I have no idea how I can like a first book and think the second one is BLAH! However, this is exactly what happened here.

Short and sweet summary:
Burgess is the grumpy, loner, single dad, friend we met in book one. He is a professional hockey player in his late thirties, meaning he thinks he is SO old he is on death's door. Tallulah is the sunshine marine biologist friend we also met in book one who accepted a position as Burgess' au pair to his 11 year old daughter. Besides the 11 year difference, they have quite a few things working against them....actually they have one....Tallulah's past trauma. Blah, blah, blah, HEA.

The crux of the problem was that the idea of this book just doesnt work with Tessa Bailey's style. The pace was off, the obstacles keeping them apart were easily fixable and then there was a weird third act trip to Costa Rica that just dind't make much sense. I was NOT a fan of Tallulah- she would act super mature one minute (which makes you overlook their age difference) then SUPER immature the next (making you question why would Burgess go for an adult-child). Burgess was a dream, except his character just didnt fit a dirty talking MMC. I mean Tessa is the queen of dirty talk, but it didnt work for Burgess (he's too sweet).

Will I read EVERYTHING Tessa writes, yes! But this one fell flat.

Thank you #NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVE this new series from Tessa! In this companion novel, we’ve got dual POV, grumpy/sunshine, sports AND he falls first!

A few moments issues felt repetitive, but I loved the really thoughtful way Burgess consisted Tallulah’s feelings, boundaries and concerns. Tessa knows how to write a pining boy ™️

I loved seeing Josephine and Wells again plus I pray we get Sig’s story next!!

There is a lot of heart in this new novel from Bailey. I found Tallulah to be such a charming and appealing character -- smart, brave, loving. And I appreciated that. Burgess understood that he had to grow and change in order to be the partner she deserves. Also liked that this is a single father character and it acknowledges the challenges of dating someone who has a child.

Excited for book 3 in this series!

though I enjoyed fangirl down, the first book in this series, quite a bit more, the au pair affair was still an entertaining read. centered around burgess and tallulah, an aging hockey player and single father and the spunky nanny he hires. the au pair affair is classic tessa — witty, steamy and fun. it was a nice touch to have burgess fall first and fast while his girl was most skeptical about a commitment given the substantial trauma she was still grappling with. that push and pull resulted in a lot of appealing tension and heat. however, and this was something I could sense throughout most of the book, I was consistently left wanting more. this book was good, there is no denying that, but it could have been more, been better. the synopsis promised one thing and we sort of got another. this is marketed as an age-gap romance involving a sports figure and his daughter's nanny. and yet, we got just one hockey game and almost no instances where tallulah actually nannied lissa.

ultimately, this story was a good time. the romance was solid and the steam provided what it needed to. despite some of my small criticism, I did enjoy the au pair affair and will absolutely be tuning into book three. it is sure to be a wild ride given the teasers we got about the couple here.

thanks to avon and tessa bailey for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I think this might be my favorite Tessa Bailey! Simultaneously adorable and intensely hot, and Tessa Bailey's signature toxic masculinity was toned down enough to be bearable.

There were a lot of parts I enjoyed and liked, but this one didn't hit the same like the first (Fangirl Down) about their besties. The tone was different like the settings, think Florida versus Boston and you'll get it.

Burgess hires Tallulah immediately when they meet in Fangirl Down as they have lunch with their respective besties. Tallulah immediately hits it off with his daughter, Lissa, and you can tell he is instantly smitten. When we meet them in the Au Pair Affair, he hasn't been able to forget her.

But despite Tallulah also being drawn to Burgess, she doubts her instincts and is hesitant to trust any man again so she backs out of the job. She has very understandable trust issues whose reason you learn early on. But even before she shares her story with him, Burgess is considerate of her feelings and doesn't push anything while trying to support and protect her. That support helps her start to adventure again, to work toward the woman she wants to be.

Though while he plays bodyguard on their adventures, and she gains confidence in herself again, she begins to trust again and finally admits to herself her feelings for him despite the factors against them: the eleven-year age gap, becoming a co-parent, and settling down when her life is just beginning again.

All this as Burgess comes to terms with the realities of his career, body, and what he actually needs to live.

They both had a lot to learn from each other as they are entering new periods of their lives, and wonder if it will work. Tallulah's concerns were very valid, let alone due to her trauma, and she really wrestles with the hard decision of determining what you want your life to look like when you had a very different idea compared to the new the path possible.

Which is also hard when you are ridiculously horny for each other. Yes, there were multiple smutty scenes where Burgess's large size and alpha male tendencies starred.

Throughout I kept being drawn to Chloe and Sig because that book will be SOMETHING. It was also cute to see Wes and Josephine again (yay, best man/maid of honor and wedding shenanigans!).

Overall, maybe it was due to the greater angst than the first, but the vibes were more obessive/possessive/serious than spicy romcom, though there were some great funny moments in typical Tessa fashion. While the tone shift was understandable, if very different coming from the first, I enjoyed how Tessa delved into the characters thoughts and made you really understand their concerns so in atypical romance-reader fashion, you don't know the obvious solution so they can be together and actually doubt for a moment (like them) that they can. It made their happy ending more satisfying and if anything, I want another epilogue but hope to see more of them in Chloe and Sig's story *wink wink nudge nudge*

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Feat: age gap (26/37), boss/employer, au pair/single father, possessive protective alpha male, healing after trauma, cliff-diving as a love language, he falls first, sports romance, pro hockey romance, romcom

3.5 stars
2.5 spice

Dang this book was soooo cute!! I loved the romance and the spice was so good omg. Tallulah was a lovely MC, and I like Burgess too although he wasn’t my absolute favorite. I read this one right after Fangirl Down which was a great choice since the main characters stories are somewhat tied together! I think there were some pacing issues in the first half of this book, because although I really liked the whole book it took me 6 days to get through, when normally it would’ve been a 2 day read for me. So maybe this is like a 4.25, but rounding down. Still a super fun, sexy, lovely read!

🌈Queer rep: none

I have mixed feelings about this but overall enjoyed it. I generally don’t go for this trope, it doesn’t really appeal to me and I wasn’t really that excited to read this aside from it being a Tessa Bailey book (I usually like her books). I didn’t enjoy the previous book in the series much so my expectations were quite low even though I was curious about Burgess.

I feel much of Burgess’ was inconsistent between POVs. In his he seems so anxious and unsure of himself, how to behave, what to say, etc. From T’s perspective, Burgess seems VERY confident and always knows the right thing to say and do. Some of it felt a bit childish given his age, almost schoolchild giddy. He always seemed a step away from scribbling her name on his notebook. BUT! I liked him and actually I thought some of his scenes were hot!

I understood Tellulah’s fears but I didn’t really understand why THAT would cause THESE fears. I said “WHOA” when we learned what happened to her but it was never spoken about again. Did she go to therapy or was Burgess her therapy? I would have liked to read the scenes of her doing hard things on her own rather than getting a rundown from Chloe. Speaking of…

What was Chloe’s deal? I worried about her… intellectually. When she said she “didn’t know how to clean” I was very confused. I guess I never considered that someone might need to be taught how to do that? If her book is next, I don’t know if I can take it. Maybe it’ll change my mind?

Very engaging. Liked the character growth, and seeing others from previous relationships. It was nice to see emotional growth of the male love interest.

This one might have beaten out "It Happened One Summer" for me! I LOVED IT. The romance was swoonworthy and believable. Tallulah was spunky without being cheesy or verging on manic pixie. Burgess was dreamy, flawed, and swoonworthy. I loved it. Will be adding to my library's fiction order!

I loved this second book in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey. Tessa writes the best alpha characters and banter. The Au Pair Affair was a fun feel good comfort read full of humor and romance. I loved how Burgess and Talluluh supported each other in their own personal growth. The Big Shots series was a surprise to me in the best way as someone who doesn’t typically gravitate to sports romance. Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I know I say for every single book that Tessa writes, but this is her best one yet! They just keep getting better! And a grumpy/sunshine, au pair, single dad, age gap, HOCKEY ROMANCE??! Literally all my favorite tropes in one book and it was perfection. Burgess and Tallulah were just so adorable and had such great chemistry. I also love that the third act break up was realistic. It wasn’t due to some stupid miscommunication but an actual issue, and watching Burgess fight to get her back was the amazing. I loved every second of this and couldn’t put it down!

And now I DYING to found what is going on with Sig and Chloe 😂 I have a feeling their story is going to be very interesting

I was excited for this book after reading the first in the series, but I have to say this one was even better and completely exceeded my expectations. The story was hilarious, both the characters were so likable, and it just was such an addicting, sexy read. Tessa Bailey keeps getting better and better.

Well, Tessa, you did it again. ANOTHER AMAZING HOCKEY STORY! Tallulah and Burgess meet thru Wells and Josephine (book 1)... Burgess needs a nanny for his 12 year old daughter, so he hires Tallulah, but is there more to that story??

I’m so glad I was able to read this right after Fangirl down. Burgess is the description of grumpy sunshine. I liked Talullah as well, but she was a little too whiny at the end. She recovered herself but overall Burgess was the shining star of this book. I enjoyed Sig in this one as well and I am curious as to his story with Chloe.

Tessa Bailey can’t write a book I won’t want to read! I love a good sports romance, especially one that features hockey, so The Au Pair Affair was right up my alley. I loved getting to see some familiar characters, plus a little set up for a future story. If you enjoy spicy romance, this is a good one to add to your TBR. 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I know you’re sick of me shouting from the rooftops how much I LOVE TESSA BAILEY, but I’m not stopping anytime soon baby!

Right out of her internship in Antarctica, Tallulah is hired to be the nanny for Burgess. If you read Fangirl Down, then you already know that Burgess is *the shit* aka superstar hockey player in Boston. If you haven't read that, no worries because The Au Pair Affair can easily be read as a stand alone.

I don’t typically love the nanny trope. Often, it makes it look like the guy can’t keep it in his pants, and the girl doesn’t take her job seriously. Bailey does such a great job at taking this cringy (for me) trope and making it sweet and perfect 👏
Burgess is an emotionally attuned man, who knows what he wants but has patience until he gets there. Tallulah is a gorgeous, brainiac who has the most traumatic past. That doesn’t stop her from being the queen she is and a fantastic role model to Burgess’s tween daughter.

I loved every moment of this book! From the romance to the spice, and especially the singles' mixer scene. Bravo Tessa! 👏
Also, I hope this series isn’t complete, and we get another sequel to follow Sig and Chloe’s story 🤞🤞

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book!! It was fabulous and well done. The characters were on point and I thought the plot was well developed. I would recommend this book to others. 10/10 , My first 5 star of 2024

Okay, I ended up really enjoying this one and I was pleasantly surprised! At first, it took me a little bit to connect to the characters but then once I did I was smitten! I LOVED LOVED how protective and alpha Burgess is. Major hot daddy hockey player! The single dad trope is always so underrated and he was just so great. I loved how he fell so hard for her first.

Tallulah had to grow on me a bit because you find out why she's so nervous about men. But I really did enjoy their relationship. It definitely gets hot and steamy at times. But I know Tessa can write pretty steamy so I was prepared for that and it wasn't too much which I liked. They had a good build up and it wasn't an instant thing which I was so happy about. The conflict was a little frustrating but I saw it coming and I did love that he had to work for her. Overall, I ended up really loving it and I'm glad I gave it a shot. And now I'm DYING for Sig and Chloe's book because I think he'll be another super protective alpha. I need to go back and read the first book too!!!

Tessa Bailey’s writing is really accessible, which I love. I’ve found her books are either hit or miss for me, and this one was a miss. I didn’t feel invested at the 25% mark and decided not to continue. It feels like nothing is happening, and I wasn’t particularly interested in following along. The golf one was such a romp, and hockey is my favorite sport, so I thought this would for sure be a slam dunk.

Likely an easy three stars from the target audience and four to five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.