I was so excited to get my hands on Stay, because I really really enjoyed Good Boy. Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy just created this really fun and addicting series, and I'm living for it. It was the perfect read for some fun romance, and it just hit the spot for me.
I think the biggest thing is how much I enjoy those characters. It was such fun to follow Hailey and Matt, to see them both that second chance romance after their own divorce. Their chemistry was definitely there, and it was fun to see them navigates everything, from their jobs, to his daughter, their own insecurities... And it was fun because they were so different from Blake and Jess from Good Boy. I
Honestly, I'm loving this series. It's just such a fun sport romance series, and it is such a quick and easy read if you are looking for something light to get you out of a reading slump. Now, here's to hoping they might decide to revisit this world, since these books were originally released a few years ago. One can dream, right?

This is a second chance dual POV romance where the characters have this insane chemistry. Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen simply cannot write anything bad. I was so invested and was sad when the book was over because it was THAT good.

This was such a cute hockey romance, with some spice, a puppy and a little cheesiness which is sometimes needed!!

Thank you NetGalley, Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!!

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

Stay is a cute rom-com that follows Hailey and Matt, who are both scared of getting into another relationship after their respective marriages ended in divorce. Matt is a pro hockey player in the NHL (on Hailey's favorite team). After his wife informed him that they would be getting a divorce and blamed it on his chaotic pro-hockey schedule, he convinced himself that anyone he loves will come to resent him over time. Hailey is in a unique situation. She is the co-owner of a virtual assistant company called Fetch. The thing is, the co-owner is her childhood best friend turned ex-husband. Hailey has spent the past 18 months assisting this client Sniper87, whom she is convinced is her celebrity crush, and pro hockey player Matt. When virtual flirting suddenly shifts to an in-person meet-up, the question becomes, can the two of them get over their hesitations and give love a second chance?

I loved this story so much. It was such a cute romance story where the romance itself felt natural. Hailey and Matt have been talking via Fetch for well over a year now, and so when they meet in person, there is a more instant connection. But despite the connection, both Hailey and Matt have their own things that they have to work through. What I appreciated about Stay is that it discusses the theme of finding love again after heartbreak. It discusses divorce and how that can make a person hesitant to try out a relationship again. In some ways, it even talks about mental health and the anxiety that comes with letting yourself love someone else. I found it refreshing that both Matt and Hailey understood and respected the difficult emotions that the other was feeling at times. Matt respected Hailey's nerves and first, took time to make her feel comfortable around him and with the idea of a relationship. Hailey respected the fact that Matt has a difficult relationship with his ex-wife, who has to stay in the picture because of their twin girls. She respected the relationship between the two, and despite having her own opinions on his ex-wife, she kept it to herself. Readers get to see them gain their confidence between the two of them. They learn to trust another person and to put themselves out there. I will say that Matt's "ah-ha" moment came a little suddenly for me, but at the same time, it worked for the story and the characters. I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish and cannot recommend it enough.

Sit. Stay....

I really enjoyed Stay. Hailey is HTE, aka "Hottie" a virtual assistant who's client is Sniper "Snipes" aka, Matt Erickson. This is a multilayered read. They have an online, virtual relationship that is sort of anonymous. Sort of, cuz Hailey is pretty sure its Matt. They are both also divorced. Matt is a hockey player, divorced with kids. Did I mention that they are both divorced? This is an important plot line.
I liked their layered interactions.
Recommend.

How I was overlooking this series, I still don't understand it.
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I have a few books from this series because let's face it, it's Elle Kennedy and I love her books, she made me fall in love with the sport romances together with Helena hunting books . But this duo is like discovering a new author for me, a new favorite not lees.
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Second chance at romance after both main characters went through the breakup of a long relationship, a marriage, is not what I´m looking for, not usually my cup of tea. But the twist they both found left me wishing the book was longer. I was having so much fun and falling for them every time they were together.
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The chemistry between the two, the banter, the chats... completely conquered me. I didn't want the book to ever end, and I am very tempted to abandon my tbr in order to grab the entire series and devour it.
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I loved how they both started a relationship as friends without knowing each other through a work chat and they discovered more in each other.
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Hailey is ceo, in the company she owns and founded with her ex-husband. And when there is a problem with a client, she is the one who receives the emails and solves them. But when one of her vip clients ask for a favor she is so intrigued to say no, but she never expects to meet with her lifelong hockey player crush
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Matt is almost sure he knows who the girl is that he chats with every day and asks her to take care of the things he doesn't have time for. But when he sees her from a distance, despite that he is still processing things from his last relationship, taking care of his two little daughters and the schedule of a demanding career, he can't avoid the pull that brings him to her.
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I loved it, and I really enjoyed reading this book and with this new cover I can completely understand why is going to be more people talking and loving this series
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Thanks to Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen and SourceBooks Bloom Books for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for mi honest and voluntary opinion

Hailey and Matt are so sweet. I love that they are both getting a chance to find love again after their most recent big relationships didn’t work. It’s a very cute way for them to meet, and I love this little wrap up of the universe!

Stay
by Elle Kennedy
5/5 stars

Stay is the second book in the WAGs series by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, and I’m totally obsessed! Matt, a divorced hockey pro, and Hailey, a sassy woman helping him restart his life, have such amazing chemistry and their banter is hilarious!

Both are finding fresh starts after tough relationships, and it’s heartwarming to see them build each other up. I felt butterflies the whole time—they really capture that first-time love vibe!

I also love how Bowen and Kennedy highlight friendships and sisterhood. The camaraderie among the WAGs is so sweet! Overall, this book was incredible, and I can't wait for more in the series.

Book Name: Stay
Author:Elle Kennedy; Sarina Bowen

ARC
Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for an ARC

Stars: 5
Spice 4

Character Duology
Fast Paced
Dual POV
Contemporary Hockey Romance

- Thoughts.
- BEST BOOK of 2024
- They blew Good Boy out of the water
- fun and flirty and a little dirty
- I am SO SAD there won't be any other WAGS books (confirmed on Bowens Website)
- hockey knowledge not required
- Banter
- He falls first
- celebrity crush
- online romance
- Teaching her
- The subplot of the Mr8inches was hilarious (totally thought it was gonnabe someone else)
- mending hearts
- divorcee rep
- DILF

Stay book 2 in the WAGs series

Love, love, love Matt & Hailey. Their messages back and forth on the Fetch website hooked me immediately. Both of our MCs have recently gone through a divorce and honestly love that! Definitely not something that's incorporated into many books. I am a sucker for a single dad, and Matt is the best daddy. I am glad he finally put his ex in check towards the end. Of course, the Wesmie cameos are always a favorite.

Overall: 2.5 ⭐️

I’ll start off by saying I don’t think the book was bad it just wasn’t for me. I felt no connection between the characters and the third act breakup seemed unnecessary. Matt and Hailey were both divorcees not knowing how to be in new relationships. Matt was a hockey player that thought his schedule was too hectic for a stable relationship because that’s what his ex made him believe. Meanwhile, Hailey married her childhood best friend without ever really exploring other relationships. So they never dated after their divorce until they meet each other. At the beginning the relationship felt purely physical, especially from Matt’s perspective. Afterwards Hailey seemed more confused since Matt said they were dating but wouldn’t call her his girlfriend. Then came the third act break which could’ve been solved with a simple conversation at the time. But no, instead we got absolutely no groveling from Matt and Hailey had to reassure their relationship. I’m happy they got their HEA in the end though.

Thank you to Bloom and NetGalley for letting me arc read this rerelease!

<b>An absolute freaking amazing sweet and spicy entertainer from Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy! Matt and Hailey made me laugh and swoon. They filled my heart with most glorious warm feels. Hockey plays a central role here, not just background noise..so the bromance and the WAG posse bonding was epic. I love when a jock is sweet when necessary and can turn on the heat too.</b>

<i>What to expect</i>
🏒 single dad divorced hero
🏒 recently divorced kicka&& business owner heroine
🏒 sports romance
🏒 friends to lovers
🏒 hidden identity ( Hailey and Matt didn't know for a while that she is the HTE delivering the services for Fetch, the elite personal assistance company that she also co owns)
🏒 two super cute girls and one very adorable lab
🏒 friends to lovers
🏒 fan falling for her hockey idol


<b>Matt is an incredible guy but his bitter ex wife has left him feeling inadequate and incapable of having a solid relationship. He is a devoted and awesome father to his girls whom he cannot even see as much as he wants. It's a cycle for game and team and sparse time with kids. And Hailey just changed his life for better, piece by piece. She is sassy. She is independent. She has a golden heart. She can run a successful business with her ex husband but in front of Matt, she turns into a fumbling fool. She has never experienced any other relationship than with her ex husband where they went from neighbors to best friends to lovers to marriage to amicable divorce. She is obviously awed and overwhelmed about dating a hockey. Specially because she is a rabid hockey fan! So Matt is scared of disappointing her by not being able to give all the time and attention she deserves. Hailey is scared of disappointing him due to her inexperience and naivety in sex. But with love, all the doubt and insecurities fell away. Their banter is so much fun. The chemistry was built up slowly. It was easy to see how perfect they are for each other. The journey wasn't without challenges but they overcame it. Specially when they had a solid support system in form of the teammates, the WAGs and other friends.</b>

I reviewed a complimentary copy voluntarily

Hailey run a virtual personal assistant company and handles the VIP customers. And she has a sneaking suspicion that her favorite customer is also her favorite hockey player. When an urgent request comes in, the two end up meeting in real life.

Read if you like:
-Single Dad Romance
-Online Flirting/Real Life Chemistry
-Finding Your Confidence Again

I adored this book. It was so cute. Hailey and Matt had such a sweet story. I loved that Matt was so confident on the ice but a little wounded on the inside.

I loved this book even more than the first. I loved their messages. I loved her fears and his insecurities and I adored how they worked through them. Blake was a struggle for me in the first book, but getting to see all of the characters again but feel so invested in Hailey and Matt's relationship was just fun. I loved their growth and their connection. Best hockey book I have read in a while!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Another 5 star read from Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen!!! I'm not surprised I loved this one - anything these 2 authors write (either together or by themselves) is always a fast and very enjoyable read for me. I found myself loving Stay, and seeing Matt and Hailey fall in love made me happy!

Matt was so likable - he was a great dad, friend, hockey player and just an all around good guy. Knowing what he's going through you can't but cheer for him and want the very best to happen to him. Seeing him fall for Hailey was adorable. Hailey was also a great female lead - she's smart, independent and sweet and shy at the same time. From the very start, their flirting made me smile and you can feel their chemistry through the pages. I just found myself loving this book because it felt realistic - the characters had real problems and insecurities. It was believable and that made me love it even more. I also loved the side characters of this book as well.

Thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen for the gifted ARC to read this book before its release! 💗

This book is for you if you love these tropes:

💗 Single dad
💗 Hockey romance
💗 Golden retriever MMC
💗 Dual POV
💗 Fangirl meets Star

4.5 Lick the Tattoo ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

Stay was just absolute sweet goodness wrapped up in a fluffy black golden retriever's heart called Rufus. I giggled, I swooned, I squealed, I squeeeeeeed, I laughed, I smiled, and I just felt so many warm fuzzies.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Hailey Taylor Emery, or HoTtiE (according to Matt Eriksson), is the co-owner of Fetch, an anonymous virtual assistant service that she runs with her ex-husband—awkward, but okay— She has been personally assisting on one of the VIP accounts, Sniper87. She believes that Sniper87 happens to be Matt Eriksson, her total hockey crush, whom she happens to be the biggest fan of; however, confirming his identity is totally against the company's rules and values, so she just fawns over who she thinks he is. One day, Sniper87 needs help walking his dog. Haley knows she shouldn't cross that boundary, but she can't help herself, so she walks his dog and pretty soon their harmless chatting turns into flirtatious testing. Once she confirms he is IN FACT Matt Eriksson, it makes her life difficult. You see, Matt Eriksson is almost instantly besotted and enamoured with Hailey and wants nothing more than to break down her walls and get under her skin for maybe a kiss or two. But he is also cautious because he has just come out of a very messy divorce. Now both Hailey and he need to navigate who they are now that they are no longer with their previous partners, and who they can be together.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
Hailey was hilarious. I loved how cute she was and how she turned into a little bumbling idiot when she came face to face with Matt Erickson. I know people tend to do that when they meet celebrities, but it was really cute to see how she would get super embarrassed and wouldn’t be able to interact with one of her all-time favourite players, especially because he was giving her attention—it was so cute. I know this can seem "immature" given she is almost 30 but I loved it...
Despite her being successful, she is a little bit insecure. Given that she is divorced and currently living in this limbo. She has never known how to be single. She has never known another man besides her ex-husband. She is very careful because everything with Matt is unexplored territory. She doesn't want to be a puck bunny even though she is obsessed with hockey. She doesn't want to be one of his conquests and she is terrified that is all she is to Matt. She knows that hockey players tend to do that, so she guards herself closely to not let herself fall too quickly for his charm.

Matt is just a lovable goofball, and if I had to describe him as a cliché type of character, he would be a golden retriever—even though his dog in this book is a black labrador. He is the sweetest father, so gentle and caring but oh so hard on himself. He has been gaslit and manipulated by his ex-wife, who is an absolute bitch of a woman and feels so guilty for ruining their marriage. He struggles to make that additional commitment to Hailey or even open up to her because he's scared he's just going to hurt her and make her feel unwanted and like she doesn't matter.

It was sweet and charming to see how they overcame the scars and issues from their previous relationships and grew together as a couple. I just felt utter happiness reading this. I definitely preferred this to Good Boy, and I really liked Good Boy. I just cannot get over how SWEET THIS WAS.

The only reason this wasn’t five stars is because it had that mini "third-act breakup" before Matt came to his senses. Most of the time it felt like the two of them could communicate with each other and were open but during that section, it felt like they were talking over one another, with Matt not listening to what Hailey was saying. It took a while for him to see she wasn't his ex-wife and was different from her.

I really love the Blake and Jess cameos in this. We don't see as much of Wesmie in this one as we did in Good Boy, but we do see a little more of the other guys. I find their bromance adorable and I love how the wives are all there for each other. I loved that the girls welcomed Hailey so easily into their circle, accepting her as one of them.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Dual POV
▶ Hockey Romance
▶ She's his biggest fan
▶ Single Dad
▶ He Fall's First Vibes
▶ Mirror/Reflection Sex
▶ Look At Me

Overall, if you want something cute and comforting that is just pure rom-com gold and bliss, read this!!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Sarina Bowen and Elle Kenney for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is another super hot addition to the WAGs series.
This is an incredibly sexy hockey romance series. Each book follows its own set of characters from the team on their quest for romance.
Matt is up in this installment. Single dad, divorced and down in the dumps.  He meets his match in Hailey. The amazing woman who co-owns Fetch. A delivery service he uses frequently after his ex wife introduced it to him.
These two have sizzling hot chemistry. I love that Hailey is a hockey fan but that isn't always the forefront of the story.
Things progress slowly for the pair. Who both have come out of marriages that have seemingly ruined them for a chance at love.
The fun dialogue and crazy times this book has will keep you laughing and wanting more. The heat level is out of this world.
Another epic story to this series. Loved it.

I unfortunately found this quite forgettable. As I sat down to write this review, it took me some time to remember what happened. However, while I was reading, I did have a good time.

This is a fun romance featuring a single dad, hockey, and a strong business woman. There is also a super cute dog which cannot be overstated. The kids were cute and the difficult topic of divorce I felt was handled fine.

I didn't have any problems with the content or the story while I was reading it, but again, it didn't really stick with me and I didn't connect super well with the romance.

Cute and light with some steamy scences, a fine romance for an afternoon escape.

This was a quick, fun read! I loved the mix of hockey romance and fan/famous person. Matt was a great MMC and I was so happy for Hailey in the end! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

It's been a while since I read anything by either of the authors so it was a bit difficult for me to recall about all the characters. Matt was a great guy, not too cocky and was also a good father. Hailey was also sweet but sassy, which I liked and the smut scenes were also very striking. I liked their chemistry but the plot just wasn't that captivating and after a while, I felt bored tbh. But Matt's daughters were really funny and I liked seeing them! Overall, the story was cute but I kept feeling like something was missing maybe because of the insta-lust between the main characters. So, I didn't dislike them but I didn't completely love them either.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review