“Waiting for you is the best I’ve ever had.”

Tessa Bailey is an author who stormed into the romance genre with her penchant for well crafted emotional reads, delivering the zing factor as it should be. She is well known in the reader community as the Queen of Dirty Talk, a badge well deserved. Her writing has evolved over time as it should, and her stories of recent times are very well nuanced, highlighting on issues and changing norms of society today. Such is the underlying topic of the second installment in the two-book Bellinger Sisters series, first published in March of last year.

31 year old Fox Thornton and Hannah Bellinger meet one another in the previous book, when Hannah tags along with her sister to Westport, hometown of their biological father. It has been over six months since Hannah left and her sister Piper stayed on, Hannah back to her job working as an assistant at a production company, while crushing on her boss.

When Hannah returns to Westport for filming purposes, circumstances would have it that she lodges at Fox’s place bringing to the surface, the simmering emotions underneath for both of them. Fox considers Hannah to be his friend, something he never entertained could be possible for someone like him; a girl being his friend, and that girl liking him for something other than what he could deliver in bed. Through the months that they have proceed to get to know each other via text and otherwise, Hannah has gotten under his skin and Fox, even though he does not know how to deal with that particular aspect, knows that Hannah’s presence is something he wants and needs in his life.

Hannah is the sister who was always comfortable waiting in the wings, with Piper taking up the spotlight. Hannah has always been the friend, the confidante, the comforter in times of need. And even though Hannah considers Fox to be her friend, she too is not immune to the whole vibe that surrounds Fox – the one that lets a woman instinctively know what a man would be capable of in the throes of passion.

It made for absorbing reading experience to see both Hannah and Fox navigate through the waters that were choppy at times and exhilarating in many aspects, their journey towards seeing each other, understanding each other, and giving into what they could be together in every sense.

I loved Hannah for being such an intuitive heroine – being the quieter child always has its perks because you are constantly cast into the role of the observer which helps you understand the nuances of human emotions better and take cues from the subtle and not so subtle shifts in mannerisms, tone of voice, and body language. That is what helps Hannah identify that beneath the beauty that is Fox to every sense imaginable to the heterosexual female, he is a man hurting over the fact that he would never be good enough.

Fox is a man who is a victim of toxic masculinity in a very real sense. From childhood through his most formative years and adulthood, Fox has borne the brunt of the promiscuous nature of his father, Fox’s own good looks, and the sexualization of his childhood by those who should have known better. Fox too had lived up to that reputation he felt that he had to keep up with, but it had left its scars that run deep.

Fox is a man who has been burnt badly, making him believe that for any woman, he is only good for the very short term, and beyond that, even in a professional capacity, he is only deserving of the sloppy seconds. Reverse judgement is a huge theme throughout the story, where Fox has always been continued to be judged by his looks, and that plays a huge role in Fox’s psychology and sense of self-worth.

It takes a special kind of woman, someone like Hannah, to be able to peel back those layers to the man underneath and get to the heart of the man that beats only for her. It takes patience of the kind that not many women might be able to exert around a man like Fox, especially when he does everything in his power to make Hannah believe otherwise. I found Hannah to be amazing in every sense, especially in the way she stands up for Fox, the first person to do that for him.

This is a story that stays with you long after you turn that last page, with Ms. Bailey having done a number on your emotions. If I were to choose a favorite between the two books in the series, it would have to be this one, as the story explores emotions that run far deeper than the average. The series has managed to explore both sides of the coin when it comes to toxicity of the sexes, and has done it extremely well.

Don’t be thinking that this is all about the emotional punch; Ms. Bailey never lets down her fans of singeing sex scenes that she is able to write with such flair, and this one is no exception. It just requires a little patience to geth there and it is well worth the wait!

Absolutely recommend this gem of a read!

Final Verdict: It is not the romance alone that tugs at the heartstrings with this number, it is how Ms. Bailey explores the topic of toxic masculinity with such heart that keeps the pages turning!

Favorite Quotes

Hannah was approximately five feet from Fox when his expression changed, and he read her intention. His creeping insecurity vanished, and he rocketed to inferno status on a dime. Those blue eyes darkened, and that square, bristled jaw flexed. Ready. A man well used to being wanted and knowing what to do about it.

During a particularly long-winded story from Deke, Hannah felt Fox watching her and looked back, the alcohol thrumming along in her veins, sending goose bumps riding in a slow wave up her arms and neck.
Right, it’s the alcohol.
In a daze, she watched as he wet his lower lip, rubbing the moisture together with the top one, leaving his mouth looking fresh and male. His heavy-lidded blue eyes never leaving her.
Seductive blends. Seductive aromas.
Sharon Stone.
Go home, you’re drunk.

“You’re a surprise, Hannah. How could I hate them?” He cleared his throat hard. “Even familiar . . . you’re a constant surprise.”

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