ARC Review: Good Boy by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Book Title: Good Boy

Author: Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Series: WAGs #1

Release Date: January 31st, 2017

Genres: Contemporary, Sports Romance

Hosting her brother’s wedding for an MVP guest list is the challenge of Jess Canning’s life. Already the family screw-up, she can’t afford to fail. And nobody (nobody!) can learn of the colossal mistake she made with the best man during a weak moment last spring. It was wrong, and there will not be a repeat. Absolutely not. Even if he is the sexiest thing on two legs.

Blake Riley sees the wedding as fate’s gift to him. Jess is the maid of honor and he’s the best man? Let the games begin. So what if he’s facing a little (fine, a lot) of resistance? He just needs to convince the stubborn blonde that he’s really a good boy with a bad rap. Luckily, every professional hockey player knows that you’ve got to make an effort if you want to score.

But Jess has more pressing issues to deal with than sexy-times with a giant man-child. Such as: Will the ceremony start on time, even though someone got grandma drunk? Does glitter ever belong at a wedding? And is it wrong to murder the best man?

Caution: May cause accidental aspiration of tea or coffee. Do not read in a public place where loud laughter is inappropriate. Contains hot but hilarious hockey players, puppy cuddling and a snarky pair of underwear.

This book was so freaking cute, I adored it! What pleasantly surprised me most about GOOD BOY was how much Blake Riley stole the show with his complete endearingly douchey awesomeness. Douchey awesomeness? That sounds like a conflict of terms but I loved the bejeebers out of his annoying yet humorous as heck personality. How did I seriously go from disliking him in HIM to fangirling him here? Because I didn't stand a chance- his character development was superb!

Jess Canning, sister to Jamie from HIM, has floundered a bit in life trying to find her niche. Currently into wedding planning, she finds herself planning her brother's wedding as well as being Best Woman for Jamie. Unfortunately, Blake Riley, professional hockey player/teammate to groom Wes, his the Best Man and also the most annoying, inappropriate, ruggedly handsome man on the planet.

“Sorry, dude, but glitter plays no part in a wedding. (...)" 

A cocky grin tugs at the corners of his mouth. “Call me that again.” 

“Call you what again?” 

“Dude. I’m totally digging it. Reminds me of my fraternity days.” 

Blake was a frat boy? Shocking. 

"You know,” he continues, “when all the babes would throw themselves at me nilly-willy.” 

“Willy-nilly,” I correct. 

“Huh?” 

“It’s willy-nilly. The willy comes first.” 

He winks at me. “I’ll let you have this one, but only because you’re right—the willy always does come first.”

A reader can't experience this book without an almost constant grin on one's face. Blake's got the hots for Jess (aka J-Babe) and he's relentless in his annoying pursuit of her. He's tall, muscular, and seriously stalked by thousands of puck bunnies but he only has eyes for his off-limits buddy's sister. But Jess, regardless of her insane attraction to him, is a serious commitment-phobe and Blake Riley is the last guy a girl could think of settling down with. He's about as deep as a puddle.

“You don’t date people. Everyone says so. I mean, you’re just going there now because we had spectacular sex and you want more of it. It’s just the dopamine talking. I read up on this for my pharmacology exam.” 

I snort. “You’re saying I’m driving under the influence of orgasms?”

This book totally hit all the right spots for me. It's fun and endearing, perfectly paced and steamy. Chock full of family closeness and friends as tight as family. Good Boy has it all. The first book in the WAGS series (Wives And Girlfriends), each book can be read as a standalone. Looking forward to the next book in this series by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen.

Advanced copy received by authors in exchange for my honest review.

Sarina Bowen is the USA Today bestselling author of steamy, angsty Contemporary Romance and New Adult fiction. She lives in the wilds of Vermont.

She is the author of The Ivy Years, an award-winning series set amid the hockey team at an elite Connecticut college. Also, the The Gravity series.

With Elle Kennedy, Sarina is the author of HIM and US.

A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.