#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey can solve all problems except for her own, so she focuses those efforts on stubborn, fictional blue-collar men and loyal, lovable heroines. She lives on Long Island avoiding the sun and social interactions, then wonders why no one has called. Dubbed the "Michelangelo of dirty talk" by Entertainment Weekly, Tessa writes with spice, spirit, swoon, and a guaranteed happily ever after. Catch her on TikTok @authortessabailey or check out tessabailey.com for a complete list of books. You can find more of my reviews of Tessa's works here.
After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she's sufficiently drowned her sorrows in Cabernet and she's ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And, well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him—and kiss him—in equal measure. August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn't know jack about making wine. He's determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy's legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around . . . and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults. Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways—assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There's just one thing they didn't account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.
I'd read books with main characters who have the same name as me before, but a romance novel was a new addition to that list! I wondered if I'd be able to relate to this fictional Natalie at all—who worked in finance and is an heiress and is willing to enter into a marriage of convenience with a man she hates. But, I was pleased and shouldn't have been surprised by Bailey's ability to completely flesh out Natalie's character. Despite feeling like I wouldn't relate to her, Bailey weaves a deeper story of loneliness and success for the main female character that I felt anyone could relate to. Natalie's voice was strong and consistent, and I felt that her development towards choosing the life that would make her happy was just as compelling as the romance with August.
Speaking of the romance with August, Unfortunately Yours is just as trope-y as Bailey had been advertising it to be. Honestly, I was surprised to be surprised by the tropes just based on how often I saw the post about what's included in the book. Not only does Bailey combine many tropes, but she does so seamlessly. The romance feels realistic, as August and Natalie are both incredibly vulnerable with themselves and with one another. And, of course, the steamy scenes are exactly what you'd expect from Tessa Bailey! All around, the novel is well-paced, the romance is completely developed, as are the individual characters' own arcs. If you've read Secretly Yours, there are plenty of Julian and Hallie cameos, and if you haven't read Secretly Yours, Unfortunately Yours will definitely pique your curiosity about where it all began.
Logically, I know that there are some inconsistencies in Unfortunately Yours that shouldn't really make it a full five-stars. If you hadn't read Secretly Yours at all or in a while, remembering the origin of Natalie's and August's relationship might prove difficult because it is not referenced in its entirety or written as a flashback at any point. Thus, it might be harder to ground yourself in their "enemies" part of the enemies-to-lovers relationship. August's internal monologue at the beginning gave me such major second-hand embarrassment that I had to put the book down for a hot 20 minutes before I could get to page two. There are several moments throughout the novel that were like that. Leaving the resolution of the trust fund money and the investment money to the last ten pages was stressful and I would have loved if the final two chapters were a bit more detailed regarding that. However, at the end of the day, Unfortunately Yours is just so Tessa Bailey, and so much fun. I think the strengths in this case outweigh my objections, and, like I said before, this is one of the only writers who can turn tropes that I generally avoid or genuinely dislike into a story that I can appreciate and enjoy.
I can't wait for everything Tessa does next! In the meantime, catch her on TikTok @authortessabailey or check out tessabailey.com for a complete list of books. You can find more of my reviews of Tessa's works here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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