It Happened One Summer

By Tessa Bailey,

Book cover of It Happened One Summer

Book description

The first in a spicy and unforgettable rom-com duology from #1 New York Times bestseller and tik tok favorite Tessa Bailey, in which a Hollywood "It Girl" is cut off from her wealthy family and exiled to a small Pacific Northwest beach town... where she butts heads with a surly,…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked It Happened One Summer as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sometimes you just need an unsuspecting steamy read!

It Happened One Summer was one of the hottest books on #BookTok in 2022 and let me tell you… the hype is worth it! Main character Piper is as flawed as they come, but that leaves room for one of the most beautiful characters arcs I’ve ever read.

And honestly, just take my money because any character Tessa Bailey writes is one I want to read. Brendan is book-boyfriend-worthy! 

Tessa Bailey is the queen of spice, and this book is the perfect introduction if you fancy an enemies-to-lovers romance that brings plenty of heat.

Piper Bellinger is a spoiled social media sensation and when her wild-child ways land her in trouble, her concerned stepfather cuts her off financially and sends her to Westport, the town her late father was from. Together with her sister Hannah, Piper must learn how to live life out of the spotlight and find true, meaningful happiness.

This brings not just the enemies-to-lovers trope, but everyone’s favourite convention of small-town romance aka the fish-out-of-water trope.…

Return to Hope Creek

By Alyssa J. Montgomery,

Book cover of Return to Hope Creek

Alyssa J. Montgomery Author Of A Spanish Seduction

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an Australian USA Today bestselling romance author who writes contemporary romance and uses the pen name Alyssa James to write medieval romance. I think the makeover trope resonates with me because although I’m no beauty queen now, I was definitely an ugly duckling in my teens. For reasons best known to him, my father insisted on close-cropped hair, and financial circumstances dictated out-of-style hand-me-down clothing. After university, I found my own style, but it wasn’t until I was accepted as an international flight attendant that I believed that I couldn’t be all that ugly if Qantas employed me!

Alyssa's book list on makeover romances

What is my book about?

Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.

Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of his own.

Mitchell, a former NFL quarterback, doesn't need the complication of encountering Stella again so long after the messy end to their relationship, but as each tries to build a new life, they are drawn together and find their chemistry is just as strong as ever.

Will their love be stronger the second time around?

Return to Hope Creek

By Alyssa J. Montgomery,

What is this book about?

When two old flames come back to their home town, sparks are bound to ignite. A rural romance from USA Today bestselling author Alyssa J. Montgomery.


A horrific car accident ended former world number-one Stella Simpson’s tennis career, and a betrayal ended her relationship with her fiancé/coach. When a family friend offers to sell her half of a property in the rural community where she grew up, it seems like the perfect place to escape, heal and begin the next phase of her life. Until she discovers that the man who broke her heart ten years ago has bought the…


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