Mengert recently adapted romantic comedy The Hating Game for BCDF, which reached #3 on the iTunes Top Movie Rentals Chart (behind No Time to Die and Venom: Let There Be Carnage), and was #1 on the iTunes Independent Movie Rental Chart for six consecutive weeks. The book will be adapted by Christina Mengert of The Hating Gamemovie adaptation (based on the book by Sally Thorne), which reached #3 on the iTunes Top Movie Rentals Chart only behind No Time to Die and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and was #1 on the iTunes Independent Movie Rental Chart for six consecutive weeks. Adapting alongside Mengert is Joseph Muszynski, who is writing the script for The Unhoneymooners, based on the book by Christina Lauren. This is officially the best contemporary romance I've read this year! And if you happened to dislike this, or find it 'just average,' I simply couldn't trust you because It Happened One Summer is upright a perfection. The story is very heartfelt and entertaining, I cried and laughed at how diverting this book has been. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar... in Washington.

Bailey strikes rom-com gold in this outstanding tale...[She] is bound to earn new followers with love scenes hot enough to boil water and a hilariously naïve Schitt’s Creek-inspired protagonist who is clearly out of her depth." — Booklist (starred review) Tessa Bailey tells the story of Piper, a wild child who loves the LA lifestyle of attending parties and celebrating life. When her celebration started to exceed expectations and test the tolerance level of her stepfather, he decided to send Piper and her sister, Hannah, to a small Pacific Northwest beach town to run their late father’s dive bar. There she meets Brendan, whom she immediately dislikes. The author tells us about the beautiful relationship that develops between Piper and Brendan in this novel. EXCLUSIVE: BCDF Pictures and Frolic Media are set to produce a feature adaptation of New York Times best-selling author Tessa Bailey’s bestselling romantic comedy novel It Happened One Summer. And that’s even before we get to the sex scenes. I do not mind explicit sex scenes! My beef with this book isn’t that there are a lot of explicit sex scenes: it’s that they’re so bad. It’s that there’s so much terrible dialogue which seems like it was ripped from the script of a very rote porno:

Toys

Her best and only friend/ sister Hannah gets her out of jail. She thinks she could get away with this scandal but her rich stepfather Daniel who is highly achieved Hollywood producer thinks otherwise. The Mondrian Hotel’s owner finances his next movie so the stunt Piper pulled affects the future of his upcoming project. To teach her a lesson he has a perfect plan: Piper will be exiled to a small Pacific Northwestern town: Westport . That’s the place sisters’ fisherman father lived and died at the sea when they were little girls. Their mother couldn’t handle her grief so well so she cut her ties with the place. Long story short, after non stop tears, misery, pain, loss, anguish, torment, torture and every other depressing thought you can think of, they were finally reunited and all was right in the world. The characters are also easily likeable and fun. I wouldn't think the spoiled rich girl would succeed in making me love the book but Tessa Bailey made it work. And I wouldn't want Piper any other way. She is endearing, loyal, and is just full of love, it makes my heart whole. While Brendan might start on the wrong foot, with his grumpiness and no-nonsense attitude, he did come around in loving Piper the way she is. He is sensitive, caring and overall affectionate.

The heroine took longer to admit her feelings. For a time she thought only of platonic friendship while Brendan was scaring men away and stalking her (or attempting to) on socials.It Happened One Summer also highlights the phoniness of social media and the significance of love and family. Moving to Westport, being financially cut off, and connecting with Brendan make Piper question her extravagant lifestyle. It gets her to think about what she truly wants (and deserves), and to learn live in the real world. You can see Piper changing herself along the way and develop into a more wonderful person. No doubt about it, this was a delightful experience from beginning to end, with enough sizzle to leave a permanent sear on my heart. In fact, of all the Tessa Bailey's I've read so far, this has got to be my favorite. It totally spoke to me, and I loved every character and every moment. And there's just enough teaser in here that I can't wait to read Hannah and Fox's story. We are excited to be continuing our journey into wonderful romantic comedy adaptations,” said BCDF’s Dal Farra. Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father's dive bar... in Washington. Initially, Piper gave off very stereotypical airhead influencer vibes - ditzy, beautiful, rich, eccentric, and famous for being famous. I remember thinking, oh no… I’m not going to be able to stand this character. 🙈

Once in Westport, and no longer surrounded by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood or the misogynistic men in her life, Piper lets her guard down and we come to see she is bright, funny, passionate, and severely misunderstood. It was refreshing to experience Piper find her voice and really come into her own. Thankfully her music prodigy, more private, mature, two years younger sister Hannah has no intention to leave her alone at this journey! Look, if your kink is TradWife roleplay, well, your kink is not my kink, but vaya con dios. But for the love of God, please be upfront that that’s what you’re writing. Don’t market it as Schitt’s Creek fanfic, because Alexis Rose would never. Eighteen-year-old Mallory Greenleaf is no longer interested in chess, not since her hypercompetitive dad left—the game calls up painful memories. But she grudgingly agrees to play in a charity tournament as a favor to best friend Easton Peña. After she unexpectedly beats current world champion Nolan Sawyer, she’s offered a fellowship that will prepare her to play professionally. Even though Mallory doesn’t want to play anymore, she needs the money that winning would provide; she’s delayed college to support her family, since her mother is chronically ill with rheumatoid arthritis and is unable to work regularly. The more time she spends with Nolan, the more Mallory comes to like and respect him—and the more time she spends playing chess, the more she remembers how much she loved it. But when she learns that Nolan has been keeping a big secret from her, she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to move past it to build a relationship with him. Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans. Mallory and Nolan are both cued white; there is some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Mallory and Easton are queer.Piper Bellinger is fashionable, influential, and her reputation as a wild child means the paparazzi are constantly on her heels. When too much champagne and an out-of-control rooftop party lands Piper in the slammer, her stepfather decides enough is enough. So he cuts her off, and sends Piper and her sister to learn some responsibility running their late father’s dive bar… in Washington. I already told too much. I feel like I’m your chatty neighbor who speaks without breathing when she loves something passionately. But I truly loved this book soooo much!

It was about midway through when I really began to ship Captain Taggart and Piper (HA! Ship – very punny). That hospital room scene though… 🌶️🌶️🌶️ woooooof, I was not ready for that level of spice!!

Can we take a moment to talk about how adorable the Piper and Brendan pairing is? Piper appears a bit frivolous at first with her glamorous exterior, but underneath is an optimistic gal with a heart of gold. And Brendan is clearly besotted with her, though he tries hard to hide it beneath his grouchy, reticent demeanor. How cute is that! Honestly, I just can't get enough of the grumpy/sunshine trope. Overall: perfect chemistry, so smart, so humorous, so entertaining, so heartfelt! Giving my ship ahoy, millions of likes, five blazing poshy stars!