The Romance: I immediately think of insta-lust, so I was somewhat prepared for it. However, insta-lust rarely works for me, and in this case, it was a bit frustrating. That said, I enjoyed the attraction and tension—the chemistry was definitely there. I also appreciated how the forbidden aspect was handled; it wasn’t overly taboo but had just the right level of forbidden angst to make it compelling. The spicy scenes were definitely very spicy, and honestly, I have no idea why Tessa is getting so creative with them—like, what do you mean she fingered his ass? 😭 The banter between the characters was great, but at some point, the step-sibling drama started feeling excessive. I would have preferred more character development and soft, heartfelt moments between them.

The Plot: I was genuinely surprised to find a plot beyond the romance! I really liked how it was woven into the story and how it complemented the romantic arc. Who knew Tessa Bailey could pull off a solid plot twist? I was shook. Honestly, she should lean into that more because I was completely invested. My only gripe is that, like in her other books, the sporty elements seem to fade away. I actually want to read about them, so it’s a bit disappointing when they disappear.

read it if you like:
-Dysfunctional family
-Forbidden romance
-Dive fmc X downbad mmc
-Angst, tension and spice
-Sports drama (contract stuff, very less sports stuff)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

“They were a messy pair. Everything about what they were doing was messy but stopping seemed impossible.”

‼️ POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD‼️

Guys. This BOOK!! I’ve been loving spicy, contemporary romance lately but as fun as those are, I missed the yearning, the desire, the desperation for the other person but having to hold back. Boy did this deliver. Sig delivered. Capital T TENSION - ok, capital everything.

I was so intrigued by how Tessa was going to handle the “step sibling” trope, and she did it with a lot of respect for both her characters in mind. Their meeting, the development of their relationship, and the end all addressed very real and legitimate concerns about that dynamic but made them real people who struggled with what they should do versus what their hearts said.

It would’ve been easy for Chloe’s character, as essentially a Connecticut heiress, to be shallow and out of touch. And at times, yeah, she was out of touch. But her character always seemed authentic and aware of her personal shortcomings and made it a point to both grow and develop as a person while staying herself in a way I found admirable. And Sig learning to trust her and let her grow and challenge herself and not “baby” her also felt very genuine to her character.

Sig has the absolute best heart and I don’t know how someone could not love him. He’s so kind and such a good man, and it was so nice to read a book where the MMC didn’t have to grovel for a fuck up and instead just yearned for her because he LOVES her. Fair warning, this book is insta love but the characters had chemistry from the start, and it didn’t bother me at all.

I want to thank Tessa and her HarperCollins publishing team for the opportunity to read and review this book before its release. Dream Girl Drama is officially available on February 4, 2025🏒

As a big Tessa Bailey fan, I enjoyed this book overall! The concept of it was fresh, yet had the elements that one expects in a rom-com book. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters and see how they developed throughout the book. It was a great read!

Dream Girl Drama
by Tessa Bailey

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A steamy book with a step sister/brother love trope.

I’m not the greatest fan of this but some parts were pretty cute and cheesy. Not very original but still an easy, entertaining read.

This book was surprisingly better than I expected. I liked the first book in the series, disliked the second one, so this was a real toss up. I was concerned when it was a potential step-sibling story, but how they met made me feel better about the situation. Their characters were more unique than others in this series, which was refreshing.

Tessa Baileys books are always quick and fun reads! This series has been full of fun and different tropes that have been interesting to read. I loved fangirl down! This one did fall a little short for me in comparison, but I enjoyed it none-the-less!

This series is by far my favorite Tessa Bailey series. They are all hitting them out of the park for me. I really enjoyed the Sig / Chloe dynamic in the Au Pair Affair so I was really looking forward to this story. It had all the angsty love story of a forbidden love story to the point it was almost painful to read at times. I kept yelling at the book "can you just kiss already". ( you know it is a good book when you are yelling at it).
I do have to say the "forbidden" part of the romance was a little far fetched for me. They met as adults and just because they were "legally going to be step siblings" doesn't mean a lot.. It was a little over the top that the world was going to come down - I always things situation where both the parents and the kids fall in love kinda of hilarious cute moments (as long as everyone is an adult) but I digress. For this story it worked.
I loved the introduction of Pierre, I love Chloe's growth at learning to live on her own and really embrace her independence (even if she is addicted to the Shopping Network).
I enjoyed the story..I wish they hadn't done the 3 act break up...I really think that they could have come to a resolution together instead of "breaking up". They kept saying they were going to stay apart but both were so much better together.
Overall still a great romance, fun, witty, angsty and spicy. I am looking forward the next books in the series.

This book was fun and I loved the dichotomy between the two main characters. I was a bit annoyed with everyone caring so much about them being step siblings… does that mean I read a little too much taboo romance and I’m just desensitized? Like they aren’t related. They didn’t grow up as siblings. They met as adults. Idk. I get why it might be kind of weird but not enough to have such a significant effect on careers. But maybe I’m being naive there. Idk. Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager in conjunction with NetGalley for the ARC of Dream Girl Drama in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit, this is my first Tessa Bailey read (shock and awe - I know)! This woman has an insane following and I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about her books. That being said, I really must admit that I had higher expectations for this book and I think that is for a number of reasons.

First off, the central themes are pretty taboo (a man falling in love with your soon to be step sister..immediate ick that I just couldn’t shake - and believe me, I understood what I signed up for when I accepted this ARC, it just somehow turned out to be so much more worse than I thought it would be). Secondly, it would be an understatement to say that I just didn’t enjoy the FMC and MMC. Chloe’s character annoyed me to no end. So many times I had to just stop reading because she was just an idiot and her stupidity made me angry . The fact that she was just allowing Sig to foot the bill for her entire life…the whole “whoops, I just don’t know any better because I’ve lived such a pampered life” act just drove me insane. I kept wondering what in the heck Sig’s character saw in her but eventually, I realized he was just obnoxious as she was. None of Sig’s emotions towards Chloe felt believable, especially considering she was about to become his step-sister AND he hardly even knew her before whisking her off to Boston to pseudo keep tabs on her in what was a very creepy way I might add.

Ugh, I just don’t know what to feel about this one. I just know I don’t feel great about it, but I’m going to dive into a couple other books of Tessa’s and see if I feel differently. I am aware that this book is part of a series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand alone with no issue. I had zero context from prior books going into this one but I honestly didn’t need it. This book does have some serious spice in the last third of the book so beware if you know that’s not your thing.

As a random side note, one thing this book does for me was make me was to research how to play the harp and look up relaxing music played by the harp. Let me tell you, life changing :)

2.5 stars

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey follows Sig and Chloe after they have an explosively romantic meeting but then realize they are to be future step-siblings so they have to back off from one another. Chloe is pretty clueless with everything she does. Sig is incredibly overprotective and is straining himself financially because he is incapable of allowing Chloe to learn anything by herself. Together they eventually become a couple when they <spoiler> realize that Sig's dad is not actually his dad </spoiler>.

I hate having to write this review because I LOVE Tessa Bailey but I just didn't like Chloe and Sig. I had to skim some of the book because I was so uncomfortable with the whole step-sibling dynamic. It is my fault because I should have read the back of the book but I hate reading the back of the book. I love being surprised by a book. There was still that Tessa Bailey signature magic so I thought it deserve more than one star but it was icky, it sure was. I unfortunately cannot recommend this book, it was too icky for me. I very much look forward to reading the next Tessa Bailey though!

Tropes: overprotective man, damsel in distress, sports

Triggers: sort of step-siblings

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon, and Tessa Bailey for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 ⭐️
5/5 🎧

This is by far my favorite series by Tessa Bailey and the narration is (fire). This book had me laughing out loud and I was not expecting the ending. The epilogue was SO CUTE!

I am beyond excited for more of the Rookies in the next book. They get more adorable the longer they are in the series.

I always enjoy Tessa's books, and this one was no different. While it didn't wow me, I did like reading it, and I had been waiting on Sig and Chloe's story. The lead up to their actual book was at least three of the four stars.

I love Tessa Bailey, so I jumped at the chance to read this one. This was not my favorite of the series, but I did enjoy it. I still got the "Tessa Bailey" effect, where I felt all the emotions throughout the book.

Sig was a man who knew what he wanted and went for it. It was a little insta-love, which is fine. I think the future step-sibling drama felt a little forced considering they did not grow up together and they were adults? But the connection and tension between the two was spot on and very natural feeling. Ultimately a great addition to the series.

If you like golden retriever/chihuahua type characters have I got a female lead for you! Honestly, both main characters were just embarrassing. It had its hot moments, but not enough to make up for the cheesy tropes and awful characters.

Tessa Bailey is so hit or miss for me and unfortunately, this was a miss. I just didn’t believe in the story, I didn’t find myself caring for the protagonists.

Where to start? I had fun. I really enjoyed the banter between our MCs. Chloe was such an interesting character and brought some spice to the book. The main event had to be Sig. We love a down bad man!!

I am not a fan of insta-love so I think thats where it fell flat for me. I am a slow burn gal all the way.

Overall, I had a good time reading this and would definitely still read another Tessa Bailey book :)

3.75
I liked it. It was a different book but with a different happy ending than I expected. The 1st spicy scene was a little cheesy with some of the stuff said but I liked how certain they were of each other.

⭐️ 4.5/5. This book caused me physical pain and somehow that made me love it 😂 The absolutely heartbreak I felt for these two and their forbidden love story was intense, and Tessa did a great job making sure the readers knew what these characters were going through.

There were times I had a hard time with the intensity of the “I want you but I can’t have you” theme, and I wish that the middle section of the book could have been a little shorter and the last 2 chapters of the book would have been expanded on more. Also, sometimes during the spice I had a bit of a hard time separating mentally from the fact that they were about to become step siblings 🙈 Like, at 10% left of the book I was still like “there’s no way this is going to have a good ending.” 😆 However, I did absolutely love the ending and Tessa figured out a way to being everything to a good conclusion. I can’t wait for the fourth installment!


Includes themes of:

🥅 Forbidden love
🥅 Character growth and independence
🥅 Hockey romance (and some brief baseball ⚾️ moments)
🥅 Best friends to lovers
🥅 Opposites attract
🥅 Possessive MMC
🥅 Adorable bulldog sidekick
🥅 Spice

Step siblings romances are usually a no for me, but I enjoyed this. There was still some cringe moments, but I think how the author set up the romance helped a lot. Plus it was hot.

The premise of this one is just a little too “taboo” for me… I’m also not a big fan of falling in love in 3 seconds and staying that way the entire time- not enough depth in this one. I usually love Tessa’s books but this one is a miss for me.