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babudarabu's review
emotional
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, and Death of parent
ka_ke's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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
I understand the hype behind Tessa Bailey’s books now.
It Happened One Summer is a perfect mix of Schitts Creek and Canadian East Coast culture, as a Canadian thats the best way to describe this lovely book.
It Happened One Summer is a perfect mix of Schitts Creek and Canadian East Coast culture, as a Canadian thats the best way to describe this lovely book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
michaelat21's review
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book was so cute and I did really like the storyline a lot more than I thought I would. The main male mc was incredible and very well written. I loved the character development. It was a little cliché and the plot was a little obvious but i went into it knowing that and expecting that which helped my rating. The spice is also amazing in this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
ashleyjean6's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spicy, open door, romance. The character development was surprisingly good, the plot was fair, but the dialogue was lacking. Every time Brendan calls Piper 'baby' or 'honey' I wanted to gag!! But for all that it kept me fairly interested. Not sure this is really my genre though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
vj_thompson's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Cute rom-com book. The characters were lovable. I forgot how much I love Tessa Bailey’s writing!! I thought the relationship moved very fast and the small internal battles were resolved quickly. Overall, a cute summer read 💕
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Cursing, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Grief, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Child death, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Drug use, and Vomit
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my first Tessa Bailey book and if her others follow this pattern it will probably be my only. I really enjoyed the small town setting, opposites attract, and the first half of this book! But it became pretty clear that this was a primarily physical relationship and it just really took away from the story for me, even when I was skipping scenes (see chapters to skip below) there was a lot of innuendo throughout that just continued to show this book was more about spice than content- and these was so much potential for great content and focusing on the emotional connection and personal growth. There definitely are times that is focused on but it always came back to a super open door physical side. I’ve heard it is a little bit less in book 2 but I’m not sure.
One thing this author does incredibly well is writing in 3rd person. A lot of times I don’t like 3rd person and I feel so disconnected from the story, but she did an incredible job writing in that style and giving dual POV without having to have alternating chapters in 1st person. I think this writing style is what kept me reading!
I don’t regret reading it and I’m glad I tried this popular author. I just know there are better books with way less spice but still incredible romances out there and I wish more authors realized you don’t need so much spice to have a good book. If you are looking for a squeaky clean alternative to this book, I would recommend Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson. If you want a similar book that is closed door/fade to black, I would recommend When in Rome by Sarah Adams. If you want a recommendation with less spice (but still a heavy emphasis on that) I would recommend The Simple Wild series by K.A. Tucker. All of these had similar themes of small town, culture shock of changing to a new place, and some have elements of fame and mystery of family. I actually would recommend those books over this one- I think there is just too much to skip and the romance didn’t fully sell outside the physical.
Chapters with open door scenes for those who want to try to skip scenes: ch. 16, 18, 21, 24. 26, 27
One thing this author does incredibly well is writing in 3rd person. A lot of times I don’t like 3rd person and I feel so disconnected from the story, but she did an incredible job writing in that style and giving dual POV without having to have alternating chapters in 1st person. I think this writing style is what kept me reading!
I don’t regret reading it and I’m glad I tried this popular author. I just know there are better books with way less spice but still incredible romances out there and I wish more authors realized you don’t need so much spice to have a good book. If you are looking for a squeaky clean alternative to this book, I would recommend Famous for a Living by Melissa Ferguson. If you want a similar book that is closed door/fade to black, I would recommend When in Rome by Sarah Adams. If you want a recommendation with less spice (but still a heavy emphasis on that) I would recommend The Simple Wild series by K.A. Tucker. All of these had similar themes of small town, culture shock of changing to a new place, and some have elements of fame and mystery of family. I actually would recommend those books over this one- I think there is just too much to skip and the romance didn’t fully sell outside the physical.
Chapters with open door scenes for those who want to try to skip scenes: ch. 16, 18, 21, 24. 26, 27
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Chapters with open door scenes for those who want to try to skip scenes: ch. 16, 18, 21, 24. 26, 27mconroy9137's review
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Cursing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Medical content
sebradley29's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
myhandmadehell's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I am not really sure what to say about this. I’ll start I guess by saying that I am aware this book scratches a lot of itches for a lot of people - but as I learn more about myself in my romance reading journey, I have learned that this kind of story - specifically these kinds of people - do not scratch any itches I have.
What I liked:
The character voice (both for Piper and Brendan) was very good, consistent, and specific to each person. I laughed out loud several times at each of their internal perceptions and clever little phrases. For example, a passage I highlighted:
“Was he annoyed? Yes. Did he want to be anywhere else in the world? No. And that was fucking frustrating but apparently it was what he enjoyed now.”
It was overall humorous, and I enjoyed the setting and the story set up. Hannah in particular, Piper’s sister, was a great character: supportive, loving, protective, but also her own person who didn’t need to emulate her sister in order to love her or be loved by her.
The spice was plentiful and explicit. That’s how I prefer it so the book did not disappoint on that front. I’ve heard Tessa Bailey is referred to as “the queen of dirty talk” or something - some reviews here indicated that the dirty talk was cringey and awful, but I found it was fine at worst, pretty hot at best.
What I didn’t like:
Just their whole relationship really. Every conflict they had came from Brendan being incapable of having a relationship. I don’t hate a possessive MMC but possessive doesn’t have to mean abusive - and yes I said it, and tagged it in the spoilers. He is emotionally abusive of her. And based on the sheer number of times he physically restrains her from walking away from him, when she clearly wants to, I’d also consider tagging in a warning of mild physical abuse as well. In fact, Brendan doesn’t let her do much of anything that he doesn’t approve of. He doesn’t let her finish sentences when she’s struggling to explain her feelings (which are, to say the least, confusing and new to her). He doesn’t give her time or space to think through those feelings. He doesn’t allow her to adjust to her dramatically different life. This sounds extra picky, but he unilaterally buys her jeans she said she doesn’t like! It’s played off as cute and “spoiling her” but it’s just one more way Brendan outs himself as a controlling asshole.
Again, I know this is part of the fantasy for some readers, this gender essentialism that categorizes all actions, appearances, attitudes, and behaviors as solely “male” or “female”, and allows people to explore and revel in the idea of a woman submitting to a man’s emotional and intellectual dominance. And I’m not here to shame anybody for that.
Just saying, for those who didn’t know that this is a book that explores those themes, and it isn’t your cup of tea? It does, and it is pretty blatant.
2.75 stars, losing 2 for all of the above, losing 1 more for the sentence “even a casual mention of Brendan’s name and her pussy started pumping out a slow jam”, and gaining back 3/4 of a star for what turned out to be a reasonably good apology on his part - a good start but not the end of their struggles, I fear.
The spice was plentiful and explicit. That’s how I prefer it so the book did not disappoint on that front. I’ve heard Tessa Bailey is referred to as “the queen of dirty talk” or something - some reviews here indicated that the dirty talk was cringey and awful, but I found it was fine at worst, pretty hot at best.
What I didn’t like:
Just their whole relationship really. Every conflict they had came from Brendan being incapable of having a relationship. I don’t hate a possessive MMC but possessive doesn’t have to mean abusive - and yes I said it, and tagged it in the spoilers. He is emotionally abusive of her. And based on the sheer number of times he physically restrains her from walking away from him, when she clearly wants to, I’d also consider tagging in a warning of mild physical abuse as well. In fact, Brendan doesn’t let her do much of anything that he doesn’t approve of. He doesn’t let her finish sentences when she’s struggling to explain her feelings (which are, to say the least, confusing and new to her). He doesn’t give her time or space to think through those feelings. He doesn’t allow her to adjust to her dramatically different life. This sounds extra picky, but he unilaterally buys her jeans she said she doesn’t like! It’s played off as cute and “spoiling her” but it’s just one more way Brendan outs himself as a controlling asshole.
Again, I know this is part of the fantasy for some readers, this gender essentialism that categorizes all actions, appearances, attitudes, and behaviors as solely “male” or “female”, and allows people to explore and revel in the idea of a woman submitting to a man’s emotional and intellectual dominance. And I’m not here to shame anybody for that.
Just saying, for those who didn’t know that this is a book that explores those themes, and it isn’t your cup of tea? It does, and it is pretty blatant.
2.75 stars, losing 2 for all of the above, losing 1 more for the sentence “even a casual mention of Brendan’s name and her pussy started pumping out a slow jam”, and gaining back 3/4 of a star for what turned out to be a reasonably good apology on his part - a good start but not the end of their struggles, I fear.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
ekalmusla's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing