This is Book 2 of the Big Shots Series!

I was lucky enough to receive as an ARC 🥰

The Au Pair Affair is a charming and well-crafted romance that blends humour, heart, and a touch of angst. Tessa Bailey’s knack for creating vivid, relatable characters shines through in this story. Tallulah is a breath of fresh air—smart, vivacious, and genuinely caring. Her interactions with Lissa are heartwarming and highlight her nurturing nature.

Burgess is a compelling character as well, embodying the trope of the brooding single dad with a heart of gold. His struggle to balance his responsibilities as a father and his growing attraction to Tallulah adds depth to his character and makes his journey towards love all the more rewarding.

The chemistry between Tallulah and Burgess is electric, and Bailey does an excellent job of building tension and emotional connection between them. The progression from employer-employee to friends and ultimately lovers feels organic and well-paced. Their romance is filled with moments of tenderness, passion, and genuine conflict, making their eventual union satisfying and believable.

Lissa’s character adds another layer of emotional complexity to the story. Her desire for her parents to reconcile and her gradual acceptance of Tallulah as a positive presence in her life are beautifully portrayed. The dynamic between the three characters creates a rich, emotionally engaging narrative.

The Au Pair Affair is a delightful romance that combines humour, heart, and a touch of drama. With well-developed characters, sizzling chemistry, and a compelling narrative, it’s a must-read for fans of contemporary romance. Whether you’re new to Tessa Bailey’s work or a longtime fan, this story is sure to capture your heart.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

Tropes
🏒 Age Gap
🏒 He falls first
🏒Nanny x boss
🏒 Grumpy x Sunshine

I was a big fan of Fangirl Down and this has been one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 (and it didn’t disappoint). Burgess is in his late 30s and juggling his daughter and his hockey career and then enters his saving grace, Tallulah.

Tallulah is a college student hoping to become a marine biologist, she has a mistrust of men due to a previous experience (TW past abduction) and I really liked the way this part of Tallulah was explored and how she grew from it and how Burgess helped her heal. This part of Tallulah backstory wasn’t rushed or forced, and you tell Tessa Bailey cares about her characters development.

Burgess is on the tail end of his career and struggling to keep up with his team while also raising his daughter. I enjoyed the dynamic between Burgess and Lissa and seeing how Tallulah contributed to them understanding each other better and finding their new normal.
Burgess and Tallulah as a couple were 🔥Burgess was flustered and obsessed with her from the get go, Tallulah just took a bit to decide what she wanted.

There was spice, dirty talk and a loads of longing glances with open door romance. I don’t love third act breakups, but it was impactful on character development so I let it slide ( I also adore Tessa Bailey and she can do wrong).

Overall, I really enjoyed this story, and I was initially worried I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as Fangirl Down but Tessa Bailey proved me wrong (never underestimate Tessa Bailey). I found the spice and pacing of the story to be perfect for the characters and I now eagerly await Sig and Chloe’s story (have so many questions about this relationship/dynamic and cannot wait to read about them).

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins/ Avon for providing me with an ARC (I actually cried with happiness when I saw it was approved) I will be buying multiple copies to add to my book hoard.

I loved this book. Tessa bailey can't do anything wrong in my eyes she is an instant buy when a book gets released. I live the characters and the storyline. I love the chemistry between the two main characters. It's a great read.

A quick and fun romance read - I enjoyed reading about our two main characters and their backgrounds separately but unfortunately, their romance was a bit unbelievable for me. Burgess is the definition of "he falls first and hard" and while I usually really enjoy that trope, I couldn't really see why, besides physical attraction.

I also feel like this book was very trope-heavy, almost to the point where it made little sense to the plot (e.g. we already have single-parent, age-gap, nannying, and forced proximity, but then the middle part of the book had a dating coach scene as well?). The third act break-up was very understandable though and I liked how it was resolved.

Overall, a cute read but personally not my favourite from Tessa Bailey.

Tessa Bailey can do no wrong!
Her books are always so fun to read !!
This story was adorable with some blush worthy spice!
Age gap
Live in nanny
Single dad
He falls first
Forced proximity!
Second book in the Big Shot series !!
Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fun easy read but I would read the first book first !

Tessa Bailey is one of my favourite authors. And this book doesn’t disappoint.

I absolutely loved it and can’t rave about it enough.

We met Burgess and Tallulah in Fangirl Down, the first book in this series, and they promised to be a great couple. My goodness! Burgess was totally gone for Tallulah from the get go!

Tessa Bailey is the queen of dirty talking MMCs and I think Burgess might be up there as one of my absolute favourites. He just kept getting better and better as the story went on. Grumpy and growly, but also thoughtful, emotionally aware and he *listened* to Tallulah.

There were some delicate subjects covered beautifully and carefully. And I just generally enjoy Tessa Bailey’s writing style. The banter between some of the side characters was top notch!

The stage has also been set for Sig and Chloe’s HEA. I’m hoping we get their story very soon.

The Au Pair Affair is a single father/hockey player x nanny romance novel. Burgess is a successful hockey player trying to be a good father to his tween daughter Lissa. For some help he offers a live-in nanny job to Tallulah who is 11 years his junior. She is studying a masters in marine biology and is extremely interested in the opportunity to get paid and live in a safe and fancy neighbourhood. Tallulah also takes it upon herself to help Burgess get back on the dating scence but the lines of their relationship begin to blur and Tallulah and Burgess begin to fall for each other.

This was such a fun and easy read. I was hooked up until the major rift between Tallulah and Burgess, I felt the story became a bit disjointed then and the ending seemed a bit rushed. I just wanted more of Tallulah and Burgess. The sexual tension, dirty talk and smut was so well done. The banter between the characters was very enjoyable and humorous. I really enjoyed the variety of themes in the novel and Tessa Bailey did a superb job of linking them all together. It's a 3.5/5 stars from me!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an eARC and Harper Collins Australia for providing an early finished copy in exchange for an honest review!

Single dad, nanny, and age gap… the perfect combination of tropes for a great romance story! Tallulah, a 26 year old to be marine biologist jumps at the opportunity to be a live-in nanny for ‘Sir Savage’ aka hockey veteran aka Burgess’s 12 year old daughter… what could possibly go wrong?

This book had a little bit of everything, which made it a fun, cute, and easy story to get into. It was angsty, and the tension was high, Tessa was really holding out on us!! There was the perfect amount of spice, romance, and plot, with well developed characters, which were extremely likeable and made the story much more enjoyable. Burgess was such a green flag, a big yes to him and Tallulah !!

Tropes
• Age gap (11 years)
• Forced proximity
• Roommates
• Boss x nanny
• Single dad
• Grumpy x sunshine
• Protective mmc

I thoroughly enjoyed Burgess and Tallulah's journey to their happily ever after.

Burgess, or Sir Savage, was intriguing. He has such a grumpy, mean, imposing hockey persona and definitely lives up to it on the ice. But at home he has such a low self esteem when it comes to parenting his daughter Lissa. His lack of confidence and vulnerability begins to include Tallulah, their age gap and his growing attraction.
I loved Tallulah's character arc. Having suffered a major trauma in the past, she still had a lot of healing to do and it was well written. I loved that Burgess was conscious of this and was respectful of the space and pace she needed.

Burgess fell hard and fast. I found it an interesting slow burn progression. Their chemistry was evident from the start and their honesty about their attraction leds to some steamy exchanges but Burgess had lines he wouldn't cross without commitment.

Sig and the other Bearcats teammates were alot of fun, and I am excited for Sig and Chloe's book.

I feel like overall this was a fun book! If you like a hot single dad x age gap, give this a read! Oh and of course has the hockey romance which is a crowd fave!!

Although the book touched on some hard topics it was more of a spicy romcom. I felt like I was just needing a bit more from the characters and their connection. Being said, I still had a great time reading it!

This would be a perfect book if you need to get out of a reading slump because I don't think you'll be able to put it down!

To be honest I think this book made me more excited for book 3🤭🤭

"I would give up everything I own to go back to that day and tell you I love you, too, Tallulah. I'd smile while handing over my soul to the devil for that chance."


ohh mmyyy goddd, there is a reason why tessa bailey is one of my favourite authors. this book was everything!!

single dad? check
hockey? check
nanny? check

i absolutely love tallulah and burgess together 🥹 i read this in one sitting and still want more of them.

the only reason it wasn’t a 5 star for me was because it seemed a bit rushed at the start, but aside from that, i’m obsessed.

Before I start yapping I’ll say that overall I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy and fun but just missed the mark for me personally.

There were some heavy topics in Tallulahs backstory which seemed to just be glossed over (boooo girly deserves better). The forced proximity didn’t hit in this one, it doesn’t make sense for Tallulah to trust burgess at this point considering what she’s been through. I didn’t find their relationship to be believeable at all.

I usually love the single dad trope but let’s be real burgess barely has anything to do with his daughter in the second half of the book. And the Au Pair Affair? Tallulah is the Au Pair for all of 5 minutes before everything goes to shit.

I enjoyed reading it and really enjoyed the banter but unfortunately this one just didn’t do it for me. I am intrigued to read about Sig and Chloe and will definitely be reading the next one in their series though.

Tessa Bailey's new rom-com The AU Pair Affair is about hockey captain Burgess and his new nanny Tallulah
This is the second book in the Big Shots series, but unlike most other readers, I haven't read Fan Girl down, the first book in this series. I found the story easy to pick up, and although it seems they are interconnected, it's not imperative to read the other book first.
The tropes of this book had be intrigued - hockey romance mixed with the single dad x nanny, forced proximity and age gap.
Sadly this book fell flat for me. While I usually love Tessa Bailey's  writing, I just couldnt get through a few of the plot holes with this one, I felt the relationship building through this story was a little far fetched and not entirely believable.
Tallulah carries significant trauma from her past, I dontchelieve there is any way she could be so comfortable with a forced proximity this quickly - it was like flicking a light switch! Please check the trigger warnings, there are some heavy topics!
Also - there wasn't a whole lot of Au Pairing - who was looking after that poor kid!
Unfortunately I really wanted to love this more, but I will still be picking up Fan Girl Down!

Thank you Tessa Bailey, Harper Collins Publishers Australia, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved The Au Pair Affair! I couldn’t put it down I loved the story between Burgess and Tallulah. Burgess is a pro hockey player and newly divorced and needs help with his 12 year old daughter. Tallulah moves into his apartment as the nanny. Burgess has been thinking about Tallulah for months after meeting through mutual friends. Burgess falls hard and fast for Tallulah. Tallulah has had some trauma in her past and is hesitant. The banter between these characters is chef kiss.

I really enjoy the way Tessa makes her characters with so much banter and this strange sort of lofty sass. Burgess was that lovely grump of a protector while Tallulah was trying to rediscover her sunshine.

There was plenty of pining from Burgess, who was respectful of her boundaries while also being deliciously hot and essentially giving Tallulah no choice but to jump his bones. Hoping that we get an Sig and Chloe for instalment number three.

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book.

Genre: Romance FM
Format: Dogital
POV: Dual
Tropes: Single dad/Au pair, hockey player, forced proximity, he falls first and he falls hard, 11 year age gap, who did this to you?
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

I love Tessa Bailey, and i enjoyed Fangirl Down but i sadly did not love The Au Pair Affair.
*side note* i felt their characters and story was extremely predictable just from reading about them in Fangirl Down. I was almost reluctant to read this as i felt like i knew exactly how the book was going to go, and i was right...

I hate to be that person... but are all romance books just all the same these days or is it just me?
The spice is good (sometimes a little over the top considering how 'cutesy' the story was) but i feel like it can't be the only thing to carry the story. There needs to be more to the story then just sexual tension and a odd dynamic of people who inevitably end up falling in love. I really enjoyed Tallulah and Burgess's characters but why does the MMC always have to a complete grump?...

I will always be a Tessa Bailey fan but i'm sad this one just didn't do it for me as much as i thought it would.

This felt very different especially after reading Fangirl down. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a biggg Tessa Bailey fan and I love a grumpy MMC x sunshine FMC hockey romance.

Tallulah’s backstory involves serious issues not hinted at in the synopsis, with the charming cover concealing the depth of her experiences. Her past decisions shape the entire book. On the plus side, Burgess is full head over heels, and it’s fun to see him try to figure things out. The communication and relationship building before giving in to their chemistry was intense and so well done. Lissa adds fun, and the setup for the next book is promising. Seeing Wells and Josephine again was a highlight.

Plot-wise, it’s mostly strong, but some parts felt disjointed, and the push-and-pull at the end was frustrating. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, but not as lighthearted as Tessa’s usual works.

As always, a massive thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyage for giving me the opportunity to read this!!

I am absolutely a sucker for a grumpy yet over protective MMC and Burgess aka Sir Savage is no exception. I loved that he's this big brute on the ice but an absolute softie at heart. Tallulah was amazing as a FMC and shows her strength by persisting despite her previous history. Together their banter is great and their chemistry is off the charts. I am hoping that the next story coming will be Sig and Chloe because I absolutely need to know what happens there.

Tessa Baileys books are always hit and miss for me. Loved It happened one Summer and Hook, Line and Sinker, really didn’t like Secretly Yours. This one falls somewhere in the middle for me. As usual there is Tessa’s trademark spice, but whereas I enjoyed that in the first two books I mentioned, I feel like she tries to get more and more ‘out there’ with every book she publishes, and sometimes it can come across a bit cringy. I have no problem with Insta love, which a lot of Tessa’s books feature. I believe it can happen and it’s always sweet when it does. She writes layered characters and fun banter, thanks Netgalley and the Publisher.

Maybe I’m starting to understand the sports romance trope… as someone who ultimately dislikes and avoids sport. But The Au Pair Affair was super fun, even if you’re not an athlete.

Tessa Bailey’s latest novel, (a standalone story connected to characters in her previous ‘Hot Shots’ novel Fangirl Down), follows ice hockey captain Burgess, and marine biologist Talullah. Far fetched in terms of realistic careers? Sure. But of course they are - it’s a romance novel. The best rom coms are far fetched if you ask me. Talullah is to be Burgess’s daughter Lissa’s au pair while she completes her study. Then, predictably, they *spoiler alert* fall in love. Actually, this isn’t a spoiler, it is very, very obvious.

Like Fangirl Down, The Au Pair Affair treads slightly deeper into darker topics - something we haven’t seen from her before. I like the extra dimension this gives to both the characters and the usually-light rom com novel, and the potential to explore reactions and responses to these topics. I wasn’t quite expecting the darkness of this experience in the novel, and this could be triggering for some readers. While I think this was important to talk about, I didn’t feel like the trauma was effectively addressed or managed once it had been revealed - rather it defaulted to Burgess being a very protective partner.

I also liked the element of Lissa’s story in the book, especially her reckoning between two homes, the trials and tribulations of being a tween, and coming to grips with her reality. I wanted even more of Lissa’s story and her response to Talullah’s relationship with her Dad.

One thing that felt very obvious in The Au Pair Affair was Bailey’s setting up of the next novel - Chloe and Sig were mentioned so often that surely that has got to be the next novel! I’m not complaining about a new book to read, but I felt it could have been more subtly entwined.

All in all, this book was super fun and I really enjoyed reading it. I’m looking forward to Bailey’s next novel - surely it’s got to be about Chloe and Sig?!