If Elle Kennedy writes it, I’m going to love it. This was no different. Loved to get the chance to read this oldie of hers and see where she started versus where she’s at now.

Brody & Hayden are *chef’s kiss* and I loved them so much.

Thank you to Harlequin-Romance & Netgalley for the chance to read this one in exchange for an honest review.

This was good based on what it was supposed to be: a spicy romcom.

I liked both main characters and it had a decent enough plot and great spice. It was a quick read and sometimes, that's all you need

This strangers to lovers hockey romance has a dirty talker, and a hockey player. Is it possible that this will be more than one night?

One will discover the connection between sex and love, the other will discover what happens when one night isn't enough.

In order to truly find love you need to be willing to confront the past. Will Hayden and Brody find a way to overcome their past and finally see what they've been missing?

A hot and spicy read and lots of good hockey fun!

Hayden has come to visit her dad who is going through an ugly divorce; she needs to be here to support him but also needs a break from her boyfriend since she isn't sure about how she is feeling towards him. While out at a bar with her best friend, Hayden decides she needs something to take her mind off things and sees the perfect guy who can help with that. She makes her way to the pool table where she meets Brody who just wanted to be out having fun. Brody was immediately into Hayden and was impressed she had no clue who he was since he is a famous hockey player. After a little bit they leave together where Hayden takes Brody to her penthouse suite and he is trying to figure out who she is to be in such a place. The next morning Hayden makes it very clear it was just a one night stand but Brody can't get her off his mind. Hayden goes to a hockey game with her dad and is waiting for him to finish when the team lets out and there is Brody. Hayden tries to resist the attraction but can she stay away especially since her dad and the entire team are in the midst of a public scandal?

I really enjoyed this one and it was definitely spicy !

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for my ARC!

Sweet, sexy, romantic ... Body Check is the whole package. Its a short and sweet sports romance that swept me off my feet and made me very very happy. The perfect weekend read!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for review

I didn't realize Body Check by Elle Kennedy was actually the first book she wrote until I read the note from the author at the beginning of the book. I think in some ways it's obvious it's her debut when you compare it to some of her more recent books, but it's still a great hockey romance for fans of the genre. I'm glad she got the chance to update it and expand it, and now we get to enjoy this new version!

Hayden's dad may own a professional hockey team, but she wants nothing to do with the sport. On a break from her boyfriend, she's back home supporting her dad while he goes through a messy divorce, and she's looking for a one-night hook-up to end an exceptionally long dry spell. She finds Brody Croft, and their night together is electric. Except afterward, he isn't satisfied with their "just one night" agreement, but it looks like that's all he's going to get. Until they come face to face after his hockey game--he just so happens to play on her dad's team. Like two magnets, they keep being pulled back to each other--and eventually they stop denying the attraction.

It's definitely a solid 4 star read, and a spicy one, too. They definitely like each other. A lot. *ahem* If you catch my drift.

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted advance review copy.

Love Elle Kennedy and love sport romcoms! This one was fabulous. You can’t go wrong with reading any book from Elle.

Kennedy is notoriously steamy with her hockey romances and this did not disappoint. Short. To the point from chapter one. Some drama with the team that resembles something of a plot. Easy to read in a day. Way too steamy to recommend to students.

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really disliked this, it felt like AI developed the plot. Maybe that’s harsh but that’s how I feel! I get that the author has a formula she sticks to, but it’s getting very tired. I would not recommend!!

3.5*
If you're in the mood for a quick spicy hockey romance, this is the book for you!

After a mind blowing one night stand with a handsome stranger, Hayden has every intention of never seeing him again and move on with her life. But when she realizes the handsome stranger is a hockey player on the professionnal team her dad owns, it is proven difficult. Brody can't get her out of his head and wants to pursue her at any cost - without her dad's knowledge.

I liked the plot and seeing the relationship between Brody and Hayden develop.
Where it felt a little flat for me was the chemistry. I didn't feel the chemistry between Brody and Hayden and that might be because the book is written in third person, which I am not a fan of in romance books.

I still had a great time reading it and recommend as a quick spicy hockey romance!

was in the mood for a really short, hot sports romance, and this one filled the bill perfectly. I had forgotten how hot the Harlequin Blaze books can get, because at times this one bordered on the erotic. It was a pretty steamy read about an Art History professor (Hayden) looking for a 'fling' to spice up her stale love life before she settled down with Mr. Safe and Boring, and a sexy, formerly bad boy hockey star (Brody) who was tired of a life of 'flings' and was now looking for something more fulfilling.

This did not work for me! Elle’s hockey romances are some of my favorites, but I did not feel connected to this story. The plot wasn’t very original. However, I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a quick hockey romance!

Dear Elle Kennedy,

Body Check was a Harlequin Blaze originally released in 2009. It has been revised, expanded and re-released.

Hayden Houston is a Professor of Art History at Berkeley (25 seems young for that but what I do know about the US education system?). Her father is the owner of the Chicago Warriors hockey team. He was formerly a coach but after a “wise investment in a pharmaceutical company” made him millions of dollars, he bought the team. Hayden’s mother died in a car accident when she was only a baby so it’s just been her dad and her – and hockey. Hayden didn’t enjoy moving around so often as her father moved teams when she was a child, she didn’t enjoy constantly travelling to games. And she didn’t enjoy her father’s attention being on hockey and not on her so much. However, her father did make an effort in the off season to spend time with her.

Since her dad has been a team owner however, things got worse and it was even harder to get her father’s attention, so she decided to move to California and put down some roots. She longs for a home and family.

Hayden has been dating a fellow professor at Berkeley, Doug, but he’s kind of very boring. He’s a nice guy but Hayden’s libido has been frustrated by Doug’s desire to get to know her very well before they cross the “intimacy bridge” (lol). When during a college break Hayden’s dad asks her to come to Chicago to support him through his divorce (he married a much younger woman a few years before and they’re going through a messy separation), she tells Doug she needs a break from their relationship to decide whether she wants to commit to him or not. Hayden’s dad is also embroiled in a scandal; he’s been accused of throwing two games and betting on the outcome of them and players from the Warriors have been accused of taking bribes. This is all happening as the Warriors are in the playoffs so the media is having a field day.

Given the situation with Doug, when Hayden arrives in Chicago her libido is crying out for help and, at the suggestion of her good friend, Darcy, she decides a one night stand is just the ticket.

Brody Croft is star player with the Warriors. He’s more recently decided he’s sick of one-night stands and short term encounters. He’s after a relationship. Still, when Hayden meets him in a bar (not knowing who he is at all given she doesn’t follow hockey), he’s willing to accept Hayden’s terms in order to be with her at all. Still, he’s hoping he can change her mind. After some of the hottest sex of both of their lives, Hayden finds herself quite persuaded by Brody and eventually agrees to have a fling with him while she’s in town. But it needs to be kept quiet given the scandal brewing around the team. Brody agrees but asks Hayden to keep an open mind to the possibility they could be more to one another.

I liked Brody but had a little discomfort about the way he pushed Hayden to change her mind. I get what the author was going for but what I (probably would have) enjoyed in 2009 is not the same as what I enjoy now. I did enjoy that it was Hayden who wanted the one-night stand and Brody’s reaction to her not initially wanting to see him again made me chuckle – the shoe was very definitely on the other foot there.

I did like that Hayden’s dad’s soon-to-be ex-wife had a bit of nuance to her and things weren’t quite as black and white as they may have originally appeared when the book began. The match-fixing/players-taking-bribes subplot took up a little more of the story than I expected it would. It felt like a lot was going on in such a short book. Still, I did believe the connection between Brody and Hayden.

I don’t know exactly what was changed/expanded/revised in Body Check but it feels like a book written in 2009. It was originally a hot, quick read, in keeping with the Blaze line. Now it’s a little longer but it’s still pretty hot and not super long. I usually like Elle Kennedy books but this one was not my favourite. I think the author has grown significantly as a writer in the 15 years since this book was originally published and Body Check just doesn’t compare to something like last year’s The Summer Girl or The Graham Effect (or even The Deal, which was released in 2015). Body Check has pockets of what Kennedy would become but it lacks the vibe and humour of The Off Campus or Briar U books (for instance).

Grade: C

Regards,
Kaetrin

This was such a fun read. I really liked both characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Give me a hockey romance by Elle Kennedy and I’m happy!

Hayden is trying to get away from anything hockey, due to her father being a coach. Brody is trying to settle down and give up his bad boy image. When these two have a one night stand, they don’t know what’s coming for them.

The chemistry between these two is hot, hot, hot! 🥵 This book has the perfect amount of steam and plot! I felt that it was engaging and wonderfully written. This is definitely a book I’ll pick up and read again!


📘: Body Check by Ellen Kennedy
🗓️: July 2, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Ellen Kennedy, and Harlequin Romance for this ARC!

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

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

I had no idea this was Elle Kennedy's first book (ever!) that was being refreshed and rereleased!

Since we know Elle Kennedy is the queen of hockey romance, I knew I would enjoy this one (and I did!).

Quick hits:
* sports romance
* hockey team owner's daughter / hockey player MMC
* one night stand turned to more
* he falls first
* a little bit of an angsty subplot
* spicy spicy

Brody and Hayden meet at a bar and go home to have an incredible one night together. Afterwards, he's interested in more and she is definitely not... but when life throws them quickly back at each other, they can't resist one another. They have great chemistry and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow past the physical and the subplots around the hockey team added some needed drama.

I will say this felt like a lot more spice and not as much depth, but I still enjoyed it!

Rating: 3.75 stars

Elle Kennedy did a great job with this hockey romance. I loved the character and the plot. It was entertaining without it being too long. Perfect for a quick weekend read. I would def suggest this to anybody looking for a hockey romance.

This book was really good at what it was meant to be, a short and spicy enjoyable read. It was labeled as a spicy romcom and it delivered. It was definitely cute and spicy. There wasn't a lot of depth in the story, plot, or characters, and that's perfectly okay. I recommend.

everything elle kennedy writes is a must read for me! this one did not fail me either! it was so good and i’ve already been recommending it to customers that come in.

I am a sucker for hockey romances, and a sucker for Elle Kennedy. Elle is an automatic read for me ever since the off campus series, and she has not let me down. When it comes to romance, sports, and lovable characters she always hits the right spot.