Sig meets Chloe when his car breaks down in front of the country club she belongs to. When the door man won’t let him in to make a call, Chloe steps up and helps him. They feel an instant attraction and start hooking up, but then realize they both have somewhere to be and plan to meet up later. Unfortunately, they come to find out that their parents are engaged to be married and therefore they will be step siblings soon. This makes their attraction forbidden from those around them personally and professionally.

I love how Sig helped Chloe become more independent, while still being protective. When she didn’t know how to do something, he never made her feel stupid. He just guided her and made her feel strong. I didn’t know how I’d feel about Chloe’s character, but I ended up loving her. I thought she’d be too ditzy for my taste, but she was just sheltered with nobody to show her how to do things for herself until Sig came along. She was actually very smart, sweet, passionate, and loving person.

I have to say, I don’t know how Tessa does it but Sig and Chloe’s chemistry was through the roof! I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air!
I was rooting for them the whole time! I laughed at the banter, my heart sank with heartbreak at times, and my heart beat with happiness at other moments.
I found myself trying to figure out ways they could be together and still have their careers and dreams. I never thought I would enjoy a more taboo relationship like this, but I loved it! I didn’t see the resolution coming, and I actually gasped because I wasn’t expecting it. I honestly didn’t know how it was going to be resolved. I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and can’t wait for this one to be out in the world!
I really hope there’s a 4th book in the series!

I was really excited to get the ARC of this book because I was so curious about Sig and Chloe’s story after The Au Pair Affair. It was definitely a fun romance read. The step siblings plot line definitely kept the story interesting. There were some really sweet moments in this story. Sig was an overprotective softie for Chloe, which is what I love to see. The only thing I wasn’t completely sold on was their first meeting was very instalove, but I liked their growth together and seeing Sig support Chloe’s independence and help her fulfill her dreams was very satisfying.

I always read Tessa Bailey's books and I was so excited to read this 3rd book in the series having just finished the 2nd one. I was a little disappointed at first because I thought that the book started off weirdly fast. Like it was rushed and trying to tell a lot of a backstory in a very short amount of time. Because of that, I felt like I was having a hard time connecting to the characters at first. But as the book continued, the pace slowed down to a less frenetic speed and I was able to really enjoy the two characters and their love story. While this wasn't my favorite in the series (the 2nd book was the winner in my opinion!), this was another really good Tessa Bailey book!

ARC Review:

If you loved Liz Tomforde’s Windy City series, then you’ll also love this! Somehow, I didn’t see the ending coming. However, is it just me, or was there another obvious solution??

The nickname was kinda cheesy to me (“Dream Girl” - “Chlo” was cute). He’s also trying way too hard to provide for her financially. It’s sweet, but he knows love is more than money, so it’s weird that he has this hyper-fixation to get her the rich lifestyle she had with her mom.

The author did a great job on developing the FMC, but I could used a little more on the MMC. However, their love felt palpable, and I felt their pain. This is the worst situation to be in!! I also loved how thoughtful, considerate, and protective the MMC was.

Imagine dropping everything you’re doing and actually pursing your life goals. Remember that unequivocal freedom you feel when you first move out? That’s how reading this book feels. It’s never too late to be independent. It can be scary, but also invigorating.

Details: kinda forced proximity/friendship, FORBIDDEN LOVE, hockey, bulldog, harp, money, strawberry poptarts, opposites attract, parental issues, SPICY, dual POVs

Quotes:

“I'll love you enough for this whole city.”

“…sometimes she wondered if loving someone and not being able to acknowledge and act on it could suffocate her to death.”

“I would sell my fucking soul for you and smile while I signed on the dotted line.”

“I saw a person who made me want to trust the good in people.”

“I'll love you until the sun goes dark.”

“He lived for those details.”

I’m so grateful to be approved to read this book! I absolutely enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down! Tessa did An amazing job writing these two characters out and I thought the story was beautiful. The humor was my favorite in this book. I think this book would be a great palette cleanser for many readers as it will get you right back into reading again :)

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book! I’m a big Tessa Bailey fan, and after reading book #2 in The Big Shots series, I was looking forward to Sig and Chloe’s story.

In true Tessa Bailey fashion, it’s an “insta-love/lust” trope with lots of spice. It follows Sig and Chloe (future step-siblings) as they navigate their “forbidden” feeling’s for each other.

I really enjoyed this book! The banter and relationship between Sig and Chloe was so cute. And their chemistry was IT. Sig definitely became my new favorite book boyfriend. He’s everything you could want in a MMC.

Tessa Bailey can do no wrong in my eyes. Overall, it was a great addition to the series and I can’t wait for the future books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for giving me a chance to read an ARC copy of this bookp

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Tessa. The queen of dirty talk does not disappoint with this book. And it’s a hockey romance too! Bonus points for that.

Sig and Chloe are such an adorable couple and I love how supportive they are of each other’s lives. My only complaint about this book is this- did Chloe get to keep the dog forever? Or did she have to return him? I feel like Pierre was better off with Chloe honestly.

I only give 5 stars to books I’d read again. And while this was an adorable romance, there is a never ending TBR.

This was a really good book! I’m so glad I got an e-arc of it from NetGalley. This storyline was good and I loved the appearances by Tallulah and Burgess. Chloe and Sig were good characters, but I’m not going to lie. I didn’t love them near as much as Josephine/Wells or Tallulah/Burgess. Chloe does well gaining her independence, but she’s very much the “dumb blonde” so to speak and I just didn’t love her character. Sig I also felt like was obsessed from the start instead of easing in and having to realize he liked Chloe similar to how Wells and Burgess had to come to that realization. All in all, this was a good read though!!!

Oh my, the tension build up in this book between Sig and Chloe was palpable. A desire that is enhanced by forbidden fruit. When the tension is so strong and they finally give in, the fire was so amplified. Both trying to do the right thing, only to learn they've been deceived and their love isn't a sin like they were led to believe. And a happy ending. This book hit all the marks for me!

This books reminds me of my wattpad reading days. I loved this book up until the end, which is the reason for 1 star reduction. The plot twist was a different way of handling this trope, but I'm not sure it made the difference to me that it was hoping to. Kinda wish it took the standard way of resolving this trope. It's still a HEA, but I don't know. It just wasn't as satisfying as I hoped.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and Tessa Bailey for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up!

Let me start by saying I was absolutely jazzed to get the ARC of this book... but I hadn't read the first two books in this series, so I finished those right before this one. Sig and Chloe make their debut in The Au Pair Affair, and I wasn't completely sure what to make of Chloe. That book made her sound a little dumb and incompetent, so I looked forward to learning more about her in this book.

Sig and Chloe meet and immediately start falling for each other, but they both have a dinner to get to, so they agree to meet up afterward. Except, when they get to dinner, they realize their parents are together and not only that, they're getting married. So, Sig and Chloe can't be together, but she does move to Boston where she and Sig get closer but continue to not act on their growing feelings for each other. At this point, I was screaming, "They're not blood related, what's the problem?!?!" The problem is optics; he's a public figure. She's a child prodigy from a wealthy family, and it just wouldn't look good.

The longing in this book is. So. Real. And heartwrenching. While their connection was quick, the relationship built up is a slow, slow burn. And, I'm happy to report that Chloe has much more depth than I gave her credit for.

You guys (and girls) this book was excellent! It wasn't as spicy as Tessa's other books, but there are a few spicy scenes (gotta love that forbidden love). The only reason I took off half a star is because the timeline doesn't match up with the second book.

I can't wait for Corrgian and Skylar's book, then, I'm assuming Mailer and Reece's book!

3.5

This book had some of my least favorite tropes and I still enjoyed it ( which says a lot!) The step-sibling trope and insta love are not my favorite kind of tropes, but with that being said I am so glad I read the full book because towards the end the book really won me over… the plot twist!!

Sig is a hockey player and Chloe is a harp protege. Sig has known what it is like to work hard and Chloe has had everything handed to her. Sig and Chloe instantly fall in love and then hours later discover they will be step siblings in a few months. For the next couple of months they struggle with avoiding the attraction they feel for each other. Sig would do anything for his dream girl and he proves that again and again. Even at moments that he knows he cant have her, he makes sure no one else will. I do wish Chloe had more of a character development. She just acted very child like for a good amount of the book and that frustrated me. Then again, this is her first time really doing things on her own.

Although this book was a 3.5 for me, I can see this being easily a 5 star read for many!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars rounded up for me!

What can I say? Tessa Bailey writes a good book and always will. This one isn’t one of my favorites by her though. Still a good story, but nothing that really drew me in or made me neeeeed to keep reading.

I loved the devotion and connection that Chloe and Sig share, without fail, throughout this story. My big gripe comes from the fact that the entire premise of the book’s conflict seemed weak. Mainly, according to the plot, they’re unable to be together because they are about to become step siblings. There is no relation by blood. They didn’t grow up together in the same house. They are adults who live their lives. Maybe I’m odd for thinking their parents getting married is a moot point? I understand the societal implications in a well-to-do community, but it seems far fetched that contracts of professional athletes and musicians would be on the line with something as far into the gray area as this. Idk, but it was frustrating for me to have that moot point be the entire plot. Sorry, not sorry.

Tessa Bailey never disappoints. I love that her novels have interwoven characters and situations. Her books are fast paced and witty and fun. This particular book makes you feel all the feels. The characters seem vulnerable and relatable. I didn’t feel there was as much spice as some of her other books, but there is definitely some. I will never not read a Tessa Bailey book. Highly recommend.

Despite the fact that they find out they’re going to be step siblings, Sig and Chloe have an undeniable attraction to each other. Try as they might, sometimes harder than others, they are unable to deny their attraction. The storyline follows them to Boston as Chloe tries to make it on her own without the financial support of her mother. Sig and Chloe are both chasing their dreams, but those dreams might not be able to include each other. The twist at the end was one I didn’t see coming.

I was over the moon when I received the ARC for the latest Tessa Bailey romance. When I finished The Au Pair Affair I couldn’t wait to read Sig and Chloe’s story. The step-sibling trope isn’t one of my faves but I trust Tessa Bailey implicitly and I will tell you, that trust was rewarded. Sig and Chloe have one of the best meet cutes I’ve read in a long time: immediate chemistry with rapid-fire flirty conversation and an instant understanding of the other person. I’ve railed against instalove in romances but when it is done well, it makes you believe in love at first sight.

So Sig is a professional hockey player who grew up dirt poor, raised by his mother after his father abandoned them. But he is in a good place now - he just wants to renew his contract, make some more money, and become the captain of his team. Chloe grew up Connecticut-country club rich, a harp-playing child prodigy. She has never had to do much of anything on her own. A flat tire and a dead cell phone lead Chloe and Sig to a chance meeting and both imagine it could blossom into more, but when they find out their parents are engaged, they realize that a love affair is not in the cards for them. But Sig is still going to help Chloe break out of cocoon and go for her dreams, even if it is torture for the two of them to be around each other.

Bailey knows how to ratchet up the sexual tension to about 110, drawing out the longing between these two characters. It makes the payoff so good. But also, I genuinely wasn’t sure how she was going to resolve the major problem SIg and Chloe are facing; breaking up the parents felt like such an easy solution, it didn’t feel like it would fit the storyline. I always enjoy when I am kept on my toes a bit with a romance novel.

If you are a Tessa Bailey fan, you are going to love this one. If you’ve not read Tessa Bailey yet, (what? why??) I wouldn’t start here, go read the other two books in this series first and then dive into this one, you will be so glad you did.

Tessa Bailey delivers yet another steamy, heartfelt romance with Dream Girl Drama. This story is packed with her signature charm—sizzling chemistry, whip-smart banter, and deeply relatable characters. The protagonist’s journey of self-discovery and vulnerability is both touching and empowering, while the love story is the perfect mix of sweet and spicy.

What sets this book apart is the emotional depth, as Bailey explores themes of self-worth and personal growth alongside the romance. However, a few predictable plot twists kept this from being a five-star read for me. Still, it’s a fun, satisfying ride that I’d recommend to any fan of contemporary romance.

A solid, swoon-worthy pick from Tessa Bailey!

I was so excited to read sig and Chloe's story! Their tension in the previous book was so fun! I actually really enjoyed reading a forbidden romance trope in a rom com setting! We got to see the back story of how they met before they found out about the step sibling! I love that you know exactly what to expect out of a Tessa Bailey novel and she delivers on spice and banter. Sig is so persistent and so kind and the way he goes out of his way to show his love!

3.5 stars! Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

Stopped reading at 60%. It’s an insta-love romance (don’t love this trope) with a super intense guy and a very sheltered girl. It overplayed her ditziness and a lot of toxic behavior on his part. Not for me.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!

*Dream Girl* by Tessa Bailey is a delightful, steamy romance that balances humor and heart. The story follows a woman navigating love and self-discovery while dealing with family expectations and a complicated romance. Bailey’s signature mix of sharp wit, sizzling chemistry, and emotional depth makes this a compelling and fun read for fans of contemporary romance.

Loved this one so much!!! Thank you for this ARC!!