The Stats
- 353 Pages
- Romance/Chick Lit
- #2 in It Happened One Summer Series
- Friends to Lovers
- Spice/Smut
- Music Producing
- Small Town
“Maybe her mission here wasn’t to be the supportive friend, but to prove to Fox that he could be one. That his presence and personality were enough without any of the physical trappings.”
tessa Bailey, Hook, line, & Sinker (182)
SYNOPSIS
In the follow up to Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer, Hook, Line, & Sinker follows Piper Bellinger’s younger sister, Hannah, and her love story with small town playboy, Fox. Hannah’s Piper’s sweet, sensitive younger sister and Fox is a sexy flirt that everyone knows is only good in bed–so, when the two become fast friends after Hannah and Piper’s visit to Westport the previous fall, everyone would be surprised (that’s only if the two decided to tell anyone).
Yet, when Hannah’s job on an LA movie set has her traveling to Westport and Piper’s guest room just so happens to be occupied with the new in-laws, Hannah’s excited to learn that Fox just so happens to have a room available for her to crash in at his place. She’s not worried about falling for Fox, after all they’re just friends and she’s crushing on her hot Russian co-worker slash director, Sergei. But, when Hannah finds herself spending more and more time with Fox, she can’t deny that she has deep feelings for him, even if she’s not so sure what those feelings mean.
Hook, Line, & Sinker has readers returning to Westport to jump back in to Piper and Hannah’s story as Hannah gets the highlight she truly deserves.
REVIEW
I wanted so badly to like this book–I really did. I’m not sure whether the Friends to Lovers thing just isn’t for me, or what, but I honestly had SUCH a hard time getting into Tessa Bailey’s Hook, Line, & Sinker–so much so that I almost DNF-ed it several times.
I was excited for Hook, Line, & Sinker after hearing that Tessa Bailey’s second book in this series was even better than the first, It Happened One Summer. While I enjoyed her first book (in the way that you enjoy a mindless chick-lit by the pool kind of book), I was looking forward to the depth that Booktok readers promised in her sequel. Yet, I found myself turning page after page wondering where the depth would start to appear–spoiler? It never did.
Let me start off by talking about Fox. Fox is known all around town as a playboy. He goes to Seattle on the weekends to sleep with women, and the town is convinced he will never settle down. Why? He takes after his father, who apparently was the same way. Fox has kept up with this charade his whole life, but the whole thing slows down when Hannah first comes into town. It’s clear that after meeting Hannah, Fox starts to face his demons and figure out why he really has become the playboy character he so clearly despises.
Yet, Fox’s introspection goes beyond changing for Hannah–overall, he is a whiny character that continually complains about his lack of self-confidence without doing a damned thing about it. While it’s clear he tries to confront his feelings on his own, it’s clear that this guy needs a therapist, which ironically is the one thing he doesn’t try in this book.
Rather than getting into a new relationship with a girl who is CLEARLY out of his league (because she has her shit together), Fox should be taking time to himself to improve his self-image and change his ways. Avoiding Seattle for a few months while he’s hung up on Hannah doesn’t count as the change that he needs, though both Fox and Hannah seem to think so. This infuriated me. Throughout the entirety of this book, I found myself frustrated and loathing Fox’s dialogues and I’d have to agree with Angela at Reading Frenzy when she claims, “Hannah is far more patient than I am.” I feel you, girl.
Speaking of Hannah–While I enjoyed Hannah’s character, overall, I do think that Hannah has some issues with her character, as well. First of all, she claims to live in Piper’s shadow and she’s “never the leading lady.” I don’t understand this. Hannah grew up in a rich LA neighborhood with anything she could ever want. In fact, she probably never faced a day of adversity in her life until the night she and Piper appeared on the Doorstep of Cross and Daughters. So why…WHY does Hannah think she has it so hard? She’s clearly a skinny hot blonde who has a LOT of privilege. Sure, she might sometimes feel awkward in her older sister’s presence, or out of place in LA, but that shouldn’t define her whole character.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Overall, I don’t have a ton of great things to say about this book. The constant drama and back and forth between Hannah and Fox really irked me and I just felt like this book was one of those novels that’s popular because of Booktok and women who like smut scenes (don’t worry, there’s no shortage of them in this book). This book actually reminded me a lot of The Roughest Draft, which I read earlier this year and didn’t particularly like, either (you can read that by clicking here). The difference here is that Hook, Line, & Sinker borders on Erotica while The Roughest Draft had very little spice.
After spending time reading It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, & Sinker, I’ve pretty much determined that Tessa Bailey’s books just aren’t for me, even if they do have adorably cute covers. I definitely prefer romances with better hashed out characters, since the story just doesn’t seem realistic to me when it’s so introspective (and filled with sex). So, it’s on to something else for me for next week.
If you liked Hook, Line, & Sinker, please don’t be offended–everyone has their favorites and this one just wasn’t mine. Regardless of whether you liked it, or not, leave a comment below and let me know what your thought were.
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