I've not had the best luck with Tessa Bailey's most recent releases. There's a disconnect with the characters and the plot for me. The characters are so larger than life, vibrant, in such mundane settings. They don't feel like they belong and it's making it harder to enjoy them.

Thank you so much to the author and @avonbooks for the chance to read an early copy!! ⁠
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What to expect in The Au Pair Affair:⁠
🏒 hockey romance⁠
⏳️age gap⁠
🧔🏻‍♂️ single dad ⁠
🤭 he falls first⁠
🏠️ forced proximity⁠
🏙️employee x employer⁠
🧲 opposites attract ⁠
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠⭐️⁠
Genre: contemporary romance⁠
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

The Au Pair Affair follows a couple that you briefly meet in Fangirl Down, Tallulah and Burgess. Tallulah is studying to become a marine biologist, while Burgess is a professional hockey player. Burgess happens to need an au pair for his 12-year-old daughter, Lissa…and he happens to be very attracted to the woman he hired (which happens to be Tallulah).

There’s a lot of tension between the two main characters, as they are both clearly attracted to each other, but Tallulah has some past trauma/anxieties to overcome, which she promptly dumps on Burgess in, like, chapter five! Burgess was also a bit TOO desperate in the beginning…

The story was predictable but a decent contemporary sports romance. I felt like the middle of the story was pretty strong, but the beginning and ending were weak. Comparing this to Fangirl Down, I thought that story was much better/enjoyable.

Read this if you enjoy:
-age gap (11-year difference)
-hockey romance
-he falls first & hard
-single dad x nanny
- forced proximity
-boss x employee

A few triggers:
-trauma/PTSD
-kidnapping/adult napping
-stalking
-sports injury

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Tessa Bailey for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader’s Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

This was a fun Tessa Bailey! Tallulah is a 26 year old marine biologist who has been hired to work as an au pair for hockey player Burgess and his tween daughter Lissa. Tallulah and Burgess have a near instant attraction but things are complicated by Tallulah's past trauma and Lissa's desire to have her parents get back together.

Things I liked: great chemistry, sweet dynamic between Burgess and Lissa, great spice (I mean, it's Tessa Bailey).
Things I didn't like: I felt like the trauma backstory could have been handled with a little more nuance and sensitivity.

I would definitely recommend this to any romance reader!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know how Tessa Bailey makes me swoon over sports romance when I couldn't care less about sports, but she has done it again. This book set in the world of Fangirl down is hot enough to melt an entire hockey rink full of ice. Taboo romance of nanny/boss mixed with single dad with touch-her-and-die vibes literally pouring out of him. I could not get enough of this couple, but also wish they could have communicated a bit better to prevent the inevitable third-act breakup.

💋 The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey 💋

💭 Thoughts:
First of all, let me say, I am a huge Tessa Bailey fan, and I will read ANYTHING she writes! I think this is my 12th book that I’ve read from her. I love her quirky characters, fun banter, and spicy spice! This one fell in the middle for me because I felt the spice took over a bit, which isn’t a bad thing at all! Just be prepared for pure lust despite the age gap 🥵 I would have liked to see more of them falling in love since I’m a bit of a romantic at heart. Burgess’s protectiveness was SO HOT though! And Tallulah’s bonding with his daughter 🥹 so sweet! I recommend it with ⚠️ caution ⚠️ to be near a cold shower 🤪

My fave Tessa books of all time are It Happened One Summer, Hook Line and Sinker, and Fix Her Up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a good time. It was exactly what I needed when I picked it up. It was fun and funny and spicy! All my favorite things! I loved meeting Tallulah in the first book and wanted her story. I love a good hockey romance. Burgess was protective and gentle. Them together was fireworks. I loved this book so much! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

too cliched of a grumpy/sunshine romance where MMC falls first
very steamy but MMC development could have been better
did enjoy the FMC past and development as a unique story.

Tessa Bailey's books are always an auto-read for me. This one did not disappoint and was full of hockey, spice and complicated personal journeys. I couldn't put it down and really enjoyed this read!

I was so torn between devouring this and savoring it because I didn’t want it to end! Burgess is a seasoned hockey player and single dad looking for an au pair to help with his daughter. Tallulah agrees to the live in position despite her unimaginable experience with trusting men in the past.

The sparks are flyinggggg hot and fast between these two and attempts to keep things professional quickly dissolve. I couldn’t get enough of their interactions, both steamy and sweet. Burgess was the best sort of protective, grumpy guy and seeing Tallulah learn to trust again and get back to her spirited self was so satisfying.

I didn’t know if this could live up to how much I adored Fangirl Down, but boy it sure did!! These are both sports romance perfection!!

This slight age gap nanny book keeps emotions high and the pages turning. Definitely a fun hockey romance book!

This was soo cute and steamy! I think this may be my favorite Tessa Bailey yet! Burgess is so sweet and yummy and the way he loved Tallulah was amazing. Both of these characters had great chemistry and I loved how the story came together! And LOTS of spice!!

I love a good sports romance, and this book definitely qualifies! Not only is it a great hockey romance, it’s written by Tessa Bailey, one of my favorite auto buy authors.

Tallulah is a grad student, which means she’s broke. She’s agreed to be a nanny for Burgess, an intimidating hockey player for the Bearcats NHL team, nicknamed Savage for the way he plays. He’s divorced with a 12 year old daughter named Lissa.
Burgess is very protective of his friends, and after an incident when Tallulah calls him for help he starts accompanying her when she goes out. Eventually their friendship turns into a more serious relationship, but how is Lissa going to react to their news when all she wants is for her parents to get back together?

I recommend this spicy romance, 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was really good! I had high hopes for it after reading Fangirl Down but I knew I was going to enjoy this one a lot too. I liked how well they fit despite them thinking they shouldn't be together. How they elevated each other and they realized that they had a good thing going. They gave each other space when needed and talked to each other when they had to. Overall the story and characters were great, I am glad we got to see Wells and Josephine and now I'm excited what for book 3!

A fun, steamy, swoony read-- as expected from Tessa Bailey! I'd never read a sports romance before, and although I don't know the first thing about hockey, this was thoroughly enjoyable. Exactly what I was looking for.

There is a lot to love about this book. Fangirl Down introduced us to Tallulah, a marine biology student living in Antarctica (awesome). We also met Burgess, Wells’s grumpy best friend there too. So here they are together. Tessa Bailey’s writing of their chemistry and of course the sex scenes is fantastic. She’s one of the best spice writers out there! I also loved what a great dad Burgess is and his struggles to relate to his tween daughter are SO REAL. All that being said, there were some things I did not love. I saw the breakup coming a mile away and the way Lissa was done dirty made me sad (yes, she’s fictional but still!). The kidnapping side plot was also rough and felt stuck in there. Also I think he was too damaged. He needed therapy! Overall it was enjoyable but not one of my favorites.

This was a very fun read! I loved Fangirl Down and was so excited to read Tallulah and Burgess’ story. It was a fun escape and I love a good nanny trope. I loved Lissa's character and her relationship with Tallulah. Very fun summer read!

Bailey does it again. Obviously :)

Burgess and Tallulah’s story is adorable. Of course, all the tropes are there - grumpy/sunshine; age gap: boss/employee. Bailey is a master of tropes and this is no exception.

While there are some common tropes, the characters’ background stories are unique. Tallulah’s past traumatic events are not common topics in books and really shape her behaviors, throughout the book. Her growth is really special, given her past.

I also love that Tallulah is a skilled marine biologist, pursuing higher education, because, listen, we LOVE strong, smart, driven women. Bailey’s female characters are unique and have different strengths and weaknesses and we love to see it. Her fictional worlds are as diverse as our own.

Burgess is the hot, single, co-parenting hockey dad. I mean, can you ask for anything more? His empathy is astounding, but his ability to listen, learn, and change his behaviors…*chef’s kiss* However, he’s not without his flaws. I got to around page 225, and things were looking good….too good, so I knew something was coming. Sure enough the proverbial fan was hit, and everything spiraled. The moment/moments of weakness from Bailey’s characters are human and believable, given the disposition as of the characters she crafts. Bailey perfectly aligns her characters’ personalities to their fatal flaws.

While I absolutely loved this story, I am GEEKED for Sig and Chloe’s story….Bailey left little teasers for their story throughout and I can. not. wait.

Tessa Bailey does it again with a heart wrenching romance. This book has the classic nanny and father trope but with a he falls first add in. Add in an 11 year old daughter, an ex who is still a little bit still hung up on the MMC and some emotional scenes really made my chest hurt. This book was sweet, smutty, well paced and obviously ends in a happily ever after.

Trigger Warnings for domestic abuse (off page/deceased person)