Unfortunately Yours

This was a sweet with oh-so-saucy-heat RomCom that features two characters that I loved from Secretly Yours, the first book in the A Vine Mess series. 

August is an ex-Navy SEAL and a massive dude who is trying his hand at wine making and failing. Natalie is a Napa heiress with family issues and a wicked financial mind who has hit a professional roadblock. 

As we saw in Secretly Yours, these two headstrong people do not get along, but they decide it's in their best interests to have a marriage of convenience. As one does. The fake marriage is needed so Natalie can get access to her hefty trust fund and August can get a bank loan for his winery start up. What could possibly go wrong?

Tessa Bailey proves she is the queen of the spicy RomCom with saucy bedroom scenes, her signature humour (oh the banter!!), great chemistry between her characters and a bevy of romance tropes. In this book we have fake marriage, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and just a bit (thankfully) of miscommunication - the bane of all tropes for this reader.

What I didn't love: The overuse of endearments. Argh. Nicknames like 'babe' *inner shudder* are definitely not my jam, so August's constant use of the term "Princess" for Natalie got annoying fast.

The connection between August and Natalie was gentle at times and hot-HOT-HOT other times making them a couple readers will root for. August (sorry, not a fan of the name) successfully balanced between obnoxious dude/manly male and a big 'ol softie while Natalie was a good balance of a strong, smart woman who has her vulnerable side too. 

Unfortunately Yours is a great addition to this newer series and I actually liked it even more than Secretly Yours. Make sure you read the epilogue which adds that extra swoony layer on top of this entertaining RomCom that has both humour, heart and spice. 

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Avon Books for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was sent in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Tessa Bailey

Genre: RomCom, Romance, Steamy

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Series: #2 in the A Vine Mess series

Publisher: Avon Books

First Published: June 6, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can't stand... only to discover there's a fine line between love and hate.

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.