Piper, an aging influencer, is a rich party girl who gets dumped at a party by her boyfriend. After being arrested for breaking into a pool after hours, Piper's stepfather sends her to Westport to live in the real world and teach her a lesson for 3 months. She must make her own money and realize that her actions have consequences. Piper's sister, Hannah, joins her to Westport. I like this book and I don't mind the cussing. The sister's aren't very relatable as they portray spoiled brats but I liked them cause of the things they did where kind of funny. I like the bickering ways of Piper and Brendan and him secretly loving it. This is my first book buy this author and I don't think it will be the last book I'll check out. I know there is another book coming out in this series and I can't wait. I recommend this book it was so enjoyable.

It Happened One Summer is so cute. I absolutely adored this book. With Tessa Bailey's brand of funny, sexy and sweet and with her undoubtedly charming characters, I didn't want to put this book down. This grumpy/sunshine romantic comedy just stole my heart. I can't wait to read Piper's sister's book next!!

4.5

Out today! Thanks to @avonbooks and @netgalley for my copy. If you’re looking for a funny, heartwarming, small town, sexy romance, then don’t look any further!
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This book brought the steam as her books usually do. Loved the tension leading up to it. Told in Dual POV we meet Piper & Brendan. Piper’s character was inspired by Schitt’s Creek. I haven’t seen the show so I can’t speak in how accurate it was. Piper is a social media influencer living in LA who after planning an unauthorized party is sent to jail. Her stepfather then sends her to a small fishing town in Washington State where her dad was from before he died. Brendan is a captain of a fishing boat who likes routine and order. Together they were hot hot.
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Piper is spoiled and could be clueless at times but she wasn’t mean. She owns who she is and I loved that about her. Brendan. Oh Brendan. He was a bit mean to Piper at first but after I loved how he owned up to it and apologized. More than that I loved how he treated her. No pretenses and told her exactly what he wanted and he felt. Love getting to how Piper blossomed as the book went on and how Brendan was a puddle of goo for her. Then add on the small town feel and the sexy times!
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I ADORED the relationship between Piper and her sister. I can’t wait to read her story next. My only thing is I was a bit put off in a particular scene with Brendan where he was talking about crying women and how they didn’t scare him or else he’d be a certain word. I would have liked for this particular scene to have been written differently and not included this word. Other than that part, Brendan was a great Book Boyfriend. I’m really looking forward to going back to this small fishing town.

4 stars! Whenever I read that It was inspired by Schitt's Creek, I immediately requested it despite the fact that I have never read anything from Tessa Bailey. I am so happy that I did because I really loved it.

I wasn't completely sold on the Piper in the beginning, but I ended up getting hooked after the first few chapters. It was steamy but also showed an emotional connection between the characters. I loved the grumpy fisherman... Piper and Brendan seem like such an unlikely pair but it somehow works. Piper becomes a more likable character as she discovers more about herself.

I didn't love how some things were worded, but it didn't detract from the story too much. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series about Hannah and Fox! I will also be looking into reading some other works from Tessa Bailey.

Oooh boy. This. Book. This may be one of my favorite Tessa Bailey books. It's funny, emotional, ridiculously sexy and really fun to read. Brendan and Piper's relationship, from day one, was delightful. The grumpy/sunshine trope has never looked so good!

Piper, who never had any real responsibilities is suddenly fending for herself and while there were some missteps along the way, she quickly realizes that she can actually do it. Yes, her sister is there to help, but her charm and will to achieve is really what gets her through.

Brendan. *sigh* I love a grumpy hero and while he wasn't the grumpiest I've read, he's definitely my favorite. The way he opened up to Piper and let he in was amazing. And don't even get me started on the whole "I just want to take care of you" vibe he gave off the whole book. He let her have her independence, but he also knew when to jump in and help. The book is full of amazing Brendan quotes that made me and probably most readers, swoon.

Tessa's next book is about Piper's sister and I am looking forward to reading that one as well! Now if anyone needs me I will be looking for my very own Brendan Taggart.

There was no way I wasn't going to love this book. It's by Tessa Bailey (who I love as an author). It's inspired by Alexis Rose of "Schitt's Creek" (one of my favorite shows). It's sunshine one and grumpy one (love that gentler version of the lovers-to-enemies trope).

Piper is an LA socialite, whose made a career of being famous -- she knows how to throw and attend a party. When one such party gets out of control, her stepdad send her to smalltown Washington, her deceased father's hometown. There, she meets gruff fisherman Brendan, who has a lot of opinions about the city girl barging into his quaint little town.

Piper is just as charming as her inspiration -- she makes friends with everyone she meets and has a good heart. It's tough to see how little the people around her think of her (her younger sister being the exception). She doesn't know who she is without her LA lifestyle, but it becomes clear her "friends" back home don't value her very much. After getting off to a decidedly rocky start, Brendan and Piper find common ground, and Tessa's signature explosive chemistry.

That chemistry is scorching, and even though Piper is pretty committed at the outset to be casual with Brendan, he is determined to break through her emotional walls and have a real, meaningful relationship with Piper. Seriously, their chemistry is off the charts, and the bedroom is full of chock-full of Tessa's (in)famous dirty talk. They also get it on in a variety of settings, in a variety of ways (yes, the rumors you may have heart that Brendan eats ass are, in fact, delightfully correct.)

Another out-of-the-park success for Tessa Bailey, and I eagerly look forward to the next in the series!

| I received an ARC, and this is my honest, freely given review. |

This was delightful! The Schitt’s Creek comp is spot on, and this is sure to be a hit with Alexis fans—Piper starts out laughably clueless about the real world, but you can’t help but root for her to find love and home. Tessa Bailey delivers another hilarious, heartfelt romance!

This book was super cute and SUPER steamy. I’ve enjoyed other books by Tessa Bailey and this one did not disappoint. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about it based on the first couple pages, but once the sisters got to Washington I was all in. Can’t wait to read the next book about Hannah and Fox!

I freaking loved this book! Tessa Bailey is one of my all time favorites and this book is definitely on my top three of her books. Can’t wait for more books in this universe!

Oh captain, my captain!🔥🔥
This was such a fun, spicy romp!
Piper and Brendan had great chemistry (do we expect any less from Tessa Bailey??) and watching these two polar opposites come together was such a joy.
Piper is an aimless socialite, known for being an air head who can throw a killer rager. And most recently for getting thrown in the slammer for one such event! Thus, she finds herself cut off in a small port town with her sister (who, bless her, refused to let her suffer her step fathers punishment alone) and a dive bar that had been willed to them by their late father- it’s their job to figure out how to survive for three months and hopefully find some purpose in life.
She has always been able to wrap people around her finger with a smile and a hair flip, all except Captain Branden, fisherman and all around rugged hottie. He finds her superficial and just as out of touch as everyone has always claimed. All he wants is to live his life on the minute by minute schedule, catch some crabs, and get his crew home safe. Until he keeps running into her, realizing there is more to this LA socialite than he was willing to let himself see.
Piper wants the hell out of town and Branden wants to maintain his routine at all cost- of course love doesn’t care what they had in mind, and after fate pushes them together day after day, they can’t help but realize they need what the other is offering.
It’s a super fun romcom that I found myself way too invested in! Their banter was great and they had serious chemistry🥵
I almost knocked it down to 4 stars because there is something about characters calling each other “baby” and other gag worthy pet names that really activates my flight or fight, but literally everything else was perfect so it didn’t seem fair! 5/5 spicy, witty, swoony stars!
Not to mention it makes you loooong for her sister Hannah’s story and pray that some miracle pushes up the release date on that one.
A huge thank you to Avon and Harper Publish and NetGalley for sharing this with me for my honest review!!

A perfect rom-com. The setting, characters, and storyline were nearly perfect. This was my first Tessa Bailey novel but certainly won't be my last! I liked how the main character was supposed to be Alexis Rose inspired but not overly so....she was completely her own person and if you're not a Schitt's Creek fan (or just didn't know about this inspiration) you would never guess it. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

I will read any book that Tessa Bailey comes out with! I love her writing style and characterization and this novel is no different.

An instagram famous spoiled rich girl and a grumpy crab fisherman connect with sparks you won't want to miss in this new novel by Tessa Bailey. Bailey knows how to bring the angst and then follow it up with some seriously spicy romance. I could not put this book down, because the romance was amazing. I fell in love with the characters and I loved the way Piper did a lot of growing up when she left LA and was forced to take a hard look at her life. Meeting Brendan, however, was a huge help in her growth. This book is perfect for summer reading and romance fans.

A fish-out-of-water contemporary romance following Piper, an L.A. party girl, whose antics get her banished to a small town in Washington where crab fishing, not designer labels or social reputation, is the center of life. Not only that, but it's where she and her younger sister Hannah, who accompanies her for her banishment, grew up with their father, who passed away when they were young and who they no longer remember. Through connecting with her roots, Piper meets crab ship captain Brendan, a gruff, set-in-his-ways-never-leaving-this-small-town kind of guy, and the two rapidly fall for each other despite their differences. 

I've been finding it a bit difficult to write this review, because I had very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I really enjoyed the majority of my reading experience--I think that Tessa Bailey has a fun, compelling, easy-to-follow writing style; I liked the development of Piper and Hannah's relationship to their father's town and its interesting side characters; I liked Piper's growth and new belief in herself as someone other than just a party girl; and I really liked music nerd Hannah and the potential for her story in a future book. But I was really put off by the rigid gender roles Bailey portrays in this book, and the consistently gendered language she used on a repetitive basis anytime there was an interaction between Piper and Brendan. I just don't think that in 2021 we should be enforcing the ideas that "men are like this, and women are like this" without any acknowledgement of people who fall outside the gender binary, or of men and women who don't fit the prescribed roles that society may set for them. It's not only that this is mentioned once or twice either--it's a constant throughout the story that left a bad taste in my mouth despite an otherwise enjoyable read. For that reason, I'd caution readers about this element before picking this one up, even though there were a lot of things I did like about the story.

I received an eARC of It Happened One Summer from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book very quickly and enjoyed the characters. It’s a fun summer read and is a fitting tribute to the character Alexis Rose. Most of the story made me very happy; if I could pick one thing to improve it would be a little less inclusion of stereotypical gender roles.

This book had such promise: a fish out of water rich girl lands in rural coastal WA with a mission to connect to her past and figure out her purpose and finds herself connecting with an extremely hot widower. But instead of being a charming story of two people making a meaningful connection and growing and changing with each other, it feels like all this novel does is infantialize Piper and give her no avenues for actual growth—almost all her change happens because of or through the help of Brendan. I repeatedly found myself so frustrated that a book whose premise is that Piper has left LA to find herself and what she wants/needs out of life, the narrative almost immediately becomes Brendan telling Piper what to do and leaving her without agency. And the novel goes on to further celebrate the power differential between her and Brendan by forcing her to make 100% of the sacrifices for their relationship. Their whole relationship is just one red flag after another, and instead of cheering them on, I wanted to send both of them to therapy to deal with their codependency and attachment issues. And, one of my all time greatest pet peeves in books and life: he only ever seems to call her “baby” when SHE HAS A NAME. The only saving grace in this book is that Brendan and Piper do have good sexual chemistry and Tessa Bailey writes infuriatingly good sex scenes. Like INFURIATINGLY GOOD. Without that, I am not even sure if I would have finished this book. 1.5 stars.

“It Happened One Summer” was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Billed as a Schitt’s Creek inspired rom-com, I couldn’t wait to read it. Picture Alexis Rose (Piper) flipping an old, run-down bar and simultaneously falling for Mutt (Brendan) who is a rugged, cinnamon roll boat captain.

I would recommend this for anyone who loves:
-Schitt’s Creek (duh)
-open door romance
-scrappy younger siblings (I love Hannah, and can’t wait for her book)
-sunshine/grump trope
-small towns
-seafood
-cinnamon roll heroes
-self-discovery

Not only is this book steamy & swoony, it’s also hilarious. The townsfolk of Westport were adorable and the banter between Brenden and his crew had me laughing out loud.

*Adds Brendan to my growing book boyfriend list*

Thanks to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for my advanced copy of the book. “It Happened One Summer” is out now!

TW: parental death, spousal death, grief

I absolutely loved Brendan and Piper!! Brendan was so sexy and confident. I loved reading how they worked through their issues and thought the incorporation of the crab fisherman profession was done very well. So steamy, would 100% recommend! My favorite book by Tessa Bailey so far!

4.5 stars rounded up.

Piper Bellinger is famous for being famous. She's got a reputation as a rich party girl, setting trends and influencing others. When a public breakup leads to too much alcohol and bad decisions culminate in an illegal rooftop party, Piper's stepfather has reached the end of his rope. He cuts her off and sends Piper, along with her sister, to learn responsibility by running their late father's dive bar in small-town Washington.

Within minutes of arriving, Piper meets brooding sea captain Brendan, who makes no secret of his belief that she doesn't belong there. Sure, Piper has no idea how to cook or fend for herself and the shabby apartment above the bar is less than welcoming, but she's determined to prove herself to her stepfather, and the grumpy, but also sexy, captain.

But Westport is a small town and Brendan is impossible to avoid. He is her complete opposite but that doesn't stop the fierce attraction simmering between them. Piper isn't ready to deal with anything as messy as feelings, especially for a man with such a dangerous profession, but as she begins to feel welcome and at home in Westport, she begins to wonder if she really wants to go back to her shallow old life. The glitz and glam still call to her, but Brendan has quickly claimed her heart.

This story was adorable! Probably the most adorable thing I've read all year. I'll admit, I couldn't stand Piper at first with her shallowness and whining, but she grew on me, especially as she became more self-aware and grew as a person. Brendan was amazing and is now on my favorite heroes of all time list. I loved his determination and persistence to get what he wanted with Piper, refusing to let her self-sabotage or shut him out because of her fears and insecurities. He knew just how much to push her and was a huge catalyst for a lot of her character growth. The steamy scenes here were on point and I loved the small town setting as well. Piper's developing relationships with the other locals, as well as new depths with her relationship with her sister, were excellent reading. Piper also helps Brendan come to terms with his grief and guilt over his wife's death seven years prior. I loved how mature Brendan was about everything. His refusal to play games was such a turn on to me (as well as to Piper) and totally solidified his position as a top hero. This book was light, steamy, and sweet, and it left me feeling good when I finished, even if it did feel just a little bit like a happy for now, rather than a happy ever after. I look forward to Hannah and Fox's story and hope we get some more time with Piper and Brendan in there too.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It Happened One Summer was hands down one of my most anticipated reads for Summer 2021, and this book was everything I didn’t know I needed and SO MUCH MORE. Not only is it my first 5 star read for 2021, but it’s definitely one of my new favorite romances as well!

Tessa Bailey is one of the first authors I checked out when I got back into reading romances again a while back, and she has quickly become one of my favorite authors! I have read quite a few of her books so far, and they just get better and better as they go along! I’m so glad to have read this newest book by her, and I am planning to read more soon!

So I really want to spend this whole review telling you “OMG THIS BOOK IS SO CUTE” over and over again, but I am going to try to contain myself and write actual words instead. But seriously, y’all … OMG THIS BOOK IS SO CUTE!

First, let’s start with the characters … Piper is awesome. She’s not the kind of character I would normally love when we first meet her in the book, but once you get to know the *real* Piper, you’ll definitely love her. Yes, she was inspired by Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek, and she’s that, yet so much more. She’s so great! And Brendan was just a big, adorable, grumpy teddy bear. A bit of an ass at first, but boy did that change. I loooooved watching the relationship between him and Piper grow as the story went along. It was so cute. And steamy… SO STEAMY.

There are some great secondary characters in the story as well, including Piper’s sister, Hannah… I mention her because she and Piper have the BEST friendship. I loved it!

The storyline for the book is very, very cute as well. Again, it was inspired by Schitt’s Creek, so if you like the show, you’ll love this book! (And if you haven’t watched the show, you totally should. It’s awesome as well!)

Once I finished this fantastic book, I was thrilled to discover that there is going to be a sequel! The next book in the series, Hook, Line, and Sinker, is all about Hannah, Piper’s sister, and Fox, Brendon’s shipmate! I am so very excited about this book … I already have my copy pre-ordered, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it when it releases in March!

Overall; Yeah… if you can’t tell by this super gushy review, I REALLY LOVED It Happened One Summer! I’ve been waiting and hoping for my first 5 star read of the year, and I couldn’t be any happier that it was this book. I am already planning my re-read soon … and will be reading again before the next book is released! Fans of Tessa Bailey, or of romance, or of Schitt’s Creek, or of love in general, DO check out this book asap! And I hope you love it as much as I do.

Happy Reading!