New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey aspires to three things: writing hot and unforgettable character-driven romance, being a good mother, and eventually sneaking onto the judging panel of a reality-show baking competition. She lives on Long Island, New York, with her husband and daughter, writing all day and rewarding herself with a cheese plate and Netflix binge in the evening. If you want sexy, heartfelt, humorous romance with a guaranteed happy ending, you've come to the right place. You can find more of my reviews of Tessa's works here.
Piper Bellinger is a fashionable and 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 land Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off and sends her and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father's dive bar . . . in Westport, Washington. Piper hasn't even been in Westport five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan Taggart, 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 gold, 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 novel is definitely character-driven, as we follow characters Piper and Brendan throughout a few week period. Bailey seems to know that we as readers won't buy into Piper loving anyone or anyone loving Piper if there isn't character development around how she loves herself and how she holds herself. Thus, a lot of the book's focus is that development and I felt like it was spot-on the entire time. I could tell, because Piper is the kind of girl other girls are jealous of, or even hate for inexplicable reasons. Yet by the end of the novel, she felt like a friend, in the sense that any reader would have a well-rounded understanding of her character and her growth throughout the novel. Piper's insecurities were also the insecurities of so many other women across the world, and I found myself relating to those as well as her triumphs, even though we come from two very different worlds. That is a truly impressive thing to be able to do, so Bailey definitely has great writing skills up her sleeve!
One of my favorite aspects of the novel was how Bailey incorporated Brendan's point of view. Some romance novels do incorporate the point of view of the male main character, and some don't, and I usually don't have a preference on whether or not they're included. This is because sometimes the male perspective doesn't add as much as it could when compared to other novels that forgo that choice. However, Bailey made sure that Brendan's chapters were very distinct and always added to the story, and this was all in his own voice. Sometimes writers don't make enough distinction in their writing when switching points of view like this. In It Happened One Summer it's almost not even necessary to play with voice as much since the entire thing is in third-person, but this is just another example of how Bailey goes above and beyond with her writing. Adding Brendan's distinct point of view is a powerfully effective move, making readers believe wholeheartedly that Piper and Brendan could—and did—fall in love.
I have been thinking a lot recently about how places do not define people, but that people define places. I couldn't have found a more perfect book that encapsulates that argument for me. Piper feels a lot of tensions surrounding Westport versus Los Angeles, and puts a lot of pressure on herself to figure out which place she belongs. but as she gets to know and understand the different people that inhabit both of these places, she is able to figure out exactly what kind of person she wants to be. In a sense, she figures out which place she wants to define for herself. This story is super empowering, because it gives both Piper and readers the ability to step back and reassess who they are because of their surroundings, and how to be the person they want to be when they finally have that perspective. As a book written in 2020, I have a feeling that the feelings of that year manifested itself into this storyline, and I couldn't be more grateful that Bailey took care to nurture that argument within her novel.
I honestly haven't read a book that absorbed me with quite the same intensity as The Love Hypothesis did back in the fall until I picked up It Happened One Summer—I finished this one in less than a day! Bailey certainly knows how to write. The novel is paced perfectly, reminding me of a rom-com, when all the beats land in exactly the right place. Sure, we know what to expect with the guaranteed happily-ever-after ending, but half the battle is knowing how we get there. And I certainly believe there's still room to be pleasantly surprised and shocked when the author takes us down familiar yet new paths before winding up at the same end goal. Bailey does a great job with this, revealing each of the plot points at exactly the right times—to hook us, keep us engaged, have us finish the ending with a smile on our faces, and then have us begging for more within the next second.
Did you see the seeds Bailey was planting for a companion novel following Piper's very own most faithful companion? Something is brewing between Hannah and Fox, and we'll have a chance to see exactly what it is in Hook, Line, and Sinker, to be released March 1st. Stay tuned for my review!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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