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My rating: 5 of 5 stars (4.5 rounded up to a 5)
It Happened One Summer is a fun romantic comedy by Tessa Bailey that was inspired by Schitt’s Creek. The eBook version is 397 pages and has a dual POV which alternates between our two main characters. I listened to the HarperAudio produced audiobook, which clocks in at 11 hours and is narrated wonderfully by Charlotte North.
Our heroine Piper Bellinger is a social media influencer in Los Angeles who gets into a bit of trouble when she lands in jail after she attempted to help herself get over a bad breakup. Her stepfather cuts her off financially, and with agreement with her mother, sends her to a small Pacific Northwest beach town for three months to grow up and learn responsibility by taking care of her late father’s dive bar. Which just so happens to be in a bit more disrepair than she was expecting. Thankfully, her younger sister decides to come with her for the ride.
Our hero is Brendan, a widower and captain of a fishing vessel in said small town. He’s the grumpy to her sunshine, and expects she’s a spoiled brat won’t be able to cut it there. They definitely have a big attraction between them, but as Piper plans to go back to Los Angeles once her three month “sentence” is up she doesn’t plan on anything serious.
One of the things I always hear from BookTubers about Tessa Bailey is that she is the queen of dirty talk, and I can confirm that is an accurate statement. But she’s also really good about consent! So the best of both worlds, really. I was pleased that in a discussion about healthy/testing status, Baily didn’t use language like being “clean,” and I appreciate that. She also notes the “Bellinger Method” for not having a hangover, which is exactly my method as well!
Tropes in this book include: grumpy/sunshine, fish-out-of-water, found family
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