The start of this book basically summed up how the entire book was going to be for me, slow, boring, and not rememberable. The third act breakup ruined whatever faith I had remaining in the book; it wasn't bad but it also wasn't good.

I loved this book so much. This series has been so fun and I was very (im)patiently awaiting Sig and Chloe's book. The LONGING was INSANE!! This man was YEARNING in a way that has never before been seen. They were so cute and fun and desperate and I enjoyed every second of it. Tessa Bailey has never once disappointed me.

Dream Girl Drama (Big Shots # 3) by Tessa Bailey

Pub Date: February 4, 2025 // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

THANK YOU @tessabaileyisanauthor @netgalley @avonbooks for the ARC ❤️

DESCRIPTION:
When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down & his phone dies, he treks into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters the alluring Chloe Clifford, the manic pixie dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure & penchant for stealing champagne. Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss & the enamored pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Oh, and they’re engaged. Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister. Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins & outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…

MY THOUGHTS:
HOLY COW! The longing & angst, chemistry & more… this book will forever live on my mind. Sig & Chloe are everything. I completely ate up all the chemistry those two had. Sig is the perfect book boyfriend & he treated Chloe like a queen. Chloe had such personal growth that I couldn’t be more happier for her as the story goes on. The family drama & plot twist at the end, added some extra depth to the story. Oh, & the spice & the mouth on Sig… 🥵 Tessa really knows how to write spice. While this is #3 in the series, it could be read as a standalone. If you are looking for a forbidden, hockey romance… then you need to go read Dream Girl Drama!

#dreamgirldrama #tessabailey #bigshots #romancereads #avonandharpervoyager #netgalley #netgalleyreviewer #arcreview
#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookrecommendations #booksofinstagram #booksbooksbooks #readersofig

Tessa Bailey has done it again! Her charm, wit, and humor are on full display in yet another amazing rom com. This book was EXACTLY the palette cleanser I needed after reading a super heavy fantasy novel.

Drama is definitely at the forefront of this story. Sig and Chloe…will they or won’t they is the theme for a lot of the story until it gets totally steamy then all bets are off. Chloe coming into her own as a professional harpist with the help of Sig and Sig reaching his full hockey potential through helping Chloe is at the heart of the story. Throw in a reluctant bulldog and Orgasm Donors for comic relief and the fun ensues!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

My first hockey game and hockey romance in one week! Whew!

Synopsis: “When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down and his phone dies, he treks into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters the alluring Chloe Clifford, the manic pixie dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure and penchant for stealing champagne. Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the enamored pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Oh, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister. Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…”

Dream Girl Drama is the third book in the Big Shots series but this can definitely be read as a stand alone book. I absolutely love the forbidden romance troupe and the ending was a great plot twist that I never saw coming.

I didn’t love the book but I also do not regret reading it. I felt like the spice level was a bit too intense for me and that is something that is different for every reader.

Thank you to @Avon & @Netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my thoughts.

I wanted to love this as it was my most anticipated reads but unfortunately i came o it a tad bit disappointed. I expected more humor and a light tone but this felt more serious which is understandable since both fmc and mmc are step siblings but idk…the ending felt quite rushed too. I still hope to read more from the author though!

This was one of my most anticipated reads as I loved the first 2 books, however this did not meet up to my expectations as I thought it would be something like It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey which is one of my favorite books by the author but alas. The tension was there but I expected more bc of the circumstances the characters are in and I lowkey wanted the MMC to be quite unhinged but somehow he’s quite chill here.

Nontheless, I did find them super cute together and i did finish it in a day so that must say something at least

Having read the two previous books in the big shots series, i was really excited for this 3rd book! Dream girl drama was very different from the first two books, the 1st half of the book was very strong and promising and then book started to stray from the narrative and became a bit scattered but overall Tessa Bailey did a wonderful job navigating the complex relationship dynamic of the FMC and MMC!

thank you so much NetGally and the publishers for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Overall, I did really like this forbidden love story between Sig and Chloe! Their chemistry was extremely well written and I was crying along with them through their ups and downs.

While I enjoyed the story, I found Chloe to be extremely annoying throughout the book! While the ending did have some redeeming qualities for her it was rough to read her POV sometimes.

I enjoyed that the characters from the previous book were also featured in this one and the next one was set up nicely.

Quick Summary: A once upon a dream, sports romance

My Review: Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey is book #3 in the Big Shots series.

About the Book: "A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged..."

In My Own Words: When it rains, it pours, however, sometimes you can find a rainbow with your very own dream girl serving as your very special pot of gold.

After his vehicle unexpectedly broke down, Sig Gauthier was saved and charmed by an enchanting "pixie dream girl."Her name was Chloe Clifford. He never expected to find that she was also his soon to be step-sibling. Yikes!

My Final Say: From the moment Sig and Chloe met, they had a connection. It was inevitable that their story of coming together would be unforgettable, fiery, and fun. I loved it!

Reasons I enjoyed this book:

Wonderful characters
Entertaining
Witty
Easy-to-read
Happily Ever After
Romantic
Steamy

Other: This will be fantastic as an audiobook. Can you imagine?! Sign me up!!!

Rating: 4/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Status/Level: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to a digital ARC of this title. It was an absolute pleasure to review. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity.

This story follows Sig and Chloe who instantly fell in love until all things went downhill when there parents said they are engaged. I love Tessa Bailey but for some reasoning I was getting a bit of the ick for the whole step sibling romance. It would mostly happen when the characters remembered they can’t do anything because they are about to become step siblings. The story was great but I do wish there were more intimate scnes. The pacing was after 70% of the book which picks up from where book 2 kind of leaves of. This book is told from Chloe and Sig’s pov.

Chloe is rich and has always been under her mother’s rules. She wants to leave but can’t afford anything until she meets Sig. I really enjoyed seeing her be brave and going out into the world to do good for herself. Then we have Sig who is such a sweetheart and would do anything for Chloe. I loved seeing his love for her. There are many side characters, some old and some new. I’m excited to see where the baseball story goes from her. The tropes in this book are future step-siblings, insta love, and forbidden love. The book isn’t steamy like the others in the series but there is chemistry between the couple.

I won’t spoil the book but everything works out in the end. There is a cute epilogue in the story that takes place 5 years after. I’m excited to see where this series goes next. Compared to the first two books, I loved those more than this one. However, I’m super excited for book 4 and can’t wait for release day.

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

3/5 ⭐
1.5/5 🌶

I'd been waiting on book 3 of the Big Shots series and man could we cut this tension! I was skeptical of the step sibling trope at first but it worked! Although I could anticipate what would make everything come together, it was still a fun ride.
I would have like to see some of Chloe's maturity a little sooner. I also feel Sig waited til the end to start getting childish/miscommunication-y.
I overall liked this one!

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyage and #Netgalley for this ARC!

Chloe and Sig meet unexpectedly at a country club when his truck breaks down. There is an instant connection before they even lay eyes on each other but it's a connection they cannot avoid. When they wind up at the same place for dinner and realize their parents are getting married they don't know what to do. Will Sig be able to continue his hockey career and get the contract he wants? Will Chloe get first chair for harp playing with BSO? Or will their ill advised romance ruin everything?

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC !

This was so cute! Love a hockey romance and this was so interesting since when they met their parents weren’t engaged. They seemed like they might elope they fell hard then all of a sudden they were off limits. You can imagine the pining, the longing glances, the pink bedazzled hockey jersey.
Chloe has never lived on her own without her mothers money and Sig is helping her with her apartment and expenses. Though there’s a story there too. He also has a lot of baggage with his father who wasn’t around when he was little.
They had such powerful chemistry and they were such stans of each other. Does it count being a step sibling if it happens in your late 20s? I feel like there is a gray area cause you don’t live together, didn’t grow up together and just met really. Idk.
Loved that Burgess and Tallulah were in this one! Love Tessa’s books!

y'all - in classic Tessa Bailey fashion, we have a man down BAD and great spice! I loved fangirl down (the audio is incredible!) so no shock that I loved this as well!

read it if you like:
- forbidden romance
-dive fmc x down bad mmc
- tension and incredible spice

thank you Avon for the ARC copy!!

This book just didn’t work for me, and honestly, the only reason I finished it was because I didn’t want a DNF on my record. I couldn’t connect with either main character—the step-siblings trope felt weird, and the story just never quite came together. I kept hoping it would redeem itself, but it kept letting me down, and by the end, I was just frustrated with both the book and myself for sticking with it.

Sig feels like an overgrown child who has no clue how to have an adult relationship, and Chloe is written in such an over-the-top way that she comes across like a poorly done fever dream of a young Emily Gilmore. She’s supposed to be a "manic pixie dream girl," but her only defining personality trait is… that she likes Sephora eye creams? WHAT?!?

I usually love hockey romances, and I’m a fan of Tessa Bailey, but this one? Yeah… not for me.

Dream Girl Drama is typical Tessa Bailey: an overbearing MMC, a flighty FMC, and a slightly outrageous plot. Tessa Bailey books are always fun and fly by for me, however the same formula does get a bit tiresome and, consequently, this book just didn't stand out. I didn't love the characterization of Sig or Chloe, and I found the pacing a bit odd. We started off with their first introduction then quickly skip months ahead, so the reader does not see the progression of the two characters catching feelings for one another, only the initial attraction. While, yes, there is subtext in the previous books in the series, this felt unfulfilling in a romance novel. I also did not care for the forbidden love trope, but I decided to give it a shot for Tessa. I hope the next book in the series strays a bit more from Tessa's previous character work, and that we see a different dynamic with our main characters. This one was fine, but it's not a new favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy to review, all opinions are my own.

𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵 𝓓𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓪 by @tessabaileyisanauthor

💖 Insta-love
🏒 Hockey Romance
🕵🏻‍♂️ Secret Lovers
🌲 Lots of Pining

This book was seriously so pucking good. It’s been a while since I’ve read a solid hockey romance, and believe me when I say that Tessa really went for the power play with this one. ✨

The chemistry between Sid & Chloe was absolute perfection, and the tension was EVERYTHING.

My new hobby this week is going to every store that carries the special editions to see which one is my fav. So far, I’m a sucker for the sticks. 🏒

Thank you so much to Tessa Bailey & @avonbooks for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. 🤍

Thank you @avonbooks for the gifted copy!

4.5⭐️

🏒❤️ 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 ❤️🏒
This story! This premise! It’s kind of out of left field huh? Well whatever crazy story it seems like it’s going to be, Tessa knows how to mix it all together and make some fun magic with it!

Sig and Chloe meet unexpectedly when Sig’s car breaks down, and they immediately hit it off. A couple of hours later they both show up to a meeting with their respective parents, who announce they are getting married to each other.. which makes Sig and Chloe future step-siblings!

This story has a lot of Insta-Love and steamy tension in it but also friendship building. Chloe is naive and sheltered and you do feel for her even if she seems spoiled. Sig is going above and beyond for her, as a protector and someone who adores her.

I love the hockey boys in this story, they make things lively with the baseball match and always teasing each other. I am looking forward to some more softball 🥎 in the future!!! 🏒🩵

The ending of this book has a major twist!! I guessed it only after a certain plot point in the book, but it was definitely an interesting way for this story to go! I was happy with how everything wrapped up!


🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🏒 Hockey Romance
❤️ Insta Love
🏒 Forbidden Romance
❤️ Harp Prodigy