I wanted to love this book so much. I've read previous books by this author and fell in love with her writing.

But, this..... ugh I just wasn't a fan at all.

The beginning started ok between Piper and Brendan... loved the chemistry between the two right off. The sassy and banter between the two. Loved the enemies to lovers vibe. But, I feel like there wasn't enough of the enemies. We see them take off quickly with lovers vibe and was sad that we didn't get to see more of the enemies sassy banter.

Also, can we just talk about Piper. Can you get anymore stereotypical for a LA woman? Having all this money, privilege, and traveling in a huge circle of fame with her instagram followers. I was just really rolling my eyes at this. Maybe since I live in so cal? I don't know... just felt this was very stereotypical.

Also, the chemistry between the two. I was ROLLING my eyes so much. Come on can we talk about cheesiness? Yikes.. and the first love scene between them is in a hospital?! Oh god give me a break.

I honestly skimmed the rest of the book and just was such a let down for me. I've been seeing so many raving reviews for this one but I am in the minority as usual.

2.5/5 stars.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Avon publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: 7/13/21
Published to GR: 2/20/21

A 4.5!
This was my first Tessa Bailey book but it definitely will not be my last!
“It Happened One Summer” was about a Hollywood It-girl, Piper, who after a night that turns out of control, gets cut off and sent to the small town of Westport. There she meets local fisherman Brendan, and as someone who doesn’t like change, he does not immediately take a liking to a seemingly high-maintenance Piper. Even though they are polar opposites, they eventually find themselves drawn to each other knowing it might not end well. As expected in the end they are faced with having to make a life changing decision. Do they each choose the life they’re used to, or give it up for a new life in the name of love😍? And, will love be enough?
This story had me swooning, smiling, tearing up, and even laughing a couple times! I felt the connection the two main characters had and was so invested in their story that it kept me turning pages until late at night wanting to read “just one more chapter”. I related to the character’s dilemma, they had valid concerns throughout the story. I loved their conversations and how understanding they were towards each other. Their interactions had me smiling from ear to ear! I can’t remember the last romance book that had me swooning this much! As cheesy as the ending was I loved and appreciated how short and sweet it was before they had their happy ending.
Most books have the end dilemma last for like a quarter of the last part of the story. But this one was short and it made me appreciate their love story all the more. I also loved the way the author wrote about the port town and how it was described. I really felt myself being there and perfectly pictured it just by reading how the author was describing everything without being too info dumpy. When books over describe things, most of the time I find my mind trailing off and I just end up skimming over it. But this book did not do that at all. I felt invested in every word from beginning to end.

The one thing maybe could have had more of a back story was Piper meeting her grandmother after not even knowing she still had one. I felt like one moment they meet and the next they had this great relationship for the rest of the story and thats it. It also left me wondering a little but more about the backstory of her family and I thought it would answer many other questions throughout the book but I guess as expected with a romance book, it was more focused on the connection between Piper and Brendan.

Overall I loved this book. It wasn’t one of my all time favorites but it was definitely the cutest one I’ve read in a while. I think I would read it again eventually when I find myself in the mood for a cute romance just to swoon over Piper and Brendan again! I have two other Tessa Bailey books on my shelf that I haven’t found myself reaching for before, now they will definitely be on my next TBR list!

I really like Bailey's books. It's very easy to fall in to one of her books and before you know it, it's 3 hours later and you've devoured the entire thing. Her characters always have great chemistry. I'm interested to see if she turns this into a trilogy like she did with the Hot & Hammered books and who the main character of the next one will be.

While there were certainly parts of this story that made me grin, and I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good story, this book asked a bit too much of me. While I could certainly believe that a strong connection could form between the two main characters, I just couldn't believe the intimate details (ahem) of their relationship to have any basis as far as the story world is concerned. Based on his backstory, Bailey's choices for his character made zero sense. The only reason I can see for making the choices she did is that she wanted super-hot sex scenes to form the spine of the story. I don't think it worked.

I really enjoyed this story! I must admit, initially I didn’t think I would like the story. Piper first presents as a spoiled rich airhead, of which I had no interest in reading. However, I am sooo glad I continued. As the story progresses you learn that these are multidimensional characters. You learn how deeply they are wounded, the driving force behind every action and that they just want to be loved. You grow to really appreciate and like the characters. I especially appreciated how the characters evolved throughout the story. Pushing each other out of their comfort zones to find their true selves and true happiness with it.
The author did a fantastic job interjecting the town, its families and history with the changes the new arrivals brought, as well as, their dramas. The story has a captivating plot, that includes humor, sizzling chemistry and heart-felt emotions. This book turned out to be a highly enjoyable read! I look forward to the next story in the series.

I honestly can’t put this book down and at same never wanted it to end so tried to read it slow. I failed I finished in basically
One sitting. I loved it. I love this author so much. I want to reread it right away. I mean an enemies to lovers with small town vibes grief and side characters I cared about. I’m sold. I also always love a book with dual POV. Thank you for that. This book is going to sell sell sell. I loved seeing them both grow as people and I loooove Hannah. What An amazing sister. I love opal. I love everything. And the slow build !! Thank you so much for sending me an arc, I can’t wait to tell people all about this book.

I was immediately ready to dive into this book based on the description alone. After reading it was Schitt's Creek inspired and the main character was loosely based of Alexis Rose, I was sold and going in with high expectations. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I didn't have that image going into it. Although not a perfect five stars for me, I did enjoy this book!

This was my first book by Bailey, but it will not be my last. And needless to say, I was not expecting how steamy the romance was going to be. Holy cow. She does not hold back, does she??

I enjoyed this heartwarming story and watching Piper's transformation in this cute PNW town and I am looking forward to reading more about Hannah and Fox's story also!

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

This is exactly what the world needs right now. An amazing story of two troubled humans set in a fishing town finding themselves, along with each other.

I loved Brendan and Piper. I assure you that you will as well. I am excited to read more about this cute fishing town and their characters.

Thank you Avon and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for gifting me this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Tessa Bailey read (I know I know, where the heck have I been?!) and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fun and easy read that I did in one day.

It Happened One Summer is about a Hollywood influencer type, Piper, who after throwing an after hours pool party is arrested and ultimately banished by her stepfather to her deceased biological father's town in the Pacific Northwest. Her sister Hannah joins along in solidarity and they are dropped off at a bar that was owned by their deceased father, although now it has been abandoned and run down and in desperate need of a good cleaning.

Mere minutes after being in town Piper is being snubbed and judged by local fishing boat captain, Brendan. He's been a widower for the last 7 years and like most of our gruff and grumpy main love interests he doesn't like change and doesn't appreciate the girls invading his town...no matter that their dad was a local legend. Piper and Brendan's relationship quickly turns (maybe a little too quick in my opinion) from enemies to lovers. The whole last three fourths of the book is all about a will she won't she stay in town after her punishment time is up.

I really liked the chemistry between Piper and Brendan and their steamy scenes were well written and not awkward or stunted. But most of all I probably liked the relationship between Piper and her sister Hannah the most. The way that Hannah was the younger sister but always stood up for Piper and encouraged her and helped her take care of herself was really beautiful to me and I'm really looking forward to seeing it again in Hannah's book.

2.5 stars CW: death of a spouse

I wanted to like this book. I hoped I would. Ultimately, for me it was just so-so. BUT I see the appeal and it might be right for you—so read on.

Piper is a spoiled LA party girl who's banished to small town Pacific Northwest as penace for one too many troublesome antics. There she and her sister have to learn how to make their own way. One kink? Gruff fishing captain Brendan who can't stand the arrival of these city girls and assumes they won't last the night. Not only is he proven wrong, Piper begins to charm the town—and him (and his pants, all the way off) within no time.

Here's what didn't work for me. First, it felt like Schitt's fanfiction. Now I love Schitt's and I love fanfiction so that is NOT an insult. Its just - not what I wanted to read. Once I had the image of Alexis in my head, that's all I could picture throughout the book. Second, there were some continuity issues that might not annoy others but bugged me. Things like: where did they get the funds to finish the bar? How did two girls who couldn't boil water figure out how to do construction? Why in a book that highlighted so many strong female connections was there no resolution with their mom? Third and fourth, the magic peen trope alongside the vaginal orgasms are better trope. (See also: things that annoy the heck out of a romance reading sex educator who spends her day helping people heal from the trouble such beliefs cause.) I LOVED when Piper fangirled with her sister about this experience. I mean, I loved everything about their relationship. But, when study after study shows that less than 1/3 of people with vaginas can experience orgasm from penetration alone? Let's stop lifting it up as The Ultimate O. And while, yes, it is more likely to happen when one feels safe and connected to their partner, that part wasn't explored in depth in the text and I so wish the conversation with Hannah could have gone on longer. I realize 2-4 might be nitpicky but these are the things that take me out of the story and come crashing through the fantasy. Lastly, the dirty talk. I LOVE me some dirty talk but several bouts of this made me LOL, literally. The whole high maintenance vagina angle? I just couldn't.

Now, after reading this if you're wondering, "How did she still give this 3 stars?" Becuase the parts that worked REALLY worked. Let's celebrate those!

First, Hannah and Piper's relationship: yes, more, please, and thank you. I LOVED watching them develop and grow together even as they became their own people. Second, Piper's self growth. In fact, if this has been a coming of age/quarter life crisis novel, I probably would have given it 4 stars. While I absolutely cannot connect with being objectively stunning or rich AF, that feeling of not knowing who you are? Of being—pardon the pun—tossed out to sea and needing to figure it out to survive? Oh that part took my breath away. I loved it. Thirdly, the sex was steamy and explicit and varied. Fourth, recharging station. IYKYK and this made me so sappy because hot damn I get that and what a beautiful way to describe such a visceral experience. Fifth, I learned about fishing! I love learning new things and especially love it when that knowledge comes from romance novels since so many people dismiss them. Sixth, along those same lines, Westport was so very alive for me. I found the world building to be rich and just the right amount to add to and enhance the story. Finally - Abe and Opal. They were my favourite side characters and even though the book gave zero inclination of it, I'm 100% rooting for them to get together as a side couple or even as MCs in their own right. LOVE both of them so deeply.

So yeah - this wasn't for me but you can bet I'll be reading Hannah and Fox's story when it comes out next year because I have a feeling those two are going to be just my jam.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

I adore Tessa Bailey and all of her books! This one was no exception. Piper and Brenden have chemistry burning these pages! I loved getting to see Piper learn about herself and the atmosphere of this town along with the side characters!!!

I am so excited for the world to get It Happened One Summer. Tessa Bailey creates such great heat and tension between her characters and Piper and Brendan were no different. They each had their own growth to accomplish - his grief and her discovery of herself and her past - and getting to take that steamy and fun journey with them was so much fun. I loved the setting of a fishing town in the pacific northwest. It was a different sense of place for the reader and I am here for it.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It reminded me of The Simple wild and that is one of my favorites so it would be fair to say I loved it.

Piper, a party girl, socialite is sent away to a small town where she meets our hero, Brendan, a sea-captain/fisherman and there is chemistry right away. Piper has this reputation of being an airhead but once she is in this new place with her sister, Hannah, her true character comes out and she is so much more likable. Westport with a tight sense of community with all residents knowing each other are involved in the plot without it feeling forced.

Whenever Piper met Brendan, there was crackling chemistry, angst and fireworks and it was such an amazing love story. It definitely stood out for me amongst the other books in this genre. It also made me fall in love with this fishing town. Piper’s relationship with Hannah was really well established and it was nice to see how they rallied for each other. There is this cliche of a rich girl moving to a small town trope but the characters and the steamy writing made me enjoy this book. Though I haven't said much about Brendan, he was an amazing boyfriend who gave Piper her space to make some major life decisions. He is definitely hot without a doubt.

Steamy, fun and an entertaining read! I cannot wait for Hannah's story!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It Happened One Summer starts off with the heroine, Piper, getting dumped by her boyfriend of 3 weeks. And since it happens at a party in L.A. she is more worried about not looking pathetic than the loss of this relationship. In an attempt at damage control she does some stuff that ends up with her step father banishing her to Westport, WA. And now Piper and her sister, Hannah are stuck in the PNW with minimal money to survive. Their first night there the sisters meet a grouchy sea captain, named Brendan, who is not happy the sisters have come to town.

I wouldn't say that this is an enemies-to-lover story. Brendan is a curmudgeon and is not interested in Piper. However, Piper is more focused on the fact she was kicked out of her home and cut off. She doesn't know how to do much for herself so Brendan's animosity is less of a focus for her than trying to survive. But sparks soon start flying.

Piper's relationship with her sister is pure and lovely. Despite Piper's past as a shallow socialite with gallons of Instagram followers, she is never shallow or petty with her sister. I loved them. And Hannah could not have been more different than Piper. We also get glimpses throughout the book that although Hannah is pining for an unrequited love back in L.A. that there may be something brewing between her and Brendan's best friend, Fox.

What I love about this author's books are the characters personalities. They are always people I would like to be friends with but they do have flaws. Not huge flaws, but believable ones that we all have. There isn't unnecessary drama where the reader is rolling their eyes and thinking, "just tell them the truth!".

It was a lovely story where two people, who don't even realize they are lonely, find one another and realize what they thought was important means nothing unless they have each other.

This is an ARC copy given for an honest review. I also need to disclose that I ADORE all Tessa Bailey books. All. Of. Them. I also must disclose that I predominately read romance books, but contemporary romance is my least favorite. I start reading, then stop. Sometimes I start again. Sometimes I don't. But I ALWAYS devour Tessa Bailey's books.

Thank you, Avon, for an ARC of this book. IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER is a swashbuckling story about a Brendan, a grumpy, stodgy, but inwardly kind sea captain, and Piper, a party girl with a heart of gold. While I started this book for the romance, I stayed for the friendships. I loved how the close-knit town rallied for Piper. I also appreciated that Brendan had to confront his overbearing, stuffy nature in order to be a supportive partner for Piper. Some of this book was definitely over the top, but it’s absolutely a fun escape during eternal quarantine!

I am in love! Oh Captain my Captain, Brenden Taggert is my newest permanent book boyfriend. I have licked him, by romance book world rules that makes him mine right? (let's just go with it) The hype for this book is so well deserved. Piper is a Los Angeles socialite, she is insta-famous and thinks that is all she is. When she is essentially banished to a small pacific northwest town, she never expects for it to last the 3 month duration, what will happen to her follower count? Brendan is the captain of a fishing boat and crab fisherman. He is the very definition of a pouty man bear (PMB). He has been single for 7 years since became a widower. This story starts out as enemies to lovers, but Brenden quickly realizes that he doesn't hate her, he wants to protect her, he wants to make her happy and bring out her true self. There is also a lot of humor in this story, which had me chuckling and aww-ing from the start. I was in love with Brenden by the time I was 20% into the book and that love only grew. The character development of both Brenden and Piper was beautiful and so natural and authentic to the characters Tessa Bailey created. Now let's get to the good stuff... if you have gotten this far in my review, and you have read Tessa Bailey before you are probably wondering how the dirty talk is? Because, let's be honest, Tessa is the Queen of dirty talk. The answer: PHENOMENAL I can't remember the last book I highlighted so much! The writing was just perfection and when Brenden was dirty talking it was original and all sorts of hot!

I am going to recommend this book to everyone! I am so grateful to have gotten to read it when I did, and I can't wait for its release in July so everyone can meet my newest book boyfriend.

I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily give my review.

This story was hot! There was so much about this book that I loved and only a few things I questioned or didn’t like.

Piper is an amazing main character. Her character development was stellar. She was such a personality that I felt more like I was watching a movie because I could picture her and her movements so clearly. Her sidekick of a sister, Hannah, is a perfect balance. Then Brendan May make me start begging my husband to quit his job to become a crab fisherman. The steam factor is high (in my opinion) on the one and 50% of that might be the thought of Brendan and how he is described.

I have seen Tessa Bailey books before but I have yet to pick one up yet. If all the rest of her books are this spicy and humorous in the most perfect way, I am officially nominating myself as her fan club President. Someone teach my 3 year old how to cook because mommy is busy binge reading the other books by Bailey!

The few things I didn’t love... the interaction with Pipers stepdad early in the book seemed unnatural to me. The dialogue of banishing her away to this remote town seemed forced. But he’s not meant to be a warm, involved dad so I guess it fits. The other tidbit I didn’t connect completely with was an interaction with her stepdad and mom (I don’t want to give any spoilers) just seemed rushed and weird.

I love the cover. It drew me in and I would’ve picked it up by just looking at it.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange of my honest review.

Another hit from Tessa Bailey! While I haven’t seen the show Schitt’s Creek, I was excited to read an opposite attracts story from her. I devoured this novel and really enjoyed my time reading this!

It was so easy to like Piper right off the bat. Yes, she was spoiled and never had to do anything for herself, but she was so relatable. She was a good sister, wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty, and had a good personality. Now Tessa almost lost me when I found out that Brendan (view spoiler). If you’ve read my reviews then you know I hate that in my romances. Thankfully, (view spoiler). I thought that he was perfect for Piper. He was willing to wait her out and he always let her know how he felt about her.

The chemistry was there from the beginning and the banter between them was so good. The sex scenes were *chef’s kiss*! Don’t let the cover fool y'all, this was full of the dirty talk that Tessa is known for.

Now I didn't rate it 5 stars because there were some things that bothered me. I thought the drama around whether Piper was going to back to LA was drawn out and I was over it pretty quickly. Along with some things that felt unfinished. We never really get a conversation between Piper, Daniel, and her mother after her time spent in Westport. It would have been nice to have some insight or closure there.

Overall, I did enjoy it and would reread it in the future. The next book is about her sister and Fox and I’m super excited about it! If you’re a fan of Tessa or want a feel good romance, then I recommend this!

*Will post to blog closer to release day. Also, the spoiler was hidden on Goodreads as well.

It Happened One Summer was the first Tessa Bailey novel I have read - and it was a steamy one! Admittedly, it was a little too much (gratuitous sex scenes) for me, but I can understand the appeal it may have for other readers.
Piper and her younger sister travel to a small coastal town to spend the next several months after Piper has taken her partying a bit too far. Her stepfather “exiles” her to the fishing town of Westport, where she and her sister learn of their biological father and the life he left behind. Piper meets Brendan, a rugged fisherman, and sparks ignite. The ending paved way for a sequel - and I was pleased to find out that will be the case, with a feature on Piper’s sister, Hannah.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC!