Book Review — Stay by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

Can you fall for someone you’ve never even met?

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Awww!! This was a sweet, sexy, swoony romance between a divorced sports star who was father to two adorable little daughters and a divorced heroine who had given up on love. It was a fun, easy, and generally light-hearted read!! I found it so heart-melting to watch this big huge sports star hero be such a loving, caring dad to his little kids!!! I also loved seeing him fall for the heroine and to watch them both dare to take a second chance on love.

I’ve read both Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy independently, but this was my first time reading one of their jointly written releases and I have to say I really enjoyed it! It always impresses me when two different authors are able to co-write a book such that you would never have guessed that more than one person wrote it. They did a great job!

The story is told in first person from alternating POVs. It can be read as a standalone (that’s how I read it) but it is technically the second standalone in a series of standalones following Good Boy. It’s totally up to you if you want to read them in order or separately — it works both ways. I just happened to particularly like the sound of this one when I read the blurb so I decided to dive in and ended up reading it as a separate story without issue.

Speaking of the blurb, this is it:

Hailey Taylor Emery has a hunch that her favorite client at Fetch–an anonymous virtual assistant service–is actually hockey star Matt Eriksson.

Although it’s against the rules for her to check his file, she’s 95% sure she spends at least part of each day texting with her lifelong crush and catering to his every need. Still nursing a wounded heart thanks to her recent breakup, Hailey is perfectly content with some harmless online flirting…until she has to meet her client. Face to face. Cue: utter panic.

Matt Eriksson is no stranger to heartbreak. He’s still not over the destruction of his marriage, and it sucks to be the only guy on the team who knows the truth–that hockey and long-term relationships are a toxic mix. He barely sees his kids, and dealing with his ex makes him feel insane. The only person in his life who seems to understand is someone who won’t show her pretty face.

But it’s nothing that a pair of fourth row hockey seats can’t fix. Hailey can’t resist the offer. Matt can’t resist Hailey. Good thing he doesn’t have to. Fire up the kiss cam!

There’s thankfully very little drama in this book. It’s primarily just a fun, sweet, sexy, entertaining romance. It’s what I’d want to read on a lazy day or maybe after a really emotional or intense read. It’s a bit of a palate cleanser.

A reader asked me question that I’ll answer here — she asked if his kids were part of this book since the blurb says that he didn’t get to see them much. It’s true, his ex-wife was very controlling and gave him minimal time with them, however his kids were still featured in many scenes. They loved their dad so it was really lovely to see them together.

The hero and heroine faced some very real hurdles — learning to trust again after their respective divorces, the stress of his very public job that kept him gone for so much of the time, working through custody arrangements of his daughters with an ex-wife who wasn’t easy to deal with, finding the privacy to just let themselves learn to love again… So it wasn’t all light, but it was a very heart-warming read with a quite a sexy side to it in the bedroom. 😉

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! If you’re looking for something new to read and you love sexy sports romances and swoony single dad heroes, definitely be sure to check this book out! Happy reading, everyone!!

Rating: 4+ stars! Contemporary Adult Romance, Can Standalone.

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Series of standalones.