I received an ARC of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
When it comes to summer reading I am all about the romances. I’ll read fantasy, smut, giddy good vibes, give me all the romances! It Happened One Summer which comes out on July 13, 2021 is a must read summer romance!
I thoroughly enjoyed It Happened One Summer and this happy ending for Brendan and Piper. In a world where we are all just a little bit controlled by social media it’s easy to wonder if the life we live is as vapid as it all feels from time to time. Piper’s journey of self discovery an Brendan’s efforts to get out of his own way long enough to find love are freaking adorable.
I’ve had this ARC sitting for a bit on my Kindle and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. I devoured it in a day and now I’m thoroughly devastated because I could keep reading about these two for weeks.
This post contains affiliate links to products or services I think are great! If you click through and make a purchase I make a small commission at no cost to you, thank you!
Let’s dive into this adorable read. You’ll be devastated when it is over but in the best way. Do yourself a favor and don’t let the pages fly by in a single day!
What is this book about?
It Happened One Summer is about a commercial fisherman and a LA socialite who collide and form an unlikely bond.
Piper and her sister Harper are banished to their hometown, a small fishing town in Washington state. They haven’t been in Westport since they were very small children when their father was killing in a fishing accident.
They’re sent away when Piper gets arrested during a mindless stunt fueled by booze too much money and a need to be seen that burns deep. Brendan doesn’t know what to think when Piper rolls into town and takes over his favorite local drinking spot.
Chaos and sparks follow (of course) and the two battle their spend a few months battling their own demons so they can get down to the business of falling madly in love with one another. It’s high maintenance LA chic meets down to earth crab fishing. There’s much to love.
What did you love about It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey?
I really loved Westport and the characters. Tessa Bailey is a character driven writer which suits me so so well. I need to love the people I’m reading about. I get far too attached to them to have them be ridiculous or not relatable on some level.
Westport is just one of those places I wish was my home. Take a trip to Maine and you never fully get your heart back. It’s the closest thing I can equate to the feeling of being in this town with these characters.
As for Piper and Brendan, they couldn’t be more difficult or different from one another but it just works. Brendan is a no nonsense, right to the point, capable kind of MAN that is worthy of all the swooning. I loved him, he reminds me of the one and only real life commercial fisherman I’ve ever known. Insert nostalgia and a tiny bit of longing for days gone by!
Piper and Harper together is also one of those sibling relationships you can only really understand if you come from a broken home. I never viewed my home as “broken” per say but my sisters were always a constant, good or bad, dependable in that weird way of siblings…I loved these two and their differences.
Fox gets a little bit of a bad start in It Happened One Summer and I am excited to see where his story goes (more on that below) but his bromance with Brendan balances out the story in a comical way which is alway a win in my book!
Long story not short at all – there was a lot to love about this one. Setting, story, and characters were all a big hit for me.
What did you not love about this book?
That is had the sheer audacity to end. How dare you. In all seriousness I kept waiting to be annoyed with Piper and it just didn’t come. In the first chapter I was worried.
I’m not typically a fan of the vapid party girl social media world rich girl on a bender bit. Thankfully that irritation I was expecting never came. There’s more to Piper and we get to see that pretty quickly. I very much loved the book and these characters, no complaints here!
Will you read more in this series?
Oh my god YES. There’s a bonus sneak peak in the back of the ARC for the next book which comes out in 2022. It’s Harper and Fox’s story and I for one can’t freaking wait to be back in this world.
It’s killing me to not still be devouring pages in Westport. TAKE ME BACK! So yes, I will be reading more in this series. Hopefully we’ll get a look at what’s up with Brendan and Piper…and hopefully some little sea captain babies! I swoon. That is all. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Overall opinions of It Happened One Summer book:
This was a 5/5 star read for me. No shocker there it had all the things I love in a summer romance: swoon worthy stud, kickass female MC not running from herself or her past, and a few badass side kicks. The gorgeous setting was gravy.
Processing grief is hard especially when you’ve been burying those feelings for a very long time. I think Bailey handles the relationship Piper and Harper have with the hometown of their dead father so well. The two discover long lost family members, themselves, and each other. It’s excellent. It was one of my favorite aspects of the book.
Another thing I loved was Brendan. All the characters are excellent, supporting, mains, all of them. But the male MC in It Happened One Summer could not be more accurately depicted in my opinion. I won’t claim to be an expert but he’s pretty much a carbon copy of the only commercial fisherman I’ve ever known. There’s this calm intensity to people who spend that much time at the mercy of the ocean and I just loved him as a character and as a reminder of a little slice of my past I don’t get to dwell on too often.
There’s plenty of steamy romance, fierce battles, and fun. It Happened One Summer is part coming of age story, part coming home adventure. If you haven’t already added it to your summer reading list do it now! It comes out next week and you won’t be sorry to have read this one.
Where can I buy It Happened One Summer for myself?
You can preorder you physical copy here or with the link below:
You can preorder your Kindle copy here or with the link below:
Kindle Unlimited Membership PlansWhat else has Tessa Bailey written?
“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.”
Tessa Bailey writes the kind of romance novels that I just want to keep devouring. You’ll fall as in love with the characters as the colorful and unique spaces they inhabit.
Looking for more reviews to check out?
Check out these other book reviews and bookish posts. I think you’ll love them! Make sure to let me know in the comments what kinds of books you like to read and what you’d like to see more of.
I’d love to hear about your favorite books, I’m always adding to my TBR (to be read) pile so leave those suggestions below!
- Rule of Wolves Review
- The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun | Book Review
- Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo | Book Review
- The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout | Book Review
- Boyfriend Material By Alexis Hall | Book Review
- Red, White & Royal Blue By Casey McQuiston | Book Review
- The Infinity Courts By Akemi Dawn Bowman | Book Review
- Bridge Of Souls By Victoria Schwab | Book Review
- A Universe of Wishes | A We Need Diverse Books Anthology
- Read More Without Making Major Changes!
- Turtles All The Way Down | John Green
- Meg & Jo By Virginia Kantra