Hook, Line, and Sinker (Bellinger Sisters #2) – Tessa Bailey

Genre: Romance
Publisher: Avon Books
Pages: 390
Release Date: March 1, 2022

Haven’t read It Happened One Summer? Check out my review HERE!

King crab fisherman Fox Thornton has a reputation as a sexy, carefree flirt. Everyone knows he’s a guaranteed good time–in bed and out–and that’s exactly how he prefers it. Until he meets Hannah Bellinger. She’s immune to his charm and looks, but she seems to enjoy his… personality? And wants to be friends? Bizarre. But he likes her too much to risk a fling, so platonic pals it is.

Now, Hannah’s in town for work, crashing in Fox’s spare bedroom. She knows he’s a notorious ladies’ man, but they’re definitely just friends. In fact, she’s nursing a hopeless crush on a colleague and Fox is just the person to help with her lackluster love life. Armed with a few tips from Westport’s resident Casanova, Hannah sets out to catch her coworker’s eye… yet the more time she spends with Fox, the more she wants him instead. As the line between friendship and flirtation begins to blur, Hannah can’t deny she loves everything about Fox, but she refuses to be another notch on his bedpost.

Living with his best friend should have been easy. Except now she’s walking around in a towel, sleeping right across the hall, and Fox is fantasizing about waking up next to her for the rest of his life and… and… man overboard! He’s fallen for her, hook, line, and sinker. Helping her flirt with another guy is pure torture, but maybe if Fox can tackle his inner demons and show Hannah he’s all in, she’ll choose him instead?

In the follow-up to It Happened One Summer, Tessa Bailey delivers another deliciously fun rom-com about a former player who accidentally falls for his best friend while trying to help her land a different man…

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Hook, Line, and Sinker is my favourite of the Bellinger Sister duology (I’m assuming it’s a duology since there are only two sisters). It’s friends-to-lovers with so much angst and, because it’s Tessa Bailey, a payoff worth the wait.

The novel follows Hannah as she tries to be the leading lady in her own life by advancing her career. This brings her direct contact with Fox, the notorious ladies’ man she made a connection with. Fox and Hannah have established that they’re just friends, but something more sparks when Hannah stays in Fox’s guestroom.

Both Hannah and Fox have their own insecurities that plague them throughout the novel. Fox more than Hannah. Hook, Line, and Sinker addresses reinforced gender stereotypes by focusing on the harm done to boys as they age and the eventual outcomes. It’s a very interesting topic that isn’t discussed nearly enough.

The tension and angst between Hannah and Fox is PALPABLE. Bailey opens the novel with a series of text messages between Hannah and Fox that sets the stage for their coming friendship/relationship. These texts are little awkward at first but then become something a little more. Once they’re on page together, sparks fly as they both try to fight their attraction. These moments are some of the best of the novel. The tension is thick you could cut it with a knife. And because it’s a Tessa Bailey novel, you know the payoff from that drawn out tension will be worth it. It is SO worth it.

Overall, Hook, Line, and Sinker will easily make my top ten books of 2022. It’s a fun friends-to-lovers romance with so much angst and tension and a payoff worth the wait. 

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Have you read Hook, Line, and Sinker? What did you think?