Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
Publisher: Avon
Pub Date: 3/1/2022

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from Avon in exchange for my honest opinion. This has no effect on my opinion, review, or rating.

GoodReads Synopsis: 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?

Review: Hook, Line, and Sinker is the second book in the Bellinger Sister series. This book is the sequel to It Happened One Summer and can’t be read as a standalone. This romance novel is a friends to lovers trope. I loved Hannah and Fox as supporting characters in Piper and Brendon’s love story and was so happy to hear that they were going to have their own book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book! This story is definitely a slow burn and is unlike anything the author has previously written. I really loved the way that Hannah and Fox grow as individuals and also discover their feelings for each other in the novel. Definitely recommend picking this one up if you loved It Happened One Summer!