Horney teenagers in adult bodies. That about sums it up for me 😂 I love Tessa and I think she writes angst and romance scenes so well, but I had a hard time imaging these people as full grown adults. They just seemed to act like children a lot. I haven’t written Tessa off yet though! She has some amazing books!

Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review and also bought my own copy.

Oh man, do I love Tessa's dirty talking men. And what girl doesn't love the chance to connect with her high school crush...especially when he's as adorable/hot/caring as Julian? He and Hallie are complete opposites but they were so perfect for each other. They managed to make me melt (from adorableness and from heat) and tear up and laugh. I was completely invested in everything about them and I loved how much Julian was smitten with Hallie. I wasn't thrilled with the secret admirer plot, but the rest of it was great and I can't wait to read Natalie's story.

But seriously...I loved seeing Hallie from Julian's POV.

Tessa Bailey yet again brings the heat in this beautiful romance. Highly recommend for purchase for all libraries with romance fans.

I absolutely loved this book, and these characters. It took me a minute to get into it, where it’s written in 3rd person.. but after I did, I devoured this book. And I’m so glad I finally read it. And now, I can see all the hype surrounding this author. I’ll definitely be reading more of her books. I love reading about characters that aren’t perfect. That are flawed. But still wonderful. With Julian.. he has anxiety, and panic attacks. He feels that this makes him weak. And if he doesn’t stick to a set schedule.. he feels like he’s losing control. But it was beautiful to watch him accept his issues, and learn that it doesn’t make him weak. And Hallie.. she’s beautifully chaotic. She does things without thought. Losing her grandmother, made it more so. Watching these two grow, and learn to deal with their issue. And come together was amazing. This book was soo good. Definitely recommend it.

A cute rom-com love story about the innocence of Haille’s and Julian’s yesteryears where Haille is in love with Julian and he’s the one that got away. Now they’re grown-ups and in different places in their lives. She’s carefree and he’s uptight. Yet oh is there heat and spice.

Is it THE great read? No. Is it a guilty pleasure read? You betcha. I read one book that was a very heavy duty morse and serious love story and I had to balance it. Thank goodness for this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It gives you the cozy, small town vibes that you long for if you want a small town romance. I love a grumpy/sunshine romance and I think Tessa Bailey did and admirable job at this yet, this book was not my favorite. I think what really captured my attention about this book was the secret admirer letters that was mentioned in the description. And I think I thought that they would pay more of a part in the actual story of the book so I was a little disappointed about that. Overall, I consider this a pretty light hearted, cute read and I enjoyed it.

I am a huge Tessa Bailey girly so i was so excited to read this… however, it fell a little flat for me. The plot was a little bit all over the place in my opinion. For a romance book, i felt like there was ZERO chemistry between our two main characters.. which was odd. The smutty scenes with the dirty talking felt really awkward and weird to me. Overall, this was just okay to me.

Very cute, but nothing more than that. It's just not my favorite Tessa Bailey book. BUT I will say that I really enjoyed Julian's character a lot more than Hallie's. It just felt like he had more nuance and intrigue to read about, while she was a little two-dimensional. But overall it's a cute read. I think I'm just entering my fantasy/dark-romance era so these books aren't doing it for me as much anymore, but that's not to say these books aren't still great! Just not great for me specifically.

I really enjoyed this small town romance and loved Hallie's chaotic personality! She is the perfect match for Julian's stearn and regimented life, if only he could recognize this, too. The growth both of these characters go through is refreshing and makes this slow burn well worth the wait.

A solid Tessa Bailey read! She lives up to her reputation for stellar dirty talk with plenty of open door scenes that would make even the most seasoned romance reader blush.

Tessa Bailey is a bit hit or miss for me, though more often than not, I end up really enjoying her books so will give pretty much anything she reads a go. I enjoyed this one, though not the virginity stuff, which I found a little weird. But it was a fast read all the same, and I'd guess that anyone who likes her books would enjoy this one too.

A grumpy/sunshine story. Julian is very rigid and needs a strict routine and Hallie is more than happy to see where the wind takes her. Two very different lifestyles, and one very old (childhood) crush. Hallie has been pining after Julian since grade school, without him knowing or remembering that she even existed. But the moment she steps on the scene as an adult business owner, she digs her way into the soil of his heart (garden pun intended) and he can’t get her out. He has faced past trauma that makes change extremely hard on him, and she is a perfect storm. Between work and secret admirer letters, they find a way to find happy in the chaos.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I love Bailey, but this book was just fine for me. It had everything you typically look for in a romacnce novel, but I ended up skimming a lot near the end. I will most likely still read the next book, but this one didn't wow me.

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now, Julian is back in Napa Valley to write his first novel and Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens of the Vos estate. Hallie’s crush is as strong as ever, even causing her to leave a secret admirer note for Julian after one wine-filled night. Julian doesn’t remember fourteen-year-old Hallie, but he can’t deny his attraction for her, even though she’s always arriving to garden frustratingly late, bringing her loud dogs with her and disrupting his writing time. Will Hallie and Julian find a way to fit into each other’s lives, or will Hallie’s carefree attitude be too much for Julian’s tightly scheduled life?

Tessa Bailey is known for her steamy sex scenes, and she certainly doesn’t disappoint in Secretly Yours. I mean, can you imagine finally being with your high school crush when he’s had over a decade to grow into an even more attractive man? Read Chapter 10, and you won’t have to imagine any more.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Tessa Bailey for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I so desperately wanted to like it, but the characters were two dimensional, and the story was slow. That’s really all I have to say unfortunately.

I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy this book that much. I absolutely loved It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line & Sinker so I was really excited about this one! Unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. One thing I did love was the setting. The wine country vibes were immaculate. I also really loved the anxiety/mental health representation. I thought it was well done. It was super visceral and it felt like I was right there with Julian. However, the bad outweighed the good in my opinion. It became super repetitive with the '"she's chaos and he's calm" thing. I'm not really sure why but I didn't really feel the connection and chemistry between the Hallie and Julian. Overall though, I see the appeal of the story and am sure other people love it, but it fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

As a huge lover of romantic comedies, I am very picky about the ones that I read. There are so many great books out there that I don't want to waste time reading books that are meh. Thankfully, this fun romcom hit the spot :)

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the e-ARC of the book.

Hallie is secretly in love with Julian since their high school days, but they never had a chance for a relationship as Julian moved away. Now he is back visiting his family’s vineyard where Hallie is hired to do some gardening work. There could not be more opposite people than the chaotic Hallie and orderly Julian who follows the schedule religiously, but there is a spark between them that threatens to shake these two polar opposites.

This was my first experience with Tessa Bailey’s books so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really like Hallie’s character and small town vibes, but in my opinion Julian was too intense. Otherwise, good book that contains some smut. Looking forward to reading more books in A Vine Mess series.

Tessa Bailey writes some fantastic smut, but I have to admit that I didnt vibe with this couple like I did in her previous novels.

Tessa Bailey’s Secretly Yours is book 1 in the A Vine Mess series and I just simply adored this opposites attract couple. Hallie is a free spirited gardener and Julian is a professor on sabbatical to write a book at his family’s vineyard. They went to school together but he doesn’t recognize her so watching their relationship unfold through some anonymous love letters was a fun twist.