Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills.
I really loved this book. It was super cute and super hot! Brendan was swoon worthy and piper was such a good character. This was a really fun, sweet look at two very different people finding themselves and falling in love!

Loved this book!
Thanks NetGalley

About the book:
Piper Bellinger will have you think she's just like every other Rich Girl in LA - beautiful, influential, the life of the party. When a bad breakup sends her spiraling, she does what anyone in her position would do: she throws a party so legendary that the paps won't be able to talk about anything else. Except she doesn't anticipate ending up in jail, or cut off from her stepfather, or sent up to her supposed hometown in Washington for three months to see if she can "learn her lesson." Not five minutes into her stay in Westport she meets Brendan, surly, gruff, downright rude. Which is fine - she can avoid him for 90 days. But as she sinks deeper into a routine in Washington, learning more about her past, spending more time with Brendan, she starts to wonder if going back to LA and being the life of the party is really everything she wanted... or if Westport has had her heart all along.

TL;DR:
- Content warnings: death of a parent, death of a spouse, dangerous profession
- 4.5 stars
- Incredibly sweet story of self discovery at the heart of a STEAMY opposites attract romance. Worth reading if you're into polar opposites, sisterly bonds, Schitt's creek!, or just a little PNW escapism.

Loved:
- The synopsis does not indicate how much a story of self discovery this is - I think the parts that were most compelling and special to me were those involving Piper and her sister Hannah learning more about their birth father, and the town he called his home. You really can't underestimate how knowing who you are and where you come from can help you become your best self, like it did for Piper.
- The way she's written, Piper undergoes a serious amount of progress, while not losing her core. I thought it was really important to show that she didn't just magically become more mature - she always had the kernel, she was just given the circumstances to have to be more responsible. Though personally I feel it was a missed opportunity SPOILER***[to have Piper go all the way to LA to discover that she really loved Westport after all. I was hoping it'd be like, an airport moment, and she'd come back to the bar and that would be the HEA.}***SPOILER END. But anyway. Much growth.
- I loveeeed how supportive Piper and her sister were of each other. I mean they could hardly cook pasta but it was nice that they were in it together. I absolutely cannot wait for Hannah and Fox's story. I am preemptively crying, yes.
- Brendan and Piper had some steaming hot chemistry. There was a LOT of sex in this book, but frankly, it's realistic to the honeymoon phase of a relationship. And as I always say, why not?
- Brendan's maturity. Full stop.
- Bailey wrote one heck of a cute PNW town. The whole time I was reading I wanted to google Westport to see if it was real and how long it would take to get there from SF. Very good chops there.

Less into:
- Piper and Hannah's Mom and Stepdad. I mean, Piper is incredibly spoiled, yes. But she was 28, and apparently none of her parent figures had ever told her she had a responsibility to participate in society? And then they were perfectly happy to get mad at her for not just magically figuring it out? I don't know. Parenting is hard work. You can't just hope they wake up one day all virtuous, you need to teach your kids values. Otherwise you can't be surprised when their lack of them bites you in the ass. Regardless, Piper came off as a good person in the end, so I guess they did something right.
- There's still a touch of the "me man, protective, strong, and big. you girl, soft, nurturing, and small." It wasn't distracting like it was in the Bailey book I read earlier this year but just a callout!

Overall it was SO CUTE. I laughed, I cried, I was excited! Piper and Hannah forever. Can't wait for Hannah's turn.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Okay. Tessa Bailey has definitely taken some of the issues I had with her previous books to heart. The gross, misogynistic, dumb leading man wasn't present here! While the book was still pretty predictable & silly, I like this one the most of all of her books.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 13, 2021

This is a fun and fast paced romance. An homage to Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek, a socialite goes too far and is banished from LA’s party scene and unlimited funds to a coastal northwest town on a budget to learn her lesson. Just like Alexis, Piper is a character you think would be annoying but is charming with exceeding depth as the story goes on, and I found myself really rooting for her. Our main characters have steamy chemistry throughout and this book is definitely on the more graphic end of the spectrum, so be prepared!

I thought this would be a breezy read but I felt myself attached and invested in these characters, at times tearing through pages because I was so nervous about what would happen.

In addition to our main characters, I enjoyed the other relationships as well. The world of Westport was well developed and I enjoyed how her sister, the other fisherman, the townspeople, and her family played into the story. The next book focusing on her sister Hannah and Fox will be one I keep an eye out for!

Final note: Such a missed opportunity to post the before and after pictures of all their changes to the bar to her Instagram world. She could make a name for herself as an interior designer if she’s looking for a craft!

This is the first Tessa Bailey book I have ever read. She is an author I had heard wonderful things about but had not yet had an opportunity to read one of her books. I have been missing out. This books fabulous. Easily one of the best books I read this year. I loved Piper and her pathos discovery. I adored Brendan and how he treated Piper. He loved her as she was and did not want he change. They were opposites but it worked and I thought their story was wonderful I can not wait for the next book with Hannah.

Tessa Bailey gets me every time! I haven’t read all of her books by any means… But the ones I have read are always amazing. The angst! Oh the angst! Be still my heart. I love it.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this one or Piper more specifically but honestly the whole book drew me in. If you’re unsure about it... do it!

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book. I hesitated to request it because I haven't loved the other Tessa Bailey books I've read...the men have been too machista and I've never been able to get on board with that. I decided to give this one a shot because I figured it would be a quick read, and I thought a different series may be more up my alley. I'm glad I did! When I read the first few chapters of this book, I found Piper to be very unrelatable--I understand the spoiled rich girl type, but her parents presumably worked for their wealth, and it seemed unrealistic for them to have raised her to become a grown woman who not only seems to have no drive or purpose, but also has never learned how to turn on a stove. Luckily, that level of one-dimensionality doesn't last long. The relationships not only between Piper and Brendan, but also with Hannah and Fox, were really fun and healthy and much less problematic than other Tessa Bailey books that I've read. It was such a breath of fresh air to read about a couple who are very opposite in so many ways, and who challenge each other, but aren't trying to change each other. The conflict made me roll my eyes just a little bit (I mean, could you at least have a conversation without jumping to conclusions and storming out?) but as far as romance novel conflicts go, it was on the more tolerable side. I really wanted a second epilogue, and I'm hoping we'll get a little more of these characters in a future book. I'm excited to read Hannah's story, too. She was such a fun character, I loved her relationship with her sister, and I want to see her follow her dreams and fall in love. I'm sad I have to wait until 2022 for more!

I really loved this book. It was super cute and super hot! Brendan was swoon worthy and piper was such a good character. I can’t wait for Hannah’s story! Thank You to netgalley for the arc!

This was a really fun, sweet look at two very different people finding themselves and falling in love! I really enjoyed the dynamics between Brendan and Piper. The romance was 🔥 🔥 🔥 too! I adored the quaint fishing community setting! Tessa Bailey always writes witty, addicting romance!!

Social Influencer, Piper Bellinger, has the most embarrassing break up. Solution: throw a party to end all parties. Unfortunately, she ends up in jail and humiliating her step-dad in the process. Her punishment: banished to a fishing town where she was born where she meets Westport townie, Brendan. Brendan loves his town and the people, so it's no surprise that he immediately despises Piper. Cue, the tensions and explosive fireworks, resulting in an unforgettable love story. Tessa Bailey creates another romance novel full of emotions and desire to visit a fishing town.

Tessa Bailey knows what she is doing writing these romances! It Happened One Summer is about rich girl Piper and the fallout from her latest stunt. She ends up in jail, her Hollywood director step-dad decides it’s time to cut her off and sends her to her deceased bio-dad’s bar to run it for three months. In a very à la Schitt’s Creek moment, Piper and her sister Hannah arrive in Westport, Washington to a dirty dive bar (not a cool one!). Enter Brendan, sea captain and general hunk of a man. Brendan is a widower and has been very set in his ways. The sisters decide to renovate the bar in order to get Piper a ticket home to LA quicker, but the least expected thing of all happens instead.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. Tessa Bailey, thank you for continuing to write female characters that I actually like!

Wow! Just wow! So far this is my favorite Tessa Bailey romcom! The chemistry of Piper and Brendan can put entire La La Land or thousands of harbors into fire! They were so good together! Their sizzling romance, steamy , pant melting love making hook you up! You cannot put this feel good romance down! It warms your heart and captures your soul! Even though the characters are polar opposites, they perfectly complete each other.

Piper was Hollywood “it” girl, young Posh spice girl meets Clueless’ Cher and Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods: she loves to get attention, followed by millions, a true social media goddess and sparkling influencer. As Kei$ha says the party don’t start till she walks in!

But her romantic life fails a little bit: she never has a relationship lasts longer than three weeks. Her last boyfriend dumbs her before things are getting boring for them, telling her she’s an airhead without any life purpose and there’s nothing special about her! She’s just one of the thousands!!!( Yes, he’s a total A.hole, I wish Pipes could see that before)

Piper takes those words so hard. Being dumbed at a party in front of the crowds and public humiliation on social media trigger her to make a foolish mistake. She trespasses the Mondrian hotel to give an after party at the roof top pool, inviting thousands of people. It was like an early 4th of July celebration! Then she finds herself at jail with full bladder, raccoon eye makeup and lots of humiliation.

Her best and only friend/ sister Hannah gets her out of jail. She thinks she could get away with this scandal but her rich stepfather Daniel who is highly achieved Hollywood producer thinks otherwise. The Mondrian Hotel’s owner finances his next movie so the stunt Piper pulled affects the future of his upcoming project. To teach her a lesson he has a perfect plan: Piper will be exiled to a small Pacific Northwestern town: Westport . That’s the place sisters’ fisherman father lived and died at the sea when they were little girls. Their mother couldn’t handle her grief so well so she cut her ties with the place.

Now as a punishment Piper will spend three months at this town, taking over the bar she inherited from her father and live in a dilapidated apartment.

Thankfully her music prodigy, more private, mature, two years younger sister Hannah has no intention to leave her alone at this journey!

As soon as they arrive the town they feel like they move into a strange territory. Piper walks into the bar in her trendy clothes, cheerful, vivid attitude, she feels like she’s been transported to a different planet.

Sexy, charming, widowed captain Brendan acts judgmental around her, thinking he’s dealing with a spoiled brat who will run after spending one night at that dilapidated apartment comes with rats as roommates.

But guess what? Piper stays and she slowly gets under his skin. He cannot stop thinking about her. After 7 years passed from his wife’s pass away maybe he can deserve a second chance.

And Piper feels like first time she belongs to somewhere. Can she leave her shiny, glamorous, partying LA life behind to be with this irresistible captain!

Could they find their happy ending in each other’s arms?

I already told too much. I feel like I’m your chatty neighbor who speaks without breathing when she loves something passionately. But I truly loved this book soooo much!

I cannot wait to read Hannah and Fox’s story, too. I adored both of them as supporting characters!

Overall: perfect chemistry, so smart, so humorous, so entertaining, so heartfelt! Giving my ship ahoy, millions of likes, five blazing poshy stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this fantastic reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and HarperVoyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Tessa Bailey and would read anything she writes, but this may be a new favorite which is really saying something I would recommend if you are looking for

-m/f enemies to lovers
-small town romance
-close proximity
-grump/sunshine
-a seafaring nautical captain widower who is just yum
-an exiled socialite
-amazing side characters
-sexy banter
-relaxation station

I could go on and on about this book. The beautiful sister relationship that centers and grounds this book. Hannah and Piper coming to town and learning more about their birth father. Piper and Brendan's growth throughout the book as they both learn about themselves. Brendan's sweet gestures as the bar grows just as his and Piper's relationship does. This book made me laugh, squeal, all with seafaring adventures. The comparison to Schitts Creek was spot on.

Tessa Bailey can write steam and boy did she write some amazing tension that paid off, paid off some more and then oh boy. Brendan was, well there needs to be a new trope for sexy fisherman because wow. This book had so much heart, a book about acceptance, finding yourself, and being seen. I'm honestly ready to reread it again just to see what I missed the first time around.

All I could think throughout this book was I hoped Hannah was also going to get her HEA. I'm so excited to see that she's getting her own story. Cannot wait to read her well-deserved story that I know will be music-filled and equally sweet and steamy.

Rating: 5 stars (All the stars)
Steam: 4

Trigger: grief, death of a parent, death of a spouse

Tessa Bailey once again knocked me away with her newest novel, It Happened One Summer. The story follows Piper, a 28 year old party queen with no resume to her name. Used to having everything handed to her, she makes a mistake that lands her in jail following a breakup. Her step-father decides to use this as an opportunity to teach her a lesson, and Piper finds herself being shipped off to a small fishing town in the Pacific Northwest. With her sister Hannah tagging along for moral support, the once partying queen now finds herself faced with all sorts of challenges, including a rough and hunky fisherman. Over the course of a few short months, Piper transforms into someone totally different, yet familiar. At the end, she’s faced with the decision of staying or going back to LA.

I really enjoyed this book for so many reasons. Piper’s character development was so strong and empowering. I loved how she learned to value money and to look beyond herself. I also really appreciated how she stayed true to who she was. I think it’s a big mistake for a woman to have to transform every part of herself to be accepted by others. Piper’s chemistry with Brandon was sizzling. I loved their interactions, both verbal and physical. The emotional and physical bond they developed was oh so romantic and I enjoyed every page.

I’m excited to read the next (and I assume last?) book in this world. Hannah is very intriguing and I really hope she gets together with Fox. I also look forward to seeing more of Piper and Brandon.

this book reminds me of the tweet “no girl has ever seen a picture of a man holding a fish and thought ‘i would like to have sex with him’” but to be honest i really really loved this book everything about a small costal sea town speaks to my soul (i literally have a playlist titled ‘i wanna live in a lighthouse’). the atmosphere was amazing and piper and brendans relationship was so grounded and amazing with only the smallest bit of miscommunication to add to the drama. i loved it

I'm a huge Tessa Bailey fan but try to read every new release as if it's from an author I've never heard of. Her work has noticeably improved with every new book, and this is no exception! Bailey has a unique gift of humanizing polarizing personalities - in this case, a 28 year old spoiled socialite whose world doesn't exist outside social media, or Los Angeles for that matter. If Piper was portrayed slightly different and we weren't given her internal conflict at realizing she's been coasting by and has no redeemable talents, I would've stopped reading after the first chapter. Even though I was rolling my eyes at her in the beginning, I found myself empathizing with her as the story progressed and in the end, I was happy with the person she grew into.

I love the grumpy hero, and the chemistry between the two leads is perfect (and steamy!) It's a refreshing take on both the riches-to-rags and enemies-to-lovers troupe and is perfect escapism read for this crazy time. I'm definitely buying a copy when it's officially released!

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Avon Books and Harper Voyager for providing me an ARC to review!

Tessa Bailey's latest rom com is a fish-in-water tale of an LA party girl who gets banished to a Northwest fishing town and grows up. Bailey herself says Piper was inspired by Alexis Rose, the spoiled daughter from Schitt's Creek (which, if you haven't watched the show, please drop whatever you're doing right now and start it immediately). Piper has the same generous heart, sunny disposition, and absolute cluelessness about the world. But she's endearing all the same. Especially to Brendan, the grumpy, beared widower who has no interest in getting involved with a party girl like Piper. But can't seem to stay away from her.

The town of Westport has a quality of unreality to it, but Bailey wrote this book mid-pandemic and was obviously craving an escape into a world where nothing too terrible can happen. If you're looking for the same, you'll enjoy the warm comfort of It Happened One Summer.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review.

I've actually been on a Tessa Bailey kick, so I ate this up in one sitting. Everything about this one was great, Pacific Northwest, burly fisherman, funny dialogue, and great characters. Piper and Brendan had great chemistry, Piper was really funny and he just fell hard. I'm really excited for Hannah's story, sad I have to wait till 2022! 4.5 stars.

In typical Tessa Bailey fashion, this was deliciously steamy. Piper's character walked the fine line between an unlikable level of spoiled and too quick of a redemption arc. I appreciated the way the setting and the fishing culture felt like an integral part of the story, rather than just backdrops. The gender roles were a little too hevay handed for my taste. Overall, this will definitely appeal to fans of Bailey's other contemporary romance, and to anyone hoping to be swept away by a sexy sea captain.

An absorbing read. Piper and Brendan had sexy chemistry, good banter, and a sweet mix of heart and humor. The Pacific Northwest small fishing town setting was a really pleasant place to spend time. This was an enjoyable world to escape to for a bit.