Secretly Yours is a sweet romance between a sunshine-y mess and a strait-laced professor, set up completely for all kinds of trope-y goodness. I really like Tessa Bailey as an author, she manages to make fun stories with compelling leads and usually a good amount of angst to go with the romance. This one wasn't my favorite of hers, unfortunately, but it still hits most of the right notes.

I really liked Hallie and Julian, their characterization wasn't an issue for me. They're very much the classic grump/sunshine pairing but I think that the issue is that there was too much going on with them. It felt a bit like a smorgasbord of ideas rather than letting any one of them get too fleshed out. First up is the missed connection/lifelong crush, then there is the secret letters, then there is the overarching anxiety/recovering from grief, then there's the will they/won't they. It's a lot to throw at you especially when the romance takes so long to get going.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey has a long history of writing highly readable books. They’re fun, with cute plot lines and plenty of sex. I haven’t missed reading one since I first discovered her.
Secretly Yours, while enjoyable, missed the mark a bit for me. I liked Hallie, yet Julian was so fragmented that it pulled me out of what might have been a charming story.
Regardless, this will fly off the library shelves, and I’ll definitely be back to check out her next release.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for granting access to a digital ARC.

Secretly Yours (Vine Mess #1`). Tessa, Tessa, Tessa. You have done it again. Tessa Bailey is not the queen of dirty talk for no reason and this lovely warm summer day of a book delivered that on many occasions. Dual POV, friends to lovers, an extreme amount of pining and a romantic vineyard all come together to form Secretly Yours. I came out of loyalty to Tessa Bailey and I stayed out of love for Hallie and Julian. Julian is the definition of type-a and home on sabbatical to attempt his novel debut, Hallie never left St. Helena and is still desperately in love with Julian and now his mothers most trusted gardener. While Hallie is chaotic, distracting and covered in dirt, Julian cannot keep his mind and eyes off of her. An ill-fated love note and a crumbling family business may just be the perfect foundation for forever.

Tessa Bailey is a big deal and for a reason - she has a very devoted fan base, writes quippy and cute beach reads, and knows how to bring you quickly into a story. Unfortunately, this novel felt weaker compared to earlier efforts. I really wanted to like Hailey, but she felt too quirky to the point of a caricature of a woman, and the dual personalities of Julian was like night and day => EXTREME Type A in the streets, and dirty mouthed fiend in the sheets. I didn't love it, and wasn't overly inspired by this, but I do think that those who are already fans of Bailey or readers who firmly fall in the romance fan category will enjoy this outing.

Overall this was a fun little read. It was a little hard to follow some of the stuff because I didn't realize it was a series style (they can stand alone if you want), and some of the character development/explanation of relationship didn't have a deep feel to it because it was assumed you knew already.

Tessa Bailey does it again.

This is the first book of her new duo. Hallie has held out on a crush for 15 years after Julian doesn't kiss her because she is a freshman.

Hallie is every bit of chaos while Julian is order to a t. It was such a breath of fresh air to see the main male character battling anxiety and panic attacks.

This book is amazing at looking at dysfunctional families and see that everyone has a perfect counter part.

This book was absolutely cute!!! I have read Tessa Bailey's previous books and was excited when I heard that she was coming out with a new series. After reading this book, she has officially become an absolute, must-read author for romance books. She has a way of making her characters very relatable while making sure they uphold their own unique voices. And the spice? Fantastic!!!

Secretly Yours has all the hallmarks of a Tessa Bailey romance, but they didn’t quite come together in this one to form something as successful as It Happened One Summer or Tools of Engagement. This leans heavily on “secret admirer” and “opposites attract” tropes, but both fell flat for me. Julian Vos is a rigid routine follower, which makes the speed at which he falls for chaotic, unorganized Hallie super confusing. He flips back and forth from being a nerdy, type-A professor to a dirty-talking sex fiend at the drop of a hat - he felt like two totally different characters to me! The use of his anxiety as a third act breakup plot device also made me feel rather uncomfortable. I really liked Hallie as a character - she’s quirky and fun without feeling fake and her insta-lust is better explained by her years-long crush on Julian. The small town charm and all the talk of wine and gardening was also endearing - despite my issues with Julian, this was still a fun, breezy summer read.

Tessa Bailey does it again! Bailey's books keep getting better and better, and "Secretly Yours" is no exception. Set in Norcal wine country, "Secretly Yours" follows gardener Hallie, and her reunion from her childhood crush-turned-professor, Julian (who also happens to be winery royalty in their town). When Julian returns to his hometown to begin writing a novel, his mother hires Hallie to work on the garden outside the cottage where he is staying, and sparks fly. It was a little stressful, because although Hallie remembers Julian (and their almost-kiss in high school), Julian is drawn to her, but can't place her. Overall, it was a fun, steamy, summer read. At times, the grumpy-sunshine dynamic felt a little forced (Julian, please, get your brooding head out of your stuck-up ass), but overall I enjoyed the way that Hallie pulled the fun out of Julian. And as always, Tessa Bailey remains the queen of steamy scenes, so there's that to look forward to.

Bailey pens another sweet and funny romantic story perfect for curling up and getting lost in. The story is cute and the characters likable. I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the romantic themes but that is just my personal preference.

Rating: 4/5
Spice: 3/5
Storyline: 4/5
Tropes: second chances, grumpy-sunshine, opposites attract, age gap
Content Warnings: anxiety/panic attacks

Hallie Welch has had a crush on Julian Vos since she was a freshman in high school, and years later he’s back in town to write a historical novel. Hallie's everything he's not, a chaotic gardener that lives her life on her terms. She’s a whirlwind that crashes into Julian’s world, going against his routines and need for structure.

Secretly Yours is packed with everything you want in a romcom where opposites attract. Hallie is a plus sized MC with curly hair, who spends her days gardening/landscaping and taking revenge on behalf of her grandma’s favorite wine tasting store. Julian struggles with anxiety and OCD, so when his plans get derailed, he suffers from panic attacks. Hallie and Julian help one another accept their flaws and learn to embrace their authentic selves.

The story was surprisingly sweet. I couldn’t help but swoon every time Julian helped Hallie, even with the smallest of problems. And in turn, Hallie helps Julian be present and enjoy the now, instead of constantly worrying about the time and his schedule. Julian is so freaking nice and sweet, it hurts my jaw. The storytime scene. Swoon. There were so many moments where I could relate to Julian. I always love seeing more characters who struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. It helps break the stigma around mental health.

I felt like the side characters were lacking. Though I did like Julian’s sister, and would read her character's book. I also felt like the secret admirer letters weren’t necessary.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Tessa Bailey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It could be that I read this book at a time I was a little pickier than normal, or that it just wasn't the book for me. I don't like to leave a bad review, but this book was just not a great read. The characters were annoying and not at all relatable or enjoyable. The plot was so minimal and hardly there, which made the book blah. There was something about the characters and side characters that was just a frustrating. There were moments when I thought the book might take a good turn and then, honestly, it was just a ridiculous. I don't feel like I'm that picky it's just that this wasn't written well enough for me to enjoy. I'm sure there will be others and I hope there will be others that enjoy it, but for me it was just one that wasn't enjoyable and one I wouldn't recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first Tess Bailey book I've read. I'm hoping her others are better. It is an easy, enjoyable beach read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

As a longtime Tessa Bailey fan, I can assure you that SECRETLY YOURS does not disappoint. This wine country romantic comedy is full of laughs, whimsy, and swoons. A perfect, lighthearted read for those in need of a Napa Valley vacation.

I LOVE TESSA BAILEY. She hits it out of the park every time. Steamy, spicy romance with surprisingly complex character development for a rom-com - plus a gorgeous Napa setting.

I so desperately wanted to love this book and was so excited to get Bailey's new release. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.

Pros:
The writing was really good and the universe and descriptions that Bailey gave were great.
I liked that Hallie is a plus-size curvy heroine. Romance needs to show the variations in female bodies instead of showing women who only look one way.
I liked that neither Hallie nor Julian were perfect. They both had their flaws and it was refreshing to read about characters with real issues instead of "issues" that really aren't that big of a deal (like a character who's main flaw is that she can' seem to get her hair right).
I liked Julian's growth as a character and with his mental health. He started off in a place that wasn't very healthy, and it was nice to see him grow and change for the better since anxiety is something that requires continual work to improve.
I also liked Hallie's growth as well. By the end of the book she for sure seemed like a more functional person and gave the impression that she was ready to grow up.

Cons:
I didn't buy the relationship between Hallie and Julian at all. This is my biggest issue with this book. I normally don't mind an opposites attract romance if it seems like the characters are still compatible, however, Hallie and Julian weren't compatible at all. Their personalities and lifestyles were completely at odds with each other. Additionally, the basis for their relationship made no sense to me. Hallie apparently had a crush on Julian from when she was 14. A 15 year long crush has prevented her from having any other type of romantic relationship or intimate connection with another person, over a man that she didn't know. She and Julian were not friends, they didn't grow up together, she knew nothing about him aside from the basic things you know about another person when you go to school together and are acquaintances (at best). In any situation, people would consider Hallie's unrealistic infatuation with Julian to be weird and unhealthy. Hallie essentially has the equivalent of a celebrity crush on Julian, the difference being that Julian isn't a celebrity and this crush had turned the point where it has prevented Hallie from making healthy romantic human connections with people that she actually does know. This leads me into Julian's interest in Hallie which seems to be mostly physical. While both characters do get to know each other a little bit, I simply didn't buy their connection as more than a passing fling for either of them. Hallie's strange infatuation/hero worship of Julian was simply too much for me. If she had been able to have at least one relationship when she was younger or something to at least prove that her interest in Julian wasn't an obsession, maybe I could've gotten on board more. As it is, I just didn't really like their relationship.
Another issue I had, I wish Hallie had not been a virgin. This is an all too common trope in romances that the heroine is a virgin and it's simply unnecessary. While I appreciated that it was not a central part of the plot and it wasn't mentioned too much, I just wish Hallie had been able to experience a relationship with another person before Julian.
Hallie's character also read as completely detached from reality for me. I couldn't stand Hallie for a good chunk of the book because she just seemed flakey and irresponsible. She did not run her business well at all, it's frankly a miracle she didn't go out of business considering that unless someone wants to pay her to do whatever she wants whenever she wants then she completely bails. I also thought her whole thing with uncorked was just ridiculous. It wasn't until the cheese incident that I actually understood why Hallie didn't like having that business in town. Before that she just seemed like an unhinged individual that couldn't move on from the past.

Overall, I gave this book 3 stars instead of 2 because I still adore Tessa Bailey and think that this book simply wasn't my cup of tea. I'm going to try listening to the audio version when it's released next year to see if it changes my opinion of the book. However for now, I am just not a fan of this book. I've read all of Bailey's releases since Fix Her Up and just didn't find this book to be in the same ballpark as her other releases. I would still recommend giving this book a chance since it very well might be your cup of tea, but for me, it wasn't what I was expecting. However, I am excited for Natalie's book.

SECRETLY YOURS is the latest masterpiece from the incredible author, Tessa Bailey! I have loved Bailey's previous releases including IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER and HOOK, LINE AND SINKER; so I was so excited to hear the news of this new release. Upon the title getting downloaded on my device, it truly only took 48 hours for me to finish it. The chemistry in this book was absolutely explosive that I truly could not stop reading. I just needed Hallie and Julian to be together and in love. Some of the tropes in this book were a few of my favorites, and set in the background of the vineyard; this book truly excelled on so many parts. I am so excited for readers to get Julian and Hallie's beautiful story in their hands come February. Tessa Bailey has done it again and I am already ready to see what she does next!

I finally gave up on this book after reaching the halfway mark. I didn't find anything about it enjoyable - not the characters or the plot. I kept wanting to like it because I have enjoyed several other books by this author but I finally just pulled the plug.

Hallie and Julian had a slow burn that exploded into flames once they got past themselves. Both felt like they had things to prove to everyone when they just needed to accept who they are. This is a great story with great characters, and I can’t wait for more from this series!

Tessa Bailey delivers another heartwarming yet arousing contemporary romance.

Chaotic, sunshine, and free-spirit Hallie has had a long time crush on structured, serious, and sometimes grumpy Julian since high school. Now that he is back in their hometown Hallie finally gets the courage to tell him how she feels via an anonymous drunken secret admirer letter. Slight problem since Hallie started a gardening project at Julian's family vineyard, they have actually started getting to know each other and like each other in real life as adults. Too bad this not only is this pesky love letter betting in the way so are other things and a rival gardener Owen. Can these two short things out to get their happily every after, read "Secretly Yours" and find out.

Possible trigger warnings: anxiety and anxiety attacks, alcohol use as coping, fire, dysfunctional family dynamic, and loss of family member.

Troupes: virgin, grumpy sunshine, possessive man, miscommunication.