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rebecca_arielle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Grief
gabyhat's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Grief, Infidelity, Cursing, and Alcohol
now_booking's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I feel like it’s pretty much impossible not adore the characters in this series- even when they’re kind of out-of-touch like Piper in Book 1, or incredibly damaged by toxic masculinity and society’s hypersexualisation of handsome boys and men like with Fox, in this book, this author creates something angsty and beautifully broken out of characters that on the surface could be perceived as flaky and sort of vacuous.
The premise of this rom-com-ish but angsty romance is that from childhood, Fox has been told he will be a heartbreaker and a massive success in sexual exploits much like his ain’t ish father. As a result, feeing the need to live up to society’s expectations and also getting burned the one time he tried to buck that weight, he’s a commitment-phobic womanizer. A commitment-phobic womanizer who is best friends with sweet but lacking in confidence, Hannah. This genesis of this friendship is mentioned several times in this book but makes much more sense and makes this a richer read if you’ve read book 1 in this series (Piper’s book). Everybody loves Hannah and feels protective over her and Fox has been warned to keep his filthy reputation away from everyone’s favourite little sister (Hannah).
I liked that there was a lot of growth realised by both characters. Hannah finds her inner leading lady and begins to believe in herself and her worth, while Fox begins to heal from years of low self-worth and the damage being hypersexualised from a young age made on him. I think sometimes this was angstier and more love triangular than necessary- especially in situations where a single conversation would have solved the angst and would have fit in the narrative as Fox and Hannah have excellent communication and were quite open and honest with each other. I think another weakness of this was that even though we clearly knew and had affection for Piper and Brendan from the first novel, the supporting characters somehow didn’t pop as much as they did in the first book. That said, this was a really solid romance that took me on an emotional journey that felt deep and real and heartfelt and that really tackled a male main character’s emotions and society’s normalization of sexualisation of young boys and men with a lot of nuance and heart, and it’s not something I’ve read thematically before in a romance. Recommend if you’re looking for angst with some laughs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of this rom-com-ish but angsty romance is that from childhood, Fox has been told he will be a heartbreaker and a massive success in sexual exploits much like his ain’t ish father. As a result, feeing the need to live up to society’s expectations and also getting burned the one time he tried to buck that weight, he’s a commitment-phobic womanizer. A commitment-phobic womanizer who is best friends with sweet but lacking in confidence, Hannah. This genesis of this friendship is mentioned several times in this book but makes much more sense and makes this a richer read if you’ve read book 1 in this series (Piper’s book). Everybody loves Hannah and feels protective over her and Fox has been warned to keep his filthy reputation away from everyone’s favourite little sister (Hannah).
I liked that there was a lot of growth realised by both characters. Hannah finds her inner leading lady and begins to believe in herself and her worth, while Fox begins to heal from years of low self-worth and the damage being hypersexualised from a young age made on him. I think sometimes this was angstier and more love triangular than necessary- especially in situations where a single conversation would have solved the angst and would have fit in the narrative as Fox and Hannah have excellent communication and were quite open and honest with each other. I think another weakness of this was that even though we clearly knew and had affection for Piper and Brendan from the first novel, the supporting characters somehow didn’t pop as much as they did in the first book. That said, this was a really solid romance that took me on an emotional journey that felt deep and real and heartfelt and that really tackled a male main character’s emotions and society’s normalization of sexualisation of young boys and men with a lot of nuance and heart, and it’s not something I’ve read thematically before in a romance. Recommend if you’re looking for angst with some laughs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Avon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Infidelity, and Sexism
Minor: Grief
aklovekorn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent and Grief
jaynovara's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity
bayleereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a perfect sequel to IHOS. I loved the friends to lovers trope/storyline! Hannah is such a bad-ass woman and I want to be her friend. This one was steamy, but not nearly as much as IHOS. Fox is such a stone-cold guy, and I love how Hannah makes him all soft and mushy. It didn't hit five stars for me for two reasons: 1) it was SUCH a SLLOWWW burn and 2) Fox was a whiny man-child for at least 50% of the book.
→ Things I Liked: Chapter lengths, Dual POV, Badass female MC, steamy
→ Things I Disliked: Slow burn, Fox was a literal child sometimes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
things100's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amazing. I didn’t think I could love a book in the series more then it happened 1 summer but I was wrong. I knew I was gonna love Fox and Hannah from the their first interaction in it happened one summer. And it was great to see what was going on in those moments from their POVs. Loved this book and loved this series. I also loved how complex these characters were it was never just what you see is what you get. Tessa Bailey truly out did herself. Can not recommend this book enough. Also the spice dang 🥵
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcohol
Minor: Grief
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Minor: Grief
meghanm404's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Sexism
cluckieduck's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fox - you dirty talker, you. The so-called maestro of feminine wetness - I absolutely loved getting to know him in this book. It Happened One Summer was just an ok read for me - nothing ground-breaking, merely a cute, little rom-com, but HL&S was a fantastic addition to the duology (with a fabulous epilogue - I'm gonna need a novella or something to expand on that whole sitch, 'cause what was given in the epilogue isn't nearly enough)!!
Fox had a third, and most important, reason for keeping his hands off Hannah. She was his friend. She was a woman who genuinely liked him for something other than his dick. And it made him feel terrifyingly good to be around her. To talk to her. They had fun. Made each other laugh.
I found the relationship between Fox & Hannah was well-fleshed out. Normally I don't enjoy mind-games played out for the sake of creating conflict, but the cat-and-mouse game that they participate in lent really well to the story, as both fight against their own perceived roles - Fox as the player and Hannah as the supporting act. Hannah's anger at the objectification of Fox was entertaining to read, and her unwavering support and confidence in Fox (which he lacked) helped make me fall in love with both.
She thought that compassion made her a supporting actress instead of a leading one, and didn't realize that her empathy, the fierce way she cared, made her something bigger. Hannah belonged in a category far more real than the credits of a movie. A category all her own.
For such a promiscuous male lead, I'm glad that this ended up being quite the slow-burn romance because we were able to really dive deep under Fox's skin and witness Hannah's rise to the leading lady of her own story.
You can't live life worrying about what people will think. You'll wake up one day, look at a calendar, and count the days you could have spent being happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexism, Cursing, and Sexual content
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Grief, Drug use, and Blood