Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey Review
Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey is my seventh book and my second favorite by the author ( following Wreck the Halls that published this past Fall). Fangirl Down releases on February 13th, just in time for a cute Valentine's Day read. This book was such a great rom-com that it had me smiling and giggling throughout the whole story. Fangirl Down was my first sports romance that was centered around golf, and I am here for it. We are a golf family and Tessa really crushed the golf scene.
Synopsis
Josephine grew up with a golf-centered life. She and her family own a golf pro shop in Palm Beach, Fl. Her adoration for golf isn’t just about nostalgia or her love for playing the sport, but it is also about Wells Whitaker, a professional golfer. Whenever Wells comes to town to play in the local tournaments, Josephine is his biggest fan. She is always there decked out in Wells Whitaker gear and her infamous sign “Wells Belle.” But Wells has not been doing so hot the last two years. His attitude and lack of winning has made him lose sponsorships and fall so far off the leaderboard that he is no longer bringing in the dough. When Josephine shows up for a tournament after winning a luncheon with Wells, she is very disappointed when he rips apart her sign and exits the course, quitting the tournament.
Wells has been drinking himself into oblivion ever since he quit the tournament three weeks ago. He let himself completely fall apart. He is done with golf. But all he can think about is the fangirl. She mentioned she lives in Palm Beach and owns a golf pro shop, and a hurricane had just blown through there. Is she okay? Why does he care? He decides to make the 90 minute drive to check on the small golf shop and the belle.
When he arrives, Josephine is very curious about why he’s there, so he makes up a story about visiting a friend. The shop is completely ruined, but at least she has insurance, right? Wrong. Josephine had to cancel the insurance in order to buy insulin to maintain her type 1 diabetes, meaning Josephine is screwed. Wells offers to give her the money, and when she refuses, he offers to hire her as his caddy. Josephine accepts, which means Wells has to do whatever he can to get back in the tournament and figure out a way to get back to winning so he can help make Josephine more money. What he doesn’t expect, is to actually start winning and how quickly his feelings for Josephine grow.
Review
What a delightful read! I had so much fun reading Fangirl Down. It has some of my favorite tropes including: sports romance, workplace romance, and grumpy / sunshine. It could be argued this book is “who actually falls first,” but it can’t be argued who falls the hardest, and I love how fast and hard Wells falls for Josephine. The banter between the two love birds is perfect, and Tessa does a great job of stretching out their sexual tension. You can feel it radiating off the pages.
While all of the romance is fun, my favorite part of this novel is Wells and how his character grows. He stays his grumpy, cocky self throughout the book, but you can also see how he is transforming into a better person. He is able to reflect on his past decisions and what led him to where he is and see mistakes he has made along the way. Josephine really helps him with this, making them even more the perfect duo.
The diabetes representation is great, especially since it is not something that comes up often. I think it is great to bring awareness to all the struggles diabetics have, not just the disease itself, but the way in which people treat them. There was also some mental health representation in this book too, which is always a win for me.
Tessa also set the next book up perfectly, leaving me so excited for it to come out in July, The Au Pair Affair, the second book in the Big Shots Series. I feel like Tessa, as an author, is growing as well, and I can’t wait to see what else is in her future.
Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me a copy of Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey.
Read if you love:
-Sports romance
-Workplace romance
-Golf
-Grumpy / sunshine
-Spice
-Fun banter
-He falls first
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