4.5 stars

Tessa. Bailey. I've been waiting for this story since the first time I read about them. This is the third book in the Big Shots series. The first two books I enthusiastically gave 5 stars to.

Sig is a professional hockey player and begrudgingly heading out to dinner to meet his dad's latest girlfriend when his car breaks down in front of a swanky country club. He talks his way into the country club and has an instant connection to the spoiled free spirit, Chloe. They spend hours together talking and drinking with a plan to meet up later. When Sig arrives to his dinner with his father, Chloe is there. She's his future step-sister. Dinner blows up and Sig ends up walking out with Chloe. He takes on this role of being her best friend and protector while she gets her life together and gets through school. Eventually, their chemistry bubbles over and they can't keep away from each other. There's only one problem... they are going to be family.

Sig's whole life revolves around Chloe and making her life as easy as possible. He is gone for her from the second they meet. I loved how he immediately swoops in to help during that first scene with their parents. The relationship with his parents is so nuanced. Sig feels like he has to take care of his mother and her fragile feelings all while putting up with his father's irresponsibility and dishonesty. I was happy with the resolution that Bailey created. I honestly wasn't sure how she would solve the pesky problem of their parents being married. I also liked how Chloe (eventually) took some responsibility in her own life a grew up a little. Bailey did an excellent job with Chloe. He appearances in The Au Pair Affair made her seem a bit flighty but this book made me like her a whole lot more. The characters had a lot more depth and I came to understand how Chloe could be that way with her upbringing. I cannot wait to get the next book in the series. The baseball game was pure ridiculousness and I loved it. I'm so glad we get to continue catching up with the previous couples in the series.

Tropes included: forbidden love, step siblings, protector hero, helpless heroine, hockey romance, found family, complicated family relationships, musical prodigy

Thank you to NetGalley, Tessa Bailey, and Avon Harper Voyager for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #tessaBailey #DreamGirlDrama #BigShotsSeries #AvonHarperVoyager

4.25⭐️ I received an ARC of Dream Girl Drama, and I was literally over the moon! I adored the first book in this series—probably my all-time favorite sports romance—and Dream Girl Drama definitely lived up to those high expectations.

The premise is wild: imagine meeting the love of your life, only to find out shortly after that she’s going to be your future stepsister. The tension between the characters is next level. There’s amazing chemistry, plenty of spice, and lovable characters that pull you right in. Plus, there are some fun cameos from previous books in the series, which was a nice touch.

All in all, it’s a great book with everything I love in a romance: heat, heart, and just the right amount of drama. What’s not to love? Highly recommend!

I enjoyed the chemistry and banter throughout the whole book between the two main characters. It was a different pace than I’m used to and a different relationship than I have read before but I still enjoyed the book overall. There was some extremely spicy scenes that were amazingly descriptive. I think those that are looking for a happily ever after spicy hockey romance will enjoy this book from beginning to end!

3.5 rounded up to 4

Sig meets his dream girl Chloe completely by accident, only to learn hours later that she's his future step-sister. They try to keep things friendly, but there is nothing friendly about what he feels for her.

Read if you like:
-Hockey Romance
-Men Written by Tessa Bailey
-Forbidden Romance
-Borderline Taboo
-Caretaker MMC
-Manic Pixie Dream Girl

I'm not ashamed to say that I rounded up solely for the smut. Tessa got it right with Sig.

A forbidden love between future step siblings. This was my first hockey romance but it certainly will not be my last. I really enjoyed this read. Every gal needs a Sig. A lot of happenings to an HEA. A cute spicy read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

i have quite a few thoughts on this one -
I have really liked this series from Tessa, but this one was more of a miss than hit for me.

I started this book unsure if I even was going to finish it - soon to be step siblings trope written as they meet before they even know they’ll be step siblings. It was an interesting take and i was excited for the angst and the build with banter and flirting and while there was flirting… we were in chapter 2 and the MMC was begging the FMC to have sex. It gave me the ick tbh.

I didn’t get any angst or tension build from them at all which made the romance not really believable. His character is portrayed as being romantic and caring and his actions came off as almost narcissistic controlling to me.

I continued to read because I hoped it would turn around, but after getting to the end and reading the way the step sibling trope was “resolved” i was disappointed.

It felt like this book was VERY rushed and the normal angst, tension, and banter you get from a TB book was left out. I was left underwhelmed and wishing i would have just put it down.

If you loved this book, i love that for you. Reading is subjective and this one just wasn’t for me.

Wh doesn't love a forbidden romance?! This one for me was a bit much though. I do typically like a damsel in distress, but can handle her stuff type of FMC but Chloe was borderline toddler behavior for half of the book. The chemistry between these two was undeniable but I think I just needed a bit more romance.

What an emotional ride! I loved Sig and Chloe’s chemistry throughout the whole book. Sig’s dedication to a girl who was totally opposite of him is swoon worthy! 10/10 live this and am so happy Tessa Bailey nailed it again! Will be rereading this until the hottie baseball romance that is next to bat!

I adore Tessa Bailey and have loved every single book she writes! This was a grand slam for me and I cannot wait for more books!!!

This was my favorite book so far out of the 2 previous books. I couldn't put it down and finished in less than 12 hours. The chemistry was palpable, and the author did something that made this book almost an automatic win for me. Instead of going back and forth on a timeline with flashbacks, she went from beginning to end, even though some of the events overlapped with previous books. I LOVED that. Like I got my connection to book 2 in the very beginning and got details to unexplained stories right off the bat. I saw where they started even with the overlaps of book 2 straight on to the end.
I loved the characters, and I thought Chloe was an absolute stereotypical airhead and that this book was going to be hard to read, but she showed up! And Sig was a golden retriever who LIVED for this girl.
This was an insta-love, BUT it worked for them because this story didn't need to be a "deny their feelings until a cataclysmic event happens and they don't want to be apart ever again." This book had YEARNING and adoration, which I've missed out on a lot of books these past few years.
It was a win Tessa!!!

Ever since I got a glimpse of these two characters, I’ve been dying to read their story,. and Tessa really put the puck in the net! I was a little worried because these tropes are hard to do right (step-siblings in particular).

Chloe is a child music prodigy who was sheltered and spoiled, but her character really comes into her own throughout the book. The spoiled princess character is usually hard no for me t, but Chloe somehow made it charming instead of annoying.

Sig is a pro hockey player who grew up poor and without an active dad but works hard to support his mom. He absolutely spoils Chloe and treats her like a princess and I am a total sucker for a “touch her and die” trope.

Sig and Chloe meet in a whirlwind of attraction when his truck breaks down at a Connecticut country club, only to find out hours later that their parents are engaged. The absolute angst that Tessa Bailey delivers in this one had me sweating! The forbidden aspect of the relationship really worked for me, despite not being explicitly talked about. The juxtaposition was done so well. It starts out with insta-love, but since they are soon-to-be-related-ish, the slow burn had time to really develop. It helped to provide a chance for Sig and Chloe’s relationship to deepen past the instant connection.

I will forever read whatever fun creation that Tessa Bailey puts out! I cannot wait for book four, “Pithcer Perfect.” Baseball? YES PLEASE!

I've read the first two books in this series (Fangirl Down is still my favorite) and was very excited to continue on in this series. Overall, this was a quick and enjoyable read, but was my least favorite in the series. I thought the book was a little too insta-lovey and couldn't fully understand why Sig was so into Chloe. I also had a difficult time fully connecting to Chloe, the FMC, which I think is a me problem. The FMC grew up sheltered and completely dependent on others which I just can't relate to. She's also very manic pixie dream girl which is one of my least favorite types of FMCs. On the plus side, I was bought into Sig as the MMC and Sig and Chloe's chemistry.

You also definitely do have to suspend disbelief about reality to enjoy this book. I wasn't 100% sure that the reason they couldn't be together would be that big of a deal in reality, but maybe I just have too open of a mind?

Compared to the rest of the series, I thought this book was on the milder side on the spice scale.

I think I have a guess as to which characters the next book might be about and will definitely be reading the next book in the series!

Overall, I would recommend this book if you liked the first 2 books and the series and liked or are curious about Chloe and/or Sig.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the e-ARC!

Sig and Chloe’s forbidden love story will captivate you, drawing you into their complex emotions and making you yearn to know their fate. The writing is masterful, evoking a range of feelings—laughter, tears, joy, and even anger. The steamy romance will ignite your passion, leaving you yearning for more. This book is definitely worth seeking out to discover the thrilling journey of Sig and Chloe!

Full of Tessa’s signature spice and obsessed MMCs, with just a touch of taboo. I read this in one day because I was hooked so fast- can’t wait for the next hot athlete in the series!

This book is the third book in this interconnected standalone series by Tessa Bailey. It follow the story of Sig and Chloe, two people who meet and have instant chemistry only to find out they shouldn’t. Let me start off by saying Tessa Bailey is an auto buy author for me and will continue to be so. However, I had to stop reading this book at around 80%. I know that some romance stories are insta love, and normally that doesn’t bother me. But the way these two describe loving each other SO deeply after just meeting was wild to me. It gave me the ick. I felt like most of the chapters were just “omg I would die without this person”. Maybe I just read it at a bad time but out of all three books in this series this one was my least favorite.

This book was full of things that usually make me crazy.

Step-siblings? No, thank you.

Slow burn? I'd rather die.

BUT IN WALKS TESSA BAILEY WITH HER PERFECT CHARACTERS

No seriously - I loved this book. I also read it in one sitting, because I quite literally could not put it down. I barely stopped to go to the bathroom let alone function like a person in any meaningful way.

Please read this immediately upon its release - you will not regret it!

eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a bit of a slow burn with the chemistry building a little bit of a taboo romance that I just couldn’t stop reading. I was living for the passion between Sig and Chlo. I was about to explode as I waited for it to build, and build and build…. And that final twist that I just wasn’t expecting!! I loved how Sig cheered her on the whole way through. I mean, step-brother, lover, bestie, whatever he was she was so lucky and blessed to have a man like that in her life. Where exactly do I find one? Could someone point me in the right direction. I would be seriously grateful. And Chlo brought the fun and adventure to Sig’s life to keep things interesting. All the things he did for her just made my heart turn to mush. I found myself laughing out loud at this book and I also shed some tears… like more than some. It was such a good story. I enjoyed it immensely. I cannot wait for the next Tessa Bailey book!

Thank you so much Tessa Bailey, NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

I am really enjoying this series! I am excited for the next ones already. I actually loved the ending on this one!

For a Tessa book, this one started off as a flop for me, but I persevered and ended up loving it. I think that was mostly up to personal preference though, as I like more of a slow burn and this was an instant fall in love, crash out type of love. Definitely give it a “big shot.”

✨Dream Girl Drama✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
I was so excited when I received this book. The Hot Shot series are some of the only TB books I’ve actually enjoyed. However, something about this one just felt…weird to me.

When Sig and Chloe meet for the first time, neither of them know that they are about to become step-siblings. Even though they want to be together, they know they can’t be. The tension and angst is a sloowww burn, but it’s so good. Sig is just a little too protective for my liking. More controlling..but that really might just be personal experience speaking there. He really just gave me the ick.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book. It was an easy read and there are a lot of really cute parts of this book! Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book!