I received an ARC from NetGalley.

This was a typical Tessa Bailey book. The characters were likeable and the sex was spicy, but there wasn't anything new for me in this. Of course, I know what I'm getting when I read Tessa Bailey, and she delivered exactly that. Good for a day reading in bed (which I did).

4.5⭐️

= ARC REVIEW =

Fangirl Down coming February 2024 💥


biggest thanks to Harper Collins International for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book. i am truly grateful 🤍

do not let this cute & adorable cover fool you because damn….. Tessa wasn’t kidding when she said it’s the horniest book we’ll ever read 👀

i was in the mood for a spicy romcom with no heavy plots and this book worked perfectly for me.

i honestly loved the idea of an athlete falling in love with his number one fan and the way Tessa executed the story was brilliant.

it’s also mixed with some of my favorite tropes such as grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, she fell first but he fell harder. it was a perfect combination i never knew i needed.

and the main characters ? wow. amazing.
the chemistry between them was off the charts, and the banter was hillarious. i just loved them so so much.

i truly had no complaints besides how slow the beginning was for me, but other than that, i really enjoyed everything.

i wanna appreciate the side characters - Josephine’s parents and Tallulah, my girl. i’m so excited to see how her story goes next !


“it’s you and me, Josephine. or nothing. period” 🤍

OMGolf! This is TB’s best book yet. The way her characters grow throughout the story feels genuine. Their connection developed nicely and their banter was *perfect*. At first, I was a little thrown by the fangirl aspect of it, but it was handled nicely by Bailey to where it didn’t feel stalker-y or have a weird power dynamic. The use of consent in the storytelling was really well done, too.

I’m a Sports Girlie(TM) and this is definitely going to be my new favorite romance series. I love a grouchy athlete and that’s Wells 100%.

If you the grumpy/sunshine trope, an independent MC, and a love interest that worships the ground she walks on, Fangirl Down is for you! It gets 5/5 from me. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tessa Bailey is AMAZING at building worlds and giving me all the sexual tension that I want and MORE!! BRING ON THE NEXT ONE!

Another Tessa Bailey banger! This book at first threw me off because it is a golf romance I was struggling not to picture happy Gilmore when reading. However, once I got further into the story I fell in love I loved every second of this sports romance from a sport I knew nothing about. The ook has the perfect amount of spice and will highly recommend this to contemporary romance lovers like me.

Haters will say it's too smutty and not enough story, but this one did it for me! Tessa Bailey hasn't really captured me since The Bellinger Sisters, and I was questioning if I even wanted to read this. I am SO glad I did. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Could I put it down? You couldn't pry it from my cold, dead hands. I was into GOLF. Josephine was strong. She was sexually confident! I am so tired of reading about meek virgins that I was able to deal with Josephine's "I'm not like the other girls" characterization because, darn it, she was fun!
And Wells, Wells, Wells. Look what we have here. This book is very smutty. He's got a mouth on him and unlike the fellas in A Vine Mess, it actually fits the character and I was into it. He's obsessed with Josephine almost as soon as the book starts, and that normally annoys me, but thinking about the fragile ego of a former-champion sports star, who was also abandoned by his parents, of course he would treasure the one person who stood by him, especially if she's as hot as Josephine. And obviously he's locked in for life after that shower scene.

Another great contemporary romance by Tessa Bailey. Really strong grumpy vs sunshine vibes, epic character development, and awesome representation of a person with Type 1 Diabetes. I suffer from this myself, so I doubly appreciated this aspect.
Fans will be thrilled and new readers will be impressed. I’ll be recommending this to patrons as one of the better sports romances to enjoy.

Fangirl Down wasn't my favorite. Once Wells and Josephine got together, the book lost its spark. I wish there was more character development and relationship building. As a reader, it was hard to comprehend how Wells went from 0 to 100 with Josephine. He really went from ripping her sign to falling in love with her four chapters later. I couldn't wrap my head around this sudden change when he barely knew Josephine. I also found it hard to get through the smut scenes. It read really cringey. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book I read without the audio. I enjoy the concepts she comes up with, but this book had me cringing at a few of the MMC, Wells’ red flags. Seeing as it was a sports romance I was expecting the spicy scenes 🫠 but not how possessive Wells was. I could not find his redeeming quality, other than what Josephine refers to as his juicy booty.

Tessa Bailey can do no wrong!

The idea that a fangirl can capture the attention of her obsession is way too appealing for someone who went through a huge One Direction phase (me). Being able to actually make him fall for you? Otherwordly stuff right there.

I adored these characters. I love that Josephine seems like your typical quirky, perhaps a bit ditzy but still loveable main character at the beginning. She refuses to give up her obsession for former golf sensation Wells Whitaker despite him doing literally everything he can to push her away.

Very quickly, however, we learn just how capable and intelligent Josephine is. She is intelligent, independent, and very skilled at the game that Wells was determined to leave behind.

Of course we have the sunshine/grump trope, but what really gets me is how absolutely attentive and utterly sweet this grump truly is (at least when it comes to Josephine). He literally busts her door down when her diabetes tracker gets disconnected. I want that energy in my life.

I can't wait to see glimpses of their life in the next Big Shots book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I would LOVE to interview Tessa on my podcast. Tessa Bailey writes comedy and romance really well. I instantly fell in love with her characters.

As always, Tessa Bailey writes the best characters. This series didn’t disappoint. Wells is a cocky, arrogant, grumpy, washed up pro golfer. Josephine is his fangirl and Cher’s him on even when his career is in the toilet. Until the day he walks over, yells at he, and tears up her sign. Enough us enough. Go wallow in your self loathing. This is a charming story of finding life and inspiration in ten least likely places and when you aren’t expecting it. Even the person who irritates you the most light just surprise the purpose they give you.

First off, I don't know anything about golf. But this book made me kinda care about it, which is crazy! An adorable grumpy/sunshine with such a sweet story and a wonderful amount of spice. Plus it's always nice to see people with disabilities represented in a way that is just part of who they are, not a plot device. So excited for the next one! (Hello, hot hockey single dad.)

This is very similar to past books Bailey has written. It's cozy, it's cute, but it's nothing new. It's her normal combination of issues and characters, except with sports involved. That said, I love the Tessa Bailey formula so I liked it!

I love Tessa Bailey books so much, they are so easy to read and so fun and well done. I get completely lost in her books and I find myself laughing and crying along with the characters and feeling satisfied from a great story at the end.

This book was no exception to this. I have been reading sports romances from other authors and was wondering how Tessa would put her spin on it but she did what she does best, put the focus on the characters. The characters were so fleshed out and real and I loved reading about them. I cannot wait for book two in this series and more from Tessa Bailey.

Wells Whitaker is a pro golfer who has been on a 2-year losing streak. All his fans, sponsors, and mentor have abandoned him. Even his last standing fan, Josephine Doyle has finally thrown in the towel. Wells realizes he’s made a huge mistake when the last person still routing for him walks away. After Josephine’s family pro shop gets damaged by a storm, Wells can’t stay away. He swoops in with the intentions of helping her and comes up with the crazy idea to have Josephine be his caddy if he gets back in the game. A steamy romance ensues. Can Wells and Josephine help each other, and both pursue their personal dreams? Filled with quick-witted banter, spicy romance, well-paced character development. This is another winner by Tessa Bailey

Bad boy golfer (oxymoron maybe?) falls for his biggest fan and the heartwarming, toe-curling shenanigans are impeccable. Fangirl Down is the first in a scorching duology and a super sexy sports romance from the queen of steam! And it may have made me have a single care about golf, or at least surly golfers! I love the fangirl aspect and the adoring exasperation between Wells and Josephine is so good! T1D rep, anxiety and depression rep and a seemingly a loving ode to breaking the mold and finding people who will love all of you, whiffs and all.

Fan girl Down
Tessa Bailey
Feb. 13, 2024
Avon
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* sports romance
#1 Big Shots series
This is a different genre than I usually read, but it just didn’t work for me. The beginning was fine and Wells and Josephine had some tension. The rest is cringy dialogue and smut. Nothing in this book worked for me,
2 stars

Tessa Bailey delivers a swoon-worthy sports romance packed with spice, tension, and relatable characters.
This was my first Tessa Bailey novel and as a new-to-spicy-books girlie, this book had me giggling and blushing. And I mean, who doesn't love a grumpy sunshine trope?

Beautiful, headstrong, and capable Josephine is a Wells Whitaker superfan, a self-proclaimed "Well's Belle". Josephine doesn't let her diabetes or Well's awful losing streak stop her from cheering Wells' on. When Wells throws in the towel, he can't stop thinking of his devoted fan, who despite the abandonment of everyone else, stuck by his side. Josephine is surprised when Wells shows up at her door and proposes that if she would be his caddy, he'd split the prize money with her. Strapped for cash and her world falling down around her, Josephine agrees.

This was such a fun read, I recommend reading!

I think this is my favorite Tessa Bailey book thus far!

I was nervous at first with the concept of a sports romance that revolved around golf, probably like most sports-romance readers who haven’t see much in this represented in this genre, but rest assured IT WORKED! I shouldn’t have doubted Bailey’s ability to capture a story that not only draws you in with the grumpy/sunshine trope but with the emotional connection these two characters shared. I loved mmc Wells (he reminded me of Roy Kent from Ted Lasso in the best way) grumpy but with a side of sensitivity and intellect, and only had eyes for Josephine— which I LOVE.

While this book had a slow start, I adored how well all the character were distinctly set apart and unique in their voice and characteristics. Bailey also emphasizes the struggles and trauma that her characters go through by showing how their past impacts them in their interactions with others, and how that relates on a relationship scale. What a well done book and such a fun and relaxing read that made me want to come back home and read, read, read.

Check this book out because I know once it comes out it’s going to be the talk of the media-sphere, and I will be revisiting it in the future again and again.