I love these fish out of water stories! I was lucky enough to get an arc of this via NetGalley but wanted to wait until I purchased the book (spoiler: bc I loved it) to post about it. Piper is a hilarious character 😂 I love the ridiculousness that gets her into her various rando situations (the fire made me laugh SO hard), truly made this a super fun read. Of course the steamy factor is fantastic because this is a Tessa Bailey book and the Piper/Brendan hook was lovely. I don’t want to give too much away so definitely pick up a copy, I highly recommend this one! Can’t wait for book 2 in this series!

“Ew, David” — my thoughts on this book

I’ve found that a lot of people have been comparing the main character in “It Happened One Summer” to Alexis in Schitt’s Creek, but I just don’t see it.

The only similarities between the two characters is that like Alexis, Piper has a rich (step) father and she is a gorgeous party girl/socialite who is ripped from that world. But that character can be found in a lot of books. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Overall, It Happened One Summer is 2 star read from me

At first I found it to be an easy, slow burn read and I was enjoying the story!

BUT THEN around the halfway mark I feel like it took a drastic turn and became unnecessarily steamy / spicy aggressively fast.

I’m didn’t finding ANY connection between the two main characters other than they find each other attractive.

I also been skipped over many of the steamy parts because it’s all just too cringy 😬 I find the male lead to be too aggressive and clingy. And the female lead to be too head over heals for him and their relationship lacks substance.

I feel like a lot of people have enjoyed this book so I am clearly an unpopular opinion!

I will say I’m more interested in the sister, so I might continue the series since she has the next book

I'm not super well versed in the romance genre yet but I definitely have a new favorite author to read, this book was so good.

Piper Bellinger is an influential party girl that is in some trouble after an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in jail. Her stepfather has had enough so he cuts her off and sends Piper and her sister Hannah to a small town in Washington to run their late father's dive bar. There she meets Brendan, the grumpy, extremely sexy sea captain. She's determined to show Brendan and her stepfather that she's not just a party girl with a pretty face while also learning about her late father and the place he came from.

This steamy, fun book would be the perfect summer read. It had the perfect amount of emotions that actually had me tearing up a little mixed in with lightheartedness that I've come to love in rom-coms. I'm a sucker for a big bearded man who is overprotective and devoted and Brendan definitely fit that bill.

I'm excited to read Tessa Bailey's other works now and I'm very excited for her sister Hannah to get her own book.

*Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyage for the gifted copy for my honest review!*

Read If You Life:
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Insta-Love
- Opposites Attract
- Small-Town

Tessa Bailey never fails to release an ‘OMG fan me’ kind of book. This one was definitely spicy. I will say that the trope for enemies to lovers lasted like a day and turned more into an insta-love which I was a little bummed about. The banter and corkiness die out too quickly, I don’t feel like the story gave you much time to see these characters really develop something for each other. It was a very fast paced read. Side Characters were great, I really want to see what happens in the next story with Hannah & Fox.

Overall, if you want a quick read with some very spicy scenes in it, this is your jam. I really did enjoy it but I wouldn’t say its a favorite.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 3.5/5 ⭐️
𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝙻𝚟𝚕: NC-17🔥

I love Tessa Bailey's books and this book has everything you look for in a romantic comedy. It is fun and light and has some awesome spicy scenes. I love that the influence for this was Schitt's Creek and it shines through in just the right way. I can't wait to continue the series.

This is one of the very best romances of 2021, if not THE best. My romance-only book club chose it during the summer, and it's safe to say we unanimously voted it our favorite of the year. This book centers around a fish out of water socialite who is banished to a small fishing town. Fish out of water is my FAVORITE trope, and this is the best example next to The Simple Wild. I don't even understand how Tessa Bailey made this ridiculous party girl so loveable, but she really did that. This book also has a just right level of steam; certainly spicy but not over the top.

A teacher at my school recommended this one to me, and it was perfect-adorable, hilarious, and oh-so-romantic!
Piper, our loveable main character, has been sent to the small fishing town of Westport in Washington. Leaving her ritzy life behind, Piper is financially cut-off by her step-dad and sent to her deceased father's hometown to learn a "lesson." Hilarity ensues as she attempts to live the simple life. There, she meets the gorgeous, tall, and grumpy sea captain, Brendan. He was total perfection. I swooned. Throughout. Sparks fly, and well....I'm sure you can see where this is going.

I received this book for an honest review:

Well, once again another book that I really liked but life got away from me this past year. Her Piper Bellinger goes out one night and without going into details she ends up in jail after the house she used for an impromptu party gets trashed. This time though she stays in jail. When she finally makes it home she is told by her step farther that she is being shipped off to Washington, to a town she never heard of,, and to a bar that her father owned. Her sister decides to go with her.
Once there she runs into captain Brenden who you think is grumpy but becomes more when the two girls begin to change the bar, into a better place. Anything would be better actually. What really gets him is that she does not leave. Instead, she actually makes friends with the locals and also finds out history about her family and she also finds their grandmother which actually only adds to this wonderful story. I really liked all of the characters and overall just a wonderful book. My regret is this review is late and that I was not able to read her second book which is about the sister, but really take the time to read this wonderful story.

First and foremost thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this review copy of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey! I absolutely loved this book so much and thought that the banter between Piper and Brendan made the book. I always love reading stories of characters who have a lot of tension and later break down each others walls. It makes for great and steamy romance as well as a really deep emotional connection. So glad to have read this! Looking forward to book 2!

At first glance, this wasn't my kind of book. But then I kept hearing about it on literally all of my social media platforms so I took a chance. So glad I did! Woah the spice, the characters, their dynamics, and enjoyable entertainment start to finish!

It literately physically pains me to do this because I love Tessa Bailey. She is one of my favorite authors. However, I hate the premise of this book. I know it is supposed to resemble Schitt's creek, but it fell flat FOR ME. After ending up in jail for breaking into a hotel, Piper is sent to Westpoint to teach her lesson. I found that the first two chapters reeked of white privilege. & I do not want to spend time reading about a character arc of a privileged white woman. There were hints of hidden depth, but I don't care enough to read about it. However, I will be reading Hannah and Fox's book! I love friends to lovers with forced proximity.

This book was… STEAMY! But also, thoughtful, relatable and wonderful. It’s not surprise that this book is everywhere! I cannot wait for the next installment!

Of the four books I’ve read by Tessa Bailey, It Happened One Summer is hands down the best. I was prepared to write her books off as just not for me. Lots of people love them — but I previously found some of the spice to be a bit cringy. However, based upon the Schitt’s Creek comparison and the fact that it has taken BookTok by storm, I decided to give It Happened One Summer a chance. I’ll admit, I was skeptical going in. But WOW! I am so glad I gave this one a chance.

It Happened One Summer opens up with Piper Bellinger getting dumped. She is the IT girl of L.A. And so, in order to protect her reputation, Piper throws one heck of a party which involves breaking into a hotel pool. Unfortunately, the hotel is owned by one of the financial backers of her stepfather’s movies. In order to teach Piper a lesson in humility, her stepfather sends her to Westport to work the dive bar owned by her deceased father.

With her sister in tow, Piper takes Westport by storm and learns to stand on her own two feet. She catches both the eye and ire of Captain Brendan Taggert. At first, it is a bit antagonistic between them. However, with a little bit of sparkle, Piper wins Brendan over completely by being herself. Ultimately, she must make the decision between staying in Westport or going back to LA and resuming her party girl lifestyle.

I just fell for this book and for Piper. Brendan was absolutely wonderful as well. Turns out, I don’t mind the grumpy-sunshine trope. Also, who doesn’t love it when people learn to be more self sufficient. Additionally, It Happened One Summer is about the building of confidence and accepting yourself flaws and all. I liked that Piper didn’t change her whole self – but still liked fashion and shopping and partying. Also, the spice is genuinely good and not cringe-y. If more of Bailey’s books go in this direction, sign me up. I am such a fan. Also, I am now planning on buying my own copy to keep forever on my shelves.

This was an absolutely hilarious and spicy book. This was my first book that I've read by Tessa Bailey and will definitely be an author that I read more of.

Tessa Bailey is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. Two of the three books of hers that I've read thus far have been five stars including this one. I was a little apprehensive at first since the main character was loosely based on Alexis from Schitt's Creek and I was afraid that I would only see that character and not the one Bailey created, but that wasn't the case at all. This was the grumpy/sunshine romance I was looking for, and I would highly highly recommend it.

When I first started reading It Happened One Summer, I wasn’t entirely sure if I was going to be able to make it all the way through the book. Piper is your stereotypical shallow Hollywood girl who is famous for being the stepdaughter of somebody famous and becoming a social media star. It opens with her being dumped by the guy she had been dating who was supposedly her longest relationship which had lasted all of 3 weeks. To blow off steam and repair the image of her begging not to be dumped, she breaks into a hotel pool and throws a raging party that gets busted by the cops. Her stepfather decides enough is enough and sends her north to the coastal WA fishing town where her biological father was from and she had spent the first few years of her life. I have a hard time reading and enjoying books where the main character is so far towards this direction but kept reading in the hopes that she would have some character growth once she got to WA and out of the Hollywood bubble

Enter Brendan… rugged fishing captain who finds Piper insanely gorgeous but incredibly naive and shallow. When they first meet you get a little enemies to lovers vibe, which I love, so I started getting more into it. As Piper and her sister Hannah settle into their new lives in Westport, the cast of characters they encounter have that classic Stars Hollow-esque charm… quirky and strange but lovable and would do anything for their community. The more Piper gets out there with her fellow townspeople, including Brendan, the more she begins to realize that the Hollywood bubble may not be all that she thought it was.

By the time the book was nearing the end, I was really rooting for Piper and had completely changed my view on her as a character. Overall I ended up really enjoying this book and am now looking forward to reading the sequel that follows Piper’s sister Hannah, and Brendan’s best friend and fellow fisherman, Fox. If you loved The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker and watching Schitt’s Creek, then this is the book for you.

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review.
I mean what can I say about Tessa Baily, but that she is a phenomenal writer. Small town romance- right up my alley. I absolutely loved this book and loved Piper's character. She totally gave me Alexis from Schitts Creek.. I really loved Brendan and can tell he's totally my type. I could not put this book down and can't wait to see what next.

I've loved everything I've read by Tessa Bailey, and this was no exception. The plot was so charming, and I loved the Schitt's Creek vibes from our main character. The small-town setting (and all of the side characters) felt wonderful and real and cozy. I rarely read hetero romance these days, but I found myself really rooting for this couple, and I was proud of Poppy for all of her personal growth by the end of the book. Cannot wait for the next installment in this series!!

A great storyline AND some spice? I loved this book! I enjoyed meeting Piper and Brendan, and I look forward to Hannah's story. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC!

I loved this! I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did but it was incredible. Piper was a main character to root for. She was so stuck up and completely out of her depth in the beginning. But she really grew as a person over the course of the story. And Brendan? Like, can I get one of my own please and thank you.