It Happened One Summer

4,5
Very good, loved the characters - did not dislike Piper in the beginning.
Not a fan of the miscommunication trope, but it was over pretty quickly.
Really appreciated the boy falls first aspect of it all!

not to bad but not good enough to have you struggling to put it down. the first few chapters dragged on but it got better towards the end. cute overall although the love interest grunts a few times to many (like why?)

This book was a fun time! Loved the character development and the small town, fishing

Great mix of steam and plot. The typical miscommunication at the end didn't bother me at all.

3.5 ⭐

I enjoyed this one, but was pretty standard romance. It was spicier than I expected at times which was kind of awkward and entertaining

I felt like the relationship was rushed and I didn't get any chemistry (aside from sexual) between the main characters. I'm not a fan of women being treated like fragile children that need protecting. Wasn't the right vibe for me.

Piper Bellinger is the typical LA party girl with a massive Instagram following as well as a lack of responsibility and discipline. She gets away with everything. That is until she is arrested for breaking and entering after throwing the wildest party of her life after her most recent dumping. Her step-father ships her off to her hometown, Westport, Washington to learn her lesson. She has barely any memories of the town, other than her deceased father had died there.

In tow with her sister, Hannah, she heads to the small fishing town that is anything but the glitz and glam of LA. Her attitude and disapproving glares get under the skin of gruff ship captain, Brendan Taggart. He doesn't like how she's walked into town with her attitude of arrogance and hatred towards his beloved town. Yet, despite his annoyance, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. He feels this urge to take care of her, which eventually leads to a growing flirtationship between the two. She understands him and he understands her, as the people, they are, not what the world expects of them. This story is about having faith. In others, and yourself. It's about finding love and yourself in the places you'd least expect it.

Tessa Bailey's writing is swoon-worthy and real. She does an amazing job in creating her characters with flaws. She makes you dislike the characters and then fall in love with them, something that's hard to do. Her portrayal of Breandan as this gruff, strong, and emotionally unavailable ship captain is phenomenal, as she breaks down his walls, giving him a sense of vulnerability as he learns to show real emotion. Brendan falls first and we get to hear every piece of it, and it's beautiful.

I loved this book. A lot. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because of the amount and the very graphic sex scenes. I'm no prude and I know others may like it, but there was a lot of it and some of it just wasn't for me. Details were described in full detail, so be forewarned folks. I didn't hate all of the sex scenes, but some of them were just a bit much, especially with Brendan's dirty talk. However, I loved the rest of the book and I am excited to read Hook, Line, and Sinker!

It was aight. Not terribly clever or original, but cute enough. Simple and sweet FMC's are usually tough for me. I like the sardonic morally gray ones. I'm interested in the next one though. Fox seems more up my alley as far as male leads go.

read for bookoplathon 48 hour round, may 2022: water & feed scroll

this was so fun and tessa knows how to write steam fr. i enjoyed the crab fishing and the idea of a small costal town since i've never lived in a place like that. the characters and their relationships were so cute 

Cute!!!

I guess this just wasn't for me. This book was so hyped up and I was so excited but nope.  I could not connect to the characters.

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Okay, this was cute. It wasn't anything mind-blowing, though. A fun, cute little romp of a contemporary romance book. I think my reaction is probably because I wasn't a huge fan of Schitt's Creek. (TBF, I don't think I made it through half of season two...idk if that changes anything.) BUT ANYWAY — I thought this was fun.

Brendan is captain of a fishing/crabbing boat up in a tiny town called Westport in the Pacific northwest. His life is incredibly structured and rigid, and when Piper blows into town, well. Everything is turned upside down and hates the change in routine and...well...he hates her at first. Piper is loud, a tiny bit obnoxious at first, and just incredibly spoiled. HOWEVER, you find out quickly that she's not a bad person. She doesn't think down on anyone because they're not as lucky or well-off as her. She's sweet, and has a big heart.

I really thought going into this that I probably wouldn't like Piper because of how she's talked about in the official blurb. As I've mentioned before on the blog, I hate books about awful people. But that's not Piper at all, and I'm so, so glad. She kinda slowly comes into herself, but the whole time she's doing what she can to help people. Brendan is a big ol' teddy bear of a man and I love him. He was so totally head-over-heels for Piper in the most adorable way. Not to mention these two were hot, hot, hot together. Tessa Bailey is known for the steam, and boy howdy does she deliver.

Three and a half-ish stars rounded up for GR. I recommend if you're looking for something fun that doesn't make you think too hard!

I'm not big on romance typically because characters don't feel real to me. This book was an exception. I really liked being alongside Piper and watching her growth, much like Alexis from Schitt's Creek. I thought Brendan was such a sweet love interest. Fox and Hannah were also such great characters and I'm so excited to read more about them in the sequel! I liked the setting and could clearly picture the sea as I was reading. 

I read this during my quarantine period. And I dunno, maybe because of Covid, I just don't like it very much. I don't like the hero, though I adore his sidekick. I rather like the female main, but then again she's sort of a bimbo. Maybe because she is, but with some substance.

In the word of a true Malaysian, I would say “Bolehlaaaaa...”

On the other note, yes, I think romance has made me jaded.

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.

4/5
We love grumpy sunshine!!! Brendan and Piper are soooo stink in' cute. I couldn't help but root for them. I loved the character development of Piper. Albeit, she was annoying at first, I absolutely adore her! I could even relate to her “high-maintenance” moments because I like nice things.

I really liked this book, and the Mutt/Alexis parallel was definitely not lost on me. A quick comfort read with some

I loved this book! A grumpy-sunshine PERFECT romance.
Brendan was EVERYTHING. I'm obsessed with him! So hot, swoony and sweet!
At first, I had my doubts about Piper but I ended up loving her very quickly too. Her kindness won me over and I liked her relationship with her sister a lot.
The chemistry and the steamy scenes... PERFECTION. Couldn't stop listening to the audiobook. Loved the setting too.
One of my favorite romances of the year, for sure!
Can't wait for the next book.

Aw I just loved this!! Tessa Bailey is definitely an auto-buy author for me now, I just eat up these romances. This one even made me tear up! We need more Brendan's in the world.

I finally was able to sit down and read this book and o m g – I LOVED it. It was such a beautifully written love story with twists, turns, challenges, etc. If I could recommend one book to someone wanting to start reading rom-coms, it would be this one. I absolutely loved Piper's character growth, it was so amazing to see.

This started off as a slow burn for me but when the flames between spoilt rich girl Piper and small town fisherman Brendan ignited...kapow! I was fully invested.
A great enemies to lovers tale that swept me into the romance.
Brendan made the book for me. A rough around the edges hero who encapsulates chivalry in every way.
Loved it!

It's been a while since i read a good romance, this book is really good. I liked all characters, with the exception of the mother and the stepfather of the main character (they're really shit parents). I thought that the romance got very serious very fast, but it was believable. And now i want to read the next one.

When Piper, a rich socialite in LA, has a crazy night and ends up in jail, her stepfather sends her back to her small hometown to teach her a lesson. Her sister goes with her so she isn't alone. In this small fishing town where their father died lives Brendan, a grumpy widower who's only love is the ocean. What follows is a hilarious, touching, lovely story about grief, loss, and love.

I really enjoyed this book. This is my first Tessa Bailey novel, and it did not disappoint. The characters were so unique and fun. My favorite aspect was that Brendan never once wanted Piper to change. Just because she fell in love with the town, the way of living, and Brendan, she was never expected to change the way she felt or acted or the things she liked. That was incredibly refreshing to see. The romance was sweet and heartfelt, there were some great steamy moments, and the other relationships between characters were nice. The only downside for me was how domineering Brendan was. That normally doesn't bother me, but he was very confrontational.

Overall, I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a cute, steamy summer romance.

TW: alcohol, death, sexually explicit scenes

Let me start by saying this is the first book in a new series by Tessa Bailey. There are two main characters. Piper is the first character we meet. She lives in California and she comes from a rich family. After an unfortunate event, Piper is sent packing to a small town in Westport, Washington. While there she meets Brendan. He is a local fisherman who is very set in his ways and nobody is going to change that, until, he meets Piper. What starts off as an extremely rude first meeting turns into a gradual friendship. As time goes by this friendship turns into something neither one of them ever expected. Throughout this story, you will meet a bunch of other characters that you grow to love.

This was my first book by Tessa Bailey and I really enjoyed it. After just binge watching Schitt's Creek for the first time (and a second and a third time), I'm obsessed with anything/everything having to do with the Rose family so when I saw that this book was inspired by our girl Alexis, I had to read it.

After being arrested and costing her movie producer stepfather a major investor in his movie, party girl Piper Bellinger is sent off to the quaint little fishing town of Westport, WA, where she was born and has inherited a run down bar from her long deceased father. With her sister, Hannah, in tow, Piper decides the perfect way to get back into their stepfather's good graces is by renovating the bar to prove that she can be responsible and care about something other than partying and being in the spotlight. Along the way, Piper meets grumpy fishing boat captain Brendan and forms new connections with the residents of Westport, leaving her wondering if she really wanted to go back to her old life or if she could be happy living in a small town.

The chemistry between Brendan and Piper is off the charts in this book. It's filled with hilarious and flirty banter and there are plenty of steamy moments. Not only is the romance great but Piper's overall journey was really fun to read. I'd definitely recommend this book and can't wait to read Fox and Hannah's.

ARC provided by Netgally in exchange for honest review.