I really did not enjoy *Good Boy*, and that’s mainly because of Blake. He couldn’t take "no" for an answer and spent the first half of the book relentlessly pursuing Jessica, even when she clearly needed emotional support. Instead of being the fun, carefree guy he was supposed to be, he gave me strong predator vibes. I stopped reading at 25% because his behavior made me so uncomfortable.

Blake came across as a total "nice guy" in sheep's clothing. As a reader, I felt uneasy and cringed through most of his interactions. Jessica needed a listener, but Blake's mind was always on how he could get closer to her physically. The moment he pressured her yet again when she clearly needed space was my final straw. And don’t get me started on the butt touch at the wedding or his reaction to picking up the wrong balloons when Jessica was already stressed. Instead of apologizing, he brushed it off with a “she needs to loosen up” attitude. It felt gross.

Blake is a walking red flag—he doesn’t listen, and everything is about his needs. If this is the type of guy we're supposed to root for, I’m out. I just can’t get behind it.

I have loved Elle Kennedy's past books so i was excited to have the chance to read "Good Boy". I have to say this book was a bit disappointing, and I didn't love how the main character was written.

This is a refresh/republish but was new to me.
I was excited to read this as an Elle Kennedy fan, but I honestly had a tough time with it, especially due to Blake's character. His immaturity throughout was a real turnoff, although he did get more tolerable as the story went on. This was a fluffy and cheesy sports romance but gave great spice.

I really enjoyed Good Boy. It was everything a great romance should be.

The chemistry between Jess and Blake was off the charts. I loved their playful relationship.
The romance was sweet, the spice was great, and the storyline was compelling and funny too.

I'll definitely be keen to read the next installment.
I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley, Bloom Books, Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have already purchased both Stay and Good Boy for my library's digital collection. Elle Kennedy is a popular author and these books are sure to circulate well. I look forward to reading more books by her in the future.

I was so excited to grab this book because I absolutely loved the Him series by this duo. But even Wes and Jamie couldn’t save this one for me. 😩 I got instant ick from our MMC—he gave off total man-child vibes, and the humor felt so juvenile. I usually love a bit of lighthearted fun, but this just didn’t hit the right notes.

It was tough to push through, and I kept hoping it would get better, but it never really did. Such a bummer, because I really wanted to love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I almost stopped reading this a hundred times because I absolutely hated the way Blake was written, his dialogue, thought process, literally everything. But I kept on and I was pleased with the way things ended up. It was not my favorite hockey romance but it was a quick and easy read.

I love Elle Kennedy and a good hockey romance but this one missed the mark for me. Felt rushed and cheesy, lacking character development. Yes. You can have character development in a spicy hockey romance. Still look forward to reading anything she publishes though!

✨ Publication date: August 6, 2024✨

Good Boy is a refresh and republish of the first book is the Wags series by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen. This is a steamy sports romance series.

Jess Canning is in her mid twenties and is still trying to figure life out. She has started a few school programs and attempted a couple of career choices and can’t seem to find what works. She knows what doesn’t work though, seeing one of her brother’s best friends Blake again after their hook up a few months ago.

Blake Riley is your typical playboy. Star of the Toronto professional hockey team and no problem getting girls to hang off him. He just can’t quite get Jess Canning out of his mind. They only hooked up once but their chemistry was off the charts and he’s like to explore a friends with benefits deal with her.

When Jess is accepted to a Toronto University for Nursing, Blake and Jess start to see a bit more of each other. When Blake asks Jess to be his fake girlfriend to avoid his ex at an upcoming family party, they agree that fake dating and friends with benefits would work for them both.

What happens when the forever playboy wants to settle down and the girl looking for a steady long term relationship doesn’t see what’s right in front of her?

I liked this book. I’m a big Elle Kennedy fan but I had a tough time with Blake’s character. He grew on me a bit throughout the book but I still didn’t love his immaturity throughout the book. This is a 3 star for me.

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

#NetGalley #ellekennedy #sarinabowen #goodboy

Thank you #Netgalley for the copy

What a fun read! Already a fan of Elle Kennedy I was looking forward to this collaboration and new Wags series. Looking forward to the next! In this intro novel, we are introduced to Jess, a woman in her twenties trying to find her career. Meanwhile, we are also quickly introduced to Blake, her brothers best friend, a hilarious hockey player who is used to women fawning over him, but not Jess. Jess decides to go to nursing school, coincidently in the same town as her brother and Blake. In typical rom com style, we watch as Jess and Blake tease each other, one pushing the other away, etc. But ultimately they need each other in more ways than one, and we watch the relationship evolve and Jess eventually build in her confidence in school and life.

I love every book these two write. I really enjoyed this one! The frat boy talk was a little bit much for my taste, but overall, the book was cute and a good read that I really enjoyed. The banter was funny, and they had really great chemistry. Once Jess got to know Blake better, she saw what he was truly like, and I loved that.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for eARC!

This was a bit cheesy, but overall an enjoyable fluffy read. Would recommend to anybody who enjoys hockey romances with smut.

OMG this book! My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. This is my absolute favorite book by both of these authors. I want to read it again for the first time. I adored Blake and Jess, but especially Blake. His humor and fun-loving ways were so adorable. Go read this ... like seriously now.

3 stars. This book is a release of one of their older books with a new cover (which I really like) and it was a quick read. However, compared to other work by Elle Kennedy or any other hockey romance I feel like this one fell short and lacked depth. Also Blake just made me cringe way too hard and I can't tell if this was just sayings we used back in the day or if he really is that cringe lol. Also, I initially was excited for the dog element but I feel like that wasn't a central point in this book. I feel like this series and the covers (new and past) really marketed the dog element so I expected more. I'll read the next one to see if that opinion changes :) Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This brother's best friend, hockey romance was so fun. I loved Jess and Blake so much. They had previously hooked up but while Jess saw it as a one and done, Blake was set on winning her heart. And what better time to do that then at the wedding of Jess's brother where they are the maid of honor and best man. A quick, entertaining and funny read. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I love Elle Kennedy but this one fell short for me.

This one lacked excitement and overall was really boring.
I did enjoy the relationship dynamics at times and there was definitely humor but nothing that grabbed my attention and kept me entertained.
I enjoyed Blake but most of the characters lacked depth and were just not enjoyable.

Seemed like the same ol' romance we've all seen and heard before.
I'll still read Elle Kennedy, this just wasn't my favorite.

I really wanted to like this one, it started off strong but then I quickly lost interest. I know Elle is the queen of hockey romance but they're all starting to blend together now. DNF @ 25%

WAGs is a sports romance series written by two of my favorite contemporary authors, Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen.

Jessica Canning has always felt that she's been the flighty one of her 5 siblings, never really fitting in with the different jobs she's had. She thought she had finally figured it out with a party planning career. She has spent months planning the perfect wedding for her brother Jamie and his fiance Wes's wedding (Him), but it's been terribly stressful and she's again thinking of calling this one a failure. She is feeling like she could turn to nursing as a career after she took care of her brother when he got sick. But this is the last straw, if she wants to be taken seriously she has to really prove herself. Blake Riley has had a thing for Jess since the day they both cared for her brother. He's the best man at Wesmie's wedding and it's the perfect time to rekindle the sexy times with Jess. Only she's stressed beyond belief and wants nothing to do with him.

I had originally DNF'd this way back in the day when it was originally first published. I had a really hard time with how Jess treated Blake. She took him just as some dumb frat boy jock, and though his language was the definition of immature, he had the biggest heart ever. This time around I stuck through it and it only got better. There were so many sides to Blake and he just made me laugh so many times. Jess grew on me too especially after her stint in the kid's cancer ward. These two were great together, their chemistry was smoking and the spice was spectacular! Mama Riley was the quintessential hockey mom, I loved her so much and I thought it was very spot on that she would know about Molly's lies even though no one said anything to her.

Overall this was a very cute book and I'm glad I gave it another chance because I really do love this world Elle and Sarina created. Can't wait to read about Hailey and Eriksson! Thank you so much to Bloom Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a cute and spicy hockey romance that I loved. Elle Kennedy never disappoints! Thank you for allowing me to read and review this ARC

I absolutely adored this story! I thought I'd find Blake to be a bit too corny, but he was just spunky and fun. I felt like this story was quick, but maybe I just couldn't stop reading it!, yet the character development was strong. It was a spicy read, but still had all the family feels.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloom Books, Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.