Reviews with content warning for Grief - Hook, Line, and Sinker

I feel like it’s pretty much impossible not adore the characters in this series- even when they’re kind of out-of-touch like Piper in Book 1, or incredibly damaged by toxic masculinity and society’s hypersexualisation of handsome boys and men like with Fox, in this book, this author creates something angsty and beautifully broken out of characters that on the surface could be perceived as flaky and sort of vacuous.

The premise of this rom-com-ish but angsty romance is that from childhood, Fox has been told he will be a heartbreaker and a massive success in sexual exploits much like his ain’t ish father. As a result, feeing the need to live up to society’s expectations and also getting burned the one time he tried to buck that weight, he’s a commitment-phobic womanizer. A commitment-phobic womanizer who is best friends with sweet but lacking in confidence, Hannah. This genesis of this friendship is mentioned several times in this book but makes much more sense and makes this a richer read if you’ve read book 1 in this series (Piper’s book). Everybody loves Hannah and feels protective over her and Fox has been warned to keep his filthy reputation away from everyone’s favourite little sister (Hannah).

I liked that there was a lot of growth realised by both characters. Hannah finds her inner leading lady and begins to believe in herself and her worth, while Fox begins to heal from years of low self-worth and the damage being hypersexualised from a young age made on him. I think sometimes this was angstier and more love triangular than necessary- especially in situations where a single conversation would have solved the angst and would have fit in the narrative as Fox and Hannah have excellent communication and were quite open and honest with each other. I think another weakness of this was that even though we clearly knew and had affection for Piper and Brendan from the first novel, the supporting characters somehow didn’t pop as much as they did in the first book. That said, this was a really solid romance that took me on an emotional journey that felt deep and real and heartfelt and that really tackled a male main character’s emotions and society’s normalization of sexualisation of young boys and men with a lot of nuance and heart, and it’s not something I’ve read thematically before in a romance. Recommend if you’re looking for angst with some laughs.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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aklovekorn's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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jaynovara's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bayleereads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.5

This was a perfect sequel to IHOS. I loved the friends to lovers trope/storyline! Hannah is such a bad-ass woman and I want to be her friend. This one was steamy, but not nearly as much as IHOS. Fox is such a stone-cold guy, and I love how Hannah makes him all soft and mushy. It didn't hit five stars for me for two reasons: 1) it was SUCH a SLLOWWW burn and 2) Fox was a whiny man-child for at least 50% of the book.

→ Things I Liked: Chapter lengths, Dual POV, Badass female MC, steamy

→ Things I Disliked: Slow burn, Fox was a literal child sometimes

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things100's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Amazing. I didn’t think I could love a book in the series more then it happened 1 summer but I was wrong. I knew I was gonna love Fox and Hannah from the their first interaction in it happened one summer. And it was great to see what was going on in those moments from their POVs. Loved this book and loved this series. I also loved how complex these characters were it was never just what you see is what you get. Tessa Bailey truly out did herself. Can not recommend this book enough. Also the spice dang 🥵

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