Review by Booklist Review
Navy SEAL turned wannabe winemaker Augustus Cates might be an annoyingly sexy thorn in Natalie Vos' side, but he could also be the key to her career redemption. After crashing and burning in New York's financial world, Natalie returns home to Napa Valley, hoping to draw on her share of the family trust to bankroll her own investment firm. But the terms of the trust dictate that Natalie must be married to receive the funds, which is where Augustus comes into the picture. If Augustus agrees to a fake marriage with Natalie, she will use her family's status as Napa Valley winemaking royalty to help Augustus obtain the loan he needs for his struggling winery. All Natalie and Augustus now have to do is convince everyone that they are madly in love and not just plain mad at each other. The latest addition to the author's Vine Mess books, which follows Secretly Yours (2023), is vintage Bailey with heady notes of earthy sensuality and smoldering sexual chemistry neatly balanced by deliciously dry hints of sassy humor.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Bailey captivates in this bubbly sequel to Secretly Yours. When Natalie Vos, daughter of a prominent wine-making family, makes a disastrous trade at her New York City hedge fund, it costs her the job and her fiancé, and sends her home to Napa in embarrassment. Navy SEAL August Cates used his life savings to open a winery of his own as a tribute to his deceased, wine-loving SEAL teammate. He's struggling, however; the wine is referred to as tasting of "big sweaty donkey balls" and like it was "fermented in a dumpster." Natalie's eager to return to New York and prove she's not a screwup, but she'll need her trust fund to do so--and her father refuses to release it unless she's married. Despite their frenemy status, Natalie and August hatch a plan: they'll enter into a modern-day marriage of convenience, then Natalie will get her trust fund and August will get funds to prop up his winery. Of course, the fake marriage sparks real desire. The road to happily ever after is anything but smooth, but Bailey does a masterful job bringing her characters to life through some genuinely hilarious moments and raunchy, red-hot sex scenes. Bailey's fans will not be disappointed. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Former Navy SEAL August Cates has no idea how to run a vineyard or make wine. Nevertheless, he made a promise to his late best friend and is determined to see it through--even though his wine is terrible and the bank won't give him a loan. Natalie Vos is from a family of vintners with a successful vineyard, and she knows her way around wine. She's always been the black sheep of the family who ran off to New York to make her mark somewhere the Vos name didn't carry as much weight. She's worked her way up the ladder and gotten engaged, but then a single costly mistake ruins everything. Now her reputation is in tatters, and she needs her trust fund to turn her prospects around. Unfortunately, the stipulation for having the money released is that she must be married and employed, but maybe she and August can help each other. This enemies-to-lovers, fake-marriage romance is brimming with witty banter and sizzling with chemistry. The protagonists are fully realized, with painful backstories and emotional growth throughout the novel. VERDICT Bailey's fans won't be disappointed with this hilarious, heartfelt follow-up to Secretly Yours.--Heather Miller Cover
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A winery heiress and a new face on the Napa Valley scene enter into a marriage of convenience for the sake of future financial success. Natalie Vos belongs to a famous winemaking family, but she's done her best to leave that behind by managing hedge funds in New York City. After a particularly bad trade, though, Natalie is left devastated: She's jobless, and her engagement is off. To hide from her professional and personal embarrassment, she moves back home to California. August Cates is a former Navy SEAL who's put all his money on the line to make his dreams of owning and operating a winery come true. Sadly, the reviews are in for his first crop of wine, and they are rather scathing. August and Natalie frequently butt heads at winery events, but they eventually realize there's a way they can help one another. Natalie wants to return to New York and restart her career, but she needs some cash, and her trust fund can't be paid out until she's married. If August will agree to be her temporary husband, Natalie can offer him some advice in the winemaking department. Their fake marriage begins to feel a lot like the real thing, though, especially when it comes to sharing personal spaces like bedrooms and bathrooms. As usual, the book features Bailey's trademark dirty talk and rivalry between the leads. Disappointingly, though, there's nothing new or fresh here, and the book feels like a familiar blur of innuendo-filled banter, sexually charged moments, and rich-girl-meets-blue-collar-hunk that readers have seen before from Bailey. A typical Bailey romance filled with sex and snark but one that feels rote at this point. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
