Stripped by Zoey Castile
Happy Endings #1


Told in first person from dual points of view I had a bit of trouble getting into the story…but…once invested it flowed smoothly. The story is about a woman nearing her thirties in a bit of an early mid-life crisis that leans toward depression and definite job dissatisfaction. She is a teacher that once had her life in order but finds herself scattered and scatty though still excellent with her fifth grade students.

One morning, with nothing to wear but what is in the laundry bag she picked up the day before, she finds she has someone else’s clothing and none of it will work for school. The person in question has hers and delivers it to her door that morning and there is instant attraction…and why not…Zac Fallon is one hot hunk of man who also takes his clothes off for a living.

Robyn Flores and Zac seem to hit it off at first but then something rather judgmental is said and then there is her principal that is a pain in the patoot and her bff’s wedding that she should be more invested in and…well…what should be relatively smooth sailing really isn’t at all.

This book had the feeling of a new adult novel even though the lead characters were 28 and 32. The main thing I liked was the camaraderie of the Mayhem City Revue men and hope that even though Zac may not be going to Vegas with them we will hear more about them in book 2.

This was an okay read for me that left me curious about the other men and hoping that some of them will find happiness in the future, too. I kind of wonder what Zac and Robyn will end up doing as their lives, though planned to be together, don’t seem to have a definite direction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

3-4 Stars

An ARC of this book was generously provided to me from the publisher via NetGalley.
Overall Rating: 2.5 stars
Do I recommend it? This was just okay for me. At times the H’s voice was very feminine, and the h’s inner-thoughts were overdone. The verbage was occasionally awkward, and the story didn’t flow well for me. I think if you read a lot of books this story has been done before and since there was nothing unique or outstanding about this one it didn’t stand out for me.
Genre: Contemporary, but felt NA
POV: Both
Writing: 2.5 stars
Story/Plot: 2.5 stars
Characters: 2 stars
Emotions: 2 stars, this didn’t evoke a lot of strong emotions for me one way or the other.
Flow/pacing: 2 stars
Steam: 3 stars
HEA: Yes
Will I read this author again? Maybe

This book has a lot of hype, and I was excited to dive in.

Zoey Castille’s Stripped has a mix of a lot of elements that I enjoyed. Fallon was a swoony hero, and I enjoyed the close up look into his career. Then there was Robyn who is going through a hard time, and I could relate to her as a character. There are plenty of comedic gold moments with a more serious undertone that rounded it out well. I didn’t always feel the chemistry, however. Something was just...missing which kept me from loving it.

This is still a fun read, and I’m excited to see what else this author has in store.

3.5 stars!

A story featuring a male stripper and an elementary school teacher? Yes please! This book was a lot of fun to read. It was funny, sexy, and filled with charm. Fallon is a male stripper and not ashamed of it. He's made a lot of money in his chosen profession, thank you very much! When there is a laundry mix up he gets to meet the beauty in 6A. Not only is she beautiful but she's funny and one heck of a mess. Too bad she shoots him down immediately. The next time he sees her is at a bachelorette party he's been hired to perform for. Talk about awkward! She may be his biggest challenge ever but he's definitely going for it!

Lots of witty banter, humor, and sexy times fill the pages of this one making it a very entertaining book. I definitely recommend it.

Favorite Quote:

I want to hate her.
I want to leave and say, “Fuck this.” Fuck you. Fuck you and your stuck-up bullshit. Fuck this ridiculous feeling inside of me that shouldn’t logically be here. Fuck these butterflies. Fuck your, beautiful, unforgiving mouth. I don’t need you.
But when she gets up all in my space, her hair wet, wild, and eyes as dark as midnight– I want to grab her harder and throw her onto the couch and break it in half with the force of our weight.
I realize, I need her.

This was a sweet, sexy, wonderful #ownvoices contemporary romance featuring a Latinx heroine who is a 5th grade teacher in the middle of a quarter life crisis. Robyn is a little frazzled and her life feels a bit disheveled and out of tune. Like she can’t catch a breath, can’t seem to get a good night’s sleep and is constantly running late for everything. She meets her neighbor when their laundry gets mixed up and she suddenly has a bag full of sweatpants and weird, sparkly speedos versus her regular dresses and underwear.

Fallon is a stripper and has never been embarrassed by his profession. Until he meets Robyn and maybe feels like he isn’t good enough for her. But each of them are a little broken and it’s not until they meet and fall in love that they become a little less broken together. They fall in lust and love and their relationship is super sexy. This is a great contemporary romance.

Fans of Magic Mike XXL, come forth! This is the book for you. Stripped by Zoey Castile is sexy, sweet, and basically everything I look for in a romance novel.

Robyn Flores has been stuck in a rut for months. A fifth grade teacher by day, she once dreamed of becoming a writer—but gave up her dreams in favor of practicality. And lately, Robyn’s head just isn’t in the right place: she’s not sleeping, or she’s oversleeping and ending up late for work. This isn’t the dependable Robyn who everyone (including herself) is used to.

So it’s just Robyn’s luck when she picks up her laundry one day, only to realize it’s not hers when she reaches into the bag and pulls out someone’s sequined thong. Turns out that the laundry belongs to Zac Fallon, Robyn’s hot new neighbor.

Robyn and Fallon share a heated meet-cute and connect on a physical level right away. However, it quickly becomes clear to Fallon that Robyn is looking for a different kind of guy. See, Fallon is a dancer—of the Magic Mike variety. So he takes off abruptly, leaving Robyn perplexed as to what scared him away.

Robyn’s best friend Lily is getting married, but Robyn is failing at her maid of honor duties. When Lily’s soon-to-be sister-in-law Sophia steps in and takes over the planning, Robyn is relieved—until Sophia reveals that she hired a group of male strippers for the bachelorette party. To Robyn’s horror, Fallon is one of them.

Despite their best efforts to stay away from each other, Robyn and Fallon cannot deny their attraction. They agree to a no-strings-attached arrangement that will end once Fallon leaves town for his next gig. But they each find themselves falling hard for the other. What can they do when they’re from two completely different worlds?

Stripped is such a fun read, but it’s also so much more. It delves into complicated friendships and family dynamics. In addition, it doesn’t shy away from the judgment that Fallon faces from everyone in Robyn’s world, once they learn what he does for a living. It’s something that Robyn has to come to terms with herself—she has to check her judgment at the door and see past Fallon’s job to the person he truly is.

Robyn and Fallon have a lot to overcome to be together, and my only small complaint is that the ultimate resolution happens super quickly—maybe a little too fast for my taste. But the underlying story and connection that the characters have is so sweet, I just cheered them on the whole way.

Stripped is book #1 in the new Happy Endings series and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

The synopsis of this book drew me in... sounded very interesting. However, I didn’t love Robyn at all. Because of this, I couldn’t really get into this book. I could not relate to her. Wanted to shake her and tell her to grow up. :(
Robyn is an elementary teacher who does not have her life together. At all. WTH - she isn’t taking care of pets, kids or family members... is she depressed?!?!? This was my thoughts the first (at least) 3 chapters.
Sadly, I did not finish reading this book. Just wasn’t the book for me.

This is my first book by this author. I would be willing to read others book not in this series by this author.
It appears to be book 1 in a new series.

This book was hot! I love the story line. The author did a great job not rushing this book. I actually recommend this book to a couple of my friends. I also posted on my Facebook. I can’t wait for another one.

So this book is basically Magic Mike fan fiction…and I’ve never seen Magic Mike! I know, I know, I need to get to that movie – most of Romancelandia informs me that it’s a great movie so it’s on my to watch list, for sure. But, happily, this is a book that is easy to read without having that entry point. Robyn and Zac meet as neighbors and the sparks fly pretty quickly but she’s unaware of his stripper job until she meets him *on the job* later that night. The two seem to be nothing alike, with Robyn being a teacher set in her ways, and Zac being a stripper who has traveled the world. They decide to have a fling over the summer with a set end date when his stripping show moves out of town.



There is so much that I liked about this book and a lot of that revolves around Zac and his job. I loved that he is not ashamed of stripping and how he embraces it completely. I found it unusual that the stripper in the story was a male and not a female since that is more typical in the romances I’ve read and I am always a fan of flipping conventions. I loved his co-workers and friends and how much they loved their jobs too, the camaraderie cracked me up. I’m a sucker for a good friend group in a book. Robyn has to come to grips with her prejudice against Zac’s job and I thought that Castille handled that very well. While Zac embraces his job he also struggles with feeling like he’s good enough for Robyn and I thought that was very realistic to see in any relationship. Watching that struggle between the two as well as with what to tell those outside of their relationship was probably my favorite part of the whole book.



Robyn was complicated and I really liked her as I felt I could relate to her but I also had some issues with her portrayal. She was going through some issues personally and was just falling down on her job professionally and personally as the Maid of Honor of her best friend, Lily’s, wedding. She seems overall depressed and unhappy with her life which is the part I could relate to but I didn’t feel was explored enough in terms of an actual cause or to get help with that. I’m not sure if that was the point – that there was no actual cause, or if the point was that she was just unhappy overall. I did really appreciate the portrayal of friendship that was struggling. I often feel that friendship is so damn rosy in books and this was much more realistic – messy and imperfect.



Overall, this is a really fun and sexy book. It has an excellent villain who I violently hated, which I always enjoy! Robyn and Zac have great chemistry and the author did a wonderful job at poking holes at societal conventions. I definitely hope we get to see more of this world and these characters in the future.



4 STARS!

Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, steamy romance

This is the first time I've read Zoey Castille and while I think she did a good job with some of the banter between the characters I had a really hard time getting into the story. I think in part because I just didn't understand her heroine Robyn. I never quite figured out why she was the way she was. Zak was more likable from the start. I also did not expect to be reading about death and depression.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

I really, really loved this story. It hit all the right notes for me. Sweet, emotional, sexy AF, solid love story, and funny in the right spots. All the chapters are titles after songs, so that was cute. Robyn, our heroine, is a teacher, but she is at a crossroads in her life and isn’t really sure where she belongs. The hero, Fallon, is a stripper and is confident with his work, but still feeling some sort of way about it. They me
et when their clothes are mixed up at the laundry.

This is an #ownvoices with a Latinx heroine. I learned this week that Castille is a not so secret pen name for Zoraida Cordova.

This story is pretty much two broken people finding each other and learning to love each other and accept love. They don’t achieve or expect perfection once this love is declared. This kind of romance is my absolute favorite. I will give you this quote-
“Robyn Flores, when we met, we were both a little bit broken. I think something in the universe was driving us together. Working to get us to that moment.” “To when I stole your laundry?” “The very same moment. And I was wrong. I think that when we’re together, our broken pieces do fit.”
Grade: A

A big thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. Okay I have mixed feelings about this book. I haven't seen "Magic Mike" but I was saddened by the way Zac Fallon was sometimes treated. Robyn is a messed up 5th grade teacher, who obviously needed help. The way they meet is fun, the chemistry is good. Some of the subplots are odd. The dynamics between Robyn and her best friend Lily are confusing. The dynamics of the stripper group Mayhem City was interesting, they don't talk much about the dark side of it. The principal was what? What was his deal?? It was sort of fun to read. I wasn't invested in the characters, I got frustrated with Robyn and Lily. It is a quick read. I rate this a 3. Just because I am not sure how I feel about the whole story.

What a fantastic start to the Happy Endings series. Stripped is so good. Robyn is a delightful hot mess. I giggled a few times when it came to her. You feel for Robyn as she is trying to figure out why she is such a hot mess of late. When a happy accident lands Fallon (Zac) into Robyn's life you can't help but feel those sparks start to fly. Fallon is an amazing guy. He is stripping not just for the money but to help his family out. Once you get to know a little about his past you will love him. He is a sweet heart. As these two navigate the through a relationship of sorts you root them on and hot they can both over come their insecurities. Fallon and Robyn are hot together and I love the give and take. I loved this book. I was sucked in from the start and can't wait for more.

This book was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Robyn and Zac were great characters and had me laughing and falling in love with them. This was a magic mike romance where you got to see characters falling all over one another in love while coming to terms with themselves. Looking forward to more.

My boring life took a turn for the better when I picked up my laundry and found they had given me someone else’s order. But I couldn’t figure out who it belonged to, considering I had a sparkly red/white/and blue thong. My name is Robyn Flores and I’m running late for work again, when a gorgeous hunk knocks on my door with my bag of laundry. Except for a few of his items that I used to mop up the coffee I spilled all over the kitchen floor, we exchange bags. Zac Fallon is so gorgeous, I’m left speechless. When he asks me out, I stupidly decline. What was I thinking. However, I do rectify that when I get home that evening and invite him to my place for pizza. The chemistry that we are feeling is sizzling and I can see that it’s mutual.
Attending the bachelorette party of my best friend Lily, starts out with your usual games, but then all hell breaks loose. That’s when the male strippers show up and who is front and center, Zac Fallon. Now I know why he had that sparkly thong in his laundry! What starts out as a fling turns into so much more. But how can this work when his show is only in New York for a couple of months.
Reading this book, I felt like i was channeling Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. Fabulous read and so much fun.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I was worried it would be over the top and silly, but it was funny and real. The characters and their problems were relatable. This was definitely a fun read, but still filled with real emotion. A great read!

I never thought I would be using adjectives such as delightful and charming to describe a book about male strippers, but those are words, which really fit this book.

Who?

• Robyn - An elementary school teacher, who until this point, was always super focused, organized, and practical, but was now kind of adrift.

• Fallon - Robyn's new neighbor and member of Mayham City, a male exotic dance troupe, who desired "more" and wanted to be seen as more than a stripper.

What?

Zac and Robyn become acquainted via a laundry mixup and a star spangled thong. Sparks fly, and the two decide to embark on an exclusive "fling" for the summer, but when the time comes to say "goodbye", will they be able to walk away?

Why?

This book was so much fun! Castile really knows how to strike that balance between sexy and sweet, and I adored every single second of it.

The book opens with Robyn on a hectic morning, and I knew I immediately wanted to be her friend. I think I laughed almost non-stop for the entire first chapter. Robyn was smart and funny and I felt like there was a lot more going on than we were aware of. I so enjoyed getting to know her better and also getting to see her find her happy.

Fallon, Fallon, Fallon. He was just perfection. He was this big, buff guy, who took off his clothes for a living, but there was so much more to him than how he looked or what he did. He was my favorite type of hero - super sweet and thoughtful with a heart of solid gold. I had absolutely no problem cheering for him throughout this book.

Fallon and Robyn were amazing together. The chemistry was off the charts, but it wasn't all white-hot-sexy-times, there were a lot of really tender and sweet moments too, and I definitely had heart eyes while watching these two fall in love.

I enjoyed the rom-com feel, the bromance, the great female friendship, meeting the family -- there were just so many wonderful elements, which contributed to my enjoyment of this book. I am extremely excited that we get Aiden's story next. He was a standout, and I am itching to know more about him.

Overall
A strong start to a series I want to read more of. The humor, the romance, and the characters all captured my attention, and I will eagerly await book 2.

I received an ARC of this book, through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another new author for me, but I will continue to look for her works. The writing style was great. There were some grammatical or just wording errors, but likely will be corrected before the book actually is published.

The book is an HEA with both characters having their own baggage, but also both strong characters. There isn’t a romance book out there where there isn’t some amount of turmoil, but what I liked here is that the drama is caused by real life issues and not someone just being weak and sniveling or playing the “poor me” game.

The book doesn’t really have a slow part. It doesn’t start out with an intimate scene, more realistic than that, but the characters meet and develop quickly. They are deciding whether to pursue a relationship with each other while we are learning about the characters themselves, instead of books where there are several chapters of character building before getting to the story.

Very realistic build up of sexual tension, which I like, no insta-love or sex on the first date. They are attracted to each other, but are reasonable about the pace of the relatoinship. In addition the characters are both living their own lives, including friends, family, careers, everything in true life, but never getting so far away from the main characters that you have to get reacquainted before reading forward.

This was a fun, easy read, not too rushed, predictable or unrealistic. Intimate scenes were steamy, not erotica level, but also not skimmed over or repeats of one before. I recommend this read to anyone enjoying the middle of the road in hotness, romance novel!

Zac Fallon, has been stripping for 10 years and he has always loved everything about it. He loves making women smile, being in the spotlight, the camaraderie with the other guys in the show, the freedom to travel and the money. But he just doesn’t quite love it as much as before, something is missing in his life.

Robyn Flores had it all together once. She is the one who did everything right but ever since since her best friend, Lily, the wild one of their duo, got engaged and started settling down, her life has started falling apart. She is happy for Lily, maybe a bit jealous of how together and happy she seems, that she can’t bring herself to tell Lily about how much she struggling. Robyn can barely get to work on time, is coming dangerously close to losing her teaching job and has little clue of why she can’t bring herself to care.

This Magic Mike XXL-inspired romance by Zoey Castile (who writes YA as Zoraida Cordova) was a roller-coaster, part frantic romantic comedy, part angsty relationship drama. While there are lots of glitzy & sexy scenes what I loved were the quieter romantic moments that let me see why Fallon and Robyn were getting so wrapped up with each other so quickly. Castile captures the allure of someone who listens but might not be there to judge one’s bad choices the next day, especially as Robyn struggles to figure out what she wants to do, not what she thinks will please the people in her life.

“But he listens to every word and, somehow, the space between us on the couch disappears and we’re sitting side by side...”
-Robyn -- Stripped by Zoey Castile

I also I really like the frank moments late in the novel where Lily and Robyn finally face why their friendships is floundering and it was interesting to contrast the state of their relationship to that of Fallon’s with Ricky and Aiden.

“... they want the spectacle. I want someone who might see more in me.”
-Fallon -- Stripped by Zoey Castile

The ‘Magic Mike Life” that Fallon is living is losing its charm after 10 years. Hosting an apartment-full of women for an after-party, just feels like a chore rather than a perk. But is an adjustment to become someone’s boyfriend, even a temporary one. Castile does a good job presenting the double edged ness of Fallon’s career. While he has plenty of people who get it and support him simple small talk with Robyn friends and family feels like traps, intentionally or unintentionally. Fallon is ready for something new, for a change but outside of loving Robyn what that new thing was left too vague for my liking.

I got a little tripped up in the early chapters by several eyebrow-raising references related to Robyn’s teaching (how can any teacher avoid meeting their new principal for two months? Do they not have faculty meetings?) but if anything it showed how checked out Robyn was from her career and her life in general and her gigantic heavy work bag she lugs back and forth to work did make me feel seen. I also appreciated that she frequently considered filling out union incident reports because she was certainly entitled to have done so. The whole storyline with Lukas, her inappropriately fixated principal was an ode to trusting one's instincts when other people think someone is okay.

There is a lot to like in this romance and I am intrigued by a lot of supporting characters, particularly Ricky the lead choreographer and organizer of the crew that I will come back to the Happy Endings series again. If you are looking for Magic Mike XXL-inspired romance with a sweet hero, that doesn’t sugar coat the challenges, is full of emotionally messy people, set in a NYC that is as diverse as the real one and has just enough humor to balance the angst you should check it this out.

I honestly love this crazy funny story ! This rom com was like Magic Mike meeting Bridesmaids! And I loved every second of it. Robyn Flores and Zac Fallon kept me on my toes from page one. They had great chemistry and banter. I love when couples are fun and cute. The drama was low, and when there was drama, it was light and comical.

This was a great book. I can't wait to read more from Zoey Castile!!