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A review by thebiglittlelibrary
Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
5.0
4.5 ⭐️ A spicy, marriage of convenience story that's one of Tessa Bailey's best!
"If I had one wish, it would be to slow down my time with you, Natalie. A hundred years won't be enough."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ napa valley setting
✨ he's a war veteran trying and failing to produce wine to honor a friend's dreams
✨ she's got fired from her finance job, dumped by her fiance, and went back home to get trust fund money to start a new business
✨ marriage of convenience
✨ instant attraction
✨ hate to love
✨ he falls first
✨ denial of feelings (fmc)
✨ lots of tension
✨ hilarious, snarky banter
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ "my girl", "princess", "babe"
✨ complicated family dynamics
✨ lie by omission (because they secretly want to get married to each other)
✨ HEA
✨ dual pov
My Thoughts:
I was nervous about this book since I didn't really like Secretly Yours (2.5 stars), but this was so much fun and, in my opinion, one of the best Tessa Bailey novels! She really knocked it out of the park!
Here's what I liked:
August is such a fantastic MMC! He's a burly ex-Navy SEAL - loyal, honest, caring, kind, and protective. He sunk all his money into making wine to honor his late best friend and fellow soldier since it was his dream *cue to waterworks*. He's just a huge teddy bear that could snap you in half. Oh he's also a cat dad *swoon*. But best of all, he's a BIG, FREAKING SIMP for the heroine, Natalie. He falls fast, hard, and is so far gone, she can do absolutely no wrong. All August wants is for Natalie to be happy and safe, and he will do everything in his power to make it so.
This quote just about sums up his feelings: "As long as you need me, Natalie, I'm with you. Whatever you decide, whatever happens, I'm your goddamn man."
Natalie is such a relatable heroine. Natalie is feisty, witty, and hardworking. She had everything going for her until it comes crumbling down, and now she has to pick up the pieces. Seeing her struggle with feeling worthy was something I really relate to. She never feels like she's good enough and always feels like she's failing the expectations set for her by her mother, ex-fiance, and people in her field of work. But August is the first person to really make her feel seen and appreciated for just being herself (with no expectations), and this is an incredibly healing experience for her. I loved seeing her grow and discover who she is.
August also works through some struggles. As a military man, he's not good at feeling helpless. He was there the day Sam died and has lived with guilt ever since. It was his job to protect Sam, and he failed. So the winery is a way for him to honor and atone, in a way. But August feels he needs to do this on his own and ends up shutting Natalie out, which further triggers her feelings of not being enough. Eventually, August realizes he made mistakes and makes it his mission to fix them. Watching him work through this was really lovely.
August and Natalie are 100% soulmates! I don't usually believe in soulmates in real life or in fiction, but these two are it. You can fight me on this. They are passionate, messy, fun, honest, and open. Plus, they actually communicate (thanks to Gus), which is so key to every successful relationship. They support each other and really helped each other heal. I enjoyed seeing their love grow and deepen. And they were so much fun with their banter and pranks! They are my favorite Tessa Bailey couple! I absolutely adore them!
The spice actually got me feeling hot and bothered. One of my usual hangups about Tessa Bailey is the cringe dialogue during sexy moments. While there were some (see below), they were few and far between compared to the delicious, filthy things that came out of August's mouth. For example:
All of the sexy moments were HOT AF, and I ate that sh*t up! I now need my own husband to start calling me 'my wife.'
The epilogue was perfection! I don't want to spoil it, but seriously, August made me melt all over again. He would do anything for his family! You're going to love it!
Here's what I didn't like:
It’s mentioned so many times, and in so many ways, that August is a big oaf. Wording like, 'big lug', 'brute', and 'bonehead' is used to describe him. And here are a few phrases that support these sentiments as well: “he used all his brain power,” "poor man-brain working overtime,” “It made her want to walk into his stupid muscular arms and whack him in the head with an encyclopedia." If it were said once or twice, I’d be okay with it. But the repetitive use made it seem like he actually was an idiot, which then I was wondering why someone like Natalie would be into a big dummy. He's not actually an idiot, though, so it annoyed me he was being unfairly picked on.
While most of the dirty talk didn’t bother me, some of it did. For example:
"Jesus. My balls have never gotten so heavy so fast in my life. Pretty sure every drop of blood in my head just went south. Give me like... eight seconds to make sure I'm not going to pass out."
I think the first two sentences should be inner thoughts, and maybe the last one could have been actual dialogue because no one would say that stuff in real life.
Also, I still don't like Haille from Secretly Yours. She doesn’t play a big role, but she makes an appearance, but I found her character to still be annoying. At least it was consistent with Book 1.
Overall, I loved Unfortunately Yours and 100% recommend reading! It’s one of my favorite marriage of convenience stories along with King of Wrath by Ana Huang.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC and Avon for a finished copy in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Favorite Quotes:
"You know what we'd be doing if we were alone."
"Fighting?"
"Fucking."
_____
"Christ, just thinking about you sitting on my face might finish me."
"You want me to - "
"I'm not above begging."
_____
"I love fucking my wife. I feel it in my chest, you know? It's never been like this. it's never going to be like this again, for either of us. All right? We found it."
_____
"Her heart beat like a song that he could follow out of the darkness."
_____
"I need my wife. I'll always fucking need my wife."
_____
"He never would have wanted me to succeed at his dream. . . at the cost of you." His eyes found their way back to her. "Because you're my dream."
_____
"If I had one wish, it would be to slow down my time with you, Natalie. A hundred years won't be enough."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ napa valley setting
✨ he's a war veteran trying and failing to produce wine to honor a friend's dreams
✨ she's got fired from her finance job, dumped by her fiance, and went back home to get trust fund money to start a new business
✨ marriage of convenience
✨ instant attraction
✨ hate to love
✨ he falls first
✨ denial of feelings (fmc)
✨ lots of tension
✨ hilarious, snarky banter
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ "my girl", "princess", "babe"
✨ complicated family dynamics
✨ lie by omission (because they secretly want to get married to each other)
✨ HEA
✨ dual pov
My Thoughts:
I was nervous about this book since I didn't really like Secretly Yours (2.5 stars), but this was so much fun and, in my opinion, one of the best Tessa Bailey novels! She really knocked it out of the park!
Here's what I liked:
August is such a fantastic MMC! He's a burly ex-Navy SEAL - loyal, honest, caring, kind, and protective. He sunk all his money into making wine to honor his late best friend and fellow soldier since it was his dream *cue to waterworks*. He's just a huge teddy bear that could snap you in half. Oh he's also a cat dad *swoon*. But best of all, he's a BIG, FREAKING SIMP for the heroine, Natalie. He falls fast, hard, and is so far gone, she can do absolutely no wrong. All August wants is for Natalie to be happy and safe, and he will do everything in his power to make it so.
This quote just about sums up his feelings: "As long as you need me, Natalie, I'm with you. Whatever you decide, whatever happens, I'm your goddamn man."
Natalie is such a relatable heroine. Natalie is feisty, witty, and hardworking. She had everything going for her until it comes crumbling down, and now she has to pick up the pieces. Seeing her struggle with feeling worthy was something I really relate to. She never feels like she's good enough and always feels like she's failing the expectations set for her by her mother, ex-fiance, and people in her field of work. But August is the first person to really make her feel seen and appreciated for just being herself (with no expectations), and this is an incredibly healing experience for her. I loved seeing her grow and discover who she is.
August also works through some struggles. As a military man, he's not good at feeling helpless. He was there the day Sam died and has lived with guilt ever since. It was his job to protect Sam, and he failed. So the winery is a way for him to honor and atone, in a way. But August feels he needs to do this on his own and ends up shutting Natalie out, which further triggers her feelings of not being enough. Eventually, August realizes he made mistakes and makes it his mission to fix them. Watching him work through this was really lovely.
August and Natalie are 100% soulmates! I don't usually believe in soulmates in real life or in fiction, but these two are it. You can fight me on this. They are passionate, messy, fun, honest, and open. Plus, they actually communicate (thanks to Gus), which is so key to every successful relationship. They support each other and really helped each other heal. I enjoyed seeing their love grow and deepen. And they were so much fun with their banter and pranks! They are my favorite Tessa Bailey couple! I absolutely adore them!
The spice actually got me feeling hot and bothered. One of my usual hangups about Tessa Bailey is the cringe dialogue during sexy moments. While there were some (see below), they were few and far between compared to the delicious, filthy things that came out of August's mouth. For example:
"Tell me the truth. You thought I would throw you into missionary, come in sixty seconds, and fall asleep. Didn't you?"
"Yes. No." she babbled, rocking furiously in his lap. "I don't know."
"Not with my wife."
Without warning, he flipped Natalie onto her back and drove her up the bed with one savage pump of his hips. "I'll be earning the right every single day to come inside pussy this good."
All of the sexy moments were HOT AF, and I ate that sh*t up! I now need my own husband to start calling me 'my wife.'
The epilogue was perfection! I don't want to spoil it, but seriously, August made me melt all over again. He would do anything for his family! You're going to love it!
Here's what I didn't like:
It’s mentioned so many times, and in so many ways, that August is a big oaf. Wording like, 'big lug', 'brute', and 'bonehead' is used to describe him. And here are a few phrases that support these sentiments as well: “he used all his brain power,” "poor man-brain working overtime,” “It made her want to walk into his stupid muscular arms and whack him in the head with an encyclopedia." If it were said once or twice, I’d be okay with it. But the repetitive use made it seem like he actually was an idiot, which then I was wondering why someone like Natalie would be into a big dummy. He's not actually an idiot, though, so it annoyed me he was being unfairly picked on.
While most of the dirty talk didn’t bother me, some of it did. For example:
"Jesus. My balls have never gotten so heavy so fast in my life. Pretty sure every drop of blood in my head just went south. Give me like... eight seconds to make sure I'm not going to pass out."
I think the first two sentences should be inner thoughts, and maybe the last one could have been actual dialogue because no one would say that stuff in real life.
Also, I still don't like Haille from Secretly Yours. She doesn’t play a big role, but she makes an appearance, but I found her character to still be annoying. At least it was consistent with Book 1.
Overall, I loved Unfortunately Yours and 100% recommend reading! It’s one of my favorite marriage of convenience stories along with King of Wrath by Ana Huang.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC and Avon for a finished copy in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Favorite Quotes:
"You know what we'd be doing if we were alone."
"Fighting?"
"Fucking."
_____
"Christ, just thinking about you sitting on my face might finish me."
"You want me to - "
"I'm not above begging."
_____
"I love fucking my wife. I feel it in my chest, you know? It's never been like this. it's never going to be like this again, for either of us. All right? We found it."
_____
"Her heart beat like a song that he could follow out of the darkness."
_____
"I need my wife. I'll always fucking need my wife."
_____
"He never would have wanted me to succeed at his dream. . . at the cost of you." His eyes found their way back to her. "Because you're my dream."
_____