Hook, Line, and Sinker | Review

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?

Ah-mazing. Seriously, how does Bailey write so many amazing books?!

I loved getting to know Hannah and Fox better in this book. I got a glimpse of their characters in It Happened One Summer, but this book really allowed me to explore the why behind their actions.

Hannah was so strong and cool, and it was really nice to watch her connect with her late father in a way that made sense to her. Also, watching her navigate her job and what she really wanted in her life was inspirational. It was a very different journey than the one her sister took in book one and I was so happy about that. Also, also, the way she handled things with Fox showed she was on a different level than most characters. She was mature and reasonable even in the face of everything happening between them and I absolutely loved her for it.

Fox had a lot of past issues to work through before he could see himself with Hannah and I felt like Bailey addressed them seamlessly. I loved that I was able to experience his pov in this book and get to know him so well. He seemed like a nice guy in book one but getting into the nitty-gritty of his past in this one solidified things for me.

Similar to book one, Bailey does a great job of getting the characters to talk about their issues, especially where it concerns their romantic relationship. She doesn’t leave us with unresolved issues or mild toxicity. She pulls all the skeletons out of the closets and makes the characters address them. And I love her for that.

I loved the epilogue to this book! I wish every book would give a 10-years-later glimpse at the characters’ lives because I seriously cried through the whole thing. It was so perfect.

Overall, I could not have asked for a better story for Hannah and Fox. They deserved every happiness and Bailey certainly gave it to them. 10/10 would recommend this book and the first one!

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Tessa Bailey, go to her Goodreads profile or visit her website.