Book Review: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

 A Review of Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey 💌

Secretly Yours is the first book in the Vine Mess series by Tessa Bailey. It's a steamy romcom about a starch professor and the bubbly gardener he clashes with at every turn... 

Plot:

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family's winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she'll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn't the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls' night later, Hallie can't shake the sense that she did something reckless--and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She's eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt--and so unbelievably beautiful, he can't focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he's sucked further into Hallie's orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian's gray-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there's something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

Review:

★★★☆☆

Out of all Tessa Bailey books I have read, Secretly Yours, was my least favorite.

I know going into a Tessa Bailey book, there is going to be lots of swoony and steamy moments, and this book did not disappoint with those, but I felt it was lacking in other areas. 

The characters in this book were flawed and at times didn't seem like a good fit for one another. Julian Vos is uptight, likes to stick to a strict schedule, and quite frankly, can be an asshole at times. Hallie Welch is bubbly, kind, yet immature. Such a perfect combination! Right?!

However, as the story progresses, we get to see their personalities mash in ways that aren't expected. Being around Hallie seems to soften Julian. He slowly learns to live in the moment and not by a schedule. He begins to trust people again and opens himself up to Hallie. He accepts that Hallie is going to be late to everything and falls in love with her because of how carefree she is.

The main reason I read this book was because of the "drunken secret admirer letter" she left for Julian. However, this secret admirer angle didn't really make sense or work in the way Bailey wanted it to. It dragged out the story longer than it should have, and ultimately could have been left out. I wish Bailey had focused more on the secret admirer angle and made it the reason Julian fell in love with Hallie, instead of simply another distraction that prevented them from being together.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. However, I will more likely reread It Happened One Summer, the next time I pick up a book by Tessa Bailey.

Signing off,

Emily Deischer

Links for Purchase:

Target:

https://www.target.com/p/secretly-yours-a-novel-target-exclusive-edition-by-tessa-bailey-paperback/-/A-87665846

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Secretly-Yours-Novel-Tessa-Bailey/dp/0063238985

Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secretly-yours-tessa-bailey/1141447503