I really did enjoy this book, not only just the plot but the way the story kept on flowing. Also, I liked how the characters related to Tesse Bailey's Fangirl down book! I would absolutely recommend it!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchagne for an honest review

The second book in the series this one can be enjoyed entirely as a standalone

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-single parent
-sports romance
-age gap
-roommance
-denial
-he falls first and hard

I had been so hyped for this book since we saw just the absolute attraction between Tallulah and Burgess. But gosh I was not expecting the layers to this book. While Tallulah and Burgess looked like opposite, they both had their guard up from the world for a lot of reasons. How these two just became each other's safe space as they naviagate and open up their worlds. I was just a melty puddle as these two navigated falling for each other.

Burgess was just sawoon. Bearded, and just trying for his daughter, not wanting to lose the career he loved, and just recognizing a kindred spirit in Tallulah. Wanting more from life because of her. I really apprecaited that neither felt like they needed to change for the other, they just wanted to experience life together. I was cackling as these two tried to pretend that they were just massages, and it meant nothing but we all knew they were just gone on each other.

And if book 3 is what I think it is I need it immediately.

Tessa Bailey is my girl. She's my ride or die. She has written some of my all-time favorite books, and I love her for it. Unfortunately, this book just was not one of them.

Disclaimer: I still loved the novel. I'm a sucker for a single dad doing the best he can for his tween daughter. And when the dad is a professional hockey player? Whew. That's a winning combo.

I feel like this book let me down a little mostly because I loved "Fangirl Down" SO MUCH. I wanted to love this one just as much, but I don't know if it ever stood a chance!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Who wouldn't want some gigantic beast of a man being all sweet and protective and thoughtful of your feelings and wanting you so badly and experiencing such personal growth as a result? That was the best part of the book for me. Though with that said, the single dad trope was meh and the age gap just did not do it for me. At all. The "Mean Daddy" stuff and some of the naughty scenes felt very yuck to me. I'm down with smut, but this was not my cup of smut tea.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OBSESSSSSSED with this series! I adored book 2 - no sophomore slump here! The chemistry and tension was SO FAB but I also loved their communication & relationship overall. Steamy but sweet, I am going to be recommending this series to everyone!

I have broken up with Tessa Bailey and gotten back together more than once. It's a very hit or miss relationship, so no one is more surprised than me at how much I enjoyed both 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 and 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐀𝐟𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 (Pub 07.16).

In classic TB style, they are spicy. As soon as I finished Fangirl Down I joked with friends that I wasn't sure I could handle so much spice back-to-back. Just kidding. I fanned myself briskly, grabbed an ice cold beverage and jumped right into The Au Pair Affair.

𝘍𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯 (Out today) I read this concurrently in print and audio Bailey is BACK with a scorching sports romance (golf) Dual POV workplace mutual attraction. Did I mention it'll melt your pants off spicy? Tin Cup vibes w/Type 1 Diabetes rep. 5 (vocabulary/word choice isn't my favorite)

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘶 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳 (pub 07.16) Single Dad Hockey Player “Mean Daddy” vibes.Age gap He falls first. She is slow to trust due to her history. Steamy AF Sweetness & swoon

Thank you to @librofm for the ALC and @avon for the early copies.

Tessa Baily sure knows how to make you swoon, tug on your heart strings and write some flaming chemistry. This is the second book in her sports romance series (the first made me want to take up golf, it was that good) and it's a nice, although a touch overly dramatic, follow up. Both characters have stuff to overcome from their past as well as learn to trust each other and themselves. The character arks are satisfying, the chemistry is FIRE and there's sweetness and swoon to spare. I can't wait for the next installment in this series and I hope it's about Sig and his maybe future step sister - both of which recur in this book.

2.75

What a disappointment! I enjoyed “Fangirl Down”. Sure, it was typical smutty Tessa Bailey, but the story of the diehard fan of a former golf great becoming his caddy plus her own family story made a great and unique rom com. When we met Tallulah and Burgess near the end of that book, I was excited to read their story. Tallulah was a definite brain girl but still captured Burgess’s attention and she got along very well with his daughter.

Flash forward to their book, number two in the series. The au pair situation was almost nonexistent. All of a sudden, she’s this stunning Turkish beauty that every man drools over. She survived a major trauma, but it only really seems to affect her relationships for a nanosecond. His domineering is completely overlooked because he thought of her early on by finding her another place to live and then offering to put a lock on her bedroom for which only she had the key. Immediately when he comes home from hockey practice, she’s in the super short leather skirt with thigh highs ready to go out with friends. Of course, good for her, but that didn’t seem to fit the Tallulah I met in the first book. The great thing about her was that her enthusiasm and intelligence seemed to be her most alluring factor, but this Tallulah was just an exotic, statuesque stunner who happens to be smart.

Burgess seemed only seemed to worry about her and how his behavior affected her and not how things affected his daughter. On that note, how did he get primary custody if he’s a professional athlete who is on the road quite a bit? I don’t know. The whole arc of the story seemed to move quickly without their really being a conflict until the very end when it all came to a head, but they just seemed to go back-and-forth and back-and-forth. This was another that was nearing as bad as “Runaway Girl” with an older man having a controlling personality over a younger woman in a vulnerable situation.

It definitely isn’t all bad, but just not what I wanted. It’s pretty apparent that Sig and Chloe are the next story and I’m hoping that they remain the same characters portrayed in this book.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

I love the books that Tessa Bailey writes. There is never a dull moment in them. This one was really good. It was erotic, romantic, and funny. I loved the ending, it was better than I expected it to. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

I may be slightly biased towards this author, but I have yet to read a bad book that she has written. This book was heartwarming, funny, and steamy all at once. The plot was well developed, and everything wrapped up nicely at the end.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc of this book. The Au Pair Affair is the second book in Tessa Bailey's sports series. I love the first book in the series, if you have not read it add it to your tbr. You first met the main characters of this book briefly in the first book in the series. This book was a great read, I could not put it down once I started it. I am not a hockey fan but this being a sports romance did not distract from how good this book is. This chemistry between these characters make for a spicy book. If you love Tessa Bailey books you will love this book.

Thank you, Avon and NetGalley, for the ARC.

Classic Tessa Bailey-fun, smut, dirty talk.

This book started out so strong, especially since I was already excited to read the story ever since meeting these two in Fangirl Down. Grumpy single dad, hockey player? Yes, please. Smart and sexy marine biologist? Love it.

Somewhere along the way, though, I started wishing there was more romance between these two. There’s no denying the physical chemistry. It’s there, dirty talk and all. (But I have to say that I cringed every time he called her “girl.”.) I was just hungry for a little more, I think. I will say, though, that I really appreciated the vulnerable moments. I wish that translated to a deeper emotional connection alongside the physical.

Overall, I still enjoyed this book and I’m very much looking forward to the next book!

The Au Pair Affair was a super cute & quick read! I loved the first 60% & then it did go a little downhill for me with their relationship issues. I adored Burgess & the way he pursued Tallulah. I loved how realistic each of their issues were & the ending was really sweet. The spice was also top tier as always with this author. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Fresh off an internship studying penguins in Antarctica, Tallulah has moved to Boston to complete her grad school studies. But Tallulah is, what's the word? Broke. She can't afford good housing on a grad school budget, but when an ideal opportunity is presented, she can't help but hesitate. After a traumatic experience, Tallulah has difficulty trusting men, especially one whose nickname is Sir Savage.

Burgess is a rough-and-tumble hockey player notorious for his scowl and brutality. But he's also a single dad desperate for a live-in nanny to help with his young daughter. When the pair are brought together by mutual friends, Burgess doesn't think twice about offering Tallulah the position. It doesn't take long for their tenuous friendship to delve into something deeper, but each has baggage they're convinced the other wouldn't want to carry. Not only is Burgess older than Tallulah but he's always kept the world at a distance while she wants nothing more than to charge at things head-on. But when a rift forms in his family, Tallulah is ready to do the right thing and walk away, even if it breaks her heart. Burgess will have to put everything on the line to show not just Tallulah, but himself as well, that they're both worthy of happiness.

I'm a bit torn on this one. Was it a fun time? Absolutely. Did I binge-read the whole thing in almost one sitting? Yep. You would think I'd be obsessed with how I couldn't put it down, but something about it was off, and that came down to the tropes used. Turns out, the age gap and single dad tropes don't do it for me. There were too many uses of the word 'Daddy,' which had the opposite of the intended effect on me. Bailey's steamier scenes already tend to be a little cringe, but this made it even worse. Romance aside, I did enjoy the characters. The growth in both our main characters was so satisfying. Also, I would die if someone rented out an entire aquarium for our first date. Even though this one wasn't my favorite, I'd still recommend it. And I'm pretty sure I can guess who the next book will follow, and I can't wait to read it.

Netgalley coming through on this one! So I’ve been fortunate enough to read both titles in this series so far as ARCs and said in my review for fangirl down that that was my favourite Bailey book to date… nah I really loved this one. Let’s hear it for an emotionally intune MMC and a FMC that’s got the smarts. MMC was protective without being overbearing and we love that. Please tell me this book intentionally set up another book for Sig and Chloe?! Because if that’s not visited I am going to be pissed. Bravo! Will be adding this to my physical bookshelf

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC…

This is the Tessa Bailey we know and love. I was a little nervous going in after feeling very meh about the last 3 or 4 releases since she had gone mainstream, but the second in the Big Shots series (which stands alone just fine) is Tessa doing what she does best. Finding the perfect balance of plot and smut, with witty banter throughout, and having us angst ridden in the third act rooting for these characters to find their HEA.

Check out the tropes before hand as I can imagine this not being for everyone. Those who love single dad/nanny, age gap, and hockey romances will be delighted with this (VERY) open door romance.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC! After I read the first one in this series I could not wait to read the second one, and it did not disappoint. So so so good, I love these sports ones by Tessa Bailey!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager/Avon for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions!

I came into this book with high expectations due to the glimpses of these characters that we got in the first book in the series. Tallulah and Burgess had very few defining character traits, aside from the typical “big grumpy hockey player” and “cute small normal girl” tropes. I am never one to turn away from these tropes, but they had nothing that set them apart from the many other characters I’ve read in the same categories.

One thing I didn’t like about this book was the immediate physicality. I love a “he falls first” situation, but I would prefer he falls for the person she is rather than the body she has. While there was still emotional depth (albeit very shallow) in the early stages, his overprotective nature right off the bat didn’t translate well due to him caring more about her body than her as a person. Because of this, a lot of their relationship development wasn’t as believable and his romantic gestures fell flat for me.

This book has the typical Tessa Bailey charm, so if you tend to love her spicy rom-coms then definitely pick this one up! It just wasn’t my favorite of her recent releases.

Tessa Bailey never disappoints! I’ve said it before with FanGirl Down and I’ll say it again, I am so dang excited she got into the sports romance genre!

After getting a snippet of the Tallulah and Burgess chemistry in FanGirl Down, I just knew their story was gonna be good!

It’s got:
🏒 Sports romance
❤️ Who hurt you vibes from both of them!
☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine
🧔🏻‍♂️ Single dad
❤️‍🔥 Forced proximity
🌶️🌶️🌶️

I love how Bailey gives her characters real depth and shows them grow and evolve throughout her stories. Tallulah’s past trauma and the reservations she held because of it had my heart breaking for her, but just seeing the way Burgess acted towards her and how protective he was of her while being encouraging and supportive had me wholeheartedly swooning for her. And seeing him struggle with his guilt and fears felt so relatable.

Watching these two fall in love was funny, entertaining, and HOT! 🥵 I really hope we’ll get a Sig story next!

Ps. I will forever think of Burgess when I see a tree trunk 🥵😂

I typically love Tessa Bailey's books and the plot/storyline of this one did not disappoint. However, I found it to be just a bit too spicy for my comfort. I wish there had been more romance mixed with the spicy parts. I thought the ending was cute and heartfelt.