Secretly Yours is such a cute book and while it didn’t have the same magic as It Happened One Summer, it’s pretty dang close! Hallie and Julian play the “opposite attracts” trope perfectly with a bit of grumpy sunshine sprinkled in as well. I love how exasperated Julian would get at her chaos and how she knew it drove him crazy. Let me tell you the sexual tension was pretty much IMMEDIATE and did not fail me the ENTIRE book (thank you Tessa Bailey). I also really enjoyed the aspect of the story of dealing with one’s issues and perceived weaknesses (in this case grief for Hallie and anxiety for Julian). Their problems don’t go away and it was nice to see them working on it, not just for each other, but themselves as well. The anxiety-rep in this one is there and no joke so just be aware if panic attacks are a trigger. 

*Also I appreciate Tessa Bailey for the body-rep in this book too!

I thought the secret admirer letters were cute and different for a contemporary romance story, but for me ended up falling short. I felt like they were a big point in the first half and then don’t really do much in the second half besides pushing the miscommunication narrative. I’m not a big miscommunication romance gal so once it turned into that, I was a bit dumbfounded by the whole thing. Especially because Hallie doesn’t use it for malice or deceit, but a healthy release of feelings that helps Julian as well. And they already really like each other from getting to know one another in person, so why would it really matter? Don’t worry though - it isn’t a dumb angry man reaction when Julian finds out that it’s Hallie so don’t let that deter you from enjoying this book!

Overall, loved this book and will definitely recommend this to any romance fan!