I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in this series. It had genres that I enjoy..
close proximity, both Tallulah and Burgess took awhile to find each other. It was not exactly a slow burn but close enough. I also liked Lissa, Burgess’s daughter who Tallulah was nannying. The secondary characters were fun and I will be looking forward to Sig and Chloe’s next. As always with a Tessa Bailey book, the writing was very good and the storyline fun. Really appreciated this.

Tessa Bailey....This was the best! Funny, sassy, romantic...This has it all! Once again Tessa Bailey rocked it! Thank you for a great read!

Burgess is your next book boyfriend. Grumpy, sweet, and alpha he will grab your heart. Tallulah is funny, fierce, and all heart. Their romance is steamy, sexy, full of tension and will keep you invested. I loved this one from the beginning. I was completely invested by the first few pages and read it in one sitting.

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey was just phenomenal!
Tessa Bailey never disappoints me! I absolutely LOVED this book. The banter, plot, characters, the spice. It was so all amazing.
This book was fun from start to finish, and one of Tessa Bailey's best.
She knows how to keep her readers engaged from the very beginning very beginning!

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you @avonbooks for the gifted ARC of THE AU PAIR AFFAIR!

Phew! The **tension** in this book just pours off the page from the very first chapter. And while I ate it up for the first two thirds of the book, Tessa Bailey lost me by the end. The third act break up made sense (he majorly f*cked up) but by the time they finally got back together, I was kind of over it because it was so will they/won’t they for too long. Also the FMC’s past trauma and her reaction to it felt a little extreme for a romcom.

Overall I really enjoyed this one because of Burgess. He is such a good dad and wants so badly to be a good dad to his tween daughter (even though he is the definition of clueless!). He’s just the definition of a big, growly protector (which duh he’s a hockey defenseman!). When he messes up, he owns it immediately. He’s open to feedback and tips to be a better father. And he adores Tallulah for who she is and doesn’t want to change a thing about her.

Pick this one up for:
✨ hockey romance
✨ nanny x boss
✨ grumpy x sunshine
✨ he falls first and hard
✨ forced proximity (roommates)
✨ age gap (11 years)
✨ single dad

THE AU PAIR AFFAIR is out today!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6606371410
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9fWKzmvoER/

Thank you to Tessa Bailey, Avon, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

One of my favorite tropes is "single dad" so I knew that I was going to devour this book.

I already liked Tallulah from the first book, and I love her now. She's quirky, sweet, and is always there for others. Burgess is trying hard to have a connection with his daughter. But this man and his dirty talk. I mean come on.

Together they are the perfect pair, even though they try to fight it in the beginning.

4.5 stars

After Fangirl Down, when we first met these characters - I was SO excited for this book and SO happy I actually got a Tessa Bailey ARC! I’m not always a fan of age gap and single parent tropes, but I loved Lissa’s character and loved seeing her and Tallulah’s relationship throughout. The age gap was done well, and didn’t overshadow anything for me. All in all, this book did not disappoint, and while a little slow to start, I was hooked right away. The story and the hockey family (as always) sucked me in, and while there was a third act breakup that took a while to reconcile, I kind of loved how everything worked out in the end! As always, Tessa is queen of spice and sexual tension, so no notes there!

Tessa and hockey romance – what more could I ask for! There was a hint for a third book in the series, so I’m pretty excited for that one as well, and I loved the update on Wells and Josephine and getting to see their happily ever after!

Definitely check this one out if you love:
- Hockey Romance
- Nanny/Boss
- Age Gap
- Single Dad
- Forced Proximity
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- He Falls First

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Harper Voyager for this ARC!

This was another fun, silly, and spicy hockey romance book. Very much on par with Tessa Bailey's other work. It features the FMC (Tallulah) who is a nanny/au pair a pursuing a grad degree in marine biology. She works for a MMC hockey player single dad (Burgess) who is eleven years older. Overall it was a cute book. I enjoyed the side characters such as Sig, Chloe, and the rookies. The jokes and banter between them were great. I liked the STEM aspect of Tallulah's background and interests. It was also refreshing that Tessa higlighted some of the worries/anxiety/health concerns that pro athletes face through Burgess character. While I liked this book, I didn't love it. For me, I felt like the banter and conversations between Tallulah and Burgess were missing something. I wanted more from their interactions and relationship. It fell a little flat to me. I also felt like there could have been more depth behind the relationship with Burgess daughter Lissa and the element of adding in Tallulah as an au pair.


Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC!

As if I didn’t love Tessa Bailey enough before, now she had to go and write a hockey romance! And after reading the first book in Big Shots series I could not wait for Tallulah and Burgess’s story!

I absolutely adored Tallulah! She was the perfect nanny for Burgess’s daughter, Lissa, and was exactly who they needed to help bridge the gap between their parent/tween relationship. Her quirkyness and vivacious personality was the perfect compliment to Burgess’ kind hearted, quiet one.

"𝒯𝒽ℯ 𝒾𝓃𝓀ℯ𝒹 𝓈𝓀𝒾𝓃/𝓉𝒽𝒾𝒸𝓀 𝒷𝓊𝓉𝓉/𝓂𝓊𝓈𝒸𝓁ℯ 𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒻ℯ𝒸𝓉𝒶 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃ℊ𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝒽ℴ𝓂ℯ 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒻𝒶𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽ℯ 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃ℴ𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝓂𝓅𝓁𝓎 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓀𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝒶 𝓈𝒾𝓃ℊ𝓁ℯ 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽ℯ𝓇. 𝒮𝒽ℯ 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓌ℴ𝓇𝓀𝒾𝓃ℊ 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝒶 𝓈𝓃𝒶𝒸𝓀. 𝒜 𝒟ℐℒℱ. 𝒜 𝒷𝒾ℊ 𝒷ℴ𝓎."

Burgess and his love for his daughter was unmatched! I could not get enough of how great of a dad he was!

Ugh and the undeniable sexual tension between him and Tallulah?! Omg you could have cut it with a knife! Ohhh and when they acted on it?! Delicious!

Don’t even get me started on the groveling scenes after all the drama they went through! Utterly swoon worthy!

“ℐ 𝓌ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 ℊ𝒾𝓋ℯ 𝓊𝓅 ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃ℊ ℐ ℴ𝓌𝓃 𝓉ℴ ℊℴ 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓉ℴ 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉ℯ𝓁𝓁 𝓎ℴ𝓊 ℐ 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊, 𝓉ℴℴ, 𝒯𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓊𝓁𝒶𝒽. ℐ'𝒹 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁ℯ 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓁ℯ 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃ℊ ℴ𝓋ℯ𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝓈ℴ𝓊𝓁 𝓉ℴ 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒹ℯ𝓋𝒾𝓁 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒸ℯ."

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Tessa Bailey is my absolute fav and I just cannot get enough of her and her books!

If you love:
🏒Hockey Romance
🏒Single Dad x Nanny
🏒Opposites Attract
🏒Forced Proximity
🏒Excellent Banter
🏒Age Gap

Do yourself a favor and read this book asap!

The Au Pair Affair is a fun rom com that embodies the single dad x nanny trope (who doesn’t love that).

It definitely has the grumpy/sunshine vibe between these two especially their first meeting, but I loved how Burgess will do anything to have her take the job when she gets a not so happy first impression. It has that push-pull from the beginning.

Like all of Tessa’s books, I love how protective the MMC’s are and how spicy the pages become. There’s even some amazing groveling and I love a good grovel.

I do feel like some of the natural chemistry was somewhat lacking in this one though, and that certain explanations (like with his daughter), could’ve been handled better.

But overall I really enjoyed the book and this series! I definitely recommend reading.

Thank you to Tessa, the publisher and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey rarely misses! I LOVED book one and this was a very close second. The vibes were immaculate and the steam was top notch, as always.

“Hockey players are built different, aren’t they?” “You have no idea.”

Unfortunately this book just did not work out for me. I love a hero that’s down bad for the heroine, but Burgess just came off a little too fast and a little too strong for me personally. The simping himbo of it all will appeal to many, but I think my headspace was saying “ick” this go round. I think I need to stick to Tessa’s grumpy hero books. The biggest redemption was Tallulah. I thought she was interesting and I think she deserved someone to treat her as well as Burgess did, and I’m glad she mostly loved it. She had to set boundaries a couple of times.

If you’re a big fan of Tessa’s work and heroes who are down bad for the heroine quickly and are a little shy about it at first, but still do everything they can to lay an invisible claim on and protect the heroine they are gone for, wrapped all up with the hockey playing single dad and live in nanny trope, then you will love The Au Pair Affair.

Another amazing read from Tessa Bailey. Spice was amazing, the connection between Burgess and Tallulah was amazing, and I loved how much Burgess respected Tallulah. Also, the dirty talk was *chef’s kiss*. So good!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

“The Au Pair Affair” by Tessa Bailey is #2 in her Big Shots series, but I can definitely be read as a stand alone if you don’t mind being spoiled for the ending of the previous book.

Now, I was initially skeptical because I have tried to read several of Bailey’s books in the past and they have all left me dissatisfied due to the lack of substance and excessive smut but “The Au Pair Affair” finally hit the mark for me!

This book follows Burgess, a gruff hockey player and single dad of his tween daughter, and Tallulah, his live in nanny. (“Au pair”, but by definition she is not an Au pair, there is no foreign exchange happening here)

I really found myself invested in Tallulah’s story and her trauma and throughly enjoyed the romance between them although it is a little “insta-lovey” on his end which isn’t my favorite which is one of the reasons I gave it four stars.

The slow burn is not too slow which I think will make most readers happy. Overall I enjoyed this book and I would read the next one in the series!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Avon Books and Tessa Bailey for an Advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was not what I expected. I don’t really have much to say on this. Which is a letdown since I adore Tessa Bailey. The MMC didn’t have me falling head over heels for him. He honestly felt a little too toxic for me. The book did have its moments there were laugh out loud moments and tender hearted as well. I would recommend any Tessa Bailey fan read it. It just unfortunately wasn’t my favorite book by her.

Happy publication day to The Au Pair Affair!

——

”There will never be an adventure that lives up to you.”

Tessa Bailey is the queen of guilty-pleasure romance novels, and The Au Pair Affair was just as sweet and steamy as I hoped it would be! I liked this one better than Fangirl Down - I don’t read many hockey romances, but maybe I should! The grumpy/sunshine and he-falls-first tropes were really working for me here.

I didn’t feel like we saw as much nannying (or, to be honest, parenting) for a book that is billed as “nanny + dad.” And I was a little overwhelmed by the intensity of Tallulah’s past trauma, for a rom-com. But I loved the chemistry between the main characters enough to ignore all that. 3.5 stars rounded up!

——

A huge thank you to Tessa Bailey, Avon Books, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.75 This is a spicy, age gap, single father, hockey romance and I enjoyed it! I have read a few books by this author before and this one seemed right up my alley. I have seen some reviews calling this a slow romance, but I felt that with the MFC's (Talluah) back story the romance moved kind of fast.. Although, the MMC (Burgess) was very protective of her and was sensitive to what she went through. I would have liked to have seen more of Talluah's journey with the trauma she experienced and her time with her family. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper and Voyager for this ARC.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: July 16, 2024

Exactly as the title and cover suggest—this is a employer/employee sports romance between a hockey player and his daughter’s au pair. The title and cover don’t tell you that it’s an insta-lust/love-bombing age gap “forbidden” romance between a “chivalrous alpha male” and a woman who was stalked and nearly murdered by her ex (ok, trauma!) and is now reasonably skittish of men. Off the charts level of ick for me because the male MC gives predatory and possessive creep vibes similar to her homicidal ex…female MC is on a carousel of abusive relationships but if you’re looking for a super smutty open door caveman read, Bailey delivers there as expected.

*Please check the trigger warnings before reading!*

Tessa Bailey has done it again ladies and gentleman! The second book in the Big Shots series is sexy, fun, adventurous rom-com about a single dad hockey player who falls in love with his child's Au Pair.

Tallulah is trying to overcome a trauma that happened in her past. Burgess is a NHL star with a pre-teen daughter who is afraid he only has 1-2 good years left in his career. The chemistry between these two is absolutely undeniable. This is a slow burn that will have you turning the pages QUICKLY!

Read this if you like:
-Single Dad & Nanny
-He falls first
-SPICE
-Slow burn
-Dual POV

The Au Pair Affair is book two in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey. While I haven't read FanGirl Down (it's on my TBR!), I was anxious to read this one after hearing how much everyone loved the first book in this series, I just wish I had loved this more than I did.

Burgess is a professional hockey player who is in need of an Au Pair for his tween daughter, Lissa. He had met college student, Tallulah at the wedding of their mutual friends and seeing she needs a job, it's a perfect solution for both of them. Not to mention there is mutual chemistry.

It's clear that Burgess, who is 11 years Tallulah's senior, is all in on her and wants a relationship. She isn't interested in anything more than a fling. Is she ready to let love in or will she walk away completely?

While I liked quite a bit about this book, the age gap in this one bothered me. Normally I don't have any issues with age gaps, but there just seemed to be things they were both dealing with, Burgess from his divorce and Tallulah from things from her past that she hasn't overcome, that made it glaring. Also, some of the dialogue just didn't work for me and it's one of the main reasons I went with a 3-star instead of 4-star rating.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**