Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut. I understand that this is supposed to serve as character growths, and despite the confident demeanor we've seen, Fox surely had a massive self-loathing problem. And I am empathetic on any other day, but somehow, it's so easier to judge a character when they do questionable stuff — so, if I have to be frank, I find it annoying. He could've pulled his head out of his rear end sooner than intended. It's not like Tessa made him stand for himself with the insult or anything. His arc wasn't fully redeemed as it should have which made it more exasperating while reading his POV. I love love love Tessa Bailey as a human and I’ll always read her books. But I was definitely prepared to be disappointed by this one! The prologue with all its text exchanges between Fox and Hannah was cute, but I guess it failed at showing me how their frienship evolved during the months they spent apart, only speaking through their phones.

Fox suffers from imposter syndrome. Even his coworker, best friend Brendan doesn’t trust him with Hannah. Everybody in the small town thinks he’s just a manwhore. His parental issues and an unfortunate incident at the college changed his perspective to the relationships. He’s always doubtful about his own self worth and he thinks he destroys anything he touches.

hook, line, and sinker

And while Piper is the main lady of her life - Hannah’s words -, I’m definitely more like Hannah: the side character who helps others; everybody knows her but she isn't anybody’s first choice. and honestly, i love how hannah prompts and encourages fox to grow. usually the female characters are the ones who goes through the development in romance novels, so its beyond refreshing to see the guy be the focus instead. foxs character development is so wholesome and purposefully combats the societal pressures men face when it comes to maintaining a certain reputation and image. its a topic that definitely needs more attention. This is a forbidden crush to friends to lovers and it was incredibly addicting. If you have ever felt like you take the supporting role in life rather than being a leading character, you will find connection with this book. Always being the advice and therapist friend, never fully feeling like you have the confidence to take strides over your life. It will touch those who feel like imposters when stepping into things as well as accepting the reputation the people around you see you for instead of paving your own path. 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. Hannah and Fox’s story is more intense, sentimental but also heartwarming than I expected. Especially seeing the vulnerable side of Fox affected me deeply.

I'm not stone-hearted, because I do feel sorry for Fox. Having people to put a label on you, especially with your daddy issues. It can be bothering. However, as clear as day, Fox's insecurities were frequently exploited to carry the conflict and is inadequate to support the entire plot. It's becoming cryptic. Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington. Dating advice to entice OM? There were maybe two dumbass advices like "hey maybe bite ur lip more?" and she never even used them.

hook, line, and sinker.

i’ve said this before and i’ll say it again: if there’s one thing i love, it’s a broken man that doesn’t know his self worth but then he does all thanks to the woman. gets me every time. 😋😋😋 Is it bad that whenever the main couple was left alone I kept hoping Segrei (or Andrei?) would pop up and we'd get to see the boss jealous😩. ME... no.1 hater of Russian men WANTED the Russian man, and he wasn't even that interesting. my heart is so full. ok so i honestly didn’t think going into this that i’d be walking into a tsunami of emotions. i was hollering, screaming, crying, and dying. 🤬🥹🙄🔥😝😝🥶

Sure, the flirtiness was there and I appreciated most of it, but they're not a couple I could see walking that very long run, if you get what I mean. given the book's title, it's not unreasonable for me to expect the leading man to live up to his reputation, especially when his first name is fox and the book at one point describes him as "the maestro of feminine wetness" (HUUUUHHHH!?!?!?!). and yet this man CANNOT SEDUCE FOR SHIT!!!!!!!! not an ounce of wit. no charm. not even a little bit suave. fox is the kind of conventionally attractive person who has never had to develop a personality to get what he wants and it shows. he's been carried by his blond genetics. As for their relationship, it actually turned out to be much better than what I expected, which of course made me very very happy. It was really cute and I had so much fun reading how they went from 'just friends' to 'if I lose you I'll die'. The tension and the longing were so. damn. gooood. I live for this stuff. Obviously, the spice was juuust right. Duuuh. Also, I swooned a lot over them, despite most moments being cheesy and over the top. As I already said, clichés are actually kind of fun on occasion. If I had to choose a favourite part, however, it would be the ending. It was just so beautiful in the most unexpected way. Once again, I expected something really cheesy and cliché but thankfully it was anything but 😍😍 and that epilogue...oooh that epilogue...it was so adorable.

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Hannah always considers herself as supporting actress, not a leading lady. She thinks she’s hype girl as her sister Piper always demanded the spotlight ( we already witnessed how her influential efforts resulted with more heartbreaks) since their childhood. And Hannah patiently waited in the wings, waiting for her right time to be announced as best supporting actress. She was always the one who was bolstering the heroine at her lowest point, taking care of the situation, fixing things! I usually would lay it out on what I like about a book first, but I don't think I have anything to bring to the table for this one. Not even the smut could save it. I either roamed or skipped it through as there weren’t much of the plot to cling to. Classic Hannah” made me think of an urban dictionary entry. These characters didn’t speak naturally. Since they spent time at the convention center and he bought her Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album, she couldn’t get him out of her mind. It seems like Fox felt the same: they already started seeing fireworks: but both of them were too stubborn to talk about their feelings. Tessa Bailey has the ability to gather our attention to anything she writes due to her amazing writing skills. Her books are generally entertaining to read. I liked how she decided to use the smut at a moderate level in this book compared to her first book in this series. In my opinion, this book had everything to call it better than the first one.