The Au Pair Affair is for sure one of my top reads of 2024! Tallulah is 26 and needs a job and a place to stay while studying to be a marine biologist, and an offer to nanny for brooding hockey star Burgess is too good too be true—suddenly Burgess’ home is filled with love and cooking and he’s sure he’s met his match in this au pair. This is spicy and romantic. It’s a nanny/boss, age gap, grump sunshine romance. Burgess is so angsty and protective, he’s so sexy. I was swooning hard over how much he fell for Tallulah. And Tallulah! She is so sweet with her own self journey to climb and I was rooting for her the whole way. There so much love in this book. It’s sexy, it’s romantic, it’s funny, I loved every second! I really just only have raving things to say about it.

After reading Fangirl Down, I was hoping for a story about Burgess and Tallulah - and we got it! It was an entertaining read, centered on a hockey player/single dad who falls for his nanny. Definitely has some spice, but in true Tessa Bailey fashion, you can go from laughing to crying in the blink of an eye. This was a quick read, with some tough topics, but perfect for summer time.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon publishing for sending an eARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"What happens in my room?"
"I...I...what?"
"This is where you come to be fed, Tallulah."

Ok, yes. Hi. I was not expecting a man named Burgess to have such a dirty mouth. But it is a Tessa Bailey book, so I shouldn't be surprised at this point.

Tallulah is scheduled to become an au pair for Burgess and his daughter. But some previous trauma has her second guessing her choice. Through some convincing meet ups with him and his daughter, she reluctantly agrees to take the position.

The only problem is that Burgess has been attracted to her since day one. So that makes this position for Tallulah a little scandalous.

To be honest, the murky waters of dating your au pair don't really make waves the way I anticipated them to. We had a man who was on his knees for her from the moment he met her and a woman who finally caved.

Don't get me wrong, they had a cute progression. But it did feel a little too insta-lovey on Burgess' end. And if you're curious about a third act breakup? There is one. But I loved that it allowed Tallulah to spread her wings and take back control of her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

And now I'll leave you with my favorite Tallulah quote:
"Fine. I'll go. I'll go. Just spit on me-"

While this probably isn't my favorite Tessa Bailey title, I did still enjoy it. I thought the leads had good chemistry, with Tallulah having a pretty intense trauma. I also enjoyed Burgess's relationship with his daughter. I think what I didn't love about the book was the power dynamic between the two leads. I don't mind an age gap, but a large age gap plus him being her boss seemed slightly problematic. Overall though, Bailey gives her usual fun banter and good spice, so I still think fans of Bailey will enjoy this title.

Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Au Pair Affair was not quite for me. I needed a bit more from the relationship dynamic besides she's attracted to the barbarian hockey god and wants a protector and he's attracted to the nanny and wants to be a protector. I thought the third act breakup was kind of ridiculous. 1. I don't believe a kid would have reacted in this way, pining for their parents to get back together after their mom is literally engaged 2. He was having a bad day and she ran off. And then they didn't talk for an entire 6 weeks? Hard for me to wrap my brain around.

BUT - the smut was good. The dirty talk was a bit out of no where, but hey I liked it. I also appreciated how the MMC reacted and adapted to FMC's trauma and experiences.

3 stars - fun, quick read, but left a bit to be desired.

I love Tessa Baiely and this second book in the Big Shot series was a DELIGHT. It was funny, romantic, spicy...and even though I'm not particularly a hockey fan, the story felt relatable. There were some big topics woven through the plot including parenting/dating after divorce and trauma, but I found myself laughing out loud, cheering for, and wanting more of Tallulah and Burgess (and his daughter Lissa). There were a few moments I wondered about how real it felt for Tallulah to trust again, but the romance of it all won out and I was sad to finish the book. Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy!

The Au Pair Affair is feisty and fun! You'll be rooting for both of these main characters to find their way to one another from the start! Great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me!

I will start by saying I requested this before the jump scare that happened in book one sooooo it is what it is.

I wanted to like this book. I really really did. I keep thinking I'll get some of that fun GOOD Tessa Bailey story we had in the Bellinger Sisters series but alas, I did not and it pains me to rate her books like this.

This book started out fun. Burgess (I hate that name — you can't make it a hot guy name sorry Tessa lol) and Tallulah were funny. They had good chemistry, and were starting off strong with their communication and respect for one another. As the story unfolded, however, it seemed like TB lost the plot and didn't know what to do with either of them. On the one hand, Burgess was supposed to be this quiet stoic type but then ten seconds later he was dirty-talking Tallulah's ear off in a public setting and it was so contradictory to what we're supposed to believe about him. Tallulah had a traumatic experience that scarred her and while Burgess helped make her feel safe to start overcoming it, with the third-act breakup that happened, we didn't even get the satisfaction of watching her go through her on her own. We were just told she did things and there's no chance to really connect with her overcoming this big emotional hurdle.

The age gap thing wasn't even a big deal and shouldn't have been a point made. She's a grad student in her mid-20s, she's fine. It kept being brought up like she wasn't a consenting adult. Please.

****SPOILER ALERT HERE****

The third-act breakup was so stupid. They both overreacted but in that scene specifically, Tallulah was the one with bad timing and a poor reaction. He was literally in the hospital. Time and place, girl. And yes, he said some stupid shit but considering he spent the whole book making everything about HER feelings, she could've spared a few minutes to think "HMM MAYBE I SHOULDN'T BLURT THIS OUT WHEN HE'S LITERALLY IN A HOSPITAL BED." It was dumb and the fact that she kept going back and forth about how she felt about him yet had no problems trying to jump in his pants the second she got made it hard to be sympathetic with her.

****SPOILER ALERT DONE****

I understand that insta-love (lust) is something we can always expect from TB's books but damn, it's happening with EVERY book and there's barely any build-up for the couple (the man) to act this way and be so obsessed and overprotective. Like...I'd call the police, this behavior is not normal. Give me a build-up to it. Make it more believable. If we're reading 300 some pages about a couple that are supposed to fall in love, give me something other than they think they're both hot and want to jump each other's bones. You need a proper build-up for this kind of affection. Where is the plot?? This is a romance! Give me proper yearning where it's not just about the smut. In fact, most of the smut scenes gave me the ick lol.

At this point, none of the books she's put out in the last year and a half are any different from each other. I keep coming back because I KNOW she's written better than what's been put out lately. I gave it 2 stars simply for the banter and background characters because unfortunately, this was a disappointment.

As always, Tessa Bailey delivers spice, tenderness, and hilarity without missing a beat. The themes in this book are a little darker, but she handles them with the seriousness and care they deserve.
The age gap trope was written spectacularly, and I cannot wait to see how she interprets Chloe and Sig’s trope in her next book!

Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: July 16, 2024
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon

Tessa Bailey, you have done it again. Tessa honestly, if you write it, I’ll read it. I love Tallulah and Burgess! This is a nanny/boss, age gap romance with a sprinkle of grumpy/sunshine because wow Burgess is a grump to everyone EXCEPT Tallulah.

Tallulah is a marine biology grad student, who takes a job as Burgess’s live-in au pair (closer to a live-in nanny but splitting hairs). The au pair aspect wasn’t as big a part of the story as I expected from it being in the title. Lissa is twelve, so she was relatively independent and wasn’t present much. Lissa was there just enough to be a fully realized character but also at school or her mom's place enough to let the Tallulah and Burgess romance develop.

Tallulah has some trauma around men from her past and is understandably skiddish around a large man who happens to be good at breaking noses on the ice. Part of the charm is how they work together to navigate and respect each other’s boundaries and grow into better characters. There are constant check-ins, accommodations, and efforts to communicate, for both parties and you can tell there is a sense of comfort that doesn’t feel manufactured.

🌶️ Spice Meter 🌶️ : 3 out of 5 Peppers

TROPES:
- nanny / single father
- hockey pro athlete
- love at first sight - him
- 11 year age gap

TW: chronic pain, injury, abduction (past), ptsd

Disclaimer: Thank you Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Feel the sizzle between these two from the first couple pages. As with most of Tessa Bailey's couples, their chemistry drew me in and had me hooked early on. This is a must read for grumpy-sunshine trope lovers with a nice splash of sporty fun. The character development for the FMC felt a bit rushed for me, but overall, I would recommend this read.

Yasss Tessa does it again with this steamy nanny/single dad romcom. I loved it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

THE AU PAIR AFFAIR
By @tessabaileyisanauthor
ARC thanks to @netgalley - Book Releases July 16th

Yet another truly delightful book by Tessa Bailey. I finished this baby in less than 24 hours, despite having other responsibilities, because I could not put it down!!

The protectiveness of Sir Savage with his grumpy attitude mixed with his utter hopelessness of connecting with his tween daughter made for the most lovable MMC. I was rooting for him with every page.

Tallulah was such a strong FMC. I really felt like it was a breath of fresh air when we learned the details of her past trauma early on in the book. It helped me understand her and her actions more. I much prefer this over getting little, tiny, mysterious hints of it all throughout the book then a big reveal of it like 80% of the way through the plot.

Lissa was also written so well. True tween angst shown through and it was spot on to those big, giant 12-year-old emotions.

I feel honored to have been given this opportunity with how popular this author is and it’s for good reason! I’m a forever supporter of any words Tessa Bailey puts on paper.

FIRST OF ALL, thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey’s books are ones that I can never fully seem to stay away from. It Happened One Summer/Hook, Line, and Sinker are my favorite books of hers (especially HLS), and I feel like I always check out what she has coming just to see if anything will match that feeling.

I’m not a sports romance girly, but I follow her on TikTok and find her commentary very funny, so I decided to check the Big Shots series out (especially after seeing the videos related to the NEXT book starring Sig & Chloe - which taps right into the little Life with Derek/Dasey-obsessed monster that once lived inside my brain).

Anyway, with that being said, I enjoyed Fangirl Down and The Au Pair Affair… overall.

Once TAPA got to the 70% mark, I didn’t want to keep reading. I know, people have bad days and people screw up, but Burgess? Fuck that guy.

INFRACTION 1: Hugged Tallulah and made his 12 year old, rattled daughter’s heart BREAK. Like, yeah, Lissa was being a brat. SHE’S ALSO 12???? HELLO?? You went for YOUR (barely) GIRLFRIEND over your DAUGHTER?

INFRACTION 2: The way he talked to Tallulah in the hospital room was genuinely unforgivable. This girl has done nothing but support you, and he let all of his ugly colors shine RIGHT THROUGH. You don’t say the shit he said to her if he hadn’t already, even if just subconsciously, been thinking it. I didn’t feel bad for him. I no longer was rooting for him.

INFRACTION 3: The dirty talk, dude. Like, I know it’s standard for Tessa’s stuff but I just can’t do it to the extent that it’s given sometimes. It just yanks me right out of it. But that’s a me thing, and I get it.

All of this to say, I still enjoyed this book. I am ABSOLUTELY going for Sig & Chloe’s book the second I can get my grubby little hands on it.

Tessa does a wonderful job at writing comedies and writing tension. It just sometimes gets a little too caveman for me.

Thank you, again, for this ARC!

“The Au Pair Affair” by Tessa Bailey delivers sizzling chemistry and sweet romance between Tallulah, a live-in nanny, and single dad Burgess. With palpable tension and heartfelt moments, this captivating hockey romance is highly recommended for fans of Bailey’s work.

Quickly becoming my favorite Tessa Bailey series. I loved everything about it! And the spice 🌶🌶🌶🌶. So good, I cannot wait for more books in this series!!

This is a sports rom-com single dad story. It's a dad who fall for his ive-in nanny. I normally don't go for the single dad trope but this was worth the read.

Our FMC is Tallulah. She gets hired to be the live-in nanny of Lissa. Mmmmm helloooo single dad and live-in nanny!!! You know where that's going. However, the girl does want her parents back together.

The chemistry between Tallulah and Burgess is strong. The tension is there!
Tallulah ends up walking away. Burgess then goes to prove that they are worth it.

Love the spice and chemistry between these 2!

Love! I love Tessa bailey books and am a sucker for hockey romance when you throw in a single dad well let’s just say she got me hook line and sinker. I loved this book and I loved the relationship between the FMC and the MMC 💜

This second book in the "Big Shot" series has already made me a big hockey fan! I loved Will and Josephine's love story, but I can honestly say I enjoyed Tallulah and Burgess' romance even more. It includes themes of forced proximity, a single dad, an age difference, and opposites attract!

Tallulah is a quirky marine biologist and a survivor of past trauma that left her insecure. She's a free-spirited, kind-hearted heroine who always puts others' needs first. She's easy to like, with Turkish heritage (her last name is "Aydin," which is a city in Turkey), but her first name is Native American, meaning “running water”—a perfect fit for her character and her tendency not to stay in one place for long.

Burgess is kind-hearted and gentlemanly, although he can show some violent tendencies on the field as an occupational hazard, which makes Tallulah question whether to work at his house after his outburst during a game goes viral.

He amicably parted ways with the mother of his 12-year-old daughter Lissa (thankfully, the book doesn't involve an evil ex-wife or a love triangle). Due to his busy travel schedule as a hockey player, he needs to hire an au pair to help take care of his daughter. That's when his best friend Will's future wife, Josephine, recommends Tallulah, who needs a change of scenery. As soon as they meet, Burgess realizes he's in trouble. After a dinner together, he falls deeply for her. But isn't it unethical to pursue someone who works for him, even if the feelings are mutual? When Tallulah decides to do the honorable thing and help little Lissa, who wants to see her parents back together, by quitting her job, things get more complicated!

I don't want to spoil more, but this book contains some very satisfying and well-deserved groveling scenes that I actually enjoyed! (I believe in some books, the men easily get away when they make big mistakes, but this book is different, giving readers pure happiness with a fair conclusion.)

Overall, this is one of the highly anticipated, sweetest, high-chemistry sports romances with likable characters that I highly recommend for a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this adorable romance's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

3.25⭐️

This follows Burgess and Tallulah. Burgess is a single father and star hockey player in need of a nanny. Enter Tallulah, marine biologist and nanny for Burgess’s daughter.

I loved Burgess relationship with his daughter. It was hilarious to watch him try to understand pre teen drama.

He was so understanding and patient with Talllulah becoming comfortable around him.

Her being able to slowly overcome her fears on her own takes so much courage.

There were some timelines that didn’t make sense to me.


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC