I couldn't get enough of the chemistry these two had. August is absolutely obsessed with his fake wife and I loved his adorable caveman ways. This man is the ultimate cinnamon role with a possessive and obsessive streak a mile long and I loved every part of him.

Huh, look at that… after a fairly bumpy road with my last tries, a Tessa Bailey book finally did it for me again. The banter, the humor, the jokes! I was constantly laughing at this book! Like out loud. In public. It was perfection! The absolutely hilarious one liners got me every time. August and Natalie are just two hilariously snarky people and it made reading so much fun. After Secretly Yours, Natalie and August are “enemies” in that they can’t stop from throwing insults and jabs at one another every time they see each other. Underneath this facade, they’re both so attracted to one another and get off on getting the other riled up. When Natalie learns she can’t access her trust fund she needs to start her own finance startup unless she is married, insert ex-Navy Seal, August Cates. August can’t get a bank loan to save his friends winery dream, but with Natalie, a winery heiress, as his wife and partner, he just might be able to try to salvage his god-awful winery. Enter the marriage of convenience. Natalie can access her trust fund under one condition: get married! August and Natalie decide to enter into marriage to fulfil both of their dreams. Turns out though, while they don’t like each other, they do have sizzling sexual tension that can’t be ignored. Tessa Bailey is such a reliable author for me bc I know her books will take me out of a slump like this. Her books always scratch that itch you never knew you had.If you have never read a Tessa Bailey book before just know that her steamy scenes and dirty talk should be the industry standard. Wow. These two characters nearly set my book on fire. Natalie on the other hand was a strong women who didn’t need no man. And there’s nothing I love more (as I’ve said before) than a women who doesn’t need a man, but can bring one to their knees!

The intimate scenes when August and Natalie were together were insane! No matter how Natalie felt about August, she was putty in his hands behind closed doors. Tessa knows how to set the bar and rise above it in her books and the spice in this book did not disappoint. There were parts that were so intense, you kinda worried about Natalie a little bit (while envying her at the same time!) 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. I have so many of Tessa Bailey's books on my keeper shelf. But I've come to realize that with the exception of the Bellinger sisters books, the Bailey I loved is no more. I loved Indie Bailey, the one that didn't try to squish her intense super possessive dirty-talking heroes into a rom-com format. The whole night was a blur of anything but...her. The way she'd smiled. Her smoke-and-flowers scent. How he'd lost his balance the moment he saw her”Natalie can't get her trust fund without marrying.... and August doesn't ask questions when she asks him to be her husband. As much as enjoyed ‘Secretly, Yours’ book one in the Vine Mess series, the follow-up Unfortunately Yours* just blew me away. It’s so much fun, the chemistry is off the charts, the spice is perfection, and August… well, move over, Brendan; there’s a new favourite book boyfriend in town.

I love vulnerability in my main characters and while August was a rough around the edges and tough ex-Navy SEAL, and Natalie clearly projected sharp edges and no nonsense, they both had such deep emotions and hopes and sadness they were carrying with them. Once they allowed themselves to show that to each other it was beautiful. Particularly August just seemed to KNOW what Natalie needed out of him as a partner. It was so sweet. This was an improvement over the first book but I never connected fully with anyone. The pacing was weird, there was too much going on and by the halfway mark I was ready for it to be over. I have to admit, in the first book of the series, I didn't quite connect with Julien and Hallie's story. However, from the moment Natalie, Julian's hotshot Wall Street aspiring businesswoman sister, entered the scene, my interest was piqued. And when I stumbled upon the blurb that promised a delicious combination of enemies to lovers and fake marriage, I couldn't resist diving headfirst into the world of ex-Navy SEAL August and the betrayed, privileged, smart, and tough cookie Natalie. The prospect of their intense chemistry, the kind that can make your pants melt and leave you hyperventilating, was too enticing to pass up. So, blindfolded and ready for the wild ride, I embarked on their journey of financial benefits, where they were equally likely to rip each other's clothes off or each other's throats. Yes, hate-like sex was always on the table! And let me tell you, I became fully engaged with their characters and their story.When I buddy read Secretly Yours, I was instantly attracted to Natalie and her dry sense of humor. Seeing her and August interact in the first book was hilarious and once I knew she had her own book coming I was practically salivating waiting for it! But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him--and kiss him, in equal measure. The way this book rlly surprised me at every turn was exciting bc everything I was predicting about what would happen, didn’t happen and I loved that about this.