Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
-Hockey romance
-Best Friends brother
-“Frenemies” to lovers

If you’re looking for top tier banter, look no further! Also a book that may have kept me up until 3am because it just kept getting better.

Oh Blake the man that you are, the level of delulu, it’s truly hilarious! Man doesn’t give up, I’ll give him that much! This man literally has me cackling with every word that comes out of his mouth! I mean really Blake “recharge on my docking station”

When Jess is struggling to find her career path in life after planning a beautiful wedding for her brother, then only to realize it’s not the right path for her. Jess decides she wants to go to nursing school, well that’s expensive. Her friend (who is absolutely hilarious btw) informs her of a program in Toronto that is far more affordable. Well, guess who lives in Toronto, that’s right Blake.

Blake is no stranger to relationship heartache and is absolutely adamant on not being in another. Until, Jess comes storming into his life after they both care for her sick brother, who also happens to be his teammate. He’s determined, and I mean absolutely determined to make Jess his.

I absolutely loved the character growth, Blake learns to not hide behind his humor and let others in, while Jess gains the confidence she needs in a rewarding career path.

After reading a ton of Elle Kennedy’s book I’ve come to find I truly enjoy her writing style and I will be adding more of Sarina Bowen to my TBR

🐕 puppy dog personality
🏒 hockey players
💒Celebrity wedding
🎉 Party planner
🌶️🌶️🌶️spicy
💘Opposites attract
👩🏻‍⚕️Nursing student
🙅‍♂️ex girlfriends
👯‍♀️ Blake Brigade
🍦lots of ice cream
🧀 cheezus
💁🏻‍♀️WAGS

Thank you Netgalley, Bloom Books, Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen for this copy in exchange for my honest review! This special Bloom Books edition is out today with a new paperback cover! I am loving hockey romance right now and this one didn’t disappoint! I am a Nurse Practitioner and loved Jess and her story so much! Go check this book out today! I can’t wait to read book 2 Stay!

Be warned, this is a reissue of a 2016 romance, though given its dubious consent issues, feels earlier. Romance has changed for the better, even if it’s overly careful and tame at times; to boot, this is not the kind of romance I enjoy, so you’ve been review-warned. If its elements are your dish, or they don’t bother you, it’s written with an ebullient insouciance I couldn’t help but admire…at times. When other stuff wasn’t bothering me. Which wasn’t often.

Told from alternating hero and heroine points of view, what mainly comes across is the hero’s obnoxiousness and heroine’s bitchiness. I was amused by the narrative, but I couldn’t warm much to these two. The publisher’s blurb provides premise and details before I offer a final verdict, though the above should give you a good idea of what it might be:

“We’re way more than friends, Jessie.”

“Blake—”

“But no worries. I’ll just sit tight until you figure that out.”

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 manchild 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.

Luckily, every professional hockey player knows that you’ve got to make an effort if you want to score.

And Jess is just the girl he wants to win.

From the moment this romance opens, at Jess’s brother’s wedding, it’s crude. Crude in language, funny at times, but overall, tasteless. I think Kennedy-Bowen thought that, in time, as they show what a good guy Blake is, he would grow to be endearing. And Jessica? As they show, and again, it’s a snippy, well-paced narrative with much showing and nil telling, Jess is supposed to show growth, maturity, commitment…what she lacked coming from a lack of baby-in-the-family confidence than just plain being an immature mess.

I liked the details about Jess’s commitment to nursing, the scenes as she takes those tentative steps in her first few hospital observations. Even Blake grew on me a teeny bit once I saw he could be generous, giving, and warm. Kennedy-Bowen cultivated their qualities with some solid scenes. In other words, Kennedy-Bowen are skillful, possessing writing know-how, but I didn’t find any heart to Good Boy. It was gimmicky and contrived.

What totally didn’t work was Blake and Jess together. Their “togetherness” was made of a string of relentless sex scenes. Blake has been hurt and the romance cliché of the Evil Ex is shown in bright, intense lights. Not a good look for a romance. Jess’s bitchiness comes in handy here, but it’s usually to show up Blake, who grows way nicer than she and he’s not much to begin with. He’s a declarative kind of hero: if I say it is so, then so it is. As for Jess, it’s not a fun she’s a tough-cookie heroine. Jess is a giant-shoulder-chip heroine. Most importantly, because of the excess of beasts sharing backs, there’s not much by way of relationship development: there’s banter and it’s amusing in places, but overall, it’s banter for the laughs and not for showing two people getting to know each other. When the commitment/HEA comes around, it doesn’t feel natural. Maybe I’m calling for an orange when this is an apple. It’s light, fluffy, amusing, and explicit: if this is what you’re looking for, it’ll do just fine. But not for this reader; Miss Austen can barely comment, given how scandalized she is, but for a rating’s sake, we say Good Boy has “a high claim to forbearance,” Emma.

Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen’s Good Boy is published by Sourcebooks Bloom Books and “re”releases today, August 6. I received an e-galley from Sourcebooks Bloom Books via Netgalley. The above is the honest, AI-free expression of my opinion.

I haven’t read an Elle Kennedy book that I didn’t like and this one was no different. It did take me a bit to get into it and Blake was a bit much in the beginning but I ended up loving him. Jess is frustrated over her career choices and feels like she is a failure in her family’s eyes. I loved these two together. Their banter was hilarious and the sexual tension was off the charts! I didn’t realize this was a spin-off of another series but I will for sure be going back and reading it! If you are looking for a quick, sweet and funny read then you are going to want to pick up this book!

My first adventure into Elle Kennedy and this was insanely readable but also the exact perfect nonsense I needed during a busy week.

Was it good? It was fine. Was the male main character absolutely insufferable? You bet! I haven’t heard that much frat lingo since college! But was this fun? Oh heck yes!


Thank you so much to Elle Kennedy and Sabrina Bowen and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Bloom, NetGalley, Elle Kennedy, and Sarina Bowen for giving me an eARC of Good Boy in exchange for my honest review.

Good Boy is a hockey romance that follows Jessie and Blake. Blake is not your average love interest. Sure, he plays in the NHL, and is best friends with Jessie's brother and her brother's husband. What is special about Blake is his charm. At times it can come across as abrupt and immature, but what the authors do such a good job depicting, is what it is like to use humor as a coping mechanism. Blake is hurting and he is trying to keep others from noticing it. So he does what he knows how to do best, and he tries to put smiles on others faces. This is something that many people love, even if they do not see his humor for what it is. Jessie however, is not a fan of his laid back demeanor. They hooked up once in the past, and she is determined to make sure it never happens again (though Blake is determined to prove her wrong.) Jessie is someone who is struggling to figure herself out. She struggles with her confidence and is unsure what she wants to do with herself. She views herself as flighty and as someone is not capable of achieving great things.

What I appreciated in this novel is the development of both Jessie and Blake's character. Throughout the book readers get to see Blake learn what it means to have someone beyond the hockey player. Jessie learns to trust herself and readers get to witness her gain faith in her own abilities. I personally loved watching them both grow. However, I wish there was most. At times, their development felt surface level. I wish I was able to see more walls come down. It would have been nice to see Jessie bond with her family, and have more of a heart to heart about how she was feeling about herself compared to them. I wish we could have seen Blake talk through certain aspects with his family as well. While I enjoyed reading about their relationship, there were just so many times where I was left wanting more. This book discusses some important themes and I feel like readers will really benefit from reading it. Just because it did not have everything I wanted does not mean that there was not also a lot of good in it. Throughout the book I was able to see the importance of trusting yourself and to not be afraid to let someone in. I was reminded that I can do hard things, and that I should always try to have confidence in my abilities, even when that does not feel possible at times. I am eager to read Stay, the companion novel, because I am confident that plot and the takeaway messages will be outstanding.

Elle Kennedy does not miss for me - I love her style of writing and this is no different. All of her characters are so loveable in their own way.

Cute romance, fun characters. Not reinventing the wheel of romance, but it also doesn't have too. Got me in the feels a few times as well

Had everything needed to be a spicy sports romcom. I enjoyed reading and could not put it down even for a minute I was obsessed. These Jessie and Blake were lovable and fun to read about, had heartfelt moments that were good for the story. The plot kept moving, while Jessie refused to give Blake the time of day. A fun read.

I love absolutely everything single thing written by Elle Kennedy, so this was no different! This was such a cute and fun romance, I can’t wait to read the second!

It was good but it wasn't my favorite by the author. I didn't like the dialogue or how the MMC talked. It made him look a little bit stupid even if he isn't.
The book looks a little bit unfinished. I would have like to have more about Jess and her family and how her family sees her really.

I love the reverse grumpy/sunshine thought. And the second part of the book was better than the first. I also really want to read the love story between Wes and Jamie now. Looks really good. I'm curious about them.

The spice was good.

4 Stars

Just a super cute, fun, and quick hockey romance, which is definitely the norm for Ms. Elle Kennedy! Although it was nothing special, I still really enjoyed it. I think we can officially declare her the queen of hockey romances!

This book was cute and funny! I really enjoyed reading it. I related to the main character Jess so much because I too know what it's like to be a late 20 something person and not sure what I want to do with my life. I would absolutely read this again! I did feel like maybe there was some character background that I was missing but that was probably just on me and maybe this is the second in a series and I didn't realize I should have read that too. It definitely kept me laughing all the way through and I can't wait to buy this as a "souvenir book" for my bookcase. Thank you for the opportunity to read and provide feedback!

There’s nothing I love more than falling into a good book when my brain needs a break, and Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen as a combo always hit the mark. I was 25% into this before I even realized I hadn’t put it down. I finished this story in one sitting because I was hooked.

I’m going to be honest and tell you I grabbed this with no knowledge of the blurb or characters or series, nothing. Just the authors’ names. I was greatly surprised to know that this story had overlap with my favorites from “Him”. Jamie and Wes live rent free in my head, so being with them and Jamie’s sister Jess was a gift.

Blake is rough around the edges. Think frat boy, immature, goofball who doesn’t read the room. Then, there is Jess, who is a little uptight, overthinking, rigid and stressed out. These two shouldn’t be compatible but guess what? They are. Haha.

Blake bothered me at first because his antics and attitude, while good intentioned, felt like they went too far. I couldn’t see how he and Jess would find middle ground. However, the more I read, the more Jess and my thoughts aligned and we realized that he’s really a golden retriever type who would do anything for the people he cares about. That will always endear me.

Also, no third act break-up! We love to see it!

Elle and Sarina, I love you. Please never stop writing romance. I will always be lost in the pages of your books.

I love elle kennedy and her books, this one was short and cute. It did feel a little fast with the relationship build up but it was a fun time.

This book was fine. It’s all a story we’ve seen before. Girl who is the “family screw up” crosses paths with the cocky playboy hockey player. After a one night stand he chases her and she resist. They decide to become friends with benefits as Blake (the MMC) is relentless. Jessica (the FMC) the sees the other side of Blake and his past and falls for him.

I'm not sure why the title of this book is Good Boy, but Blake is like no other Hero I've ever read. He is normally the goofy, best-friend, comic relief in a romance novel. But in this book, he is our H! Jess is different too in that she has decided to go back to school, at 26 years old. Jess fights her attraction to Black for a long time in this book, but Blake is relentless. There is a lot of other stuff that goes on in this book, but it is so worth your time and the read. I just loved the two of them and am happy they got together. I do wish there was an epilogue, but other than that, I wouldn't change anything in this book. Well done!

I loved being back in the Jamie and Wes world. I had to suspend my dislike for Blake at first because man, no adult should ever real talk the way he did and get away with it lol. I forgot that it was supposed to be humorous. I did laugh and I guess I got used to his style of banter. I suppose if Jess could handle it, I needed to let it go (you know, like she was a friend lol). In the end, Blake won me over because while it didn't show at first, there was more to him than met the eye. A cute rom-com.

When Jess Canning is asked to host her brother’s wedding for an MVP guest list, she is determined for it to be a success. She does have to hide one colossal mistake and that is her past fling with Blake Riley, the best man. Blake is determined to convince Jess that he is worth a second shot.so
This was an entertaining read, with plenty of banter between two engaging characters. Blake is an endearing character who, at first, appears to push all of Jess’s buttons. He was determined for the relationship to succeed, while Jess was less decisive. It was very cute to see Jess realise how great Blake was, as this was a gradual process, as she gained greater confidence in herself. A great read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy together are a perfect combo and I hope they never stop writing books together.

Blake is the sweetest golden retriever with such a goofy energy that was contagious. Once you get past his silly dialogue and just accept that's what his character is (there were a few too many "cheezus" uses for me), it becomes hard to put the book down. This was a light-hearted, playful read.

I only wish that I had read Him and Us prior to reading this one for the full background on the characters, but it was still a great standalone. I can't wait to read the rest of the WAGs series.