Tessa Bailey is the queen of spicy, dramatic stories with depth! "Unfortunately Yours" brings you back to Napa for more of a story filled with romance and fun.

Book one in this series fell flat for me, but August and Natalie made up for it in all the best ways. Their banter, their tension and chemistry, the setting and even their trauma made for such a great read. I loved them together on page so much and was rooting for them the entire time. Enemies to lovers only works sometimes for me and I was a little worried that they were going to be too mean. But when you get to know them and the thoughtfulness behind their teasing, you love it so much. This was a book that I just needed to finish and I am so glad that I got to read and review. This is the Tessa that we know and love.

How does Tessa do it? If you are a Tessa Bailey fan or romance reader in general you will love Unfortunately Yours. Tessa's approach to the marriage of convenience trope was new to me. Unfortunately Yours was the first dual POV marriage of convenience book I've read. By Immediately offering August's persepective the reader gets to experience some of the thoughts and feelings behind the banter from the very beginning. And believe me the banter between Natalie and August is adorable! I typically don't enjoy marriage of convenience books, but the situations the characters found themselves in to force the plot combined with the the dual pov really made Unfortunately Yours stand out. I can't wait to read whatever Tessa is writing next!

oh this was perfect. this is tessa bailey at her BEST. so many good aspects here and such an interesting type of enemies to lovers where they ARE enemies but only because they think the other one is hot. im OBSSESSED. honest to god my favorite hero and i want so much more content of them!

This was a very solid Tessa Bailey book, but not nearly as good as the first in the series for me!

Let’s get into the good: a prickly, funny, empathetic, and sometimes sad wall-street woman MC moves back to her home in Napa after being asked to leave her job, and subsequently being broken up with by her fiancé. Natalie is a lovable, fun and complicated character. She was one of the highlights of this book for me. August is an ex navy SEAL who is trying to run a crumbling winery in the memory of his best friend, who died in the field. I think my experience with August was a bit mixed, because on paper he seems wonderful. He’s a golden retriever hero with a big heart, who speaks before he thinks and routinely gets himself into trouble for it. This is typically a recipe I love, but on page the way august was actually executed felt… flat? Like I never quite connected with him as much as I wanted to. And as a result of that, I also didn’t feel the connection between Natalie and him.

The spice is good, as it always is with Tessa Bailey. However, I sound the dialogue in this book to be much more awkward that usual, both inside the bedroom and out. I also found myself a little sad with the ending as far as what Natalie ends up giving up, but I won’t get too deep into that to avoid spoilers here.

Ultimately though, this was a completely bingeable and fun read. It explores some slightly more heavy topics, especially with the grief August is experiencing over his best friend, although I didn’t feel the depth of this quite the same way I have in other TB books. I enjoyed it for the spice, antics, and setting of being back in St. Helena, which I fell in love with in Secretly Yours. Definitely worth a read, just not my favorite from TB.

Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eArc of this one!

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
Pub day is June 6 🎉

I loved this *marriage of convenience* romance! It's not just a fake engagement. They really do it, these crazy kids get married! 💍💒🔔

Natalie Vos, a Napa wine heiress, wants to start her own hedge fund, but she needs capital. She has a trust fund, but no access to it until she is married. August Cates is trying to start a wine business in honor of his best friend, but it's going terribly and he is desperate for a loan. Natalie and August have equal parts chemistry and animosity, and yet they find themselves agreeing to marry in order to benefit both of their business dreams. No chance of catching feelings, they are sure. . .

🍷I loved August. He has a sad Navy SEAL back story and is making wine for his best friend's legacy. He's so soft and sweet sometimes, but he was dreamed up by Tessa Bailey so he's also dirty talking, crude, and bossy in all the best ways.
🍷The cutest bickering and banter 😍
🍷Did I tear up during this wedding!? Yes.
🍷He calls her princess.👸I decided I like it.
🍷Well balanced: sweet, funny, and emotional!
🍷I read that TB said August is one of her favorite heroes and NOw I KNOW WHY! He is amazing.
🍷There is a part in the book where Natalie and August have a fight, but they resolve it immediately. It's a quick one--not the third act conflict. I just loved this scene and the one before it. Lots of intimacy building happened in this chunk of the book!
🍷The *my wife* energy is so strong in this one. This is why MoC is so good. When the hero is clearly head over heels and has to pretend the marriage is not about love, but when he says "my wife" and is suddenly feral, possessive, and clearly attached... it's the best part!!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Avon!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one because even though I’ve read a lot of Tessa Bailey’s books, I felt like overall this one had a little more heart and depth to it. Especially compared to the first novel in this connected series. The grumpy/grumpy vibe of the couple was hilarious and made their romance even more adorable, and the marriage of convenience plot line was the stuff of 2000s rom coms. This one was definitely a fun quick read!

I loved this enemies to lover and loved the banter between august and Natalie. Loved the family and how this s marriage of convenience worked out. she has become an auto read author for me.

After a mishap at work cost Natalie Vos her job and fiancé, she has no choice but to crawl back to her family's vineyard in Napa. It only takes a few weeks of drowning her sorrows in countless bottles of wine before Natalie decides enough is enough. She's ready to take back the finance world by storm but needs the funds to do it. After she discovers she can't touch her trust fund without being married first, she devises a plan. August Cates has no business owning a winery, but it was his late best friend's dream, so he'll stick it out. But with no bank willing to give him a loan, he's running out of options. So when Natalie suggests they tie the knot to help each other, he can't say no. All they have to do is pretend to be married for a while; how hard could it be? There's only one tiny problem: neither was planning on falling in love.

I didn't like the first book in this series, so I was a little hesitant to pick this up. I'm happy to report I thought it was great. I loved the chemistry between Natalie and August. They were both hot-headed and sassy. One minute they were at each other's throats, the next, they were ripping clothes off, and I was here for the drama. Usually, I'm not the biggest fan of the super alpha-male love interest, but it worked so well here. August was protective and macho but also a lovable goofball. It was so satisfying watching him and Natalie let their guards down and be vulnerable with one another. I loved seeing Natalie let herself breathe and be seen by August. Aside from the ending feeling a bit rushed, I did have one other nit-picky issue with this which was that August has a cat who we see for a little bit in the beginning, but then never really hear about again. Whenever authors do that, part of my focus is always on who's taking care of the pet rather than on what's going on, which I know is totally irrational. Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

Tess Bailey knows how to write spice and romance!!!! AHHHHH I really like this! In the last book I was so excited to read about this couple. This was funny and the banter was everything!!!

I think I have a new favorite hero, August from Unfortunately Yours. He’s basically a giant cinnamon roll, that can bench press you, while also saving kittens out of trees, but all he really wants is to love you and make you smile.

Yes, I can get behind that kind of hero.

August’s dirty talk was *chef’s kiss*, and the chemistry between him and Natalie was hot and sizzling. While their relationship starts as a marriage of convenience with a smidge of hate-to-lovers, their true feelings came out so quick. Both Natalie and August were so supportive of each other it hurts.

A minor issue that wasn’t really a third-act break-up ensues, but once again, communication and talking reign supreme.

Unfortunately Yours is the kind of Tessa Bailey book I will read over and over and over.

Thank you to Avon Books for the review copy!

The second in Tessa's Bailey's newest series, Unfortunately Yours is a uber fun, deliciously spicy enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience read. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and their banter—it's a love story filled with jabs, pokes, and a whole lot of heart.

Gahhh the chemistry was amazing in this book. I loved Natalie & August's banter and again the chemistry was awesome. I also loved the fake marriage trope in this, I've learned I'm a sucker for that trope. This was definitely my favorite book in the series.

This one was fun as hell, which I always think is what Tessa Bailey is going for. Marriage of convenience is my absolute catnip, and she pulled it off here. Bravo!

All hail Tessa Bailey - queen of writing dirty talkers and the MOST memorable characters. August Cates is seriously one of the best heroes I have a read in a long time. I really liked Natalie as well - but the star of this book is August. I am still smiling thinking about their relationship and so many of the moments in the story. August is a good guy. A truly good guy - with some PTSD and serious grief. Losing his friend - who truly seems like he was more than just a friend or brother to August - broke him in ways he is still trying to work through. He's fiercely independent and definitely his own worst enemy when it comes to Natalie. But he is also incredible loyal and GONE for her (something I love about Tessa Bailey heroes - there is just something so sexy about a man completely over the moon for his partner).

But more than that - Natalie and August are just fire together. I will never forget the scene at the Wedding where they play Brick House. That scene will live rent free in my head, playing like a movie reel for a long time to come. Or really just the whole wedding. Really - a navy seal brings his cat, dressed in a tuxedo, to his wedding. Is that not enough for you?

My only gripe about the book is one I have about a lot of books where we are focused on one character who needs to do some work on themselves. And August definitely needed to do so more work. But I think as much as Natalie did deserve to have August and her family step up for her - she also needed to do some work. I think she had started t0 - but I am not sure she really recognized her own part in things. But that is really a small thing in the grand scheme of a really really great book.

This is definitely a must-read. I was very very lucky to received an ARC of this via NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

This Book is everything is was supposed to be! 5 million trillion stars.. Tessa is always a buy it now book.. This book did not disappoint at all!

I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one but I still had some qualms about it. I didn't really see the enemies part of the enemies-to-lovers; I'm not even sure when/why they stopped disliking(?) each other. I'm also not quite clear on why they were "enemies" in the first place. I would have loved if the book took a deeper dive into that, as well as August's and Natalie's backgrounds individually. Natalie seems to have an abundant amount of knowledge regarding winemaking but this doesn't really get talked about much, which I'm kind of surprised about considering this series is called A Vine Mess. As for August, I think his journey into owning a vineyard would have also been interesting. Personally, I feel like this book didn't really have as much sustenance as it could have because it doesn't really focus on the plot. This book was mostly about August and Natalie's physical relationship. It left me wanting more build up to their relationship; everything happens almost too quickly. There were definitely some very cute/swoony moments between them but I just couldn't connect to the characters. Overall, this book just felt very surface level and I would have loved if the author explored more with the characters' backgrounds as well as their feelings. There was a lot of telling but not enough showing done with their feelings. Also, I also feel like some things in this book were very random (ex: Menace the cat, Julian and Corinne's relationship with Natalie, etc.).

Loved the follow-up story of Natalie and August. A definite enemies to lovers Natalie and August didn't care for each other (or did they?) when they first met. Always arguing with each other. But Natalie needs her trust fund so she can go back to NY and August needs a loan from the bank to improve his winery. The two decide to have a "fake" wedding and things take a turn for the best.

I was glad that Natalie got to have her own story. The two characters were great together.

Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC.

📚 Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
⭐️ 4 / 5
💕 A much anticipated sequel from TB which was positively steamy. I loved the creative spin on marriage of convenience and he-falls-first tropes, and the honesty from both characters from the start. This is a fresh take on romance and I enjoyed it. However the pace just slowed for me near the end and it made me lose excitement for the story. I also at times found August to be too intense to be realistic. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Having loved Yours Truly (and others by Tessa Bailey), I knew this would be a great read. However, I did not anticipate just how much I would enjoy it!

I love how this author tends to create short “series” types of stories which work so well standalone books. I shy away from series as they feel like a commitment that I can’t always stick with but these “book twins” are ideal if you ask me.

If you were into the spice and tropes of Bailey’s other books, you’ll love Unfortunately Yours.