TL;DR:
- 4.5 stars
- Content warnings: mc with T1D
- In quite literally a fairytale turn of events, the #1 fangirl of a flagging golf star gets a fan of her own... him.

Liked:
- I love sports, I love a sports romance, I love a sports reference, but I don't like golf. Y'all, after this book... do I like golf? Tessa Bailey what have you DONE?
- Maybe my new favorite trope is love interest falls faster and harder than lead... sure it's so unbelievable in concept but who am I not to suspend a little disbelief when enjoying a book? Let me live.
- Bailey (I know this is getting repetitive from me) is just giving better male love interests as the books go by. Wells was not even close to as toxic as some of her earlier leads, and on top of that Josephine's very biggest desire was not to be belittled by her circumstances or her illness. I loved him. Do real hims exist?
- Them together... chef's kiss. I enjoyed this so much. Usually when I love characters together like this the conflict rips my heart out but even this one was very tastefully done. I didn't want to scream at anyone or cry much harder than usual.

Pick this up! Cannot WAIT for book #2.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Wells is in a slump and his #1 fangirl Josephine (the only fan left with any faith in him) becomes his caddy to help get him back on track and pick up her life that has recently begun falling apart. Celebrity golfer falls for fangirl; to be honest I was a little nervous about this premise but it was done very well. I didn't want to put it down; it had me swooning and cracking up!

Wells is a super grumpy, self destructive alpha male in the best way; his vulnerability comes to life around Josephine and he has the sweetest and funniest lines showing how he feels about her to both herself and others. She helps him get his head back on straight, deal with things from his past that he was never able to cope with, and brings out that soft caring side that most other people would never expect!

Josephine is a diabetic who has been running the golf shop that's been in her family for years. Both her insurance coverage for her health and the shop are gone due to some of her own decisions. I loved the look into a diabetic's world and the mental health challenges she deals with, not wanting others pity, etc. This was really well done and I loved how her health was handled in their relationship.

Since we don't see many women caddys the media would assume they have a relationship and/or that she is just there for looks. I loved how they dealt with this commentary from the world and in particular how Wells dealt with this to show that she knows her shit! All in all the two of them together was really fun, hot, and lovely. While Wells had some awesome lines, Josephine had some witty comments right back to Wells; it was a great match!

While there were other characters in the book, it was really focused on the couple themselves and I really liked that aspect. Their banter and chemistry was off the charts! It wasn't the only thing off the charts, Tessa Bailey of course brought the heat, and I loved that it was intertwined with Wells golf game! Definitely one of my favorite books from TB!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager/Avon for sharing an eARC with me in exchange for my honest review!

Chapter one I was like, ohhh I don’t know if I’m going to like this one… boy was I wrong. How could I ever doubt Tessa?! I’m mad at myself for even doing so!
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Wells and Josephine ended up being up there as my favorite couple that Tessa has written. The snark from Wells and the wit from Josephine were just such a great combo. And also, I’m now looking back and the cover just has me smiling thinking about this scene!
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🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 for me

4 stars!

Look, I love Tessa Bailey's books. I just can't help it. They are equal parts funny, sexy, and slightly unhinged. I didn't learn a darn thing about golf while reading this, but I *did* learn that, apparently, golfers have great butts, so that's enough to get *me* to watch! For some reason, this feels like a return to form to Tessa. This book made me laugh out loud on several occasions. I had a riotous time reading about Josephine and Wells. I love how dedicated to each other they become throughout the book (well, from the start of the book for Josephine because she's been a Wells fangirl for years). I like each of their character arcs as well. I think Wells starts out being a selfish, grumpy jerk, but eventually, he learns not to take his position, or Josephine, for granted. He turns out to be quite possessive of her, that's for sure (if you hate the alpha/macho/possessive MMC trope, you'll be sorry you started this book, lol). Josephine is a bright ray of sunshine despite her medical condition (she has type one diabetes). I love how Wells infiltrates her life slowly but surely so he can help her take care of herself and manage her diabetes. That being said, it is pretty heavy on the insta-love, so if that's not your thing, you'll want to steer clear of this book. One thing I did notice while reading this book is just how much I didn't remember, even while reading it??? I know that's sort of a meme at this point, that readers can finish a book and not retain any information... but can that happen "as you're reading something?* I remember all of the steamy parts and very little else... does that make me a bad reader?! Maybe it's because this book feels very fast-paced compared to Tessa's other books??? Oh well, I just remember that I liked it and that's all that matters. And speaking of what I remember... I cannot attest to how accurate any of the golf information is as I did not retain a single, solitary fact about the sport while reading this, but there is one scene in particular that will stick in my mind for a long, long time (and if you've read it, you know which one I mean *wink wink*). Tessa, keep on doing what you do. It sure makes me happy and makes me laugh.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tessa Bailey, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

3.5⭐️
3🌶️

Tropes: sports romance, golfer MMC, fan to caddie FMC, grumpy x sunshine, insta list, he hates everyone but her, possessive/protective alpha MMC, diabetic rep FMC

This was a quick cute and honestly hilarious read. I think these kinds of Tessa books I don’t take too seriously and genuinely just enjoy the fun. For the most part Wells + Josephine were entertaining. I liked the tension and build up between them. The fact that she crushed on him first but he fell for her first was cute. I think for me the dialogue at times got a little bit too on that line of cringey. But again, I just laughed and moved along. This wasn’t my favorite by Tessa but I am interested in reading the next book in the series.

I love everything Tessa Bailey writes. It's sweet and spicy at the same time. Her stories always make me laugh.

As a fan of golf, this book was enjoyable and I love the grumpy meets bubbly troupe! This story warmed my heart and I know it'll warm yours too!

4 ⭐️/5
3 🌶️/5

Great chemistry and friendship between Josephine, the number one fan turned caddie for Wells Whitaker, golf’s bad boy.

This is a rom-com with lots of angst, but man is the spice spicing! Do I know anything about golf other than what I learned from Wii? Absolutely not, but will I read about Wells and Josephine on the road to the Masters? Most definitely!

This is for you if you love a great friendship build-up between two people who are just so physically drawn to each other, there is heat emanating off the page. Tessa Bailey knows how to do some great in the moment naughty talk 🔥😈

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the ARC. My thoughts/opinions are my own and my review is voluntary.

I've had a friend who has recommended Tessa Bailey to me time and time again. While I occasionally enjoy romance, I do have to be in a very specific mood to pick it up (read: sad and needing some positive, warm cozies). After months and months, I finally found myself in a place for a romance novel.
When I first opened this, I didn't realize it would be a /golf romance/. I honestly kinda cringed and asked myself how badly I needed to read a romance novel. But I'm glad I pushed through that feeling because I was almost immediately sucked into Josephine and Wells' love.
It was so sweet but also so steamy. It only took me two sittings to get through this book, and then I immediately picked up book number two (I guess I must have known that I would love it, as I had requested book two on NetGalley and immediately forgot). Though the review for that is upcoming, that one was also finished in the same weekend.
All this to say, I am a new Tessa Bailey fan and am excited to have a large backlog of books to inhale!

Glute strength gave a golfer driving power and Wells’ posterior was the one part of his career that remained a champion. Bounce a quarter off that thing? Nah. Try two silver dollars. They would rebound off his well-rounded booty and knock a fangirl out cold. And she’d go down smiling.
Here at the LitBuzz Hive, being able to win the lottery of reading an Advanced Reader Copy for one of Tessa Bailey’s romances is akin to finding a pot of gold under the rainbow. Might I suggest that you prepare yourself for my own level of fangirling as I attempt to tell you why I believe Fangirl Down is Tessa Bailey’s best romance yet.

Not only has Tessa Bailey taken on one of the (arguably) most boring sports (don’t come after me) to write into a romance (though the jokes are all ripe for the picking—practically low hanging fruit, honestly) she also writes succinctly about mental health struggles and has given readers a heroine with Type One Diabetes. The Author’s Note which gave reason to why Tessa Bailey chose to have a heroine with T1D truly touched my heart, and I believe that Josephine is one of the most endearing and honest characters that Tessa has written to date.

Funny, she always thought a man threatening violence on her behalf would be a turn off. Coming from Wells, it only made her feel embarrassingly giddy.
Readers meet Josephine as she stands on the sidelines watching her favorite golfer, Wells Whitaker single-handedly implode his golf career. Getting to know Josephine throughout Fangirl Down made me cheer for this impressive heroine even more than I wanted a Wells Whitaker comeback. Her longing to be treated as an equal regardless of her medical history is a struggle that will resonate with so many readers. Her unmitigated belief in Wells is a testament to her character, and her unwavering support truly showcases the caliber of her fortitude in the wake of all the pressure that comes with accepting the position of being a caddy on a professional golf tour for Well Whitaker.

What can I say about Wells Whitaker? The grumpier Tessa Bailey writes them, the more I swoon over them. Which means I was right there, shooing right alongside Josephine. Wells is a man who has flourished in a sport regardless of his background, some might argue his success is because of how he was raised, but I would tell them that Wells is successful despite of all the adversity and his bad boy persona. The fact that Josephine can see through his alpha-hole schtick to the true Wells should scare him, but in true fashion—he’s totally unphased on camera, yet completely besotted behind closed doors. I love that Josephine inspires Wells to be the better person, doing the right thing over and over again while his confidence on the green hinges on her support. Haven’t we all had those experiences? That until we find the right person nothing seems possible, but once we have the right person in our corner, nothing can stop us.

“I think I like flirting with you. I think you want to flirt back.” His expression was serious when he looked down at her. “And as long as you know your job is safe and I would literally cut off my own legs before wielding my power over you, maybe we need to just fucking flirt, belle.”
Between the banter (oh em gee the banter!) the attraction between Wells and Josephine practically burns up the pages, and yet the protective tenderness between them will have you swooning over the sweetness of it all. Fangirl Down could have easily been double the size and I still would have wanted more. I adore this romance. I will have to survive knowing that we get a nanny and single dad romance featuring Wells and Josephine’s best friends and their cameos may even soothe your heart as well.

Do yourselves a favor and do not miss out on this phenomenal romance. I can guarantee that you will love Fangirl Down as much as I do! Tessa Bailey, please (for the love of romance) give us more (and more and more and more).

Tessa Bailey, I love you so. Literally NO one else could make a golf romance this hot. No one.

Fangirl Down was so much fun and so incredibly sexy. All positives aside--and there are many-- I think the T1D rep needed more research because it wasn't a the best depiction of it. This is a tricky thing to get right and I think the story would have benefited from more sensitivity readers.

I really loved the dynamic between Wells, a down and out pro golfer with serious reputation rehabilitation needs, and his unconditionally devoted number one fan, Josephine. Their banter was so much fun and their chemistry was off the charts hot.

That scene on the golf cart will be replaying in my mind forever and ever without pause.

I highly recommend this one and my unending thanks to Avon for this advanced review copy!!

Tessa Bailey's best book yet? I know that's a bold statement (question?), but I loved this book so much. The plot was intriguing and had me flipping to the next page so fast. I had to know what Wells and Josephine were doing with golf. Golf!

I gotta start with Wells because he was everything I thought he would be. He was super grumpy the whole book, but had so many soft moments with Josephine. And the little nickname made me smile every time. Plus, Wells was obsessed with her almost from the beginning. It was such a great flip to see Josephine as his fan and then him becoming her biggest fan as she started to pull away. And his reluctant honesty throughout the book was so good. It helped keep a semi-open line of communication and opened Wells up to us readers being able to get to know him.

Also, him having to fall back in love with golf as he fell for Josephine was amazing. It led to some cool realizations and major growth that he needed as a character.

Josephine was also a great character. There is diabetes rep with her that I think was handled really well. And I love that she was dealing with her own demons while doing what needed to be done. Her fangirling over Wells was so cute and I loved the moments we got from her fanning.

Somehow, Tessa Bailey made golf both interesting and steamy. There is some insta-lust in this book, but I got over it pretty quick. They said it couldn't be done and she said try me. I wholeheartedly recommend this book of hers and am jumping right into book 2.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

[infinite screaming continues]

I've been a fan of Tessa Bailey for quite a few years now, but this just might be my favorite book of hers I've ever read. It was SO HOT AND SPICY and so emotional [in the best way] and feel-good. One of my most favorite things about Ms. Bailey's books is the very minimal-to-no angst factor. There's none of that stupid miscommunication or nonsense conflict to keep them apart. Her characters TALK IT OUT and behave like actual adults. Romance novels needs more emotional maturity, FR!!! So many cute little snippets of dialogue and funny moments and blazing hot sex scenes. THANK YOU, TESSA.

✨ Review ✨ Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

Thanks to Avon, TLC Book Tours, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This is the first of a two-book sports romance series by Tessa Bailey, and is one of my favorites of hers I've read lately. Josephine Doyle is a superfan of grumpy pro golfer Wells Whitaker, even as his career is on the decline and he just keeps losing. After her family's pro shop is destroyed in a storm, Wells wants to help out, even though he's not one to extend kindness to...well, anyone. Jo, pressed by financial problems, her T1 diabetes, and love for her store, agrees to caddy for Wells.

What proceeds is a delightful grumpy-sunshine sports romance that carries all the steam (betting on his golf performance 🔥 ...you'll see...) and does a pretty good job at balancing plot and romance. Seeing this grump of a character do human things out of love for Jo was really delightful and just hit the spot for me. I also thought it was cool to see the golf-caddy relationship depicted as a partnership, and showing how they could work together as a team to succeed.

I also loved the T1 diabetes representation and thought it tackled that really well, especially around the desire to live a normal life balanced by medical needs.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
Genre: contemporary F/M romance, sports romance
Setting: southern Florida, San Antonio, California
Pub Date: February 13, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ golf, or even if you don't like golf, because it makes it fun anyways!
⭕️ grumpy-sunshine
⭕️ a MMC that would beat down a door to get to you
⭕️ bathtubs

THIS BOOK!
How have I not read Tessa Bailey until now?! I am beyond obsessed and now understand the hype around her. I could not put this one down. The way I was giggling and kicking like a teenage girl talking to her crush on the phone for the first time is quite insane. I loved Josephine SO MUCH. And like, am I a golf girlie now? I know nothing about the sport but would literally give anything to be a fan girl at this point. I'm so ready for book two!

I really enjoyed this one, I’m not even a golf fan. I just don’t know the game, but everything I needed to know to understand the story and dynamic was there. I loved the Type 1 diabetes representation, and how the story wasn’t about it, but it showed the strength of Josephine. Wells was great, a real grump and I enjoyed every minute. I almost forgot, the spice was SPICY. All around a fun read, with great characters and character growth.

Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey is my new favorite book by her (sorry It Happened One Summer, you had a long run there!) Wells is my latest book boyfriend, and I cannot get enough of him. I appreciated how the FMC, Josephine, had type one diabetes, which allowed the reader to learn more through her experience. It was so refreshing to have a golf sports romance! I loved everything about this book and its characters. I highly recommend the audiobook narration because Callie Dalton did a fantastic job!

Golf Romance, Grumpy guy, sunshine girl. Can she be the caddie to bring him out of the slump of his game . She’s been his biggest fan on the course will she now be the biggest fan off the course too. Tessa Bailey does it again fun characters.

Wells Whitaker, once considered golf’s most promising, has decided to quit. He has no agent, some broken clubs, and only one fan. Josephine Doyle believes in Wells, no matter what. She firmly believes he just needs to believe in himself. When Wells implodes on her, though, she begins to think that she must follow a new golfer.

Then a tornado hits Josephine’s family’s golf store, and Wells comes up with a business proposal. Josephine caddies for him while he attempts to get back on track for the Master’s. In time, though, Josephine proves that she is an invaluable asset to Wells. In more than just golf.

This actually was really cute. I enjoyed Josephine and her personality. One minute she was ignoring Wells’ attitude, and the next she was giving as good as she got. Wells was, for the most part, me. I have a very peopley job for someone who dislikes people, and so I could understand Wells’ grumpiness. However, it was also obvious that Wells was not a complete jerk off. I will admit that I didn’t understand the nickname for Josephine, Belle, but still felt it was adorable.

The chemistry and attraction were perfect. This was a spicy romance, so readers be aware.

I’m really excited for the second novel as it follows Burgess, the hockey player, and Josephine’s scientific friend, Tallulah. I cannot wait.

Overall, I rate this novel 4.5 out of 5 stars.

That's right, a sports romance with a...golfer? But Wes is far from your grandparents' golfers or anything "bad boy golfer" you googled.

I did keep remembering how my friend said she got a six-pack from the golf team in high school, and after this book, I believe her.

Wes is the bad boy of golfing with the tattoos, lack of care, and isolation from...everyone. After he loses his swing, the only one he has left with his mentor, "friends," and manager gone is his number one fan, Josephine. But he wouldn't be a self-sabotaging, burn the world before it burns me, bad boy if he didn't decide to destroy that relationship too. But he's not as heartless and without care as he'd like to believe as that ripped sign echoes in his mind.

Josephine has stuck by Wes for the last two years he's gone from best in the world to almost off the pro-tour. She believed in him for the man she saw, the one who did the good deeds when the cameras weren't on and loved the game like she did. She was loyal until she realized she deserved better and her self-respect couldn't be faulted, and Wes take to her honesty and bluntess like fresh water.

When a man who believes everyone leaves meets a woman who has stuck by him loyally for years with no personal benefit, he has to face that his heart still has hope in it.

Wes continues to get whiplash from Josephine as she gets him like no one else while changing his ideas of himself, others, and what he's capable of and wants.

Living with Type 1 Diabetes has made Josephine desperate to always prove herself capable and yearn for recognition. She has dreams for her family's golf shop and caddying for Wes will give her the money to repair the shop after a hurricane, but she makes it clear he is gaining her expertise. Her self-respect is admirable and Wes meets her there as he becomes protective of her while also wanting to ensure she gets her dream.

Wes absolutely falls first despite Josephine being his fan for years (they're only a couple years apart in age fyi). While jealous and possessive of his fan as he takes her into the world she loves, and the other golfers realize how she's more than a publicity stunt or girlfriend or charity case, Wes above all wants to care for her. Asking her parents how to help her take care of herself, knowing her own agency and ability but wanting to understand how to support her.

They learn to trust each other and build a solid bond and care for each other, but with their lives pulled in different directions, when they can't do it all, when they worry about each other's dream, then you get the angst. But, I really enjoyed the conflict (not typical at all for me in romances where I think they're cliche and people just need to talk). This one felt valid.

And of course, the smut was excellent and built up as their obsession did. It was so satisfying and we got Tessa's infamous dirty talk, were happy golf has skirts, and not your basic "mine" spice. Though it did feature his name on her uniform.

Overall, the sweet and the funny mixed well with the ~rings sound nice~ and sex bets. There's so much more I could say but I'll end here: I immediately wanted to reread this when I finished it (and days later still do), which is my highest compliment.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Feat: sports romance, golf romance, boss/employee, peach play (for them both!), type 1 diabetes rep, chronic illness rep, romcom, protective/possessive MMC, he falls first, everything is for her, MMC loves a ponytail

5 stars
3.5 spice

This is one of Tessa Bailey's best! I'm fairly certain only she could make golf fun and sexy. Josephine is Wells' biggest fan, and he doesn't have many fans left as his golf career is going downhill. After a mishap has Josephine in desperate need of money, she agrees to be his caddy and everything starts looking up - including his game and their loves lifes.