Book Review: Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Title: Hook, Line and Sinker

Author: Tessa Bailey

Series/Standalone: Bellinger Sisters Duology (Book #2)

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

Pages: 353

Publisher: Avon

Year Published: 2022

Format: Audiobook

"King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he's a guaranteed good time- in bed and out- that's exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. She's immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy his... personality? And want to be friends? But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.

Now, Hannah's in town for work, crashing in Fox's spare bedroom. She knows he's a notorious ladies' man, but they're definitely just friends. In fact, she's nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a  few tips from Westport's resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker's eye... yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can't deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost. 

Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she's walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and.... and.... man overboard! He's fallen for her, hook, line and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he's all in, she'll choose him instead?"

My Rating: 3.75/5

This book was exactly what I needed from a summer romance. It had a great atmosphere, follows characters we've already met and a great trope for the reason the characters can't be together. I do love a fake dating trope. The smut was phenomenal as always, but I did find the flashbacks to what the characters had said in previous scenes frustrating. It's one thing to be thinking about what the hero or heroine had said and another to have it seem to loop so frequently that I was taken out of the current storyline. Not my favourite, but the epilogue made up for it!

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Title: It Happened One Summer

Author: Tessa Bailey

Series/Standalone: Bellinger Sisters Series (Book #1)

Genre: Contemporary, Adult, Romance

Pages: 385

Publisher: Avon

Year Published: 2021

Format: Audiobook

"Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father's dive bar... in Washington.

Piper hasn't even been to Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won't last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can't do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She's determined to show her stepfather- and the hot, grumpy local- that she's more than a pretty face.

Except it's a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there's an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn't want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan- and this town full of memories- may have already daughter her heart."

My Rating: 5/5

I had heard a lot of hype about this book and I thought that there was no possible way it would live up to the hype. And yet, here I am giving this book 5 stars. The character were excellent, the environment was fantastic, and the plot was perfect. I loved the way the author set up the romance and the tropes were exactly what I needed. The smut was also exactly what I needed. I can't wait to read more of her books, and if I keep seeing her pop up on my TikTok she'll be unstoppable. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny