Secretly Yours by Tessa BaileyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Hallie is a free-spirited gardener who never moved on from her high-school crush, and can't seem to find herself now that a loved one has passed. Julian is a hyper-focused and organized-to-a-fault professor who is attracted to his gardener, but doesn't remember where he knows her from. She needs help taking life by the reigns, and he needs help letting go of them. Opposites attract. Happily ever after.
I slept on this one before writing a review because I couldn't figure out why I didn't love it as much as I have Tessa's other books. It's a cute and funny rom-com like I was expecting, but I think what threw me was that it was written in third person. I didn't connect with the characters as much and found I kept getting confused on who's POV I was supposed to be in.
Things I liked:
-Curvy female protagonist! Hallie was rocking her curvy figure without it defining her.
-The BANTER between Hallie and Julian was perfect.
-They both had flaws, saw them in each other, and grew.
-Supporting cast was lovely and a great set up for the sequel.
-Setting (wine country) was immersive.
Things I wasn't a fan of:
-3rd person POV
-The letters weren't damning enough for the drama, nor were there enough of them for them to be play such a large role in the story IMO.
-The grand gesture was odd.
-<spoiler>3rd act break-up</spoiler>
Overall, I liked it and will read the second book following Julian's sister. Marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers? Count me in.
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