What's not to love ... a woman opening a romance only bookstore and the architect that she hires to help turn her house into a romance bookstore. Such a wonderful read. The hero, the heroine, the side characters - they are all just amazing. I couldn't put this one down. Sweet and lovely. I loved it all. I didn't want to put it down. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Launching her new Happily Ever After series, Jenn McKinlay brings readers a small-town romance with plenty of humor, heart, sizzle, and charm as well as an enthusiastic verbal hug for the romance books we all love to read.

Maisy is at a crossroads in her life. Chucking her academic career and louse of a boyfriend, she makes the decision to turn the home and thousands of romance books she's inherited into a romance bookstore. Who among us hasn't had that dream once or twice? She's such an endearing character. I applauded her determination, cheered when she stood up to her ex, and ached with her when things took a sideways turn. I enjoyed her relationship with Ryder's daughter and, especially, with the rescue kitten, King George. And I loved her female sidekicks!

Ryder is a great single dad with some lessons to learn where his teen daughter, and Maisy, are concerned. He's a nice guy and his relationship with Maisy is sweet, and sexy, but unsteady. His continued hot and cold routine throughout most of the book had me frustrated though he comes around by the end and his back story, once revealed, explains much of his behavior. I liked his sense of humor, his willingness to embrace Maisy's dream, his determination to give his daughter the best life possible, and his gentle care of the adorable King George.

If you enjoy a fast-paced, fun romance with plenty of snappy dialogue, sizzling chemistry, and endearing characters, give this one a try.

Feel good, sweet and endearing romance with imperfect but marvelously real cast of characters. I found The Good Ones a highly enjoyable read. McKinlay writes a tale that had me laughing out loud and feeling the character's heart-aches.

I received this ARC copy of The Good Ones from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review. The Good Ones is set for publication Feb. 5, 2019.

My Rating: 5 stars
Written by: Jenn McKinlay
Series: Happily Ever After
Sequence in Series: 1
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: February 5, 2019
ISBN-10: 0451492439
ISBN-13: 978-0451492432
Genre: Western Romance

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✦Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: THE GOOD ONES by Jenn McKinlay https://wp.me/p3d0RZ-b16
Publication Date: February 5, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 5 Stars

This is a feel-good story from start to finish. Yes, Maisy and Ryder had their obstacles and felt the need to keep their distance, but nothing too angst ridden or frustrating for me. Maisy, her dreams for the bookstore, love of romance novels and optimism, connected me to her. I love the whole idea of that store and enjoyed how the author verbally illustrated the power of the romance novel. Ryder, like most men, had some preconceived ideas on what his future should be. Good thing he had his daughter and Maisy to open his eyes to new possibilities. I liked his humor and tenderness, all wrapped up in a sexy package. This is a light romance with just enough heat to keep me warm, and enough love and friendship to keep me smiling long after I closed the book. I look forward to book two in this series.

*Review copy provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

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Kindle https://amzn.to/2TtVYjX

Really enjoyed this series starter from Jenn McKinlay! I've enjoyed reading as Jenn has started writing romances, having been a long time fan of her cozies. Setting a romance novel around a character who is opening a romance themed bookstore is genius, and the characters were great in this one too. It was both funny and sweet, and the hints at what's to come in this series have me ready for more.

<b>2.5 Stars</b>

I’m seriously not sure how to rate this book. There were moments I loved and then there were the ones that drove me absolutely bonkers. Those moments being the never ending indecision. The should I or shouldn’t I. Some would call it push and pull. I’d call it annoying as hell. It didn’t make the book light and sweet, more like frustrating. It was unneeded contrived drama through 75% of the book.

I liked the main characters, to a point. They were fun, when they weren’t running, but I could never really connect to them as a couple. The secondary characters: Savy and Quino captured my interest, more than Maisy and Ryder did. Now there was two individuals with spice and chemistry!

On top of all the indecision, I found myself distracted. It took me a week and a half to get passed the 5% mark. The story often moved slow, between the inner monologues, the incessant chatter about how hot Ryder was, the repetitiveness. It is never a good sign when I finish two other books while in the process of reading one. I contemplated a DNF but pushed through. Glad I did, otherwise, I would never have met Savy and Quino, whose story I am dying to read.

What saved this book for me was Perry and her relationship with Maisy and Ryder. Perry was the breath of fresh air that kept me turning the pages.

While my first try with this new to me author wasn’t a huge success, I would give her a second chance. I’m really, really interested in Savy’s story. I just hope it isn’t full of running and indecision, like this one.

Maisy Kelly finds herself the current owner of her great aunt Eloise’s former home. This house is not a typical structure. In fact – it is a book lover’s paradise. The entire house is home to the largest collection of books that Maisy has ever laid her eyes upon. After leaving her teaching position, Maisy heads to her new home to get a grasp on what the future entails. With so many books staring Maisy in the face, a ‘simple’ idea comes to fruition…..opening a book store.



The idea comes to mind to restore the old house to its former glory. A historical home with the backbone to give growth to the idea that Maisy can create one of the most unique book stores around. With the thoughts of restoration in mind, Maisy seeks out a professional that can create the vision that is swirling around in her head. Ryder Copeland is the professional that comes recommended for the restoration project. What Maisy quickly realizes is Ryder is anything but the typical construction worker.



Ryder does look like your average construction guy. This cowboy has the good looks one would expect to find gracing the cover of a romance novel. What is also unexpected is the fact that Ryder is a single dad to a delightful teenager named Perry. All of Maisy’s restoration plans are coming to light through the vision that Ryder brings to life through his craft. A job that is more of a means to an end for the cowboy. Maisy’s project is the final stop on Ryder’s list before heading off to a new state and sending Perry off to an all girls boarding school.



What Ryder didn’t figure in his plans was crossing paths with Maisy, and all the upheaval she would bring to his life. The attraction between the two was hard to ignore, but working in such close proximity made ignoring their feelings even harder. Nothing could prepare the two for the desire to extend things beyond a simple fling. With Perry, Savannah and King George in the middle of the mix, Ryder and Maisy will find that sometimes plans have a way of crashing around you.



The Good Ones is the first novel in a new series by Jenn McKinlay. It’s a journey of finding love even when you have lost all hope. While I found Maisy and Ryder to be entertaining….Perry and King George managed to steal the show! This book wasn’t an over the top romance. It was more of a wind up to the end result. While I have read other books by McKinlay that were more entertaining than this one, I feel like it was a great start to what I hope ends up being a solid series.

This is one of those books that makes you feel good and makes you fall in love with the characters. I loved that the story involved a old house that was going to be restored, by a hunky cowboy and a woman who wanted to celebrate her love for romance novels, by turning it into a romance novel bookstore. I loved how the romance developed and how the story flowed. Besides a great romance, there is a delightful cat, full of spunk and character. I highly recommend this book to everyone, not just romance lovers

Maisy Kelly has just dumped her married boyfriend, quit her job and lost her aunt, but that isn’t stopping this dynamo of a professor from moving on with life and making lemonade out of lemons. When Maisy inherits her great-aunts house full of romance novels in every nook and cranny, what’s an unemployed professor to do? Open a romance bookstore! Before all that can happen, she needs the house restored to all it’s glory.

Ryder Copeland is a single dad who has pulled himself out of poverty. When in college he does something stupid he does something right as well and becomes a father to his daughter. The marriage doesn’t quite last, but doing everything he can for his daughter never ends. Needing one last job for the summer before he sends his daughter off to a big named boarding school and he takes on a boring job to pay for it, he isn’t looking for love or even a fling.

Now you would think this would be the perfect story, right? Who wouldn’t want to inherit a house full or romance novels and turn it into a bookstore? But I think these two needed to find some chemistry because at the 70% mark they still hadn’t done much more than give each other longing looks. Yep, I wasn’t blown away by much of anything in this story. It seemed to meander along at times with cute one-off scenes, but in the overall scheme of it all, it just lacked the passion you wanted to feel from such a great setting.

In and out there are tons of secondary characters from Maisy’s best friend, Ryder’s daughter, Maisy’s accountant and former babysitter to Ryder’s best friend. They all seem to be around the couple at all times making this hard to find much in the way of romance. There was depth to the characters and you could sense their history, but it never really came to play. Like Ryder’s ex-wife didn’t seem to have a hand in their daughter’s life to Maisy having all this family that was in the town while she grew up but we have no clue where they are now. I found myself disconnect and outside the story that was being told instead of immersed in it as if I was one of their friends.

This is my first Jenn McKinlay and while it felt like they wanted it to be a cowboy romance, he really isn’t a cowboy. Just a guy who is from Texas, wears a cowboy hat and lives on a “ranch” with a guy who raises horses. It was more of a let down.

Then let’s get into the hero not thinking he can love or handle relationships, moving away because his daughter has to go to a certain school that costs money (a school the kids doesn’t even want to go too) and a driving need to be the good guy in everything. Throw in Maisy is determined, but at times you wonder if she really is considering her actions and then what does she really want? It all felt like a jumble of disconnected emotions thrown in to make everything more complicated so you wouldn’t notice that there was nothing recommending these two had any chemistry.

So … I can say I liked these characters, just not together. I liked the secondary characters, but maybe just not so much of them all the time. I mean they cock blocked left and right, but I am not even sure they needed to cock block the couple. There is also a hint of who will get romance in books to come. It wasn’t a horrible story. It just wasn’t one I probably should have stuck with as it really didn’t satisfy the need for romance, comedy, cowboys and books!

The Good Ones is the first in Jenn McKinlay’s new contemporary romance Happily Ever After series. What do you do when you inherit an old Victorian home that is full of books? You turn it into a bookstore, of course. When I first read the blurb for this story I knew I had to read it considering all the books were romance and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. The author has taken the best of what I love about the genre and has written an endearing, witty, sweet romance that makes me looking forward to the next one in the series.

The author has taken two main characters with different backgrounds and goals in life and threw them together at a time when it isn’t convenient to find ‘the one.’ The supporting case was just as diverse and a plot that got more interesting with the introduction of a kitten and the quest to keep it alive. Ryder is a single father raising a 14-year-old daughter and Maisy is an ex-college professor barking on a career change to move her in a whole different direction. Ryder is the architect to renovate the house and he’s trying to keep things professional. Stolen kisses say he wants her but he’s telling her it can’t happen. It’s been hard for her since he seems to embody romance hero qualities. She just has to convince him that what they have is good and worth a chance. There might have been instant attraction between Ryder and Maisy, but it took some time before true feelings were spoken to one another and for them to have a happy ending.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Good Ones because the writing was crisp, humorous and engaging. The love story was woven together with two smaller plots in such a way that made it feel seamless and kept this reader engrossed with the story. First stories in a new series can sometimes be tricky to balance building a new world, introducing characters and developing a romance. The Good Ones finds that balance perfectly and it was very enjoyable. I also got a hint of a future story and can’t wait to see that unfold. If you are a fan of Jill Shalvis and Sarah Morgan, you will fall in love with Jenn McKinlay and The Good Ones.

In this new book by McKinlay we are introduced to Maisy, a young woman who has just left her job as a professor due to a bad breakup. Having inherited her Aunts home she is looking toward the future and has decided to turn it into a romance book store. Ryder is a single father who is trying to give his daughter all the things he missed out on in life. He's an architect and will be doing the work turning Maisy's house into a bookstore. The two meet and there is an instant chemistry but Ryder isn't looking for romance and Maisy seems to always pick the wrong guy. As they begin to work together it is hard to deny the attraction but What can come of being together. Ryder is moving after he finishes the job and Maisy doesn't want to be hurt. Follow along as these to skirt around their attraction and try to deny how they feel. Will they take a chance on romance or will things end up unhappily ever after for these two. This was a wonderful read filled with characters that we can all relate to. I enjoyed the back and forth between the characters and look forward to more from this author.

i love how Jenn McKinlay writes a love story with very real people! Ice cream to cure heartbreak! Oh yes! I was right there with those ladies. Hot cowboy-architects.who have passion and make mistakes. Oh yes! It makes your heart melt like that ice cream that was left out too long! I could not put this book down. Fun reading from the 1st page to the last page.

Wouldn’t it be the ultimate dream in life for any romance reader to be able to own your own romance book store? Or even to inherit a house full to the brim in every room of romance books? I mean - I don’t even know how I would be able to deal with such amazingness but that’s exactly what happens to our heroine, Maisy, in <i>The Good Ones</i>.

Maisy just inherited her great-aunt Eloise’s old historic house that has every room in it lined to the top with romance novels. So she decides to turn it into a romance book store. She hires our hero, Ryder, an architect, to head up the project. And isn’t Ryder just the picture perfect ideal of what every leading hero in a romance novel is suppose to be?

Not only did <i>The Good Ones</i> make me daydream of changing careers and wishing I could be Maisy, but it gave a super heartwarming romance story between Maisy and Ryder. Along with Maisy and Ryder, there is a bunch of other hilarious characters in <i>The Good Ones</i>.

This book absolutely gave me all the feels with not only the relationship between Maisy and Ryder, but with Ryder and his daughter, Perry.

I can not wait to visit all of these characters again (hopefully soon) when the next book in the series comes out!

Jenn McKinlay's The Good Ones is a romance lovers dream. Maisy Kelly inherits her great-aunt Eloise's three-story Victorian home in Fairdale, North Carolina. Not only is the house furnished, but it's stacked with books. Actually, that's an understatement. The house is a hoarder's paradise of books. Not your average run-of-the-mill books, but romance books. After leaving her teaching job at the local college, Maisy has the idea to convert the house into a romance book store. But in order to do this, she first must clear out the house, restore it to its original glory and convert it into a store. In order for her dream to come true, Maisy needs a restoration architect. Enter Ryder Copeland.

Ryder looks like a romance book hero come to life. If truth be told, he even has the hero baggage. Ryder is a single father to a fourteen-year-old girl named Perry. Ryder’s plan is to spend the summer restoring Maisy's house and then move Perry to an elite boarding school in Connecticut, while he takes a high-paying desk job in Charleston, South Carolina. Ryder feels he isn’t capable of love and has no desire to have a relationship. That is, of course, until Maisy enters his life. With the help of Maisy's best friend Savannah, Perry, and an abandoned kitten named King George, Maisy and Ryder become a family unit without realizing it.

I liked The Good Ones. The main and secondary characters were so easy to like. Perry was a refreshingly, good teenager. She's smart, thoughtful, and caring. She has a fierce stubbornness about her, and is wise beyond her years. There's King George who is actually based on Jenn's experience with rescuing an abandoned kitten. I'll admit, the King George storyline was my favorite part of the book. Savannah is a New Yorker who finds herself in North Carolina helping her friend. She's funny and opinionated. But she's also smart and has a heart of gold. She even meets her match in Ryder’s best friend Joaquin Solis.

I love that I didn't find The Good Ones to be predictable. You know the story will have a happily ever after, but I was definitely wondering how we were going to get there. For me, the biggest drawback of the story was Ryder’s hot and cold attitude with Maisy when little bumps in the road appeared. However, the ending of the story made up for that in spades.

I'm excited that there's another book in this series that is called Happily Ever After. Savannah and Joaquin definitely appear to have a love-hate relationship. That has fun written all over it. Plus, it’s a Christmas romance! I'm really hoping that we will also get more of Ryder, Maisy, Perry, and of course, King George.

I'm really fighting the urge to open up my own Romance Bookstore after reading this book! i have so much in common with Maisy Kelly, so this book captured my heart. You can't help but fall for Ryder Copeland during the story, as he's an adorable single father to a teenager (his daughter will run away with your heart too). Any storyline that includes animals or children, immediately has me captivated and hoping for a happily ever after. I loved this story and can't wait for more in the series!

The Good Ones by Jenn McKinlay is the start of the Happily Ever After series, set in a small South Carolina town. It’s the first book I’ve read by McKinlay.

Lit professor Maisy Kelly is starting over after being passed over for a promotion in favor of her less-qualified, cheating ex. She’s determined to turn the old Victorian she inherited from her much-beloved aunt into a romance novel bookstore. She hires architect Ryder Copeland to restore the house – and add a turret – before the grand opening. Maisy cut her teeth on romance novels and she recognizes a true romance hero when she sees one..and boy does Ryder fit the bill. As a single father and a courtly southern cowboy, he ticks all her boxes. Too bad he isn’t in the market for a relationship.

Ryder knows he isn’t a good fit in a relationship – his broken marriage is proof of that. He can’t even bring himself to say those three little words to his daughter, much less a woman. He might feel deeply, but he’s never been good at expressing his emotions. If ever he was tempted by a woman, however, it would be Maisy Kelly. The shy, romantic really does it for him. But for Ryder, it isn’t just about his commitment issues. He’s moving at the end of the summer when his daughter goes away to boarding school.

This is my first novel by this author. While I enjoyed the writing over all, there were a few quirks that bothered me a bit. Such as the overly descriptive sentences and the overuse of similes. I also struggled with the pacing in the second half of the book. I really liked the premise and the slow-building romance, but I wanted something more to happen in the second half.

The story was cute story. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. Ryder and his daughter had a great relationship. He was a great dad who really cared for his daughter and wanted what was best for her. They didn’t always see eye to eye, but it was obvious to all that they were close and easy with each other. I really loved the friendships Maisy had. Some of the best parts of the book featured Maisy and her girlfriends watching movies, joking and laughing together.

Though I struggled with the pacing in the second half, I enjoyed the humor and sweetness of the story. The strong female relationships and sexy single-dad really worked for me. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This is my first book from this author and I couldn’t resist the premise. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book and my rating might be too high.

I liked Maisey and Ryder well enough. They’re both smart and stubborn and have excellent conversation — when they actually talk, that is. I really liked Maisey’s BFF and Ryder’s daughter. Oh and of course the cat.

Plot wise, it was so slow. A lot of push and pull, a lot of inner monologue, and a lot of seemingly repetitive scenes. There were some continuity issues and several sentences reused. Hopefully that will get fixed in edits. It felt like a lot of telling instead of showing and while the beginning was fun and cute, I sort of lost interest by the middle.

Overall, it was the characters who kept me reading {okay, and the promise of a Victorian house turned into a bookstore.} I am mildly interested in the next book if it’s Savannah, but I’m not sure I would read it.

**Huge thanks to Berkley for providing the arc free of charge**

A romance book about romance books! LOL, this is the best romance I have read in a long time. The setting is an old Victorian home being renovated into a bookstore that caters to romance books! It is woven with wit and humor while also being a wonderful story of overcoming fears and going for it! Whatever the "it" may be! This is not my preferred genre, but I have to say this is a romance book that you should absolutely put on your list to read! It was also quite educational as it talked about the different genres within the romance genre category. I will definitely be watching for the author to write more books with some of the same characters as we must know what happens next!

The Good Ones is going to warm your romance loving heart. The little shout outs to tropes (the cowboy architect), amazing authors (Beverly Jenkins for the win!), and love of romance novels help make it a joy to read. The release date is perfect for those looking for a romance to read around Valentine's Day.

Maisy Kelly has inherited a house crammed with romance novels. She contacts Ryder Copeland for a quote about restoring the house so she can sell it but decides with her career at a crossroads, she's going to use her inheritance to turn it into a romance bookstore instead.

Ryder is happy to take on one last job before he moves to Charleston for a new role. His daughter has been accepted to a private school with a strong science program that his ex-wife and her mother attended, and this job will help cover what the partial scholarship won't. The back cover blurb makes it sound like he's trying to escape Fairdale but he doesn't have anything against Fairdale, he's just working to give his daughter the best future possible. There's no demand that Perry (his daughter) go there, he just feels strongly about that tradition and giving her the opportunity.

Maisy and Ryder are attracted to each other but both are weary, when they're brought together by a kitten Perry finds on the porch. With Perry and Maisy's friend Savannah, they team up to look after the kitten and feed him every two hours. If you follow McKinlay on social media, you'll know her family rescued a kitten who is also named King George. It's sweet to see a bit of his journey recorded, a lot more work than making sure he was fed and warm. The forced proximity between King George and the renovation/restoration encourages Maisy and Ryder to get closer.

The Good Ones has a great balance of comedy and sweetness with a touch of angst as they have the back and forth of this being temporary while both are realizing they're ready for more with each other. A wonderful contemporary and a love letter to romance novels.

➳A single father in need of finding the connection he should have with his loved ones, and a shy bookstore owner who wants nothing more than to spread love to the world…

➳Can we talk about cowboy romances, especially ones that have your panties melting for more cherished characters and loving individuals such as Maisy and Ryder? Yes please! Let’s talk about them because there is no denying that this is a romance novel that will have everyone hooked for more sweetness and care towards this fictional world. Especially when you involve a swoon worthy single father that does construction and remodeling for a living. **sighs** I am swooned away… I have been blown away by this romance novel!

➳Seriously y’all! There is no denying that I truly fell in love this Ryder… and Maisy? YESSSS! Preach for Maisy and her quirky attitude! The fact that she wants to open a romance bookstore just makes this ten times better of a novel. The raw attraction that Maisy has towards Ryder is also one that truly does take your breathe away, even when they are being the most cutest and sweetest individuals ever.

➳Can I please have me a cowboy like Ryder? Please? Because I seriously need him in my life! Maisy is one lucky gal, especially when he just seems to be everywhere. On her mind… on her… mind… Yeah, around the corner whenever he is fixing her house… on her mind again… in her, house… I don’t know, I don’t want to sound filthy but this novel is filthy for certain in the department of sexual tension between Maisy and Ryder. And my gosh, you will all be sweating when reading their story.

➳Overall, this was truly a southern romance novel that will have you captivated to the next page, wanting more of Ryder but also craving the attitude of Maisy’s. I am looking forward to reading more sweet romance novels by Jenn. Thank you so much to the beautiful team at Berkley for letting me read this fantastic novel, looking forward for more!