Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Secretly Yours

I loved Julian — he was so well-fleshed-out, believable, and lovable. Hallie, however…annoyed and frustrated me. I know she’s supposed to be “chaotic,” but honestly, her various forms of “chaos,” like her chronic and egregious tardiness, are unbelievably rude, inconsiderate, and unprofessional. She’s also one of the most inconsistent characters I’ve ever read — and not in a realistic, true-to-form, or story-enriching way. Hallie is roughly thirty years old, but she’s so immature that if the author hadn’t disclosed her age early in the novel, I’d have been shocked she was old enough to legally drink.

Compared to a character like Julian, who though he had wrong ideas about himself and needed therapy (nothing to be ashamed of), functioned as a respectful, professional adult, Hallie looked even more immature, rude, and inconsiderate. The disparity in their maturity levels also made their non-physical attraction and compatibility improbable.

Hallie’s friend and her friend’s husband were lovely, funny, and interesting. I wish they’d gotten more “screen time” — the two of them and Natalie (Julian’s sister) were the most intriguing characters besides Julian!

I did greatly appreciate the mid- to plus-sized representation in the book. Specifically, I loved that multiple other characters besides Julian found Hallie attractive. I think my favorite part of this was that although Hallie wasn’t a thin woman, her desirability was a matter of fact to the people around her. Additionally, they never mentioned her weight in relation to her looks, which was delightful and a breath of fresh air. (An aside: Julian saying that the parts of her body she’s insecure about are what turn him on was, to me, sweet as well as sexy.)

Julian’s dirty talk did seem to begin out of nowhere, but I didn’t find it unbelievable for a character like him. After all, he can’t be straight-laced in every way. A person’s got to have some method of blowing off steam — especially one as uptight as Julian! So I thought his using dirty talk in bed was definitely within the realm of possibility. However, his transition from Mr. schedules-jerking-time to filthy-mouthed lover could’ve been more natural and gradual.

Also, I found the whole dirt thing incredibly off-putting. I don’t mean to shame — honestly, it just confused me.

Content Warnings

mrsmishler's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-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

2.0

Not my favorite book by this author, for me it fell a little flat and the spice had some cringey lines.

Content Warnings

hapalyn's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0

Content Warnings

bzliz's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.25

Hallie has had a thing for Julian since they almost kissed in high school. Now she’s a chaotic gardener turning his life upside down as she transforms the grounds around his quarters at his family’s vineyard. Julian can’t stand disorder and always keeps to a rigorous schedule, even now that he’s taking a break from teaching history at Stanford to write a book. But something about Hallie makes him forget his strict schedule and make room for a little chaos. One night after too much wine, Hallie writes an anonymous secret admirer letter to Julian, which can only go really right or really, really wrong.

Fans of “opposites attract” tropes will love this. For me, the pacing was a little weird and I kept backtracking to see if I’d missed a point where the characters had real chemistry. The first spicy scene made me laugh but it did feel fun. I can’t get over the second spicy scene where they

have sex in the middle of a vineyard and also this is Hallie’s first time. I can’t stop thinking about bugs and being poked by vines and it just seems unpleasant to me.

This one was just okay for me; I think Tessa Bailey has better books.

Trigger warnings:
Alcohol- lots of wine drinking throughout, some general drunkenness
Alcoholism- side character regularly drinks to a blackout state, is not a main focus
Fire- past event, led to family fallout
Panic attacks/disorders- main character suffers from panic attacks and occasionally shuts down and loses time as a result
Sexual content- it’s a Tessa Bailey book

Content Warnings

coco78337's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

The best Tessa Bailey book I’ve read so far! I love the angst and the character growth in this one. She really sets a beautiful tone and scene for the whole book. Highly recommend if you’re into grumpy sunshine and slow burn in the best way.

Content Warnings

saraavowlerr's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

Content Warnings

katelynnreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I loved this book. Tessa Bailey always comes through with amazing stories and characters. Hallie & Julien are perfect together. Their growth and strength is beautiful. The chemistry between them are the constellations in the night sky. This book was sexy and beautiful and hopeful all in one.

Content Warnings

More...