I’ve made it no secret in recent years that I am a certified fan of the hockey romance books that have been released in droves. The number of them continues to grow on my bookshelf. Having really enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s Fan Girl Down (golf romance), I was looking forward to reading her latest, The Au Pair Affair, her first hockey romance. Unfortunately for me it fell a bit flat, which was disappointing after a promising start in the early chapters. The Au Pair Affair felt confused. Yes the spicy scenes were steamy, no one can deny Bailey’s experience in writing those, but the rest of the romance and plot around it was disjointed and at times frustrating to read.
View this post on Instagram
BLURB:
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.
REVIEW:
The second half of the book felt like I was reading a different novel. The tone and personalities and behaviours of the lead characters became too far removed in my opinion from any realm in which they’d actually have behaved, or should have progressed and grown into from where they start earlier in the book. The first half of the book was gearing up to be a 4 star read for me, only for the second half to feel awkward and cringey, bringing the overall reading experience down.
There were also sensitive elements to Tallulah and Burgess’s lives that were not handled well. Tallulah’s backstory reveals she had once been kidnapped and held hostage by a stalker (this took me by such surprise, no indication in the blurb this was an element), to explain her distress of men, particularly the hurdle of fear she has to get over due to Burgess’s “savageness” she saw online when he’s on the ice. While it could have been explored in an interesting way, it isn’t. At times Bailey weaves it into Tallulah’s behaviour and actions well, most of the time she doesn’t. There are many instances where her female lead’s behaviour just simply is at odds with the emotional toll this event in her life would have on her. Just because Burgess is mega hot. Trauma be gone.
When it comes to Burgess, this story is all about the single dad trope. That we all can see from the blurb. And given that his daughter is in play in any kind of relationship he has, the lack of consideration for Lissa as a character becomes apparent in the strange behaviours and juxtaposed actions she displays to further the plot. The plot of an unnecessary third act break up that changes fundamental elements to the character’s personalities. A choice that further makes the book feel like you’ve switched to something new but with characters sharing the same names. His daughter feels like an afterthought, where her only purpose to create a tension that doesn’t feel plausible, who is barely present despite the supposed custody arrangement he has with his ex.
I wanted so badly to enjoy this novel more than I did. To a degree I can look past a lot in this genre and still enjoy the read but by the end I felt that it just wasn’t as fun and cohesive read as I’d expected. While I’ll given Tessa Bailey a go again in the future this one wasn’t really for me. Other’s may enjoy it, and if they do, that is wonderful. But this time it’s a generous 3 stars from me.
Until next time,
Rating: 3 Stars
Genre: Sports Romance
For more book reviews click here.
Note: Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for this gifted copy of The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey.