I really enjoyed this book! While the tropes weren’t some of my typical favorites, Tessa Bailey made them work well.

I was given an advance copy in exchange for my review. This is my honest opinion I am giving voluntarily. I could not put this down! Praise to Tessa Bailey yet again! I have been a long time fan of her writing style and this book is no different. The tension and the question on even if they will be together right up to the very last page had its claws hooked in deep. The smut was perfect amount and the whole book had a natural flow, and the dialogue was absolutely hilarious especially between the mmc and his friends. This is a must read!

This was a cute story but it didn’t quite live up to the first book in the series. A little too insta love for me. Too much emphasis on their physical relationship. Not a lot of development considering what the FMC went through.

₊ ⊹”you smile at me, tallulah, and i know i’ll feel it for centuries.”₊ ⊹

*:･ﾟmy thoughts | 4.5 stars rounded up!! this book was perfection!!! easily my second favorite tessa bailey novel, or even 1.5 favorite, because tallulah and burgess are soo close to my love for brendan and piper.

tallulah is literally living my dream life; working as a nanny for a hot, single, older hockey player living in the best part of boston while studying for her masters? literally where the fuck do i sign up for something like that? that’s what my actual dreams are made of. especially when that man is burgess abraham because geez… once you get past the name, he’s like obnoxiously perfect.

this story was so inviting and entertaining. tallulah had previously suffered from some pretty heavy trauma, and she’s been working on getting her life back in her own hands, becoming herself again. burgess is trying to prove he’s still worthy of being a great hockey player while juggling being a single dad to a tween as well. they both really needed each other, and helped each other grow in new ways while persevering older roots as well. their romance was so genuine, so strong. the bonds they formed had my heart all twisted up inside because of how sickeningly sweet it was!

my biggest irk, as usual, is the third act conflict and consequential breakup. while i did recognize the point this one was trying to make, it was also just really hurtful lmao. definitely provided a lot of angst and strong tension for the couple, but i love good communication scenes rather than just leaving after a fight. even though i wish it hadn’t happened, i do wish we had seen more of them apart during the conflict, rather than the five week time jump. i could’ve read like 100 more pages of this couple and been perfectly happy and wanting more, so i definitely wish it had been included!!

i honestly didn’t have too high of hopes for this new seires by tessa bailey, as the previous one had been pretty disappointing. but man, i am absolutely loving this so far. this book was phenomenal, and i thoroughly enjoyed every page of it. i’ve never rooted for two characters so much!!

i’m absolutely praying that we get another book, specifically about sig and chloe 👀 i was eating up their characters and that would be one hell of a book for sure! fingers crossed!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!

That’s it.

Okay but seriously, Bailey is a genius and amazing at writing the romances that just always make my heart feel completely full. I always have a great time reading Bailey’s books and the fact she has moved into sports romance and hockey romance specifically makes me ecstatic!!

This book is EVERYTHING to me. I’ve been looking forward to The Au Pair Affair since we got the smallest glimpse of Burgess and Tallulah in Fangirl Down.

Burgess is a veteran hockey star and single dad who offers Tallulah, a marine biology graduate student, a job as a live-in nanny for his pre-teen daughter. For the sake of their working relationship, both initially attempt to ignore the undeniable chemistry between them, but all doesn’t go to plan.

There’s just something so special about this book, it really felt like it has that extra dose of Tessa Bailey magic I first found when I read It Happened One Summer.

The Au Pair Affair has instantly become one of my favorite books. I read this within a day of getting it, I just couldn’t put it down. I know I’ll be rereading this one over and over again.

Chloe and Sig, I love you already and can’t wait for your book!

Thank you so much to Tessa Bailey, Avon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC. The Au Pair Affair comes out on 7/16/24.

I have not read the first book in the Big Shots series and I feel like I did not miss anything by reading this one first. I will go back to read it, because I want to know more about Wells and Josephine.

If you like big grumpy, protective, do anything for her, type of book boyfriend. Then Burgess Abraham, hockey captain and single dad, this book is for you.

I really enjoyed Tallulah character arc. Her baby steps in the beginning to having Burgess help her through some tough things and then her being brave enough to do it on her was inspiring.

Also cant wait for the next book- because I have questions and I need answers.

This book is an awesome second in the series but could be read as a standalone. Hockey and he falls first tropes and very poignant in some spots. I was really pulling for them. Also loved the scene where she drunk babbled at him.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for providing an ARC.

Tessa Bailey is, historically, either hit or miss for me. And this one was a miss! My issues were all across the board. Firstly, we are basically dropped into a story with NO preamble; it's as if an introductory scene or two was chopped off the beginning of the book. We are dropped right into the story and it's a little disorienting.

Secondly, these two horndogs want to jump each other's bones from page one (which is fine) but their internal dialogue about how hot they find each other verges on the absurd. The FMC is thirsting over the MMC's TEETH like, my dude, get a grip.

Thirdly, it vacillates between steamy, smutty romance scenes, hockey nonsense, and then VERY dark hints at the FMC's past. It's jarring! I don't mind a romance with darker elements but there's no real nuance here, so this heavy backstory is just dropped in with no preamble.

Anyhow, if you like Tessa Bailey + smut, you'll likely enjoy this. It just wasn't for me personally! 2 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pick a trope and it works here. Hockey? Check. Nanny (au pair)? Check. He falls first? Check. Age gap? Check. Single dad(it counts)? Check. These two have been on fire since they met. She has trauma and he's protective and desperate for her. The 3rd act break up(not my favorite trope) was heartwrenching. This story was fun though, with 2 idiot rookies, Wells and Josephine cameos, a scene stealing tween and a friend and his almost-stepsister. Yea, we need Sig and Chloe's story ASAP. Nothing beats a hockey romance, but don't dare Tessa to make other sports sexy because we may end up with a pickleball romance🤣

Tessa Bailey has reached insta-buy status for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVED the first Big Shots book, and I was so excited to be offered this ARC. It did not disappoint at all. I read it in a handful of hours. I love hockey, I love giant hockey players, and I love her intelligent, capable women. And Tessa's bedroom scenes continue to slay (excuse me while I take a breath and readjust my sitting position).

Burgess was a bit hard to love at first, but what's a good romance without a character redemption? He started off a little too dense and bro-y, but he softened into a perfect cinnamon-roll of a man (sweet and squishy and spicy and warm on the inside!).

I was surprised by Tallulah's backstory, and it was a bit heavy compared to Tessa's other works. When introduced, I feared it would be more pain that I was looking for in this book- I expected a complete lighthearted romp and I wouldn't call it that. It was more in line with what one would expect from Abby Jimenez (another favorite of mine), whose books usually have a deeper/painful subject matter in play underneath the romance plot. However, it didn't dominate or overwhelm the story- rather it was just enough of a backstory to make the romance conflict realistic. That being said, the book could use a content warning for victims of stalking or abusive relationships. It got kind of emotionally deep into Tallulah's ruminations that might make some survivors uncomfortable to relive.

Mostly I love Tessa's ability to write characters with what I would consider perfect inner monologues. They alternate between confident and insecure and regretful and funny, just like real people. They decide one thing at the beginning of the sentence and change their mind by the end. They have occasionally horny inner monologues, both the men AND women, right where they should exist, because Tessa's not afraid to make her characters real. They are just so human and relatable, unlike any other author I've ever read.

But again, Tessa is a master at baiting the hook for the next book. She made me fall in lust with the MCs I suspect will grace the cover of Big Shots #3, Sig and Chloe. I CANNOT WAIT! Thank you Tessa Bailey and #Netgalley!

A huge thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dude, Tessa Bailey is in her literal MVP era right now because she is CRUSHING it!!!!! I honestly did not think that she could get any better than Fangirl Down for me, and then she went and straight up did it. I loved Burgess, a Sam Hartman reincarnate who falls first, and Tallulah, his marine biologist live-in nanny with a vibrancy for life. This was honestly SO cute, so so so spicy and just the most fun I've had reading in a while (since I read Fangirl Down when it came out.). I'm officially the conductor on the Tessa train. Five stars.

I started The Au Pair Affair last night and then read the whole thing in one sitting. I stayed up until 4am because I needed to finish this book. Tessa continues to write fun sexy rom coms that I cannot put down. A sports romance combined with Tessa Bailey’s writing is everything I could ever want.

The Au Pair Affair continues to have the Tessa Bailey magic where although it’s third person, to me it reads like first person and the shift from Tallulah to Burgess’s pov is so seamless. It reads as though you’re watching everything happen in front of you, like a movie. I really love the way Tessa’s writing feels when you read it; it feels like you’re immersed in the story.

Tallulah and Burgess had such incredible tension. I was hooked on their banter from the first chapter. I loved their immediate chemistry and watching it play out with the bit of “forbidden romance”. Burgess was overprotective and pining hard but still so respectful. Tessa continues to write my ideal hero. I also thoroughly enjoyed all of the side characters (hoping for a book with Chloe and Sig). Burgess and Lissa were so sweet and the hockey boys were hilarious.

This was a really fun read, but it also had its tender heartfelt moments. I did find myself crying a couple of times. This felt almost more serious than some of the other Tessa novels, with all of Tallulah’s past trauma and Burgess’s current bodily trauma, and I appreciated the way Tessa dealt with that tough subject matter while still managing to keep the book fun.

I loved the Au Pair Affair and I cannot wait for whatever Tessa writes next!

you can always count on tessa bailey to write a short, cut, fun romcom with quirky characters and a panty-melting smut.

thankyou netgalley for an arc of this book. all opinions are my own!

I don't know what made me pick up Fangirl Down, but I did and I loved it. I think that I'm just a Tessa Bailey first book girl. Loved It Happened One Summer, absolutely hated Hook, Line, Sinker. Loved Fangirl Down, this one is a little meh for me. I was super stoked to be reading it during playoffs and I might finish it on audio when it publishes but... I feel like they keep repeating themselves and they went 0-60 so fast, the pacing was just off throughout and the timeline... I dunno. Sig and Chloe fascinate me, but I hope I stay strong and away from it lol

This was my first read from Tessa Bailey and somehow nobody prepared me for the spice! She has chemistry, yearning, and romantic desire down to a science. This book was so fun. Tallulah and Burgess were so easy to root for (loved everything about them besides their names lol). It was well paced and I read it in one sitting. Really looking forward to reading my copy of Fangirl Down now. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, and Tessa Bailey for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

It was a big ask for Tessa Bailey to follow “Fangirl Down,” but man did she make a strong attempt with “The Au Pair Affair.”

I don’t know the last time I read a book with this much visceral hunger and yearning - from both characters!

Bailey is the queen of writing men who are obsessed with their women, and Burgess Abraham perhaps takes the cake. From the moment we meet him in “Fangirl Down,” he is down bad for Tallulah.

The only thing I wish we had seen was the reconciliation between Lissa and Tallulah, since their relationship was so important, but overall another win from Bailey.

Mrs Tessa does it again! At first going into I will say I kind of struggled to get that “hooked” feeling but once the story line developed I was all in. I really enjoyed the story/romance of the characters and it was nice to see the previous characters as well. The only thing I would have liked to be a little more involved with would be the story behind her family/the boy etc. While we got mentions of them it never really broached the topic beyond what happened and the postcards. Thanks so much for letting me ARC!

I was thrilled to receive an eARC of one of my anticipated reads for 2024. I’m thrilled to report that I enjoyed it.

Tallulah is a grad student, studying to be a marine biologist. To make ends meet, she takes a job as an au pair for Burgess Abraham and his 12 year old daughter, Lissa. Their beginning was a little rough to get going due to Tallulah’s past trauma. I thought for sure that she’d agonize more due to the nature of her trauma, but it wasn’t mentioned too much after the beginning of their story. The MCs from Fangirl Down are pretty prominent in this entry to the Big Shots series, and it was fun catching up with them. That said, the bulk of the book centered around the burgeoning relationship between Tallulah and Burgess. There’s an age gap trope, and he definitely falls first. He’s also very “touch her and see what happens” with anyone that even hints at being interested in her. The spice was enjoyable and I was having a good time until the third act breakup which felt a little rushed to me. Then we were left with a time gap that felt like it took too long before the eventual HEA. All in all, I had fun with this one.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an eARC and Harper Collins / Avon for providing an early finished copy in exchange for my honest review! My opinions are my own, as per usual.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!
I’ve finally deigned to read a sports romance bc if Tessa Bailey writes it I’m reading it!
Really enjoyed this one and especially the character elements, I found Tallulah very interesting relatable and inspiring to read and of course loved our MMC who Tessa always manages to make so scrumptious with their falling harder and falling first ugh I eat it up. Do I like hockey romances now?!