Chloe and Sig have a big problem. After having a very romantic first time meeting, they quickly find out they cannot be together because their parents are about to get married. They try to stay just friends but it seems almost impossible because of how attracted they are to each other. Can they figure out what to do to be together?

This was a super cute romantic comedy. This is Tessa Bailey so it is spicy. Sig is almost too good to be true, but it makes the story more fun for Chloe. If you need a feel-good romance to get into then check this one out!

I am an avowed lover of Fangirl Down and let me tell you that this book has almost eclipsed it as my favorite Tessa Bailey. Sig and Chloe's story is teased in an earlier book and I was SO curious to see how these two become almost-step siblings and the how this story ends! What you get is steamy-as-hell chemistry, a sheltered FMC that is magically not annoying, and a relationship that meets both of them where they are. I had NO clue how these two were going to end up together but the way Tessa Bailey crafts this story is pure romance magic. Drink this book: If you can steal or buy a 2k bottle of champagne, I will not stop you. But any Champagne will do!

Sig and Chloe meet and have an instant connection. They soon find out that their parents are engaged and that they will become step siblings. Chloe has been under her mother’s thumb and has now decided she wants to break off onto her own and Sig helps her. They soon become best of friends, while resisting the pull of their attraction. They are doing all they can to figure out how to be together. As the title implies there is a lot of drama.

Tessa Bailey does it again! Dream Girl is a swoony, fast-paced, laugh-out-loud romance that had me hooked from the first chapter. If you love a mix of spice, snark, and softness, this one should absolutely be on your radar.

Hallie and Julian’s chemistry? Off. The. Charts. I loved the dynamic between the grumpy, no-nonsense hero and the chaotic, sunshine heroine. Their banter was electric, and the way their relationship evolved felt natural and satisfying, with just the right balance of tension and tenderness. Tessa Bailey knows how to write a hero who falls hard, and Julian might be one of my favorites of hers yet.

The pacing was quick (in a good way!), the side characters added depth and charm, and the plot kept me entertained the whole way through. Plus, the spice level was classic Tessa—playful, steamy, and full of heart.

If I had one tiny critique, it’s that I wouldn’t have minded a little more time exploring the emotional beats toward the end—but honestly, that’s just because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these two.

All in all, Dream Girl is a feel-good, flirty romance with big heart energy. Highly recommend for fans of Bailey’s signature wit and heat!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you, to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read this book.

I gave this book a 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars. I tried really hard to love this book, especially since I usually enjoy Tessa Bailey books and I also enjoyed the first two of this series, but I had a really hard time getting into this one, continuing it and resonating with it.

I was very excited about it because I enjoy a good “forbidden” romance and then you add in hockey/sports, and I would typically be all over it. This one really just fell flat to me though and I really do not like “insta-love” tropes. I know there are people out there that will love this book, but it was just not for me.

I don't think Tessa Bailey is the author for me. I have enjoyed some of her books, but I've also DNF'd several of her books. I almost DNF'd this one but I decided to persevere. Both Sig and Chloe are unrealistic and unlikable. Their chemistry didn't feel real to me, and I don't really know why they would like each other. Nothing in this book made sense to me. I would not recommend it. It's not even good as a hockey romance. Thank you Avon and NetGalley for this ARC.

I absolutely loved this book!! I was already looking forward to reading Chloe & Sig's story after reading the last book in the Big Shots series and Tessa completely delivered! Chloe and Sig meet by chance and fall head over heels for each other before finding out that they're about to be step-siblings. Sig is the human embodiment of yearning and I fell head over heels for him reading this! That & Chloe's character growth made this book impossible to put down! I can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Net galley for an ARC of this book.

Tessa Bailey has a number of fun and juicy books that make for perfect escape reads. It Happened One Summer remains my absolute favorite and i've been chasing that high ever since with diminishing returns. This book, Dream Girl Drama, follows Sig and Chloe. Sig is undeniably attracted to Chloe who is unfortunately, the daughter of his dad's new girlfriend. So, Sig deals with his all consuming crush by protecting Chloe, who was been sheltered from the world her entire life, with every fiber of his being.

I love that Tessa Bailey is willing to write messy heroines but Chloe is clueless to a degree that almost feels misogynistic. She has zero concept of the real world and for some reason it seems to repeatedly fall on Sig to shield her from the growing pains of reality. Speaking of misoginy, a problem that keeps coming up for me with Tessa Bailey's books is that she often writes protective, obsessive male leads who she also tries to make feminists. Most of the time, this just doesn't work. For example, Bailey might tack on a sentence about the male lead respecting women's autonomy right after a scene where he shows up to the female lead's location solely because he heard a male voice on the phone. A man who gets so jealous he needs to show up to your location because he heard a male voice in the background of a call does not respect women's autonomy. I don't mind a little suspension of disbelief but I'd almost rather Bailey just straight up have the male leads accept themselves as misoginists rather than try to convince the reader they're actually feminists.

I'm not against a little jealousy or possessiveness. There are some fun scenes of Chloe accidentally riling Sig up. But, I really struggled with finishing the book as Chloe seemed to have so little agency and even less common sense. Too many of Bailey's books seem to follow a formula of a grumpy man keeping a flitty, juvenile woman "in line." I appreciate the fun and whimsy of Bailey's books but I'm really starting to sour on this formula.

A solid 3 stars for the most recent Bailey. I wanted to give it more, but honestly, I really could not stand our female MC. Sig was great, but I found her way too immature and ridiculous. Now she did have some great character development once we got to the end, I still find it annoying. I loved running into characters from other books in the series, and all the humor. Oh and definitely the spice!

This was a fun, light read with some good banter and likable characters. There were definitely a few moments that made me smile, and the pace kept things moving. That said, it didn’t really stick with me. The story felt a bit surface-level, and I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to.

Overall, it’s an easy read for when you want something simple and entertaining, but it’s not one that left a big impact.

Sig is a pro hockey player. He is a 2 time NHL all star but still lives a humble life. He drives an old pick up truck and doesn't live in a fancy mansion. He is on his way to see Harvey, his dad, and his truck has the audacity to breakdown. Sig's truck breaks down near a country club and his cell phone is out of battery. He walks to the club and is trying to use a phone when Chloe comes to the rescue saying he is her guest so he can use the phone.

Chloe is a vision according to Sig. They hit it off like love at first sight. Things get a little frisky in the club house and they know they want to somehow see each other again. What they don't expect is when they both see each other at Harvey's house. Harvey is marrying Chloe's mom. This is less than ideal for Chloe to continue forward with the man of her dreams.

There is a huge falling out and Chloe decides she is going to move to the city like Sig. He agrees to be her helper only since she has never been on her own. What she doesn't know is Sig is paying her rent and helping her make it every month. To top it off, Chloe inherits Pierre the bulldog from her harp mentor that plays for the symphony.

How long can Chloe and Sig hold out before the universe pushes them together? The path they are each sent on is funny, sad at some parts, and shows just far one thinks they should go for love.

Thank you @netgalley for my copy to read and review!

Unfortunately, I just did not love this book! I tend to really vibe with Tessa Bailey's writing, but this was the exception. I didn't love either of the characters and experienced way too much second hand embarrassment while reading this. The relationship between Sig and Chloe felt solely like lust; it really had no emotional depth to it whatsoever. I initially couldn't even get through it; however, I tried again, and ultimately, it just felt like a waste of time. Super sad and disappointed about this one, but grateful for the ARC opportunity nonetheless!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and the author for a copy of this book!

3.5 ⭐️
I lovedddddd how much Sig was obsessed with Chloe and how all he wanted to do was provide for her even if he didn’t have the means to do so. One thing Tessa Bailey knows how to do it’s write an MMC. I will say that the step sibling thing was a bit odd and not really my forte, but it was still fun.

This book was… something. The beginning was adorable. Perfect meet cute, classic Tessa Bailey. The end ended up being cute too. My main issues with this book all happen in the middle. Despite how much time passes (I.e 4 months later, 2 months later etc), this book is insta love at its core. I loved the random meeting of Chloe and Sig but these two were IN LOVE after that one chance meeting. Ready to risk it all. He hired a private investigator to try and get them out of their situation. While they grew on me, after getting to know them, I wasn’t interested in either of them. They both annoyed me. Chloe acted way younger than she was. I understand being a sheltered, rich girl, but he had to teach her everything. That part was kind of endearing. What wasn’t endearing was Chloe continuously saying how independent she was and how she wanted to be on her own and away from her mom. Meanwhile she wasn’t independent at all. This wasn’t Rachel on Friends getting a coffee shop job. Sig was fully financially supporting Chloe. He could barely pay for himself let alone her. I think she really lost me when she said she was late on rent because she spent $700 he gave her on EYE CREAM. She’s in her mid twenties, who needs that much eye cream?! I just couldn’t fathom Sig shelling out this much money for a virtual stranger. And I couldn’t get over how independent Chloe wasn’t independent at all. Did she eventually grow? Yes. But I don’t remember any part of the story where she was financially independent. I didn’t read Burgess’s book so I wasn’t super connected to him. Also the younger guys on the team? Their nickname? I just cringed. Every time they spoke it was like a high schooler speaking. Despite all that, I find myself interested in the next book lol I was dangerously close to DNF this book many times. But I hate doing that so I stuck around. Despite not liking Chloe or Sig or feeling connected to them or their story at all, one thing was always clear to me. These two were nuts about each other. I wish we would’ve gotten to see those initial months they spent together cause maybe their relationship would’ve made more sense to me. Overall, even though most of this book drove me nuts, I found myself rooting for them by the end of it. And I’m even interested in the next book. Basically this doesn’t hold a candle to Fangirl Down. I personally couldn’t connect to these characters. The beginning and end made up for most of my feelings about the whole middle. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Let me first start off saying I love Tessa Bailey's writing. There is just something about the way she writes and it connects and I fall in love with the story and the characters. It's almost like I want to be in the world she builds
I enjoyed this book I rated it 4 stars
The tropes for this book are:
•hockey romance
•Forbidden
•Love at first sight
•3rd act breakup
•Slow burn
•”Good girl”
I used to not be a big fan of sports romances but I am getting more in tune with them, and this one had a certain quality that I loved
Slow burn isn't normally my vibe but Tessa did it right in this one and left me wanting more, but in a good way

I posted a review on my bookstagram page but wanted to make sure I left a note here as well… this was beautiful!!!! I have never read of a couple that is just so deeply in tune to one another the way Sig and Chloe are. While I loved the other two books in this series sooo much I found myself eagerly searching for small peaks of them in the au pair affair and could not wait for their story! The chemistry is off the charts insane. And getting to watch Chloe’s personal growth was absolutely beautiful. Just watching her come into her own and find this sense of purpose and inner strength was so wonderful and I felt so proud of her. Everyone deserves a love as genuine and pure and soft as this. Like Sig… what a man!!! He was in total awe of her 24/7 and loved her with such a steady gentleness that was just truly beautiful to read. this was magical. Full on lightning in a bottle type of read. I love love love love everything Tessa Bailey touches and I think this may be in my top 3 of hers haha!

This was not for me. I did not put up a review on Goodreads out of respect of the author.

The pacing just felt very off and I didn’t connect with the characters

Dream Girl Drama is everything you want in a feel good, ‘love at first sight’ story! After a first chance meet cute and hot make out session at a country club, Sig and Chloe learn that their parents are engaged and they’re about to be step-siblings. Of course, that means they can’t be together so they decide being besties is better than not seeing each other at all. Even though the chemistry is hot hot and he is clearly so possessive of her in the best way in a can’t can’t sleep reach for stars kind of love! Burgess of course makes his appearance and even he sees something changing in his old friend!

It’s so cute but so spicy. Who knew a hockey player could have a dirty mouth as dirty as his hands!

I often find that this author's books are either a hit or a miss for me. This one is eh for me. The future step-siblings plot was a bit weird for me. Overall, it was an enjoyable story but the plot was a just a bit awkward and made it less enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!!

In Dream Girl, Sig and Chloe meet when his rust bucket truck breaks down at a country club on the way to meet his father and his father’s new girlfriend. Sig meets Chloe when he is looking for a phone at the country club and they instantly hit it off. There are sparks galore and basically insta love. Then he remembers that he’s supposed to meet his dad and they part ways. Unfortunately, when he arrives at his dad’s new girlfriend’s house, Chloe is there too. The new girlfriend is Chloe’s mother. Yikes 😬 the overall story isn’t that bad but the insta love kinda ruined it for me. I could have gotten past that if it hadn’t been for Chloe and Sig themselves. Chloe was a spoiled brat that was literally dependent on her mother and didn’t know how to do a single thing for herself. Her idea of being independent is to let Sig pay for her fancy apartment in Boston and take care of literally everything for her from showing her how to do laundry to buying her groceries. Chloe can’t even remember to pay her bills and blows all her money on eye cream instead and when she can’t pay rent, Sig pays it. This might have been okay if he was loaded but apparently his hockey contract was a cheap one so he can’t afford Chloe’s lifestyle and resorts to selling signed memorabilia to fund her expenses. What the heck? Talk about living above your means to impress a girl… overall the book wasn’t terrible but I was a little bored and struggled to finish it. This was my first Tessa Bailey book and it was not for me but maybe the next one will be more my style.