Review: Good Boy by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Good Boy by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Series: WAGs #1

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Sports Romance

Release Date: January 31, 2017

Format: Kindle

Source: Purchased

Find it here: GoodReads | Amazon

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. And nobody (nobody!) can learn of the colossal mistake she made with the best man during a weak moment last spring. It was wrong, and there will not be a repeat. Absolutely not. Even if he is the sexiest thing on two legs.

Blake Riley sees the wedding as fate's gift to him. Jess is the maid of honor and he's the best man? Let the games begin. So what if he's facing 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. Luckily, every professional hockey player knows that you've got to make an effort if you want to score.

But Jess has more pressing issues to deal with than sexy-times with a giant man-child. Such as: Will the ceremony start on time, even though someone got grandma drunk? Does glitter ever belong at a wedding? And is it wrong to murder the best man?

Caution: May cause accidental aspiration of tea or coffee. Do not read in a public place where loud laughter is inappropriate. Contains hot but hilarious hockey players, puppy cuddling and a snarky pair of underwear.

I remember the first time I read Us and met (then side character) Blake Riley. I messaged my friend and asked: Who the heck is this guy? And why won’t he go away and leave Wes and Jamie alone? And she assured me I would grow to love Blake. How right she was. Blake, with his loyal friendship, irrepressible humor (and fear of sheep LOL) was a total stand-out and I was excited when he got a story of his own.

I loved the fact that I already knew both main characters from Us – Blake being Ryan Wesley’s teammate and Jess being Jamie Canning’s sister. It was fun to dive into the story already having a little background knowledge of both characters (even though it's totally not necessary). Blake had been burned by his former fiancée and walked away from that with the feeling that women couldn’t be trusted. So relationships were off the table and he was just out for a good time. Jess had flitted from career to career and felt like a failure. But at 26, she finally knew what she wanted and moved to Toronto to start nursing school. These two went from a one-time hook-up to friends with benefits to a full-on relationship and I loved every step. Blake was like an overgrown man-child and even when his theories were off the wall or his jokes didn’t make sense, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face or stop giggling through much of the book. I loved the friendship that developed between him and Jess, how they were both so family-focused, and how Blake was so thoughtful.

As sweet and thoughtful as Blake was – seriously, the guy had a heart of gold – he also had a libido that was off the charts and there were sexytimes aplenty. *fans self* And sometimes even those were filled with laugh out loud moments. I loved the ease of Jess and Blake’s relationship, the low angst, the cast of familiar characters and all the warm feelings this one inspired. I have big love for Blake Riley and can’t wait for more of this series!


4.25/5 STARS

Have you read Good Boy?

22 comments

  1. Aw, yay, I'm so glad you loved this one. Blake is a sweetie! I love that there isn't a ton of angst and it all just worked well.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Exactly. I love a good angsty romance but sometimes I just want something lighter. And this was perfect. Blake is the best! :)

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  2. Sports romance...huh, now that's a genre I didn't realise existed. Glad you liked it :)

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    1. Who knew, right? :) I only discovered the sub-genre in the last year or so and have found some real gems.

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  3. I haven't read US yet because I heard how annoying this Blake guy was lol but I do have this book - not connecting that it was the same person.

    Ok - deep breaths - I will dive into both! lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. Oh my goodness, please read Us! You need the rest of Wes and Jamie’s story! And Blake, yeah he annoyed me at first, but he proves to be an unparalleled friend to the guys. And is such comic relief. :) Now go read Us... I’m begging you! LOL

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  4. Fear of sheep? Lol! Now I want to know if there is a reason for this! I'm loving the cover, too. I know I've said this before, but I really need to read some Elle Kennedy!

    Heart of gold, extreme libido, and a lot of laughter--yes, yes I need this.

    Do You Dog-ear?

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    1. LOL Blake was such a character! The sheep thing was brought up more in Us (the second book in the Him duology, where Blake was first introduced) but it’s mentioned in this one, too.

      Sarina Bowen + Elle Kennedy are so awesome together!

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  5. I have this and the next book in this series and I need to get to them. I LOVED Him and Us so much I don't know why I haven't already. Glad You liked this and liked Blake. Great review!

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    1. Him and Us remain some of my favorites. And Good Boy and Stay are just so much fun! I hope you’ll find time for them soon!

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  6. Sometimes secondary characters make great main characters. :) I like that you describe Blake as an "over sized man child" LOL.

    I haven't heard of this series but it sounds good. Great review.

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    1. They really do, Aleen! This was a great example of a secondary character really stealing the show and totally deserving his own book. :)

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  7. This review is so awesome. I smiled, laughed, and even clapped my hands. I just need to get through my March review books, and then I can kick back and start this series.

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    1. Wow, thanks Sam! :) I just loved Blake - such a great character. I totally recommend both Good Boy and Stay!

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  8. Love he heart of gold angle and oooohhhh hot! Perfect.

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  9. Oh good. Glad you loved it. This was one of my TBR pile voting choices so maybe it will get picked. I've read Him, but not Us yet. You make me want to step back and get to Us first even though this one doesn't need to follow it.

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    1. It definitely isn’t necessary to read Us before this one (Good Boy) but I loved already having that introduction to Blake and knowing a little about him and his background. Us was so, so good and I’ve re-read and re-listened to it several times even though I very rarely re-read. I hope this one wins your TBR vote!! :)

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  10. I have not read this one, but read a lot of amazing reviews for it. Glad to hear you enjoyed it as well. The low angst is a plus!

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    1. I’m all for angsty but sometimes lighter just hits the spot. And this one definitely fit the bill. :)

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  11. Man I need to read at least ONE Sports romance asap! though I do roll my eye sat libido off the charts! Put get yourself together dude LOL XD

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    1. LOL “Get yourself together dude!” 😂. I usually agree but Blake wasn’t obnoxious about it. He was just such a character that it made him more endearing. As weird as that sounds. Ha!

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