I absolutely loved this book! I’m not a golf person and I never thought I would be into a golf romance but man I was totally here for this!!!

Wells and Josephine are 🔥🔥🔥 and have the absolutely perfect relationship!!! The banter, the spice, the emotions, the communication, the love for one another….all of it was absolute perfection!

I love that Josephine is such a competent woman and is not scared about showing off her knowledge in a man’s world. I love how she isn’t scared to voice her opinions and is willing to challenge Wells on his thoughts, feelings, and actions. I love her loyalty to Wells throughout his entire journey and how he is the one that had to let her go so she could follow her dreams.
He is the perfect MMC!!! Sexy, sarcastic, raw, athletic, funny, witty, and completely obsessed with his woman!! I would marry that man any day of the week!

Tessa Bailey absolutely killed it on this sports romance and it makes me definitely want to get into the golf world.

Thank you for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Shout out to Tessa Bailey for giving me a romance novel that feels both familiar and wholly different all at once.

Josephine Doyle is the ultimate fangirl. She's been following Wells Whitaker for years through his golfing career. From his peak a couple years ago, through the fall from grace, to now, when he seems to be barely hanging on to any motivation to keep going. He's known for being grumpy, rude to the media, insulting to his caddies and other players. Still, Josephine is with him through it all. She believes if he just had that one game, that one round, he could find his way back. She believes in him long after he quits believing in himself.

As for Wells, bubbly, sunshine-y Josephine will, he's sure, give up on him eventually. Just as everyone else in his life has. Meanwhile, she's a constant reminder of all the people he's disappointed throughout his career and life.

When Wells finally succeeds in pushing his final fan away, he realizes it's the last thing he wants. Wells finds Josephine in the remains of her family's shop post-hurricane and offers her a chance to make enough money to rebuild. Be his caddy through the tournament. Help him find his self-confidence, his winning swing, his belief in himself once more. And whatever he wins, she'll take half.

This book, while being the first I've ever read of Tessa Bailey's, will certainly not be the last. She gave us a sports romance where the sport in question is <I>golf.</I> We have a third act split, but the split isn't due to the dreaded miscommunication trope. I love that Josephine had Type 1 Diabetes, but that isn't her entire personality. I'm ridiculously delighted by the fact Wells gets jealous instantly from the mere thought of her rooting for someone else. I love that Josephine is completely undaunted by the cranky, jerk, bad boy persona he had. (Hello, grumpy / sunshine trope.)

I just... I love these two. I love Tessa Bailey's writing. And I'll definitely be coming back for more.

Giggling and kicking my feet as I type this. I don't know if it because I am also a red-headed Josephine D, but I am going feral over this book. Excuse me while I go and re-read it AGAIN!

I read the arc of this book from NetGalley.
For me, Tessa never misses. The characters are always so fun and easy to read about.
Josephine having a crush on Wells's ASS??!??!? Yes please! The tattoo in the epilogue?!?! YAS!
One of the hotter couples that she's written that I've read so far.
This is up there with Unfortunately Yours, which is still holding first place for my favorite Tessa Bailey book. <3

Tessa Bailey does it again! This is such a fun, cute, steamy story. I found myself unable to contain my smile at so many points on this story. Josephine and Wells really jump off the page and right into your heart. Tessa Bailey is the only one who could pull this kind of story off, and she does it so well. A must read for sports romance lovers!

If you love the grumpy-sunshine trope mixed with a splash of sporty fun, this book is for you! I found the FMC a bit unrelatable at first, but as the story progressed, I couldn't put it down. Anyone with a partner that golfs will laugh out loud at some of the hiccups along the way.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All of these comments are my own.

I’m a HUGE Tessa Bailey fan and so I’m obviously going to read any book she writes. My favorite used to be Unfortunately Yours but this is now hands now my favorite book by her. It’s honestly my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. I can not wait to read this rest of this series once she writes it.

Funny Banter ✔️
Grumpy and sunshine ✔️
Spice✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️ (lord the spice in this book)
Redemption ✔️
Sports Romance ✔️

I can’t say enough good things about this book. I loved every second of it and can not wait to read it again.

5 amazing stars. I wish I could rate higher.

I really enjoyed Tessa Bailey's latest book. The sports aspect was intriguing and I like how she included the main character having a "disability". I do not think diabetes should be labeled as that, but lots of people do. I was however ready to be done with the book 72% into reading it. The rest felt forced after that. I did like how much Wells matured over time.

riding the holiday high of of her latest book set the bar for this bad boy golfer, therefore I had to give it a solid 4, because only Tessa could make me care even a little bit about a green jacket.

like the highs and lows of dealing with type 1 diabetes, Wells and Josephine's relationship was a rollercoaster! moody obsessive Wells just wants someone to love him for him and Josephine is a sheltered golf fan (and secretly a freak in the caddie lockers) who wants to prove herself to the world.

like anyone who's experienced the soul sucking humidity of august in west palm beach, the book starts about the same, SLOW. once you get past it, deals are made, hotels are booked, and bubble baths are drawn and you get pulled into the world of golf (and if you're like me) learn what the hell a masters jacket is.

nothing can go wrong when you've got a roll of glucose tabs, a view of Wells Whitaker's "sculpted" ass, and a golf store renovation dream.

4/5, I liked Wells but I think i'm gonna love his bff Burgess 👀 🏒

thank you netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and team for this thanksgiving miracle!!

*I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley.

Wells Whitaker used to be the hottest rising star in golf, but his career has taken a downward plunge and now he only has one supporter left that follows him. Josephine Doyle or "Wells' Belle" has been fangirling over Wells for his entire career. But after one bad moment at a tournament, Wells quits and loses Josephine as his one and only fangirl. When a hurricane hits Florida, Josephine's family business takes a hit. When Wells approaches her to help him get his career back on track as his caddy, Josephine knows she'll take it to use the prize money to get her life back on track. Once they rejoin the tour, sparks start to fly between the two and Wells starts winning. It turns out that he's softer than she thought and there's definitely chemistry.

This book was fun to read and I enjoyed the romance between the two main characters. However, it felt very instalove to me that kind of spoiled the romance a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love a male lead who obviously loves the female lead the most. but it started to come across really unauthentic. However, reading a pov with a female lead with diabetes was interesting. I liked that she felt that she was always treated with kid gloves because of it. I loved Josephine's character and how dedicated she was to her family business and golf in general. I liked this romance, but felt it wasn't my cup of tea.

I didn’t think I was a sports romance girlie but Tessa, you have me rethinking everything. Except for 🍑 stuff, I could have done without that BUT to each their own.

This was a fun, very very spicy read and I’m looking forward to the next book!

I thought this was overall enjoyable. It was a nice low-stress read with good pacing. I liked that the MC was a golf fangirl. I honestly haven't seen a golf based romance novel before but I also can't say I had been looking. I do think there were a couple toxic relationship tropes in here that gave me some heebie jeebies.

I didn’t enjoy this as much as some of her previous books, but its a fun story and I enjoyed the character’s banter. It’s a perfectly good romance with a HEA and lots of spice.

and if i say tessa bailey never misses? I'm suddenly a golf stan?? i care about under par and all that stuff?? only tessa bailey could ever make me care about golf I'll tell you that

One persons “spicy meet cute” is another persons “cringy golf manual”. I did not enjoy this. It was spicy and there were cute moments but there was so so much cringe that it was impossible for me to enjoy the spicy. I did not laugh once. The entire premise was sort of a reach and I would have been okay with that if there was any actual chemistry between the characters or substance in the story..

Having said that, I feel like there are folks that will eat this up and I’m happy for them.

(internal screeching)
(tears because of the wholesomeness)
(more internal screeching)

OKAY, SO, yes, this book is frickin amazing, like literally everything Tessa Bailey promised us and more 😭 I've been waiting for this book ever since Tessa announced the golfer/fangirl premise during one of her in-person events at the beginning of this year, and I definitely freaked out a lot when I got an advanced copy (cue more internal screeching)

This book has multitudes within the grumpy sunshine 😭
💫 Grumpy golfer / sunshine golf-nerd fan
💫 Grumpy, moping golfer / his sunshine fangirl who doesn't take any shit from him personally or professionally :)
💫 Overprotective grumpy / equally overprotective sunshine

Also, this book literally unlocked a new love language [redacted, I'll post more about this a few weeks after the release 😭] (I may or may not have screeched in Tessa's DMs about this) (ok, yes I did)

I also loved the focus given to the MCs' individual growths in this book, and how they helped each other get to it.

The book also has diabetes rep (the FMC is diagnosed with T1D as a kid), and imo, that part was written really well.

The epilogue was >>>>>

ALSO, there are teeny sneak peeks at the next couple in this series (hockey player / marine biologist who's also a live-in nanny), and they were so adorable 😭 can't wait for their book!

TWs - kid abandoned by parents, misogyny in the workplace, FMC treated as weak due to her diabetes (not by the MMC), loss of livelihood due to a natural disaster

-- ty to the author and the publisher for an advanced copy!

I'm a huge fan of Tessa Bailey, and I always love her characters. Wells and Josephine were no exception. In fact, I think everyone needs a Josephine in their life! I very much appreciated that the characters communicated with each other and had realistic responses to conflict instead of the constant misunderstandings that sometimes happen in Romance novels.

In my opinion, this novel started a little slower than usual for a Tessa Bailey book, but once it got going, I couldn't put it down. Because of this, I am rating this book 4 stars instead of 3.5 stars. As expected, the spice was very spicy. I definitely recommend this book! (I'm a school librarian, and let me clarify that I recommend this for adults, not my middle schoolers, lol.)

First and foremost, who would have thought that the sports my husband obsesses over on TV could be transformed into a steamy romance novel??? YOU GET 5 STARSSSS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tessa, you're a freaking genius, that's how! 💖 I absolutely adore sports romance because not only do I get insights into the sports world which I already love to watch, but there's also that extra touch of romance, and let's be honest—that's what I'm here for mostly.

The story kicks off with Wells experiencing the worst slump of his golf career. He's moody and has given up on the sport, with everyone abandoning him except for his #1 fan, Josephine. And oh my, within seconds of their first interaction, I was hooked and never wanted to let go of the book 😱

The author did an exceptional job creating a grumpy meets sunshine dynamic where the grumpy character doesn't want to be grumpy, but is because everyone else has given up on him, except ✨HER✨. Her unwavering support gives him hope. After a pivotal moment in the book, they find themselves depending on each other in the next tournament, and the way the story takes a turn had me completely captivated 😏.

Josephine and Wells navigate the challenges of maintaining a professional relationship while indulging in playful flirting—need I say more? The tension, steamy scenes, and the evolution of their relationship are excellently portrayed. And let's not forget, Wells is not only obsessed with Josephine but also a bit possessive—do I need to say more? Well, I'll just leave you with my favorite quote and let the irresistible tropes speak for themselves.

Favorite Quote: "I won't give up on you as long as you don't give up on yourself again"

Tropes:
⛳He Falls First and HARD
⛳ Grumpy x Sunshine
⛳ Forbidden Romance (golfer x caddie)
⛳Sports Romance (Golf)
⛳Health Condition FMC (Diabetes)
⛳Sexy Bets

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️.5

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for sending this eARC! As well as, thank you Harper Voyager for sending me a physical Arc!!!

So excited to have the chance to read a sports romance by Tessa Bailey. Her books always leave me swooning and the spice never disappoints. Wells and Josephine are both amazing and definitely fall under the grumpy sunshine trope. There is a depth to each character as well and I enjoyed the representation of living with diabetes in the storyline. A great read for the romance girlies that love an athlete and a guy obsessed with making his girl happy.


'

Another one of Tessa Baileys great formulas. Equal parts funny, sweet, sexy, and romantic. It even made the most anti golf girl in the world have a good time! If you usually like Baileys books, you’ll love this one too.