Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey – 385 page

Book Blurb:

Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey: King 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?

My Review: 4.5 stars – Guest Review

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Tessa Bailey is one of the “it” names of romantic comedies these days and Hook, Line, and Sinker did not disappoint! This book is a follow-up to It Happened One Summer and is part of a series (the Bellinger Sisters) although it can stand on its own. The best romantic comedies are both sweet and spicy (with lots of steam) and filled with equal parts sappy moments and ones that result in side-splitting laughs. Given the cartoon cover, I wasn’t expecting the characters and storyline to be so complex and emotional, which was a nice surprise. 

Hannah’s used to playing the side-kick to her “main character” sister, Piper, but is ready to take things into her own hands, especially when it comes to her career. I adored how her friendship with Fox encourages her to embrace what he already knows: that she is a leading lady. Although I didn’t read It Happened One Summer so the plotline surrounding Hannah connecting to Westport (which I learned was a large part of Piper’s story) didn’t hold as much “oomph” to me as it maybe would’ve if I had read the series in order. Watching Hannah embrace what she wants, and deserves, is very well-written and rewarding. 

Although Fox is thought of as the ultimate playboy, I loved getting to know the sweet sensitive side of him. He’s a secret sweetheart whose self-worth is broken thanks to the self-fulfilled prophecy he’s created for himself thanks to his philandering father. Opening up to Hannah and letting her get to know the real him is extremely well-paced, as he learns to appreciate the emotional side of their relationship when Hannah won’t give into just a physical one. 

The tension and chemistry between Hannah and Fox was practically dripping from the pages it was so tangible! When they finally got together, I almost had to put the book down to catch my breath. Overall, this was a great read that I highly recommend! I look forward to diving into It Happened One Summer to read about Piper and Brendan, who is Fox’s friend, and captain to the ship they both work on. Review courtesy of Guest Fairy Carly M. 

Quotes I liked:

You can’t live life worrying about what people will think. You’ll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.”

“He’d never met anyone in his life that gave a shit as hard as Hannah. For other people.”

“I’ve never even had you, and your body haunts mine.”