Title: Hook, Line & Sinker
Author: Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Avon Books
@avonbooks
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for honoring my request to read and review this title.
Hook Line & Sinker is the second book in the Bellinger Sisters series. The first being, It Happened One Summer. I think you can technically read them out of order; However I think it will definitely enrich your experience knowing the characters if you read them in order. I fell in love with Hannah in the first book and was so excited she was getting her own book. Maybe I set my expectations too high because unfortunately I didn’t love this one as much I hoped for or as the first book.
The positives? This book does a great job highlighting the sexualization of men. Main character Fox heard from a young age “Look at him…he’s going to be a heartbreaker” between that and a poor example of a father that really had an effect on him and navigating relationships. The other positives for me were the character growth for both Fox and Hannah. However, that growth mostly was separate. It honestly took until about 70% in the book for them to “hook up” then pushing each other away until the end. Maybe the ‘Friends to Lovers’ trope isn’t for me.
I loved, loved, loved Hannah’s love for music, records and playlists. It was so quirky, sweet, and cute. Music is such a great form of expression. I’m glad she found voice at work and became “the lead character” she knew she could be.
Rating: Overall I think I would give this a ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫. It has some steam, but not too much. Honestly, it didn’t feel too romantic, but more of both of them with an inner monologue of excuses. It was great to back in Westport, but I was hoping for more of Piper, Brendan, Opal, and the Del Rey crew.