The Au Pair Affair is the much anticipated follow up to Bailey's Fangirl Down. We got hints of this pairing at the end of Fangirl and then got lots of peeks at Josephine and Welles in this book. Tallulah has been hired to be the au pair for hockey beast, Burgess's 12 year old daughter. Tallulah has some very suprising and deep fears about this situation but can't pass up helping this family who clearly needs her. While he builds her trust and works through his own struggles, their connection is so good. It's a little slower of a burn than we get from Tessa which makes it feel slower than it truly is. But the payoff, as always, is worth it.

Most readers understand that the plot is usually not the primary factor in determining whether one enjoys a romance novel. It's about the feelings and the characters and all that. Sometimes a handy plot device is just the thing that moves us all toward that Happily Ever After, most romance fans will just roll with it. Sometimes, however, the plot device strains credulity just a little too much, especially when the backstory just doesn't match with the character's contemporary actions. Such is the case here, unfortunately, which is really the only reason this book gets only 4 stars. Other than that, it's a delightful read, with characters you'll root for, and, yes, all the feelings.

Phenomenal and steamy. Another zinger by Tessa Bailey! Treated a serious subject and trauma with grace.

I loved the hockey angle of this book but i wish there was more of it. I think a lot of her books are coming out too fast and the care she once put in is nolonger there or at least felt

4.5 stars - I need the next book asap!!!

So far the Big Shots series is my favorite by Tessa Bailey and I can't get enough of the characters in each book, so I'm especially grateful they still appear from time to time. Sports romance combined with the single dad/nanny trope is my ultimate happy place for reading and I've been chomping at the bit for this one as soon as I finished Fangirl Down.

Burgess is a giant teddy bear, and the amount of patience he had with her anxiety/PTSD makes him a forever book boyfriend on my list. I also love how the relationship with his daughter grows the more Tallulah is around them together. Her ease around Lissa is so tender to witness and I didn't want this story to end.

Both main characters have their own struggles, past and present, causing me to be glued to the page for every heart breaking moment. Don't get me wrong, Burgess knows how to dirty talk, and I was almost afraid my Kindle was going to catch on fire with the heat between them.

I devoured this book in one day, but I can't wait for Chloe and Sig's story, so I hope that one's next!!!

I love Tessa Bailey. She is an immediate read for me, every time. And I love hockey! So you'd think I'd be over the moon for this book. But... I just felt like there were some misses.

This man has a daughter and he's more protective of this 20 something year old he just met? I get it, but he needs to be protective all the way around. Otherwise it feels a little too daddy/daughter for me. (It's been weeks and I still think about this. This man was so "protective" he made it impossible for the guides to do their jobs. That's not charming, that's being an a-hole.)

In his head he is very shy and unsure, but out loud in her POV he is a totally different person. Consistency is the key to making a character believable. Their make-up was messy as well, because they both wavered so much! Maybe they should make up their own minds before dragging each other around.

Her trauma is glossed over so quickly! No wonder this poor girl is dealing with so much. I know this is meant to be a cute romcom but I do feel like this level of trauma should be addressed more. Get my girl some therapy!

"I'm hungry and your body is the only thing that feeds me." "Devour me, then." Just... bad. It's bad. I know we all like dirty talk but this is next level.

All this to say I did enjoy the plot and I always have faith in Tessa. This one just feels half finished.

As a hockey fan, I loved that this book actually included hockey on the page and dealt with the very real issue of injury and rehab in the sport. I also thought the way the stakes ramped up was absolutely masterful. And for readers who love a grovel, this one goes all in. Burgess has to work for it, and Tessa makes him HURT.

I literally ate this books up. I loved burgess so much. That man….swoon. I also love Tallulah. Her growth and watching her come back out of her shell was chefs kiss. This is probably my favorite book by Tessa to date(I said the same thing about Fangirl Down) I thought it was cute and fun but could still be serious. If you’re a contemporary romance person, just do yourself a favor and read it.

This book started off very strong for me. The first 60% had me locked in. I liked both main characters. Burgess, despite his name, seemed like a good mix of protective but also a big teddy bear. Tallulah, despite her name, seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and was resilient. Not sure if these two had anything other than physical chemistry but I was into it. Until the third act break up. Burgess was giving huge red flags and Tallulah folded super easy after one dinky apology.

I enjoy a good single dad trope but this one had me feeling a lil bad for the child involved. I liked the age gap between these two (37 and 26) but wasn’t a huge fan of the boss/employee vibe, especially when neither of them never even tried to keep things professional lol.

All in all the spice was pretty good but the plot was lacking for me. Looking forward to find out wtf is going on with Sig and Chloe!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you’ve read a lot of Tessa Bailey’s backlist, you are aware that she has certain writing quirks and word choices that will either work for you, or really won’t. With that in mind, I think it’s fair to say that The Au Pair Affair is Tessa Bailey at her Tessa Bailey-est. The first half of this book was over-the-top and unhinged in the best way. All the hallmarks of Tessa’s writing were present and turned up to 11 and I was having so much fun with how whacky this was. Unfortunately, the baffling third act conflict completely ruined this for me - the hero behaves antithetically to how his character was built up. The things he says to the FMC are unforgivable and I felt like there were so many other ways the conflict could have been played that would have aligned better with the characters’ established traits and flaws. This had so much potential to be another win for me (I really loved Fangirl Down) but it didn’t stick the landing.

Classic Tessa Bailey! This felt familiar to her previous books, sharing a lot of the same elements that she’s known for without being the same story. I also love that Bailey is writing sports romances…I really hope we get an Sig/Chloe story next!

This book features hockey captain and single dad, Burgess aka “Sir Savage” and his nanny, Talulah. In Fan Girl Down, we caught a glimpse at the “lust at first sight” between the pair, and in this book we really get to experience it and the couple’s chemistry. Burgess falls hard and fast—super fun to read—but Tallulah has experienced some pretty heavy things in her past which causes her hesitancy around relationships. Overall, a very entertaining read.
4.25⭐️ 3🌶️

This book features the following tropes:
-forced proximity
-age gap
-single dad
-grump sunshine
-hockey romance

This book was 3.5 stars. It was cute and fun but very cringe worthy at times. Overall it was a quick fun read that I think a lot of people will enjoy.

Tessa Bailey does it once again. I loved getting to know this couple. While au pair and single dad is not my favorite trope I thought the author handled it really well. The longing coming from the male main character was my favorite part! A fun read! I will be recommending it to my friends, because I love them and they deserve to read a good spicey book!

I just love the characters Tessa Bailey creates. They are all so human. This is a continution of Wells and Josephine's story in Big Shots #1. Tallulah is Josephine's BFF who was in Antartica studying penguins from the first book. She has returned after agreeing to be Sir Savage, the hockey players, live-in au pair. If you remember correctly, he was quite taken with her. Tallulah gets all the way to Boston and realizes that living with a total stranger might not be the way she needs to live. She has a past and some scars that still haven't healed. That is why she goes on all the research trips she can get in on that take her to remote places and away from men hitting on her.

Sir Savage is a great character. He is the hot headed, known bad buy of the hockey world. The Bostonians LOVE him. But, he is aging and with that comes the knowledge that hockey is all he knows and how can he give it up. His daughter is growing up and he has no idea how to connect with her.

This is a great story of how characters are flawed and how they come together when things are meant to be.

Tessa has done it again. How much did I absolutely love this couple? More than anything candidly. I like them more than Wells and Josephine. The tension, the love, the family, the dirty talk, all top notch. Just absolutely loved their connection. Big giant hulking man falling first? 100%. I don’t love their conflict which is the only reason this is getting 4 stars, but his groveling was wonderful and he was dedicated to getting! Her! Back!!

This was a cute sports rom-com with a single dad/age difference trope. I love that Tessa Bailey has gotten into the realm of sports romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC.

If you’ve read Tessa Bailey you know what to expect. Funny likable characters, scorching chemistry, dirty talk, a third act break up with groveling to recover for a HEA. This book is no exception.

We have a little bit of forbidden romance cause he is her boss and she is his daughter’s au pair but honestly that doesn’t keep them away for long.

This book was hot. If you like Tessa’s previous books you will like this one. No question.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyage for the ARC.

The Au Pair Affair is the second book in the Big Shots series, but can absolutely be read as a standalone novel.

Tallulah is a 26-year-old grad student studying Marine Biology at Boston University. Living in Boston is expensive, so Tallulah jumps at the chance to work as a live-in nanny for single dad Burgess Abraham, a professional hockey player.

If the aches and pains have anything to say about it, Burgess is nearing the end of his hockey career. Raising a 12-year-old is a little out of his wheelhouse, so Burgess is grateful that Tallulah and Lissa hit it off right away.

There are so many tropes in this one (single dad, he falls first, grumpy/sunshine) but they are all so well done, and this was a typical Tessa Bailey steamy read. Seriously, the spice level on this one was 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

Burgess was so protective of Tallulah from the very beginning, but it didn’t feel overbearing. He would do anything to make sure she feels safe - even if it means finding her another place to live.

Tallulah’s past trauma was handled with care, but may still be triggering to some.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a seasoned fan of Tessa Bailey and I’ve requested arcs for all of her upcoming books, so to say I was excited for this book was an understatement.

Synopsis:
A match made in heaven, Burguss needs a nanny for his daughter and Tallulah needs job and a place to stay for her graduate program. While Tallulah is adventurous, events from her past make her feel unsafe with taking risks, so safe, protective Burguss offers to help her out in her attempts to get back into the world. However, can they stay apart from each other?

While I had fun with this story it fell a bit flat for me with the characters emotional connection. While Bailey’s romances are filled with hilarious and even ridiculous scenes, they’re usually pretty fun-loving and adorable. However, there were times I just felt like it was too ridiculous. Also, I didn’t feel organic chemistry with the two romantic leads, it was very curated within the writing. The storyline and emotional connection felt forced so that they could fast-forward to the physical aspects of their relationship. While this makes sense for some stories that don’t hide that this is their intention, this was supposed to be a story about a love match.

While, I love Bailey and her writing, this one just wasn’t a favorite. If there was more character building with the individual characters, I think it wouldn’t have seemed so forced. I can’t wait for the next story. Chloe and Sig might be my favorite couple, and no one writes tension like Bailey. So hopefully, in this next story, it will focus more on the emotion than the physical, and I also would love a slower burn for sure.

**Thank you NetGalley for providing me this arc! All opinions and views are my own, as promised to provide a honest review to the publisher.**

Oh tessa. I can’t really give your book a bad review because I love you so much but this was not the vibe. Both characters were annoying and the tropes did not hit like I wanted them to. The whole age gap nanny thing should have been spicy but the whole time I just wondered why this grown ass man couldn’t seem to do anything on his own.