It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey on July 13, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
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“I’ll love you until my heart gives out. I’ll be your man for a thousand years. Longer if I’m allowed.”
“You can be as high maintenance as you want, honey. But I’m the only one who does the maintenance.”
The novel follows a young, wealthy socialite, Piper Bellinger, after she is banished from Los Angeles to the small fishing town of Westport, 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.
The novel alternates between Piper and Brendan’s points of view, showing their personal growth as they begin a relationship and come to care for one another. I was wary of Piper because I don’t love the spoiled rich heroines who have to learn the value of money and stop being obsessed with social media. But from the moment we met him, Brendan stole my heart. I loved how brooding and cold he was and how he slowly started to fall for Piper. This had all the steam you would normally expect from a smut novel, but it came served alongside an extra heavy dose of emotional connection.
I gave this book a 3.5-star rating. It wasn’t totally miss by any means. I enjoyed this quick little romance. The plot was fun, the characters were charming, but nothing else felt special to me unfortunately. Overall, this was a fun and steamy book about learning to love yourself, second chances and responsibility.