Another hit from Tessa Bailey! I’ve decided the reason I am so drawn to the men she writes is because they are manly and usually grumpy with a bit of an ego-but not me that they’ve earned. They also really know how to take care of their women!

This is Chloe and Sig’s turn. They had a hot meet cute then hours later discovered they are to become step siblings…cue the angst. I loved Chloe’s development throughout this story going from someone who was totally reliant on her mother to being independent and flourishing. Sig was overprotective to a fault but also made sure Chloe was taken care of even if that meant going without himself. He wanted to see her do well that much,

I loved this story and the epilogue! Don’t miss the third book in this series. I enjoyed all of them.

It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Tessa's books and very rarely do I not mesh with one. This one I was hesitant about because I don't usually like taboo subjects but I loved this one!

I thought it was done very well. I adored Sig and Chloe's friendship and relationship. Their chemistry was perfect. I also loved their personalities. They truly were ride or dies! This was the perfect blend of romance and comedy. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Thank you @Avon and Harper voyager for the gifted ebook.

This was my favorite Tessa Bailey book to date. I loved getting glimpses of Sig and Chloe in the previous Big Shot novels I couldn't want for their story!

“You love her?”
“I exist for her.”

Sig and Chloe meet and it's instant lust. This is not usually a favorite of mine but it was done so well. I appreciate their connection and how quickly Chloe jumped into help Sig without knowing him. I loved Sig's affection and protectiveness of Chloe. Watching Chloe find her independence was so fun, she was a little wild but Sig took it in stride and it was just so sweet.

Their tension and buildup was epic. The I can't rave enough about this one. Favorite of the Big Shot standalones so far.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE TESSA BAILEY! I am obsessed with this series " Big Shots" ! "Dream Girl Drama" is my favorite of the three. I was super excited to see that this story follows Sig and Chloe, after seeing cameos of them in her previous book "The Au Pair Affair". I lived from the forbidden love, fun banter, and the chemistry of these two! Sig and Chloe characters and character development throughout the book was magical. I thoroughly enjoyed reading there love story. Tessa Bailey definitely delivered this novel! I highly recommend reading this series and I am excited to see where this series takes us next!

4.5 stars!

Thank you Tessa Bailey, Avon| Harper Voyager and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

***Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for sending me an e-arc of Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey! All thoughts are my own!***

When professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down and his phone dies, he goes into a posh private country club to call a tow truck, where he encounters Chloe Clifford, his dream girl who captivates him immediately with her sense of adventure and penchant for stealing champagne.

Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the pair can’t wait to see each other again, but when Sig finally arrives to meet his dad’s new girlfriend over dinner, Chloe is confusingly also there. Turns out the girlfriend is Chloe’s mother, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister.

Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a harp prodigy, yearns to escape sheltered life with her controlling mother. Sig helps teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know they can never be more than friends, since they are soon-to-be step siblings. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more.

So I wasn't sure how I would like this considering the relationship, also the fact that I am not a hockey fan. I wasn't too big of a fan of The Au Pair Affair, but I enjoyed this one much better. I loved the characters and getting their backgrounds, one being very independent, the other being sheltered from independence. I honestly enjoyed their time together and the tension between them, trying to hide their feelings. The stakes were high for both of them with their careers, and neither one of them had to sacrifice to get what they wanted, even thougj what they really wanted was to be together without it being wrong. I was glad the ending happened the way it did. I probably should have guessed it, but I'm happy I didn't. Needless to say, thank you to the private investigator.

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey is out February 4th, 2025!

Tessa Bailey’s romances are steamy and silly and lots of fun, and Dream Girl Drama is no different. If you loved It Happened One Summer, this book has a similar energy, which skirts around the edge of taboo (well, not really really, just Tessa-taboo).

Hockey player Sig Gauthier is off to meet his dad and soon-to-be stepmother when car trouble lands him at a fancy country club. There he meets Chloe, a gifted harpist, (a Piper Bellinger/Alexis Rose character), and they share an instant connection but they find out she is the daughter of his father’s fiancée. Even so, Sig whisks her off to Boston and sets her up in an apartment he can’t afford, while telling himself he is looking after her and giving her the space to grow up away from the cosseted but stifling life she had with her mother.

Phew! That’s a lot, and it’s a lot to process in this charming but ridiculous romcom. Chloe is a honey, but she’s been overprotected to the extent that at twenty-five, she has never made a decision for herself, has no idea about the value of money, or how to catch a bus, or even how to do the laundry! There’s plenty of comedy around Sig indulging her as she finds her feet and they fall in love, but it feels like there’s more at stake for Sig because he’s risking his job, his finances and his reputation, while Chloe is so clueless that she has no idea of what he stands to lose by being involved with her.  She does experience growth as she learns to do things for herself, but Sig definitely has more to lose and her story is not as compelling as his. Luckily, he pulls it all together – just in time.

Dream Girl Drama has all the Tessa Bailey staples – it’s funny and fast paced, the dialogue is snappy, and Sig and Chloe are vulnerable and likeable. It’s a slow burn (because of the possible step-sibling thing, and for Romance Reasons), but once they give in to temptation, the sex is filthy and vocal and they are very well matched. The protectiveness/possessiveness Sig displays which might be concerning if this was at all realistic, but luckily for them (and us!), it’s a spicy fairytale. From the actual gazillion dollar harp, to the bulldog, Sig’s teammates (Corrigan and Mailer – the Orgasm Donors), private detectives, Chloe’s toxic mother, paparazzi, a last minute race to the happily ever after, this is a riot.

There’s nothing here to dislike if you love Tessa Bailey. Chloe is gorgeous, she loves Sig’s overprotectiveness and their future together will work out just fine.

Well, I really wanted to love Dream Girl Drama. And for the most part, I did like it. I think Tessa Bailey is pretty proficient at writing rom-coms and she has her own unique style of giving the reader a love story that can make one chuckle while simultaneously swooning, too. BUT, her use of insta-love between Chloe Clifford and Sig Gauthier was way over the top. They meet at a country club and practically within minutes know that they have met their soulmates? Now, I'm a firm believer in knowing that you may have just met the love of your life but these two were almost ridiculous about it. Not to mention a bit immature as to their actions throughout the book. And I think that's what drove me the most crazy: the fact that they acted like lovesick schoolchildren who couldn't function without the other by their sides.

With Chloe a harp virtuoso and Sig a talented hockey player, you'd think that that aspect of their lives should have taken precedence over anything else. But these two are willing to almost sacrifice anything in order to be together despite his father and her mother getting married within months. They risk scandal and success and it's beyond silly. With way too much repetition about how they can't be together, how they can't touch each other and how they can't act on their wants, I skimmed many pages trying to get to what I hoped was logic. But sadly, even their decisions to only be friends became annoying. Not to mention how Sig took care of the formerly pampered Chloe and treated her like a child. This 25 year-old never heard of Google? I get that she lived a charmed life where everything was done for her but Chloe acted like she lived without the use of the internet and a phone!

Now, I will say the last 25 percent is what saved the book for me. Both Sig and Chloe finally grew the right kind of backbone and came to the realization that they simply couldn't be together as future stepbrother and stepsister. The final reveal that changes all that was a decent one and overall I was happy that Sig and Chloe could find their forever without any further obstacles.

Secondary characters, some we've met before in Bailey's last book, added the right amount of humor and support when needed. I didn't care for Grace, however, despite her being the mentor Chloe needed to make her professional dreams come true. But I did like the intro of new family members for Sig in the epilogue and the life he has finally been able to claim.

Again, I struggled throughout most of the book, bored by the back and forth of 'we shouldn't but we desperately need to' kind of premise. If perhaps their attraction might have been a bit less dramatic, then maybe I would have enjoyed it more. But I'm sure Bailey's faithful will love it just the same. It just wasn't the right fit for me.

3 stars.

I’m a big Tessa Bailey fan and while I liked this book it wasn’t one of my favorites. I think it just took so long to actually get started with the plot I got a little bored waiting for it to happen. And at times. Hole was a little too immature for me to believe she was a real person.

Hockey player Sig meets his dream girl Chloe when his car breaks down at a country club. After a steamy kiss, they make plans to meet up again after he has dinner with his father. And then it all goes downhill when he finds out that Chloe is meant to be his future stepsister. Somehow, he’s quickly entangled in her life as he helps her set up her own apartment away from her mother and they become the best of friends. It’s pretty much insta-love for these two, with every interaction between them filled with longing, but they’re both doing their best to keep things platonic since they’re soon-to-be=stepsiblings. This whole book is chaotic and messy and hilarious. And when we start getting steamy, it’s well worth the payoff. Chloe is the ultimate manic pixie dream girl character and so much fun to read.

So much anticipation for this story after being introduced to these characters in The Au Pair Affair! I had mixed feelings about Dream Girl Drama, but if you love electric chemistry without worrying about it being realistic, you might just love it!
Let’s start with the good. The chemistry between Sig and Chloe is undeniable and hot and what kept this book engaging and enjoyable. It is the true star of the show and the draw if you think this book might be for you. I also enjoyed how sheltered she is and the scenes where he is teaching her to do simple everyday tasks.
And the not so good. This romance was pretty unrealistic to me. They were professing their love after meeting for a few hours – I wish it had started as infatuation and built into love over the course of their friendship. I really struggled with the forbidden aspect of the romance. Maybe I grew up in the age of Gossip Girl, but it was hard for me to buy into the drama that them becoming step siblings (which they didn’t even know when they met!) made them such a forbidden taboo. I feel like it could have easily been explained and really wouldn’t have been something on the radar of most people if they didn’t bring it up. Finally, at times, Sig seemed really overbearing, bordering on red flag-y and it kinda gave me the ick.
I enjoyed this book for the chemistry between Chloe and Sig, but struggled with some of the more technical aspects of the plot. Still super excited for the next book in the series that was teased here.

Review posted on Goodreads 2/1/25, to be posted on Instagram (@ashlie_overbooked) on release day.

DREAM GIRL DRAMA – Tessa Bailey
Big Shots, Book 3
Avon
ISBN: 978-0-06-338078-3
February 4, 2025
Romantic Comedy

Boston – Present Day

While on the way to meet his father and his newest girlfriend, professional hockey player Sig Gauthier’s car breaks down near a country club. His cell phone battery has died, and while he’s trying to convince security to let him inside to use the phone, a woman interrupts them, declaring that she is waiting for Sig. Alas, Sig has never met her, but the sparks are soon flying between them as they trade innuendos. After his car is fixed, Sig continues his drive to his father’s girlfriend’s home. When he arrives, he discovers the mystery woman there—and their parents are now engaged to marry. Sig is lusting after his soon-to-be stepsister, Chloe Clifford.

Chloe has been sheltered by her mother all her life. What she wants is to go to Boston and immerse herself in harp playing at an academy. While she is arguing with her mother over moving to Boston, Sig suddenly speaks up and offers to “watch over” Chloe in Boston. After all, he plays hockey and lives there already. Sig is now “babysitting” Chloe and feeling hot under the collar as he lusts after her. But he can’t touch her because it would cause a scandal, and he needs his pro-hockey career too much.

In DREAM GIRL DRAMA, Sig basically drops everything and runs to help Chloe whenever she needs him. He keeps an eye on her because she is new to living alone in a big city. While his protectiveness is cute to his fellow hockey players, others look at them and wonder what’s going on. Nothing will happen between them as long as his father is with her mother. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting her, and it soon turns out that she feels the same way. Readers will wonder how long it will take before they are kissing each other…and more. When it happens, will a scandal break out that causes a publicity crisis?

DREAM GIRL DRAMA is a cute and funny tale. Chloe seems innocent in so many ways and Sig is determined to keep her innocent. But it doesn’t stop him from feeling jealous when another man looks her way. His overprotectiveness keeps him close to Chloe and makes for lots of funny scenes. Meanwhile, Chloe’s wings continue to expand, which means she is ready to move on. Except, neither wants to move on from the other. Their parents haven’t married yet, so Sig is hoping to find dirt on his father to try and break them up (but hasn’t told Chloe about what he's doing). His father had abandoned Sig’s mother when he was a baby and left with her money. Is his father a hustler with his next mark being Chloe’s mother? If the happy couple breaks up, then Sig sees a path to getting together with Chloe. But will something happen between them before Sig gets the answers?

DREAM GIRL DRAMA is part of the Big Shots series but works well as a standalone. This is Sig and Chloe’s story, and readers will be immersed in their tale of forbidden attraction and soon be rooting for them. Will they get a happily ever after? How long before they hit the sheets because you know that is coming. Find out by picking up this enjoyable read. Don’t miss DREAM GIRL DRAMA.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Tessa never disappoints! I just knew I was going to love Sig and Chloe! This is my first step siblings romance but I don’t feel like it was such a taboo thing! I enjoyed the story and Sig was so gone for Chloe that I ate it up!

If there were 100 books in Tessa Bailey’s Big Shot series, you can bet I’d read them all. They are all so cute and make quick reads since I can’t put them down! She does a great balance of romance and smut!

Dream Girl Drama is the third book in the Big Shot series and just might be my favorite one yet. I’m a sucker for the hockey romance trope. The MMC, Sig, is impossible not to love. I also really liked Chloe - she was different than some of her other female leads.

If you’re looking for a cute romance before Valentine’s Day this is it! Especially if you enjoy a slow burn or “taboo” romance! This series can be read as standalone books but I recommend you read them all!

Thank you so much to Tessa Bailey and Net Galley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Tessa Bailey does it again with another fun, fast-paced, smutty romance.

I didn’t realize that step-sibling romance was such a taboo? They met as adults, it’s not like they grew up together as actual siblings. I personally didn’t find it weird at all, but my husband disagrees with me, so maybe I’m the weird one? I grew up obsessed with Clueless and Life With Derek, so maybe that skews my opinion.

The will-they-won’t-they tension build-up was phenomenal. And the forbidden aspect combined with the insta-love vibe made everything feel even headier.

However, I wouldn’t really consider this a sports romance. Sure, Sig plays professional hockey, and Chloe goes to his games, but I feel like something was missing for this to be a true sports romance. There weren’t any locker room scenes or moments from Sig’s POV during games or practice.

I did love all the moments with Sig and his teammates; they could get up to MQ’s Alligators bromance caliber if Tessa Bailey keeps this up.

Chloe was kind of over the top for me. Do people who are actually this clueless to the world actually exist in real life? I understand she was sheltered and privileged, but to not know dogs eat kibble? Wild.

Overall, this book had its ups and downs, but the humor and tension building make it a four-star read for me.

What you get:
❤️ Insta-Love
🤍 Taboo Romance
❤️ Future Step Siblings
🤍 Protective MMC

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“It wouldn’t be long until he knew more about Sephora than hockey. More about the harp than fixing trucks. More about Chloe than he knew about himself. He’d love every goddamn second of it, too. Even if he could only love her from a safe distance. For now.”


“Always my dream girl. Always mine.”“Always, Sig.”


ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW


omg omg sigchloe my loves my everything!!!

I have no words to express how grateful I am I got to read this book. It blew my expectations by a lot. It has become one of my favorites of the year and the year is only starting.

It's also fighting at top spot in the series with savagetallulah my babies because they're both perfection.

The angst, the chemistry, the characters, like I knew this was going to have a happy ending but I was in pain alongside them until the very end with the plot twist and all.

Sign and Chloe's growth (more hers than him) was beautiful to read and funny and heartfelt. And their wonderful friends god I love this whole group and I can't wait to read the next book (consider me already in line to the arc) and I hope the new GM also gets a book with certain lovesick rookie...



Now I'll add some of my favorite quotes (I marked A LOT, like I was up until 3:30am reading) so procede carefully because of possible spoilers. And I hope you read and love this book as much as I did



“His entire life, he’d told himself you don’t need it. That he didn’t require nice things. But Chloe . . . she was the first nice thing he couldn’t live without.”



“The meaning of the name Sig meant “a victory that brings peace and protection” and that definition couldn’t be more accurate. He was thoughtful and encouraging and, oh yeah, super protective . Most important, however, Sig believed in her. In a way she’d never experienced from someone she loved.”



“They were in love, he and Chloe. Deep, twisted, enduring love. They hadn’t said the words out loud, but their actions spoke for themselves. She showed up to every game, she lit up whenever he walked into the room, when she had a bad day, she called him. Cried into his neck. Called him with good news, too. Celebrated by popping champagne into the phone and begging him to come over and dance with her. She was everything joyful and sacred in his life. And he wanted to marry her more than he wanted to live.”



“But there’s nothing fucked-up or wrong about me and Chloe, okay?”“Isn’t there?”Harvey snapped. “No.”Sig shook his head. “It’s the purest thing I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s like I’ve loved her since I took my first breath.”“Love,”Harvey said flatly. “You love her?”“I exist for her.”


“Because love was meant to be a glorious thing, but sometimes she wondered if loving someone and not being able to acknowledge and act on it could suffocate her to death.”

I gave this 3 stars because it was… fine? I liked how sassy Chloe was but at the same time, why was she such an airhead but also a master at the harp? I felt like the whole step sibling thing wasn’t really a big deal since they met beforehand, but overall a fine read. I still want to go back and read the first two in the series.

This was so fun. I loved the sassy Chloe was. The was Sig would just melt for her was everything. I wanted it to work out for them since the beginning. They were so cute and had great chemistry. I love that it was set in Darien, CT because that is the own over from me. The whole step siblings thing was a little strange to me at first but once I saw it through, I enjoyed it. I loved the ending of the book too! So glad they got their HEA!

This is my first Tessa Bailey read and I thought it was fun. Not really my kind of interest in storyline though
We meet Chloe a sheltered spoiled adult who had never ventured out of what her mother expects from her. Then we meet Sig a hockey player and it's like love at first sight. Their attraction was instant only to find out their parents are dating and they are to become step siblings. If you're a fan of insta list then this book is for you.

Release February 4, 2025. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey. A moment where I am regretting my decision to post a review of all of the arcs I read this year… the good, the bad, and the UGLY. I did get an arc from Avon on NetGalley, but I’m not about to tag anybody in this.

There could be some spoilers in this, read it at your own risk but if you saw my stories Monday night you already know.

I did not like this book but I’ll start with a few positives. I REALLY hated Fangirl Down and then hated but like slightly less The Au-Pair Affair. This was less bad than those two! The whole reason I read it is because the set up for this book was the part of Au-Pair that I liked 🤣

Why didn’t I like it? The FMC Chloe was written to be the most clueless airhead but also somehow a harp prodigy??? I was offended on her behalf, she deserved better. Sig was possessive and obsessive but like over the line. Dude dropped everything to run her whole life and give her everything like 3 hours after meeting her. Also like with one kiss and then promptly learning they were going to become step siblings…

Whatever, my true beef with TB is the spicy scenes. Good god are they PAINFULLY CRINGE to read. My “favorite” part is when Chloe described her feelings right after they slept together for the first time as feeling like black mold inside her 💀 I’m laughing again just thinking about it all.

The plot was kinda convoluted and in my opinion a non-issue, they were literally never actually step siblings (spoiler even when their parents actually got married because of a surprise paternity reveal) and like even if they were they are grown ass adults that didn’t grow up together. Awkward but not the end of the world.

Unless she writes something truly ridiculous, in which case I am legally required to read it for the bit, I am actually done after this one.

Um, if you are excited about this book, I’m so sorry please ignore me (but like also maybe don’t) and if you already read it and loved it, that’s fine, we all like different things!

This was a charming and steamy romance that follows professional hockey player Sig Gauthier and free-spirited harpist Chloe Clifford. Their chance encounter is electric, but things get complicated when they discover their parents are engaged, making them future stepsiblings. Despite the forbidden relationship, Sig helps Chloe break free from her controlling mother, and they navigate their growing feelings for each other.

The forbidden romance trope was consistent throughout the book, though it occasionally felt juvenile and forced the narrative. However, I truly enjoyed the elements of found family woven into the story. The plot twist at the end was delightful and provided a satisfying happy ending.

Tessa Bailey delivers a delightful mix of sweetness and spice, making this a captivating read for fans of contemporary romance. Thank you to Netgalley, Tessa and her team for allowing me to gain access to this ARC!