Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey
Series : A Vine Mess #1
Genre : Contemporary Romance
Publisher : Avon
Publication date : February 7th, 2023
A steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor
he clashes with at every turn...
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.
You know reading about secret admirer letters makes me wonder whether people find them cute, creepy or a mix of things? I think it probably depends on the scenario and perhaps the content of the letter? I'd also think it depends on the preferences of the recipient - kinda like Ted Mosby's Dobler-Dalmer theory(how you feel about the other person might make the same actions cute or creepy) on HIMYM, but when it's anonymous would one judge it based on the content or their preferences?
This came to my mind because I finished reading the ARC of Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey this weekend and it had a really interesting premise that I'd been excited for. I love Tessa Bailey's writing and I totally loved the Bellinger sisters series and many other books of hers, but I have mixed feelings about this one 😂😅
We have Hallie - the chaotic, hot mess who runs a gardening business and her high school crush - Julian, a strait-laced professor who's taken a break to work on his book. He's back at his family's estate(they have a winery) and is trying to work on his book when Hallie comes to work on their garden. Despite being complete opposites he finds himself attracted to her and at the same time he receives a secret admirer letter too(written by Hallie of course).
The writing was amazing as always and so were the characters, but what had me feeling a bit eh was the romance. Both Hallie and Julian are excellent as individual characters - relatable and likable, but I just couldn't see them together. They were just too opposite and I didn't really feel that connection - except for the insta-lust between them, I don't know what Julian liked about her. Similarly, Hallie's unrequited crush(girl's literally been cyber-stalking him for years) was explained but I couldn't see why she kept liking him for so many years?
Also, I was a bit disappointed that the secret admirer thing was just a plot point(they could have turned it into a You've Got Mail scenario and showed us how they fell for each other despite being opposites) but it really didn't add much to the story. The plot outside the romance also kept switching between many points - them trying to save a wine shop owned by her grandma's friend and then trying to help Julian's family business(which was something that he'd stayed away from after his dad has berated him for not being capable enough to run it due to his anxiety)
Another weird part was that third act conflict - like I understand why it happened but at the same time I didn't understand why it had to happen🤣 like a simple conversation would have solved it and it did later, but it felt so redundant. Anyway, I enjoyed some parts but I didn't love all of it. You might like it though if you're looking for an opposites-attract romance mixed with some unrequited love that's set in wine country! I'll still be reading Natalie's book because I'm getting such good hate-to-love vibes (and I'd already requested an ARC 😆). Fingers crossed I like that one more!🤞
You can also find my review of the author's other books here :
I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest
review
Tessa Bailey aspires to three things. Writing hot and unforgettable,
character-driven romance, being a good mother and eventually
sneaking onto the judging panel on a reality show baking
competition. She lives on Long Island, New York with her husband and
daughter, writing all day and rewarding herself with a cheese plate
and Netflix binges in the evening. If you want sexy, heartfelt,
humorous romance with a guaranteed happy ending, you’ve come to the
right place.
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