The Good, The Bad, and Everything In Between

The Good
-Latinx author and heroine. Zoey Castile was born in Ecuador, raised in Queens, and I adore that she’s worked her corner of New York into her story. Robyn is Latinx, and it’s woven seamlessly into her character’s history without big neon . Yes, I love the diverse cast of characters, that NYC vibe and how it all works to make a very interesting backdrop to this romance.
-Magic Mike meets Bridesmaids? I’m in. Robyn’s struggles, in particular her depression, has led to an estrangement from her best friend Lily and it was giving me strong, strong Kristen Wiig/Maya Rudolph’s friendship from Bridesmaids vibes. While I would have loved to see more of them together (more on that later), their friendship felt genuine and I especially liked that they still had each other’s backs when it really mattered. 
- Fallon’s a sweet hero. I have pretty straightforward tastes. If you give me great Firsts and a hero who is ALL IN for his heroine, I’m usually a very happy romance reader. He’s adorable, ripped for days and hot for his woman. Yeah, I loved him.

The Bad(ish)
-Pacing. I would have loved to have seen more time spent building up their relationship, especially in the beginning. Their meet-cute really did set up a good foundation, and I loved that time was spent by both characters in scenes outside the relationship. However, the way their relationship developed stutter-stopped, with the transition between every step just a bit off. The subplots involving his job and hers were appreciated, though they weren’t developed beyond the necessary and the ending was rushed. 

Everything in Between
-Bonus points for the chapter title names. Made me want to go out and listen to them all on a playlist.
-I want more. I liked the supporting characters, or at least what I saw of them.  Aiden is a standout and I completely understand why he’s getting his own HEA and I’m ready and waiting, because he is tasty.


The Bottom Line
I really liked Robyn and Fallon’s romance.  The Bridesmaids meets Magic Mike with vibe was entertaining and made me close my kindle with a smile. That’s all I can ask for. I’d recommend for rom com fans, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

I loved the dichotomy between the two MCs, and I adored their characters. Robyn's problems felt so real to me, probably because I went through something similar (although a bit less dramatic) when my best friend got married. This was a perfect quick read with the right amount of smut, fluff, and angst.

I have been dying to get my little paws on Stripped ever since the publishing deal for this series was announced. I mean "a 'Magic Mike' inspired romance set in NYC", need I say more?! I live for stripper romances and though I wasn't particularly a fan of Magic Mike the movie, I had high hopes that Zoey Castile would deliver with this movie-inspired romance.

Robyn Flores' life is a mess. She's unhappy with her job, her social life is lonely now that her best friend is getting married and she feels like she's lost her sense of purpose. Things take a turn when a mishap between Robyn and her new sexy neighbor, Zac Fallon, takes place and sparks fly between the pair. Since neither one is in the right place to start a new relationship, they make an arrangement to enjoy each other's company until Zac has to leave for his new gig. But when Zac has to leave earlier than expected, will these two be able to go their separate ways as easily as they had hoped?

I had high hopes that Zoey Castile would not let me down with this book and I am happy to say that she did not disappoint! Stripped was the perfect blend of sexy and sweet and I couldn't get enough! I just want to say that this story takes place in Astoria which is not too far from where I live and never have I ever seen any guys like Zac up in those part of the hood. Like are y'all hiding them somewhere and if so can you hook a girl up, please?! Tangent aside, I love the fact that this book takes place in a setting that I am familiar with. It's so rare that I ever read a book that sets in my part of NYC. The writing was on point and I swear this shit was like crack because I had a hard time removing my eReader from my hand. There were so many laughable, heartfelt moments that left me smiling and then there were the down right sexy scenes that left me heated. My favorite parts have to be all the stripper scenes. Like I ain't even ashamed, but the visuals in those scenes had me living! I loved both of our main characters. Robyn is such a relatable character and I feel like we're both in similar places in our lives. Throughout this book she tries to find her passion again and learns to take risks she wouldn't normally take. And then we have Zac who is also struggling with happiness because although he loves being a stripper, it's not giving him the joy he once used to feel. You guys, I fell so hard for Zac. He is a dream babe! The romance is a bit insta-lovey but it worked for me so I didn't mind it. Also the chemistry between Zac and Robyn is sizzling! I can't wait to read the next book in the Happy Endings series. I'm sure it will be just as addicting as the first book!

More like 3.5 stars
Arc supplied by NetGalley for review, thank you. 

This was my first read by this author and I did enjoy the story overall, yet at the same time it lacked that special something that makes good, great! 

As most of the other reviews state, it was a "cute" read. Stripper meets teacher, stripper is in insta-love, while teacher takes a fraction longer in a fantasy turns reality kinda way.
Robyn use to have her whole life planned out but recently it and her have become a total mess.  Her best friend, Lili barely recognises her anymore, nevermind the fact she is the shittiest maid of honor ever!
Late for work one morning Robyn rushes to the dry cleaners only to find her clothing now consists of sparkly red, white and blue g-strings and tracky pants... shit! Lucky for her, Fallon, her sexy new neighbor comes knocking with a bag of clothes for exchange...
Robyn and Fallon hit it off pretty well straight away. He invites her for dinner and she throws herself at him and his mouth after meeting once but when Fallon shows up with his crew to Lili's hens night as the entertainment, Robyn freaks out and does a runner. Little does she know that he has his sights set on her and nothing will stand in his way?

Both characters were a little immature when communicating or behaving as adults in certain situations and i found some of the scenarios a little...off?
What i understand about this author is she writes YA and if correct, it kinda shows.  The sex was meh, lacking the heat needed to give me that "oh yeah baby" and kinda boring...plus, was it just me or did Robyn have to make all the first moves? 
The writing felt a little young and it lacked the ability to pull any emotions or connection from me. The characters weren't consistent and there were a lot of details thrown in to the story that I'm still trying to figure out why they were there to begin with?  The ending...like wow that was quick and unexpected... I would have liked a little more lead up and continuation to Boston.

 That being said, I don't want to put anyone off but i also probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone either...😞

There really isnt anything like running out of clothes, getting someone elses clothes, running late for work, and coffee spilling everywhere. Well that is bad but then the owner or the laundry you have is a gorgeous male that knocks on your door looking for his clothes. 

Robyn had her crap together until all of a sudden she cant keep it together any more. Shes been late to work where she is a teacher of the 5th grade monsters (her kids dont seem so bad). She cant sleep and her best friend is getting married and shes falling behind on her duties. Meeting Fallon at this point doesnt seem like a great thing.

Fallon has been a male stripper for 10 years. He is at a poiint where he wants someone to have a serious relationship with. His neighbor who has his clothes throws him for a loop and he honestly cant get her off his mind. One dinner and hes hooked. 

These two struggle with insecurities and sort of being lost. They knew what they wanted and what they expected from life but some how got thrown of track. It was a decent book but their insecurities sorta get old and lack of communications between them when things get weird is a bit troublesome. But all in all good.

Stripped is fun, hot, and romantic. Zoey Castile is a new romance author who I am now totally obsessed with and will read anything she publishes. I'm very excited for the next book in her Happy Endings series. I'd definitely recommend this for fans of Magic Mike. The cast of characters is dynamic and lovable and you do not want to miss this.

I liked this book. It has a great "don't judge a book by its cover" theme. The characters were multidimensional .

4 Stripping Stars
Review By Lisa
Late Night Reviewer
Up All Night w/ Books Blog

Any story that has the word Stripped in the title has to be good right? ABSOLUTELY! Stripped is the first installment in the Happy Endings series by Zoey Castile. What do you get when you cross a male stripper with a fifth grade teacher? A truly wonderful story!! 

Being honest, I thought there would be more of the "stripper" aspect of this story going in without reading the authors blurb. I was greatly surprised and enjoyed the story so much that it didn't need all that extra "stuff". I fell in love with Robyn, the crazy mess that she is, I can relate to!!! 

Robyn is not having a good morning, day, week, month...few months. Running down the cleaners to get her clothes only to discover that it is not her clothes in the bag. Turns out they belong to the hot new neighbor living one floor down from her. 

Zac can't believe his eyes when his neighbor opens her door. That moment, that one connection frozen in time. 

But then the truth comes out of his profession in the the worst way possible. Stripping at Robyn's BFF"s bachelorette party. Can things ever be the same? You just have to read this story to find out. 

Heartwarming. Funny. Great character chemistry and a side of drama makes a great read. 

**ARC provided for an honest review**

Who thought I would ever read a book about a male stripper hero? Certainly not me! Stripped was at the top of my most anticipated romance reads of the year and Zoey Castille's romance debut totally swept me off my feet. It was funny, charming and oh so sexy!

I'm going to start this review by raving about Fallon, the said stripper. I have to say, he was top book boyfriend material for me. He was someone who rose up from a rather sad childhood to become someone successful and comfortable. The guy had the kindest heart ever and I loved how pure and precious he was. He knew that being a stripper wasn't a job that brought him glory or earned him the respect of people around him, but Fallon was entirely satisfied with his job that not only paid him well but also allowed him to travel the world. I loved that he wasn't ashamed of his profession and instead, completely embraced it. The guy totally had the moves outside of the performing stage too, and ugh I was so in love with him. Actually, if I'm being honest, I fell in love with him the minute I found out he had a husky puppy which was very early on in the book. I have no shame ...

 Robyn, his neighbor and love interest, was more of a hot mess. Growing up, she had a vision and clear plan of what her life would look like. Unfortunately, she was at a place in her life that she was not satisfied with. She was repeatedly late to her job as an elementary school teacher and was sometimes at odds with her best friend, who seemed to have turned her life around in the best way. I'll admit that there were times that I found Robyn's behavior a little careless, especially when it came to being late to school. I did understand where she was coming from, but I wish she had made the decision to go after her dreams without burdening the kids and their education. Despite that, I did end up liking Robyn because she was humorous and witty. She also slowly began to figure out what she truly wanted to do with her life as well as tried to make amends with her friend.

Fallon and Robyn's romance was my favorite part of Stripped. There were elements that made it almost close to insta-romance, but I found it to be believable in this case. The chemistry between the two was on fire and their banter truly entertaining. It was just a delight for me to read their interactions, which was probably why I sped through this book in a matter of hours. The drama/conflict in the book was also rather low-key, which I appreciated. Stripped was also steamy as hell, but more than the bedroom scenes, I found Fallon's performances to be sexier. Zoey Castille does an amazing job at describing those scenes and you should read the book just for them. The secondary cast here was also a lot of fun. I liked meeting Fallon's coworkers and getting acquainted with their different personalities. I can't wait to read their books.

Stripped was a great start to the Happy Endings series and I'm looking forward to seeing what Zoey Castille has up her sleeves with the future books. If you like Magic Mike and romantic comedies, you've got to read this book.

Stripped is a fun and sexy contemporary romance about male stripper, Zach, and elementary school teacher, Robyn. I very much enjoy bad boy/good girl trope so this book appealed to me. Stripped was a quick read and a mostly enjoyable but rather generic romance. I liked the chemistry and banter between Zach and Robyn and loved their meet-cute, but overall didn't find their story very compelling or memorable. I am not sure that I will remember this book in a few weeks time.

"Fallon is the perfect mix of sweet and sexy, the kind that is so rare to find, he might as well be a fucking unicorn." 

Where the hell has Zoey Castile been all my life? Yeah, you guessed it. The cover and title caught my attention and the synopsis closed the deal. I tried a new author and now she'll have a new stalker...I mean reader. I absolutely adore this story and the support characters are so incredible that I'm already jonesing for what they have in store for me next. The line forms here...

My attention was caught from the very first chapter. It was so unique and hilarious that I'll be remembering it for a long time to come. What an introduction to Fallon and Robyn it was, and it just got better and better from there. The author's writing style is so smooth I just fell into the world of Stripped and before I realized it I was on the last page. Am I the only one who does this when they can't accept that it's over? I just kept tapping my Kindle, hoping that if I wished hard enough the next tap would produce an extra chapter...sigh. I guess I'll just have to be content with delicious anticipation as I wait for my next #HappyEnding.

**I received a copy of Stripped from Kensington Book and Net Galley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review**

Stripped by Zoey Castile is the first book in the authors Happy Endings series. Ms. Castile is a new author to me and I'm hoping we'll find out how Lily and her soon to be husband. This was a cute, sexy read and who wouldn't like a book with a male stripper who has a husky puppy named Yaz and a 5th grade teacher?

Robyn Flores is having one of those weeks where nothing goes right and she's constantly late for students. Plus she's having trouble adjusting to her BFF getting married after all shouldn't she be happy that she's the maid of honor? But when her laundry gets mixed up with her neighbor in 6-A the entire day just goes to south quickly. Now if she can get to school without Principal "Platypus" finding out she's late again. When Zac asks her out on a date she decides that there may be a spark there even though he's only going to be there for 4 more weeks.

Zac Fallon is happy with his job as a stripper plus the money is dang good but when they begin to date it will take all of his moves to convince Robyn that he's her soul mate. But when her best friend's bachelorette party is at his club will he be able to dance in front of her friends? He'll have to find a thief among the club staff, convince Robyn's principal that his advances toward her aren't welcome and also come to grips with his family when his sister suddenly show up.

Loved the book and all of the drama plus I can't wait to read the next one. I give Stripped 4.8 stars and recommend reading it.

Stripped,  Zoey Castile

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Romance

Its one of those conundrums isn't it? That ladies and gents love to go to stripper shows, love to look ( and touch!) and yet date one of those strippers? Reminds me of the old Fools and horses episode where Del finds out Raquel is a stripper....but its a job, they are people just like us. 

Anyway poor Robyn gets a shock at her friends party when her new hot neighbour, who she's just shared a meal with and hopes for more, is one of the stars in front of her. She doesn't react well. Still, there's something between them neither can deny. 
Its a sensual read, some real steam between the two, problems to the romance, sub plots involving others, and side issues that rounded the story and made it more than just a boy meets girl standard tale. I like that, when stories have an extra interest to them. Life is like that, full of tangled threads that connect and knot us up. 
I loved Zac, wasn't so sure about Robyn at first, but as the story unfolded I got to really like her and understand her more. Its a fun read, some real humour, some genuine issues we all face, and a couple of characters I just knew were more than they seemed ;-) The secondary characters were interesting too,  and added a lot to the story. The only thing I didn't like was the short time span of the events, its barely a month from when they first meet to the Big Decisions at the end. I struggle a bit with characters that can make such huge changes when they barely know people. Had it been six months or so I'd have been more convinced. 

Stars: Four, a fun story, some spicy steam and an unusual slant with the male stripper theme, which brought up some thoughts for me about how hypocritical we can be over jobs like that. 

ARC supplied by Netgalley and Publishers.

Whilst the book was well written and the characters sexy there was just something missing for me. I’m really not sure what it was. Maybe there wasn’t enough angst, no real major hurdle to their relationship, everything was just nice. All in all though it was an enjoyable read.

Absolutely loved this one.....great bunch of characters, but what’s not to love about a bunch of sexy male strippers? Robyn and Fallon aka Zac........you’ll just fall in love with......they meet when their laundry gets mixed up and she gets his and he gets hers........definitely worth the read.....it’s a fun read

Stripped was exactly what I was looking for. A Magic Mix remix of the best kind, it was light and funny, the perfect summer read. On one hand I wish the author had done more with Robyn's obvious struggles, but that would have made the book heavier and I needed light so it worked for me. Fallon was a ton of fun!

Fallon dances in a male review on the verge of making it to the big time a la Magic Mike & Robyn is an unfulfilled elementary school teacher. A real mismatched pair. Words that come to mind about this story -_- funny, haunting, poignant.  Ultimately its about 2 imperfect people falling in love in New York City. 

It takes a little bit to come to the premise of the drama,  a summer fling before he goes to Reno and she goes on to her master's program. They agree not to fall in love. Uh-huh. Right. 

Stripped takes us on a journey with Robyn & Fallon. Its not a perfect journey and they both make mistakes along the way. (Assumptions out of fear of failure and maybe fear of heartbreak. ) both have a chip on their shoulders I wanted to shake off them. High school dropout Fallon reacts with insecurity around Robyn's teacher friends and he repeatedly questions his attraction for her. Robyn says some truly hurtful things about Fallon's profession out of sheer ignorance and intolerance that almost drives him away. They make several attempts to date before getting it right. Despite this, I found myself rooting for this pair and cheered their HEA. They just seem to belong together. 

One beef I have and it's enough to knock this down from a 5 to a 4 star is that Robyn  appears to be clinically depressed as the story starts. Her bff is getting married.  Robyn is supposed to be maid of honor but she's been usurped by another bridesmaid. This is causing strain between her and the bff. She is routinely late for work with no real explanation why. She can't seem to handle simple daily tasks like laundry. She admits to herself how she sabotages every relationship with a man.  She bitter and judgemental (especially of Fallon). Author doesn't come right out and say her heroine is suffering from depression but she does a great job of showing this. 

That part isn't what bothered me. What bothers me is how quickly this depression vanishes under Fallon's attention when in reality some counseling might be in order to address the cause of the depression. I don't like stories with a miraculously vanishing medical or emotional issue/disorder/challenge. When authors take the time to craft a character with issues like Robyn's, carry it through and get some help for her. That would allow her a REAL or realistic HEA.

That aside, I recommend the imperfect world of Robyn & Fallon.

Arc provided by Net Galley.

Loved it! This is Fallon and Robyn book, Fallon is a male dancer or stripper lol Robyn is a elementary school teacher they meet up at a bachelorette party of Robyn best friend who s getting married, Robyns  life is just kinda all screwed up lately and she doesn't really know what wrong?! I really liked how this story wasn't all just strippers but there's definitely enough of all the guys! I really hope she's going to go on with more books on the other guys!! My votes for the twins!! Lol I really liked how all these guys where a family! She really brought that home where most books cast a bad light on stripping this showed how tight these guys are! I highly recommend this book!! Thank you NetGalley and Kensington publishing for sharing this book with me! Can't wait for more!

If you like, Magic Mike. Then you'll love, Stripped. It's not just male strippers, there is a story there too. Robyn is too funny and Fallon is so hot. Not just on the outside he is kind and supportive also.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review 

I am willing to rate this book above the average new adult contemporary as it was able to sell me on the fantasy that there are handsome yet sensitive heterosexual male strippers looking for love in Astoria Queens 
😜😜😜