I’m Making Cover Assumptions #1: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Posted May 29, 2022 by Kate

hello, loves!

This is a new series I’m starting on my blog, where I select a book I know nothing about (haven’t read, haven’t read the synopsis – anything!) and make assumptions on the plot based on the cover.

This can’t be too difficult to select books for, I hardly ever read a synopsis before diving into a book. If I do, then it will likely convince me out of reading it or I’ll look for something different. I’m a mood reader, which means I’ve learnt to deal with my quirky reading by simply eliminating the issue! I can’t not be in the mood for the book if I don’t know what it’s about, right?? This doesn’t mean I never know tropes or themes going in, but you get my gist ✨

I chose It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (Goodreads), and I haven’t read the synopsis, but I have a feeling I’ll love it! I’ve seen snippets of commentary around the bookish channels, but I can’t recall anything other than the fact that it’s cemented in my brain as a “beach read” that comes highly recommended. It’s one I’m hoping to read soon, which will be fun to compare whether I was correct or not! I’ve only read Fix it Up by Tessa before, and I believe I gave it 3.5 stars. So I don’t have a lot of background and experience to go on here! That said, I’m hopeful this will be one that I absolutely fall in love with!

Disclaimer: The following are just my ignorant assumptions about the book and contain solely my opinions, which are not fact or intended to be construed as malicious or rude towards the cover, or as a review against the book itself. I have not read the book. The following is solely a guess.

⏬ It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey ⏬

Assumption #1: It’s a rom-com

Okay, so I start off easy! It’s a Tessa Bailey book – with an illustrated cover, no less – so it’s a fairly good guess that this one will be a romantic comedy 😂 I’m also going to guess, and bear with me here with this wild guess, that the man on the left falls in love with the woman on the right, and vice versa!!! 💛 I hope I’m right – wouldn’t that be a plot twist??

Assumption #2: Takes place in a small, coastal town

Getting another easy one out of the way! The lighthouse + blue cover with small little waves throughout means this likely takes place in a coastal town. I think that’s pretty clear. But I’m going to narrow it down even further and guess that it’s a small town, one that caters to a large tourist season and is kinda prejudiced against the wealthy and “spring break” crowd that flocks in every season. Because conflict!!! What has more conflict than preconceived notions? I’m also going to make a big guess that she’s in this small town to escape and possibly reconnect with her roots? Perhaps her mom died and she goes back to her mom’s hometown and meets estranged relatives or friends of her mom…

Assumption #3: “Opposite sides of the tracks attract” + dislike-to-friends tropes come into play

I’m getting Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy vibes with this one?? even thought the covers aren’t similar. Doesn’t this cover just scream rich woman visits small coastal town and meets decidedly not-rich man that immediately dislikes her based off that fact that she’s rich and probably perceived as spoiled? But spoiler (haha pun!), she’s actually a genuine person with a good heart! He just judged harshly, I’m sure. They’ll definitely start off on the wrong foot and play through a dislike-to-grudging-friends-to-attraction-to-lovers story, which is excellent because I love those!! This will also start because they’ll be from opposite side of the tracks, where he works for a living, possibly with his hands (are those construction boots??) and likely owns his own business or manages a family business. He seems like a family-duty kinda guy. He’ll judge her for being flighty and privileged and blowing through town short-term, and she’ll dislike him in turn for his asshole assumptions. Bada-bing, bada-boom, we have a love story for the ages!

Assumption #4: She’s a celebrity or somehow famous

I’m continuing with my heavy assumption that she comes from money! Look at that dress, look at those heels, and in a small, coastal town? Pshaw. Besides coming from money, she’s definitely a singer/actress type, a celebrity or is somehow famous because she’s the child of celebrities. Money will definitely come between them at some point in their relationship. In fact, I’m willing to bet that it is a central conflict in the story. At some point, she’ll offer to pay for something because “she has money!” and he’ll be offended and think he was rash in believing that the relationship could work because they “clearly come from different worlds.” Maybe she’s new money, though?? Maybe she grew up low-to-middle-class and that’s how she’s misunderstood??? No. I’m sticking with my original theory: born with money.

Assumption #5: Here’s where I guess his family trauma…

The man on the left strikes me as a real family-duty guy. Either he has familial obligations that cause him grief because ~responsibility~, such as managing the generational family business (but it’s not “really what he wants to do with his life” – the beanie makes me think maybe he’s an artist on the side?!!!!!), or maybe he has family living in the town (he definitely grew up in this town!) but he’s estranged from them and it’s *awkward.* The third option is that his childhood trauma is neglectful parent(s) and they just left him in the town after graduation and he lives in his childhood home, alone. Regardless, he strikes me as someone who is setting his dreams aside for responsibility, taunt to him by his parents, either abusive or overbearing. If none of these are correct, then he definitely has a large meddling family, and a strong friend group that also ~meddles~ in the romance.

Assumption #6: She falls in love first

My final assumption is that she falls in love first. He’s definitely going to fight it longer, because of his responsible mindset, because she’s only in town temporarily, because they “come from different worlds,” because her lifestyle scares him, etc. He’s going to stay in the relationship, adoring her and having the time of his life, but reminding himself that it’s just a temporary fling with an end-date because she’ll eventually leave town and leave him behind. Because he’d never leave his lovely hometown, of course. She believes in the possibility of them, is confident they can make it work, and falls in love easily, but holds back because she can tell he’s holding back. When she eventually says the words or reaches for further commitment – she scares him away, because he’s fearful of believing in something that likely won’t happen.