Hook, Line, and Sinker

Finis.hed April 14

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

This is the second in a series about two sisters. This features the younger sister Hannah. Hannah works as a production assistant in the movie industry. The sisters discovered fairly recently that their father had left them a bar in Westport, Washington, the small fishing town that he and their mother were from, and Piper, the older sister now lives there. Hannah spent a lot of time there helping Piper restore the bar, and making friends in the small community. 

When Sergei, the writer/director that she works for deems LA the wrong backdrop for his upcoming movie project, Hannah suggests Westport. Hannah planned to stay with Piper, but Piper's boyfriend's parents will be visiting, so she ends up staying in Fox Thornton's spare room. Fox and Hannah had spent some time together a few months back as friends, and had continued to text each other since then, joking, sharing challenges and successes, and music. Music is at the center of Hannah's life. She has always gravitated towards music to accompany her life, and has a music degree. She dreams of being a music coordinator for films someday. One of her habits is coming up with songs to fit every moment, and she has a vast repertoire of songs to pick from, including her own large vinyl collection.

Fox works as a deep sea fisherman, with a schedule of several days at sea, followed by a few days on land. His boss is looking to have him take over as captain on one of the boats he owns, but Fox is resistant. Since his early teens he has had a well-deserved reputation as a fun and promiscuous guy, seeing women without being in a relationship and living a life without responsibilities. His own father was that kind of man and everyone seemed to expect Fox to follow in his footsteps. 

Since he met Hannah, and kept contact with her, some of his thinking has changed, and he finds spending time in close proximity to her where they both face their fears and dreams means that he has to be truthful about what he really wants and how his reputation has hindered that dream. 

This is an engaging romance novel that digs deep into the inner lives of both characters, looking at what drives them, what barriers they've created to protect themselves, and how they can encourage each other to take risks to move forward with their lives. 

Some of the story is told through the texts exchanged between Hannah and Fox, particularly in the early part of the book, and this helps to develop the characters for the reader. 

I've read other Tessa Bailey novels and enjoy her writing.