Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The Au Pair Affair

Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey

10 reviews

hdabru's review

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

As always, Tessa Bailey delivers.
She churns out book after book, and as many contemporary romances do, they all sort of follow the same formula. But throw in a new combo of tropes and some issues the couple has to overcome and you’re good. But some authors can throw together a bunch of tropes and leave you feel like it was just cheesy and contrived. Bailey absolutely crushes it at writing believable main characters with relatable issues and, as is her forte, extremely hot smut scenes.
I found Tallulah’s ptsd extremely relatable, though I thought she came to trust Burgess a little too soon. Given her history, his possessive nature seemed like it would scare her rather than endear her. Further, I thought he compromised on his own convictions a little too quickly. I enjoyed the various adventures the book took us on, but I don’t think he repented enough for what he did in the third act breakup to make her feel safe enough to get back together with him. So I’m conflicted as to whether to give this 3.5 stars or 4, which means I’ll round up to 4 with the caveat that some parts felt weak compared to her other books, including the first one in this series.

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chemistryreads's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Tessa Bailey has been a hit or miss author for me. This one was a miss. However, positives first. I think Tallulah is a really interesting character. She is trying to get through past trauma and has had amazing experiences working around animals and is studying to earn her masters degree in marine biology. Super impressive. She’s an inspiration to Lissa, who she is a au pair for, and offers really good parenting advice. I wanted more on how amazing Tallulah was and showcasing her intelligence and other experiences. From the book description, I thought that would be the case. However, this quickly fell into being just about how obsessed with her Burgess was and how he was so good at protecting and taking care of her. This didn’t match the description of the book and I was really bothered by the lack of content warnings and the sexism shown throughout the book. Here’s my rant: This book has some disturbing stalking/kidnapping material and since I read an ARC, perhaps it wasn’t added in yet, but it needs to be added. In romance novels there is a fine line between pushing the boundaries of what is protective and romantic and what is just sexist. This book crosses into the sexist line too many times, again with no content warning. As somewhat who has been on the receiving end of sexual harassment during graduate studies in the sciences (like the FMC!!!), I would have appreciated knowing it would be so prevalent in this novel. The book basically excuses “locker room talk” as a normal part of sports and makes a joke of players wearing “orgasm donor” sweatshirts. The MMC constantly has sexual thoughts about his au pair and they aren’t romantic, they come off as perverse since she is his employee. Again, even though he acknowledges it’s wrong because of the power dynamic, it doesn’t stop the thoughts or later action. I’m disappointed about the lack of depth or real storyline especially when it’s replaced with content that basically glorifies sexualizing women. If there were appropriate labels and someone knew what they were getting into - to each their own. I’m not against people making the choice to read this and enjoy it for themselves if that’s what they like. However, this book is seeming advertised as a somewhat smutty romance when it’s actually being an unsafe romance. This book has a cute and colorful cover and would be so easy for a teen girl to pick up. If a teen girl read this, she could assume it’s okay to date someone 11 years older because he’s being “protective” (possessive) and has incredibly lusty thoughts for her. That isn’t okay behavior. Romance should be speaking positively about women and whatever their sexual choices are and this book is just too far opposite. Due to crossing these lines way too many times, I may just be done with Tessa Bailey. 2⭐️, 4🌶

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heather_harrison's review

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Thank you Harper Collins & NetGalley for my e-ARC of The Au Pair Affair. Tallulah takes on an au pair gig to hockey superstar Sir Savage, and a tense slow-burn immediately follows!

I loved the banter between the two MCs.

Tropes
🩵 Sports Romance
🩵 Grumpy/Sunshine
🩵 He falls first
🩵 Age Gap
🩵 Single Dad
🩵 “Who did this to you?”

I wasn’t a huge fall of the third act breakup, and would have liked to see more background about Tallulah’s Turkish background.

Didn’t stop me from absolutely devouring this over a weekend. I can’t wait for the next book, and hope it’s Chloe & Sig!

Content Warnings

spectacles_and_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The ingredients for a good time:
* 1 Tessa Bailey
* 1 Tallulah (possibly inspired in part by Tessa's love of Turkish Dramas?)
* 1 Burgess (single Dad hockey player)
* a few 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Method:
Mix together facing your fears, admitting your weaknesses and finding the one you can't live without.

I really enjoyed the second instalment of the Big Shots series. There were parts of Tallulah's backstory I found relatable, making the growth in her character so rewarding. Burgess was just the kind of MMC that Tessa writes so well. I call it, the 'enlightened caveman.' He can't help but be all broody and protective, but he's trying his very, very best to be a feminist too.

Perhaps, for me the third act wasn't quite what I was expecting plot wise. Overall though, it's up there with my favourites of hers.

Thank you to HarperCollins Australia and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

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beaniebookcorner's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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kelzurs's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’d just like to start out by saying the things I liked about this book. Tessa Bailey really nails the romantic aspect of her books and this one was no exception. I loved the relationship between Burgess and Tallulah, and I felt like their relationship seemed realistic at most points, and when it didn’t, I was willing to suspend my disbelief at some points because the rest was so strong. I also liked how Bailey acknowledged the age gap but didn’t make it super problematic (mc is in late 20s). Now with the stuff I didn’t like.

This book is full of cringe moments and unrealistic descriptions (such as felt it in his Adam’s Apple) which would take me out of the book instantly and I would have to take a second before diving back in. There were so many cringey lines and this was definitely my least favorite part of this book. I also thought that the third act breakup was such a cop out- Burgess says many times throughout the book that he is mature and knows what he wants- that at his age he’s already made his mistakes… then makes a really stupid mistake that causes them to breakup. I also thought that Tallulah’s kidnapping reveal should’ve been saved for a little later in the book and it also felt a little weird the way it was referenced. Burgess’ protectiveness gets a little much at times and feels unnecessary in most instances.

Overall, I did really enjoy this book. Bailey has a way of pulling you into her universe of characters and making you eat up every word (even the cringey ones). I think this book is worth picking up!
Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

Content Warnings