The Au Pair Affair
Rating: 5/5⭐️
Recommended: Yes!
Tessa Bailey always delivers. This book was so fun and Burgess was the definition of “he falls first” and “he falls harder.” I highly recommend this book and it’s the perfect read for summer!

Read if you like…
- He Falls First
- He Falls Harder
- Single Dad
- Hockey Romance
- Nanny x Boss

I first heard about Tessa Bailey from a coworker, although this is the first book of hers that I have read. I tend to be hesitant to read books from a new author, because it tends to take me a while to get used to the writing style. I was a bit nervous about reading the second book in a series that I had not yet read the first of, but I should not have been worried at all (Note: Although this book is in a series, it can definitely be read as a “standalone”).

One thing that I really liked about this book is that both characters were written in such a way that you could have empathy for both, and it doesn’t make you prefer one character more than another. Another thing that I really liked was that I really enjoyed the side characters. Actually, based on the epilogue, I’m excited to see what’s next for two of the side characters in this book.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book. I am sure that I will now be a long time Tessa Bailey reader. I recommend this book.

**A received an advanced reader copy of the re-release for my honest review**

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins Voyager and the author, Tessa Bailey, for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for a honest opinion.

Tessa Bailey has created a sport themed romance that is slow burn in a sweet, heartfelt manner to say the least. The Au Pair Affair is the second book in the Big Shots series, which follows the main characters are Tallulah and Burgess as they navigate a professional employer/employee turned romance thus the title of the book. Tallulah is the au pair to Burgess daughter, Lissa. Burgess is a single divorced dad, who is also a veteran professional hockey player that is aware of the age gap between him and his au pair. Thankfully, this does not stop him from developing feelings. Bailey has created relatable, compelling, complex characters that will have you rooting for them all the way to the end.

“But here she was, opening her thighs like a big box store on the morning of Black Friday…”

I’m dead. Hilarious. I had such a blast reading Fangirl Down so I was very excited to dive back into that world and read about Tallulah and Burgess and their Boston escapades.

This was a super fast read, funny, yet had those poignant moments that hit you in the feels. And I’m always a sucker when he falls first. Like say no more, I’m going devour that.

And an aside, I have to ask- are we going to get Sig’s story because what’s going on there!? 👀

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reader copy!

After making their appearance in Fangirl Down, I had a feeling that Burgess's and Tallulah's story was going to be sexy, intriguing, and a book I could not put down... I am so glad I was right.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜ ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴀꜰꜰᴀɪʀ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ: ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ʜᴏᴛ "ᴍᴇᴀɴ ᴅᴀᴅᴅʏ" ʙᴜʀɢᴇꜱꜱ ɪꜱ ʙᴏꜱᴛᴏɴ'ꜱ ꜱᴛᴀʀ ᴅᴇꜰᴇɴꜱᴇᴍᴀɴ ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ ɪɴ ᴅᴇꜱᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴇ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ɴᴀɴɴʏ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪꜱ 12-ʏᴇᴀʀ-ᴏʟᴅ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀ. ʟᴜᴄᴋɪʟʏ, ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴍᴇᴇᴛɪɴɢ ᴛᴀʟʟᴜʟᴀʜ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴍᴜᴛᴜᴀʟ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ (ᴡᴇʟʟꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴊᴏꜱᴇᴘʜɪɴᴇ ɪɴ ꜰᴀɴɢɪʀʟ ᴅᴏᴡɴ), ʜᴇ ꜰɪɴᴅꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴀ ɴᴀɴɴʏ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ ꜱᴇᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴅ. ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ɪᴅᴇᴀ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɢʀᴀᴅ ꜱᴛᴜᴅᴇɴᴛ ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ 11 ʏᴇᴀʀꜱ ʜɪꜱ ᴊᴜɴɪᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ᴡɪʟᴅʟʏ ᴀᴛᴛʀᴀᴄᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ, ɴᴏᴛ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ꜰᴏʀ ʜɪᴍ ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏᴏ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ?

This story is everything I wanted and expected from the next book in this series: Burgess is a 37-year-old hockey star who is struggling with the reality of being close to retirement while also dealing with connecting with his daughter. He pretty much has isolated himself outside of hockey. But Tallulah challenges his reality and pushes him to take chances that he hasn't taken since before his daughter was born. I loved every moment of his arc.

And Tallulah was such a surprise - her backstory is filled with trauma but the way she confronts it, very slowly and allows Burgess to help her was that emotional tug I love in these types of romances.

But this is also very endearing, funny, and wonderfully spicy. Their chemistry is off the charts and the dirty talk is pure gold. Their opposites attract vibe was playful and so entertaining. And I absolutely loved the supporting characters - Sig and Chloe. I am very hopeful that we get to learn more about them in a future book.

The Au Pair Affair is highly anticipated with good reason and absolutely lives up to the hype.


Tropes & Elements:
🏒 Hockey Player + Grad Student
⇿ Age Gap (11 yrs)
❤️ Single Dad + Nanny
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🩷 He falls first and hard
🏡 Forced Proximity
3️⃣ 3rd Person POV

My rating: 4.25 out of 5 ⭐️

I just can't get enough of this couple. Real life issues despite larger than life mmcharacter. Having such a down to earth set of problems and characters that are adults about working through them really helps this story interesting. The MFC is working her way through a major emergency trauma and the MMC is the perfect complement to her recovery. It was fun to read the banter and over all a very interesting read. Plenty of steam as one would expect from Tessa, but always well done. An amazingly enjoyable read, and I need more in this series!

Thanks to the publisher and NG for the ARC that I devoured and reviewed willing!

I really enjoyed this book! I love that Tallulah was fiercely independent but still learning how to be stronger in her independence. I also enjoyed the fact that we learn WHY Tallulah is so skittish around Burgess pretty early on in the book. This book was a lot about character growth while still opening up to love. Burgess is the biggest teddy bear and took constructive criticism so well. He falls first and hard so his points of view were so fun to read because he is a man obsessed! I also loved that we got to see Josephine and Wells a little bit! My only two minor complaints were we didnt get to see Lissa and Tallulah reunite, and Burgess’ nickname for Tallulah a few times was just “girl” which wasn’t my favorite so that’s just a personal pet peeve. Overall I enjoyed this book and the characters as well as their growth!

Throughly enjoyed this one! Telluha and Burgess were swoon worthy.
Burgess was a fierce hockey stud, that ticked all the boxes for "mean daddy"
Protector and totally gave those touch her and you die vibes.
Tellulha had so much growth, from her scared trauma that she shared and was trying to overcome to overcoming a lot with help from our Burgess.
It was just a good little romantic quick read, like all Tessas stories this will draw you in and you'll devour it in days. You won't want to put it down.

This is one of the cutest things I’ve ever read. I haven’t read Fangirl Down yet, but this has inspired me to read it. I had strong opinions about this from the start. It is an 11 year age gap but Bailey writes so well and it honestly makes the story better. If I had to describe this in one word, it would be addicting. I could not put this down no matter how hard I tried. I was smiling and giggling throughout the entire book and, honestly, Burgess is a dream man. The way he fixes himself for Tallulah is so heartwarming and beautiful. I also love Lissa and I loved every scene where Tallulah interacted with Lissa. I love this story so much and wish there was more!

fangirl down was one of my most favorite reads & ofc there would be no exception to burgess’ and tallulah’s book. i was hooked from the start, and quite literally read this in LESS than twenty four hours… AND DURING EXAM SEASON? oh i was LOCKED IN.
tessa bailey has the perfect romcom writing style and this was fast-paced, funny, and such a fun time. i was obsessed!!!! the dynamics were really great and i loved the protective sense of the mmc— it wasn’t too overbearing and i found it sweet. overall such a fun and quick read and I LOVEEEEDDD!! i’m so excited to get my hands on a physical copy so it can come home and be right next to fangirl down (which btw all the josie and wells references had me squealing and jumping for joy)

Tessa Bailey is an automatic buy for me and this did not disappoint, I love that she is getting into sports romance! I fell in love with the characters and storyline. I would absolutely recommend this book.

Thank you Tessa Bailey, NetGalley, and Avon Books for this ARC.

**gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review**

I kindly received this ARC through NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you!

The Au Pair Affair is a hockey sports romance with a fast paced plot and plenty of spice. Tallulah is in the middle of master's program and needs a job. Through her friend she obtains a job for an Au pair of a famous hockey player, Burgess Abraham. There's an instant attraction from a previous meet (in Fangirl Down) and continues as she begins her job as the Au pair. They both try to fight the attraction for various reasons but when that chemistry is as strong as ever... can they resist? There is some talk about stalking and kidnapping, so be warned that there may be some trigger warnings.

I absolutely loved this book! Tallulah and Burgess captured me with their chemistry and how they interacted. Tallulah is a bit more open minded while Burgess is complacent in his life. I love how they learned from each other and it brought them closer together.

- Age gap
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Forced proximity
- Single dad / nanny
- Third act break up

Oh how I wanted to love this with my whole heart so bad. I did in certain parts, but any scenario where a character intentionally says words they know will hurt their counterpart is a hard no for me, no matter the situation. I saw it coming, but Burgess still let me down. I had a hard time finding him redeemable after that.

I did enjoy both characters (minus that Burgess indiscretion)- though I sometimes felt like it moved incredibly fast and was lacking the detail I wanted in terms of their fall into love. We saw a lot of aftermath rather than the real time play by plays. A little too insta-lovey for me. I sometimes felt like Lissa was a forgotten character, which was interesting since I expected the premise of the novel to revolve around Tallulah being her Au Pair. I was not blown away by Burgess as a dad- however I was by Burgess as a (wannabe) boyfriend prior to the injury. The side characters were great additions to the story. Contrary to other reviews I’ve read, I’m actually intrigued by Chloe and Sig’s relationship and am looking forward to their book.

3.5/5 rounded up. I am not letting feeling a bit lackluster about this deter my excitement about being approved for my first Tessa Bailey ARC! Thank you Tessa, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager. ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

While I found Fangirl Down, the first book in this series, to be more enjoyable, The Au Pair Affair still provided an entertaining reading experience. The story revolves around Burgess, an aging hockey player and single father, and Tallulah, the spirited nanny he hires. It embodies Tessa's signature style of wit, steaminess, and fun. It was interesting to see Burgess fall head over heels quickly, while Tallulah remained hesitant due to her own personal trauma. This dynamic created captivating tension and passion.

However, throughout most of the book, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. Although the synopsis promised an age-gap romance involving a sports figure and his daughter's nanny, we only got a glimpse of one hockey game and very few instances where Tallulah actually acted as a nanny to Lissa. This left me wanting more, as the book had the potential to be even better than it was.

Despite these criticisms, The Au Pair Affair still provided an enjoyable experience. The romance was solid, and there was certainly enough steaminess to satisfy. I did find myself enjoying the book and eagerly look forward to book three, as the teasers about the next couple promise an exciting and wild ride.

i love tessa bailey, but this one fell flat for me. Not enough depth and character development, and lacked plot. Maybe I shouldve read the first one in this series first?

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and to NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "The Au Pair Affair" by Tessa Bailey in exchange for an honest review.

Marine biology student Tallulah is ready to step into the world for adventure. Unfortunately, adventure, grad school, and decent apartments in in Boston all require a great deal of money that she does not have. So when a child-caretaker job offer spontaneously arrives from veteran hockey player Burgess, it's tough to pass up the opportunity.

Burgess is at a bit of a crossroads himself. He's struggling with physical issues that could end his storied professional hockey career and his relationship with awesome tween daughter is challenging. Then he meets Tallulah and he's immediately smitten. Offering her the job seems like a great idea, until he finds himself pining for his employee. And because he isn't a total creep, he tries to be respectful of that power dynamic.

However, this is a romance novel. Chemistry wins, of course.

In general, it's a fun, sexy book, if not terribly surprising. Apart from some of Tallulah's backstory, it plays out pretty much like you'd expect. But it's full of Bailey's trademarks: dirty talk from an emotionally intense MMC. So if you enjoy that, chances are you'll like The Au Pair Affair. Recommended for fans of sports romances and big gruff dudes pining for their lady love.

4.5 ⭐️

I couldn’t believe I received an ARC from NetGalley and Avon books, but I am so thankful!

I loved fangirl down and was so excited to get my hands on the single dad hockey player romance!

Burgess is the gruff and grumpy hockey player who is down BAD for his au pair. Tallulah is a grad student with some baggage. She takes the gig to take care of Burgess’ 12 year old but ends up falling for her protective boss!

Burgess is so patient and obsessed with Tallulah. He’s possessive and says “Mine” a lot! I can’t wait for everyone to pick this one up!

The first 75% was typical Tessa Bailey yummy spicy romance! The age gap, nanny x single dad, hockey player, forced proximity were *chefs kiss*

The last quarter had me asking: is the au pair in the room with us? The plot switched up and the groveling/realizations felt repetitive.

Maybe I read it too soon after Fangirl Down (loved)! Maybe I just prefer golf to hockey (duh)! Either way I’ll continue to pick up any and all of Tessa Bailey’s books.

P.S. I cannot wait to read Sig and Chloe’s book. I’m a sucker for a materialistic girl and a financially responsible man (art imitating life, ya know)!

✨The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey✨

When single dad and professional hockey star Burgess hires grad student Talullah to be the live-in nanny for his tween daughter Lissa, he tells himself that Talullah is off limits. But the more time Burgess spends with Talullah, the more attracted he is to her and the more trouble he has keeping his hands off her. Talullah is too busy enjoying life to be tied down to a man. But the way Burgess is so protective of her is a major turn on and it’s not long before she throws caution to the wind and decides to jump in with Burgess. That is until she finds out that Lissa is hoping for a reconciliation between her parents. Now Burgess and Talullah will have to decide if happily ever after could actually exist between the two of them and if so, at what cost.

This book was so much fun! I hadn’t yet read the first in the series when I started it, but a few chapters in, I put it on hold at my library because I knew I needed to read the love story of Josephine and Wells too. I loved how protective Burgess was of Talullah, and I loved that Talullah finally brought out the adventurous side of Burgess and made him realize that there is more to life than just hockey. This book also made me excited to read Sig and Chloe’s love story!

🏒 Marine biology grad student x professional hockey player
🏒 Live-in nanny for a tween girl
🏒 Single dad
🏒 Forced proximity
🏒 Age gap romance
🏒 He falls first
🏒 Blood orange & basil
🏒 Boston & Costa Rica

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

75% DNF. I couldn't make it past the 3rd act break up.

I was so excited for Tallulah and Burgess' book after devouring Fangirl Down! Plus I'm a fangirl for all of the romance tropes The Au Pair Affair has in it; single dad, sports, nanny, and age gap. I stan a heroine working on a STEM degree and thoughtfully communicative yet protective hero. The banter is typical Tessa Bailey, i.e. perfect and sometimes spicy. Readers will not be let down with the amount of spice in this novel. BUT the 3rd act break up just made me set it down and I never wanted to pick it back up. This is atypical for me, but I'm hopeful once it's released I'll want to pick it back up to finish it. Despite this I will continue to recommend all Tessa Bailey, but specifically this book to everyone interested in reading a fun romance with the above tropes.

I'm hopeful the two new side characters will be the stars of the next installment in the Big Shot series.