Secretly Yours

A Novel

By: Tessa Bailey

Narrated by: Callie Dalton

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From Tessa Bailey—#1 New York Times bestselling author, TikTok favorite, and ""the Michelangelo of dirty talk"" (Entertainment Weekly)—comes a spicy small town rom-com about a grumpy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn...

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to Napa Valley, and when Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she'll finally get that smooch. But the starchy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly.

One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless—and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt—and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past.

Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s grayscale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her... and her very presence is turning his world upside down.

""Tessa Bailey is the queen of rom-coms. Long may she reign!"" — Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Merry Little Meet Cute

Really good read

The characters were good - the narrative was good. Could have been just a little longer!

Boring

There was no climax. This story just seemed to drag on. It was very difficult to finish.

Heats up

Slow to start but worth sticking with it. I thought I was on par with some of her other summer beach reads.

A Cute Spring Romance

***4.5 stars***

This was such a perfect springy, Valentine's Day read. While it may not be quite as perfect as "It Happened One Summer", it's pretty close. I adore this romance and has such a fun time reading it. I loved the small town, Napa Valley setting. Wine country will always be a winning setting for me and it really leant itself to the late spring vibes of this book. The plot was deliciously slow, and I loved the buildup of Hallie and Julian's relationship. I also really enjoyed the anxiety representation in this. In my opinion, it was done well and added another layer to the story.

I think the only thing keeping this from being a five-star read for me was the whole secret admirer plot point. It didn't feel necessary to the story at all, especially because Hallie and Julian were coming together without that. It doesn't really add anything to the story and Julian doesn't even really react when he finds out that Hallie was the one sending them.

Overall, this was such a sweet, tender romance. And I can't wait to pick up book two in this new series in June!

Good but not great

I love Tessa Bailey’s other books but this one felt like something was missing throughout. And I do not like how the end conflict was portrayed or resolved. It just seems like it could have been written a little differently. It’s a cute love story though.