I didn’t particularly like the first in this series (Secretly Yours) so I had pretty low expectations going into this one, but I thought this one was waaaaay better. It’s an enemies-to-lovers, fake marriage romance featuring an ex-Navy SEAL turned winemaker and an ex-hedge fund manager whose family is one of the most notable in Napa. Their chemistry was much more believable, the banter was witty and authentic and the sex was 🔥🔥. They also acted like grownups in how they fought and resolved conflict and I liked seeing their relationship grow with them. A solid 4/5.

*NOTE: Review scheduled to be posted on my blog on June 5, 2023. I also plan to post my reading journal for this book to my TikTok (Date TBD). I will add links to these reviews on NetGalley once posted.

Fortunately, I really enjoyed Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey.

Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey is the second book in the Vine Mess duology. The first book, Secretly Yours, was released earlier this year. The second installment follows Natalie Vos, Julian's sister from the first book, after she loses and her job and her fiancee. In order to make her return to New York, Natalie needs the money from her trust fund. There's only one catch: the money won't be released until she gets married. As a result, Natalie fake marries August Cates, a former Navy SEAL who needs money in order to fulfill his friend's dream of owning a winery.

I was hesitant, but hopeful before starting Unfortunately Yours. There were many problems that hindered my reading experience in the first book of this duology. In Secretly Yours, I didn't believe the romance between two the main characters as they felt too different to be compatible. Additionally, I found the backstories and characterization of the two main characters to be a little disorganized and inconsistent. I struggled through the plot, which lacked a strong structure.

That being said, I did see potential in Natalie and August's story from the glimpses of their characters that I saw in Secretly Yours. While Unfortunately Yours wasn't perfect, I definitely enjoyed my reading experience with this installment of the series more than the first book. Overall, Unfortunately Yours has stronger characters, a stronger plot, and a stronger connection to the setting than Secretly Yours.

Let's start with the characters:

Natalie and August are well-developed characters whose motivations and decisions make sense based on their experiences. Natalie views herself as an outcast, both with her family and in the professional world. As a result, she remains deeply guarded and takes offense when she feels like she is shut out by others. Additionally, she has developed negative feelings towards men, as her experience with her father and her trust fund as well as her experience with her fiancee and her engagement seem to hinged on money and doing what they want. These experiences translate into all of her interactions with other people and the decisions she makes throughout the novel.

On the other hand, August lost a friend in the army and is now committed to fulfilling that friend's dream of owning a winery. August feels guilt over his friend's death, so he fiercely protects those that he loves. At the same time, he pushes people away because he feels personal responsibility to make things right by himself. Like with Natalie, these experiences are prevalent in all of his interactions with other people and the decisions that he makes throughout the novel.

Since Natalie and August as so well-developed throughout the story, it adds a character-driven element to the story, which I enjoyed. I appreciated that Natalie and August are very flawed characters and they grow individually as their relationship grows throughout the story. Natalie and August did exactly what I expect in a romance: they challenge each others false beliefs about the world and become a strong couple as a result. Compared to Hallie and Julian, they loved and appreciated each other without putting the other person on a pedestal. Additionally, I found that they complimented each other better and I could see them lasting long after the novel finished.

Now, onto the plot:

Another aspect of Unfortunately Yours that I enjoyed more than Secretly Yours was the plot. In Secretly Yours, I thought that the secret admirer letters would play a larger role in the story and I was disappointed when that wasn't the case. That isn't what happens in Unfortunately Yours as the marriage of convenience trope advertised in the story's synopsis plays a central role to the story. Additionally, I found that the vineyard setting plays a much larger role in this book than the first book in the duology, which I also enjoyed.

Overall, it felt like Unfortunately Yours follows a more cohesive story structure. There's a clear reason why both characters buy into the marriage of convenience. Keeping up the fake marriage causes stakes to be high when Natalie's business and August's loan are on the line. Scenes throughout the book felt purposeful to highlight Natalie and August challenging each other to grow closer as a couple. This book seemed to have more scenes that built on each other compared to Secretly Yours, which helped me stay engaged in the story. I finished Unfortunately Yours in a couple days because the pacing of the story moved quickly wheras it took me about two weeks to finish the first book in this duology.

That being said, I found the last quarter of the book to be weaker than the rest of the story. There's one scene where August does a big, dramatic rescue. For me, I felt like I was already shown August's selfless and protective nature. Since this scene really didn't affect the main plot, it took me a little bit out of the story. I'm not a fan of when it seems like a near-death experience is thrown in to motivate the characters to express their feelings. I feel like their could have been a more character-driven way, or even a different plot-driven way, which could have produced the same result.

Additionally, I found the third act conflict to be a little weak. Throughout the story, readers learn two big secrets which the main characters keep from each other. These secrets hinge on one of the insecurities that the other characters faces. This increases the stakes and seems to set up a huge confrontation in the third act. However, that's not how the story unfolds. While the direction the story goes does make sense based on the characters, it didn't feel like the plot was building to that point. As a a result, I was disappointed to see the two big secrets quickly resolved in the last few pages. This aspect of the plot reminded me so much of the ending to Secretly Yours where a big issue is resolved in a very simple manner in the last minutes of the book.

Final Thoughts:

Unfortunately Yours was what I was looking for in the Vine Mess duology. Overall, I enjoyed the majority of this book and found it to be much stronger than the first book in this duology. That being said, the ending of this book was weaker than the beginning and middle. I give Unfortunately Yours 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I liked Secretly Yours, but I LOVED Unfortunately Yours!
I ate this one up and couldn't put it down.
Tessa Bailey does it again. She writes endearing characters that stand out and vastly in their own ways, while weaving a story of some of the hardest trope hurdles to tackle.
I loved the witty banter between Natalie and August, and laughed out loud a few times because these two were just hilarious together. The sass, the pranks, the falling in love while trying really hard not to, and the ANGST...
Perfection.
And the epilogue was beyond adorable.
Thank you NetGalley, Avon or Harper Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for an ARC of this one. I truly loved it. Unfortunately Yours is set to release on June 6, 2023!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You'd think I'd eat this up. It has enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience which is my favorite trope but I just wasn't hooked. The pacing is somewhat off, the characters aren't really enemies or in denial - they almost clearly are into each other from the jump which is fine but doesn't give me the enemies to lovers tension that I love.

Something was just off with this one for me, I enjoyed it but I didn't eat it up. I usually can read a romance book in a day if not a few days and I practically dragged through this one. Definitely still readable and a fun time just not a new favorite for me.

*ARC Review*

4.5 stars

Uh oh, August Cates might be my favorite Tessa Bailey male character yet....

Unfortunately Yours picks up after Secretly Yours ends with Natalie Vos's story. In Secretly Yours we saw Natalie come back home to Napa after some problems at work and with her relationship. She wasn't cast in a very positive light, so I was worried I would not like her in her story.

I have to say I LOVED the book and Natalie. She had so much more dimension and was wickedly sharp and funny. Unfortunately Yours followed Natalie and her quest to unlock for trust fund so she can start her next project, which in the stipulations requires her to have a job and be married. She turns to her adversary August who is in dire need of a bank loan to keep his struggling cellar open. How Tessa Bailey made the perfect man I will not know. August is a former Navy SEAL who has so much empathy and passion and kindness. He is sensational.

Throughout the book we see non stop banter and a deep love bloom before our eyes.

This book is classic Tessa Bailey and in my opinion is one of her best.

This was a beautiful breath of wine flavored air! I loved it so much....even more than the first one. Natalie was epic. Her rebranding after such a hard blow was simply the best.

August is the new GOAT of book boyfriends.

Marriage of convenience and some book cameos! Loved it!!!

Thanks so much to Avon and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. All thoughts are my own.

I knew after Secretly Yours that I couldn’t wait to hear Natalie’s story and boy was I right. I loved Julian and Hallie’s book so so much, but this one blew me away!
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August was so perfect for Natalie. Also enemies to lovers??? Yes please! Probably the best trope if we’re being honest here.
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This book is full of wit, sarcasm, love, and it had me bawling a few times. I was surprised by that but man was it fantastic.
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4.5/5 🌟

I received this e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey's books are either hit or miss for me. Very few now have been a hit and this one I would consider a hit. I read it fairly fast and never felt bored or done with the book.

I of course had some issues but that's normal. I wasn't the biggest fan of the very fast deciding of the two characters tolerating each other after their enemies' type relationship. Some of the banter was cringe worthy but I have found that's normal in Bailey's writing.

I could not stand Natalie's mom and unfortunately that has been an ongoing thing in the books I've been reading. Authors have been making the mom or parents in general very unlikable.

I did like that August was a veteran and had some bad memories and lost his best friend. I like the character development because of that. Also love a good console from the heroine when the hero has issues with the past memories. Gets me every time.

Was a decent, solid read. Nice surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is the second book in the series, and can be read as a standalone but to see how it all started I'd read Secretly Yours first

CW: death of a loved one (past), grief, PTSD, family tensions, brief mention of past fire, self-medicating with alcohol (past)

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-marriage of convenience
-he falls first and hard
-wife guy
-I hate how attracted to you I am
-denial

August and Natalie had some chemistry in the first book and I was so intrigued to see how these two were going to make it work. They did not get along at all, knowing exactly what buttons to press. But they also just had an inability to see each other and appreciate the things that they saw as flaws about themselves and what no one else appreciated.

August was just a simp for Natalie, not pushing her but gone on her all the same. Loving the pushing and pull of their relationship and just loving her. Ready to defend her, fight for her, and fight with her for their relationship. And this is a TB book so you know he's amazing at the steamy talk, telling her exactly what he wants to do to her, despite the way she tried to fight their attraction and her growing feelings for him.

I love how these two finally got to the point where they could admit that maybe this was something more than a marriage of convenience, all while banging it out in the bedroom. And fiercely independent Nathalie who didn't need anyone to take care of her, but August was there to support her in any way, and let her be a partner in her life.

This was a fun read with just the right mix of banter and sexual chemistry.

Steam: 3.75

4 stars - I really enjoyed ‘Unfortunately Yours” from Tessa Bailey. Natalie needs her to gain access to her trust fund while August needs some funding for his winery. So, these two marry out of convenience to access the monies. However, they share more in terms of lust and fall in love and learn to trust each other. The story is well written, the characters are developed nicely and the steam is pretty steamy!

Please note that this is book 2 in this series from the author. While it is an independent stand alone novel, the characters and some details make so much more sense if you have read book one.

A big “Thank You” to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an advance copy in return for an independent, honest review.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an ARC copy of Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey in exchange for an honest review.

Natalie is bottom of the wine barrel low. After being ousted from her job in New York and unceremoniously dumped by her fiancé, Nat returns to Napa to drink the rest of her inheritance on the family vineyard and plan her next business steps. Unfortunately, those next steps are tied to an archaic rule that she walks down the aisle to a husband. Insert August Cates. August knows nothing about making wine but knows how to spot money when he sees it. And Natalie Voss is his personal walking bank to get his vineyard off the ground and into bottles. It seems like a perfect marriage of convenience except for the fact that the two cannot stand each other. One shotgun wedding later and Natalie and August begin to realize how drunk in love they could actually be.

Enemies to lovers is my bread and butter and Tessa Bailey gave it to us in full swing with Nat and August. The quippy sarcastic comments between these two just built the sexual tension throughout the book. Both characters are hot headed and stubborn which led to great tension between them. I much preferred this to the first book in the series, but that may just be because I like this trope and these characters more. Do not get me wrong, the dialogue can be cheesy as hell, but it had me laughing and made me like Natalie and August more!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I think I like this one just as much if not more than IHOS. It was that good! Natalie and August were a perfect example of enemies to lovers and it certainly didn't hurt that there was a marriage of convenience, forced proximity either, and he falls first. These are all some of my favorite tropes so it was a recipe for success!

August's pov chapters were my favorite and I loved him so much, he had a great voice. I really adored his whole purpose behind starting the vineyard and his marine background too.

I think my only complaint is that, shockingly, there really wasn't that much spice in this? At least compared to Tessa's other books! Don't get me wrong there were definitely some spicy scenes, but they just weren't on the same chili pepper level as her other books. This wasn't a good enough reason to knock a star off, just a little disappointed since Tessa is usually the queen of spice and dirty talk lol

RATING: 2.5/5 STARS

Most Tessa Bailey books really hit for me, but a few... not so much. I did enjoy the first book of this duet but this one didn't live up to my expectations. It had the ingredients that I thought I'd like - enemies to lovers + marriage of convenience - but it was lacking in originality for me! I will read future books by her though, as she is one of the queens of romcoms.

I wasn't into this one! The wine plot didn't engage me and I felt it was a little too cavalier about alcohol abuse.

Unfortunately Yours was a super cute read! August couldn’t have been sweeter when it came to Natalie, it was clear from their first moments on page that he was completely enraptured with her and their banter was excellent! I love a story with a good heart and this one had it in spades—a former Navy Seal trying to bring his dead best friends dream to life and a girl who, despite appearances, never felt like she had a true place; like she was needed. The two have separate dreams they want to fulfil—August wanting to make the vineyard a success and Natalie wanting to start her own finance company in New York. Problem is, neither of them have the money. So, a marriage plan is hatched so she can get her trust fund and he can get a loan from the bank—only thing is, neither of them realize they’re playing for keeps.

Unfortunately Yours is a fun, super sweet read and definitely recommend it with a good glass of Cabernet!

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for the arc!!

Unfortunately Yours, by Tessa Bailey
funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75

This was an interesting take on the marriage of convenience trope! I do enjoy when both parties benefit from the marriage, so it was interesting to me that in this situation, they technically didn't need to get married but they did anyways because of the spark.

I enjoyed this book more than Secretly Yours. I do wish, however, that there was more set up for the main characters without having to read the first book. It really relied on those previous interactions and I think the perspective of those interactions was missing from this book.

The pining made sense (and was great, honestly!) but I wish the overall plot and timeline of the book was longer. I know people can fall in love in three weeks, but more time and story (and character) development would've helped here.

As always, I wish the cat was featured a bit more. :)

Spice was great, as usual! And this book was not as awkward or forced as the first in the series. Loved it.

Wrapping up, the third act was a nice surprise and deviation from the normal and I enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Decently solid read!

Thanks to Avon & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge fan of MoC and this delivered on all fronts. I really enjoyed the setting and the dynamic between Natalie and August. The one thing I wish we got was a wrap up or a little clarity on Natalie's relationship with alcohol, but the message came through (about it being associated with her acting out as a child) enough that it didn't affect my rating. Definitely one of my favorite Tessa Bailey books. She just keeps killing it!

natalie & august’s follow-up is better than the first book. bailey is an auto-read (and always will be), even if some of the dirty talk and/or harried thoughts can be cringey & eye-roll-inducing. tropes such as he falls first, marriage of convenience, & forced proximity are all done well. the main characters can be annoying at times, but i was still anxious to read what came next.

#netgalley

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. Tessa Bailey is truly one of my favorite romance writers. Unfortunately Yours is my new favorite and was such a good follow up to Secretly Yours. August and Natalie were phenomenal characters and I *loved* the enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes in this one!! I feel like
I’m officially in a book slump after reading this gem!!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.5 stars, rated up

After being fortunate enough to read an early copy of the first title of this series (Secretly Yours) and loving it, when I saw this, I requested it and hoped I’d be fortunate enough a second time, and yay!

I started this immediately because I’ve been desperate for Natalie and August’s love story since I was reading Julian and Hallie’s story. This one is a MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE and I am always good with that. I read it over the course of 24 hours because it was like the pages were just turning themselves.

I loved Natalie and August and the two together are terrific. The chemistry between them was fantastic.

I wasn't crazy about some of the energy I felt from this and August's "sexy" talk just left me cringingly cold.

Despite my own issues with this I enjoyed it a lot.

Looking forward to what Ms. Bailey writes next!



Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the DRC!