A chance meeting after car trouble brings Sig and Chloe together and the connection is instant, magnetic, inseparable. The only problem is, they run into each other again that evening…when their parents announce their engagement, they are going to be step siblings.

This hockey and musician romance builds tension as their need to be together battles against the bad press they would receive being “siblings” and in a relationship. They struggle to find a way to be together while wanting to do the right thing for the sake of each other and their blossoming careers.

The characters in this book were sweet and kind, their relationship really took time to grow and develop even with the instant connection. It keeps the reader going to find out how this might resolve or what comes next instead of giving it all to you right away.

I’ve really enjoyed this series and the focus on building relationships and character development and am looking forward to book 4!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tessa really ramps up the angst in this one! Forbidden romance in the form of ~almost~ stepsiblings who technically met before they knew their parents were engaged and were already adults. Which is complicated AF. Just a touch taboo. But I really enjoyed the book - I can’t wait for what’s next in this series!

ARC review
This was a great edition to the series! Sig was absolutely besotted with Chloe from the very first moment and gave her the ultimate princess treatment. Sig was SO supportive and Chloe was on a road to self discovery. I found that I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters, but don’t find that particularly surprising when the novel itself is dramatized for flair and effect. The book was funny and with lots of wild moments it definitely kept my attention!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC🤍

One chapter in and I was hooked with the level of spice and physical attraction between Sig and Chloe. The build up of their tension continued and I was anxiously awaiting a relief!
In the past, with Tessa Bailey’s incredibly spicy reads, I wanted more romance, more getting to know the characters and their relationship before sex, but here, we got months of getting to know each other through daily activities. Chloe isn’t necessarily a character I love; she’s pretty helpless and spoiled but Sig is a hopelessly in love with her and it shines.

Dream Girl Drama is book 3 in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey. It is about Sig Gauthier, a pro hockey player, and Chloe Clifford, his dream girl. On the way to meet his father’s new girlfriend, Sig’s truck breaks down at a fancy country club. This is where he randomly meets Chloe and the attraction is instant! But they both have somewhere to be so they vow to meet up again later that evening. Until, Sig arrives at his father’s new girlfriend’s house to find out that his father is engaged and that Chloe is his father’s fiancé’s daughter. And with their parents getting married……his future step sister!

This book has all the humor and chemistry you could want in a rom-com! It’s insta-love when they meet and record stopping when they realize they can never be more than friends. Chloe is a harp prodigy just trying to escape her controlling mother and Sig will bend over backwards and do anything to make her happy. The mix of heart and chemistry and sweet moments will overcome the frustration of the forbidden romance. The slow burn in this one is HOT! After meeting Sig and Chloe in book 2 of this series, I was excited about reading their story and it did not disappoint! You will root for their happily ever after from the start!

Read this one if you love:
-sports romance
-forbidden romance
-Lots of banter
-steamy chemistry
-dual POV
-spice

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the opportunity to read an ARC of Dream Girl Drama in exchange for my honest review.

As a long time Tessa Bailey fan, this book was exactly my brand of catnip, and I devoured it in one sitting as soon as the ARC hit my Kindle... and then proceeded to re-read it almost immediately!

This entire series has been one big hit, and having met Sig and Chloe in earlier stories, you can imagine that I'd been waiting to see how their story unfolded! Sig's and Chloe's relationship was incredibly complicated, somewhat painful and definitely forbidden, almost from the get-go. While they were both extremely interesting characters on their own, together they created this off-beat, and somewhat unique dynamic that was incredibly endearing.

However, I will say that this story didn't quite live up to the others in this series. That being said, if I have any "real" grievances about this story, it would be Chloe's immature early on - i.e. buying eye cream vs. paying rent - and the fact that Sig would always go out of his way to help her out of her many messes. It was almost like he couldn't help himself, but it was very difficult for me to see past the fact that it seemed like he was enabling her.

Regardless, this story was an enjoyable read, and one that's bound to capture the heart of many readers out there!

3 ⭐️

Let me preface this by saying many, many Tessa Bailey fans are going to EAT this book up. I am just,,, not one of them. I don't know what happened here for me but I just didn't love the storyline and the plot was a little cringey. I also wasn't the biggest fan of the writing which isn't something I normally pay attention to as a vibe reader so that sticks out to me.

”you’re a fucking star that fell out of the sky and i was lucky enough to be standing in the right place.” ₊ ⊹

my thoughts┊minus one star for the ass play 😔🤚🏻 miss bailey, i promise it is not needed in every book in this series!!

besides that, though, i kneeew this book would slap! been rooting for sig and chloe since they were first introduced, and their story was absolutely fantastic.

this does verge more on the side of insta love/lust, which usually isn’t my favorite, but the dynamic between them stopped them from trying to feel that way, which overall led to some good ass tension and angst! i loved seeing how sig shower up for chloe every damn time, and seeing chloe grow into a confident, secure version of herself was *chef’s kiss* magnificent.

simply did not want this to end <3

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Harper and Tessa Bailey for the opportunity for this ARC read!

This series continues to be a slam dunk (sorry no hockey reference 😂) As an avid hockey fan, sometimes hockey romance books fall flat or are unrealistic. Tessa put in the work and nailed it for this book as well as Au Pair Affair.

This book/couple was set up SO well in Au Pair Affair that I was literally counting down the days to read it. A++++

For whatever reason I kept picturing Seth Jarvis as Sig- but like Seth in his 2024 headshot (hello summer glow up!!). Even though Seth’s personality is more like the orgasm donor twins 💀 which speaking of the twins- I was literally cackling out loud every time they were chirping teammates or just being fucking idiots with 1 shared brain cell.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming story with can’t be together angst, a sweet as pie boy (but also spicy), a funny dog sidekick, humor and hockey, add this to your list!

It took me a long time to read this book. I just kept getting bored with it. I would pick it up read a few pages and want to do something else. I almost DNFed the book completely at 20% but forced myself to push through. I ended up finishing the book but not because it got any better.

This book was a future step-sibling book and I didn’t know that going in. I’m usually a sucker for these types of forbidden romances but this one wasn’t worth the hype to me. The characters made it their whole personalities because they didn’t know they were going to be step-siblings and then have to fight the attraction of each other the whole time, while trying to find a way to get their parents’ marriage called off before it happens.

The both MCs were smitten with each other from the beginning, being later described as love but doesn’t really feel like that at time. It definitely leant more towards lust. The FMC is a damsel is distress because she’s lived a sheltered and spoiled life and when she decides to be independent, the MMC is right there to help her (especially financially). She couldn’t do a lot of things by herself except spend $700 on eye creams and then proceeds to get a dog right after her landlord confronts her about being late to pay rent, YET AGAIN.

Everyone is trying to make sure the two keep their lives separate and not get entangled in each other, but of course, they can’t and proceed to make things worse for themselves.

To me, most of the book was predictable and that also didn’t help with me wanting to read this book. Especially the ending, I think most forbidden family love tropes end the same way— at least the last couple that I’ve read.

I will say that the MCs chemistry is hot and the banter in the book is funny at times, even with the side characters. But that’s about all this book gave me. Really disappointed as I’ve read a couple TB books before and loved them. This one didn’t really hit the mark for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

when you look past the borderline incest, questionable possessiveness, and the main character’s name’s proximity to a certain real life hockey player… this book is a cute, fun read. yes. i said that. about a love story between step-siblings. that being said, the characters felt one-dimensional. Sig— way too close to you know who— had no real personality and Chloe felt somewhat infallible. There were no real consequences for either of them, and in the end, they were bailed out at the last minute. I didn’t feel like there were really any stakes. However, this book still had cute moments that made it worth reading. I would recommend this those who are looking for a quick, cute sports romance.

Tessa Bailey the woman that you are… you never miss. This one was a fun addition in her Big Shots sports series. Continuing the storyline with the hockey team, we follow Sig and Chloe as they have a meet cute to end all meet cutes. But before they can go on a real date they learnt that their parents are engaged and they’re future..step siblings? While Sign helps Chloe learn to be independent from her controlling mother, their feelings for each other deepen, though they know it could never happen.

The premise of this book was pretty wild but I had a really great time reading it. I found Chloe’s plot line with her mother and her harp playing journey really interesting, and loved seeing her grow into her musicianship. I think The Au Pair Affair is still my favorite, but this was so fun!
4/5

Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

#bookreview #arcreview #book #books #bookish #bookreviewer #romance #bookcommunity #bookbloggers #booknerd #bookaddict #tessabailey #dreamgirldrama

💍🏒𝓐𝓡𝓒 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓡𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀🏒💍

❤️𝔇𝔯𝔢𝔞𝔪 𝔊𝔦𝔯𝔩 𝔇𝔯𝔞𝔪𝔞❤️
𝓑𝓲𝓰 𝓢𝓱𝓸𝓽𝓼 # 3
Pub date 2/4/25 🗓️

🩷 hockey player / harpist
❤️ insta love
🩷 forbidden love (future step siblings)
❤️ down bad MMC
🩷 overly jealous/ protective MMC
❤️ spoiled, naive FMC
🩷 angst and tension, spice

Ahhh so I freaked out when I got approved for this ARC and I want to start by saying I’m so thankful to @avonbooks and @netgalley for this! 🫶🏻

Quick blurb!
Sig and Chloe meet via a chance encounter and sparks fly immediately. Sig even says she’s his dream girl and they have chemistry and tension off the bat. However they soon find out that they’re future step siblings and their hope of being together is dashed.

I wanted to love this book more than I did. I loved Sig and Chloe in The Au Pair Affair and I enjoyed that book so much that I had really high expectations for this one. I still enjoyed it for the most part.

Things I liked:
🏒 found family / hockey team banter
🏒 how utterly obsessed Sig was with Chloe. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do for her. Literally.
🏒 how Chloe was brave enough to leave her posh world to gain new experiences and prove herself in Boston
🏒 the plot twist at the end and the epilogue was great

Things I didn’t like:
🛍️ how naive and spoiled Chloe was the majority of the book. Like who buys eye cream instead of paying rent?
🛍️ how it was complete insta love and there was no real build to their infatuation. Felt more like lust than love. I wanted to experience the smaller moments that led to them loving each other. There was really no emotion for me.
🛍️ some cringy parts with the spice
🛍️ how Sig was so obsessed it was like a major red flag 😂 I love a jealous MMC but some parts were almost overdone and unrealistic? With the lengths he would go for her.

➡️ I know everyone has different tastes in books so just because I didn’t like something doesn’t mean you won’t! You may love it. These are just my personal opinions.

This one was HOT! Super spicy! The attraction between the MCs was instant and palpable. I really loved them for each other - her, a spoiled and sheltered country club princess and him, a hardworking, selfless hockey player still working his way up the NHL payscale.

My only beef with the storyline was their reason for not being able to be publicly together. It felt a little flimsy and everyone’s reactions to their situation seemed extreme for what I believe to be really benign for 2 grown adults.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Fans of Tessa’s other books in this series are sure to like this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 🌟

What would you do, if fate landed you stranded in front of a country club, and when you went in you met the most amazing gorgeous woman in the world, and knew basically right then and there she would one day be your wife? What would you do if yall became flirty and made plans to hook up later that night after you finished your already scheduled plans for that night, Sig on his way to meet his dad for dinner, and Chloe on her way to her house to meet her mother's new fiance, and to find out that Your dad is marrying the Dream Girls mom, so it would be so wrong to hook up with your soon to be step sister, so you have to resist? Especially when your both in the light, Sig is a professional hockey player, and Chloe is trying to get on to a prestige Orchestra as a harpist, but will their feelings get in the way of their dreams?? I was hoping we would get Sig and Chloes story, after I finished reading The Au Pair Affair, and I am so glad we got it!

3 stars. I had high expectations from this book after the anticipation from the previous book but unfortunately it fell flat. The meet cute was super cute and fun. However, the next few chapters didn't keep me as engaged then when we got to the current time I just couldn't connect. I felt like they made Chloe way to childlike. It was like she was uncapable of doing anything herself. I was partially more interested in the family storyline. However, it ended up being exactly like I expected it to be. This book just didn't hit like the last two of the series. It still had fun moments. I liked the banter between teammates and how committed Sig was but that was about it.

Thank you Tesssa Bailey, NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars. This started out pretty cute but just lost momentum as it went on. While I liked the characters, the plot seemed thin and repetitive in a lot of places. Also, I do not care for 3rd person POV and it ends up being very distracting to me the whole time I'm reading. I think I'm good on Tessa Bailey for a while, just not my vibe anymore.

Let’s be real here, I’m a slut for Tessa Bailey Books. I Devoured the first 75% of this book within 12 hours of receiving this ARC copy!! This new series has been my favorite by Tessa and I cannot wait to read more from her. 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

This is the third book in this series, and I’ve enjoyed them so far. Sig and Chloe were introduced in the last book, and I looked forward to getting more of their dynamic. I’ve always loved a forbidden romance trope, so this ticked off a few boxes for me. Sig was GONE for Chloe from the first moment, and it made me giddy.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a really anticipated read for me because I was so invested in Sig and Chloe in The Au Pair Affair and this was sooooo good! Spicy and fun! The plot was really fun and there was banter was fantastic. Definitely a quick read like most of Tessa Bailey’s books and it was just as good!