If you like reading romance novels, you’ve likely read at least one of Tessa Bailey’s books because she’s one of the best writers in the genre!
She is a prolific New York Times bestselling romance author, known for her blend of humor, swagger, and emotional sincerity. Her breakout hits, such as It Happened One Summer and Hook, Line, and Sinker, set the stage for her Big Shots series, featuring sports-themed rom-coms that bring powder-keg chemistry, laugh-out-loud moments, and emotionally rich characters that feel real enough to know personally.
Her romance novels are so popular that her biggest hit, It Happened One Summer, is being adapted into a movie. And if things go right, we might see more of her books adapted for the screen!
The first book in the Big Shots series, Fangirl Down, was published in February 2024, followed in July 2024 by The Au Pair Affair. The series continued with Dream Girl Drama, released in February 2025, and Pitcher Perfect, which was released in September 2025. A fifth book is scheduled for release next year!
The Big Shots books are standalone hockey romances set against high-stakes backdrops like professional golf, live-in nanny situations with single dads, and families thrown into unexpected closeness, all underpinned by Bailey’s signature warmth, growth arcs, and delightful heat. You don’t have to read them in order, but staying on track amplifies charm and character introspection.
What makes Bailey’s style so addictive is her bold characters, sizzling slow-burn romance, and sparkling dialogue that zips off the page. She’s often described as the “Michelangelo of dirty talk,” thanks to her gift for writing on-the-nose banter and heartfelt, spicy connections.
In this guide, we’ll outline how to read Tessa Bailey’s Big Shots series in order to enrich your reading experience. So, let’s get started!
The Big Shots Series Reading Order:
All the books in Tessa Bailey’s Big Shots series are standalone hockey romances, so you don’t have to read them in order. However, reading them in their release order is still recommended to fully enjoy the series and the author’s narrative arc.
Tessa Bailey’s Big Shots Series in Order:
1. Fangirl Down (2024)
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?
2. The Au Pair Affair (2024)
Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.
Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how.
But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his intense chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift forms, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—she breaks her own heart and walks away.
Though Burgess knows it’s for the best, a chance meeting and a new push from his daughter force him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah.
3. Dream Girl Drama (2025)
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. However, keeping their relationship platonic becomes increasingly difficult amid the developing family drama, especially knowing they were meant for so much more!
4. Pitcher Perfect (2025)
Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate is his roomie, and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet. That is, until he meets Skylar Paige, a Division 1 softball pitcher, the girl least likely to take anyone’s bull, and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms.
Robbie might be dazzled by the badass pitcher, but Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him.
When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself.
Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend/love coach at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?
Through a series of contests that require them to trust each other, Robbie and Skylar grow closer and closer until their fake relationship starts to feel like the realest thing they’ve ever known, and the sizzling lessons in sensuality burn out of control.
5. Catch Her If You Can (Releasing in Jan. 2026)
Madden Donahue, the newest catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with Eve Mitchell since high school, but for some mysterious reason, the burlesque club owner always turns him down. That never stopped him from being her self-appointed protector.
Case in point, now that Eve’s sister has left Eve with her two children indefinitely, Madden steps in with a proposition—marry him for the much-needed health benefits.
Eve has secretly harbored feelings for Madden all along, but there’s one problem—her best friend Skylar called dibs on him when they were fourteen. Eve has always put their friendship above all else, and she’s not willing to risk losing Skylar over a man.
Raised by the local strip club owner, Eve is woefully short on friends and treasures the ones she has. But with Skylar happily paired off, Eve finds herself accepting Madden’s proposal—on the condition that their marriage remains strictly private. She’s not about to let her unique profession and maligned reputation destroy Madden’s shiny new career.
Madden won’t let Eve get away that easily, though. What starts as a marriage of convenience soon ignites into something much hotter, and now it’s up to Madden to convince Eve that their connection is far more than a business arrangement. As the passion builds, can their fake marriage become the real deal?
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