Release Reviews: It Happened One Summer: Tessa Bailey
It Happened One Summer
Tessa Bailey
Release Date July 13, 2021
Tessa Bailey
Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt’s Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood “It Girl” who is cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly, sexy local who thinks she doesn’t belong.
Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar... in Washington.
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. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.
Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.
This is a snarky, amusing, sweet, opposites-attract, sparkling city girl meets grumpy sea captain love story. If you have ever watched Schitt's Creek you can see the inspiration clearly for Piper. She is seen as the social media star, airhead, spoiled, rich girl. But when she takes things too far, her stepfather decides she needs to learn a lesson.
Soon she and her sister Hanna find themselves shipped off to a small seaside town where they were born. The pretty princesses are not sure what exactly they are in for, but they start to enlist their girl power and tackle it head-on.
When Piper meets the surly, sarcastic, sea caption, Brendan, he does not feel very welcoming. He is a creature of habit and has been living in a rut and set routine for years. But soon she is shaking up his life. He begins to see the appeal of something different and starts embracing more change. Under his gruff exterior is a protective, caring, thoughtful, and passionate man. One that starts to provide a true anchor for a lost woman who has never known her life's purpose and has never been able to trust a man to be there for her. The real her, who has a brain, ideas, a heart, and real feelings that she hides for fear of rejection.
But they have their challenges. They are both very different people and their lives have been lived in different locations and social classes. He has deep roots and he is not sure if he can help her grow some. Her plan was always to make amends and go back to her easy, excessive life. But now she will have to take a hard look and decide who she is and wants to be, and what will make her happy.
This is a book about living in the moment, believing in yourself and others, and finding a true home. I loved her sister, Hanna, and his best friend, Fox, and I am glad there will be another book in Westport. The whole town has some interesting characters and a quirky charm. I started off not quite sure if I was going to be able to warm up to Piper, but ended up totally in love with these together. They both had opportunities to grow and change their outlook. It is engaging, sexy, witty, and downright swoony.
This is a book about living in the moment, believing in yourself and others, and finding a true home. I loved her sister, Hanna, and his best friend, Fox, and I am glad there will be another book in Westport. The whole town has some interesting characters and a quirky charm. I started off not quite sure if I was going to be able to warm up to Piper, but ended up totally in love with these together. They both had opportunities to grow and change their outlook. It is engaging, sexy, witty, and downright swoony.
Piper is a socialite with a social media following. She doesn’t make a move without considering how it will look on social media. When a stunt goes a little too far, angering her stepfather, she finds herself on the way to her late father’s dive bar in Western Washington for the summer to learn some responsibility. She is out of her depths, but how hard could it be to run a bar? Until she steps foot in said bar to learn it is in a small fishing town, and hasn’t been run as a bar in a very long time!
Brendan, a local fisherman, is there when she steps out of the cab. He’s never seen anyone like her before, but also recognizes that her type will never last long in a town like Westport. He is gruff, no-nonsense, and isn’t looking for a relationship, much less one with someone who can’t wait to leave his hometown.
These two had sparks flying from the moment they met - though not always the hot kind. They could not have been more opposite in their first meeting. I loved Piper’s determination to prove her worth to her stepfather, even as she started to wonder if she really wanted her old life. Brendan’s ties to the town were complicated, and beyond simply being born and raised there.
As the summer continued and Piper found her footing in the small town, I loved watching the two of them dance around their relationship and the future. They had a lot to sort out, and Piper had a lot to figure out about herself before she could make any decisions, but the progression was a fun journey!
This was a fun, small town guy meets big city girl, opposites attract story. I loved the banter, the effort, and the arc for these characters. Piper didn’t arrive in Westport alone, and I can’t wait to see what was going on with her in the background of this book - because there is a story there!
Expected March 2022
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Tessa Bailey is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Line of Duty Series. She lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and exuberant daughter. When she isn't writing, eating cheese, listening to true crime podcasts or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.
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Tessa Bailey is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Line of Duty Series. She lives in Long Island, New York with her husband and exuberant daughter. When she isn't writing, eating cheese, listening to true crime podcasts or reading romance, Tessa enjoys a good argument and thirty-minute recipes.
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