I’m never gonna turn down a fun sports romance. Honestly these types of books are my happy place. Cozy and mostly low-stakes….they warm my heart. I have to say this one did have a pretty good side story to go along with the romance that definitely surprised me. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Body check
By: Elle Kennedy

📚💕⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕📚

Could it be more?

In another great RomCom from a great author we get hockey romance and a little bit of faith in the good guy still out there. Hayden Houston and hockey player Brody Croft. These two start as one night and if he has his way so much more. The authors writing is flawless and the words are so captivating, the plot had so many twists and turns and none that I was expecting, and many shockingly intimate I have become a huge fan of this author. The author writes with so much intensity and emotion pulled from each book it’s felt page after page. Some are quick witted story lines are so perfect and lets you believe you have a front row seat. So being able to read this love story didn’t disappoint. The authors ability to have two separate individuals struggling in their everyday life and try to navigate someone else’s thoughts, needs and desires was intense and gives all the fills.

Authors Blurb: After a childhood spent being dragged around the country by her hockey coach father, Hayden Houston intends to take some time to figure out her future. Whether that future will include her currently off-again boyfriend remains to be seen. What it certainly won’t include is the for-one-night-only guy she just met at a bar.   

It seems hockey star Brody Croft did not get the memo about being temporary. Big, bold and driven, he’s dedicated in everything he does. Up till now, that’s been his team—the one owned by Hayden’s dad. But his night with Hayden has sparked something he didn’t expect. The two of them are good together. Really good. There’s a connection he’s never experienced before, one he knows they’d be wrong to ignore. Even with a game-fixing scandal testing both their loyalties to teammates, to friends…to family. 

Part of Hayden wants to turn tail and run. A complicated relationship with a bad boy hockey player is exactly what she never wanted. But when it comes to Brody, Hayden is realizing that people can be so much more than what they seem.

This book has everything I love in a book. Then you add that it's beautifully written and believable. It is easily a five star read. Written in single POV this story flows so incredibly well that the next thing you know your 80% into the book and loving every second of it. The believable way the characters interact is perfect. Run, Hop, Jump or use your (1 click) finger to do whatever you have to do and get this amazing book. It'll break your heart, you'll want to scream with frustration and it'll let you discover that love just might conquer all. The chemistry is steamy and sweet and oh so romantic.

Thanks Netgally for letting me read and review.📚💕

NO ONE, I repeat NO ONE, does a hockey romance like Elle Kennedy. She never disappoints. Her characters are funny, witty, and relatable every time. I am sure no one is surprised that this is another certified classic.

If you're looking for a smutty hockey romance, this fits the bill!

It stays smutty pretty much from the jump, also explores complex father/daughter relationships

Hayden is a daughter of hockey coach. She has a one night stand with hockey star Brody and it turns out that he is in her dad's team.

I love Hayden and Brody. Lots of fun, terrific banter. Love the sexiness too. It's fast paced and things resolved quickly and happily.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I 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.

Thank you @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for the eARC of Body Check by @ellekennedy33 in exchange for an honest review!

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 A flirty encounter with a handsome stranger, Brody, turns into a steamy nightcap for Hayden. Hayden is pretty focused on her career and is not looking for more than a one-night stand but the attraction with Brody is hard to deny. Brody is all in, “ a sexy professor who hated sports and set his body in fires? Talk about his dream girl.” Though she swears off dating a hockey player, sometimes we find a match where we least expect it. I am a firm believer in this statement and loved watching Hayden and Brody’s relationship evolve. This is my first Elle Kennedy book and it was a pretty cool experience to take it back with her to her first book. Overall, a super fun hockey romance that is smile-worthy!

Review is posted on Goodreads and will be on Instagram well ahead of the publication date!

I really liked Hayden & Brody both, which I think is an amazing feat; generally in these types of romances I find one or the other to be likeable and well fleshed out, but Kennedy manages to write both an interesting Hero and Heroine. I especially enjoyed Hayden's storyline with her dad and stepmother, which managed to avoid many of the tropes I expected. And I like that the story resolved with characters experiencing realistic consequences, without totally villainizing them.

Well-developed characters and plot, and plenty of steam. Four strong stars.

*I received a review copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

Hayden, a college art professor decides she needs a one night stand and the super hunky guy she meets at the bar turns out to be one of the star hockey players on the team her father owns. Good thing she only wanted a one night stand, right? Think again…Brody turns out to be a sweet, fun, amazing guy who she loves spending time with. As they spend more time together, Hayden and Brody find themselves in the middle of a media frenzy over a possible scandal involving her father. Loved the story and the sizzling romance.

This book hooked me in from the first chapter. I loved the character development and how the story progressed.

Anything Elle Kennedy writes is an immediate five star book. I’ve read Body Check so many times and I loved all the extra that was in this.

Sport romance
One night stand
Hayden's father is the coach of the NHL team, the Chicago Warriors. She had to follow her father ffor his coaching job, she refuses to ever date a hockey player. Needing to let off some steam and she steps out of her comfort and approaches a handsome stranger at a bar in the hopes she can convince him to have a one-night-stand with her. Her choice: Brody Croft, who she doesn't know that he is a player for the Chicago Warriors.
The attraction between Brody and Hayden is instant but she's only after a one-night-stand while he's looking to settle down after years of meaningless encounters. But of course he's a man, so he has to go and ruin a great thing just when Hayden starts to take a real chance on him. Despite his momentary lapse in good decisionsBrody and Hayden are both very likable and have an attraction and then team that is struggling with rumors of criminal activity between the owner and two players and you've also got yourself a conflict and Brody has to figure out who his real friends are and who is out to ruin his reputation, while Hayden has to deal with the fact that her father might be guilty and she doesn't know what to believe.

Elle Kennedy’s first foray into the hockey-romance genre is being rereleased. This story follows Hayden, a professor in town in Chicago to help her dad through a rough divorce. She decides she needs a night to blow off steam and meets Brody at the bar, unaware that he is a local hockey heartthrob. Sparks fly and she means for the one-night stand to remain one night, but he isn’t so sure. Their relationship unfolds as both of their worlds seem to fall apart, and onenight turns into a little more.

You can tell Elle Kennedy has come a long way from where she started. This story was a bit thin, the romance was not quite there, and it just didn’t have the character development that her others have. It was fine for just a steamy hockey romance, but it definitely aren’t as interesting as the later Briar U books. It was a, “meh” for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was an enjoyable sports romance. I really enjoyed the romance and the setting was very well written. The banter was so fun.

Very entertaining romance. I loved that it was set in Detroit and referenced Detroit sports. Spice level is a three.

I’ll give this book props for having a solid plot outside of the romance, but it did feel a bit rushed sometimes. And with so many characters coming in and out it did feel surface level sometimes. I very solid hockey romance, though I prefer Kennedy’s college series more.

Another classic Elle Kennedy book! I am so glad she is going through her backlist and republishing these gems because this was such a fun read.
Body Check follows Hayden and Brody as they embark on a classic one night stand turned more. I really liked Brody, he was persistent but not creepy in his advances, which is a really fine line. He always checked in that she was asking for more rather than just assuming.
There was almost a horrible miscommunication break up, but thank goodness Elle is no debut author, because she had the best friend immediately shut that down and remind Hayden that what she saw wasn't the full picture.
I will continue to read Elle Kennedy books until she one day stops writing, may that never happen though!

2.5 stars. Ill start out by saying I typically love Elle Kennedy's book. Her Off Campus, Briar U, Avalon bay, etc series are great and I don't think I have rated any below a 4 star. This one is one of her older books and I feel like you can tell in the writing. It is not bad. Hayden and Brody are cute together. I liked Brody a bit more because he knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to go after it. Hayden was a little wishy washy. She seemed to have his confidence but then would give in to others. This book was very spicy, almost a little too much spice for my personal taste since it took away from the plot. This book was a pretty quick and easy read, although there was drama in the book it was pretty predicable. Overall, I am kind of let down by this book but I am glad that I have read other Elle Kennedy books and know how amazing her other works are/can be.

Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for the ARC in exchange for a free review.

I loved this book. It had me hooked from start to finish.
Hayden is the daughter of Peyton who owns an NHL team. Hayden can't stand hockey because it has kept her father from her for years. Her mother died when she was young but her father married just a few years ago to Sheila, who is around her age. Now they are getting divorced and Sheila is accusing him of throwing games. Because of this, he asks Hayden to come help him. She comes and decides to take a break from her boyfriend.
When she arrives her friend encourages her to do something she has never done, have a one night stand. Feeling frustrated and emboldened, she approaches a hot guy at the bar. What ensues is hot and lovely.
I loved Brody and Hayden's chemistry and growth as characters. I definitely recommend this one.

I love sport romances and this is a great addition to the hockey sub genre. Hayden is looking for some permanence, the ability to stay in one place and put down roots. She’s been dragged along all over the country by her father, a hockey coach and team owner. That life is not for her anymore. Then comes a one night stand with Brody. At least it was a one nighter from her perspective. But Brody has other ideas. But Brody’s a hockey star. Brody’s the guy whose career might take him all over the place. But also Brody’s the really hot guy she connected with in a way she hasn’t with others. Hmmm.

We get wild passionate attraction and sizzling sex scenes along with a plot that is interesting and a tiny but suspenseful.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.