't have been very different. The third act conflict felt so unnecessary and could have been resolved so quickly with a simple conversation. Heck, even a single sentence. The epilogue wrapped things up very sweetly (and conveniently) though and even though this one wasn't my favorite, it was still entertaining and intrigued me enough to want Natalie's story. I think Tessa Bailey fans will enjoy this one, but sadly I didn't love it as much as I hoped.

2.5 - 3 stars

CW: death of loved one (past), grief, constantly moving/transient childhood (past), anxiety, panic attacks (on page and discussion of past events), destructive and life threatening fire (past), belittling child's mental health (past), mentions of financial insecurity/problems, alcohol/excessive drinking

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

This book is going to be a hit with a lot of readers! Sweet, sexy, a little emotional as both Hollie and Julian experience emotional growth due to some things they struggle with that lead to them being complete opposites as Hollie is impulsive due to her trauma and Julian follows a schedule too strictly due to his. This is especially for people who love the grumpy-sunshine trope.

That being said, this book is Bailey's classic instant lust. In Hollie's case it is because she has been in love with Julian for a long time, Julian doesn't remember Hollie, but he is immediately attracted to her too. But they both feel like they are too different from each other, and at certain points the way that the book would inch them closer together and then make them stay further apart felt contrived. I think that plenty of other readers will love that dynamic.

Tessa Bailey does it again. I loved how Hallie was an average sized woman who didn’t hate herself, and I loved that Tessa made Julian a more well rounded character by confronting his hardships with his anxiety. It was a modern love story set in a small town that made me laugh out loud. And it’s PERFECTLY set up for Natalie’s book next. I CANNOT WAIT

4 stars - I loved "Secretly Yours" from Tessa Bailey. Hallie and Julian are complete opposites and yet are attracted to each other at a young age and again when they see each other as adults. The story is light on angst and has some steam! It was an entertaining romance that will have you rooting for them to work it out!

I look forward to Natalie’s story!

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

Tessa Bailey has finally hit on a winning formula, with imperfect but good protagonists and a lot (A LOT) of well done spicy moments. Already waiting for the next one!

This book was a big no for me. I really didnt like the constant description of the MC's body. I also just don't like the rough/dirty talk that was used. The relationship was weird. This book just wasn't for me. Other people might like it!

It's not often that the girl gets to woo the boy, and I liked that aspect. The secret is that they kissed way back when and she's still not over him, while he doesn't quite remember their kiss and therefore is also not sure why she gets under his skin so spectacularly or deliciously. Impulse-driven meets anxiety-driven regularity in a bubbly and heady mix.

Tessa Bailey is a force to be reckoned with. This book is the perfect balance of plot and character development. The characters are polar opposites with so much amazing chemistry. I really enjoyed their growth separately yet inspired by each other. The spicy scenes are breathtaking and I can’t wait to reread and reread and reread. I love how they fit together and build up each other.

Tessa Bailey does it again! She has become one of my automatic reads, and I have yet to be disappointed in anything she writes. These characters are a bit chaotic and a lot perfect. I can’t wait to hold this in my hands!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book.

This book started off strong for me- I liked the big difference between the characters. They did have an insta-love type of attraction (which may not appeal to some readers). I liked the complicated relationship of the Voss family. I’m excited to read Julian’s sisters book that is coming out next!

The odd part about this book was the letters- I think it took away from the storyline overall. Which is unfortunate because I love an epistolary romance. The letters then created “the secret” which was super dramatically handled by the heroine. I started to roll my eyes a lot towards the end of the novel with the drama of the letter reveals. The heroines inability to communicate reasonably was a lot to handle.

3 out of 5 stars
4-5 out of 5 steam level

Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

Julian Vos is a very buttoned up, ordered, starchy professor who obsesses over his schedule to keep his private anxiety at bay. The last thing he needs is chaos incarnate, Hallie Welch, to intrude on his peace and destroy his focus while he is writing a book.

Hallie is a gardener, hired to plant flowers outside the guesthouse where Julian is staying. She's also been pining for Julian since they were in highschool... but he doesn't remember her!

What I Loved:
-Secret admirer notes
-Wine! Julian's family has a vineyard, this is set in Napa Valley, and there's a "save the local wine shop" subplot.
-Hallie is sweet, spontaneous, gets messy for a living, and has three dogs to complete her chaos squad! She is irresistible to Julian, who cannot fathom how he could be so gone for her so quickly! I loved her innocence and connection to her grandmother. She also had a great friend in Lavinia and I liked that she started becoming friend's with Julian's sister.
-Julian, my starchy dream man! He was created from Tessa Bailey's imagination, so you know his dirty talk game is strong! He has hidden depth and trauma as well... and I love him.
-Grumpy / sunshine is fantastic, but there's really nothing better for me than starchy / chaos.
-I absolutely love it when a free spirit comes along and ruffles up that scheduled, tidy man's ordered life and then they just FALL in so much love and they don't even know what do with themselves!! Ah, so good!
- Slow burn, yummy, Tessa Bailey romance goodness!! ENJOY, folks!

I think my favorite thing about this book, other than the gorgeous connection between the characters, was the way the conflict was resolved and how the characters came back together for their happily ever after. This was such a feel-good, gorgeous, swoony romance! I loved it so much!

Thanks so much Netgalley and Avon for this e-arc. All opinions are my own!

In light of a recent tiktok Tessa did, that was body shaming, I feel uncomfortable reading her book. So unless she does an apology and addresses it then I will not be reading this.

It just seemed pretty flat with characters that that never seemed real to me:.. I know they aren’t real… but by 10% in, I was skipping paragraphs

Please note: this will be posted on my instagram book blog closer to the release date of the book.

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

"Secretly Yours" by Tessa Bailey
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
✈️ to: Napa, CA 🍷
TWs: anxiety, panic attacks

It took me a few chapters, but pretty quickly into "Secretly Yours" I was sold and I was SWOONING. To be brief, Tessa Bailey's newest romance is about a chaotic free-spirited Napa woman named Hallie, whose high school crush (Julian) is back in town. It's an opposites attract, secret admirer love story that made me completely giddy.

There were a few times where I wanted to shake some of the characters -- I'm not a fan of the miscommunication trope, but those instances were resolved quickly and I was mostly just smitten with Julian for the bulk of this book 😅. He gave me major Mr. Darcy vibes. The side characters were also wonderfully quirky and I'm really excited for the second book in this duology. I'm already a big fan of Natalie and can't wait to see what's in store for her!

🌟 Some highlights: "grand theft gouda," alien documentary, Fudge Judy, all the spice