Steamy and oh-so-cleverly written, Fangirl Down is Tessa Bailey’s most ingenuitive novel to date.

Wells Whitaker, our broody (and muscular) male protagonist is my favorite by a long shot. The feminist in me usually doesn’t allow me to enjoy the “macho man” character, but our temperamental golfer was the most balanced lead I’ve seen from Bailey in quite some time. There were a couple of comments from time to time that I could’ve done without (I mean, do we actually need MMCs that have a repulsion to the color pink…it’s 2024 for crying out loud), but all in all, Whitaker was able to sacrifice comfort for the love of his life, and no I’m not talking about golf. Hello matching outfits *wink wink*.

I was a little worried when we were initially introduced to our female protagonist, Josephine. The fangirl lifestyle is one I’m very well acquainted with, albeit not with sports, but either way, I was holding my breath. We’re all well aware that women can’t do…well, anything without being dragged through the mud for it. Experiencing that on a daily basis means I don’t necessarily want to read about it when I use my spare time to escape into fictional worlds. That being said, I was relieved, to say the least when the main plot didn’t emphasize the conversation surrounding fangirl culture.

Was this book insta-love? Absolutely. As an avid love at first sight skeptic, I usually tend to avoid the trope at all costs. But in classic Tessa Bailey nature, she allowed me to indulge just this once. The banter between these two? I needed more. The clever comebacks we got out of their interactions left me pining and I wanted to see that energy carried out throughout the entire novel. Nonetheless, I was giggling like a little schoolgirl. Crumbs, I mean I was eating them up. Their dynamic on the green was what kept me coming back for more.

The epilogue…don’t even get me started. I say this with every Tessa Bailey novel, but alas, this was her best one yet! It gave me all the feels. I could picture their lives vividly together, even if their happily ever after was a little premature.

I do want to clarify that this will be an acquired taste! Much like its predecessors, Fangirl Down is very spice-minded. The characters are in their honeymoon phase the entire novel and are led purely by lust. I would say Josephine and Wells’ story is a good palate cleanser though!

As a single dad + nanny enthusiast, I’m counting down the days until we get Tallulah and Burgess’ romance. He’s also a hockey player? Count me in, coach!

Thank you to Avon and Tessa Bailey for so kindly providing me with an ARC. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
- Sports Romance
- Protective/Possessive MMC
- He Falls First
- Hint of insta-love

My favorite Tessa Bailey book since It Happened One Summer! Golf may be the most boring sport but this book was far from that. Fangirl Down gave me the same warm fuzzy feeling that the Bellinger sisters did and it packed tons of classic Tessa spice.

I loved everything about this book. Josephine being a complete fangirl and never giving up on Wells. Wells being super grumpy but of course has the softest spot for Josephine. He adds her blood sugar monitor to his phone to make sure she is always okay 🥹🥹

The banter is god tier (like Tessa’s always is) and if you thought Tessa couldn’t get any spicer well you were wrong because she has added rimming to her list of spicy scenes that she has written 🤭🤭

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I LOVE Tessa Bailey; she never disappoints! I am no golf fan, but boy did Bailey make me want to watch it and like it. Bailey also made the female main character a caddie and wrote her as Type 1 Diabetic. That is something I have never seen before. It also made me realize why aren't there more female caddies!? Wow. I loved the two main characters' relationship and their banter so much. It was just an all around great read. It had the perfect ending also. To say I absolutely devoured this book as usual is an understatement. Definitely a must read. Can't wait for Book 2 with Burgess and Tallulah!

Ask me if I'm okay because I am NOT. Tessa Bailey wrote a sports romance? Yes. This is hands down one of the best sports romances I've ever read.
I've never read a golf romance before, so I had no idea what to expect. I was SO surprised. It was fun and refreshing, I actually felt interested in golf?? and represents men's mental health?! Everyone stop what you're doing and read this book.

I cannot WAIT for the second book in this series!

Thank you to Avon Books & NetGalley for this ARC!

I can’t tell you how excited I am that one of my favorite rom com authors has ventured in sports romances! Fangirl Down was grumpy/sunshine gold! I never thought I’d be so interested in golf! 😅 I loved the dynamic and constant banter between Wells and Josephine. The whole possessive “mine” attitude had me swooning and the way he called her Belle was just the sweetest thing. He ended up being one of my favorite book boyfriends with how sweet, thoughtful and absolutely in love with her he was.

I really liked how way Bailey talked about Type 1 Diabetes, showcasing the struggle of having T1D and what life with it entails for the person and their loved ones.

The spice was 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ and amazing as always with Bailey’s books!

I already preordered Tallulah and Burgess’ story after the little snippet of them we got in this book!

Thank you to Avon Books & NetGalley for this ARC!

This was classic Tessa Bailey in all the right ways. Now, it was not a perfect romance romance novel, but what a way to start my reads of 2024!

In terms of bits that I didn't really like, mostly I felt like the "banter" was borderline immature. I will admit this might just be a result of me being 40+ and fundamentally over the cutesy/manic pixie/not like other girls thing, so take that criticism for what it's worth. I also question the timeline a bit. I am not sure that one just finagles an invite to a pro-tour event then magically gets on the path to a Master's win...but what I don't know about gold could fill the Grand Canyon and some suspension of disbelief in a novel is a-okay.

On the upside so much of this book was contemporary romance perfection. The backstory makes the seeming insta-lust/love make sense. There is some history there so the romantic progression doesn't feel rushed. The plot that throws them together is almost plausible. Again, you have to roll with a little bit of a ridiculous premise in most romances, but this is not too far out there. The spice is 5-star spicy, no one does it like Tessa Bailey. If you are looking to steam up your reading, this will do the trick. Lastly, the conflict is realistic and solvable. It may be caused by two adults refusing to just communicate like adults, but that is a thing that happens in real life. The resolution for the HEA makes sense and doesn't require anyone to suddenly have a personality transplant.

Overall, a nearly perfect contemporary sports romance. The groundwork has been laid for a great second in the series and I can't wait to see more in the world of Big Shots. Pre-order this one as a perfect Valentine's Day gift for the romance lover in your life.

This was a cute sports romance. Josephine is Wells Whitaker's number one fan. She doesn't even care that everyone else has given up on Wells' golf career. Wells quits in the middle of one of his tournaments and Josephine starts to wonder if believing in Wells was the right thing. When a hurricane destroys Josephine's livelihood, she's surprised to see Wells Whitaker at her door offering to help her. This was a cute slow burn romance. I really enjoyed it and would be interested in reading book 2 of the series.

This is the first time I’ve ever read a golf romance and it didn’t disappoint! I throughly enjoyed Josephine! She was such a lovable character. Tessa Bailey couldn’t have written a better grumpy x sunshine! Wells was a grump but I loved him! The way he falls for Josephine had me swooning not to mention they had great banter between themselves. I also loved that Josephine wasn’t just chasing after Wells for clout or fame. She knows the craft of golf just as well if not better than Wells.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛𝙛.”
“𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧,” 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙. “𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩.”
“𝙁—𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣.”

“Golf?”, you say? Yes, well, if Tessa Bailey is going to write a 29 year-old washed up golf phenom, you just know he’s gonna be hot.

Wells Whitaker has just ONE remaining fan after throwing his once-promising golf career down the drain. But, he may have just lost her once and for all after his latest outburst. Until a hurricane hits Palm Beach, and all he can think about is whether she is ok…

When he finds that Josephine is in dire financial straits, he hires her to be his caddy, and yeah, maybe he’s just a little bit obsessed with her.

I loved the early tension between these two. It was definitely a bit “insta” attraction but then they really did get to know one another before the feelings truly started.

Wells was so smitten, and I loved his growth over the book. And when he finally “let go”…😮‍💨

And I can’t not mention the little preview we got of the next book in this series: hockey player, age gap, single dad, nanny. Consider me intrigued! 😏

Definitely another fun, sexy banter-filled romcom from Tessa Bailey for any other Tessa fans out there!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and @netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What this book is giving:
✅ Sports Romance (Golf)
✅ Dual POV
✅ Grumpy/Sunshine
✅ Roy Kent vibes
✅ Seggs Wagers
✅ Well that escalated quickly!
✅ Diabetes Rep
✅ Workplace Romance

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️½ / 5

YES. Just yes, everyone read this book. This book is to golf as Ted Lasso was to soccer for me. I’ve never wanted to know more about golf than I did while reading this. Wells and Josephine per the perfect balance for each other and his understanding of her T1D without making her feel weak or incapable was so beautifully written. This might be TB’s best novel yet!

I LOVED THIS. The smut , the banter , the main characters.. I loved it all! “It happened one summer” is my favorite Tessa Bailey book to date so it’s gonna be hard to top that for me, but this is a close second. 10/10 recommend. Also I had to add some of my favorite quotes from this book -

“I almost had those panties off, Josephine. Frankly, I don’t care if it’s the pope.” “Don’t say ‘panties’ and ‘pope’ in the same sentence. We’re going to get struck by lightning out there.”

“Did you drive all the way here from Miami?” “I’d have driven to the ends of the Earth, belle.”

“He was so fucking happy, he almost couldn’t withstand the pressure in his chest. It built and it built and it built every time he looked at Josephine.”

“The game . . . I was honored to become a part of the game. It’s old and loved by people who’ve come and gone . . . and there’s this beautiful ritual to it. I’d never had anything beautiful in my life before that and I guess I was just stunned when it loved me back.”

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Tessa Bailey has been on a three book streak for me and Fangirl Down was one of my favorite books I read all year. I absolutely abhor sports in every regard, but this novel managed to keep me interested. I'll never be a golf girlie like Josephine, yet my attention was fully on the course like this was my own personal PGA Tour. From the very beginning, I was rooting for Wells and his Belle. A strange name for a hero, but at least it was accompanied by a cute rhyming moniker. These two had me fangirling from the sideline and I was cheering for them to get together. There's only so many golf terms I know, but this book was certainly a hole in one.

Fangirl Down was a completely original romance novel and I had a golf ball of a time reading it. The romance between a grumpy golfer and his sunshine caddy was the sweetest relationship. I loved their darling nicknames and their easy camaraderie. Josephine was so encouraging and helped build up Wells' confidence again. He was protective towards her and I loved how seriously he took her diabetes. My only complaint was his unsexy name and one particular scene where she took it too far for my personal taste. I try to be open about romance novels, but let's leave that back door closed. No trespassing allowed!

Fangirl was a bonafide delight and worthy of a Masters champion jacket. Josephine and Wells were the ultimate dream couple. I never thought I would be so invested in golf quite this way. I really hope Tessa Bailey keeps up her streak of stellar books. Perhaps in the future her heroes won't have such peculiar names. From the way this book had me weak in the knees, you can add another Fangirl Down to the tally.

An utter delight, as I'd expect any Tessa Bailey to be. I don't know anything about golf, but I had a great time with this one. A ton of heart.

3.5 stars rounded up!

This one started out so strong for me! I really liked the fangirl/celebrity aspect at the beginning, and I thought this would be a new favorite for me.

Unfortunately, once the plot started moving along, I liked it less and less. Wells’s personality flipped immediately from simply tolerating Josephine to basically needing her. I wish there had been more of the push and pull between fangirl and celebrity. It all just felt very fast for me.

I did really enjoy the golf aspects of this. It wasn’t bad, but I felt like I could’ve been reading one of her other novels if the golf scenarios had been taken out. I think she needs to refresh some of her writing because every book sounds the same now. I will never turn my nose up to Tessa Bailey book, but I notice I’m reaching for them less and less recently.

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

What I love about Tessa Bailey is she doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. She puts her characters through the emotional ringer and then she helps them find their way to the other side. It’s usually complicated and messy, with a whole lot of fun and steam mixed in.

Fangirl Down is a prime example of this.

Wells Whitaker is a big shot golfer who, instead of leaning into his sport, has been seriously self-destructing, so much so his fanbase is almost non-existent. And then he runs off the one fan who has stayed with him, Josephine Doyle, and for the first time, he feels guilt. True guilt. The kind of guilt that has him acting instead of reacting to things.

Wells comes across as an angry grump to most, but readers will quickly learn there is more to this guy than he lets on. Underneath that gruff exterior is a heart that beats and a soul that yearns for more. Not just for hope, but for connection, real connection, and acceptance, too.

Josephine is a strong, proud woman. She’s tired of people always counting her out because of her chronic illness. She doesn’t want people to think she isn’t capable of doing things on her own, big things, because she is. She’s stronger than people think and she’s tired of feeling like no one takes her seriously.

Well and Josephine are pure magic. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they challenge each other in all the best of ways. They just fit, and the way they interact with each other, and how they learn from each other, is what I love about reading romance. It’s simple, but it has so much depth and meaning to it that the reader is left with this sense of awe and rightness.

I read this book over several days, taking my time to enjoy the chapters as the story unfolded, but in all honesty, this is a one-sitting read. It’s addictive. It’s fun and entertaining, the banter is witty and amazing, and it flows so well it’s easy to get lost within the pages.

Fangirl Down was absolutely a five-star read for me. It was exactly what I was looking for, and then some. Brilliantly addictive, with incredible characters, and a love story that unfolds so naturally it feels like a favored friend. Without doubt, this is a not-to-miss romance read, especially for those, like me, who already love this author’s work.

5 stars - Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey is the first in a new series. It’s a golfing romance. I don’t think I have ever read one about golf before and I do love sports romances. This sports romance has the added benefit of grumpy/sunshine and boss/employee tropes too. Bailey has another hit on her hands here. This story was good and hard to put down. In summary, a down on his luck golfer is bolstered up by and falls in love with his biggest fan turned caddie. Wells Whittaker becomes the worst golfer on tour (even gets kicked off the tour!) as he loses his love for the sport. Josephine, his biggest fan, discovers a way to encourage him to play better. This was a fun story! Lots of banter, chemistry, and spice!

There are several medical/emotional issues going on here – Josephine has Type 1 Diabetes and Wells was an abandoned child. Wells learns about T1D and Josephine navigates Wells’ feelings based on his childhood and how it relates to his current behavior.

Really looking forward to book #2 in this series! A big thank you to NetGalley, Tessa Bailey and Avon Books for allowing me to read an ARC.

I don't think there will ever be a book that Tessa Bailey writes that I don't love. I even went into this book a little skeptical, because I am not into golf, but it was great. I loved the characters, the plot, the story, and the humor. It also introduced characters for the second book in this series and I cannot wait to read it! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

Though I initially found Josephine to be really annoying as a protagonist, the adorable Wells made me stick with this book and I ended up really enjoying it! Ultimately, I'm not sure that Josephine is a character I will ever love - I found that she came off as grating and a bit dumb in the beginning, only to have a miraculous emergence of intellect and talent in the end. I'll read anything Tessa Bailey writes...but I can't say this is my favorite.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Another great one by Tessa Bailey! I’ve already pre-ordered the second book in the series!

AHHHH okay, first off love Tessa and every book of her that I have read so far.
This series is one I have been so anxiously waiting for because I knew I would love it!
So cute and fangirl getting with her idol is bringing me back to my Wattpad days but in all the best ways.
THAT ONE SCENEEEE! You know which one I'm talking about omg that scene was perfect! I like spicy books but sometimes they get boring and repetitive this scene though.. yesss please! can't wait for book two, right when those characters were introduced I knew I would need more from them. Prepare for me to freak out over that book too and honestly any future Tessa Bailey books.