The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

Series: Big Shots #2

Published by Avon on July 16th, 2024

Genres:  Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Contemporary Fiction, Hockey, Chick Lit

Pages:  380

Format:  eBook

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★★★★★

🌶🌶🌶🌶/5 spice

Tallulah is smart, vivacious, and studying to be a marine biologist. She’s also twenty-six and broke. So when Burgess, a battle-scarred hockey veteran and newly single dad, offers her a job as his live-in nanny, she jumps at the opportunity to get paid while living in a super fancy neighborhood and being around Lissa, his cool but introverted tween.

Her tween charge isn’t the only one who could use some help fitting in, though. According to…well, everyone except Burgess, he needs to get back on the dating scene, and adventurous Tallulah is just the girl to show him how. But as boundaries are slowly crossed and Burgess finds himself pulled between his daughter, who wants her parents back together, and his insane chemistry with Tallulah, a huge rift is formed, and Tallulah does the “right” thing—breaks her own heart and walks away.

Though Burgess knows it’s for the best—he’s too jaded, with too much baggage—a chance meeting, and a new push from his daughter, forces him to put everything on the line and fight to prove he learned his lessons well and is worthy of a happily ever after with Tallulah. 

OH MY GOD. Did I basically read this book in only one sitting only stopping once to feed my kids dinner?? YES. HOLY SHIT. I am 1000% sure this is Bailey's BEST book to date. THE SPICE. THE AGE GAP. THE BIG GRUMPY HOCKEY PLAYER WITH A BODY OF STEEL 🥵🥵

"I'm starting to think this au pair affair is going to be fun to watch."

Sometimes I need an unrealistic cheesy rom-com with MAJOR spice in my life and boy did this one fit the bill. I absolutely adored Tallulah and Burgess' relationship. He truly hits all the big marks - hockey player, giant burly man, touch her and you die, single dad and HE FALLS FIRST.

"After you meet me down there, you won't be laughing when you talk about it. You'll whisper about my cock like you're in church."

UMMMM is it just me or did Bailey's spiceee get so much better in this book? She truly hit her mark on this one and it's pretty spicy... I think I lost count at 4 smutty scenes. But it was spicin for sure. Plus the way he was all growly and protective over her while letting her stand up for herself was perfect.

As usual, I loved the snippets we got of Josephine and Wells from the previous book. I am looking forward to the next book in the series because STEP SIBLINGSSSSS. Bailey is getting wild and I'm loving every second.

5 STARS. Any book that has me blasting 2000s romcom songs and clapping alone in my living room at 2am deserves it.

Now I will say there were a few things that did bother me about this one... (that didn't detract from the overall vibe enough to ruin it for me)

*minor spoilers ahead .... continue at your own risk*

~ I did wish that we got to see more of Burgess being a dad. The scenes we did get were so cute and I adored them. I just wish we got more of that DAD energy like I've gotten from dads in Elsie Silver books as one example. I think that only would have made me love him more.

~ On the cover the girl CLEARLY has brown hair and then Tallulah is described in the book as having black hair. I know Katie... minor minor detail. But this just upset me a little bit as much as it is ridiculous.

~ I HIGHLY doubt a person who had MAJOR back surgery 2 months prior would be zip-lining or CLIFF JUMPING. Idc how tough and manly he was - I refuse to believe that is possible. But when the vibes are as right as they were in this one I can forgive a few things.