Do you ever have these authors where you’re lowkey mad at yourself that you haven’t discovered them sooner? Because Bailey is one of those authors for me. I read my first Bailey novel last year and really, there was no turning back after devouring half her backlist in one week. So I was very antsy to get my hands on her newest release and friends, Hook, Line and Sinker did not disappoint!
Hook, Line and Sinker follows Fox Thornton, who’s got a reputation around Westport as the flirtatious player that’s hard to shake. Everyone in town assumes that he’ll never keep a woman for longer than a night, much less ever settle down with one for good. When his best friend Hannah Bellinger returns to town for work as part of a film production, his routine of going out to sea and hooking up on the few nights he’s home is paused as circumstances cause Hannah to stay in his guest bedroom instead of at her sister Piper’s place. Helplessly crushing on her colleague, Hannah needs someone to help her get the guy—and thinks Fox will know how to help her. Yet the more time they spend together in confined quarters, the more lines blur and suddenly, Hannah finds herself questioning if her crush on her colleague was ever real to begin with—and if perhaps, her real true love is waiting just a room over. But Fox is boggled down with self-doubt and and his reputation and the question arises—can their baggage become lighter if they let someone else help carry it?
What I really loved about this story is how it addressed what it feels like being the sidekick rather than the main character in your own story (yes, that’s a slightly edited quote from the movie The Holiday, sue me). Both Hannah and Fox think they’re not good enough to be the leading roles even in their own lives and that they only exist to hype up others.
Hannah has always felt like the hype girl for her sister and even in her own life (both romantic and professional), she’s taken a backseat, dreaming and aspiring from afar instead of going for what she wants. Now, she’s finally ready to take some risks and make the most of her life but there are things that hold her back and we really get to see her blossom through her friendship with Fox. Hannah realises a lot of things about herself, her crush (that is more of a crutch if anything) and what it means to bet on herself.
Meanwhile, Fox’s growth within this novel was just so wholesome, I’m still not over it. Fox suffers heavily from impostor syndrome and it shows. You really get to see how much of what Fox acts like is due to how others perceive of him. Fox believes being a good hook-up is all he’s good for because people have continuously not only given him that impression but told him to his face that he’s not “dating” or “boyfriend” material. It was heartbreaking to see those jokes from others landing like barbs and the way Fox forced himself time and again to just laugh and smile, to snark and walk off and yet all the while, internalising these beliefs that make him feel worthless. We see this in so many different ways—Fox’s reluctance to take Brendan up on a work opportunity with a leading role, the way people look at him when he’s with Hannah and even how he reacts when Hannah shows him that he’s so much more than he gives himself credit for. My heart wept for this fantastic man and his uphill battle to believe in himself and his worth again.
Now, as you might guess, these tense personal struggles are cause for some absolutely explosive romantic encounters. Fox initially doesn’t trust himself around Hannah and doesn’t want to mess with their friendship, yet can’t seem to stay away from the woman who’s taken over his guest bedroom and his heart. Hannah has her own battles to overcome and yet, the two of them can’t keep denying their attraction and intense chemistry. But what makes their connection even better and stronger is the fact that they have this history of being friends, of sending songs that describe their days and confiding into each other about their lives—it just adds so much to their relationship. From delicious tension and funny banter to panty-dropping steam, Fox and Hannah’s romance is one for the ages. Bailey delivers an outstanding follow-up to It Happened One Summer—as if we’ve expected anything less.
Of course, we also get some cameos from Brendan and Piper and even Piper and Hannah’s grandmother which will be a real sweet treat for fans of the first book in this lovely duology. I pray this isn’t the end for Westport but even if it is, what a grand time it’s been!
Intense, funny and endearing, Hook, Line and Sinker is a delightful friends-to-lovers romance all about self-worth and the bravery it takes to believe yourself to be the leading role in your own life.
Hook, Line and Sinker is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of March 1st 2022.
Will you be picking up Hook, Line and Sinker? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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?
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…
