I think I should probably give up reading her books, because I don’t like them, but still. They entertain me and it’s a good laugh.
What I don’t like: how immediately they fell in love/lust. How obsessed this men are, that often border on toxicity.
What I liked: how genuine the friendship felt at times, it was nice to see they caring about each other, with sex removed from the equation

I'm going to be honest and say that I was a little hesitant about Dream Girl Drama even though I loved Sig and Chloe in The Au Pair Affair. Chloe is raised in an environment with a lot of money, and has been sheltered. So she's not really independent. I was afraid that would get on my nerves, but it worked in a great way. Dream Girl Drama has become my favorite Tessa Bailey book.

Sig and Chloe meet one evening and instantly hit it off. They're clearly attracted to each other, but when they find out their parents are together things get complicated. This book is instalove and slow burn at the exact same time and I never knew I'd love that combination. These two characters become so close and Sig really just wanted Chloe to live her dream.

The romance in this book had everything: banter, tension, emotion, and some spicy scenes. I could write a book about everything I loved about Dream Girl Drama, but if you're a fan of sports romance, I highly recommend this book. The conflict wrapped up in a way I was satisfied with and for once it wasn't miscommunication that got in the way, and I really appreciated that!

Besides this amazing romance, the side characters added some extra fun to this book. I'm excited to read the next book in this series.

This series has been so fun and I have been wanting to get Sig and Chloe's story since the first book. I am also a sucker for forbidden romance and this one fits the bill.

I love Sig and Chloe's meet cute and their slow burn. I did have some issues with Chloe and how clueless she was. I get that she was pampered and sheltered but it felt over the top.

The story is fun and I liked how Bailey resolved their conflict. I do wish there was more interaction with Chloe's friends as they did in the other books.

Callie Dalton, Teddy Hamilton both did a great job with the narration.

Thank you @avonbooks @libro.fm for a copy of this.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

2.5 starts, rounded up to 3 just because I'm tryna not be too sad. But y'all... this book ain't it. I have seen that a lot of people either love or hate Tessa Bailey, and I have always understood why someone might dislike her writing but still been firmly in the club of loving her... especially after Fangirl Down. That was a 5 star read for me! When the Au Pair Affair just fell flat for me, I had hoped it was just a blip and I was really excited for Sig and Chloe's story! I mean who doesn't love a forbidden romance, especially the taboo of *almost* being step-siblings.

I think the two main things that make it difficult for me were:
1) the insta-love -- of lordy these two did not do much of anything to *built* a relationship, they were ready to go all-in after a few hours together, and so the relationship storyline had nowhere to go... it was more about how they could be together with their parents' impending marriage rather than falling in love
2) the lack of story outside of their little bubble. We see Chloe interact with a few other people outside of Sig, and Sig sees his teammates, but otherwise they are in their own little bubble - obsessed with the other, toeing the line of what is "acceptable" given their impending step-sibling-dom, but not giving in. Was the tension good? Sure. But it didn't have any backing when their relationship didn't build itself either. It just *was*

All in all, I think this book made me decide to take a step back from TB for a while. My tbr is long enough as it is!!

Tessa Bailey is a bit of a hit or miss author for me, but I had such high hopes for "Dream Girl Drama." "Fangirl Down" was one of the best romances I read in 2024 and remains a 5 star read for me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about "Dream Girl Drama." I think there will be lots of people who love this book, and I hope they do, it just wasn't for me.

First, this book has the most intense insta-love trope that I've ever read. Before Sig has even seen Chloe he has already decided that she's his endgame. I love a man who's down bad, but I need just a little more build up for my personal preference. It felt like his feelings went from 0 to 100, and stayed at 100 instead of developing at all.

Contributing to this feeling was the several, months-long time jumps that occur at the beginning of the book. This made it so that any emotional development or growing tension happened off page. Since I didn't see much of Chloe and Sig's development as a pair, the payoff didn't feel quite as earned.

Also, I just never really found it in myself to like Chloe. I know that she spent her life extremely sheltered, but her naivety often seemed childish and she never showed much gratitude or competence. I thought both her and Sig lacked emotional depth and they never even really discussed emotions all that much (or maybe it happened in the months we didn't see, who knows). I thought that Sig enabled Chloe's behavior rather than pushing her to learn to navigate life on her own. I would have liked to see Chloe come into her own a little bit. And where were the sports! Would have loved more sports in this sports romance novel.

Last, I know I need to suspend disbelief for the premise, but it just didn't feel all that realistic to me. I feel like I'm going to be in the minority here, but I don't think their relationship was as taboo as the book made it out to be. They met before they realized their parents were engaged and met for the first time well into adulthood. I think in real life a relationship like this would have been the subject of some internet gossip or a piece of niche trivia, rather than a career-threatening scandal.

Overall, this one didn't hit for me. But I hope it lands better with other people. I'm certainly not ready to give up on this series and looking forward to reading the other installments. To be honest I'd read five more books about Wells and Josephine.

2 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day. I loved the storyline and the characters. I was pulling for them. I would definitely recommend this book.

What would happen if you meet somebody and feel connection and then a little later find out is the child of the person your parent is marrying? That’s what happens in this delightful book and it’s fun, witty and sexy from start to finish. We have an athlete and an amazingly complicated and fun FMC. When you’re trying to hide things from your parents that of course are going to be complications and it just makes the book all the more delightful. It’s definitely a romantic comedy because there are shenanigans, galore, and banter that will make you laugh out loud. As an entertaining book from start to finish.

I just love this series by Tessa Bailey! The common theme is basically "knight in shining armor" wants to protect his girl. Which I'm not mad about! The women are all fierce and talented, and their men know that. But there's something about someone being there to support and protect you.
I loved Chloe and Sig's story, especially after hearing snippets of them in The Au Pair Affair! Their meet cute was adorable and so fun and never had me doubting them through the whole book. I was also satisfied that I didn't predict how things would be resolved in the end!
Chloe and Sig's love for each other was palpable and so sweet. It was love at first sight-they were instantly attracted to each other but they also always wanted to support and protect each other. They saw more in each other than just their good looks.
It was a quick, steamy, and fun read. Can't wait for the next book in the Big Shots Series, aka Corrigan and Skylar's love story!!!!

This fun read shares the story of Sig and Chloe. Readers were introduced to them in the Au Pair Affair and they were an interesting couple. that I wanted to learn more about so I couldn't wait to read this book. Even though this is book 3 in the Big Shots series it can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone title. I was not disappointed. This was what I was looking for from the book, Sig is such an intense hockey player but he was so sweet and supportive of Chloe. It was also good to see the supportive friendship between Sig and the other players. Chloe was very clueless and at times annoying as she tried to start her own life with Sig's help. It was her devotion to Sig and her need to protect made me like her. This is a Tessa Bailey book so there is banter and plenty of spice.

Talk about he falls first! This book gave me all the Piper and Brendan vibes, and I LOVED. IT. Sig and Chloe were amazing together, and their love story was so sweet. I adored every bit of this book. The spice, the banter, the story, it was all amazing! A must read.

Hockey and Tessa, say less! After being introduced to Chloe and Sig in The Au Pair Affair, I couldn't wait for their book. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about step siblings being attracted to each other, but Tessa always has a way with her books to make you fall in love with the characters. While I wasn't sure any book could hold a candle in this series to Fangirl Down, this one was very close and will be a Tessa favorite of mine!

4/5⭐️ 2/5🌶️ 0/5😢

Sig has to be one of the most down bad men I’ve ever read, and I ate that shit up. If you love instalove (I do 🙋🏼‍♀️) and (mildly) taboo relationships, definitely check this one out!

themes & tropes:
→ hockey player x harp player 🏒
→ Boston setting ☘️
→ (future) step-siblings
→ caretaking
→ opposites attract
→ poptarts 🍓

I liked this. Not loved. Just liked. Miscommunication trope to the extreme lol. Like, both parents saw Sig suffering and they couldn’t put him out of his misery with the truth? Screw a NDA. I was annoyed with the parents, and I couldn’t relate to pampered princess Chloe at all lol. Still cute, and had lots of funny scenes.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

4.25⭐️

Such an amazing read! Tessa Bailey never fails to light up my day when I am reading one of her books! Chloe and Sigs relationship is a connection that was written in the stars! I could not get enough!

The only thing that I really didn’t enjoy about this book was, and this is solely my personal opinion, was the repetitiveness in the middle of the book. I felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. However, this really didn’t take away from my experience as a whole, but it was something that irked me just a tad.

Tessa Bailey always writes great romances where the characters have so much chemistry! I love how she weaves characters from her other stories into her new books. Highly recommend!

As Always thank you Net Galley and Publisher for a copy !!

To say I’ve been waiting for this one would be an understatement. Ever since reading the second book I needed to know what happened between the two of them and It did not disappoint.

Dream Girl Drama follows Sig and Chloe as they try and work as future step siblings despite their attraction toward each other. It felt like such a short read but everything moved pretty fast and I couldn’t complain!

It was nice seeing the rookies again, and getting to understand what their relationship was actually like. It didn’t feel like such a serious book and overall just made me really giddy.

4/5 Stars

I read Fangirl Down, the first book in the Big Shot series and really enjoyed it, so I was excited for Dream Girl Drama. This book was fun, lighthearted and fluffy, and I loved Sig and Chloe’s instant chemistry.

That said, I didn’t fully connect with either character and I struggled to get behind the plot. Sig was incredibly sweet and took great care of Chloe but I didn’t really feel their connection deepen. There were a lot of time jumps and I feel like we missed key moments that would have shown them understanding each other more and truly falling in love. Their instant spark was great but the transition from attraction to love felt a little rushed.

This book was definitely spicy and fun but it wasn’t my favorite. The forbidden aspect of their relationship—becoming soon-to-be step-siblings—felt a bit drawn out for me but that might just be personal preference. Still, if you’re looking for an easy steamy read, this could be a fun pick.

Is it me or does it feel like every single Tessa Bailey book is in a whole different world? Although the series is interconnecting the characters make you feel like it’s a brand new story line. This was another very fun hockey romance read. I was a bit skeptical when I read the plot but Tessa seamlessly made the story work.

This was such an absolutely amazing book. I loved both characters. There was absolute chemistry from prior books . It was so amazing to see their story from the beginning. I loved it so much.

This was a fun and exciting read. At firts it was hard to relate to the FMC, but as the story progresses her heart starts to shine and you're rooting for them to conquer their big hurdle.
This book was so fill with angs due to the forbidden/tabu type of love. Though I didn't think it was tabu at all, they are not related, but I guess in their world it was a big deal.

I alway have a good time reading Tessa Bailey, if you enjoyed the other 2 books in this series you will also love this one.