I really wanted to love this one! I am a huge Elle Kennedy fan, but honestly Blake was such an insufferable man child that I couldn't even finish it. I am chalking this one up to just not being for me.

‘Doesn’t matter if he gave me 3 orgasms in 30 minutes. I will not be tapping that ass again’

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
🏒 hockey romance
🏒 dual POV
🏒 cocky MMC
🏒 LGBTQ+ rep
🏒 a lillll spice 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️
🏒 he falls first
🏒 HEA
🏒 dogs 🐶 🐕 🐩

I love Elle Kennedy so much! I love her writing style with use of cuss words and sarcastic, snarky language; it makes for a very enjoyable read.
I love a dual point-of-view rom-com soooo much because we get to see exactly what both of the characters are thinking! and it makes us that much more excited when the characters finally discover what we see and FINALLY get together 💕
Something I absolutely NEED in a rom-com is some funny banter between the 2 main characters, and boy did this novel have it! I laughed-out-loud on more than one occasion just reading the interactions between the characters 🤣 I love when a book makes me physically laugh!
I love the chapter titles!!! It’s such a little thing but no one does that anymore and I really miss it!! 💕
Being a Canadian myself, I love a Canadian story!! Of course a hockey romance would be set in Canada 🤪🤪
I did not love the female main character, but I absolutely loved the male main character 🤪 so I was really rooting for him to get what he wants 😊
Another smash hit from Elle Kennedy! I love how easy her books are to fly right through, and I am delighted to discover that this book is part of a series and I have more to read! Fantastic!

I enjoyed this hockey romance by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen. Good plot and likeable characters. Looking forward to the next on the series, Stay. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #GoodBoy #NetGalley

ARC REVIEW❤️

4⭐️

Oh I enjoyed this one so much, I wish I had read HIM because it does mention side characters, but I will be going back now!
This was such a good friends with benefits and I love that trope so much!
The chemistry between Blake and Jess was fire, I could feel it through the writing and I was just waiting till they made it official!
The spice was honestly spicing so much!
And the character development for Jess was done so so well. She started off as someone who's unsure of herself but by the end of the book, she became the best version of herself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen for the arc.

Second chance is a more difficult trope for me to get fully on board with. I never really felt pulled into the story in the way I hoped. It was a decent read, just not one that will stick out to me.

A delicious hockey romance with off and on ice fun.

If you love a "he falls first, and falls HARD" than this is one for you.

I loved the second chance, friends to lovers with so spicy tension that this will be your new favorite.

When Jess decides to switch her career path will her family be supportive? With all her expenses she decides to pay for this degree and discovers the ups and downs of making ends meet. A new city, a new roommate and a chance to finally pursue a career she loves. Will she survive the crazy roommate and endless hours studying?

Blake Riley is a man who keeps his feelings close to the vest but when he falls hard for a woman who has turned his world upside down will he be able to trust that she won't hurt him like his ex?

A spicy sports romance with characters who make you laugh, cry, and wish they were real. A plot filled with faith, friendship, and excitement as loveable characters finally find love.

I can't wait to read the next installment in this series.

I remembered having a pretty fun time with this when it first came out (granted, in rereading my review looks like I was also in a slump back then so maybe I was nicer than I should've been) and therefore took advantage of this re-release to do a reread because I thought it would kick my butt into finishing this spin-off series (branching from the Him/Us world) of which there is only two books -- meaning it would've taken almost no effort to complete and yet here we are. And.. well, this was such a jarring dislike from almost page one that I nearly considered DNFing and disowning my past self. Also, will I ever finish this series? Unclear.

Suffice it to say, this might be a combination of something not aging all that well and my reading tastes (and standards) being a little (lot) different these days.

There was at least a little substance to these nearly-one-note characters along the way which is what saved it. But this is a mostly surface level romance between the career-shifting sister of one of the Him/Us characters and their goofy teammate, all set against a hockey backdrop (obviously) with an an almost abundance of sex scenes (which I skipped) complete with a bizarre choice of villain -- not because she was an evil ex (typical) but the way she was a villain was bizarre. Everything was kind of bizarre, really. A lot of questionable behaviour was woven throughout.

But it was a quick read. And I managed to go from two books read for the month of August to three. Yay.

1.5 stars

Oh I loved Blake and Jessie's book...
Jessie has just planned and carried out the planning and has decided that she can't plan another one... Jessie wants to go to nursing school.
Jessie keeps running into hockey hotter Blake Riley, who she just happened to hook up with a few months ago....off the charts hook up!!
Jessie tries to escape for some quiet, and of course Blake finds Jessie and rocks her world...
When Jessie finds herself in Toronto for nursing school, she is happy that she has her brother and his hockey hubby Wes, but he forgets Blake is also close by.
Jessie does Blake a favor for family dinner and has Blakes back. When Jessie asks to be Blake's plus one for a fund raiser, she sees a side of Blake that is kind and loving. Jessie starts to fall...for.. Blake.
When Jessie finds the secret, Blake has kept she is there to stand by her man..
Loved how these two make such a natural couple...have fun and love hard!

This book was such an easy read. I kept picking it up wanting to know how Blake and Jess their story would continue. Though some aspects of Blake's personality did annoy me at first, at the end I did love his Golden Retreiver energy and his will to be with the FMC.
If you love an easy, breazy romance book with a bit of spice and not to much drama... This is the one for you!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an easy romance with plenty of spice, but I found it thoroughly ruined by Blake, who's personality was awful. Couldn't stand him and really didn't want him to get a HEA ... Not a book I'll be picking up ever again.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

3.5

ugh, you guys… this is overall a positive review — I LIKED THE BOOK — but i do have some issues with it.

blake’s chapters feel like i’m slipping back in time - VERY bro-y, and kind of (AT TIMES!) icky. it’s like reading WHAT WE THINK went on in men’s heads… in like 2006. i feel like we’ve progressed past the need for that in romance today, right?

since this is a republish, i am going to forgive these blake-related transgressions. once you just kind of glaze over, they’re no skin off your back, but some of them were particularly interesting (“boobalicious”?)…

that said, it’s an easy read. whatever. good amount of plot balanced with spice, as long as you’re ok reading some blatant, not-SUPER-well-executed himbo stuff.

#netgalley

This book is absolutely hilarious. I am a huge fan of Bowen & Kennedy and they are an automatic must-read for me, whether writing together or individually. I am obsessed with Wesmie, so I love that we get to see more of them in GOOD BOY.
Behind Blakes 'class-clown' exterior is an absolute sweetheart who is desperate to love and be loved. Jess was the perfect match for him. Their banter had me laughing out loud and I kept having to explain to my husband what I was finding so funny.
All the side characters fit into the story so perfectly and it all makes for such a fun read.
I really do adore this series and am over the moon that it is being re-released. Anyone who gets to read this for the first time is super lucky.

Not your typical Elle Kennedy hockey one, but it wasn't the worst. I wanted to love Blake cause he actually reminds me of one of my friends but he just wasn't my favorite and that's okay. It happens. Still a cute book but not my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks and Bloom Books, and to the authors for letting me read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I stopped reading this book 7% into it. It’s just not for me, and that’s okay!

Thank you NetGalley, Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen, and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

I REALLY wanted to love this one. Elle Kennedy tends to write SUPREME hockey romances, but honestly - Blake gave me some vibes this reader was not interested in. Unsolicited d**k pics, narcissistic stalker vibes and the entitlement he seems to carry overall gave me the ick. This took away from my general enjoyment of this one. The main characters start off with a ONS - and Blake's persistency is what causes them to continue their "relationship." It is 2024, college age women need to have the bar set higher for them. **Sigh** I will definitely be giving both of these authors more tries in the future, this one just did not do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book was so cute but then again I’ve loved everything Elle Kennedy has written so far. But this was my first Sarina Bowen book.

First of all I loved the characters in this book. They were absolutely so sweet! Second of all I loved the storyline/plot as it kept me interested from the very beginning and then all the way through without losing interest!

I know this is a spinoff from another series but I hadn’t read that series and I didn’t feel lost. I think this does a good job standing on its own while still having those characters come in and make appearances without making you feel like you’re missing something.

This was definitely a 4/5 for me and I would highly recommend this one and I can’t wait for the next one.

Blake is very obnoxious, but it’s all part of his charm. I like how ready Blake was to be in a relationship even though Jess wasn’t so sure. Funny, easy read.

I devoured this book over the weekend and now I need to go on a diet to recover from all the feels. I mean, Elle kennedy can do no wrong in my eyes, but this was spectacular! Even if you are not into ice hockey sports romances, you need to read this for the hilarious one-liners. "OOPF - Occasional orgasm-producing friend". "TTYTOTNDOW - Talk to you tomorrow or the next day or whenever". "Here's your double-barreled slingshot". "You just need a little recharge on my docking station". I mean, come on! These lines are gold!! The only thing I don't like about this book is that it is too short! I could have read this couple for another 300 pages!

Big thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Bloombooks, Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen for this early release copy. This is my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This book was so cute and fun and of course sexy. I can see this book being one of the most popular books on Booktok this summer. Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy make a great wriiting duo and I hope they produce many more books together in the future!! Plus the dog is so cute which always helps. I'm certainly a sucker for animals!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


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Okay! I wasn’t sure about Blake and his hyper golden retriever personality but he grew on me and I loved him by the end.

Blake Riley is a hockey star.
Jess Canning is starting school to become a nurse. Both are in the world of hockey with Jess’s brother being a teammate of Blake. A one night stand turns into a banter filled rom com. From annoyance to romance.

“She's always ribbing me, that sweet blond angel of mine. I know she loves our verbal foreplay as much as I do. She's just too stubborn to admit it. “

A little OW drama but Blake is 100% done with her.
Cute family dynamics.
HEA guaranteed.
🌶️ 🌶️/5 spice

“Jess Canning is...my goddamn world. We might've started off as fuck buddies, then took a trip into the friends-with-bennies zone, but she's mine now. And she's everything to me.”

I’ll definitely be continuing to read the next book!