Following her Hot and Hammered trilogy, Tessa Bailey reels in readers with It Happened One Summer, a romantic comedy about a Los Angeles socialite sent to live in a remote fishing town after a very public arrest and the grumpy fisherman who doesn't want to fall for her.
Much like the family in Schitt's Creek, Piper and her more down-to-earth sister, Hannah, get off to a rough start to small-town life--how do you make spaghetti? Hilarity ensues.
It's not all jokes, though. Laugh-out-loud scenes, as when Piper runs into the street with a flaming frying pan, flow easily into somber moments, in which Piper reflects on the loss of a father she never knew, and Brendan contemplates moving on six years after the death of his wife. Bailey has a knack for combining the two, as when Piper accidentally barges into a memorial for said wife with a tray of shots.
Moments of connection after the cringe take the humor from laughing at Piper to laughing with her. Sure, she's a mess, but she knows it, and is working hard regardless. It's not that Brendan sweeps in and fixes her life, it's more that he, Hannah and some time away from her chaotic social life teach Piper that she's capable of more than anyone thinks.
The chemistry between Brendan and Piper sizzles, and while Piper's hijinks sometimes steal the show, the romance here is the real star. Hot and surprisingly sweet, It Happened One Summer is a catch. --Suzanne Krohn, editor, Love in Panels