Secretly Yours (A Vine Mess #1)

by Tessa Bailey

3 out of 5 stars

I want to start this review by saying - I had really high hopes for this one after loving "It Happened One Summer" and "Hook, Line, and Sinker" so much. 

Before reading 'Secretly Yours,' I had heard from a few others that it was not their favorite of Tessa's, so I was a bit skeptical. When I initially started reading, I considered DNFing, but I am glad I kept reading even though I found the characters infuriating.

The book's premise is around Hallie and Julian - who had known one another in high school when Hallie was a freshman and Julian a senior. They had an 'almost-kiss,' and apparently, Hallie held a candle for Julian, even fifteen years later at 29 years old. 

My main issue when I started this book was that the characters were incredibly problematic, immature, and unrealistic for their proposed age. For example, we begin the book with Hallie committing petty crimes because a competing business opened up beside her favorite wine shop that she frequented with her grandmother. I get that this place was sentimental to her, but really, a 29-year-old vandalizing property?

Don't get me started with Julian and his evident anxiety - I get it; this is a real thing that people (including me) deal with. Still, at over 30 years old, the dude should seek professional help instead of relying on Hallie and her feminine wiles to loosen him up.

There were details in this one that didn't feel great to me. I didn't appreciate the strong themes of drinking - I know it's set in Napa and centered around wine shops and vineyards, but the idea of the drunken shenanigans of a 29-year-old causing one of the main plot points and crisis seems... not cute to me.

Another thing - at 29 years old, Hallie will choose the unstable, high school crush over the successful and responsible business owner? Maybe at age 18 or 22, it would be fun to choose Julian... but 29-year-old Hallie should be considering Owen a bit more seriously if you ask me.

Overall, I think that this story didn't really 'work' for me because I felt the characters should have been much younger than they actually were - emotional-maturity-wise. I liked the spice, but honestly, if that hadn't been introduced so early in the book, I am not sure I would have finished this one. #JusticeForOwen

I have higher hopes for Natalie's and August's story "Unfortunately Yours," which comes out in June.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61109599-secretly-yours

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