With salacious and witty banter, a bad boy athlete in need of a career rescue, and an independent, kind-hearted fan turned caddy, Fan Girl Down had the making of a knockout read. Yet, as my first full Tessa Bailey novel (I did enjoy her novella Same Time Next Year), this fell short.
This book is one of the most terrifying books I have ever read. I was petrified to turn the page, and I was unable to sleep and wasn’t even sure if I could finish the book, yet it was one of my top reads this year.
I proceed to read this book in less than a day! Our star, FMC Soléne, is a sexy, intelligent girl boss and divorcé pursued by Hayes Campbell, a 20 year old boy band sensation. Their whirlwind romance gave me such butterflies that I could not put this book down (maybe I have been listening to So High School too much, but it was just #swoon).
From the first sentence, this book made me obsessed with figuring out what would happen; it held my interest and handed out some very unexpected plot twists. The dual narrators both captured their characters well. Then, to my great disappointment, the author turns both heroines into complete dumbs dumbs, and an unsatisfactory ending .
So I went into this booking with high expectations and found it to be just above average. There was flirting, witty conversations, and a man ultimately head over heels for his woman. I wanted to book it to completely take my mind off the psychological thrillers I have been reading lately, and this completely did the trick.
The chemistry and banter between these two 30-somethings is fresh and funny, and the spice is on fire! Just what I needed to get me out of my reading rut!
In conclusion, I enjoyed this novel and was emotionally invested in it from the beginning. However, despite the narration and writing quality, I got bored by the end. I still recommend Berry Pickers and look forward to reading her future novels.
Additionally, both main characters are physicians, shifters, and rare forms of their species (omega and alpha, respectively). If you are unfamiliar with shifters (aka werewolves), this book has little to no world-building; I would not consider it true paranormal or fantasy.
The writing is heavy at times as it deals with the fears of aging alone, grief, and loss, but it also can be funny as we learn about Marcellus and his antics at the aquarium and his valid opinions of his human captors.
There were some loose ends in the character development I would have loved to work through, especially Florence’s grief; it just felt too surface-level for a book heavily related to death and dying. Additionally, despite one sexy conversation, I did not feel much tension between Benji Andor and Florence Day.
