I love Elle Kennedy's work and hockey romances, but this was missing something for me.

Body Check is Hayden and Brody's story. Hayden is the coach's daughter and Brody is an NHL player for his team. They realize there is a spark between them, and Hayden just wants a one-night stand. She thinks she meets just the perfect candidate in Brody, but later realizes it's a bit complicated when she learns he plays for her dad's team.

Overall, it was a fun read, but the plot was a tad predictable and did feel like something was missing. Body Check is a rerelease from the 2009 edition. Thank you to Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

thank you so much to netgalley and harlequin romance for the arc of elle kennedy’s rewrite of body check! i have always been a fan of kennedy’s works especially her sports romance novels, however this one fell very flat for me. i know it was a rewrite of her first ever sports romance novel, and i think a lot of evidence of her earlier writing days still remain in the new version. the pacing was all over the place- the romance felt very rushed and insta love but the investigation drama felt very dragged out despite everything being solved at the very end. also i did not believe our main characters relationship was as deep as they claimed it to be in the end, it all felt purely physical attraction. the entire time i read this book i really wanted hayden to go to a therapist, and to stop avoiding her problems. i also wasn’t super wild about brody either he felt very pushy and overly cocky which i didn’t love. i was sad that i didn’t enjoy this because normally reading kennedy’s books is always a good time.

Body Check is a dual POV one-night stand to more sports romance. Hayden, an art history professor, is on an extended vacation to help her father navigate a contentious divorce and decides to indulge in a one-night stand. Brody, a star hockey player on the team Hayden’s father owns is tired of flings and looking to settle down. He’s convinced that Hayden is the woman for him, now he needs to convince her that he’s the man for her!

This one was a lot of fun to read, it's definitely a change of pace from the slow burns I gravitate towards. Hayden and Brody had great chemistry! The story was enjoyable, with just the right balance of fun, spice, and drama. Definitely worth the read!

Read dates: 06/07/2024- 06/09/2024
Goodreads review: 06/09/2024
Instagram review: 06/10/2024
Blog review: 07/02/2024

NOT sure when I first read Body Check, but my OG version on kindle I have for years still looks vintage AF (next slide). I like the new version too but these old covers delivers all the memories, when I hit for the first time into romance alley land many, many yearssss ago hihi.

Body Check is 3rd person narration hockey romance but it's definetely Elle Kennedy we know today. The Hero is yummy af obviosuly. Heroine might be a good girl but is fierce too and doesn't give easy ride for the hero. It's steamy, funny and delivers all the feels. It was so good come back to this book after so many years. If You're Elle's fan - be sure to check this book once it will be republished in July this year.

4.5 stars
This is an entertaining, fun read. The characters are captivating from beginning to end and I love the hockey aspect of the story. Brody and Hayden are interesting, relatable, intriguing, complex, wounded, entertaining characters. Brody is my newest book boyfriend. I enjoyed their romance and the path it took to get to their HEA. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. The story is easy to read and get into.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Bodycheck is one of Ell Kennedy’s earlier books that is being republished. She has had so much growth as a writer, but it was still fun to go back to one of her earlier bucks. This was short and spicy and hot as hell!

Thank you #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not my favorite EK book, but not bad either. This was a sweet and quick read. While edited you can still tell it's one of EKs first books (just highlights how far she's come and how much her writing has improved!) While I liked Hayden and Brody, the side characters didn't stand out much which is really unusual for an EK book. Overall though it's a nice story for someone looking into breaking into the hockey romance genre.

More like 3 1/2. It was good and worth the read. The spice was good and plentiful I just didn’t love the ending. I love a quick conclusion to a 3rd act breakup but I felt like Brody could have groveled.

Hayden is in town because her dad is going through a divorce and she wants to support him. While out with a friend she decides to pick up a guy at a bar and they agree to a one night stand. However the next morning Brody (the picked up dude) asks to see her again. She says no! Hilarious especially because Brody has never been rejected before. Being a professional hockey player the girls just fall all over him. Now Hayden isn’t falling and the fact that he plays hockey is a turn off.

Oh and by the way Brody plays for Hayden’s dad’s hockey team. But they had no idea until they run into each other at the stadium. Now Brody wants Hayden more and Hayden wants Brody less. Well, she wants him in a biblical way only 😬

Fun spicy hockey romance. Thank you so much for his ARC opportunity, I haven’t read any of Kennedys books before but have heard lots of her. I don’t typically gravitate towards romcom-y books but this was enjoyable and sexy.

Hayden got to visit Chicago where her father owns the Chicago Warriors hockey team. Hayden is a junior art history professor and hates hockey because it was always more important than her. While on a break from her boyfriend she picks up a guy from the bar and has a one night stand.
Brody wants more than one night with Hayden, but she is determined that one night is all he is getting. But Brody is used to getting his own way. What Hayden doesn't know is that Brody is one of the star players on her father's team, and a hockey player is the last person Hayden would want to get involved with.
With all the trouble surrounding the team, can Brody and Hayden really make things work between them.
A very good read recommended.

Another winner from the QUEEEEEN of hockey romance - Elle Kennedy! Brody and Hayden were amazing characters and I loved that she was his coach's daughter - slightly forbidden always wins me over!

I love Elle Kennedy and this was a delight to read! The ending seemed abrupt but in all honesty, I couldn't care less. Brody was swoonworthy and I just wanted to give Hayden a big hug! I love myself a good hockey romance and I was glad I was able to read this one! The Off-Campus series and this are my new favorite comfort reads!

Synopsis
Hayden is visiting her father, the owner of an NFL hockey team, and is looking for a hookup. Brody meets Hayden on her quest for a one night stand, never expecting to see Brody again, Hayden realizes he plays on her father's hockey team. Brody is insistent that he sees Hayden again, but Hayden is not looking for a relationship with Brody.

My Opinion
I loved this story and read it in one sitting. The writing from Elle Kennedy, as always, is great and makes for an easy read.

Rating
5 stars; Highly recommend and it's a favorite.
3 spicy pepper emojis; Two or more open door scenes. Explicit language and sexual scenes.

This book was not my jam. They have a one night stand and suddenly the guy is in love with her and she is not interested. Turns out he’s on her dad’s hockey team, so that was kinda fun. But overall, I didn’t really connect with the main characters

This book was originally published in 2009 and now again in 2024. Definitely a timeless piece. I have to say I think Elle Kennedy is the queen of Hockey Romances.

Hayden has been dragged around hockey all her life and the last thing she wants is a hockey romance., Enter Brody who she meets at a bar and has a one night fling with him. Hayden happens to be in Chicago to help support her father through another divorce. Her father also
happens to be the owner of the hockey team that bad boy Brody plays for. Brody is trying to get away from his past and wants more with Hayden but Hayden doesn’t want more with Brody. Will this erupt into another scandal and how will this affect both Brody and Hayden?
The banter and spice between these two main characters is great.


Elle Kennedy once again a wonderful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Romance for the ARC of this book.

Hayden will never date a hockey player. But when she hooks up with Brody, not knowing he's the star player on the hockey team her father owns, she can't seem to say no to him.

Elle Kennedy is the queen of hockey romances. This one was no different. In one of her original hockey tales, she uses her signature spice mixed with good characters to tell this "we are only hooking up' tale. I liked Hayden. She's strong and fierce. Throughout the book she is dealing with her father's past and his current divorce. This is a good side story as you follow Hayden and Brody's relationship develop.

All in all, this is a good short and spicy hockey romcom.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

I received an arc copy and this is my honest review.

I adore Elle Kennedy!!!

She is my queen of hockey romances.

As far as this book goes it was good, but not my favorite in comparison to her newer ones.

The “on a break” thing is so messy to me.
I will say it had zero “cheating” vibes though. Hayden is very honest and open. I just could have done without the OM completely though.

Brody is sexy!!! I love when a manwhore finally falls for a “not interested” girl.

Over all a fun, cute hockey romance!

I was very grateful to have received this book as an ARC because I’ve been obsessed with Elle Kennedy since I started, The Deal, in April! This book is a rerelease but I’ve never read it before and I actually liked it. I’m not really a rom-com reader but I’m a sucker for hockey romance! There was drama, tension, steamy moments and I loved every moment of it. One thing Elle is amazing it is having a balance between characters, plot and spice and you never felt like there’s too much of anything. I highly recommend sports romance readers to check this book out if you haven’t already!

Before I get into the review, I want to say thanks to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Harlequin for allowing me access to this ARC of the edited edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. Body Check was originally published in 2009 and since then Elle Kennedy has written a lot more Sports Romance so the publishers decided to give this one a new cover and to have the author make some edits. The novel follows a PHD candidate as she goes home for the summer to help support her father while he deals with a scandal in his NHL team. His messy divorce has brought some drama to the surface for the organization and Hayden just wants to be there to support her father during this rough time. But things get messy when she unknowingly picks up one of his players at a bar. Body Check, in this new edited edition with the beautiful cover, comes out on July 2nd and is available for preorder now.

I had to go back to my original review to see what made me give this one a three star rating. I read the original one a year ago and I've read a lot of hockey Romance since then so maybe my tastes have just changed? Or I have a better frame of reference for rating these kinds of books? But this version of the book felt a lot more authentic and more realistic to me than what I remember it being the first time around. I still found the sex scenes in this one to be more palatable than some of the hockey romances I've read (I'm looking at you Behind the Net). I also felt like I understood these characters and their motivations which made them so easy to root for.

Is it still unrealistic for a coach to eventually become an owner? Sure. But is the set up something I can at least use to suspend my disbelief? Yes. Some of the hockey timeline was still wrong, but in a less obvious way which I appreciated. It didn't stick out like a neon sign the way I felt it did originally.

Overall, I think this is actually a great introduction to hockey Romance as a subgenre because it doesn't hit the reader too hard with the hockey side of things. I think the edits really added to the story as well.

Sorry to say this was a DNF for me. I got to 33%, and just wasn’t feeling the drive to continue. Definitely a steamy read, but I just didn’t feel connected to the characters enough to continue on with the story.

Thank you for the eARC! Will definitely be checking out this author’s more recent works, as I’ve heard great things about them!