It Happened One Summer by. Tessa Bailey | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: It Happened One Summer (Bellinger Sisters, #1)

Author: Tessa Bailey

Format: ebooks (borrowed)

Pages: 397

Publication Date: 7/13/21

Publisher: Avon

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Adult Fiction, Opposites Attract

Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington.

Piper hasn’t even been in Westport for five minutes when she meets big, bearded sea captain Brendan, who thinks she won’t last a week outside of Beverly Hills. So what if Piper can’t do math, and the idea of sleeping in a shabby apartment with bunk beds gives her hives. How bad could it really be? She’s determined to show her stepfather—and the hot, grumpy local—that she’s more than a pretty face.

Except it’s a small town and everywhere she turns, she bumps into Brendan. The fun-loving socialite and the gruff fisherman are polar opposites, but there’s an undeniable attraction simmering between them. Piper doesn’t want any distractions, especially feelings for a man who sails off into the sunset for weeks at a time. Yet as she reconnects with her past and begins to feel at home in Westport, Piper starts to wonder if the cold, glamorous life she knew is what she truly wants. LA is calling her name, but Brendan—and this town full of memories—may have already caught her heart.

Content Warning: death of spouse

Lately I’ve been thinking what qualities make for a good summer-pool-beach read – then I read this book and THIS would be an ultimate summer read!

Piper is rich and an instagram influencer – she is superficial, a social media queen, comes off as an airhead but despite all of that, she’s really a sweet person. Her best qualities? She can adapt to new situations, no matter how out of her comfort zone she is, she’s fun and she loves her younger sister, Hannah, to pieces. I absolutely love Piper and Hannah together – they have a tight sisterly bond and a very loving and supporting one at that.

Brendan is Piper’s opposite – he’s grumpy, loves routine, he is a fisherman, good at his job and he’s a widower. When Piper comes into his life, he doesn’t know what hit him. Piper and Brendan are hot, hot, hot together! Their sex scenes are steamy and spicy but their growing relationship is so sweet. I thought they were perfect for one another. Brendan gave her comfort, and security and likes her for who she is. Piper makes him laugh and he falls for her so hard and fast. But like I said, they really complimented one another – I love their opposites attract love affair and how it grows into so much more.

Brendan’s crew are too funny! I love when they were together and joking with Brendan. I love how Fox is soft on Hannah too – I thought that was cute and can’t wait to read their story!

Overall I loved the story about a rich girl who has to atone for her mistakes by going to a small fishing town where her birth dad is a legend. Piper is such a softie and I like that she was herself, even if she was high-maintenance. She really is a sunshine girl and Brendan is mister grumpy who can’t help himself around her.

Why you should read it:

romance feels – steamy and sweet, Piper is sunshine, Brendan is grumpy
Piper and Hannah’s sister relationship is beautiful, I love the two of them
great book for summer reading, lots of humor and makes you feeling happy

Why you might not want to read it:

too much steaminess? I thought it made the story better because these two were so hot for each other lol

My Thoughts:

I loved this book and read it in one sitting. I found Piper sweetness and Brendan’s gruffness perfect – the steamy scenes between them added to their amazing relationship – because miss Piper was not sweet in bed! I loved reading about them falling for one another and seeing Piper try to figure out what kind of life is right for her. Also the humor is great! But mostly I loved all the heart warming feelings I got from Piper and Hannah’s relationship. The romance is great and all, but the family bond between them really made me want to hug those girls. This is a wonderful book, great for summertime reading or if you want a romance story with a little bit of everything in it. I look forward to reading Hannah’s story!

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

Had she ever dated a real man before? Or had they all been boys?”
– Tessa Bailey, It Happened One Summer

This girl. He’d be keeping her. There was no way around it.”

– Tessa Bailey, It Happened One Summer

People We Meet on Vacation by. Emily Henry | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: People We Meet on Vacation

Author: Emily Henry

Format: eBook (borrowed)

Pages: 364

Publication Date: 5/11/21

Publisher: Berkeley Books

Categories: Romance, Vacation, Contemporary, Friends to Lovers

Two best friends. Ten summer trips. One last chance to fall in love.

Poppy and Alex. Alex and Poppy. They have nothing in common. She’s a wild child; he wears khakis. She has insatiable wanderlust; he prefers to stay home with a book. And somehow, ever since a fateful car share home from college many years ago, they are the very best of friends. For most of the year they live far apart—she’s in New York City, and he’s in their small hometown—but every summer, for a decade, they have taken one glorious week of vacation together.

Until two years ago, when they ruined everything. They haven’t spoken since.

Poppy has everything she should want, but she’s stuck in a rut. When someone asks when she was last truly happy, she knows, without a doubt, it was on that ill-fated, final trip with Alex. And so, she decides to convince her best friend to take one more vacation together—lay everything on the table, make it all right. Miraculously, he agrees.

Now she has a week to fix everything. If only she can get around the one big truth that has always stood quietly in the middle of their seemingly perfect relationship. What could possibly go wrong?

People We Meet on Vacation is such a fun summer read! From the book cover to the story premise, it is meant to be read during summer.

Alex and Poppy are best friends since college, and travel buddies every summer until a trip where events happen that made them not talk for two years. Alex is a travel blogger but she’s lost the happiness she felt when traveling and thinks vacationing with Alex again will help her find that spark she lost, plus she misses him like crazy.

The connection between Alex and Poppy is effortless, minus their first few encounters in college. As they grow together, they become like peanut butter and jelly or peas and carrots, two things that work well together despite major differences in them. Alex is the responsible one, Poppy is the wild one and together they balance each other out. I love how they interacted with one another. The dialogue between them is funny and you could feel how tight their friendship is. Also, you can feel the underlying love with the potential for more between them. It’s a relatable story especially if you’ve ever been in this type of situation where you have a friendship that eventually turns into something more, or the fears about having it be more. No one wants to wreck a good friendship – and sometimes taking it to the next level does damage it and that’s where Poppy and Alex is at.

The ending when they finally try to work things out is very heartwarming and so emotional. And of course we get the happily ever after moment, which is sweet.

As the title suggests, Alex and Poppy do meet a bunch of different people on vacation, but not as much as I expected. There were few here and there but for the most part, this story is Alex and Poppy’s relationship story.

The story moves from past and present as we lead up to the last vacation where they don’t talk afterwards.

Why you should read it:

quick, summer read, and the characters travel (fun since we are living in a time where traveling is risky)
cute and emotional romance between Alex and Poppy
happily ever after feels

Why you might not want to read it:

friends to lovers (if that isn’t your kinda thing)
Alex and Poppy date people throughout their friendship

My Thoughts:

I can see why everyone hyped up this book and it’s a perfect summer read. It’s funny, cute, and has a very emotional ending. I enjoyed it very much and I think this would actually make a cute rom-com movie.

📚 ~ Yolanda

ARC Review: The Birthday Girl

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Birthday Girl

Author: Melissa De La Cruz

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: August 6, 2019

Categories: Adult Fiction, Contemporary

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Ellie de Florent-Stinson is celebrating her fortieth birthday with a grand celebration in her fabulous house in Palm Springs.

At forty, it appears Ellie has everything she ever wanted: a handsome husband; an accomplished, college-age stepdaughter; a beautiful ten-year-old girl; two adorable and rambunctious six-year-old twin boys; lush, well-appointed homes in Los Angeles, Park City, and Palm Springs; a thriving career as a well-known fashion designer of casual women’s wear; and a glamorous circle of friends.

Except everything is not quite as perfect as it looks on the outside—Ellie is keeping many secrets. This isn’t the first of her birthday parties that hasn’t gone as planned. Something happened on the night of her sweet sixteenth. Something she’s tried hard to forget.

But hiding the skeletons of her past comes at a cost, and all of Ellie’s secrets come to light on the night of her fabulous birthday party in the desert—where everyone who matters in her life shows up, invited or not. Old and new, friends and frenemies, stepdaughters and business partners, ex-wives and ex-husbands congregate, and the glittering facade of her life crumbles in one eventful night.

Thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for granting my request and giving me a chance to read this eArc.

Told in the present with flashbacks to the past, Ellie de Florent-Stinson is throwing herself a glitzy fortieth birthday party. She is superficial, with mostly superficial friends. Ellie reminds me of a Real Housewives’ character, but she would be the one who thinks being a Real Housewives’ is tacky. She’s desperate to rub elbows with the ultra-rich and be with the “in” crowd. Ellie is living a lie and trying to impress her millionaire and billionaire so-called friends even if she goes broke doing it. I felt sorry for her…sometimes.

Ellie may not be very likable, but she has some qualities that made me respect her. She is definitely committed to being The Birthday Girl. She will throw this party come hell or high water. Ellie is ambitious and she clawed her way out of her past and into the life she made for herself. Also, she does love her children and that’s a plus. She’s the kind of woman who will get things done, and I like that.

Everything isn’t going the way she’s planned but it’s not going to stop Ellie from celebrating. Her sad and shocking past comes back to haunt her but it’s something she has to face in order to move forward into her uncertain future. If anything, facing her past made Ellie look closely at her present and future. The party gave her a chance to reflect on her life, the things she had or didn’t have…and I will say I did a lot of that when I approached and then turned forty last year. What is it with forty?! 😂 Mid-life crisis, indeed! Nah, I’m okay, I had fun on my fortieth birthday. ❤️

The story unfolds fairly quickly and there is a twist in this delicious tale. It was something I wasn’t expecting. It was kind of sad actually but it makes you look at Ellie differently in the end. I mean, she’s still superficial but it adds a little depth to her motivations. I felt like I was watching reality tv and I got addicted to this story.

I know Melissa De La Cruz is known more for young adult books but I really enjoyed this adult fiction from her. I hope she writes more in this genre. I couldn’t put this one down.

Get it here: Amazon

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