It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

 

I'm only just getting back into reading after a several month-long slump and I happened to be in a mood for a rom-com. This certainly rom-commed, and I think I enjoyed more than I would have if it had been something I'd picked up while craving something else, but it also had some problems that prevented me from giving it the much higher rating I'd initially planned.

***WARNING: SPOILERS***

First, things I loved. The heroine was great. She reminded me of those spoiled and ditzy heroines from the 90s/early 2000s, like Cher Horowitz or Elle Woods. Piper was so fun and I loved her a lot.

Piper's relationship with her sister, Hannah, and, later, her grandmother were so wholesome and well done. I was never close to any of my grandparents so seeing lovely grandparent characters in books (especially romances) always makes me feel so nostalgic for something I never had, which sounds sad, but it's very satisfying.

I also learned a lot about crab fishing, I guess, which I'm not mad at. I like it when heroes and heroines have interesting jobs.

That brings me to the things that I did not enjoy. The spicy talk was... not my fave. At one point Piper compares orgasm to being in a place that rains gumdrops, and at another Brendan tells Piper to "whine for his cock." Some of the words and euphemisms used made me cringe. Also, these two were doing it everywhere. They did it in a HOSPITAL, ffs, and also a changing room. Ma'am, those workers are not paid enough to listen to your throes of gumdrop ecstasy.

I also got really mad at Brendan. He kept telling Piper that he liked her for who she was, but then he also got mad at her for who she was?? Like?? I KNEW there was going to be a last-act breakup and that it would probably frustrate me, but I didn't expect it to make me smack Brendan upside the head. This is a dude who demanded to know the deets of her phone call with her friend, but then threatened to rage-quit their relationship because she wanted to have, I quote, a "fail-safe."

Meaning that she was still a little hesitant that their relationship would work out and wanted to not cut all her ties to LA in case she decided to move back there instead.

OK, Captain Brendan "Red Flaggert" Taggert.

Anyway, this book was fine except for the last-act thing. The first 70% was great, even though Brendan wasn't my type (I liked him for her). The last 30%  was eh. Averaged together I suppose this was a three-star book. I like Bailey's writing style a lot and this definitely won't be my last book by her. I'm especially interested in Hannah and Fox's story because I just loved her so much.

3 out of 5 stars