Dang. I can't think of a third-act breakup that has killed so much progress and connection.

"The Au Pair Affair" is easy to jump into and moves well. Lots of action and dialogue paired with tons of pining and protectiveness. I was SO into it! If it were real life, I would be concerned about the power dynamic between a boss and a live-in employee with a big income difference and a sizeable age gap. But as fiction, it's fab.

I loved the idea of hockey defender Burgess stepping in to help Tallulah regain her sense of adventure and confidence. I also enjoyed how this was balanced with his self-doubts about aging and losing his ability to play hockey and be a provider. As far as the plot, it tries to take on some tough topics but doesn't make it very far. Heat and sexual tension are primary, and self-growth is secondary.

One thing I could have absolutely done without is the "five fingers through his hair" line repeated over and over. Just like the first book and it still feels like such an unnatural line!

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Tallulah is a fun loving and smart marine biologist student who has an opportunity to work as an au pair for Hockey captain Burgess. She has seen him with his daughter and interacting with his friends. She notices how much the single dad wants to connect with his daughter and is introduced to him by her best friend's husband she thinks maybe she trusts him. To live in his house and work with him she needs to trust him but she watches a hockey game clip where he breaks someone's nose and realizes maybe she doesn't know him at all. Her past has made her fearful of trusting and Burgess recognizes this and wants to help her get past it. Tallulah longs to live in the moment again.
Burgess longs to be able to have a comfortable conversation with his daughter, help her with homework, hairstyles and protect her. He finds himself wanting to help Tallulah too. I loved Burgess and Tallulah navigating their relationship and growing within themselves.

This new addition to this series was a great read. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started reading it but was not disappointed with this story in the end.

Tallulah is a broke college student in need of a job. She agreed to being an Au Pair after meeting Burgess at a golf event and hitting it off with him but she then later has second thoughts about living with his due to a trauma she experienced years prior. Since her bad experience she had been living in a shell of existence and avoiding living her life again until she goes and eventually agrees to being Burgess's Au Pair with some conditions.

Burgess, a single Dad of a tween is struggling with the day to day of parenting a young girl while juggling his successful hockey career. He is drawn to Tallulah despite fighting against it but also wanting to keep her safe. The pair give into their desires and keep it a secret from his daughter and we all know how things like that turn out.

Overall, this was a good read although a little predictable at times. I enjoyed the return of the characters from the first book of the series and I liked the lead up to the possible characters of the next book in this series. I thought the chemistry between Burgess and Tallulah was off the charts and I found both characters relatable. Overall, this was a good book that I enjoyed from start to finish.

What a perfect follow-up story to Well’s and Josephine’s, featuring their best friends, Burgess and Tallulah. A perfect blend of spice, romance and comedy! The masculinity that presents itself in this book through hockey really packs the punch, and then a gruff single dad vibe on top of it? A must read.

I have been enjoying this sports series and this is no exception. A fun romance read with some interesting side characters and a good follow-up to book 1 in the series that can also be read as a stand alone.

i loved fan girl down and could not wait for this one and it did not disappoint! Grumpy hockey players are my FAVORITE and Burgess was exactly that! He was so possessive and i absolutely loved these two together! I loved how patient he was with Tallulah and im so thankful these two got the HEA that they so truly deserved

So, this was actually my first Tessa Bailey book, believe it or not (which is funny, considering this is the second in a series—a fact of which I was unaware when I submitted my request for an ARC, but here we are). I have to say, I totally get the hype. Her writing is fun, engaging, relatable, and so, so funny. (And SPICY. Oh my gosh.) I loved both of our MCs. I usually don't care much for third person writing, but I found it perfect for getting both POVs. The insight to both of their perspectives felt thorough and well thought out, and despite the insta-lust we were thrown into from the start, I found it all to be believable. (Granted, again, I didn't read the first book, so I probably missed something vital to their beginning.) (I'll definitely be going back to read the first book.) I also really loved the way the Big Conflict was handled. After Tallulah's trauma, I would have been really put off had there not been a sufficient amount of groveling. I kept getting worried she was going to forgive and forget too easily, but Tessa really planned the pacing and timing perfectly. I loved this book, and I'll definitely be recommending to everyone I know. Now, excuse me while I get caught up on literally all of Tessa's other books.

✔️ Nanny
✔️ Hockey
✔️ Age Gap
✔️ Grumpy/Sunshine
✔️ Single Dad

I knew I would love Burgess after meeting him in Fangirl Down. He's a perfect grump - that weathered "I've seen it all vibe" in his late 30s 😂

Can I also mention how I love a veteran athlete read?? So many hockey romances are about rookies, but there is something really fun about a guy who is a reluctant mentor. Some of my favorite scenes are with him and the rookie hockey players.

The chemistry between Burgess and Tallulah was off the charts hot. Their banter, their inner monologue which has so much horny pining, and then the grand gestures that both of them do in order to win over the other - perfection.

I loved that Tallulah wanted to bring that Mary Poppins/Ted Lasso energy to make a difference in Burgess' professional and personal life. She is the perfect sunshine.

Highly recommend! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it's a 5⭐️ read.

Steam 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕💕

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Burgess Abraham, aka ‘Sir Savage’, needs help. A single, divorced father of a twelve year old, he’s trying to figure out how to connect with his daughter while maintaining his career as the captain for Boston’s hockey team, the Bearcats. Enter Tallulah, the woman he has been obsessing over and hoping will agree to be his nanny.

Tallulah Aydin has been ‘on the run’ for a while. After a traumatic experience with someone she trusted, she hasn’t been able to put down solid roots nor let anyone get too close. Agreeing to nanny for Burgess seemed like the perfect solution: free housing while she finished her masters, a paycheck and getting to nanny for Burgess’ daughter.

What starts out as an innocent job quickly turns into a blossoming friendship between Burgess and Tallulah, both of them learning to trust one another and grow from situations in their past. But their forced proximity and crackling attraction threatens to throw everything out of balance, especially taking Burgess’ daughter into account. Will Tallulah and Burgess come to an understanding of what the other wants in a relationship?

This was such an entertaining and spicy read. I always love Tessa Bailey’s writing, and this was no different. Her MMCs are always my insta-crushes, and Burgess was no different. I usually hate a curmudgeony MMC… but this just WORKED. I also loved Tallulah and was so eager to see someone teach her to trust and love again. The plight of their relationship had me in all my feels - I definitely was shedding some tears both in sadness and joy! As per usual, Tessa’s spice was EXCEPTIONAL. I cannot wait to see where our side characters go from here… the next story’s tropes are right up my alley. Also… can we get a book about the rookies? 🤭🤭🤭

Tropes in this story:
✨Age gap (he’s 37, she’s 26)
✨Divorced single dad / nanny
✨She’s teaching him how to date… and definitely not getting jealous 👀
✨Hockey romance
✨Soft only for her
✨All the yearnin’ and burnin’, leading to explosive spice

I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book via NetGalley, but my review is all my own.

I love this author and I loved this book. This is a nanny/ daddy romance. Very well done. But no surprise there! The author is Tessa Bailey!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So outside of me not liking the FMC’s name. I enjoyed this book. Idk, the name made me think of a dairy cow.

I liked this one more than I thought I would though.

Tallulah and Burgess met through their best friends in Tessa Bailey’s last novel, Fangirl Down. They both left their initial meeting thinking about the other, but Burgess is a mid-30s hockey star dad of a preteen and knows his life isn’t what Tallulah, a 26 year old student, is looking for. Against his better judgment, he convinces her to become a live in nanny for his daughter, and their chemistry leaves readers intrigued to see what’s going to happen next. As Burgess pursues Tallulah and seeks to convince her he is different than the men of her past, she begins letting her own boundaries slip. Both characters are likable and make this sweet story one that all romance readers will love to experience.

Talullah accepts a live in nanny gig for hockey star Burgess and his tween daughter Lissa. Not only will it give her free lodging in notoriously expensive Boston, the child in question is nearly self sufficient, and the schedule will work around her degree coursework.

There’s two sided instant attraction, but they don’t immediately act on it.

It’s age gap-ish (age gap lite? 11 years isn’t huge, but it’s not nothing)
Plus there’s the whole ‘is it appropriate with the power imbalance?’

She’s struggling with some understandable safety concerns and reluctance to be live in help to a man she has barely met and has A Reputation on the ice
He is focusing on trying to do his best by his daughter while alleviating Tallulah’s concerns to risk her losing her help to take a shot he thinks will miss.

Even with the laundry list of reasons why they *shouldn’t* a late night rescue and an agreement to help him get back out there shifts things. Suddenly the lines they drew look like they’ll be demolished sooner rather than later

This one manages to feel like the MCs have UST even after it is very much not unresolved…is unresolved emotional tension a thing? Because maybe that’s it. Anyways, it’s glorious.
And these two have *mouths* on them too

The third act breakup was a one-two punch of pain, but the story resolves into such a wonderful ending it was worth it.

Also - Sid and Chloe. Definitely want to know more about *that* whole situation

I don’t know if there’s an official CW because I didn’t check, but heads up for stalking and kidnapping - NOT between the MCs, but it did happen to the FMC in the past

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for the arc!


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I also reviewed this on goodreads, but for some reason the share button isn’t there and I can’t figure out how to grab the link to copy it below

I said it before and I’ll say it again TESSA BAILEY CAN DO NO WRONG! The banter! The spice! Everything was just so good! Already talking to anyone who will listen about this book!

The second book in Tessa Bailey's Big Shots series is a hockey romance that was so fun to read! I love sports romances and was so excited for this after being hinted at in Fangirl Down. Yes for all of the hockey and the great Tessa Bailey banter and steam.

Thanks to @avonbooks for my copy!

mehhhhh.... was this spicy? HELL YES. but was this for me? definitely not. I found The Au Pair Affair to be missing that Tessa Bailey charm... iykyk.

I loved everything about this book. The hulking hockey player and younger au pair were such a great pair. I really enjoyed this one!

I was hooked from page one of this amazing masterpiece. Tessa Bailey puts something in her books that makes me fly through them with ease, and this one was no exception. The characters were so deep and the relationship between everyone had me daydreaming.

I enjoyed "The Au Pair Affair" by Tessa Bailey far more than "Fangirl Down!"-- There I said it!

As a part of her new sports-themed series, Big Shots Book #2, "The Au Pair Affair" is stacked with your expected tropes: nanny x boss, grumpy x sunshine, age gap (11 yrs), and single dad. But the way each trope is handled is far from typical--there's more adult logic, acceptance, and focus on overall happiness rather than just 'letting things happen.' The MCs, Tallulah and Burgess are so different but also likable and relatable as an adult reader--something I didn't get from 'Fangirl Down.'

Speaking of the MCs, Tessa never fails on spice, and drama. Yes, there's a formulaic third-act-breakup, but it's one of the most logical ones I've read in a while, and the get-together isn't as instant as most books. It's worth wild for the HEA.

4.5/5 Stars. Thank you Netgalley for providing an eARC and Harper Collins / Avon for providing an early finished copy in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.

The Au Pair Affair was such a fun read and a strong follow up to Fangirl Down, which I absolutely loved! I had never read a novel where the characters had such a significant age gap, but it felt very realistic. Initially, both Tallulah and Burgess had reservations about the gap, but of course, in the end, their chemistry and connection won out. Although there were a few “daddy” jokes (which, the term usually makes me cringe), their dynamic was never weird. The pacing of the story made sense. These are two people who were clearly attracted to one another from the start. I won’t give anything away, but I definitely wouldn’t consider their romance to be a slow burn. What I liked the most about The Au Pair Affair was that their relationship arc was genuine. I didn’t feel like anything was forced for the sake of creating conflict. I’ll also note that the characters were reasonable. I feel like, in some novels, when conflict does arise, the characters go from 0 to 100 way too quick. We learn a lot about the characters’ backstories fairly early on (very well done, by the way), which inform their present day realities and how they respond to the situations they are presented with. Tessa Bailey definitely didn’t disappoint with this novel. It was sweet, sexy, and heartwarming. I love that there was a big family focus with this one too. I was kind of sad that I got through it so quick. There was also a clear set up for the next novel which I am very interested in reading!

I definitely recommend checking out The Au Pair Affair and Avon Books! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!