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Romance Review: Fangirl Down

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you to Avon and Libro Fm for my review copies! 

Fangirl Down
By Tessa Bailey
🎧 Narrated by: Callie Dalton 
Book 29 of 2024

Do you like when an authors’ books have some similarities, or do you prefer them to feel very different?

I think this was my 10th Tessa Bailey book, and I find that I either find her books absolutely hysterical, adore the characters, and cannot put the book down, or I find it completely cringey and have a hard time finishing it. I honestly think it has to do more with the mood that I’m in when I read it than it has to do with Tessa’s writing being wildly different depending on the book. I think I was especially harsh in my reaction to Fangirl Down since I had just read Always Only You which is not extremely similar but it is a sports romance where the FMC has a chronic illness. If you remember, I absolutely adored Always Only You and think it’s one of my new favorite books, so I probably should have given that book and this one a little more space.  

🎧 Either Wells’ dialogue does not translate well to audiobook narration, or the narrator made some choices that made his dialogue really cringey. Read this one with your eyes!

What I did like about this one was how devoted Wells was to Josephine and how protective he was of her in the beginning. I could have used a little more character development for him – he seemed to change from a depressed alcoholic to a model husband and father through the power of Josephine’s sunshiney personality. 

I liked that Tessa included some chronic illness representation with Josephine having Type 1 Diabetes. I think that the book showed how difficult T1 can be without making it seem like a plot device or a character flaw. 

[ book synopsis ]

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey launches a super sexy sports romance series with a rom-com about a bad boy professional athlete who falls for his biggest fan…

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?

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New Release Books: February 13th

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Happy pub day! What are you looking forward to that comes out today or this week?

A note on the gift boxes: some of these books got on my radar because I was offered a widget on Netgalley that I did not end up accepting because obviously this is wayyyyy too long of a list for one pub day. I feel like it’s more honest to say that I was gifted a copy even if I didn’t download the free copy. 

🎁 ARC/ ALC / free publisher mail

🎁 How You Get the Girl, by Anita Kelly @readforeverpub 
Sports Romance | Workplace romance |  LGBTQ+

🎁 At First Spite, by Olivia Dade @avonbooks
Contemporary Romance | Enemies to lovers 

🎁 Fangirl Down, by Tessa Bailey @avonbooks 
Sports Romance | Grumpy / Sunshine 

🎁 The Catch, by Amy Lea @berkleyromance #berkleypartner #berkley
Fake Dating | Forced proximity 

🎁 Not Your Crush’s Cauldron, by April Asher @smpromance 
Book 3 Supernatural Singles | Paranormal romance

🎁 Projections, by S. E. Porter @torbooks 
Dark Fantasy | Gothic 

📚 The Warm Hands of Ghosts, by Katherine Arden @delreybooks 
Historical Fantasy | Great War 

🎁 Sex, Lies and Sensibility, by Nikki Payne @berkleyromance #berkleypartner #berkley
Contemporary romance | Sense & Sensibility retelling

📚 An Education in Malice, by S. T. Gibson @orbitbooks_us 
Fantasy | Magic School

📚 With a Little Luck, by Marisssa Meyer @fiercereads 
YA Romance | Magical Realism 

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Holiday Romance Mini Reviews

The week of Christmas I read 5 amazing Christmas books, putting my total Christmasy reads for this year at 7, which I think is a record! Do you like to read Christmas books or other holiday reads? Will you only read them during the holiday season, or will you read them anytime? Did you have a favorite you want to recommend to me? 

If you’re like me and only read Christmas books in December, Save this post for your next holiday season!

(Two not mentioned: Kiss Her Once For Me & Wreck the Halls, which I have longer reviews of on Goodreads!)

Amor Actually
By Adriana Herrera, Alexis Daria, Diana Munoz Stewart, Mia Sosa, Priscilla Oliveras, Sabrina Sol, Zoey Castile
🎧 Narrated by: full cast
Book 166 of 2023

A reimagining of “Love Actually” with a diverse Latinx cast! I don’t know if I could pick a favorite, but I think I especially loved the stories based on plot lines that I didn’t like in Love Actually. I don’t usually gravitate towards novellas because I don’t feel like the book is going somewhere specific. These novellas are loosely tied together by a party they are all attending at the end, and since I’ve seen Love Actually a million times, it felt more tied together than other novella collections I have read. This is the spiciest of the Christmas books that I read. Highly recommend the audiobook! 

A Merry Little Meet Cute 
By Julie Murphy & Sierra Simone
🎧 Narrated by:  Joy Nash & Sebastian York 
Book  165 of 2023

Funny, sweet, spicy, and surprisingly heartfelt.  An adult film star and an ex-boyband member are cast together in a Hallmark-esque Christmas movie. Bianca is trying to keep her less wholesome identity a secret, Nolan is one of her biggest fans, and she used to have his poster on her wall. The two try to keep it professional but are absolutely smitten with each other. I devoured this book and loved the entire cast of characters. Also highly recommend on audiobook!

A Wallflower Christmas
By Lisa Kleypas 
🎧 Narrated by: Mary Jane Wells
Book 170 of 2024

I loved hanging out with the Wallflowers for a Christmas novella. The plot revolves around Rafe Bowman, brother to two of the wallflowers, whose parents are arranging a marriage to Natalie Blanford. 

Read if: you have already read The Wallflower series (which I loved except for the first book)

Skip if: you can’t handle a man kissing a woman with dubious consent. Which is reasonable and I question myself for being able to side eye it and still enjoy the book.

The Captain’s Midwinter Bride
By Liana De la Rosa 
Book 173 of 2023

All of the lovely historical romance vibes of The Wallflowers, none of the dubious consent! I loved The Captain’s Midwinter Bride so much I read it WITH MY EYES! 

The Daltons have been married for over two decades, but barely know each other. Captain Philip Dalton is now retired, and has decided to get to know the woman he married so long ago, and the mother of his children. I loved watching the two of them get to know each other. They are also preparing for the marriage of their daughter, and I loved watching Philip explore his relationship with his children as well. I’m excited to continue this series. 

Same Time Next Year
By Tessa Bailey 
🎧 Narrated by: William LeRoy and Carmen Vine 
Book 175 of 2023

Ok, this is a New Year’s romance, not a Christmas romance, but I’m including it anyway. This is a delightful green card marriage romance if you like Tessa Bailey’s writing. She’s kind of kooky, but I love how absolutely head over heels her men are for her women on like page one. And after TWO books in a week where no meant yes (ew), I love that enthusiastic consent is also part of her romantic scenes. I loved the narrators.

Did you read any of these? Have any I need to add to my next Christmas TBR?

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December Reading Wrap Up

Happy New Year! I had a great time reading in December but am now desperately in need of a 5 star, can’t-put-it-down book! I’m hoping this month’s reread of Crescent City 2 does the trick!

❄️ Long Covid Update❄️

In December I started working with a physical therapy program that specializes in chronic fatigue and other Long Covid issues. Exercise with LC is extremely difficult because most people with fatigue symptoms get Post-Exercise Malaise (PEM) – basically you feel worse and can’t do anything else for some time after exercising. And by time, it could be days. So, definitely needed some professional help! It’s going really well overall – some days I feel amazing after PT and others I feel drained – but overall I am learning how to manage my symptoms more so I don’t have extreme energy crashes. I’ve regained a lot of mental clarity and have started to actually make plans and follow through with them! I cannot tell you how much I’ve missed feeling like an adult who can handle adult responsibilities. 

Reading Goals:

❄️ 23 for ‘23: 6 of 4 planned
❄️ PopSugar: 3 of 3 planned (finished the 2023 challenge!)
❄️ ARCs: 6 read, 2 December ARCs missed
❄️ Physical TBR backlist: 6 of 4 
❄️ BOTM: 1 of 1 (finished the 2023 challenge!) (Ok I DNFed it but that counts.)

Key:
😍 Reread
📖 physical/ebook
🎧 Audiobook
📖🎧 = mix of both
📓 ARC / ALC 
🖋 Reviewed on instagram, goodreads, TikTok
📚 Series
If it doesn’t have a 🖋, the review will be coming next month!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖🎧📓🖋📚 Undercover Bromance
📖📓🖋📚 Wreck the Halls
📖🎧📓🖋📚 A Lady’s Rules for Ruin 
😍📖🎧📚 House of Earth and Blood
🎧 Long Way Down

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
📖🎧📓🖋 The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed
🎧 Amor Actually 
😍📖📚 Lore Olympus Vol. 2
📖📚 Lore Olympus Vol. 3

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖🎧📚 The Forest Grimm
📖🎧📚 A Lot Like Adios
📖🎧📓📚 A Merry Little Meet Cute
📖📓📚 Second Duke’s the Charm
🎧📚 A Wallflower Christmas
📖📚 The Captain’s Midwinter Bride 
🎧📚 Tastes Like Shakkar 
🎧 Same Time Next Year 

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
📖🎧📓🖋📚 Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧📚 Playing the Odds (I read this just to finish the PopSugar Challenge) 

What was your favorite read in December? Do we have any books in common? Do you have any goals for January?