Dream Girl Drama

You know you're going to get spicy romance with Tessa Bailey but after her last book, I said I was going to take a break from her. I lied. When I saw this book available at the library, I grabbed it because clearly, I have no shelf control.

I've read the first two books in the Big Shots series, and this book was exactly what I expected - Bailey's spicy romance trifecta, if you will. Insta-Lust that gave me whiplash, a domineering, obsessive male character and cringy sex talk. Don't get me started about the uncomfortable (for me) sex scenes. I should have known Bailey would go there again - IYKYK. 

This is a story about forbidden romance between two adults who meet as strangers only to find out that their parents are engaged to each other. But to say the romance was taboo and 'forbidden'? That was pushing it - it's not a Flowers in the Attic situation - these two met as strangers (just) before their parents got engaged so it all felt so contrived.

Bailey gives her readers some soap opera angst, spicy scenes, sprinkles of humour (the newbie hockey players were a hoot and the playful 'bad blood' between the professional baseball and hockey players was entertaining) and a beautiful Boston setting. The weakness in this book is Sig and Chloe - she was spoiled and frustratingly naive for a grown woman while manly man Sig was too aggressive in his obsession love for her. I'd love to see Bailey write a male main character who wasn't physical perfection and didn't have the need to dominate.

This is signature Tessa Bailey - humour and high-octane lust wrapped up in a light read. I knew what I was getting into and jumped in anyway. My bad.

My Rating: 2.5 stars

Author: Tessa Bailey

Series: Big Shots #3

Type and Source: trade paperback from public library

Publisher: Avon

First Published: Feb 4, 2025

Read: June 22-27, 2025

Book Description from GoodReads: A steamy chance encounter between a professional hockey player and the manic pixie dream girl he just can’t seem to forget takes a turn when the pair realize that their parents are engaged—in an all-new rom-com by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey.

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

Sparks fly during a moonlight kiss and the enamored 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. Oh, and they’re engaged.

Sig’s dream girl is his future stepsister.

Though the pair is now wary of being involved romantically, Chloe, a sheltered harp prodigy, yearns to escape her controlling mother. Sig promises to teach her the ins and outs of independence in Boston—but not inside his bedroom. They both know there can never be more than friendship between a famous hockey player and his high-society, soon-to-be stepsister. But keeping their relationship platonic grows harder amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more…