It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey is a really easy, addictive book to read with a nice story. It’s set mostly in North West USA, with great descriptions of a small fishing town on the coast. Here is my book review of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey.
Overview of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey is a classic women’s fiction novel. It’s easy to read and addictive, with a love story being the main theme through the book. I enjoyed this book, so my book review of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey is mostly positive!
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey follows the story of Piper. She’s a party girl in Los Angeles from a rich family. However, after a particularly scandalous party, her step-dad decides to send Piper to the town of Westport, in Washington state. Piper’s dad was from here – he was a fisherman before he died, and her mum moved to Los Angeles. So Piper moves to Westport, along with her sister Hannah.
At first, Piper and Hannah struggle to adjust to their new life in Westport. They’re trying to renovate their dad’s old bar. But the hard work is something neither of them are used to. And at first, they struggle to make friends with the locals – particularly Brendan, a fisherman who seems to resent these two glamourous LA girls encroaching on the small fishing town.
However, Brendan’s feelings for Piper soon begin to change. And Piper starts to develop feelings for Brendan as well. Piper and Hannah continue to work on the bar, and start making friends in the town. And Brendan and Piper give in to their feelings and start dating. But as their feelings grow, there’s the constant tension of whether Piper will go back to her party life in LA, or stay in Westport with her new fisherman boyfriend. Both Brendan and Piper struggle with their pasts, and their own insecurities, as their relationship grows. But will Piper decide to stay in Westport so they can be together?
What I liked about It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
I liked It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. The book was really easy to read. I could read big chunks of the book in one go, and feel completely transported to the town of Westport. I liked the descriptions of the town and also the fishermen’s life. When I got lost in the story, I could really feel like I was in this sleepy little seaside town along with Piper and Brendan.
I found the story surprisingly addictive as well. It’s one of these books where you completely know how it’s going to end. As soon as Brendan is introduced, you know he’s going to end up with Piper. But despite knowing the inevitable ending of the story, I still found the story addictive to read. I wanted to keep reading it to know exactly what would happen. I really enjoy books that I just want to keep reading and not put down – and for me, this was one of those books.
The characters in this story were also good and likeable. Piper was very likeable – she had a lot of imperfections, which made her quite likeable. I also liked Brendan as well – even though at times he seemed almost a bit too perfect! And Piper’s sister, Hannah, was a really nice, likeable character as well. I think these likeable characters definitely helped make the book addictive. I kept on wanting to spend time with these characters and discover more of their stories. It was addictive wanting to know if Piper would mess things up, or if she’d let herself fall for this perfect man.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I enjoyed this book, but it’s definitely not the type of book that’s going to make you think about life, or make you surprised. It’s all fairly predictable. In a way that’s nice – it made the book easy to read and enjoyable. But if you’re looking for a book that’s going to challenge you or have unexpected plot twists, then this definitely isn’t the book for you.
The sex scenes in the book also seemed a bit much sometimes. I understand that it’s the type of book that is going to give details. But there were a lot of details – many pages of details. Some of it was amusing. But after a few sex scenes, I started getting bored with the over-descriptive sex scenes. I started wanting to just get on with the story, and not have to read a few pages of questionable but sometimes amusing sex to get onto the next page of the story. The sex scenes were quite graphic – so this probably isn’t the type of book to hand over to your mum after you’ve finished reading it!
The characters
The main issue I had with this book is that I felt like there wasn’t enough character development of some other characters. The book is very focussed on Piper and Brendan. And while that completely makes sense, because these two are the main characters, I felt like the book could easily have explored some other characters a bit more. I liked Piper’s sister, Hannah. But she wasn’t given much of a role in the book, aside from being Piper’s sister. She was very much a support character. But I would have liked to have seen more of her. There were hints at a relationship brewing between her and Fox, another fisherman. But this wasn’t developed much at all, and was left completely unresolved. I feel like Hannah’s character and experiences could have been developed more, without taking anything away from Piper and Brendan’s story.
The relationship between Piper and her mum and step-dad could also have been developed more. Piper’s mum is only in a few scenes near the beginning of the book. But surely her mum would care more about her daughters being in Westport and want to talk to them more? Wouldn’t she have something to say about Piper choosing to be with Brendan? Especially after she warned her daughters not to get involved with fishermen? I didn’t really like Piper’s mum or step dad at all, and felt like they didn’t have a good relationship with their daughters. But I would have liked to have understood more about their relationship.
Would I recommend It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
If you’re looking for an easy read book, that will transport you to a fishing toast in Washington, USA, and make you fall in love with the characters there – then this book is for you. I would recommend It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey. It’s an easy to read book, which is surprisingly addictive even though the storyline is super predictable. The characters and likeable and the descriptions of Washington, USA are good. So I would recommend this book.
Hope you enjoyed my book review of It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey! Make sure you check on more book reviews for books that will transport you to a new destination. Or, if you’re ready to start planning a trip to the USA, check out my USA guides here.
