Book Review: Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

About the Book:

Title: Unfortunately Yours

Author: Tessa Bailey

Series: A Vine Mess #2

Page Length: 384

Publication Date: June 6, 2023

Publisher: Avon

Synopsis: 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.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon

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My Review:

I’m so excited to share my review of Unfortunately Yours with you today. I loved Secretly Yours, the first book in A Vine Mess series, and I couldn’t wait to read this one too. Natalie and August met in Secretly Yours, and you could tell there was a lot of chemistry between them, even through the snarky banter. Well, I was not disappointed! Unfortunately Yours is a fantastic addition to the series, and I found yet another book boyfriend to add to my list.

An ex-Navy Seal who started his winery in honor of his fallen best friend, August struggles with guilt, feelings of failure, and frustration on many levels. Natalie also has her share of struggles, as her teenage reputation follows her, her fiancée dumped her, and her career is in shambles. These are the main reasons for their fake marriage. Through it, August can get the bank loan he needs, and Natalie can receive her inheritance and start her own company. However, their marriage of convenience is anything but convenient, especially as their attraction and feelings become more difficult to deny and resist.

Even before they admit their feelings, you can see they want to get to know each other more, they yearn for the connection.  I love how the author creates such a nuanced and beautiful love story between two flawed people who seem very much opposites but are actually perfect for each other. At the start, it seems like their distaste for each other and their constant bickering would keep them apart. However, they find ways to take their antagonistic banter and made it fun sparring, practical jokes, and pranks. They tease and have fun, and I feel like they really tried to understand each other. They were sensitive to each other’s pain and trauma and insecurities.  On top of the sizzling heat between them (and it is SIZZLING! Whew, the spice and dirty talk are STEAMY!!), there is a tender understanding and profound respect.  

And I really love how much they have each other’s backs. It’s pretty obvious that August has strong feelings for Natalie from the get-go, and he shows it in a million different ways. I think he’s one of the few people who supports her unequivocally, and he prioritizes her needs and her emotional wellness, which she hasn’t really experienced in her family or romantic relationships. August is so disarming, and he shakes Natalie and her family up. It’s fantastic! They definitely need a little shaking, especially Natalie’s mother, who does not endear herself to the reader at all! I think having August in her life has changed Natalie for the better. They are both flawed characters who grow and change over the course of the story, and they become better versions of themselves when they’re together.

I adored Unfortunately Yours, and it is definitely one of my top contemporary romance reads of the year. It’s funny and steamy, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and it has dynamic and compelling characters.

Special thanks to Avon Books for sending me a copy of Unfortunately Yours. All thoughts are my own.

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Rating:

Favorite Parts:

• The romance.

• The character development.

• August, my new book boyfriend.

Favorite Line:

“If I ever make you cry, you get to give me a purple nurple. Says it right here in bold print.”

“I’m not crying.”

“You were close,” he said miserably. “I hated it.”

“Don’t come any closer. I’m not purple nurpling you.”

“Those are the vows.”

“You didn’t say them in front of God. They don’t count.”

“I just said them in front of a goddess. They count.”

Tropes:

• Marriage of convenience
• Enemies to lovers
• He falls first
• Forced proximity