A review by siesssie
Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

4.0

”You can't live life worrying about what people will think. You'll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.”

FUCK TOXIC MASCULINITY & FUCK THE PATRIARCHY

Fox Thornton, my heart bleeds for all the pain you had to live through. Your past wrecked me. I was not expecting to feel such rage so vividly.

This book went beyond a simple rom-com. It delved much deeper into how men suffer from the objectification of their bodies and actions, especially in the context of sexuality because of the patriarchy and the oppression it instils on their creators. I couldn’t believe how a young boy was completely destroyed and deprived of his childhood and innocence. Simply because he committed the sin of being born handsome.
I was incredibly disgusted and revolted at how people perceived him his whole life. How adults behaved towards a young child. It hurt coming from strangers, but it was even worse coming from his family, his closest friends/work buddies. They relentlessly reduced him to his sexual activities, not once did they have a conversation that didn’t end up with Fox being the bottom of their sex joke. THE ENTIRE BOOK. NOT ONCE. Even you Brendan, who grew up with him, are you telling me your overanalyzing ass did not grasp what your best friend was going through. You couldn’t at least try and have a heart to heart with him.
Shame. Shame on all of you.

”Maybe the crew would realize they were wrong about him after some time passed. After all, they were just following his lead, treating him like he asked them to. Like the cheap version of himself he'd presented.”

No. No. And no, this does not justify their behavior. Getting laid and “having it easy with the ladies” should not be the only topic of conversation to have between friends. A person is not reduced to sex, period.
Everyone deserves happiness, to feel wanted, desired, to be enough, just as they are.

THERAPY PEOPLE. THERAPY.

I didn’t connect with Hannah as strongly as I did with Fox. Nonetheless, I’m so happy she was able to grow and realize that leading actors are for movies and that everyone is the main character of their own story, of their life. She deserved everything she achieved personally and professionally.
Her love and knowledge of music, how she was able to find the perfect song to accompany the mood of her surroundings was beautiful to read. She’s so talented.
I was also really happy she was able to finally connect with her grandma and her father. What a beautiful legacy she created.
She also made me laugh more than I was expecting; I absolutely loved how witty she was.

"Note to self," she said, pretending to write a note in the air, "find boulder. Ask for assistance. Manipulate the male psyche. By Jove, I think I've got it."

Their love story was as adorable as it was gut-wrenching.
Initially, I didn’t understand that they had been texting daily the whole time they were apart. Their texts melted and made me giggle so much, as simple as they were.
Fox calling her Freckles.