Who Knew I'd Enjoy a Golf-Centered Book

 

TITLE: Fangirl Down (Big Shots #1)

AUTHOR: Tessa Bailey

PUBLISHER: Avon

PUBLISHING DATE: February 13, 2024

PAGES: 380   

SOURCE: Library

FROM GOODREADS: Wells Whitaker was once golf’s hottest rising star, but lately, all he has to show for his “promising” career is a killer hangover, a collection of broken clubs, and one remaining supporter. No matter how bad he plays, the beautiful, sunny redhead is always on the sidelines. He curses, she cheers. He scowls, she smiles. But when Wells quits in a blaze of glory and his fangirl finally goes home, he knows he made the greatest mistake of his life. 

Josephine Doyle believed in the gorgeous, grumpy golfer, even when he didn’t believe in himself. Yet after he throws in the towel, she begins to wonder if her faith was misplaced. Then a determined Wells shows up at her door with a wild proposal: be his new caddy, help him turn his game around, and split the prize money. And considering Josephine’s professional and personal life is in shambles, she could really use the cash… 

As they travel together, spending days on the green and nights in neighboring hotel rooms, sparks fly. Before long, they’re inseparable, Wells starts winning again, and Josephine is surprised to find a sweet, thoughtful guy underneath his gruff, growly exterior. This hot man wants to brush her hair, feed her snacks, and take bubble baths together? Is this real life? But Wells is technically her boss and an athlete falling for his fangirl would be ridiculous… right?

MY THOUGHTS: I absolutely could not get into the first 50 or so pages of this book so imagine my surprise when I ended up loving it.  This is exactly why I have such a hard time DNF'ing a book.  I considered it with this one and if I had, I would have missed out on something I really loved!

Joey has always worked at her family's golf pro shop in Florida and secretly has dreams to amp it up to being the best in the state.  She lives, eats and breathes golf and loves following her favorite golfer, Wells Whittaker. Wells is the resident bad boy of golf and his negative attitude is quickly tanking his career.  He finds his number one fan extremely irritating until a hurricane ruins her shop and she lands in a predicament that only he may be able to help her with.  Together they team up and Joey becomes Wells' caddie.  She wants to help him revitalize his career and save her shop, as well as her health insurance.  Wells doesn't know what he wants from Joey, but he soon finds out it's much more to her than her annoying behavior.

While I thought Wells was a grade-A jerk, he quickly grew on me once the author helped me understand what made him tick.  And overall, this is a grumpy sunshine trope at its best.  I think what helped sell me on this book is how the author handled Joey's Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis.  The book really showed everything Joey did to manage her health and some of the decisions she had to make regarding it on a day-to-day basis.  Add in Wells' response to finding out Joey's diagnosis and everything just seemed to click. Of course, I also loved the banter between the two.

This book contains quite a bit of spice so if that isn't your thing, then you might bow out of this one.  Of course, if you've read Bailey's past books, you probably know what to expect.  I also think Wells comes across pretty cavemanish at times which might make some people hesitant but rest assured, it all plays out in the end. I would recommend this to any rom-com lovers as well as the tried-and-true Bailey fans.  Book #2 features hockey but I sure hope there is a football one planned somewhere because golf isn't the sport for me, but I loved this one, nonetheless.

MY RATING: 5 PAWS