Hook, Line and Sinker by Tessa Bailey


Publication Date: March 1, 2022


Plot: 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 THOUGHTS:

Who doesn’t love a cutesy little romance novel?! My first read of May was a 5☆ read! After reading Piper & Brendan’s story in It Happened One Summer, I didn’t know how I could love a book in this series more. But this one takes the cake!! So in love! This is so freaking worth the hype it should be borderline criminal. To be fair, you don’t even have to read the first one in order to read this. 


I loved Hannah and Fox together so much! Hannah was so much more likable and relatable than Piper was in the first book, and I felt like the first book really set this second one up nicely with Fox and Hannah having their wee friendship over their shared love of music. I loved Hannah’s determination to get to know Fox on a deeper level, and in turn, she starts to change the way he thinks about himself too. The character arc for Fox in this book was a big hearty *chef's kiss* seeing him begin to set boundaries and call people out on snarky comments about his past promiscuity was so heartwarming. We stan a King who sets and respects boundaries!!


And all the leading lady talk? HELLO. If you've ever felt like you're always the supporting character in life rather than the leading lady or struggled with imposter syndrome, this book is for you! What a cute friends-to-lovers story! And that adorable epilogue omg!!


Also, It Happened One Summer is getting made into a movie (& hopefully a sequel for Hook, Line, and Sinker as well!) I cant wait to see who they cast as these incredible characters.


☆ Rating: 5/5 stars 

FAVORITE QUOTES


“'I could tell by the way you looked at her, she was something real special.' 'How did I look at her?' He was afraid to find out. 'Ah, son. Like a summer day showing up after a hundred years of winter.'


“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.”


"'Doesn’t feel like enough to say I love you at this point.' 'Our love is always enough. It’s always more than enough.'"

FAVORITE QUOTES


“'I could tell by the way you looked at her, she was something real special.' 'How did I look at her?' He was afraid to find out. 'Ah, son. Like a summer day showing up after a hundred years of winter.'


“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.”


"'Doesn’t feel like enough to say I love you at this point.' 'Our love is always enough. It’s always more than enough.'"