What I liked about the book:
1. I love an age gap, single father x nanny romance, especially when the FMC is not in her teen years. Tallulah was 26 years old to Burgess’s 37, and there were several things about this that just felt like a mature relationship, no doubt due to her age.

2. This book is a great example of why I love older MMCs as well. Burgess just acted like you would expect a grown ass man to act. There were several interactions where I was swooning over him for just doing...the bare minimum, and that says a lot! He also recognized his flaws and faults and worked to be better, even before their breakup. Like Tallulah, I also find that super appealing.

Here are a few of my favorite points that prove this:

She couldn’t help but remember that yesterday, when she’d explained her reservations to Burgess in the smoothie shop, he’d acknowledged them without making her feel silly or like she was overreacting. He hadn’t tried to badger her into changing her mind. He’d just quickly gone and done something to help without getting any credit.

- Why is this bare minimum so hot though? But seriously, his wanting to be her protector and supporter, but also stepping back enough to let her stand on her own two feet was just prime book boyfriend material.

She really wanted to see that garden. Enough to go somewhere alone with a man, which she hadn’t felt safe doing in quite some time.

Did she feel safe now?

“There are usually other residents up there,” Burgess said quietly while drying his hands on a kitchen towel. “Not a lot, but my neighbor’s dog gets the zoomies around this time of night and he brings her up there to run in circles…He should be there.”

- This man bringing up the fact that she wouldn’t be alone with him because he understands her thought process but he isn’t calling attention to it and definitely isn’t patronizing her for it, is just so good!

Although, she didn’t freeze up when Burgess got close, did she? No, just the opposite. She heated like a tea kettle. He had a way of approaching her at just the right pace, giving her room to stop…which only made her want more of her spaced invaded by him.

- And it’s always the big ass guys!

3. I liked how even when they were broken up, they both totally had each other’s backs and best interests in mind. When they were in Costa Rica ziplining and they had to finally flip a coin to see who went first because they both wanted to make sure the other was safe and kept bickering about it, it tore me up a little bit. Even though they were not together, their care for one another was so prevalent in everything they did. I like seeing both MCs protective of each other, rather than just the gruff MMC protective of the FMC. It’s refreshing to see the FMC be just as protective 😊

4. I also liked that Tallulah definitely made Burgess work to get her back! After breaking her trust (in probably the only way that we could have been fine with as readers, mind you), the man definitely needed to work to redeem himself and get her back, so I’m glad we got to see that.

5. It’s a Tessa Bailey book. The spice and swoon were great! There are too many lines to pick from so you’ll just have to trust me and read it!

6. I CANNOT WAIT FOR SIG AND CHLOE’S BOOK!!! February 2025 cannot come soon enough!

Sig is definitely the kick in the ass that Burgess needed several times in the book, but he also has a super soft spot for his soon-to-be stepsister, so I can’t wait to see more of that.

Chloe – Chloe is going to drive me nuts in the best way, I can already tell. She can’t tell a lie to save her life and it appears that she doesn’t know how to survive without help from Sig, who appears to be all for helping her. HOWEVER, she is a girls' girl through and through. My favorite exchange between her and Tallulah was:

*Chloe’s gaze bounces between Tallulah and Finn, lighting up with interest, and she leans in close to speak near Tallulah’s ear.*

Chloe: “Should I make myself scarce?”

Tallulah: “No.”

Chloe: “Gotcha. Should he?”

Tallulah: “Uh. Yeah, I think so.”

Chloe: “Double gotcha. Sorry, babe, I’m stealing her for drunk girl talk.”

[…]

Tallulah: “Thanks. He wasn’t being excessively creepy or anything. I’m just…”

Chloe: “You don’t have to explain. It’s just a no.”

There were seriously so many snippets of fire between Sig and Chloe from Sig launching some rando’s pen across the room who wanted Chloe’s number to quietly reading a book about investments when she mentioned wanting to open her own business. I kinda have a feeling they are going to be my favorite couple to date in this series!

What I wasn’t a fan of:
1. I felt like we didn’t get a whole lot of page time of Burgess’s daughter. With this being a single father x nanny romance, I was expecting not just more drama with his daughter, but more quality time between the three of them, father and daughter, and daughter and nanny.

2. While I understand the need and the underlying reasoning for the breakup, it just seemed really out of character how Burgess reacted. The things he said were in direct contrast to the character I’d liked for 80% of the story at that point.

3. I thought there would be more adventures between Tallulah and Burgess. They made this deal about him joining her on adventures to expand her life, while she got him out into the dating market, and that kinda just didn’t occur? There were more adventures between them once he was trying to win her back in my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

Tessa Bailey, I love you. Bailey is amazing at writing steamy rom coms, that weave in "baggage" without said baggage taking over the plot. The Au Pair Affair is a streamy story of a gruff hockey player-yes please and his much to young to be staring at her like that Nanny. For anyone is loves grumpy sunshine, hokcey romance, age gap, single dad and she makes me want to change.

5 ⭐ 3.5 🌶

Holy heck these two were so dang adorable. And Burgess' dirty mouth could cause a five alarm fire during a torrential downpour *fans self* While I did want to get violent with him at one point, I loved his grovel and was so happy these two (three if we're counting Lissa) got their happily ever after.

Wells and Josephine made quite a few appearances and made my heart so happy. Fangirl Down was one of my favorite books of the year and watching them interfere in Burgess and Tallulah's lives was the best.

Sig and Chloe HAVE to be up next or I may perish. Step siblings is one of my absolute favorite tropes and the tension and hilarious moments we get from them in this book were so dang good.

This was everything we expect from Tessa Bailey, and the reason we love her stories so much!

After getting to see Tallulah as the Antartica-based best friend in Fangirl Down, it was so fun to follow along as she finds her love story with a professional athlete of her own.

This book has so many fun tropes wrapped up in one book: single dad, hockey, the nanny, age gap, possessive MMC, but Bailey does a great job of weaving them all together, and it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Possessive and protective MMCs can sometimes be a miss for me, but it’s done in a very respectful way that isn’t belittling of the FMC.

All the characters are lovable, and despite a couple of blunders, you can’t help but to root for the two love interests to find their way to a HEA.

I REALLY hope we get a book #3 in this series, featuring a certain (future) stepsibling pairing.

Talk about sexual tension, right out of the gate! "The Au Pair Affair," Tessa Bailey's second book in the Big Shots series, is a scorching read. Burgess Abraham, also known as Sir Savage, is the captain of a professional hockey team. He has been secretly infatuated with Tallulah, his best friend's fiancée's best friend, whom he met several months ago and has now hired as his 12-year-old daughter's au pair. The attraction is mutual, and sparks fly as soon as they see each other again.

Tallulah has experienced a traumatic event in her past that has prevented her from fully living her life and allowing love in. Burgess makes it his mission to be her protector, slowly breaking down her walls. However, he faces a potential life-changing injury and lashes out at the one he loves most. Will they find their way back to each other?

Enjoyable romance, great sexual tension and very graphic sex scenes. Tessa Bailey knows how to write them!

I love a growly hero and I was so excited for their story when I read Fangirl Down.
Tallulah needs a place to stay and a job, but she is leery about new people. She has some trauma she is trying to work through and needs to feel safe. She isn't sure about Burgess, but he is definitely sure about her. He falls fast and first. She thinks she needs to spread her wings and find herself, but he knows she is best with him. He is constantly chasing her, and she is afraid to commit. After her trauma, I can understand completely. I feel like her trauma was great but it was minimized in the book a little. She had a lot of reservations but we didn't read in depth about her hurt and PTSD. It was glossed over to be a little lighter.
Burgess was a big softie and Tullulah was great with his daughter. She was just what was needed to help the communication there, even if his daughter wanted so badly for her parents to reconcile. There were parts of this book I loved and parts that had me scratching my head like... what? But overall it was a great read and I liked the longer third act break up so that each of them could work out some of their own issues and not just jump right back into things.
Thanks to Avon, Tessa Bailey and Netgalley for an early copy.

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the dynamic between Tallulah and Burgess in Tessa Bailey’s “The Au Pair Affair.” Their banter is charming and adds a delightful layer to their interactions. While Tallulah’s backstory, particularly her trauma, feels a bit predictable, it remains captivating and adds depth to her character.

One aspect I found a bit rushed was the pace at which their relationship develops. It seemed to move a bit too quickly for my taste. Additionally, the “bro banter” among the characters felt somewhat forced at times, which slightly detracted from the overall flow.

Despite these minor issues, the story remained heartwarming and became increasingly engaging as it progressed. Fans of Tessa Bailey will likely appreciate this book’s sweet and endearing nature. I’m especially curious to see if Sig gets a book of his own in the future. Overall, this is definitely worth a read!

After absolutely loving Fangirl Down earlier this year, I was looking very forward to The Au Pair Affair, which follows Tallulah, a marine biologist who has accepted a job as an au pair for Burgess Abraham, aka Sir Savage, a professional NFL player and single dad living in Boston – and who are the respective best friends of Wells and Josephine, the main characters in Fangirl Down,

And while The Au Pair Affair offers up a lot of classic tropes (hockey romance! age gap! nanny x single dad!) as well as writing full of Tessa Bailey's charm, spice, and humor (I genuinely laughed out loud several times), I found Tallulah's traumatic background and relationship with her sister a bit underbaked. Further, Burgess's actions in the third act of this book felt almost as if his personality changed entirely, and I found myself wishing for him to do *a lot* more groveling.

That said, there are great moments in this book (a swoony date, very spicy spice, a get-a-grip scene for men) and if you adore Tessa Bailey's books or generally look for hockey romances, definitely still pick this one up – especially as it seems to set up a third book in this sports series (about step-siblings!).

I knew Tessa Bailey was one of my favorite authors, and from the introduction of the two main characters in the first book, I knew this was going to be a five-star read for me. Tessa Bailey is one of my favorite authors, so when I saw that she had written a single dad hockey player romance, I knew I had to read it. Tessa Bailey did not disappoint! The sizzling tension between the characters had me hooked from the first page. Tessa Bailey did an excellent job at keeping me engaged with the story. There was never a part in the book that I found myself getting uninterested. I loved the story and plot of this book and felt that everything flowed smoothly from the first page up until the very last page. I am so grateful to have been provided with an ARC of this book.

Houston, I think I have a book boyfriend type.

Big grizzly bear of a man who, with a deep, growly voice, bosses me around while melting into a puddle every time he sees me.

World, is this too much to ask for?

Not if you are Tessa Bailey.

Meet Burgess. Deep in a career as a top rated hockey player with a body that’s fighting off career ending injuries, at 37 years old, he knows he hasn’t got too many seasons left as captain of the Bearcats. On top of that, there’s Lissa, his tween-age daughter who clearly speaks a different language, a pair of annoying rookies, and his new au pair rounding out the too loud life Burgess leads.

At least, he’s hoping Tallulah will be his new au pair.

A grad student studying marine biology, 26 year old Tallulah is driven and smart but can’t afford Boston without the salary Burgess is offering.

Except she’s got a difficult past, a traumatizing experience that’s keeping her from trusting the 250 pound slab of granite who wants to hire her.

But as Tallulah and Lissa connect, as Tallulah urges Burgess to get back on the dating scene, lines get blurred, then crossed, then everything crumbles.

Both literal and figurative injuries to all parties threaten them from finding a happily ever after. Can they mend what’s broken? You better believe they can! It’s a Tessa Bailey novel!

The dreaded miscommunication rears its ugly head but so does the spicy spice, so tomato, tamahto.

I’ve read these out of order; the culminating event is Wells’ and Josephine’s wedding but it didn’t seem to matter.

If you’re a fan of TB, you’ll love it!

Thanks to @netgalley and @avon for the eARC. This one comes out July 16, 2024.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley.

One thing about me, if it's about a grumpy hockey player I'm going to read it. And Burgess was the grumpiest, but he also had a heart of gold. This was a really cute story and the perfect length. I didn't feel like it dragged at all. A solid 4 star romance!

This second book in the "Big shots" series was a great Hockey Romance, mixed with Single Dad, Forced Proximity, and my favorite grumpy/Sunshine.

I loved this sweet, spicy sports romance, Tessa Bailey does a fantastic job creating realistic characters with with tons of growth, and its always a pleasure to read her books.

I’m completely in love with Tessa’s sports era!! I was completely smitten with fangirl down and the cameos in this one made me so happy!! The man down so astronomically bad for his girl trope is my favorite ever and this was chefs kiss

The Au Pair Affair
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tessa Bailey did it AGAIN!!! It’s the way that I’ve been in a reading drought lately, but this book really pulled me right out of it. I have to admit the first few chapters were a little slow going and I think because I didn’t read it the first book, there were some details that I was missing so I wasn’t fully invested until I got a quarter into the book. After that, I finished it in less than 24 hours mind you I am working two jobs and I’m taking summer classes at the university I’m in so that’s saying a lot.

I’m so obsessed with Burgess and Tallulah. Most importantly I am obsessed with the way that Burgess is obsessed with Tallulah😍. Get me a man who is so protective of me and worships the ground I walk on like Burgess. Don’t get me started on how good the spice was! I have to be honest as well, I did find myself crying throughout a good portion of the end, but it’s like crying over a romcom, cathartic and bound to happen. I know many people don’t love the third act break up, but when it’s done right, it’s done right- and Ms Tessa Bailey has truly mastered the art of male groveling.

But all in all, I truly do love a family trope. I love how protective Burgess is over his girls and how comfortable and safe he strives to make Tallulah feel. I love how much she learns from her and vice versa, throughout entirety of the book. Overall, a phenomenal reading experience and I can’t wait for everyone to read this book.

Tessa Bailey is my favorite author. All of her books have been at least 4⭐️ for me and this one is no exception. Age gap, nanny, forced proximity, he falls first, there were some amazing tropes here. Tallulah had some serious trauma to work through and the way Burgess didn’t help her through but helped her to help herself through it was absolutely amazing, top tier book boyfriend behavior. And the mouth on that man!! He has GAME and I don’t just mean on the ice.
It lost half a star because after the third act breakup, things got really corny. I found myself rolling my eyes several times during those last few chapters. And romcoms are my favorite genre so that takes a lot. And it just made the ending less enjoyable for me. But overall, it was still a great book. I’m rounding up because I can’t give half stars here and I still really adore Tessa. Side note, I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series because Chloe is a trip!

This series is definitely Tessa Bailey at her finest. I loved Fangirl Down and was so excited to read this nanny/single dad romance.

Tallulah and Burgess had insanely hot chemistry from the start and I loved the development of both characters that we get to see. Some of the themes in this book are heavy, including a female MC who had trauma in her past related to men. I thought these themes were handled thoughtfully by Tessa. I knocked a star off my rating because (1) in the sex scenes featuring penetration, there is no discussion of birth control and (2) I thought there were some times in the steamy scenes where Tallulah was blatantly ignoring some of the physical boundaries Burgess set. Both of these took me out of the story at the time I should’ve been the most invested. Overall I’d love to see more from Tessa in this universe (perhaps an Sig/Chloe story??)

Content flags: discussion of past physical abuse and kidnapping

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

WHEW. Just like "Fangirl Down," this book is steamy!

We met Tallulah and Burgess in Fangirl Down and this is their book! Tallulah is going to grad school in Boston and agrees to be the au pair for Burgess' 12 year old daughter in exchange for a place to stay. Their chemistry is off the charts from the get go, but the obvious power dynamics and 11 year age gap keep them apart - for a bit. This is a classic "he falls first and hard" book and I loved how much Burgess was into Tallulah for reasons other than her body. Oddly for me their saucy scenes were slightly cringe, so I didn't like this book as much as Fangirl Down. However, you can't go wrong with Tessa Bailey!

Whew,

WHEW.

FUCKING WHEW.

This love story is one for the books. (See what I did there?) Every second, every word, every letter had me in a goddamn chokehold and never let me go. The sexual tension had me dyingggg. I loved seeing our babies from Fangirl Down, as they own a piece of my heart as well. Tessa's books just keep getting better and better, and I am loving life because of her amazing romances. THANK YOU!

This nanny/boss, age gap, he falls first, sports romance has my heart forever and always. The next one needs to be in my hands soon!!! (pretty please)

The Au Pair Affair is the definition of he falls first. I was pleasantly surprised with this book, it being the second in the Big Shots Series, and I didn’t enjoy Fangirl Down as much as I wanted to. Tallulah and Burgess have a lot of depth to their relationship and while I wished they’d just communicate, instead of interpret facial expressions incorrectly, I really enjoyed the majority of their story. 75% through I absolutely loved this book. The last 15% and 3rd act breakup really put a downer on the book for me. While the breakup itself made sense, the aftermath didn’t necessarily, and I ended up annoyed that two grown adults couldn’t just communicate. They then went zero to 100 at the end. I thought Sig and Chloe were hilarious and I’m hopeful they are the next story in the series. Though I’m not sure about Chloe as a FMC. Overall the depth to the relationship and Burgess’ sarcastic smart mouth really made the book enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

"Time with you could never be a waste. Only a privilege."

Tropes:
-hockey romance
-nanny x boss
-grumpy x sunshine
-forced proximity
-he falls first and hard
-age gap
-single dad
-third act breakup

TW: chronic pain, injury, abduction (past) and PTSD, family drama (his daughter wants her dad and mom to be together)

The Au Pair Affair is book two in the Big Shots series. This is Burgess and Tallulah's story. Burgess is a hockey player for Boston and is a single dad trying his best to raise his daughter. He struggles to connect to his 12-year-old daughter and there is an opportunity to hire Tallulah to become a live-in nanny for his daughter. Tallulah is a marine biology grad trying to get her master's degree. Burgess and she make a deal that she'll become his au pair.

While I do enjoy Tessa's work, something was missing for me. The buildup and tension in the story were well written but I could have done without the third act breakup. Overall, the story was good.