2 facts about me: I love Tessa Bailey books and I hate books written in 3rd person. So while I was excited to finally read this book, I went in with very low expectations.
This book hit all the tropes we know and love with grumpy/sunshine, small town and he falls first. Like face plants. Took a header to the ground. Ate shit. No matter how many times I read these types of books, there is nothing quite like the moment the big grump gets a soft spot for their person.
I won’t lie, Piper’s character was a huge make or break for me. Growing up ~mid~, I’ve always worked for everything I have. There was no one to shop, cook, clean and drive me around, that was all on me to learn and figure out. So reading about this spoiled rich girl who’s closest thing to a hard day was going on shopping sprees was hard to relate too.
Thankfully, she got better. Was it still mildly irritating that her mopping the floor was considered a successful day? Yes. Was having her sister move to town with her because she literally wouldn’t have made it on her own super dramatic. Yes again. Did she actually think she did enough work on the bar to show her step-dad she learned the value of hard work? Apparently so.
But I have to admit, her man Brendan eventually wore her down and when the real Piper came out, I had a lot more respect for her. She is probably one of the most high maintenance characters I’ve ever read about, but Westpost really opened her eyes to see the bigger picture of life and made the ending that much more sweet.
In classic Tessa Bailey fashion, the spice was up to standards. I’m sure it had something to do with Brendan having one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and being away from Piper for weeks at end that had them ripping each other's clothes off each other any chance they got.
A few chapters in when I adjusted to the 3rd person POV, the book definitely became smoother to read for me. In the end I only had one… I guess I would call it a complaint? Just something that I thought kind of got swept under the rug to tie everything up in a neat bow.
Throughout the book once Piper realizes how much she likes Brendan, she wouldn’t let herself fall all the way because she didn’t think she had it in her to support someone in such a dangerous job where they’re gone for weeks and might not return home. Which makes complete sense. So for her at the end to just kind of get over that huge dilemma knowing he was still going to go back out to sea was crazy to me. He of course said all the right things and promised he’d always come back to her, but at the end of the day he only had so much control of if he would make it back or not. I just don’t think people gave Piper enough credit because she actually gave up everything to stay there with him.
Overall, I definitely liked this more than I expected too. Hearing very mixed reviews from people I know, I wasn’t sure where I was going to fall, but ultimately glad I can cross this off my TBR. At some point, I will eventually read book 2 in this stand-alone series, Hook, Line and Sinker, but for now I must dive back to my dual POV comfort reads.
Book Rating: 4/5
Spice Rating: 3/5
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