👰🏻‍♀️Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey⚓️ This is book 2 in the “A Vine Mess” series that takes place in Napa Valley. I loved Natalie in book 1, so I was excited for her to get her own story. Although there is reference to book 1, you can definitely skip and read this as a standalone. Off the bat, Natalie and August have amazing banter and chemistry that really set the stage. Tropes include enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and small town. August’s golden retriever energy was endearing, as was Natalie’s independence and desire for authenticity. I loved the character arcs and growth, and the spice was peak Tessa Bailey. TB said in the prelude that these were some of her favorite characters and it shows. I really enjoyed this book! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Special thanks to Avon Books for an eARC courtesy of Net Galley.

August needs a business loan and Natalie needs her trust fund which states she needs right be married. So what do they do? A fake marriage of course!

This one was so cute and a little spicy! August is so sweet but also so hilarious. He’s just going to say what he thinks and sometimes it works for him but sometimes it gets him in trouble 🤣 Natalie is trying to come back from her fiancé breaking up with her after losing her job. She never really fit in anywhere and that’s one point in the book that comes up a lot.

Natalie and August seem like they can’t stand each other but some unexpected twists make you think otherwise. Will they be the ultimate dream team or end their marriage before it can even start?

Another good one in this series!

This is a royally hilarious romantic story. Readers will laugh so hard at the witty and delicious conversations between Natalie and August. As Natalie tries to reclaim her place in the Napa Valley, August is busy trying to make a name for himself by creating wine. Natalie is Napa royalty and August is a former Navy SEAL. They team up for a fake marriage that leads to all kinds of hilarious antics. Readers are going to be absolutely enamored and entertained by this page turning story. It is a wonderful love story and a delight to the senses.

i had high hopes for the next installment in this series and i'm so happy it ended up being a win! tessa bailey excels at the "man obsessed" trope and this book lives up to its older siblings in that department.

i will say though, the beginning of this book was a little rough for me. i'm not a big fan of hate-to-love in a contemporary setting because the "banter" always gets a little mean (i am sensitive so it also could just be me hurting my own feelings). some of the comments august (our mmc) would say to natalie (our fmc) were so hurtful and i gasped at his audacity!! however, once we moved past the jabs and moved into the obsessed swoony tessa bailey hero archetype, i was sold. august and natalie have a very whirlwind romance filled with sexual tension and suppressed feelings and i was glad to be part of the ride. and ofc like always this book was very horny in classic TB fashion.

i wish, however, that they would have gotten married sooner in the book because it was towards the 40-50 percent mark that the wedding in this "marriage of convenience" book finally took place. I would have LOVED some more classic forced proximity and "fake dating" vibes. also... some of the "dirty talk" was a little cringey but besides that very solid tessa bailey installment. anyone who loves her books will enjoy this one.

thank you Avon and Netgalley for the ARC (advanced reader's copy) in exchange for an honest review. This book comes out on June 6!!

Tessa Bailey really does escapist spicy rom-coms well, and her latest installment was a fun enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience romp. I really liked these two characters and their growth over the course of the book, and I loved the setting in wine country. Quick and easy fun beach read.

This one was a cute enemies to lovers! Tessa Bailey is a great cozy escape and I enjoy her books a lot.

I loved this enemies to lovers marriage of convenience romcom! I will admit I didn’t love Secretly Yours so I was a little nervous, but this had all the humor and heart and dirty talking fans of Tessa Bailey would expect. We met both Natalie and August in Secretly Yours, but I think you’d be okay reading this one as a standalone.

Natalie has returned home to Napa after losing her high powered career and fiance all with one bad business decision. She needs her trust fund in order to start a new company, but the terms of the trust say she must be married in order to inherit. August Cates is a former marine, new to the winemaking industry, but has sunk all his money into a vineyard that keeps producing terrible wine. The two strike an agreement, they’ll marry in order for her to receive her trust fund and him to make the connections needed in Napa to secure a business loan.

August is one of my favorite Tessa heroes, just totally dumbstruck by his feelings and attraction for Natalie. He’s one part golden retriever, one part Marine veteran dedicating his life to fulfilling his fallen brother’s dream. He’s large and strong with a totally soft and gooey middle and I just love when the guy falls first.

Natalie was also a great character, everyone underestimates her and I loved how she proved herself capable. They constantly butt heads, leading to some truly excellent banter and the forced proximity leads to a lot of sexual tension (though, technically, this is sort of a slow burn).

I really had a great time reading this!

I've been on a quest to find a fun, Napa set novel (I live an hour and some change from Napa) and I pleasantly found it in Unfortunately, Yours! Tessa Bailey knows her way around a steamy novel and this one was great! I very much enjoyed the marriage of convenience trope and August was truly book boyfriend goals -- he was the hero that we all needed.

This is book was outstanding. We have grumpy/sunshine, marriage of convenience, he falls first, and banter that is just freaking amazing 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Oh and lots of dirty talk that leads to very satisfying spice. August and Natalie are both needing money. August needs it to continue building his winery and Natalie needs capital to get her investment consulting company started. Why not get married to release Natalie’s trust fund and put the Vos name closer to August’s winery for that loan he has been applying for.

So when these two come together… how does faking their love come so easily? 🫠 The chemistry they naturally have and fight against is so good. This is genuinely an enjoyable love story that i never wanted to end. It made my heart so happy and i couldn’t get enough of these two.

Last thing, August Cates is next level book HUSBAND. I will stan for this man til the end of time. Oh and the EPILOGUE 😭😭 perfection.

Thank you for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was very good and one of the stronger books for bailey in my opinion - I will read the first one in the series now too. Good character development

Before reading this book, I was unfamiliar with Tessa Bailey’s writing, but when I saw her books being recommended by several authors and readers on IG, I was excited to check them out. These recommendations were from people who more often than not feature (or write) closed door romances, so I assumed this would be the same and didn’t look any further into her previous works as I should have! So, that’s definitely on me… I was certainly surprised to find this not to be the clean romance I was expecting and prefer to read!! Ooh boy… the doors were very much open and the language was strong. But again, that’s definitely on me for not doing my due diligence before picking this one out. That said, the writing was good and the story interesting from what I read, but there were definitely too many parts to skip over for me personally to fully be able to just enjoy it anyway. I can certainly see why readers who DO enjoy those spicier books would enjoy this book though. It’s just not something that I personally enjoy myself!!

** Complimentary copy received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Ever since Natalie and August clashed in Secretly Yours, I've been excited for this book. I couldn't wait for the enemies to lovers marriage of convenience situation that was about to play out between them. And ultimately, I wasn't disappointed!

Natalie and August are both stuck, needing money to pursue their dreams and unable to get it without each other. So they decide to get married. Even though every time they interact, they end up fighting. What could possibly go wrong? (Spoiler: everything but also they fall in love.)

The banter between these two characters was definitely the star of Unfortunately Yours (other than, of course, Menace the cat). It was simultaneously hilarious and biting, always pushing the limit on what was too far and forcing both characters to acknowledge the humanity of their opponent. The fact that the banter didn't fade as they left their enmity behind was a bonus; it changed shape some, but continued to help them learn more about each other.

There was also a lovely emotional depth to this story, between August's grief over the loss of his best friend and Natalie's need for recognition and acknowledgment from her family. The weight of those motivations helped to ground the story and make every little bit of character growth that much more satisfying. But even with that depth, the book doesn't stop being fun and funny, which resulted in a really nice balance. Also, August is a himbo king and I love him.

I can't quite put my finger on any specific flaws, other than maybe a little bit of pacing oddness in the love story and occasional sloppiness in the dialogue. But overall, a great time that took me through a surprising range of emotions and was easy to devour in a day and a half.

4.5/5

Another great installment from Tessa Bailey! I loved the banter, the setting, and the overall "trope." Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey is a must-buy author for me. She nails it every time, but she really hit it out of the park with this one. I am an avid romance reader, but it takes a lot for me to declare a character worthy of the "book boyfriend" title - and August, the male love interest in Unfortunately Yours, more than earned the title. This former Navy SEAL turned aspiring winemaker is sarcastic and flirtatious with a heart of gold and has ruined me for other men, fictional or not.

August and Natalie have sizzling physical chemistry but can't stop bickering - but they don't let that stand in their way when they decide to fake a marriage to help both of them secure their financial futures. Natalie needs to be married in order to meet the terms of her trust fund, and August hopes that marrying the daughter of a famous California vineyard owner will make him more trustworthy to secure an investment from the local bank, despite his first vintage being completely undrinkable. Anyone who has ever picked up a romance novel knows where this is going, but Tessa Bailey keeps the fake-marriage-leading-to-true-love trope fresh and engaging. I was so deeply engrossed in every page, really rooting for these two to figure it out and make it work despite their differences. And yeah, the spice scenes definitely do not disappoint.

If you're a long-standing Tessa Bailey fan, you'll love Unfortunately Yours, and if you're new to her writing, you're in for a treat. Definitely add this one to your TBR, and thank me later!

Natalie, a once lived a successful life in the New York finance world. Upon one bad investment decision, she was ousted from her career and dumped by her fiancé... ending her up back in her hometown in the Napa Valley vineyard scene. She meets August, a retired Navy SEAL who is failing at wine making. They immediately spark, but it is followed by an insult, which turns them into enemies. To access her trust fund and for August to get a bank loan, they enter into a marriage of convenience.

I want to start by saying I read "Secretly Yours" and I liked it, but I found Julian and Hallie's story a bit strange and chaotic. I LOVED "Unfortunately Yours". It was funny, the banter from these enemies to lovers did not disappoint. August doesn't play games and never wavers with his feelings, which is also refreshing. I thoroughly enjoyed this story!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

I was so excited to read Natalie and August’s story and it did not disappoint! Natalie is desperate to get a fresh start with the help of her trust fund. The only catch is her father won’t let her access it until she is married and has a job. Enter August, he’s fed up with the wine business and ready to leave town. Until he gets an interesting proposition from Natalie Vos. But a marriage of convenience just could lead to something more.

I love the banter between Natalie and August! And I cannot get enough of stories where he falls first…swoon! Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

Natalie and August are contempo-rom-com goals. They have the banter, the witty back and forth, and they have the hidden feelings for each other. The ways in which August so clearly cares about Natalie throughout the entire book is beyond heartwarming and swoon-worthy.

August is protective without being overbearing, he accepts Natalie for who she is completely. Natalie is this independent force of a woman, who so much needs an August in her life.

Their marriage of convenience is pure perfection filled with my pauses for happy squeals and who doesn’t love a King that loves the Kitty? The Kitty that he called “The Queen”; they also have a cat named Menace. The amount of times I had to stop reading to have an explosion of giddiness escape my body—too many to count.

Tessa Bailey... you are a goddess that has been brought to use by the book gods🕊

The most iconic line ever = "Your tits look insane"

I was so ready for Natalie and Augusts story after reading Secretly Yours and you guys...... I AM ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED WITH THEM!!!! This book defiantly has a heavier setting then the first book had but it was so perfectly done. We get to know more about Natalie and her struggles, August and his background and what had him opening a vineyard (which was pretty sad).

"All her life, she offered herself as a friend, a fiancé, a coworker, a sister, and a daughter, and at some point her presence-and even love- was rejected."
^^this really hit hard

Ms. Bailey really went into writing this book with the wanting to show us what an actual men obsessed looks like, because MY MAN Austins is the definition of men obsessed.

"This women was...him. She was why he'd come"

The way he cares and learns everything he can about Natalie is what she deserves after what she's been through. Like my man was so protective of her, GAAAHHH just thinking about the way he is with her is making me all giddy. Natalie my girl, I freakin love her. She takes no BS from anyone, and reading the way she heals with the help of August was so perfect💜💜💜

"I won't ask again, August. I don't like to repeat myself"
"Sure about that? You called me a dumbass at least ninety-four times"
*I WAS CACKALING HAHAHA

The banter between these two was the best that Tessa has written. The spice, HOLY GRACE🥵 I was blushing so hard, August has best BDE!!!
"They fought like they hated each other, but somehow, lord, he'd been ready to drop to his knees in front of her"
They are the definition of soulmates🤍🤍🤍

JUST THE WHOLE BOOK IS SO FREAKIN GREAT AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH. That epilogue was so perfect🕊🕊

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this amazing book🤍🤍🤍

"Unfortunately Yours" by Tess Baily unfortunately consumed my life. And by unfortunately I mean, it was a great freaking book that consumed my thoughts till I was able to complete it. I actually enjoyed this book even more than "Secretly Yours". They dynamic between August and Natalie was spicy from all the tension, adorable from the growth, and charming from the communication. I hate how in books, a couple's relationship problems can be fixed by a conversation they refuse to have. That was not the case with this book. I loved how August was able to communicate his thoughts and feelings with Natalie. Overall this was another hit from Tessa Bailey!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book. I did enjoy both the characters of August and Natalie but unfortunately I just did not connect with this story at all. I thought a lot of the dialogue was very cheesy and overall, there were way too many pointless miscommunications which is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to books. I love the marriage of convenience trope and enemies to lovers, but I don’t think it translated well in this book, unfortunately.