⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️BANGER

NOW THIS! THIS is the Tessa Bailey I know and love.

this book has been lowkey shit on because it’s a “golfer bad boy” trope but IT MADE SENSE I SWEAR GUYS!!! give it a chance! and i will never lie to you. some of tessa’s books i do not like but this one was just WOW.

tessa is not afraid to expand on some aspects in the bedroom (that’s all i’m gonna say on that) ((and im not complaining!!!!))

I really just loved Wells and Josephine’s banter and tessa really just gets straight to the point and i love that. little to no miscommunication which to me is CHEFS KISS!

If anyone could have made golf sexy, it was Tessa Bailey. Like beautiful form through and through. Also, I really love men who are a little pathetic for the woman they love and Wells delivered that in spades. My good man ❤️

Tessa Bailey has entered her sports romance era and it is a wonderful era to be in. The grumpy down on his luck golfer meets his biggest sunshine fan and hires her as his caddie. Josephine is just sunshine personified, and becomes a good luck charm for Wells, who was ready to quit golf for good. This book has all of the best tropes, she falls first he falls harder, grumpy sunshine, and banter. Tessa's banter has always been top tier, and Fangirl Down did not disappoint. This has definitely become one of my favorite Tessa Bailey books, and I cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

This was a fun, engaging romance with a great mix of plot, spice, and likable characters. I was invested in the characters and their individual and combined storylines. I thought Bailey’s writing and narrative were tight and will definitely give readers who loved the Bellinger sisters series what they’re looking for! I will definitely recommend to my fellow romance readers.

This was a solid fun read, and I think I’m a fan of golf now?

With a grumpy grump male main character, and a sunshine female character that has such unwavering support for her favorite golfer, there was no way Wells was not going to fall for Josephine.

Wells falls so fast and so hard for her, and I love that he goes the extra mile to make sure she’s taken care of, and that her dreams take precedence over his, because they are just as important.

I adored that not only was Josephine a caddy, she was excellent at her job, she knew how to play the game, read the course, and she was good! I really appreciated her T1D was a constant in this book, and it was done in a way that readers unfamiliar with it, could understand.

Definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!

I think this was my first time reading a romance book that featured golf🤔 I don't know anything about golf except for Tiger Woods maybe? And that was mainly because of that scandal 😂⁣
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Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey features Wells Whitaker, a promising golf star who hasn't been playing well in the last few years. But that doesn't stop his number one fan - Josephine Doyle from showing up and supporting him. But after another match where he fails spectacularly, he's on the verge of quitting and rudely asks Josephine to go home too. After a hurricane damages Josephine's golf shop, he kinda steps in to help her by offering her a position as his caddy and she agrees. She gets to save enough money to restore the shop and Wells could make a comeback too with enough motivation. If only they could keep their hands off each other too😂⁣
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I was kinda worried at first about the sportstar-fangirl dynamic but thankfully that wasn't the focus here. Josephine is more of a 'career' fan before she gets to know Wells personally, and she actually knows a lot about golf too. I liked how tenacious she was while helping Wells get back his confidence too. While the romance did give me insta love vibes, it also has a nice grumpy/sunshine touch with grouchy Wells beginning to care for the independent Josephine. It was so cute when he was worried about her T1 Diabetes and constantly kept checking her glucose levels while talking to her parents too. This one also has the usual TB dirty talk and steam! Though I did enjoy this one there were some minor things that kept me from loving this one completely but that might just be a me thing. I think if you've read and enjoyed other Tessa Bailey books, you'd definitely like this one too!⁣
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It comes out on 02/13!❣️✨

Best hero of the year. What a grouch. He only has one soft spot and it’s for her. Very spicy. This series is going to be a triumph.

Wells is a struggling former golf superstar. He used to be at the top and now he is slowly losing that position. Fans and sponsors alike abandon him. He then meets Josephine, who is the one person who truly believes in him.

Through the course of this book, the two of them struggle a lot to get to the point where it's truly a relationship. The ups and downs of both their individual, personal lives and family lives, as well as how there's an ever-growing connection between them was really great to read.

At no point did this book feel like it was trying to rush to a conclusion. Everything was very well paced and plotted. The romance felt very genuine and you truly felt that the emotions that each portrayed was accurate to the character that had been described and built up throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for an arc of this book.

Sports romance is super popular right now, and Tessa Bailey hit the mark with Fangirl Down, the first book in the Big Shots series. I’m not really a golf fan, but I am a Tessa Bailey fan, and this story is about so much more than the sport. It’s heartwarming and sexy, and the characters and love story are fantastic!

Josephine and Wells are such dynamically developed characters, and I loved their growth over the course of the story. They both go through a lot – Wells with his fledgling career and Josephine with financial and health struggles – and their stories are really compelling. Wells has total “I hate everyone but you” vibes going on, and I loved every second of his growly, cranky, protective, dirty-talking time on the page. And Josephine is like a breath of fresh air, especially when compared to Wells. They are opposites in many ways, but they fit so perfectly together. 

The banter between Josephine and Wells is so fantastic. It’s comical and sexy and flirty and everything in between. There were as many laugh-out-loud moments as there were swoon-worthy moments, and I just fell deeper and deeper in love with them as a couple. And I love how hard Wells works to know her and support her while still respecting her independence and autonomy. This is really important to Josephine, and the fact that he understood and supported that made him even more lovable than he already was.  

Josephine never gives up on Wells even when he gives up on himself, and I love that for him. Wells has a lot of trauma in his past, and having such a loyal person by his side changes him. And it says so much about Josephine that she never gives up on this troubled and angry man. OMG, and the sexy times… whew, they were filled with dirty talk and spice!! Get a fan because things get pretty steamy for this couple!

Bailey’s romances are always so fun and refreshing, and even when they delve into heavier topics, there’s also a ton of excellent banter, humor, and heart-warming elements. I devoured this book and have officially become a fangirl myself! lol Special thanks to Avon Books for sending me a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-4 stars
🌶️🌶️🌶️- spicy

Read if you love:
-Sports romance
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Boss/employee

Loved this grumpy/sunshine, sports (golf) romance! Tessa Bailey always hits the mark on spice and banter! It had my LOL, highly recommend for fans of spicy romcoms! Never thought I would be into golf romance.. but here we are 🤣.

This is everything I love about a Tessa Bailey book. A sunshine heroine and a grumpy hero, possessiveness, growling and an overall sense that he will never be able to live without her and is better with her by his side. Wells is down on his luck. He has lost his spark and the only fan he had, he just demolished her will. He can't shake the devastation in her face when he trampled on her spirit so when her hometown proshop is wiped out by the hurricane he high tails it there to see what he can do to help. He devises a plan that will get her the money she needs and hopefully he will have someone in his corner again.
Josephine has always been Well's Belle, but after his last catastrophic tournament she is done with his antics. Only, what he is offering would really help her out and she can't afford to not take him up on his offer. She is just what he needs to get his head back in the game and just might make him love golf more than he did before.
These two melted my heart. I loved their push and pull and overall witty banter with some emotional undtertones. Kudos for the T1D rep too!
Thanks to Avon, Tessa Bailey and Netgalley for an early copy.

I’ve read so many of Tessa Bailey’s books, and am always amazed by the characters and their fun banter!

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to have a copy of this adorable book!

I love a good sports romance book and - to be honest - who doesn't right now as it's become pretty popular on Booktok. Fangirl Down is the first sports romance I've read featuring golf. This isn't the sport I would usually associate with the sports romance realm but I'm now convinced the right author can make it happen. Tessa Bailey made it happen! Going into Fangirl Down the premise made me immediately think of the Sandra Bullock movie "All About Steve" and I was worried I would be doing more cringe reading than giddy reading if you know what I mean. The idea of a SUPER fan and her 'obsession' could have gone wrong in so many different times and ways but Bailey kept this train on the tracks! I love Josephine and Wells and thought they balanced each other out so wonderfully. I finished this book in a day and it left me anxiously awaiting the second in the series (after giving us a little teaser of those two characters)!

Book highlights:
- Sports Romance
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Bad Boy Athlete
- Diabetic FMC
- He Falls Harder
- Spicy Read (3 out of 5 chilies)
- Book 1 of Big Shots series

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC copy.

I won't be surprised if Fangirl Down ends up as one of my Top 5 romance books of 2024!!

It was basically written for me, as a romance reader who developed a golf obsession the past 2 years! It features a fangirl turned caddie who gets into a relationship with her golfer. The banter between the grumpy golfer and the girl trying desperately to get him to fall back in love with the game is perfection. She challenges him at every turn and he finds himself falling hard.

This may just be my favorite ever from Tessa Bailey! It’s got the perfect amount of steam mixed with excellent dialogue and a ton of heart

Wells Whitaker was once golf’s hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his “promising” career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn’t believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine’s professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash…As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they’re inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. This hot man wants to brush her hair, feed her snacks, and take bubble baths together? Is this real life? But Wells is technically her boss and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous… right?

I had two hurdles I needed to jump through in order to love this book. One is the whole "bad boy of golf" persona. It just seemed counterintuitive and unrealistic. And two, fan girls of golf. Is that even a thing? In the beginning, I found Josephine a bit over the top. She seemed more stalkerish less fan girl. However, I was able to get over that pretty fast and really enjoyed this book. Some of the tropes and themes at play here are Celebrity power dynamics, workplace romance, forced proximity, and grumpy/sunshine characters. I loved that she created a character with type 1 diabetes because of her daughter. That is just the cutest. Both main characters had a ton of growth throughout the book. And don't get me started on the steam this book offers. Ladies get your fans ready! By the end of this book, I was so swoony I didn't want it to end. However, I am so excited to see what Book 2 has in store. I am a huge hockey romance nerd and can't wait to see what's in store next!

Overall I'd give this a 4,25 stars. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 2/13

5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tessa has done it once again.

Josephine Doyle is now one of my favorite FMC's. I just adore her. Wells? I adore how much he adores her.

To me, these characters were written extremely well and visualizing them was so easy. They had great stories and great messages to share. I didn't want to let them go when the book ended. We were having such a good time together.

In a KU world filled with tons of hockey romances, I was unsure about a grumpy golfer. How dare I doubt Tessa even for a second. This was a great, quick read that I flew through and now I need more. Luckily, she gave us a little taste of the next book and I know it'll be fantastic.. let's gooooo Tallulah!

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC copy!

Leave to Tessa Bailey to make golf hot! Wells is golfer who is rude, curses on the green and is ready to quit. He tells his #1 fan, Josephine, to go home and stop cheering for him. Wells immediately realizes he made a huge mistake crushing her spirit and goes to find her after a hurricane hits her pro golf shop. They strike a deal, Josephine becomes his caddy and he tries to make a comeback. I absolutely loved both of these characters and how much they cared for each other. (Also, really loved the introduction to the characters set for the next book.) This is Tessa Bailey at her best with all of the banter and spice. I was constantly smiling and blushing while reading and the epilogue was EVERYTHING. I read this in less than a day, I could not put it down. I recommend this one for lovers of the grumpy/sunshine trope and a touch her and die MMC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will give this a 3.5 because I did like it. My biggest issue was that he can't control what an asshat he is if she's not around? (eye roll) the co-dependency...The book is a sports romance with a comeback story, featuring a washed-up golfer named Wells who is about to quit. Josephine, his number one fan and caddie, becomes his boss and employer, and they plan to help each other turn their game around. They travel together, spending their days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, and eventually, the gruff and growly athlete ends up falling for his sunshine fangirl.

The characters are sweet, with Josephine's loyalty and belief in him being heartwarming. Wells' comeback story is interesting, as it focuses more on him becoming a better person rather than learning how to be a good golfer again. The ending is cute, and Josephine and Wells deserve their happy ending.

Some of the sex scenes were a bit icky for me, but the banter was good.
NetGalley provided an eARC and Avon provided a physical arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was a little hesitant about this book when I started it. I've never read a golf romance before, hockey romance yes, and suffice it to say Tessa Bailey could write a phone book and I'd read the shit out of it. The way that she writes romance, when it comes to the communication between characters and the seamless blending of adding representation where there usually isn't a lot is impressive and something that I appreciate whenever I read one of her books.

When it comes to the love interest of a romance, I want them OBSESSED with the main character. Tessa Bailey said, "say less". Wells was head over heels obsessed with Josephine and I don't blame her for being drawn into his arms. Especially when it came to the communication? Other than the obvious problems that the love interest had because of various reasons, they were relatively good at making sure that they were both on the same page when it came to the status of their relationship and I liked the way that Wells was consistently checking in with Josephine to make sure everything he was doing was okay. Point for him.

This book has convinced me that I need to read everything and anything that Tessa Bailey writes and not only will I enjoy myself, but also my standards for men will increase exponentially. I see what you're doing here Tessa, and I will willingly fall for it every time.

Happy Reading!!

I love any and everything Tessa Bailey writes. She is easily a comfort author for me and always puts me in a happy mood with her books. I can just pick one up and forget the time. This was no exception as I just got lost in the pages and next thing I knew I was done and read for her next release!