Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
Written by: Merrill Robinson
I have now experienced Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey twice. After buying the physical copy of the book back in September 2023 to read before the end of the summer (after hearing it was the ultimate summer and beach read), I loved it so much that I decided to listen to it again in audiobook format at the beginning of 2024.
Best. Decision. Ever.
I love audiobooks because they make it easier to continue doing your day-to-day chores and activities while still consuming hands-free stories! What’s better than still absorbing a story while you’re doing the dishes or making dinner? Nothing, that’s what!
The chance to experience the world of Fox Thornton and Hannah Bellinger twice made my heart feel light and happy for the start of the year. Traveling from LA to Westport, Washington, and Seattle with Hannah and Fox as they trek on physical and emotional adventures together is eye-opening and relatable.
Let’s dive in…
Table of Contents: Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
Tropes of Hook, Line, and Sinker
- Smalltown Romance
- Friends to Lovers
- Close Proximity
- Slow Burn
- He Falls First
- Overcoming toxic masculinity
Tessa Bailey Hook, Line, and Sinker Synopsis
Fox Thornton, a king crab fisherman, is known for being a seductive and easygoing flirt. Everyone knows he will be having a great time, both in bed and out, and he likes it that way. That is until he encounters Hannah Bellinger – the “sea captain killer.” He may be attractive and charming, but she’s impervious to his… personality? And desires friendship, instead? Bizarre. But platonic friends it is; he likes her too much to take the chance on a fling.
Now, Hannah is staying in Fox’s extra bedroom while she is in town for work. Although she is acutely aware of his reputation as a ladies’ man, they are just friends. In reality, Fox is the ideal person to assist her with her fading romantic life as she harbors a hopeless infatuation with a coworker. Equipped with some advice from Wesport’s local Casanova, Hannah sets out to capture her coworker’s attention; however, the more time she spends with Fox, the more she finds herself wanting him instead. Hannah can’t help but adore Fox, even though she doesn’t want to be just another notch on his bedpost their friendship starts to blur as they spend more time – flirting and encouraging each other to take more risks in life.
It should have been simple to live with his best friend – girl or not. However, at this point, she’s sleeping across the hall and strolling around in a towel, and Fox is daydreaming of spending the rest of his life with her. Man overboard! He’s hook, line, and sinker for her. Helping her flirt with another man is unbearable, but perhaps if Fox faces his inner demons and shows his commitment to Hannah, she will pick him over the other guy.
Is Hook, Line, and Sinker Spicy
Yes, the Hook, Line, and Sinker book is spicy. However, it does not have as much spicy and smut as Tessa Bailey’s other books. This is mostly due to Hook, Line, and Sinker being a friends-to-lovers trope romance. But, it’s not for a lack of Fox trying, it’s mostly due to Hannah helping Fox overcome toxic masculinity and Fox using is sexuality as a safety blanket for anyone getting a real look at him.
I know, I know, it’s kind of a letdown. HOWEVER – when you do get to the spice? It is well worth it!
Hook, Line, and Sinker Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️/5
Hook, Line, and Sinker Spicy Chapters:
- Chapter 10; pages 142-152
- Chapter 17; pages 229-233
- Chapter 20; pages 268-278
- Chapter 24; pages 318-327
Merrill's Takeaway of Hook, Line, and Sinker
Reading this book following the prequel to it, It Happened One Summer, and listening to it on audiobook gave me two very different experiences. I think we all make judgements based on what is going on in our lives, and I have to admit that when I first read this book, I was screaming “WHERE IS THE SPICE?!?” the entire time. But, I was fresh on my smut journey, and now that I am a little bit more seasoned, I feel as if I was able to appreciate this book for what it was – a heart-wrenching and slow-burning friends-to-lovers romance.
Let me tell you, it is WELL worth the wait, too.
Tessa Bailey opens the book with a series of text messages between Hannah and Fox that span over a seven-month period after Fox left a cherished Fleetwood Mac album for Hannah before she returned to LA, leaving Fox and Westport behind. In the beginning, Fox was uncertain of how to conduct himself as a “friend” to another woman – being friendly with a woman was unchartered territory for him until he met her. Fox knew he liked her, but he also knew that there was a lot of work he had to do on himself before he moves to make Hannah his.
Their relationship is so endearing that Fox goes all-in on a passion Hannah feels extreme about: music. Which quickly turns into a sort of love language for both of them. They quickly start gauging each other’s moods and their days through music. They have full conversations through song lyrics to express how they are feeling.
Even though Fox knows that Hannah has been infatuated with her long-time crush on the director at her film production job, he reluctantly helps her and advises her on how to get the director’s attention. You get to experience the internal battle that Fox feels about being Hannah’s friend while being madly in love with her – even if he doesn’t know he’s madly in love with her yet. While Hannah consults Fox on how to be more assertive, take the lead in her life, and take more chances, she slowly peels back layers of him until they are both exposed and working toward bigger goals in life, love, and their careers. It’s heartwarming as they give each other advice and encourage one another to believe in themselves to take the next step in life. Even if it means that they won’t end up together in the end.
Fox is more comfortable with the whole “love em’ and leave em’” concept, so while he might struggle with helping Hannah, he is ultimately more comfortable with that concept. Simultaneously, you get to see Fox’s transformation as Hannah convinces him to believe in himself. So, while Fox thinks that he is helping Hannah by becoming the “leading lady” of her life, Hannah is helping Fox become the truest version of himself and owning up to the fact that he isn’t comfortable with the preconceived notions that people have about him.
In the small town of Westport, everyone believes he’s just a manwhore. His perspective on relationships was impacted by an unfavorable college experience and issues he had with his parents that started when he was a kid. He always has self-doubt and believes that whatever he touches is destroyed.
Read my review for It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey.
@merrillsbooks Because Fox and Hannah have their own musical love language — here is mine. “All I Ask” by Adele; performed by @laurenspencersmith & @Michael Gerow Fox and Hannah’s friends-to-lovers romance doesnt come easy but they are CRAZY about one another. Their relationship doesn’t come easy and I never knew i could fall in love with two fictional characters. I’m still rooting for them! Especially, after that epic epilogue. I hope you enjoy the ride. I know I did. See my full review on the blog. #books #booksbooksbooks #tessabailey #bookrecommendations #silentbookreviews #silentbookreview #hooklineandsinker #foxthornton #hannahbellinger ♬ original sound - laurenspencersmith
Brendan, Fox’s best friend and coworker, doesn’t even trust him with Hannah. So, even though Brenden wants Fox to take the wheelhouse of his boat, the Della Ray, so he can captain another boat, Fox fights him whenever the subject is brought up. Piece by Piece, Hannah pulls back the layers of Fox’s trauma. Uncovering him as the loyal, steadfast, and committed guy that he really is.
Throughout the book, Hannah and Fox grow together, and they fall together. They break down each other’s walls until nothing is left. Tessa Bailey did a wonderful job of wrapping up their story and giving us an emotional epilogue into their future. Seriously, I wept. And Tessa Bailey has even posted TikTok’s of her trying to describe the epilogue to her husband and she can’t get through it because she’s crying so hard.
All of this may sound a little depressing, but I promise you, it is such an endearing and loveable friends-to-lovers romance that you won’t want to put it down. Tessa Bailey can write the hell out of a romcom – she can even make it emotional and moving –, and she definitely makes this story as funny, interesting, and heartfelt as possible. There’s no doubt that this is a delightful read, and I totally understand why it is so possible. Even if the friends-to-lovers trope isn’t my favorite trope, Tessa Bailey wrote my favorite version of it – with Fox Thronton and Hannah Bellinger at the helm.
Favorite Quotes
“In the six months that she’d been gone, he’d noticed the sunrise more. He’d started paying attention to strangers, their actions. Listening to music. Even his job seemed to have more gravity to it. Hannah did that somehow. Made him look around and consider.”
“Hannah was like a leaf blower aimed right at his undisturbed pile of possibilities, and damn, the hope felt kind of good. At the same time, he wanted them stuffed back under the tarp. Protected.”
“You can’t live life worrying about what people will think. You’ll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.”
“I could tell by the way you looked at her, she was something real special.” “How did I look at her?’… ‘Ah, son. Like a summer day showing up after a hundred years of winter.”
“I don’t know what trying looks like for us. I just know that I want to.’ ‘Oh, Fox’… ‘We’ve been trying this whole time.”
AI Art of Fox Thornton and Hannah Bellinger
About Tessa Bailey
New York Times Bestselling author Tessa Bailey can solve all problems except for her own, so she focuses those efforts on stubborn, fictional blue collar men and loyal, lovable heroines. She lives on Long Island avoiding the sun and social interactions, then wonders why no one has called. Dubbed the “Michelangelo of dirty talk,” by Entertainment Weekly, Tessa writes with spice, spirit, swoon and a guaranteed happily ever after.
Catch her on TikTok at @authortessabailey or check out her website for a complete list of books and newest releases.
