Tessa Bailey never fails.
A marriage is convience romance with the PERFECT tension and close proximity?
Like I’m telling you this book will have everything your looking for and this is by far my fave written book by Tessa Bailey that I ended up getting a physical copy.
Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

August and Natalie are a couple that shouldn't really work together, but they complement each other so well. They're both extremely strong-willed, which ends up making their marriage of convenience work so well. I loved reading their story after their characters were introduced in Secretly Yours, and I loved the epilogue even more.

Overall, I liked the second installment of the series much more than I liked the first, but both are incredible.

*Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager, Tessa Bailey, and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.*

Tessa Baileys writing is GOLD! Her characters are so in depth and you get truly invested in their story. Highly recommend!

Unfortunately Yours was a true delight. The story revolves around Natalie Vos, who returned to Napa after parting ways with her fiancé and job. She runs a successful business and is intelligent, but nobody, not even her family, wants to hear her opinions. Although Natalie is having a good time in Napa, she misses the bustling city of New York. She won't be able to return if she doesn't have the money to support her ideas. Her trust fund is the only way to access money quickly, and the only way to access that is to get married.

August and Natalie were actual people, not just two characters on a page. Mainly when it came to her relationship with her family, Natalie was a character in which I could see myself. August was incredibly silly, naive, and cute. After meeting them in Secretly Yours, I was very interested in Natalie and August, but I was hesitant to read their story because I wasn't too fond of the first book. I was surprised that August and Natalie's story deals with more challenging issues like alcoholism, PTSD, and growing up in an unhappy household because Tessa's writing usually has a lighter tone. The best banter was that between August and Natalie. They fought for the entire duration of the book, and I loved all of it. They couldn't help but hurt each other's feelings at first because they didn't know each other, but they always knew how to say sorry and stop prodding the painful areas.

Tessa Bailey deserves praise for her skill at fusing heartfelt moments, humor, and spice. The book is enjoyable because it balances fun entertainment and in-depth emotional exploration. Add Unfortunately Yours to your to-read list if you're looking for a hot rom-com that will make you smile and swoon.

While better than Secretly Yours - this was not my favorite Tessa Bailey story. I'm not sure what it is about this series, but it doesn't hit the mark for me - while others have found it engaging, I still find myself looking for the character development from It Happened One Summer (which I absolutely LOVED!) - while cute and steamy, this just felt forced and not for me.

Good thing it's a book about wine - you'll definitely need it.

Thanks to Net Galley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

But then I picked up UNFORTUNATELY YOURS and fell in love even more with the series. It’s fun, heartfelt, and has some real depth in the characters. I loved Natalie and August together, their chemistry, and how they worked to help each other.

I’m excited for book three (I hope there will be a book three!?)!

I didn't get a chance to finish the full book before it expired. I was at 80% and this is the Tessa Bailey I love. The fake marriage, enemies to lovers was perfect. Tessa nails enemies to lovers every time. The banter between the two main characters was perfect. I thought at times August seemed a little intense, but I loved the "he fell first" aspect and overall from what I read I loved. I'm going to order this book so I can finish and I can't wait!

This was my first Tessa Bailey book but will NOT be my last. The tropes in this book are all of my favorites and then some. The characters are relatable, the tension is palpable, the slow burn is agonizing (but oh so worth it).
I loved the pacing and tone in this book. Dual POV!
LOVE LOVE LOVE
This book is the second in the series but can be read as a standalone.

The major thing I noticed about this book was that I was not beat on the head repeatedly about the masculinity of the male lead and the small delicate femininity of the female lead. It was there for sure but it was the La Croix equivalent of gender essentialism and not a musty sock in my face equivalent. Progress!

That certainly made it easier to enjoy the romance and the smut. The characters had great chemistry, the family dynamics were interesting, and the humour was very Tessa Bailey typical.

I don’t know why we needed to have a navy seal lead in this era of acknowledging the harmful nature of American imperialism across the globe especially when done for the sake of “man in uniform” with no critical understanding of the implications of that job.

Overall fun! But I think we can get more intentional with the choices in character profession.

Classic Tessa Bailey at her best! Witty, sassy, steamy, and a hero who falls first!

This marriage of convenience story set in the wine world of Napa is a fun take on a trope that isn’t done as often anymore in contemporary (and is one of my faves!)

I enjoyed the banter between Natalie and the alpha-cinnamon roll August Cates. The only reason this isn’t five stars is some of the clinical language used in the steamy scenes pulled me out, otherwise I enjoyed the ‘vintage’ immensely

Tessa had me intrigued by her Acknowledgements wherein she briefly discusses how she chose to write her version of an Enemies to Lovers story (one that is met with harsh words but sincere thoughts) but had me completely hooked with the opening line of chapter one (a line that may or very much may involve August and his 🍆). And from then on, there was never a moment wherein I wasn't either tearing up from the emotional turmoil these two were going through, laughing my butt off from all the clever quips and hilarious banter being dished out, fanning myself from all super steamy bed scenes and the dirty! talk! or clutching my heart from how soft these two were with each other at the most unexpected but impactful times.

I absolutely fell in love with Natalie and August and I could seriously read another book just filled with their story from where we're left off prior to the epilogue. We're fortunate enough to witness both their developments as individuals and as a couple, and I would love to see their hard work come to fruition even more. I was cheering for both of them from start to finish and I was so happy with the paths they both chose to take.

Unfortunately Yours is Tessa Bailey at her best and I honestly cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next. I already know it's going to be a whole lot of fun with an extra helping of sexiness. And just two add-ons: 1) The male wife/no.1 Natalie simp award goes to August 🥇 and 2) Give me more of Hallie effing sh!t up! I absolutely adored how chaotic she was in this book and I hope we get to see more of her and her shenanigans.

I think I’m quickly becoming a fan of the marriage of convince trope and this one did not disappoint. This was a fun read - a little too corny at times, but fun nonetheless.

Thoughts:
-I liked Natalie a lot. She was a little rich and bratty at the start, but she grew on me and just wanted to be seen and heard by her family
-August was a little too closed off and stubborn for me, but I liked the reasoning behind him starting a winery
-I enjoyed their chemistry, but I didn’t really get how quickly they both agreed to the marriage of convince - it seemed kind of out of the blue
-August calling Natalie princess was (vomit emoji)
-The sex scenes were so corny and cringy. Every way that Bailey wrote their dirty talk or described August’s dick made me want to vomit

All in all, this was a typical Tessa Bailey book. It was a sweet and somewhat steamy romance. If you’re looking for a fun marriage of convince book, check this one out.

Thank you Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for a gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tessa Bailey has done it again! Her swoon worthy second chance romance will give you butterflies and have you taking a cold shower to deal with the spice 😅 This was my first Tessa Bailey read and I’ll be adding everyone of her books to my TBR now.

I LOVED this second installment in the "A VIne Mess" series by Tess Bailey. I didn't enjoy the characters/plot in the first book - Secretly Yours. But, Unfortunately, Yours hit all my marks. Uptight, perfectionist, lost daughter returns home after being fired from her NYC hedge fund and broken engagement. Enter golden retriever, ex-SEAL, cinnamon roll guy that just wants to make the heroine smile......love. I felt the chemistry between these two compared to some other of Bailey's leads. Definitely check this out!

Unfortunately Yours is exactly the kind of book I think of when I think of Tessa Bailey. I am honestly so impressed that she convinced me to enjoy a contemporary marriage of convenience.

Natalie needs her trust fund to get back on her feet and back to Wall Street. The catch? Her conservative father won’t release the trust fund to her until she gets married.

August needs a loan to help the vineyard he created as a legacy for his best friend. The catch? He makes the worst wine in Napa.

Obviously, the only rational way to solve their problems is to enter a marriage of convenience. Natalie gets her trust fund and August is connected to Napa royalty, assuring his bank loan.

What I loved:
💖 the chemistry between Natalie and August - they had perfect insta-attraction combined with enemies-to-lovers to make you root for them
💖 the marriage of convenience set up - I don’t want to spoil anything for you but it is *chef’s kiss*

Unfortunately Yours can be read as a standalone. The characters are briefly introduced in Book 1, but I don’t think you feel like you’d miss out on any context. I found the first book to be pretty repetitive, and didn’t find the conflict keeping the lovers apart to be believable…it was kind of a slow burn for a Tessa Bailey book. So even if you didn’t love book 1, if you typically love Tessa Bailey I would definitely recommend this one!

★ 3.25 / 5

Thank god this book was much better than Secretly Yours!

I was feeling a bit worried after finishing the first book in this duology, so it was a welcomed relief to end this fun "enemies" to lovers/marriage of convenience romance.

Natalie and August are probably the most distinct in my mind of Tessa Bailey characters—maybe that's recency bias speaking—but seriously their story felt like THEIRS. Their personalities as well as their relationship to one another does not feel anywhere close to another romance I've ever read. August also was a perfect blend of sweetness and aloof-maleness. His comments about Natalie's boobs were probably one of the most realistic things I've seen a man say in romance. It made me cackle, and it was nice to see Natalie crack a smile here and there in those moments too.

Also, I gotta say it—the sex scenes were WILDLY hot in this book. The best Tessa has ever written (or that I've read so far). Sorry Bellinger sisters! The sex scene outside during the storm sent me to the stratosphere. I was AGHAST but in the best way possible. There's nothing like good old fashion angsty tension between leads who likes each other wholeheartedly but refuse to admit it!

Controversial opinion, even though the epilogue reveals that Natalie and August are together with a family, I could make the argument that these two would not ultimately end up. I know we aren't supposed to see beyond them getting together in the end before the epilogue, but I needed more time with them to see their relationship grow. It did not feel as realistic as other couples from Tessa, so I had a hard time enjoying that epilogue because it felt like a giant gap of "what if."

The good news is this book showed me that Secretly Yours was just a misstep. I'm very excited to see more of Tessa's work in the future, and thank you to Avon and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was fortunate enough to get an advance reader copy of this book. I've read two books by Tessa Bailey so far, Fix Her Up and Unfortunately Yours. While Fix her up is my favorite of the two. I like the male lead more in this newer book. We are introduced to August Cates right away in the book where we find him at a wine-tasting competition. August Cates is a former Navy SEAL who is on his last chance with his vineyard. If he does not win this competition with his wine he will have to sell his winery and give up his best friend's dream.

Natalie Vos is currently down on her luck. After getting fired from her job in New York and her fiance breaking up with her, she has to move back home to her family Vineyard. Natalie hasn't given up on her dreams just yet. She has a plan to get back to New York and back on top. But she needs help.

I was instantly interested in this book while reading August's POV. Natalie's POV on the other hand wasn't as interesting to me in the first part of the book. As the story progressed I started to get more interested in her chapters as well. I loved watching their relationships shift from failing alone at the beginning of the book to succeeding together by the end. Tessa Bailey shows the changes each character had to make for their relationship to work.

If you enjoy a fast past book along with the marriage of convince, enemies to lovers, and he falls first tropes as I do. I would recommend you try out this book.

Review posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on August 6. 2023

3⭐️

This book is a captivating and emotionally charged romance that skillfully weaves humor and heartache into a compelling narrative. Bailey's engaging writing style draws readers into the lives of its endearing characters, whose witty banter and undeniable chemistry make for an enthralling read. The story's unique premise, featuring a reluctant couple bound by an unusual circumstance, adds a refreshing twist to the genre, while the author's adept exploration of vulnerability and personal growth adds depth to the characters' journey. With its blend of sizzling romance, charming protagonists, and a touch of poignant introspection, "Unfortunately Yours" is a delightful page-turner that leaves readers eagerly anticipating each turn of the page.

Favorite Quote:
"I've been through Hell Week, injuries, training that nearly killed me, giving myself stitches without so much as an Advil. And none of it, Natalie is worse physical torture than being away from you."

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey is easily my fav contemporary romance writer. The way she so magically brings these everyday people characters to life is nothing short of masterful.

I cannot begin to say how relieved I am that I loved this book. Like, thank god. I was so worried because of how much I disliked the first book in this series that this one would be another flop for me. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but an ex-navy SEAL and a badass Wallstreet woman? Sign me up.

Listen. I don't actually know any SEALs, current or former, but I feel like TB actually nailed their personality type with August? He's the perfect balance of almost golden retriever/himbo-like energy, mixed with some boyo charm, and all the protectiveness and fierceness you would expect from a military man. And I ate it up. I loved how much he pushed Natalie and how much they were able to make each other laugh? Even though they didn't realize it, they were both what the other needed. I was so worried there would be a third-act breakup, but I'm so proud of these two for all of their emotional work and communication.

And please don't even get me started on their wedding. I cried in my car in the parking lot listening to those scenes.

I feel like the past few TB books I've read have fell short or been disappointing, but this one really feels like she was getting back to doing what she does best with her writing. Lots of banter, sweet moments, humor, and of course spice! The vibes really reminded me of the Hot & Hammered series, so that was fun to get back to as a reader!