Tessa Bailey is back with another steamy rom-com, this time around about a stoic professor desperate to finish his first novel and a bubbly gardener who’s determined to ruin his routine—and change his life forever. Hallie Welch, gardener extraordinaire, fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen after they shared an almost kiss in the vineyards of his famous family. Now that the hottie has returned to their small town, Hallie wonders if they can finally get that do-over. But the grumpy professor isn’t who she remembers—Julian is sullen, stuck to his routines and not in favour of anything disrupting his life and plans for the future. One wine-fuelled night later, Hallie ends up writing a drunken secret admirer letter for Julian.
Julian, meanwhile, just wants to finish his first novel and make something of himself outside of the family business—but the sparkly gardener showing up right outside his window proves to be more of a distraction than Julian would like. Still, he can’t seem to shake the feeling that he needs Hallie in his life. When a letter from a woman in his past shows up, Julian can’t help but feel torn—should he cling to the letters he feels drawn to or pursue Hallie who’s making his life better, brighter and more chaotic than he’d ever imagined?
Honestly, this book had me at stoic rule follower meets personified sunshine.
It’s no secret (hah, get it) that Bailey excels at creating character dynamics that work really well and Secretly Yours is no different. Julian and Hallie couldn’t be more different, yet their differences are not only what attracts them to each other but what makes them realise that it’s okay to not fit the mould everyone else may want them to fit into. I really loved both characters on their own. Julian is way too relatable with his type A personality, his insistence on his routines that structure his life so he doesn’t get overwhelmed and the truths that hide behind that desire for clean-cut systems. Meanwhile, Hallie is a bit of whirlwind, who lights up every room simply by entering it and whose personality is so addictive because of the way it makes you feel being in her presence. Seeing Julian feel almost helpless not to pursue Hallie because he’s so entranced with her was so heartwarming. There’s also quite a lot of push and pull, banter and trying to suppress your attraction which ramps up the tension.
The overarching plot of Hallie trying to to keep the memory of her grandmother alive while Julian is still struggling with the harsh words his father had for him years ago also tied in together really well with the things that hold both Hallie and Julian back in life. Their struggles aren’t easy to overcome, but in the end they grow individually and together, which always feels so cathartic from a reader’s point of view.
What I will say, though, is that the pacing felt a bit off at points, especially when it came to a specific plotline that somewhat interfered with relationship development. While I loved the secret admirer plotline, I don’t really think it added a lot to the story beyond being fodder for the (some would say inevitable) miscommunication toward the end of the novel. Still, it was kind of sweet that Julian felt he could open up to this secret admirer and speak about his concerns of falling short in life and love.
As a little bonus, we also get amazing side characters and a little bit of foreshadowing for the second book in this series with Julian’s sister, who already owns my heart. I can’t wait to see what she will be up to in Unfortunately Yours.
If you’re looking for a small town romance filled with heaps of steam and sweetness and a strong opposites-attract pairing, then Secretly Yours will make for the perfect read this Valentine’s Day!
Secretly Yours is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of February 7th 2023.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A steamy new rom-com about a starchy professor and the bubbly neighbor he clashes with at every turn…
Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless–and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.
On sabbatical from his ivy league job, Julian plans to write a novel. But having Hallie gardening right outside his window is the ultimate distraction. She’s eccentric, chronically late, often literally covered in dirt–and so unbelievably beautiful, he can’t focus on anything else. Until he finds an anonymous letter sent by a woman from his past. Even as Julian wonders about this admirer, he’s sucked further into Hallie’s orbit. Like the flowers she plants all over town, Hallie is a burst of color in Julian’s gray-scale life. For a man who irons his socks and runs on tight schedules, her sunny chaotic energy makes zero sense. But there’s something so familiar about her… and her very presence is turning his world upside down.
