When He Builds a Pergola for Her <3

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Started: November 18, 2021

Finished November 20, 2021

Rate: ★★★★

Synopsis

• Piper, an Instagram influencer, is sent to a small town with her sister after her father has had enough of her and her shenanigans of getting in trouble with the public

• there she meets Brenden Taggart, the well-known sea captain and also a complete douchebag to Piper when she first comes to town

• but the tension builds up and maybe Brenden isn't so bad after all...

Review

Plot

I liked it! I think the whole concept of "new girl comes to a small town and falls in love" was completely new to me because I actually haven't read a book with this concept yet. Although, I did read somewhere how the story was inspired by Schitt’s Creek which I did watch and love and I DEFINITELY see the resemblance. But it wasn’t to the point where I felt like the story didn’t have its unique voice. I absolutely loved the setting of the small town and its simplicity in it—I think for any kinda romance book, the setting is such a crucial part of the book that an author would want to help establish the tone and in this case, it really helped establish a homey feeling kinda beat.

And like any enemies to lovers book, it is extremely important to have that storyline of the main characters REALLY hating each other to make the ending and reward more valuable. And I think Tessa Bailey does a wonderful job at that as she also does a great job at incorporating humor into the story. Sometimes, romance books focus on the relationship between the two characters without adding levity which makes the story sometimes all mushy gushy. But the story was able to incorporate witty banter into the story which further emphasized Piper's and Brenden’s dynamic at the beginning of the book!!

Take exhibit a:

“‘You’re not gonna film a reality show or some shit are you?”

Just the right amount of the ”main guy being a jerk before realizing his feelings” in the book. And it adds character and ballsiness to who Brenden is!

Characters

To be completely honest, I hated Piper at the beginning of the book. Ok, maybe hate is a strong word. But when you purposefully come off as obnoxious and unawarely privileged, it’s hard not to like you. And I found her inner dialogue to be so diva and it was just so far out there. But I think the fact I’ve never really come across a character like her played more into the fact that I hated her. But as the story progressed, she became more relatable as the story progressed; her character arc was well written as I found myself understanding her frustration in not knowing what she’s doing and fitting in and adjusting to a new environment. (I guess I related to it with me being a first-year at my college). And she became a more real character once she began to realize her purpose in life and it felt like you were growing up with her.

Brenden was a good male counterpart to this story. Like I’ve mentioned in my previous rants, I love the morally gray characters and the brooding but has a special spot for her kinda characters. And Brenden was exactly that. For a guy that was always stone cold on the outside, his POV chapters really showed all the lovey-dovey emotion he had for Piper. I also enjoyed how Tessa Bailey really emphasized the number of curse words she uses in his chapters. It was refreshing. One thing that I didn’t particularly like about him was the fact that he kept second his worth with piper which I get is normal for romance books, but he kept doing it and by the end of the book I just wanted him to shut him up and scream "STOP IT YOU TWO ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER!"

Them together, oh they were so cute. They really do fit the trope of grumpy sunshine. And it’s not even like mmm she’s a little happy or he’s a little stoic—no they are the extremes of each side of the spectrum. Their relationship is the perfect example of how opposites do attract. On the second day of me reading it (and I read a good chunk of the middle of the book) I kept putting the book down from how sweet they both were. And how single I felt. But that’s neither here nor there. I felt happy for them but I also wanted to jump off a cliff. So that means the book is good!

I guess I wished that Brendan remained his stoic self when he was with Piper. Like once they got together he kinda lost that broodiness which is part of the grumpy in grumpy sunshine. Like piper was able to keep up her happy mood the whole time and Brenden, yes he had his moments with being grumpy still, but it just felt like he lost some of his “sparkle” (not the best word I know). He just became girl-crazy, which is fine but give us some broodiness you had before!

Last Words, Final Thoughts

This book was a fun read. I think after reading the horrible book of the inheritance games this book felt like redemption in a sense. I did feel a little nauseous from all the romance in the middle of the book—it came out of nowhere, I swear. I think it might have been because there was more spice in this book than I expected. I also think it’s because in the other romances I’ve read they’ve all been a slow burn in a sense so usually most of the spice is saved toward the end. But no, this book had multiple spice occurrences and it just felt like a little bit much. But think the book made me realize that I like slow burns more than a typical romance.

That being said, I would recommend this book to people who are not a fan of slow burns but still enjoy romance books. I would also like to recommend this book to people who like grumpy and sunshine main characters and who aren’t afraid of a good amount of spice. I think I would recommend this book to people I don’t know well…like a person I wouldn’t be afraid to know that I read it…you catch my drift?

Game time! I would like to choose the game “Which Taylor Swift Song?”

The easy answer would be cruel summer. And it’s the correct answer. August too. Am I just naming songs that have summer-related titles? Yes, and they are the right answers. Wonderland also reminds me of them and how they think Westport will be this place that had the answers and that they can stay there forever.

Also, King of My Heart is a good song.