The Good Boy by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen is such a fun escape – the characters are sparkling and fun – Blake is a hockey himbo and Jess is fun loving, but insecure wonderer – there’s plenty of chemistry and banter, the side characters are fun and there’s no third act breakup. This was light and fluffy and just an afternoon well spent – not too much angst, but rather enjoyable prose and shining dialogue. As a start of a new series, I can’t wait to read more!

I read the Him, Us, Epic series a while ago and I was planning on reading this « sequel » when I saw it was going to be republished traditionally 🥰

I just loved the dynamic and the banter between Blake and Jess.

This is a Brother’s best friend Hockey romance, one night stand to friends with benefits to lovers 🤭

And the spice 🫠

Blake + Jess

-brothers best friend
-hockey romance
-friends with benefits

these two were cute & the background drama was very entertaining. i love that jess stuck up for her man

Good Boy is a novel I’ve been eagerly anticipating reading ever since I learned of its existence. For those of you not familiar with Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy’s previous collaboration, the Him series, the main characters of Good Boy were first introduced to us there. Good Boy can be read as a standalone novel and is part of a new hockey romance series, but you really don’t want to miss out on the amazing experience that is the Him series. I highly recommend reading it before Good Boy. Now to focus on Good Boy…

In Good Boy, Jess Canning is tired of being a failure. She’s hoping successfully throwing her brother and his boyfriend the celebrity wedding of the year will prove her abilities to her family. All she has to do is make sure it goes off without a hitch, and that means avoiding the best man. Hooking up with Blake Riley again would constitute a disaster in Jess’s book. Too bad Blake has every intention of getting Jess to do just that.

I know the first question fans of Him and Us are going to ask is if we get more Jamie and Wes. The answer is yes. It won’t probably be as much as you would like, but it’s enough to satisfy your needs to know what they’re up to. At least, it was for me. Plus, Jess and Blake are awesome characters, and you’re going to love spending time with them!

The second thing readers will want to know is was Good Boy as good as Him and Us? In my opinion, yes. It was. But here’s what I need to point out: Good Boy isn’t Him or Us. It was its own kind of amazing. Don’t go into expecting the same type of story. Jess and Blake truly have their own thing going and it’s so much fun. I absolutely adored every moment I got to spend with them. They made me laugh so much, and their chemistry was insane.

Jess is one of my favorite female main characters in a while. It was so easy to relate to her. Who hasn’t felt like they weren’t good enough at some point? I loved her determination to prove herself and make her own way in life. I admired the effort she put into making her dreams come true.

Blake was a force to be reckoned with. He wasn’t about to let Jess get away. I loved his flirty personality and ability to make everyone (including me) laugh with his made-up words. Cheezus, he was funny! But what I loved most about him was his caring loyalty. Blake would do anything to keep those he loved happy. He was a much deeper character than I was expecting.

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy are an author collaboration made in heaven. They fill their books with so much heart and humor. I adored every moment of Good Boy. It was so much fun learning more about Blake and Jess, reuniting with old characters, and getting to know some new and upcoming ones. Good Boy was great beginning to the WAGS series, and I hope there’s many, many more books to come.

I love the banter between Jess and Blake! That made it so fun to read. The book jumps into the spice fairly quickly and of course, you simply can't go wrong with a goofy hockey player. Good read!

Jess and Blake are hilarious! These two are complete opposites and yet Blake will stop at nothing to show her that he is the man for her!

Blake is a playboy and doesn’t take life serious! He is the jokester but underneath the laughs is a man who has been hurt and has finally realized he wants forever, if only she would give him a chance!

Jess is a flighty one! She has no time for romance and is about to make a life change that isn’t going to help her case but when she lands in the same city as Blake these two can not keep away and well things get heated fast!

I love the all the jokes and quips in this story! Blake and his family are hilarious but so is just about every other character! So many laughs but also tons of emotion as we get to know both Jess and Blake!

3.5 stars

I was pretty skeptical when I first started reading this because of the MMC’s cringy dialogue and over the top sense of humor, but he did grow on me after a while and even made me chuckle a few times. I also appreciated Jess and how she never gave up on finding a career that she loved despite any criticism.

It’s spicy right off the bat but takes some time to develop into something deeper and I thought the progression was well done. The more I learned about the real Blake, the more I liked him, and it was really sweet to see Jess start to realize that as well. The whole WAGs / hockey storyline was really fun and I’d be interested in reading about some of the other characters.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom for the ARC!

3.5 stars

Good Boy follows the dual POVs of Jessie Canning, an event planner turned nursing student determined to find her way and make her family proud, and Blake Riley, star Toronto hockey player who is a pervy horn dog with a heart of gold determined to get into Jess’s pants over and over again….

I’ll be honest here - Blake’s character seemed to say a lot of outlandish things for shock value and made me cringe throughout the novel with with how pushy and determined he was to claim Jess as his own — definitely gives “frat boy” vibes, and Jess is pushing him away but at the same time giving into her desires….

There is some substance to the plot other than the predictability of the romance, but the story seemed a bit superficial at times. I enjoyed the scenes in the pediatric oncology unit and appreciated seeing the sweeter sides of Blake, especially around his family and annoying ex-girlfriend.

I would recommend this book to hockey lovers and folks looking for a quick and spicy contemporary romance.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC! I would love to read more from Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen.

Good Boy is Book 1 in the WAGS series. I absolutely loved Blake and Jessica’s (Jess) story. They had amazing chemistry and the romantic development was never rushed. I loved how they started out as acquaintances then progressed into friends with benefits and then to lovers! Every scene was cute and a little spicy. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the arc of this book.

I want to thank NetGalley for having his book available for me to read!

well CHEEZUS this book had me laughing so damn hard! God I loved the banter between Jess and Blake!! Blake never missed an opportunity to show jess who he really was and that’s what I loved about him. He never once hid who he really was. He never pretended to be someone he wasn’t when he was with her. He was such a lovable goofball that I want a Blake for myself so damn bad now. His funny ass vocabulary, his hilarious jokes and his adorable charming self every time he spoke with anyone in this book🫶🏻😭 a frkn adorable read. Also the spice did not disappoint so I call that a win😮‍💨

3.5/5 stars! Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, Netgalley, Elle Kennedy and Sabrina Bowen. For the opportunity to read this book. I found it to be a nice quick read I am always a big fan of a hockey romance book.

This is not a new book but with a new cover I guess it is being re-released? Either way I am happy to have received a free copy!

Hockey romances have my heart and I found this one to be a lot of fun. I always enjoy a fun story revolving around a wedding and both the FMC and MMC had a fun push-pull that kept the story interesting. There were plenty of funny moments and you know Elle Kennedy always brings the spice! I will definitely explore the other books in the series and as this was my first Kennedy read, I will explore more of her titles for sure.

Well, this was just so darn delightful. Jess is an event planner (who is also exploring other career options) who has just planned her brother's wedding. At said wedding, she reconnects with hockey player Blake. And let me just tell you that their banter and chemistry is like a hockey puck going perfectly into the net - Is that a good hockey analogy, or a bad joke? I'm not sure, but trust me, their dynamics are what make this! There are so many wonderful lines and wit in this, as well as a really great depth to Jess' story, as well as a great plot around what happens to Jess and Blake. It was just so, so good all-around y'all - An MVP of a read if you well - Okay, I'm done. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this one! I'm also excited there are more books in this series/universe because I need more!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

The story itself isn’t too bad but the dialogue can be super cringey at times. I can’t say I particularly liked or disliked the main characters at all, though Blake was pretty childish at the beginning and then that seemed to calm down. The spice wasn’t anything special.

This is a spin off of a separate series and while some spin offs don’t require you to read the other books, this book feels like you are dropped right in the middle of the story if you haven’t read the other series about Jessica’s brother.

Overall, probably wouldn’t recommend. I don’t know if I’d read any more of the books in this series/world. I don’t plan on reading the brother’s existing series either.

Good Boy is firmly set in the same universe as the Him series. Wesmie’s wedding is used as a jump off point and for me it meant the start of the book was a little slow. On the other hand, it did give me a good idea of who the MCs were. And I really liked those MCs. Blake was a lot of fun (and probably exhausting in real life) and Jess balanced it out perfectly.
Both Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen are of course excellent writers, and this book shows that. I really enjoyed and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.

Because I don’t like MM, I skipped right to Good Boy and I really enjoyed it. The first 30ish percent was a bit slow but after that I flew through it. Jess and Blake were such a fun couple.

How much you enjoy this second chance romance will depend on how you feel about Blake and his persistent pursuit of Jess. He doesn't want to believe that no means no and to be honest, Jess doesn't do the best job of absolutely saying no. They had a one night stand, met again, and now she's at school in Toronto where he plays hockey. Will they, should they get together? Fans of the genre know what will happen but know that Blake does convey as more than a bit unsavory at times (those pics!). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

Good Boy is a fantastic hockey romance from genre experts Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. If you are a fan of he’s sunshine/she’s grumpy, complicated families and the sweetest golden retriever himbo around, this book is a must read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jess is anxiously planning her brother Jamie’s wedding to his hockey player husband-to-be Wes. She’s worried about disappointing her family, especially when she’s decided she doesn’t want to stick with her new event planning business and instead become a nurse. But, she’s also avoiding best man Blake, the hockey hottie she hooked up with months ago. Blake is so excited to see Jess again, and doesn’t understand why she’s running away from him. The two have some steamy moments together, but when Jess blows him off again at the end of the night, she thinks that’s it. Only when she starts nursing school in Toronto, she discovers that hanging out with her brother means seeing Blake all the time too. Can she continue to ignore Blake’s enthusiasm and their mutual chemistry?

Blake is one of the best himbos to ever himbo. He’s sweet and hilarious, and isn’t shy about the way he adores the people closest to him. When Jess has a tough time adjusting to nursing student life, along with her feelings for Blake, it’s easy identify with her anxiety and ability to overthink. As much as Jess tries to deny it, though, the pair has sizzling chemistry. And Blake has no qualms about making sure Jess has the best experience each time they get together.

This book can easily be read as a standalone; it’s the start of a new series and includes some new, endearing characters, like the entire Riley family. The first section on the book begins with Wesmie’s wedding, though, which is more fun if you’ve followed Wes and Jamie’s story. And, frankly, if you are a fan of hockey romance and haven’t read Him and Us, what are you even doing with your life?

Good Boy is a fantastic hockey romance with the best golden retriever himbo MC ever. Bowen and Kennedy’s WAGs series is an underrated gem, and I’m thrilled it’s getting rereleased. If you are a fan of hot sports romance with amazing characters and tons of fun, don’t miss Blake and Jess’s story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars- I was excited to read this one because I had read the Him series by Sarina and Elle and really enjoyed those, plus the fact it was a continuation of that universe. This was a super quick read for me. I did like this book, but it wasn't my favorite. I liked Jess trying to figure out what she wants to do and finding a career she wants to stick with. I liked the banter between Jess and Blake. I wanted more chapters with Blake and Jess once they started being a couple. I would be interested to continue reading this series!

This book falls victim to its own attempt at making a very in likable character fun and flirty. Blake is one of the worst male love interests i’ve ever read about because he is persistent to the point of harassment. He consistently pushes and pushes the female main character despite her saying multiple times that she is not interested. He touches her without her consent and sends her unsolicited explicit photos. He never once took anything seriously and at the beginning of the book it infuriated me that he did not think of how Jess might react to him changing her wedding ceremony plans. I really wish that I could power through this book but i cannot see a healthy relationship forming out of any of this so i am dnfing at 40%. (side note: I am also 40% in and there is no mention of the dog on the cover)