It Happened One Summer is a cute, lighthearted read, with all of the romance and will-they-or-won't-they tension you could possibly want. Is it original? Absolutely not. But that's not why one picks up a beach read like this, right? We come to these sorts of stories because we're looking for an escapist romp, we want the familiarity for our own comfort, and we *need* our heroine and hero to, predictably, end up together. Tessa Bailey's story about Hollywood socialite Piper, who is banished to the rugged seaside town of Westport, WA checks all the boxes. Initially, it felt like a really good version of a Hallmark movie... Until the graphic sex scenes, at which point it became much sexier and less tame. Having read this while also binge watching Bridgerton, it struck me that fans of that show (or book) would likely love this book.

I LOVED this book. Maybe because I Loved Schitt's Creek and Piper reminded me of a little bit of Alexis!

Piper is being cut off from her stepfather after getting arrested and dragging his name and film into the mud. He is sending to Westport, Washington. Her parent's lived there until her father passed away. He thinks it is time to go see what their dad left her. Lucky for Piper, her sister tags along for support.

The second she gets there she meets Brendan. He is the opposite of Piper in every way. tough as nails fisherman. Nonsense and hates everything Piper stands for!

And that is when hilarity insures and their crazy love story begins. I could not put this book down. I loved it so much!

This is my 4th Tessa Bailey book of the year, and I can’t wait to read more in 2021! I was lucky enough to get an ARC of It Happened One Summer from @netgalley. *The pub date for this book is July 13, 2021.*

Piper is an “It Girl” - she is a famous for being famous party girl with a rich stepdad. When she winds up in jail after an after hours hotel pool party, her stepdad banishes her for three months to Westport to make it on her own. Her mission? Fix up her biological father’s bar. When Piper and Hannah (her sister) arrive at her dad’s bar, they find it filled with locals and in disrepair. Brendan is a widowed captain of a fishing boat who wants nothing to do with the city girl who waltzed into town, but... you know what happens, they fall in love! I really enjoyed reading about their relationship, but this one was steamy - consider yourself warned! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

I highly recommend reading this when it comes out in July, and I can not wait for Hannah’s story!

IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER - TESSA BAILEY 4.2/5 ⭐️

When the princess of partying, Piper, pulls one stunt that pushes the patience of her stepfather too far, she is forced back to the town she was born in with hopes that Piper will learn the true value of life. On her first day in town (with her sister, Hannah in tow) she meets the serious and sexy captain ship captain, who has serious doubts on if she has what it takes to swing the small town life. Piper immediately makes plans to fix up the old town bar to attempt to get in her stepfathers good graces- what she doesn’t expect is along with a new project, she is also managing a blossoming love, new friendships, and a mental battle with herself on where she truly belongs.

This book was so precious. I wasn’t expecting so much depth to the story, with so much raw emotion from the characters, it was hard to not get drawn in and fall in love with them too. I loved watching Piper bloom and finding her footing in this unfamiliar place, and the steamy scenes with Brendan was just the cherry on top! I didn’t realize until after I finished that Piper was inspired by Schitt’s Creek- which I totally love! It was a great read and very highly recommended from this reader.

I LOVED this book so much!! Tessa Bailey nails it once again! The chemistry, steam, and comedy were all just perfect. I never wanted it to end. Bailey still remains an auto buy author for me!

This book was such a surprise for me. I admit to judging the first couple chapters to be the typical enemies to lovers trope. I've read so many lately that sometimes they just blend into one book. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that while it started out that way, there was nothing typical about Piper and Brendan. It didn't take long for these two to stand out and make me love them.

For a spoiled rich girl, Piper was extremely likable. I really enjoyed that she wasn't typical for the roll she was slated too. Yes she had a superficial lifestyle, but when she was put the to the test, she excelled better than I would have. She had spunk. She was kind. She drew strangers and made them feel special. She's exactly the kind of heroine I can root for.

Brendan started out very growly, gruff, and even rude at first. And I loved every bit of his fall to Piper. The moment he decided he wasn't going to fight it, she didn't have a chance. No woman would. I adored how he pursued her. These two shouldn't have fit so well but they were perfect for each other.

This is one of those books that had me smiling so big when I finished it. I really enjoyed it and I hope the sisters book will be just as good.

Where to even begin? I dived into this book expecting a Schitt’s Creek vibe, and while it was there, this book WAS SO MUCH MORE! I have never read a Tessa Bailey book but after reading this I am about to inhale every book they’ve ever written.

Piper Bellinger is a spoiled twenty-eight year old with not much going for her besides her step-father’s money and a successful Instagram page with three million followers. After an upsetting break up that may potentially hurt her step-father's career, she is sent to a small town in Washington to learn from her mistake. In this dreary town, Piper meets a burly ship captain and soon realizes that maybe there is more to life than a party girl image and social media followers.

I read this book in one sitting because I could not stop! There was angst, steamy sex, and character growth that had me cheering for Piper as if she was my best friend. While Piper is initially portrayed as someone who lacks substance, this could not be farther from the truth and I cried when we see the real Piper.

It Happened One Summer made me feel actual joy while reading and I was actually upset when it ended. My only complaint was that the epilogue was not longer and that the ending felt rushed- I wanted one hundred more pages of Brendan and Piper being adorable as well as some resolutions to a few sub plots that I feel were never really resolved. Overall, this book was precious and I will be holding it close to my heart.

I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t gush anymore, but this book was beautiful and I think that it should be read by everyone so that I can discuss it with everyone I meet.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts on this book.

Cute and fun book with a lot of heart. Very much looking forward to Hannah and Fox's story next! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

Oh, I absolutely loved this! A wonderful, perfect escape. Piper made me think of Alexis Rose SO much on Schitt’s Creek and I was here for it! My one little quibble was that I so wish we got to see Daniel (piper’s stepfather) witness her growth. It was such a big thing in the beginning and I would have loved to have seen it. Plus, you’d think her mother would have had some thoughts of her daughter following in her footsteps. But still—I really loved this one and recommend it!

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey is a perfect, sizzling beach read! I read that Bailey was inspired to write a character after Alexis Rose from Schitt's Creek. I couldn't imagine how Bailey could create a character like Alexis, but after being introduced to Jane this is the perfect way to describe her! It Happened One Summer starts with Piper getting dumped so she decides to cut loose and throw a party, only one problem she gets caught throwing said party at a closed hotel pool and goes to jail. To make up for her crime her stepdad sends her to live in the town she was born in but has almost no memories of, her sister is a saint and decides to join. Once the two arrive they have a chance to get to know more about their father who died while they were very young and learn about who they are. I loved seeing Piper navigate the town and learn to make friends. Seeing her relationship with Brendan take off was beautiful and more steamy than Piper's first attempt at cooking! Bailey really built an entire world in Westport and am sure this book will be a best seller!

Honestly the beginning of the book is not the greatest but if you push through the first 20% it gets better. This isn't Tessa Bailey's best work. I rate this a 2.75. She's a stereotype of LA insta influencer and he's a stereotype of a grieving widow who's fighting sexual attraction to her but goes out of his way to help her. They slowly build a connection that he fights very hard.

*********************I received an ARC for my honest opinion from NetGalley***********************

This was a one sitting ready for me. I really liked both main characters, they were fun and went really well together. I liked the small town setting and the side characters we meet. Just a hint of enemies to lover in the beginning to make it fun but not the bulk of the relationship.

Oh my goodness, this book was just what I needed. I cannot give this book enough stars and couldn't stop thinking about it after I was done. It is one of the best romcoms I have read in a while.
Piper is the IT girl in LA. She parties and has a huge social media following but isn't really seen for who she is. Honestly, I don't think Piper sees who she is. After a breakup and a terrible decision has her ending up in jail, her step-father sends her for a sabatical to the town she was born. After her real father died, her mother packed up Piper and her sister and left Westport because it was too painful. The girls are still the owners of a No Name bar and when both of them decide to go, they will have to learn how to do things on their own.
As soon as Piper steps foot in Westport with her floppy hat, Brendan knows he is done for, and that makes him a little more irritable than he already is. This girl knows nothing about the town, about her legacy but here she is trying to invade his town. Brendan is a stickler for routines and this woman is all about breaking them. Everything he sees on the outside, he quickly learns, is not what is on the inside. He sees Piper, for the woman she is and it is clear he is falling fast. Piper is set out to prove that she is strong enough, even if the town thinks she isn't.
Just writing this review has me tearing up again. I absolutely adored this book; it had so many of my favorite things wrapped up into one story and it worked so well for me. Thank you to Tessa Bailey, Netgalley and Avon for an early copy!

It Happened One Summer is the first Tessa Bailey book that I have read and I loved it! This romance is about Piper and Brendan - two people who couldn't be more different. Piper is a city girl who has been sent to the small fishing town where she was born by her step-father. She landed in some hot water after her most recent party escapade and he is sending her to Westport to cool off and get back to her roots. Piper is used to all the finer things in life and she is counting down the days until she can return home as soon as she arrives in town with her sister. Brendan, a hot but grumpy sea captain, makes her feel less than welcome and their relationship gets off to a rocky start. To Piper's surprise, the more time that she spends in the town, she begins to fall for the people of the town - especially that irritable fisherman.

Full disclosure: when I was reading the first few pages of this book, I was worried that I wouldn't like the book because I might end up hating Piper. She seemed like a spoiled rich airhead who seems to only care about materialistic things. As the story progressed and I got to know Piper better, I realized how judgmental I was at the beginning. It takes a talented writer to develop a character who you might dislike at the beginning of the story but naturally progresses to a character that you love. I loved Piper's journey in rediscovering this small town and getting to know her late father through the stories from the people who knew him. And to my surprise, I ended up loving Piper's fun-loving, positive, snarky and unapologetic personality.

Now that I have shared how I feel about Piper, I have to talk about Brendan, one of my new book boyfriends. When he began to realize that he has romantic feelings for Piper, he let down his guard and was not afraid to be vulnerable. I loved that he didn't want to play any games and he came out and asked for what he wanted. It didn't hurt that he was a man who knew how to work with his hands, in more ways than one! *wink wink*

The two of them together were so darn cute and endearing. It was a yin and yang type of relationship, where they are opposites but mold together perfectly.

This was a feel-good romance that I highly recommend!

This was really spectacular. I loved how Piper grew as a person not only because of Brendan, but the whole town. I fell in love with every character and am so excited to read Hannah's story. A perfect book to cuddle up on the couch with.

Okay... I hate reality TV and "influencer" culture. So when Piper crosses the line of glitterati no-nos and gets herself exiled to a fishing town far from the lights of L.A., I may have felt some unfair glee. I enjoyed seeing her struggle with identifying what was actually important - people, not validation of the anonymous masses of followers on her social media.

This was an uplifting "nothing too bad can happen in a close-knit community like this" read. The small town grows on you as small towns are want to do. The same can be said for Piper, who, on the surface, seems like nothing more than an entitled airhead but underneath is endowed with a compassionate heart and an ache for self-understanding, for acceptance. She's a little reminiscent of Emma Woodhouse or Cher Horowitz in that respect. You grow to like her the more she bears her layers open to you.

I have to say I was surprised by the family history tie-ins because they were unexpected. Sweet. Sometimes even on the edge of emotional. It was nice getting a glimpse into the tapestry of feeling the girls' harbored about their father, especially as they learned more about him along the way.

I also liked that all the characters had distinctive interests, personalities. Brendan and Piper's prickly/buoyant differences broadened their dynamic in a complementary way whereas Hannah's music passion felt genuine and intrinsic to her as an introverted individual. As for Fox, well...his charm is the kind that could weaken many a knee so I'm already looking forward to his and Hannah's coupling in the next book.

So...did I like it? As to that I only have one answer: Aye, aye, Captain!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Alexis Rose gets her happy ending!! The author’s note about the Schitt’s Creek character made perfect sense and made me LOVE this book. Can’t wait to recommend it!!

Piper is a social media maven who is always chasing the next big 'Gram-worthy pic-- until her wealthy stepdad cuts her off and exiles her to Westport, a small fishing town in Washington. Captain Brendan Taggert lives and breathes Westport, so when high-maintenance Piper and her sister Hannah stroll in to the local dive bar, he is less than thrilled. But lust flies --and Brendan's protectiveness emerges-- and the two can't get enough of each other. But is it fair for Brendan to ask Piper to give up her life in LA to be a fisherman's wife? And would glamorous Piper even fit in in weathered, small town Westport?

Don't let your first impressions of LA Piper stop her from continuing this book! She gets waaaayyy more palatable! In fact, I didn't make the Schitt's Creek similarities until I saw it here on the Goodreads description, but it fits it to a t! And I love how Brendan nosedives into being there --protecting, building up, and spoiling-- for Piper. Tough-guy with a heart of gold is one of my favorite romance tropes, and Brendan deliciously delivers.

On the chaste to steamy scale, it's an 7.75.

Tessa Bailey does it again!!!!

I am a HUGE fan of hers, and this does not disappoint.
It has all the makings of a great light hearted rom-com: great characters, humor, steamy scenes, and an ending that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

I only give it a 4star rating because the plot was not super original. But once you get passed that, you'll fly through this novel. This is a must read!!!