Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Short and sweet but I felt like it was missing something I can’t quite put my finger on. My track record with Elle Kennedy is complicated as is and this was definitely not my favorite from her but I would definitely recommend this to anyone seeking out something with the perfect mix of some of the world’s favorite romance tropes and plot lines.

This book was an enjoyable read. The story itself was easy to follow and I'm down for a good hockey romance knowing little to nothing about the sport LOL. Definitely need to read the rest of the series.

As a big fan of Elle Kennedy I was very excited to read "Good Boy" but unfortunately this is a DNF for me. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters and found the first several chapters to be very cringy. Overall I found Jess to be quite likeable, she has some things to figure out but seemed to have reached the stage of life where she was finding her path. Blake, a professional hockey player, I did not care for. His character comes off extremely immature and seems mostly interested in getting into Jess's pants despite her constant rejection. I may pick this up again after a while as I really do enjoy Elle Kennedy's sports romance but this one just did not click.

Him and Us are some of my favorite books I've ever read, and I absolutely adored this spin-off. When Elle and Sarina write together, they create magic. I will read every book they write and eagerly recommend them to others!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Good Boy by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen!

2.75 stars

Jess Canning is hosting her brother's wedding and runs into Blake Riley yet again. She's hooked up with him in the past, but he can't get Jess out of his mind. Blake intends to convince Jess that he's a good boy with a bad rap. He wants to show her that there's more to him than a hot bod and a hockey star status.

The first part of this book was <b>extremely cringey</b>. Blake gave off douchey frat boy energy who really wanted to get into Jess's pants. He begged and begged, despite her rejecting him or only offering a friends with benefits/casual relationship. In general, Jess was a likeable, relatable character who is struggling to afford college, trips back home, and pay her rent. She's putting herself through nursing school.

The second half of this book definitely got better. The spice was still cringey and there was no emotional character development still, but the plot was decent. I just feel like there was no real reason Blake liked Jess other than she's got a nice body. Emotional character development would definitely be an area that I would suggest for improvement, otherwise the reader doesn't feel a connection to the characters. Also, there was the introduction of the dog shelter/charity and the dog that was given away. The cover makes it seem like the dog will be a bigger plot point...but it's not. It's just a quick mention.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books | Bloom Books for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

I really enjoyed the progression of their love story—from a one-night stand to friends with benefits, then friends to lovers. Their relationship is both incredibly sweet and insanely hot at the same time! If that makes sense? Jess spent a lot of time pushing away or ignoring Blake’s advances after their initial hookup, but he never gave up. He did respect her boundaries when she asked him to back off, and that’s when they actually grew closer, building a connection that went beyond just physical attraction.

Oh man, I adore Blake. He’s a hilarious, ridiculously hot family man and a talented athlete. He’s like an overenthusiastic puppy that just wants to shower you with love and affection. Seriously, I can’t stop grinning! He’s persistent but never overbearing—it’s impossible to be annoyed with him when he’s so sweet, funny, caring, affectionate, and, let’s be real, incredibly sexy. Ugh, I love him!

I really enjoyed this book by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen. Together, the writing is fun, witty, and the book flows so well!

I love Elle Kennedy, while this isn't my favorite of hers, I enjoyed it.

First and foremost, I really liked Blake. He is a hockey player, immediately yes, and plays on the female MC Jess's brthers in law team. I dont even know what this trope is, brother in law sports romance, anyways whatever it is, I'm into it. Anyways, Blake had such a huge heart, and isnt JUST a frat boy. He supports Jess and has such a shining personality, he really transforms throughout this book.

This book made me laugh out loud, and had a good balance of humor, romance and spice.

I will definitely look into the following books!

This book hooked me with the title and the cover (dogs) plus the clever play on WAGs. It is a hockey romance with brother’s best friend and I wanted to love this but it was middle of the road for me. First, the white dog on the cover isn’t even really in the book?? (Spoiler: there’s a formerly owned dog referenced and a chocolate lab…make it match to make sense please. Also need more dogs haha) I liked how supportive Riley is of everyone, even when he shouldn’t be, but he was too cheesy and ditsy for me to really enjoy his character. Jess was just OK, didn’t love her and didn’t hate her, but I’m glad there was some depth to her in how she’s doing in school and working towards bei by a nurse. I did like a lot of the secondary characters like Mama Riley and Wesmie, and the WAGs. This interested me enough that I plan to read the next one, mainly because Riley isn’t the main character.

I have never read anything by this author, but I will be looking out for other books they write in the future. I really enjoyed the story as well as the pacing of the story.

Love it! A great spin off serious from Him! The characters are super fun and the romance was to die for! Loved it!!!!

Loved. Friends with benefits that turns into more? Absolutely love this trope especially when they figure out they actually love each other

Good Boy is not my favorite Sabrina Bowen or Elle Kennedy book. I much prefer book two of this series, Stay.

This is a solid sports romance with heavy sports themes throughout. The chemistry between the characters is great, and the banter is fun, but the focus on the athletic side of the story sometimes took away from the romance. If you love sports, especially hockey, you’ll appreciate the detail and the competitive atmosphere. The characters are likable, and the romance builds nicely, but I was hoping for a bit more balance between the sport and the emotional connection. Still, a great read for fans of the genre!

Love these two authors and the world they have created. This book is kicked off in the wedding of an iconic couple from Him/Us/Epic and I was so glad to see them move forward. Thsi was cute and fun and I look forward to the series

Blake and Jess were such a cute couple and I love that Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen did more than simply fall back on common tropes to write their story, because they deserve so much more than that. I had not read the prior book where Jess was introduced, but I had no problem falling into this book and following their story, and the banter and humor I was able to follow that quite easily. I may have missed some in jokes but nothing central to the storyline itself..

This book was so much fun and a great getaway from my family during a stressful pre-Holiday day!

This was my first book by Sarina Bowen and now I need to read her backlog. Elle Kennedy never misses for me! I loved this grumpy/sunshine couple so much!

What a fun book! I loved the writing, was laughing out loud and feeling all the feels throughout the whole thing. I can't wait to read more of this duo! I was not expecting the level of spice from this based on it's innocent cover! Amazing!

Blurb:
Hosting her brother's wedding for an MVP guest list is the challenge of Jess Canning's life. Already the family screw-up, she can't afford to fail at this, too. Especially after the colossal mistake she made with the best man during a weak moment last spring. Nobody absolutely nobody can find out about that, and there will not be a repeat. Absolutely not. No matter how devastatingly sexy his smile, he's a giant man-child who's never been serious in his life. And if Jess wants to prove herself to her family, serious is what she has to get.
For Blake Riley, this wedding is a gift from fate itself. The girl he has his eye on is the maid of honor, and he's the best man? Let the games begin. So what if Jess is giving him a little—fine, a lot of resistance? He just needs to convince the stubborn blonde that he's really a good boy with a bad rap. Beneath the flirty jokes and goofy smile, he's got layers even if Jess doesn't want to see them.

Final notes:
I am loving the he falls head over heels for her and tries to win her over. Not sure if that is a trope as it was so wordy but "he falls first" is my new fav, especially when it's a reformed playboy like Blake!

Jess and Blake's story was so cute! She tried to keep her distance to prove herself to her family and he went for it! A must read!