This 2nd book in the Big Shots series, is the follow up to Fangirl Down, in which we met Tallulah and Burgess. Now, Tallulah has, with some trepidation due to past trauma, agreed to become an au pair for the most popular hockey player in Boston. She immediately has a soft spot for his 11 year old daughter, who is trying to navigate the murky waters of middle school girl friendships and Dad needs serious help learning how to communicate with her, and figure out how to french braid a tween's hair! The dad and daughter relationship grows, as does the attraction between Burgess and Tallulah until the Tessa Bailey fireworks explode over a very sexy date at the Boston aquarium. Just when the reader imagines the happily ever after, Lissa (his daughter) who wants her parents back together desperately- catches them kissing and a huge and huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—and walks away. What's a grouchy, heartbroken hockey player to do next?!

The au pair affair, I take it that Burgess and Tallulah were characters from the previous book that was lightly detailed to us the audience. I am sorrry I have not had a chance to read Fangirl. But I will hopefully soon?

Anyways, Burgess loves to play professional ice hockey just as much loving his daughter. But he doesn’t really know how to handle a little girl. So asking for help wasn’t to easy, yet Tallulah answered his call for help. Anyways, this was a spectacular funny between themselves.

Another great Tessa Bailey book! I didn’t love the first book in the Big Shots series so I wasn’t sure what I would think of this one. I ended up enjoying this book a lot more than the first in the series and was happy I read it. This hockey romance delivers the classic Tessa Bailey spice and has great chemistry between the main characters. The MMC, Burgess is protective in a sometimes comical way. I especially loved the portions of the book that included Sig and Chloe, the focus of the next book in the big shots series. I liked that this book set up the next one and made me even more excited to read the next book! Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

Read this book if you like:
-Single Dad
-Age Gap
-Sports Romance
-Nanny/Boss

I liked that this had Josephine and Wells in this one making appearances. Tallulah is studying to be a marine biologist but somehow moves to Boston broke and thinks she can find a place to live for $700 a month? She ends up moving in with a hot hockey player single dad and being a nanny. She is so good with his daughter-braiding her hair, practicing lines for play, teaching her how to cook and they bonded so well. Burgess and Tallulah feel a physical attraction instantly and try to keep things professional which lasts a nano second. There were lot of steamy scenes which I skip over. This book was entertaining.

It takes an injury for Burgess to realize what is important in life and make some changes. The intervention part in hospital was funny.

Burgess Abraham is the definition of “if he wanted to, he would” despite his reputation in the league.

Tallulah is working on getting through grad school and to do so she picked up a gig as a nanny. However, her new boss makes her feel like she’s playing with fire.

There’s an instant connection between Burgess and Tullulah that you can feel from the jump. Which only intensifies when she lets the big bad defenseman in on her past. He’s protective by nature and Tullulah is no different.

This book is giddy and funny yet heartwarming and STEAMY! From start to finish, you get roped into the shenanigans between Tullulah and Burgess as they try to keep their relationship professional…key word is try.

“Time with you could never be a waste. Only a privilege.”

The Au Pair Affair (Big Shots, Book 2)
Author: Tessa Bailey
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Burgess Abraham is in desperate need of someone to help out with his tween daughter. After separating from her mom, Burgess is struggling to handle the demands of his job as an NHL player while raising his daughter. After meeting through mutual friends, Burgess knows Tallulah is more than capable of keeping his daughter safe and happy in his absence. The need for extra money and a safe place to live in the city while finishing her degree in marine biology has Tallulah agreeing to be his Au Pair. As Tallulah ingrains herself in both their lives, Burgess quickly realizes his daughter isn’t the only one becoming happier. Could he really be falling for his Au Pair 11 years his junior, the girl who crashed into his life with a desire for adventure and a complicated past leaving her cautious of love? The odds are stacked against them, but we all know those hockey men are stubborn.

One of my favorite tropes to recommend is a nanny/single dad and you can bet this book is being added to that list of recommendations. The protectiveness that Burgess places upon Tallulah from the first moment he learns about her past made my heart so happy. We love a grumpy athlete who is protective over those he loves. The complexity of both main characters and their past made for some emotional moments. There are a lot of big emotions that can be easily felt by the reader as well. A book that makes me feel something is a book well written! Anything I was anticipating out of this read was completely exceeded. I am hoping for a book three in this series because I am nowhere near done with these characters yet!

If you like:
Hockey Romance
Forced Proximity
Age Gap

Reviewed by: Karley🧡

This review was written by members of the Sporty Spice Book Club (sporty.spice.book.club on both Instagram and TikTok).

The Au Pair Affair is another AMAZING book by Tessa Bailey! I was absolutely smitten with the electric dynamic between Tallulah and Burgess. Despite their differences, their ability to open up and show their vulnerable sides to each other was just heartwarming. A total page-turner! If you're into hockey romance, this book is an absolute must-read. I would like to add that I did enjoy Fangirl Down a bit more. Awesome read though!

Gimme a big boy.

This book was so cute! I didn’t think I’d like it as much as Fangirl Down, but I think it was actually better (both five star reads for me).

Thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooks for my advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Burgess and Tallulah were the cutest couple. I liked the slow burn and how Tallaluh was trying to wade through her past trauma to have a relationship with Burgess. I hadn’t really read anything like that in a TB book previously. It was deep and emotional. Burgess was just this big mountain of a man teddy bear. 🧸 There were also some appearances from Josephine and Wells which I enjoyed.

Read this if you like:
🏒 Single dads
🏒 Nanny x boss
🏒 Age gap (MMC is 37, FMC is 26)
🏒 Forced proximity
🏒 Grumpy x sunshine

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Tallulah is not sure she should take the nanny position for a hockey player. After watching him play, he scares her. A quick read.

A beast on the ice has his work cut out for him when he tries to win the heart of a young woman he's hired on as his nanny. She's a little bit skittish when it comes to trusting men. There's an attraction there no doubt, but she doesn't trust her judgment enough to fully give in to the temptation. Both wonderful characters, and he is quite swoony. There is an age gap of about 10 years. While this can be read completely as a stand alone, it is part of a series and the previous book's featured couple plays a role in this one, so there may be some spoilers if you have not yet read that book. (There are also hints about the characters of the next book.) There are some laughs. Plenty of emotional struggles. Generally speaking, it's a light hearted read, but there is some subject matter that brings a heavier and darker vibe. There is sexual content and some mild-strong language at times. Overall, it's a good read featuring a brute who finds himself getting 'soft' due to his exposure to the young ray of sunshine he's enamored with, and that ray of sunshine who learns how to accept the love of another for what it is and without any pretense. My only complaint is the frequency the author used "oranges and basil," when the MMC was referring to her and her scent. It seems like anytime the guy was thinking of her (which was often,) that scent was mentioned. That's pretty much the only thing I can tell you about her. I don't remember the color of her hair or her eyes... just that she always smelled of oranges and basil.

*I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley.

The Au Pair Affair is the second novel in the "Big Shot" series, and the story of Tallulah and Burgess. We first met these characters in Fangirl Down when Wells flew in Tallulah to surprise Josephine. During that trip, Tallulah meets Burgess, and we knew there was something going on...

Fast forward, Tallulah is a grad student who needs someplace to live in Boston, and Burgess is a gruff professional hockey player who needs an au pair for his 12-year-old daughter, Lissa. In much appreciated Tessa Bailey style, Burgess is an alpha protector who finds himself very attracted to his daughter's au pair, but it's clear that Tallulah's struggling with a past trauma.

Get ready for all the fun with forced proximity, grumpy vs sunshine, gruff and sexy hockey player, and some of that famous spice. The good news is that the story will (hopefully!) continue with Sig and Chloe, so we haven't heard the last from Tallulah, Burgess, Wells, and Josephine.

The main characters of The Au Pair Affair, Burgess and Tallulah, are introduced in Fangirl Down, the previous book in this new sports romance series by Tessa Bailey. I was intrigued by them from their cameo in the previous book, and their story did not let me down.

I love interconnected romance novels. Josephine and Wells from Fangirl Down not only appear in The Au Pair Affair, but their wedding is a significant part of the plot. It’s rare that readers get a glimpse into what happens beyond “happily ever after,” and it was so fun to continue to read about their story. I loved getting to read about their wedding, and I also loved reading about them helping their friends through their budding relationship.

Tallulah and Burgess have an interesting relationship dynamic. I was wary because there is clearly a power imbalance between them. Tallulah not only works for Burgess, but she is significantly younger than him. However, I appreciated that Burgess clearly respects Tallulah and is willing to learn from her. He takes her advice on interacting with his daughter, and it ends up improving their relationship significantly. The power dynamic does leave me slightly uncomfortable still, but they do seem to care about each other deeply.

I do enjoy a romance novel there two broken people fall in love and help each other through their trauma, and The Au Pair Affair is certainly one of them. Talullah is struggling with healing from being kidnapped by a man and trapped in a closet for days. Burgess is dealing with getting older and having a back injury that is impacting his hockey career. Of course, this issues are not the same at all, but they are able to help each other work through them and come out the other side better and stronger.

As someone who lived in Boston for years, it was fun to read a book set in a city I love very much. It made me chuckle that the Boston hockey team in this novel is called the “Bearcats” instead of the Bruins. Some books make the setting feel like another character, but this is not one of them. I would have loved more content about Boston itself.

This book is one of the steamiest romance novels I’ve ever read. Bailey tends to write solidly R-rated romance novels, but this one is certainly on the even raunchier side. Be warned if you find yourself reading this book on the subway or near curious children.

Bailey is the unequivocal queen of the romance novel, and I always enjoy reading her work. I look forward to reading her next book, Window Shopping.

The Au Pair Affair featured the usual Tessa Bailey formula: protagonists with interesting name choices, over the top characters, a hero who was rough around the edges but soft for the heroine. It was a fun time, but too similar to her previous works, in my opinion.

I’m not a big fan of hockey, actually I know nothing about hockey but this book was really fun to read. I truly enjoyed the grumpy love story between Burgess and Tallulah, the characters are so funny and entertaining. This is a really cute story.

3.5 rounding up.

Tessa Bailey, the queen of a good smutty read + historically good and swoony storylines. I am loving that she hopped on the sport's bandwagon. An au pair to a hot, divorced, and successful hockey player MEAN daddy?? OK Tessa, I approve this message.

I adore how we have an FMC who is from Istanbul. I really wish we saw and experienced more authentic cultural references. She tended to get overshadowed by the MMC and his hockey drama.

I empathized with the MMC, especially when he attempted to learn how to french braid his daughter's hair. It like, doesn't make sense, and I didn't learn how to do this until my late 20's, through much anxiety filled trial and error, so it obviously isn't pretty-sue me.

Loved the change of scenery to somewhere sweaty and tropical. I need another vacation. Speaking of sweaty, the spice was spicin'!!

The side story of the MMC's co-player and his stepsister was SO odd. I am wondering if we are going to see TB highlight this very interesting dynamic... please no Credence.

Easy, swift, fun, typical Tessa Bailey read. Obviously recommend, duh! Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and Tessa Bailey for this ARC!!

As always, Tessa Bailey delivers.
She churns out book after book, and as many contemporary romances do, they all sort of follow the same formula. But throw in a new combo of tropes and some issues the couple has to overcome and you’re good. But some authors can throw together a bunch of tropes and leave you feel like it was just cheesy and contrived. Bailey absolutely crushes it at writing believable main characters with relatable issues and, as is her forte, extremely hot smut scenes.
I found Tallulah’s ptsd extremely relatable, though I thought she came to trust Burgess a little too soon. Given her history, his possessive nature seemed like it would scare her rather than endear her. Further, I thought he compromised on his own convictions a little too quickly. I enjoyed the various adventures the book took us on, but I don’t think he repented enough for what he did in the third act breakup to make her feel safe enough to get back together with him. So I’m conflicted as to whether to give this 3.5 stars or 4, which means I’ll round up to 4 with the caveat that some parts felt weak compared to her other books, including the first one in this series.

Tessa Bailey knocks it out yet again. I love hockey romances, but add in the nanny/au pair trope and I turn into heart eyes. The personal trauma and hurdles that Tallulah deals with within the story is beautifully written. The detail about Burgesses 12 y/o daughter idealistically thinking her parents still want each other despite her mother being engaged adds a bit of realism that was perfect for the plot. I also loved that while Burgess and his ex weren't close, they showed healthy co-parenting and the ex-wife wasn't mean or tried to interfere, just curious in a natural way. The age-gap was perfect and his fear of having an injury-forced retirement was a great angle to write on for this story. I highly reccommend!

The Au Pair Affair is another huge hit by Tessa Bailey! I loved the whole dynamic between Tallulah and Burgess. I loved how even though they were so very different they were able to share their vulnerable sides with each other. Awesome read!!! I especially recommend this if you are a fan of hockey romance!

I think this was the spicest Tessa Bailey book I read. I liked the banter between the two main characters but did not enjoy the calling out of flaws and feel like that itself could be a trigger warning for this book. It was a pretty standard age gap romance with a sports aspect to it. Nothing too new or exciting, but enjoyable.

I'm a fan of Tessa Bailey's writing and The Au Pair Affair does not disappoint! This is brimmed with age gap romance, insta love but slow burn, he falls first, opposites attract, grumpy meets sunshine, boss/employee and forced proximity with a touch of sports. There are also deeper aspects like finding oneself and inner healing. Perfect for the summer – but could be considered even more ideal in wintertime because of Tallulah and Burgess’ love of the cold! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this!