It Happened One Summer

TITLE: It Happened One Summer

SERIES: Bellinger Sisters #1

AUTHOR: Tessa Bailey

RATING: 

STEAM: 

THE SYNOPSIS
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. 

THE PLOT

I can't even with this book! I'm obsessed Piper was very annoying in the beginning, picture Clueless, but I loved watching her character develop throughout the book and the changes she made were subtle and believable.  The reality that her whole world and friends were only surface level is something that is very relevant in today's society. With social media, it is easy to present yourself a certain way, but to also believe that those online friends, likes and comments are more than just surface value. Watching Piper learn that for herself was very interesting and Ms. Bailey did a great job developing that change over the whole book. 

Brendan. Oh Brendan. He was just a sweetheart. I loved him, even when he was a grumpy jerk to Piper in the beginning. Having lost his first wife and being so intrenched in her death, her family and the whole town, he allowed himself to continuously mourn and pay penance to her death. He fell in love with Piper just the way she is, her likes and dislikes...and he didn't want or allow her to change to someone else. He celebrated her! 

The humor, witty banter and the romantic one-liners were epic and I can't wait to read the next in the series! 

TROPES

Contemporary Romance, Seaside, Gamma Hero, Grumpy Hero, Starchy Hero, Protective Hero, Wealthy Hero, Widowed Hero, Heiress Heroine, Experienced Heroine, Hoyden Heroine, Outdoor Steam, Dirty Talk, Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract, Sunshine/Grump, Loss of Nobility/Riches to Rags, Five Star, Four Flame

ContemporaryRomance, Seaside, GammaHero, GrumpyHero, StarchyHero, ProtectiveHero, WealthyHero, WidowedHero, HeiressHeroine, ExperiencedHeroine, HoydenHeroine, OutdoorSteam, DirtyTalk, EnemiestoLovers, OppositesAttract, Sunshine/Grump, LossofNobility/RichestoRags, FiveStar, FourFlame