I thought this was a fun rom com! I appreciated that the drama didn't really involve the couple (or them having to split up) and thought the pacing was well done.

Thank you, Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books | Bloom Books for giving me the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. Good Boy is a cute sports romance and quite spicy from the get-go. I love sports romance and this was a nice read. I also liked the character development. It was great to see how Blake's character was deeper than the seemingly irreverent playboy.

I was intrigued when I first saw these two all star authors team up to write this one! It was a feel good story and I felt like they wrote really well together! It's a fun read that kept me engaged the entire time.

I really liked this book. It was a feel good story. It did take me awhile to warm up to Blake. Over all a very nice book.

This was an absolutely smutty joy to read. This book made me so freaking happy and I loved every second of it. Blake was the golden retriever of book boyfriends and I really enjoyed Jess's journey to finding herself.

I didn't realise at first that this was a spin off and the only bad thing about this book is that its made me buy Him on my kindle so that I can read all about Wes and Jamie's story...sorry TBR, you're going to have to wait a little longer...

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to read this advance book.
Like always love everything by Elle. And this is not different. Love the story and the characters. This was cute and fun . And left me wanting more

I liked but didn't love "Good Boy." The book had some amusing moments, I love a hockey romance, the spice was spicy, and the main characters...were just not my cup of tea. Blake was so obnoxious and over the top. I am sure he was supposed to grow on me, but he just never did. He was just so pushy and brash and there was very little there to balance his annoyingness. And Jess just kind of lets him bulldoze her. For much of the book, Jess abdicates responsibility onto those around her and it isn't a good look. She does improve over the course of the book, which is nice to see.

I loved Jess' close-knit family and Wesmie is the best. The WAGs are hilarious and could be found family in the future. 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the re-release of this book. These opinions are my own.

I'm a smitten mess over Good Boy. Completely enamored. I'm sure you get that from this super long, rambling review. But I'm saying, YOU NEED THIS. YOU NEED IT NOW. Trust me, you'll be melting all over the place. I'm absolutely recommending it! A sweet, heartfelt and hotttttttttt romance that will swept you off your feet. 5 stars.

I love these two so much! The way they write is literally everything. It's fun, light headed, sexy and just a blast. Good Boy might actually be my favourite Sarina and Elle book to date! The storyline was so much fun and made me fall in love with these characters so quickly! Loved this book so much!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫🌶️🌶️
💭My thoughts: At the beginning I found Blake eye rollingly annoying but then his slang and his very big golden retriever energy grows on you. If there was a drinking game going on, I would say to take a shot everytime he says ‘Cheezus’. I really liked how persistent but respectful he was towards Jess. He knew how to calm her down when she was feeling high stressed and I think every couple should have that someone to make them feel at peace. I enjoyed this book, there is no third act breakup, but I did wish there was more for the ending. I wanted more but the JUICY ex girlfriend drama made up for it! Definitely recommend!

Good Boy
by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen

“𝘛𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘺, 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

I loved this super cute book by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen! I loved watching the relationship develop between Blake and Jessie!

Blake was the cutest and has the biggest heart ever. He was so adorable, goofy and fun! I loved seeing him fall in love!

Jessie really had low self confidence in the beginning of the book but I was so happy to see her start to be more sure of herself! She is really caring and she really started to be more herself once she falls in love with Blake!

The side characters were amazing in this book as well and I really loved Mama Riley! This was a cute, easy to read book with the perfect amount of spice!

Jess can't afford to fail. Blake can't afford to let his chance with her slip away.
This enemies to lovers sports romance is book 1 in the WAGs series, and I have thoroughly enjoyed this duet's other series, but the level of immaturity was so annoying in this book. Does Blake really like Jess or does he only want to sleep with her? Every other thought he has is about sex. Where is the red flag guy? To me, there is something very red flagish about a guy who's sole purpose is to annoy a girl and make her mad because he thinks she's cute when she's mad... I didn't like him at all. He was too cocky and persistant. No means no dude. And I don't think I will ever understand in an enemies to lovers why the two main characters sleep together while they still very much hate each other, or one of them hates the other. And Jess was a bit boring, lacking a lot of self-confidence. I would've prefered to read characters that were less unidimentional. I have read many great reviews about this, so it's safe to say this was simply not for me.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Human fragility and second-guessing get a firm boost of confidence in this bit of flirtatious, spirited fun.

Blake was maybe just the tiniest smidge immature, but he was also charming and endearing and there’s no way to not like this happy, hunky man. Exactly what Jess needed to bring balance to her anxiety and insecurities. But Blake’s happy-go-lucky surface was hiding plenty of pain and Jess was just the right person to give him a new outlook on life.

I am just such a sucker for this playful writing style, with the sexually charged banter, sneakily incorporating amazing character development. It is the kind of book that will have you glued to the pages until the very end and leave you wishing there was more.

This is a re-issue with a shiny new cover. I can highly recommend this series and the related series, Him, if you like a bit of snarky back-and-forth with your steamy romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. When you read this book, you should automatically be issued a fan and a privacy screen so those around you are not privy to every blush-worthy scene! Wowza! Nursing student Jess and professional hockey player Blake had a quick romantic run in and a few months later run into each other at a wedding. As much as they both try to deny their pull of attraction, eventually that gets worn down after pretending to date. Initially I was going to label this as a good summer read but now my suggestion is to definitely wait until it's winter because this will warm you right up!

THIS WAS SO CUTE!!!
First- the pun with WAGs and dogs- perfection. Second- hot hockey players with dogs?!? Even more perfection.
Third- the hockey player in this book is a complete golden retriever and it’s the sweetest seeing that from both POVs.
Somehow these cutesy hockey books also never fail to throw in some heavy themes too for a nice balance of a great read.

When I can't fight my yawns today there will be three people to blame, Jess, Riley, and myself. I immediately fell into #GoodBoy and didn't want to help myself out. You've got sports, you've got friends to lovers, you've got a fake romance... really you just have all the ingredients for the perfect read from #sarinabowen and #ellekennedy. I think my only gripe is that now I NEED to add the other WAGS books to my #tbr and bump so many others away from the top! I will definitely be finishing this series!

It was an okay read for me. It’s your classic sweet love story with a healthy dose of smut—definitely not lacking in the steamy department! But I have to say, this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Let’s start with the good stuff: it’s a hockey romance, and I have to admit, I loved the enthusiasm and energy that came with it. The hockey scenes and the sports vibes really added some fun to the story and gave it an extra layer of excitement.

Now, onto the main characters. The boy was sweet, definitely had his moments, but his over-the-top clingy personality left me a little uncomfortable. It was like he was smothering her with affection, and instead of backing off, he practically accosted her into the relationship. It felt more pushy than romantic at times.

What really surprised me was how the girl responded. Instead of getting offended by his actions, she just went along with it and got, well, the action! It was a bit of a head-scratcher for me, but hey, to each their own!

Overall, Good Boy is a light read with plenty of steam, but the dynamics between the characters didn’t fully click for me. If you’re in the mood for some fluffy romance with a lot of heat and a splash of hockey excitement, it might be worth a shot, but don’t expect too much depth.

Thank you NetGalley, Bloom Books, Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen for access to Good Boy.

Good Boy tells the story of Jess and Blake. Jess feels like the only one in her family who hasn’t got her life together. After organizing a beautiful family wedding for her littler brother that has a hockey player filled guest list, Jess needs to break the news to her family that she’s making her another career change. With high nerves of the news and the event, the last person she wants to see is Blake. Blake is her brother’s soon-to-be-husband’s best friend and hockey mate. Of course he’d be at the wedding. What she doesn’t need is a reminder of the last time they were together and the explicit acts that she is trying to not think about. Blake on the other hand can’t get enough of Jess. He doesn’t date, he isn’t interested in dating, so why is Jess taking up so much of his thoughts?

Blake and Jess have extensive chemistry, funny banter, and show the importance of vulnerability. Good Boy is a spicy Hockey Romance with golden retriever energy.

Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy have tapped into the ever-popular world of hockey romances with Good Boy, delivering a fizzy, sweet treat that is sure to charm fans of the genre. As someone who doesn’t usually gravitate toward hockey romances, I was initially dubious, particularly about Blake, the male lead. But I have to admit, the strong writing kept me hooked, even as I hesitated in the early chapters.

The title Good Boy is a fitting nod to Blake’s golden retriever-like energy. Like any good boy, he ultimately won me over with his unflagging positivity and loyalty. If I were to place this on a “divorce tier list,” I’d bet on Jess and Blake going all the way. Jess, the female lead, embodies a familiar trope in contemporary romance—she’s grappling with a crisis of confidence. However, Blake’s unwavering support helps her navigate through it, offering a heartwarming dynamic.

Overall, I enjoyed Good Boy. Despite my initial reservations, it’s a delightful read that offers exactly what it promises: a light, engaging romance with a lot of heart.

Reread August 2024
This book was just as wonderful the second time around! I love Jess and Blake so much! An adorkable golden retriever cinnamon roll hero - SOLD! I have missed Blakey’s jokes and antics. This was such a great feel good, low angst romcom (Yay for no third act break up!) If you want to laugh and smile, don’t miss this book!

*****
Original review from June 2017

Cheezus I loved this book! The hilarious and witty banter, the playful innuendo and flirting, and of course the smoking sexy times made for the perfect book! Good Boy is the first book in the new WAGs series. It features characters from other books by the writing duo of Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy, but can be read as a standalone.

Blake is a character that you will find immensely amusing and loveable, or extremely annoying and immature. I clearly found him adorable.

He comes across as a cocky and wisecracking jock, but underneath, he's a loyal, protective, and huggable teddy bear. His inner monologue was some of the funniest I have ever read and I had a perpetual grin on my face reading this book. Jess is also an amazing heroine who really grows through the course of the book. Her struggle with her confidence and her drive to go after her dreams was realistic and heartfelt. Haven't we all felt a little lost and less than at one point or another? The chemistry between Blake and Jess was amazing and I loved how they each kept each other in check and could be both playful and serious with each other. They may not have started their relationship in the most conventional way, but I loved how it all unfolded. Another thing that made this book really enjoyable were the awesome secondary characters (Wesmie!) and that there wasn't any unnecessary additional drama. Truly a fantastic read, and I can't wait for the next book, Stay!