It Happened One Summer cover art

It Happened One Summer

A Novel

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It Happened One Summer

By: Tessa Bailey
Narrated by: Charlotte North
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About this listen

Tessa Bailey is back with a Schitt's Creek-inspired rom-com about a Hollywood "It Girl" who's 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.

©2021 Tessa Bailey (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
Contemporary Contemporary Romance Romance Romantic Comedy Women's Fiction Comedy Feel-Good Heartfelt Funny

What listeners say about It Happened One Summer

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great until that last 6 chapters

I was hooked (ha!) until about chapter 26 and then lost interest really quickly because of the cringy and unrealistic relationship being played out. I could predict the ending really easily.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

AMAZING!

This book was so well written. The plot, the obstacles, the romance, the spice… everything just tied together so well. It’s the definition of opposites attract with a ‘insta-connection but we’re both going to try and fight it’ vibe. And the characters were just perfection.. although Piper slowly grew on me.

It did take me a while to get used to the third person narration as it was a first for me. Honestly it did almost turn me off the book at the beginning and I contemplated giving it a miss. However I pushed through and I am so glad I did. It didn’t take long to get used to once I was open to it.

Highly recommend! The narrator nailed this!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

butting heads

Really enjoyable, fun to listen to even if its a bit silly at time. give it a go

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Unexpectedly spicy

Dont be fooled by the cover of this romcom. It is unexpectedly spicy and I was surprised to enjoy Piper as a main character. Brendan is a rough seaman with a heart of gold. Very much enjoyed the narration and a good story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A saucy love story!

Wowee that was a steamy book. Rather predictable but loved the characters and super easy to listen to. Highly recommend for modern romance lovers!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Different from your regular rom com

At the beginning of this book I found myself rolling my eyes at the main character, but by the end I loved her. It is really refreshing for a book to romanticise the simple lives many people lead. I thought the performance of this book was really well done. The actor put a lot of effort into differentiating the characters. I totally applaud her efforts getting through the spicy scenes, of which there were many! 🌶🌶🌶

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3 people found this helpful

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Pretty hot

I enjoyed the characters and the steamy chemistry between Piper & Brendan. It was an easy book to get into with likeable and relatable characters. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Piper and Hannah and would like to read a book on Hannah's story.
Definitely recommend, but be warned that it gets pretty explicit 🤭😬
I particularly enjoyed Charlotte North's narration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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great book

excellent book had me hooked, narrator was great with good tonation and change of tone in voice

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fun read but not enough character development

Rating ⭐⭐⭐.5

~ Quick Summary ~

Socialite, Piper and her sister are shipped off to the small town of Westport and cut off as punishment. There they adjust to their new humble life as commoners.

~ Pick this up if you enjoy/don’t mind the following ~

🏡 Small town romance.

🌦️Grumpy and sunshine.

💑 Not really enemies to lovers (they started off not liking each other but that quickly turned around).

📕 Romcom. Silly and cliche scenes.

🌶️ Spicy.

🚈 Light, quick and easy read.

~ What I Enjoyed ~

- This was a lot of fun and so easy to breeze through. It's the perfect book to switch off with, and gave me the Love Hypothesis vibes because some scenes were a little ridiculous and Piper herself was entertaining.

- At first it seemed superficial, however when the sisters went to Westport and found more about their father, lived in the moment, had new experiences and truly connected with people it was touching. I wanted more of it!!!

- Brendan was such a hilarious grump. Some funny moments I enjoyed was when he joined Instagram so that he could find out more about Piper and accidentally followed her having no idea what that meant. Brendan has a tough exterior but for Piper he was the sweetest and most thoughtful man it was beautiful.

- I enjoyed how Piper and Brendan were upfront with what they wanted from the relationship.

~ What I wanted more of ~

- There was nothing that I didn’t enjoy per say - I actually enjoyed everything that was there but I wish there was more focus on the development of the sisters, adjustment to their new life and what they brought to Westport. I felt it was more tell and not enough showing. There were some glimpses in the first half but then the quick developing romance took over. Some examples of what I wished were explored more:
- The bar could’ve been a great vehicle to propel development and engagement with the community. But the scenes were brief, they fixed it up pretty quickly and didn’t require many people to help. I guess it was more about Piper and Brendan only.
- The scenes with their Grandmother were brief, there was a lot of history that was glossed over and the grandmother's development was instant - becoming involved in the community again. I also forgot about her till she was mentioned.
- I wish we learned more about the Bellinger’s family history and their legendary father.

It felt like Piper’s decision to stay was very quick and sudden. I was hoping for there to be a major shift in her before she made that decision. To me the shift was mostly due to the genuine connection with Brendan, but I wished it was more about Piper herself and the life that she herself was making. I guess it was implied and it was briefly mentioned but I wanted her development to be an equal emphasis.

- Brendan’s job is dangerous. I feel like this should have been a barrier in the relationship and a topic worth discussing. But there wasn’t any exploration or conversations around this for Piper to accept it.

- The conflict at the end was very predictable and felt a tad forced and dramatic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love love loved this book!

Giving hart of Dixie x schitts creek!
Right amount of story line and romance!
Loved this book so much!

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