Publication Date: March 1, 2022
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 353
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5/5
Hook, Line, and Sinker was a surprisingly emotional romance from Tessa Bailey that was so much more than a basic rom com. Fox and Hannah started their friendship in the first book in this series, It Happened One Summer, and this is their romance. Fox is known around the small town of Westport as a player who despite being in his thirties has no responsibilities and no emotional attachments. Hannah is the beloved younger sister of Piper (from the first book) who is trying to finally push for the career she wants to be in.
When I first started this book I honestly thought it might a DNF. I didn’t enjoy the story when Hannah was still in Los Angeles and I found the texts between her and Fox drawn out. I don’t think we need pages and pages of texts between them when the book first started to understand that they were secret friends. However, once Hannah got back to Westport I feel like the story finally started. As soon as Hannah gets off the bus and Fox is there waiting for her I started swooning and barely stopped for the next 300 pages.
The most surprising part of this story was how Bailey dealt with the character of Fox. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where the author delves into what trauma lead to a male becoming promiscuous. I found it very interesting and without that emotional element I don’t think I would have liked Fox’s character that much. As a big music lover I also really connected to the part that music plays in this story. While it did feel a bit forced at times I love how it helped Fox and Hannah communicate with each other.
Overall, this is probably a four star read that I bumped up to five purely for the love of the characters. Unfortunately, Tessa Bailey gets a lot of hate (which is valid if you don’t enjoy her kind of romance!) but I think if you are in the mood for an escapism romance the will sweep you up then she is always a good choice.
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