When I began reading this book, it honestly felt like I was in the middle of a Hollywood romance movie, except this time, it was a spicy New York Times Bestseller romance novel from Booktok favorite, Tessa Bailey.
When this book was suggested to me by a friend, I had no idea I was in for a memorable reading experience. It didn't help that the author weaved this masterpiece in such a way I was able to relate to every thread that bound this book in place.
As far as romance novels go, this book could be adapted into a film and turned into a watch for summer lovers.
Spoilers Ahead
"It Happened One Summer" tells a story of Piper Bellinger, a fashionable influencer who has an influx of expensive gifts. She is one of those girls who you would describe as rich and spoiled but I like to think she was just a misguided girl with too much wealth on her hands. Despite being wealthy and beautiful, and constantly having the paparazzi at her tail, there's still something Piper's money cannot buy her, a stable relationship where men didn't think she was shallow and just good for flaunting around because of her beautiful body.
Piper hasn't had the privilege of having a stable relationship and a love life, past three weeks. The one relationship that lasted, ended three weeks after it started with her boyfriend indirectly calling her shallow and having nothing to offer asides a pretty face. All of this seem unfair to beautiful and wealthy Piper except she does have a character flaw. She lives for the validation of the constant likes and comments on the gram. Which leads me to thinking if she isn't shallow after all.
For someone who lived for the gram, it seemed she only lived life on the surface and couldn't deeply connect to anyone who wasn't on the gram.
Despite how privileged and rich and spoilt she was I couldn't bring myself to hate her. In a way, I believed that deep down she was redeemable. Everyone is. But Adrian, her boyfriend and everyone around her in Los Angeles seemed to have a different opinion.
After being embarrassingly dumped and made a laughing stock on the gram, which to her is the only valuable achievement she has, she makes a terribly misguided decision, a decision, that is the last straw that breaks the camel's back of her wealthy stepfather who surprisingly agree with everyone who thinks she is shallow, and has decidedly had enough of her purposeless living. Her stepfather who is affected by her decision, cuts her off and sends her and her junior sister Hannah to learn responsibility and purpose by running their late father's dive bar at Westport. Her mother agreed to the decision, because it was also a way for her to learn about her late father, who she didn't know anything about because her mother was too hurt to talk about him and Piper was too busy worrying about her social media influence to care.
As I earlier said, I believe there is room for redemption for everyone, because even if Piper lives only for herself, deep down, she looks for a way to connect with her dead father, so maybe sending her off to Westport, her father's root, was a good thing after all.
My favorite character in the book, was Hannah. Though younger, I loved the way she constantly looked out for her older sister, even bailing her out of jail against her stepfather's decision when she made a wrong decision that affected his business.
Piper makes her way to Westport, appearing like a 'Barbie' in lipstick purse and stilettos and the welcome surprises her.
A majority of the locals welcome her and are infatuated by her because of her stunning beauty, but big burly handsome Captain Brendan thinks otherwise of her.
Like Adrian, her stepfather and the other men in her life, Brendan thinks she is a stuck up rich girl who looks down at everyone through her nose, and it doesn't help that immediately she steps into Westport, she immediately claims ownership of the dive bar, which the locals keep up and running, but is actually hers.
Piper, soon discovers, herself, that she is not entirely irredeemable as a person, as Westport makes her discover parts of herself she didn't know existed.
It didn't help that Brendan was in the picture, and as expected, she couldn't stop her struggling attraction to the man who first thought she was a snob.
In a way, I felt like I already knew how the book was going to end, but the pages kept drawing me in, Tessa Bailey sure knows how to keep a reader interested.
As expected, Brendan and Piper fall in love, and Piper discovers new things about herself that makes her believe she might not be a lost cause after all.
She learns about her father Henry Cross and certainly appears happier than she was in Los Angeles. I love how she also helps Brendan get out of his routine and live more. There were certainly both good for each other, and brought out the best in each other.
Then there's also Hannah and Fox, who also became my favorite character.
There were some characters I didn't like in the novel, chief amongst them was Maureen, Piper and Hannah's mother. Not only was she nonexistent in their lives, but she also kept memories of their father away from them.
I was particularly livid when she attempted dissuading Piper from falling in love at Westport. Now with her three-month trial period over, Piper must decide if she wants the cold glamorous life in Los Angeles, or she would rather remain in the warm comforting embrace of Westport and the big bearded Brendan.
I honestly enjoyed every second of reading this book, and if you're down for the mushy love stuff, then 'It Happened One Summer ' is the perfect book for you.