Great, funny, modern romance between an au pair and the celebrity hockey player boss. Good dialogue, fun to read, entertaining, expected from Tessa Bailey. The back and forth between the characters if fun, off beat, strong voices, humility in the right places, lots of passion and compassion!

Tessa Bailey did a great job marrying characters with complex narratives with the spice some people go to romance novels for. It was incredibly steamy at times, while still hitting plenty of emotional beats as well. I enjoyed the writing and the pacing felt smooth and made me want to keep reading for longer than was always wise. Tessa Bailey remains a go-to author for me and I am looking forward to reading what comes next!

Tessa Bailey is amazing and doesn’t disappoint. I am very into hockey men lately and Burgess was beyond sexy.

I never thought the nanny-daddy thing was for me but after The Nanny and this book, I think I’ve been converted. The sexual tension was palpable and I was obsessed.

Tallulah goes through so much personal growth which made the book that much more enjoyable. It isn’t a long read and it is really fun so I definitely recommend getting your hands on this book when you can. I will always read the new Tessa Bailey.

This book was absolutely amazing! A great second story in a new series by lovely author Tessa Bailey, who has solidifed herself as a one click author in my book! She writes real characters, flaws and all, and the character arcs are always worth it. Love this book!

This was really cute and I was laughing out loud in a few parts!

I don't really love single dad/nanny books but I didn't mind this one. I think because I loved Burgess and I loved that "he falls first!" It also helped that the daughter was 12 and she was with her mom a lot too.

Overall this was really cute and I really enjoyed it. Fangirl Down still remains my favorite though, but I enjoyed it and it was a strong 4 stars!

Please don't swim in Jamaica Pond though. -Bostonians everywhere.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eArc of this book!

Will Tessa Bailey ever stop producing absolute BANGERS?!?! I have been obsessed with hearing about Tallulah and Burgess's plot line ever since it was introduced in Fangirl Down and now I cannot wait to see if she will continue the series with Sig and Chloe! The absolute mastery that Tessa Bailey has when she is creating steamy, chemistry filled scenes is INSANE to me! They are just SO well written and fun to read!

The Au Pair Affair not only has an aspect of an age gap + a hockey romance BUT it also has single dad X nanny?!?! I mean that combo is pretty solid! I'd def recommend this book to people who enjoyed Heartless by Elsie Silver and people who love hockey romances (and the usually protective MMCs that come with the genre 👀). I LOVED that there was so much depth to these characters and their story and it was such an amazing and fun read and I'm so sad that it seemed to go by so quickly!😭

I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for another book in this series and cannot wait to see what else comes from Tessa Bailey and Avon! Thank you so much for a early copy of this book!💖

Tallulah gets an offer to be a live-in nanny for single dad and hockey star, Burgess. The two could not be more opposite but find their chemistry is off the charts. Tallulah forces Burgess to be more adventurous which actually helps her heal from past wounds as well.

Another fun and steamy read from Tessa Bailey! Thank you Netgalley and Avon for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED Fangirl Down. I physically couldn't stop talking about. I forced all my friends, the romance folks at my library, and a selective group of family members to read it. I was SO excited for this installment after Tessa Bailey had let me down with her Hot & Hammered and A Vine Mess and revived me with Big Shots #1 (which I went into with great trepidation). Tessa "The Bellinger Sisters" Bailey was back and I had no doubt in my mind The Au Pair Affair would be a fun, flirty follow up. I wasn't disappointed, I just didn't like it as much as I loved Fangirl.

This felt repetitive. Bailey loves to have her very hot characters break the tension with some of the best spice in contemporary romance, tell themselves it's just physical, until one thing happens and they are locked in on each other, until the third act with something totally inconsequential separates them, and then an underwhelming reunion.

That is not to say I didn't love reading this book. I've read all of Ali Hazelwood's books and they're literally the same story. That's not Big Shots. There is something here!!!! The mouths on these love interests truly don't get old to me, I just expect more from Tessa Bailey. That being said, I will be SEATED for book 3.

We love a man who knows what he wants, and isn't afraid to admit it. And Burgess wants Tallulah almost as much as I want my Tessa Bailey fix. This was yet another fun and sexy read. You know what you get with a Tessa book, and this second installation in the Big Shots series definitely delivered.

This is the second book in the Big Shots series. It did a lot of setup for the third book within this one (which will feature the trope of being in love with your future step sibling). I LOVED Fangirl Down so I was so excited to get my hands on this one!

Overall I did enjoy this one but I didn’t love it. It took a long time for the heroine to make the changes I wanted her to make and the book repeated itself with its formula. The “let’s just be physical with no feelings involved until we decide to go all in.” and then a third act breakup and then a literal repeat of the same formula to get back together.

This did feature Tessa Bailey’s signature steam level… 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥😳😳

Overall this one was enjoyable but not my favorite of Bailey’s books.

3.5 stars

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC of this book!

Rating: 3.75


My Review- This follows a month or so after the first book when we are introduced to the pair and I wish it was as good as the first book but it was not. You have Tallulah who needs money for school and is going to be a live-in nanny for Wells' hockey player friend Burgess they do have chemistry and show he does care but feels more lust and did not like the third act break up the last part of the was best in the book and I felt the editing was not good there was some part I, did understand. But I can't wait for the next book and see what she does with it.

Thank you, Avon and Netgalley for an Arc

🛁 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🛁
The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey
“It’s only been one day.”
“One day in hell feels a lot worse after spending weeks in heaven, Tallulah.”
“I’m heaven?”
“My heaven, yeah.”

Synopsis: When Tallulah accepts an au pair position for famous hockey star Burgess Abraham, she decides last minute to back out, worried that he might live up to his nickname - Sir Savage - outside of the rink. Burgess, struggling with a 12-year-old daughter and a crazy hockey schedule, can’t imagine anyone but Tallulah taking the position. There’s also the issue of their insane attraction to one another, which is becoming harder and harder to ignore.

Thank you to @netgalley and Tessa Bailey for the advance copy of THE AU PAIR AFFAIR! As a romance reader, I’m sure it’ll be hard to believe that this is my first ever Tessa Bailey book, but it certainly won’t be my last.

The chemistry between these characters is simply chefs kiss. And I don’t just mean the MC’s: all of their friends and family members only added to the fun of this hilarious and sweet read. I typically don’t love a single parent trope, but I adored Burgess’s daughter Lissa and her dynamic with Tallulah.

The banter and the spice are what sold me on this book, but it also has so much heart (my chest physically ached during the “ask me for galaxies” scene). If you’re looking for a sweet and spicy romance to warm you up this spring, I couldn’t recommend this book more. ❤️📚🏒🛁✌🏽

The Au Pair Affair is an adorable story about two characters putting themselves out there in ways they haven't been able to. Tallulah has some traumatic history that she's working hard to get past. Burgess has resigned himself to being past his prime and doesn't see the point in adventure and excitement. Together Burgess helps empower Tallulah to open herself up to doing things she's been too afraid to. Tallulah helps show Burgess that adventure is still worth pursuing.
I really liked both main characters. Burgess is such a cinnamon roll. I love seeing men who get emotionally attached due to intimacy. It's such a common trope in women, so I loved seeing that in him. I also appreciated that they worked through their miscommunications quickly and were both mature about their needs and desires. It was also fun to see Wells and Josephine. I love their book so it was great to get that cameo. I really really want Sig and Chloe to be the next book! They are so cute!!
The spice was *chefs kiss*. Tessa Bailey always does a good job with that and this book was no exception. It was well spaced throughout the book and added to the plot.
This might be my favorite Tessa Bailey book, I liked it that much. Definitely snag a copy when it gets published!
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

If Tessa Bailey wants to stay in her sports romance era forever, I am here for it. Fangirl Down was one of my top reads last year and I was extremely excited to read The Au Pair Affair after the glimpses we got of Tallulah and Burgess in the previous book. I'm a sucker for an age gap, single dad + nanny romance, so this one was such a fun read for me.

I fell in love with the Boston setting from the get-go, but I fell even harder for the couple. There were so many elements I love in a good romance, including forced proximity. There is serious sexual tension from the get-go and the pair is constantly playing with fire. It's always a good time when he falls first, and let me tell you, he fell so hard and I was here for it.

Tallulah was such a fun heroine. Even though this marine biologist student was in her early twenties, she was mature beyond her years and didn't have a problem speaking her mind and standing up for what she felt was right. The instant companionship she had with Burgess' daughter was the sweetest and I loved seeing their relationship grow throughout the book. She had a traumatic past when it comes to men and Burgess was the perfect hero to help her heal and show Tallulah her worth.

Burgess is so protective and loyal and would do anything to make sure Tallulah feels safe. He had major touch her and die energy, yet he still made it his mission to empower Tallulah to feel confident. I loved how communicative he was about what he wanted in life and in a relationship with Tallulah. Burgess is such a good father, yet he always wanted to do more to support his daughter.

While I didn't love this one as much as I loved Fangirl Down, it was a fun read and it made me fall deeper in love with this entire sports world Tessa Bailey is building. I cannot wait to see where the series goes next!

Unfortunately, this one did not live up to the first in the series for me. As much as I love Tessa, this couple just did not have the oomph hers usually do. I did not feel the conflicts were well done, and they felt somewhat contrived.

Tessa set the bar SO DANG HIGH with Fangirl Down...The Au Pair Affair was almost as good and I ate it up just as fast. Burgess fell so fast and so hard and I love him so much. Loved the glimpses we got of Josephine and Wells - they have my entire heart forever. I love an age gap and a single dad so this story really worked for me.

Read if you like:
-single parent
-sports romance
-age gap
-forced proximity
-he falls first and harder

Can't wait to see whats to come with the rest of the series!

Thank you to Avon Books, Tessa Bailey, and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

The Au Pair Affair was very well-written, the characters' inner lives were believable and all likable. The intimate scenes were the best kind of racy and showed a balance between the romantic partners' physical needs. I'm glad this is becoming the trend in contemporary romances.

**Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read The Au Pair Affair as an ARC!**

The Au Pair Affair is the second book in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey. After how quickly I devoured the first, Fan Girl Down, I was really looking forward to reading The Au Pair Affair! However, this story was not my most favorite from Tessa. The story of Burgess and Tallulah was great for the first 75-80% of the book. After that, I really struggled with how quickly their characters fell apart and then got back together. It didn’t seem very realistic with how much trauma that Tallulah went through in previous relationships. I always love Tessa’s spicy scenes but there just wasn’t enough of them in this book. I would still recommend this for fans of Tessa Bailey and to my library.

This book has left me speechless. Burgess and Tallulah’s first interaction in Fangirl Down got me thinking about them nonstop, and I knew their book was going to hit me hard. It has become one of my top reads of the year, and I know I’ll be rereading my highlights for months. If I have to compare what this book made me feel, I’d compare it to what I felt while reading It Happened One Summer and My Killer Vacation (my most favorite Tessa books). The same obsession. IHOS was the book that made Tessa my favorite author and reading another one that makes me feel the same is the best experience ever.

Burgess was the epitome of stern-brunch-daddy-becomes-malewife. Tessa’s heroes are always so intense and to be honest, that’s what makes me love them so much, which is a miracle because this doesn’t happen a lot. Tallulah’s past is terrible and I could totally understand her reluctance when it came to men. Burgess’s protectiveness wore her worries off and even though the third act breakup was heartbreaking, I think it was necessary and Tessa did an amazing job in it not rushing through it. I also feel like this book brought us back to the steam levels we were used to in her books! Oh my god, buckle up 🥵 It gets intense.

Last but not least, Sig and Chloe. The only thing I’m gonna say is that I am ready to become Chloe’s number one protector, just like I did with Piper in IHOS. Just SAYING.

TW: Stalking, harassment, kidnapping, abuse

Rating: 5+/5
Steam level: Open door, +5 scenes, high level of detail

ARC provided by Avon and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

This was cute! I do think that Tessa Bailey may have gotten some of her magic back with this series. I've been her reader for years and I will say this series feels more like the fun stories she used to write. The characters were fun, the romance was believable, and the found family these two (well, three) created was great. Thank you so much for the chance to read it early!