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ayah_reads's review against another edition
1.75
I'm so glad this book is over š
I've been wanting to read a Tessa Bailey book for a while cos I wanna see if booktok is correct to have her as this massive romcom author andddddd let's just say they are in fact wrong.
So many problems with this book, only way to get through it is with a list:
- This book felt like the definition of telling not showing. I understand that is book 2 in a companion romcom series so I can get why some things were not in this book cos they'd already been hashed, but usually you can read companion romcoms without reading the others. Like I understand I'm not getting background info on the previous couple, Julian's previous problems with his family, even Julian and Natalie's relationship I'll pass as for book 1, but the majority of things to do with the main couple should be in this book. I would have loved their first scene in book 1 as the prologue, but even that I rolled with and pieced together, what was frustrating was that it felt like I missed out on so much?? Natalie was constantly in their "enemies" stage saying that he picks at her worst flaws ??? Like where ?? He's just calling you out on your privilege most of the time ??? (which she hated, which is so annoying like please Natalie) His drinking comments were the only ones where Natalie was right to call him on it and I think that was resolved well, but everything else I was like I'm just been TOLD over and over again about the "hate" between these characters, how they fight all the time etc etc but it's like ?? It felt like over half of their "hate" stage was missing. Natalie's dynamic with her family should have also been fleshed out more, she's the main character in THIS book, it shouldn't be only for book 1. Like with her family's wine making business she was always going on about being left out but it's like are you actually even involved in it to be left out??
- The marriage of convenience trope was not actually used properly and while it's fine of course to mess with a trope, I don't think that was the book's intention and it didn't work generally. The marriage took place over halfway through the book, and he was already in love with her explicitly and she was basically as well, like ??? Where are the enemies falling slowly for each other through the marriage??
- I didn't like how she drew parallels to how her family treated her and shut her out with August needing to be the only one in his wine making business to honour how friend - like Natalie would know at times she was being unreasonable, that it comes from grief, and try to be understanding, but the book treated it as though it was the same thing and something that was a roadblock to their relationship?? It felt more like her projecting on him and it just didn't sit right with me.
- I don't care for the girlboss feminism of being a women in finance, like please, the finance world has done wayyy more harm than good, I don't care for it being this amazing thing for Natalie to build herself.
- I don't think this can be classified as a romcom?? I think it was very romance and I am just not a pure romance reader so that's more of a me thing and this book/Tessa Bailey as an author being marketed wrong.
So once again booktok proves it cannot be trusted cos I have rarely found a good book through it š Ali Hazelwood continues to be the only big booktok author that I actually like and will read and even then I have conditions on when I read her cos of the similarities across her books š¤£
I've been wanting to read a Tessa Bailey book for a while cos I wanna see if booktok is correct to have her as this massive romcom author andddddd let's just say they are in fact wrong.
So many problems with this book, only way to get through it is with a list:
- This book felt like the definition of telling not showing. I understand that is book 2 in a companion romcom series so I can get why some things were not in this book cos they'd already been hashed, but usually you can read companion romcoms without reading the others. Like I understand I'm not getting background info on the previous couple, Julian's previous problems with his family, even Julian and Natalie's relationship I'll pass as for book 1, but the majority of things to do with the main couple should be in this book. I would have loved their first scene in book 1 as the prologue, but even that I rolled with and pieced together, what was frustrating was that it felt like I missed out on so much?? Natalie was constantly in their "enemies" stage saying that he picks at her worst flaws ??? Like where ?? He's just calling you out on your privilege most of the time ??? (which she hated, which is so annoying like please Natalie) His drinking comments were the only ones where Natalie was right to call him on it and I think that was resolved well, but everything else I was like I'm just been TOLD over and over again about the "hate" between these characters, how they fight all the time etc etc but it's like ?? It felt like over half of their "hate" stage was missing. Natalie's dynamic with her family should have also been fleshed out more, she's the main character in THIS book, it shouldn't be only for book 1. Like with her family's wine making business she was always going on about being left out but it's like are you actually even involved in it to be left out??
- The marriage of convenience trope was not actually used properly and while it's fine of course to mess with a trope, I don't think that was the book's intention and it didn't work generally. The marriage took place over halfway through the book, and he was already in love with her explicitly and she was basically as well, like ??? Where are the enemies falling slowly for each other through the marriage??
- I didn't like how she drew parallels to how her family treated her and shut her out with August needing to be the only one in his wine making business to honour how friend - like Natalie would know at times she was being unreasonable, that it comes from grief, and try to be understanding, but the book treated it as though it was the same thing and something that was a roadblock to their relationship?? It felt more like her projecting on him and it just didn't sit right with me.
- I don't care for the girlboss feminism of being a women in finance, like please, the finance world has done wayyy more harm than good, I don't care for it being this amazing thing for Natalie to build herself.
- I don't think this can be classified as a romcom?? I think it was very romance and I am just not a pure romance reader so that's more of a me thing and this book/Tessa Bailey as an author being marketed wrong.
So once again booktok proves it cannot be trusted cos I have rarely found a good book through it š Ali Hazelwood continues to be the only big booktok author that I actually like and will read and even then I have conditions on when I read her cos of the similarities across her books š¤£
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism
mj_86's review against another edition
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Grief
Minor: War and Fire/Fire injury
rshearon's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
super fun!!! the navy SEAL MMCā¦. hot tessa thank you
i didnāt quite enjoy it as much as book 1 but i had a good time! and i loved the marriage of convenience and frenemies to lovers tropes! canāt wait to read tessaās next book!!!
i didnāt quite enjoy it as much as book 1 but i had a good time! and i loved the marriage of convenience and frenemies to lovers tropes! canāt wait to read tessaās next book!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Grief, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
jessicalarson125's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, War, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcoholism
thelibronaut's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I thought vineyard-heiress-turned-trader Natalie and Navy Seal August were pretty cute. Pros: both characters were imperfect, which I enjoy. Also sign me up for romances with an alternating viewpoint; yes, every time. I donāt read a ton of spicy books, but it didnāt make me cringe so I will count that as a pro. Cons: August cannot, I repeat cannot, go more than two thoughts/sentences without referencing his junk. Or Natalieās boobs. Someone send help for this man. I still thought he was kind of adorable in a horny golden retriever way. Also a major plotline, just kind ofā¦ disappeared? Do we care? Not sure.
All that said, I actually found myself laughing at some points and smiling at the cute bits, so, despite the flaws I did enjoy it. Perfect for a vacation, or quick, easy refresh.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism
joyfulfoodie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.5
I did not read book one in this series. I might have gotten a little more out of it if I had, but felt like you could jump in just fine. Book one follows the main characterās brother and his romance. He features here but you know him just fine from just this book.
I give a lot of 5 star reviews. This one didnāt reach that because I didnāt particularly care for this authorās style of smut. If you like other works by this author Iām sure youāll enjoy this one, I just donāt love some of the word choice for how sex scenes were depicted. I donāt mind explicit, but I think there are better nouns to be found. Also didnāt love the āfollow his gut/dickā line the male lead drags out at least once a chapter.
Characters had some personal growth. I was rooting for them. It was an easy fluffy read which was nice for the end of the year.
I give a lot of 5 star reviews. This one didnāt reach that because I didnāt particularly care for this authorās style of smut. If you like other works by this author Iām sure youāll enjoy this one, I just donāt love some of the word choice for how sex scenes were depicted. I donāt mind explicit, but I think there are better nouns to be found. Also didnāt love the āfollow his gut/dickā line the male lead drags out at least once a chapter.
Characters had some personal growth. I was rooting for them. It was an easy fluffy read which was nice for the end of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism and Death
callidoralblack's review against another edition
emotional
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol and Cursing
Minor: Medical content, War, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Blood, and Car accident
dreezy's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Unfortunately not Tessa Bailey's best...
I've read quite a few Tessa Bailey books now having been sucked in alongside the rest of the world by It Happened One Summer.
I read Secretly Yours when it came out and was so disappointed, I almost didn't pick this one up because I felt that the series was lacking. I'm glad I stuck in out and finished this one though as it was a marked improvement on book one.
August is a fantastic character, I thought he was funny, loveable and charming. Certainly helps that the man is supposedly the size of a tank and gorgeous. Where I found the characters in Secretly Yours to be almost childish and unrealistic, I felt Tessa found her way back to the kind of characters she writes best in this novel. A little bit ludicrous, but not to the point of idiocy.
Worth a read, but not sure I'll pick it up again.
I've read quite a few Tessa Bailey books now having been sucked in alongside the rest of the world by It Happened One Summer.
I read Secretly Yours when it came out and was so disappointed, I almost didn't pick this one up because I felt that the series was lacking. I'm glad I stuck in out and finished this one though as it was a marked improvement on book one.
August is a fantastic character, I thought he was funny, loveable and charming. Certainly helps that the man is supposedly the size of a tank and gorgeous. Where I found the characters in Secretly Yours to be almost childish and unrealistic, I felt Tessa found her way back to the kind of characters she writes best in this novel. A little bit ludicrous, but not to the point of idiocy.
Worth a read, but not sure I'll pick it up again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Blood, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and War
midnightmoon_dreamer's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism