Tessa Bailey’s romances are steamy and silly and lots of fun, and Dream Girl Drama is no different. If you loved It Happened One Summer, this book has a similar energy, which skirts around the edge of taboo (well, not really really, just Tessa-taboo).

Hockey player Sig Gauthier is off to meet his dad and soon-to-be stepmother when car trouble lands him at a fancy country club. There he meets Chloe, a gifted harpist, (a Piper Bellinger/Alexis Rose character), and they share an instant connection but they find out she is the daughter of his father’s fiancée. Even so, Sig whisks her off to Boston and sets her up in an apartment he can’t afford, while telling himself he is looking after her and giving her the space to grow up away from the cosseted but stifling life she had with her mother.

Phew! That’s a lot, and it’s a lot to process in this charming but ridiculous romcom. Chloe is a honey, but she’s been overprotected to the extent that at twenty-five, she has never made a decision for herself, has no idea about the value of money, or how to catch a bus, or even how to do the laundry! There’s plenty of comedy around Sig indulging her as she finds her feet and they fall in love, but it feels like there’s more at stake for Sig because he’s risking his job, his finances and his reputation, while Chloe is so clueless that she has no idea of what he stands to lose by being involved with her.  She does experience growth as she learns to do things for herself, but Sig definitely has more to lose and her story is not as compelling as his. Luckily, he pulls it all together – just in time.

Dream Girl Drama has all the Tessa Bailey staples – it’s funny and fast paced, the dialogue is snappy, and Sig and Chloe are vulnerable and likeable. It’s a slow burn (because of the possible step-sibling thing, and for Romance Reasons), but once they give in to temptation, the sex is filthy and vocal and they are very well matched. The protectiveness/possessiveness Sig displays which might be concerning if this was at all realistic, but luckily for them (and us!), it’s a spicy fairytale. From the actual gazillion dollar harp, to the bulldog, Sig’s teammates (Corrigan and Mailer – the Orgasm Donors), private detectives, Chloe’s toxic mother, paparazzi, a last minute race to the happily ever after, this is a riot.

There’s nothing here to dislike if you love Tessa Bailey. Chloe is gorgeous, she loves Sig’s overprotectiveness and their future together will work out just fine.