It Happened One Summer: A Novel (Bellinger Sisters Book 1)
£1.90
The first in a spicy and unforgettable rom-com duology from #1 New York Times bestseller and tik tok favorite Tessa Bailey, in which a Hollywood “It Girl” 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.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Avon (13 July 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2987 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 379 pages |
by read_with_charl
This is my favourite book of the series. I preferred Piper and Brendan’s story to Hannah and Fox’s.
Although Brendan and Piper start of as enemies with him being hurtful, stereotypical, and somewhat cruel towards her. He is relentless in his quest to win over Piper, and it is evident that his initial actions are a result of the guilt he feels towards his attraction to her.
I found the development of their relationship was paced accurately which permitted the story to be believable. There is nothing worse when a relationship happens too quickly and the reader is left with whiplash trying to uncover how they went from 0 to 100. I also valued Brendan making amends for his actions before seeking a romantic relationship. What a gentleman!
Piper’s relationship with the town specifically her developing relationship with, her grandma, Opal and Abe was another adorable aspect of this story. It was clear that Henry’s death left a hole in the town of Westport and her presence filled it.
by Gemma – Read A Book Gem
This is the first book by Tessa Bailey that I have read and I am so glad I enjoyed it as much as I hoped to.
The characters were brilliant and vibrant and there was plenty of witty dialogue to enjoy along the way. The connection between Piper and Brendan was well developed and I liked seeing their growth throughout the book and how their relationship prompted both of them to make positive changes in their lives. As expected, the plot did follow a typical romance structure, however something about the setting and direction of the story still felt fresh.
The spicy scenes were very good however this does lead me to my one criticism of the book and that is the “dirty talk”. I have heard that Tessa Bailey is known for this, but it just didn’t work for me. More often than not it just made me cringe as I couldn’t imagine anyone saying such things in all seriousness without laughing. Similarly, Piper repeatedly throughout the book refers to hugs from Brendan as being a “recharging station” which instantly gave me the ick ????
However, that aside, this was a really enjoyable story with endearing characters and I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series which focuses on Piper’s sister who is a side character in this story.
by Karen Louise
I finally read It Happened One Summer and i was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I had my doubts about Piper in the beginning. But I warmed up to her through the story. Hollywood socialite gets into trouble and her stepfather cuts her off and sends her to a small town for three months (where she was actually born) to work and prove she can be a responsible adult. And there she stumbles upon Brendan, the grumpy but ohhhh so sexy sea captain, and the attraction that sparks between burns hot, although they start off on the wrong foot.
What to expect from this book:
???? grumpy-sunshine trope
???? small town romance
???? opposites attract
???? slow burn in the beginning but when they get going, there’s a tone of steam
???? dirty talk and lots of humor
???? beautiful scenery
It’s the perfect feel good, summer read and if you’re a Schitt’s Creek fan, then you’re definitely gonna enjoy this book as it’s inspired by the sitcom.
by Mrs H
I couldn’t put this book down after I got through the first two chapters.
by @convertingtobooks
“ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. ʜᴏᴡᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ, ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ, ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪ’ʟʟ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ɪɴꜱɪᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴀꜱ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ᴀꜱ ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ. ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ. ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴀʀᴇ ᴅᴏᴜʙᴛ ᴍᴇ.”
After having this book sat on my shelf for almost a year now, I finally decided to pick it up and give it a read alongside listening to the audiobook.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey follows Piper Bellinger and Brendan Taggart. Piper got cut off financially from her stepdad in LA and was forced to move to a small town to learn how to be responsible and independent, her sister, Hannah, also decided to tag along. Brendan is a ‘bearded sea captain’ who resides in the small town, Westport, that Piper was forced to relocate to. The two didn’t hit it off immediately, almost an enemies to lovers vibe but not completely, but they both definitely found themselves sexually attracted to one another and had some underlying chemistry bubbling at the surface. I loved watching their relationship unravel.
I absolutely adored this book, Piper and Brendan had such a healthy dynamic in their relationship which I absolutely admired. Brendan is definitely one of my favourite book boyfriends! This book got tabbed and annotated A LOT! All of the characters were so loveable, and I’m extremely excited to read Hook, Line & Sinker next!
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: ????️????️
Tropes:
????Small Town
????Opposites Attract
????Grumpy x Sunshine
????Fish Out Of Water
????Self-Discovery
Find more of my bookish content on TikTok, Instagram & Threads! @convertingtobooks
by Karen Louise
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I listened to the audiobook for this one and didn’t immediately love Piper. Both her and her sister reminded me of the spoilt twins in White Chicks, where it’s all about the next designer bag and who is hosting the latest glamorous party.
But when they landed in the sleepy fishing village of Westport and were brought down to earth with a bump, it was then that I really started to enjoy the story.
Brendan is the towns Sea Captain and also Piper’s love interest. I mean, who doesn’t love a well portrayed grump, who gives off the best boyfriend vibes and has a ton of smut talk?
The way Brendan grounds Piper is commendable and I loved the changes their relationship brought out in her character, especially when we learned of all the things she’d done to help the other residents of Westport.
My only gripe was that I would’ve liked their banter strung out a little longer. They got together too quickly and then the angst died off leaving it like any other romance book.