e-ARC, 400 pages
Release Date: March 1, 2022
Published by: Avon Books
Read from: February 21- March 3, 2022
Bellinger Sisters, #2
Source: Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Past Death of a Parent, Past Verbal Parental abuse
For Readers Interested In: Contemporary Romance, Music, Beautiful Settings, Realistic Fiction, Spice Level III, Between the Covers, AdultKing crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he’s a guaranteed good time–in bed and out–and 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 wants to be friends? Bizarre. 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?
In the follow-up to It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey delivers another deliciously fun rom-com about a former player who accidentally falls for his best friend while trying to help her land a different man…
*MY THOUGHTS*
I know that everyone loves enemies to lovers, but it’s just not my cup of tea. And it always makes me feel like the odd ball out. Until I get my hands on a book like this one and it solidifies the love I have for friends to lovers romance. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the end all be all, but it was definitely good enough to make me swoon and fall for them as a couple more than I was in the first one.
“Fishermen don’t ignore the dreams they have on water. Sometimes they’re nothing, other times they’re a premonition.”3%
Fox has lived his whole life with the reputation of a flirt who can get whoever he wants. As it turns out, that’s just what he wants people to think. No one knows that he’s been pining after one girl for the past 7 months. No one knows that he’s been caught up in her song and he doesn’t want to lose the tune. Soon Hannah has to come to stay with him for a while since Brendan and Piper already have guests. They’ve been friends for so long this should be easy right? Hannah doesn’t realize the more time she spends with him, the more she falls…. for Fox. Will their friendship survive them staying together for some time?
“H (9:02 am): When you’re out on the water and can’t text back, I really notice it. H (9:03 am): The lack of you.”8%
Man, listen… I don’t care what anyone says. The number one best thing about this book was Fox. I went through every emotion for him while I was reading this. Like confusion, “for him to be such a flirt, he’s not bringing anyone home. Ohhhhhhhhh lol” And then sadness, “I hate that he feels like this about himself.” I was proud of him, “Yayyyy! I hope you see what you can do!” To happiness, “I’m so glad you got all the info you needed finally!” I’ve seen a lot of reviews calling him a simp, but I loved that about him. I stan a guy that shows he loves his woman to the world. (Even if the only people who know it’s because he loves her is him and her lol)
“Sex was a nonpossibility between them. That had been established early on, for a host of reasons. Number one being that he didn’t fish in local waters .”12-13%
As for Hannah tho, I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t necessarily like her. She had NONE of the personality that Piper had. And that’s what she thought made her Hannah. Everyone said the same thing. Piper is a leading lady and everyone likes her. Hannah is the supporting role and is just there to support the leading lady. I was sad that she felt this about her own story. It was a bit sad.
“Does that do it for you?” Nothing was doing it for him lately. Nothing but the three little dots lopping up in their text thread.”19%
Which brings me to this point: I missed the hijinks and the laughing the other book had. Maybe it was because Piper was the main character in that one, but IHOS was SO FUN! I was hoping for more of that this time. I know why she didn’t, but I can’t say I didn’t miss it. It was already a somber book because of all the things that Fox was going through, so I wanted to see more happy and more laughing.
“He would do it right. He’d dehydrate the shit out of her.”30%
Last but not least, the smexy times. I found myself re-reading the hospital scene from IHOS over before I started this one because I knew nothing would live up to that scene. It’s one of those scenes that live rent free in my head and I can see the words clearly when I think about them. But when I finally finished HL&S, I knew I had another scene to add to my brain…. That car scene!!!! I had to read that part again after I finished the book lol There’s a couple other scenes that made me fan myself, but there was nothing like that one tho.
“I want you underneath me so bad that I can’t lie in bed without already feeling you there. I’ve never even had you, and your body haunts mine.”64%
This book was almost everything I wanted it to be. But then when I got to the epilogue, Ooof…. It hit me right in the feels. That was what gave me life. I was so happy to see how everything turned out and I was especially happy to see how much time had passed. It was like Bailey knew we’d have questions and she answered them. Thank you Tessa Bailey!
“I love surprises, […] I bet you hate them don’t you?” “No.” Normally he might leave it at that, but he wasn’t being charming or elusive or easy tonight. “You’re a surprise Hannah. Hoe could I hate them? He cleared his throat hard. “Even familiar… You’re a constant surprise.”70%
And now I’m going to sit here and wait with the rest of the world for My Killer Vacation. Or really anything else that Bailey chooses to bless us with. Because let’s be honest, we will read it no matter what it is lol
Overall, I give this
