A review by kekepania
Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

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

1.0

I've read and really liked most of Tessa Bailey's books, so although kind of put off by the cover art (man in business suit, woman in cut off short shorts), I assumed this would be good. It is...not. He has a serious mental health issue/trauma that's SUPER not addresses properly (in the plot or by the author), and she's incredibly personally wreckless and immature. Early in the book she gets mad and steals hundreds of dollars worth of food from a restaurant....and he defends her...and she's so attracted to him for that...? It's baffling. It gets fairly sexy at a few points, but cringey? "You like that, don't you sweetheart?" energy. Just icky. The ending was rushed and just made no sense. What about his actual job? His mental health? (Like seriously, he needs help.)

Updating to add: also...what was with her dogs?? Like yes please write dogs into plots! Absolutely! But there was so much "and her dogs came tumbling after her." We got their names. Uhh. Anything to add? It was such a weird and shallow gesture of "give the main character some animals."
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