Review: "Secretly Yours" by Tessa Bailey (A Vine Mess #1) ★★★

Review: Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey

This was cute with girl-next-door and grumpy meets sunshine as the main tropes, I just did not get into it as much as I’d like. In that regard, it is much like her book “Too Hot To Handle”.

She needed him. Not for self-worth or success. Just because, when they were together, the air felt clearer. Her heart beat differently. Someone saw her, she saw them in return, and they both said, yes, despite the flaws in this plan, let’s execute it. Because she was worth it to him.

PLOT SUMMARY
29-year-old gardener Hallie Welch is a wild child and a mess, especially after her grandmother Rebecca died. She has an identity crisis, unable even to pick the right necklace so wears them all. She loathes the fact her grandmother’s friend Lorna’s shop Corked has competition with UNCORKED next door.

When there is the arrival of 33-year-old teacher Julian Vos, son of the town’s famous family who owns a vinery – a man she has harboured feelings for ever since they almost kissed 15 years ago – she immediately offers to help garden their house. Sparks fly, so much so that she has to get her feelings off her chest and starts writing secret admirer letters. Secretly Yours she always signs it as, what the title of the book refers to. But how can she reveal it is her?

Julian has had some trauma from the fire in the vineyard 4 years ago, where his father called him a failure and told him to stay away. He shut himself away for ages, then left. This has been a big step to come home. Julian’s whole essence of organisation and time-keeping is put into “Jeopardy!” (iykyk) by Hallie. With confused feelings for Hallie, then feeling disloyal because of his other admirer (not knowing them to be one and the same), Julian loses all sense of control whenever Hallie is around. But are they really too different that things will not work?

This is told from the past-tense third-person POV of Hallie and Julian.

OVERALL OPINIONS
I liked the concept, it was just poorly executed. It was a slow start that I nearly did not finish this because I did not like the feel of any of the characters. Eventually got into it around the time she starts writing the letters.

The overall plot of Hallie helping Julian with the vineyard was lovely, and that they are so open with each other. Their parallels were good.
- Both Hallie and Julian have their own issues they are dealing with, Julian moreso, which I really liked.
- Both of them keep a huge thing from the other: Julian hiding that he helped to attract people to Lorna’s shop; Hallie hiding that she writes those letters.
- Both need things to remain for their peace of minds: Julian has anxiety and relies on routines/order; Hallie needs Corked as it is the only living memory of her gran.

A beautiful thing was the bringing together of the Vos family (Julian, his sister Natalie and his mother): they used to keep to themselves, not admit they needed help, or even had problems. By the end of this book, they are all so warm and open and that was heartwarming. Good riddance to their father who left them to deal with the vineyard!

Unfortunately, there are times when Tessa loses her touch. This book was it.

Considering this story was about secret letters, this was not actually a very prominent thing. The secret admirer idea served as a side plot, and a point of conflict for Julian, feeling like he was leading either of them on. And then when Hallie is going to open up and admit it was her, she chickens out, and I could not help but roll my eyes. Also having Hallie nearly kiss Julian 15 years prior and has since been infatuated with him – I have to say, this felt a little ridiculous.

I might check Natalie and August’s story in the 2nd book of this duology but I am not in a rush to, put it that way – there was simply not enough chemistry in here for me to consider it. Sometimes Tessa will write about a couple and I will be interested in them, for example Fox and Hannah from It Happened One Summer makes me want to read their story Hook, Line and Sinker.

<< Positives >>
🠚 The chemistry between Julian and Hallie was absolutely there. And I loved it! It was sizzling, raunchy. I loved it.
🠚 The spicy moment in the garden. Ooft!
🠚 I really liked the scene where Julian finds out about Hallie’s letter because they are both at their most vulnerable and scared state – he is having a panic attack after fearing for her safety and Hallie being nervous about the letter.
🠚 The sibling bond between Julian and Natalie was so sweet – I love that he gets on so well with her and she is the one who helps him come to his senses at the end. I also like that Hallie and Natalie bond very quickly because they are so similar.
🠚 I like the significance of their surnames, Hallie’s particularly. The word “welch” refers to avoiding doing something or breaking one’s word. For Hallie, it is the former: she avoids ever settling down or making big decisions and is always late and inconsistent. She has no idea who she really is. “Vos” means fox, which rather works for Julian’s mischievous nature when driven mad by Hallie.

<< Negatives >>
🠚 The first time Julian shows Hallie the letters, they are just sitting there on the kitchen counter, as one does – and he does not even acknowledge they are there, not really. And then he speaks as if she already knows about it (which, I mean, of course she does because she wrote them, but he doesn’t know this). Instead of “This person’s letter said this” and reciting it like a memorised soliloquy from Shakespeare, it should have been “I received the strangest things recently. Letters. I do not know who they are from. What do you think I should do?” – this would have hit her hard and made it even more of a struggle to reveal it was her because of giving him the advice to write back or something.
🠚 The rivalry between the two stores was non-existent. There could have been far more to it, even guilt from the other shop in the end. Potentially a partnership. Instead, that plot disappears around the halfway point.
🠚 The objectification was off-putting. Julian kept staring at her breasts – so much so that I’d prefer he stuck his nose back into the computer screen and completed his book. Her beautiful blue eyes are up here, sir!
🠚 His fantasies about her were not it for me either, I’d have preferred those paragraphs to have been used for character/plot development.
🠚 There was not as much humour in here as Tessa usually does. The only two things I found funny was firstly, Hallie stealing the cheese and secondly, when Hallie’s friend Lavinia and Natalie work together to “kidnap” Hallie.
🠚 There is a mention that Hallie sees her mother every so often. Would have been interesting to hear from her in this book.
🠚 Miscommunication is a trope I despise. It was bound to happen, but it just was not done well. There was so much miscommunication near the end that even I was confused. He wasn’t mad at her but cared so much he got worried and then because he got worried he shut himself away? And did not convey any of that to her? Not even a small text like “sorry, I freaked out, need some time”. Instead, his sister Natalie is the go-between.
🠚 Last but certainly not least – losing her virginity on the ground, outside… really, Julian? Really, Tessa? I’m sorry but this was disappointing for me.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Hallie꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ I understand her issues but her behaviour was annoying to me. She was so petty and did not act her age. It takes her until the end of the book before she stops and considers “How many people had Hallie affected with her impulsiveness?” – too many, girl, too many. This was exactly how I felt about Rita from “Too Hot to Handle”.
It was not right to not turn Owen down in the beginning – as much as I disliked him, he deserved better. I love her three dogs. It adds to the chaos.
-ˋˏ ꒰ Julian꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Okay, but the idea of an organised person coming undone as well as dirty talking is just so *chefs kiss*. Ultimately, I loved his character. How he is so protective of the people he loves, his kindness and willingness to help.

FAV QUOTES
• God. That’s a smile. And a whole lot of chaos.
• Who could measure up to a figment of her imagination? – this is me but with fictional boyfriends!
• She’d met thousands of strangers, and she’d never encountered anyone like Julian Vos.
• Women had to make moves on men these days, or everyone on planet earth would be single.
• This was it. Gand Theft Gouda would be the crime that finally brought her down.
• her belief in chivalry rising like the dead in an old zombie movie.
• “But if you say another word about her, I’ll break a lot more than your disco ball.”
• “I can’t be expected to make promises under the influence of pasta and wine!”
• He was a Van Gogh in a gallery of children’s finger paintings. He was quite simply unforgettable.
• he was definitely the kind of man who would make a perfect guest of honor at a murder mystery.
• Yes, he wanted to make her happy. Yes, he wanted to eviscerate everything that caused her to worry and put an eternal Hallie Smile on her face.
• Wildflowers were her favorite. How had he known?
• “You’re nothing short of breathtaking. Unique and beautiful and bold. And I’m a goddamn idiot if I ever made you feel otherwise.”
• “That sounds like the kind of plan I would come up with.” | His eyes flicked with determination. Affection. “I’m learning you already.”
• If he didn’t kiss her soon, the world was going to end. Julian was convinced of this beyond any shadow of doubt.
• “Anything that threatened this control I have…It’s something to avoid at all costs. But I can’t do that with you anymore, because you’re worth burning for. You’re worth turning and driving straight into the fire.”
• Apparently [love] was not wine and roses. It was this man telling her she was cluttered, perpetually late, and unusual.
• Maybe time wasn’t something that could be controlled at all; it was about making time matter with the people he cared about.
• The journey hadn’t been pretty, but the result was fucking spectatular. Like this garden, she was chaos. But she was good, and he’d known this.
• “Bumpier journeys lead to better destinations. You. Me. We’re the best destination of all.”