Pretty Sassy Cool All Things Pretty, Sassy, and Cool.
Stay by Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen Also by this author: Him, Us, Addicted, One Night of Sin, Good Boy, The Fifteenth Minute, Rookie Move, Goodbye Paradise, Hello Forever, Temporary, Heartland
Series: WAGs #2
Also in this series: Good Boy
Published by Rennie Road Books on June 20, 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Falling for Client
Character(s): Celebrities, Hockey Players, Single Fathers
Pages: 291
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Can you fall in love with someone you've never even met?
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!
Warning: Contains rabid hockey fans, misunderstood dick pics, hockey players at the opera and exploding ovaries.
Erin: It is really no secret that here at Pretty Sassy Cool the dynamic writing duo of Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen is among our favorite. In fact, they’re pretty unparalleled. Something happens when these two write together, and us readers are the benefactors of whatever magic they conjure up to give us such fantastic books with the most amazing characters. To say I’ve been looking forward to Stay is like saying that hockey isn’t the best sport out there. Because I have and it is. I could not wait to see what Elle and Sarina would do with Matt Eriksson and I was given everything I wanted and more from his book. Matt and Hottie were just so freaking fabulous together and I loved them together as much as I did apart (and that is saying something!)
Hailey Emery is going to be one of my most favorite heroines for a long time, if not forever. I. Loved. Her. Smart and sassy and a bit goofy and independent and strong. She was the perfect balance of all of those and more and she is a perfect match for hockey player and divorced father of two, Matt Eriksson. She also happens to be the co-owner of the virtual assistant business that Matt uses to take care of pesky things like buying furniture or walking his dog. How these two meet and Hailey’s crush on Matt made their meet cute one of the best I’ve ever read. It doesn’t hurt that Matt is just so great, but really, these two together are the stuff of the best rom-coms.
And Matt Eriksson. Holy hell was he ever just an all-around spectacular guy. Loving father, sexy as freaking can be, funny, charming, a beast on the ice … yeah, I loved him. He’s going to be in the top of my book boyfriends. His divorce wasn’t all that pretty but he tries to keep things civil and he dotes on his daughters like every father should. He’s adorable with them. But his flirting with Hailey is something else. Their chemistry was off the charts hot. His swoon game is on fire, I’m not even joking.
“Look at me baby doll. The way I’m looking at you.”
Her eyes open again, and she smiles up at me. All her nerves are finally gone.
“I love this,” I promise. I capture one her silky legs under my arm and pick up the pace. “You feel like heaven, and you look like an angel all splayed out on my bed. You like my cock, don’t you.”
And this.
“You made that sound,” she informs me as we break apart, panting.
I blink. Swallow through my lust. “What sound?”
“The growly one.” She bites her lip. I want to bit it, too, and it takes superhuman strength to keep my hands off her.
“Sorry.” I swallow again. Then I think fuck it, and say, “I’m ridiculously attracted to you, Hottie. I figured I should be upfront about that.”
“Shut up and kiss me again, Snipes.”
I feel like a fucking god right now. So I drag out the anticipation by planting a hand on her shoulder and stroking gently. The other drifts her slender neck before cupping her cheek. I sweep my thumb over the corner of her mouth, over the same spot where that bead of steak sauce had lingered before. I wonder if that tangy taste is still there. So I decide to find out.
*Fans self*
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I adored these two together. Their genuine like of each other, their banter, the vulnerability they show one another, the respect … it made for the most enjoyable of stories. Even the ex-wife, who DID have her moments, wasn’t too over the top or too clichéd. It was really refreshing for Hailey and her ex-husband to still be close friends (and business partners no less!) and that there was no contrived or melodrama between them either. And of course, seeing Blake who I keep loving more and more and then Wes and Jamie made Stay even more delightful. The thing I always take note of and appreciate is how easy it would be for Elle and Sarina to allow fan favorites like Blake and Wesmie to overshadow the other characters, but they don’t. They’re present, but this was most definitely Hailey and Matt’s book.
Stay has all the humor that you’d expect from Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen but this one had romance galore and I didn’t want it to end. I want a Matt Eriksson. When you read this, you will, too! I guarantee it.
She's a Texan, though she drinks her tea plain and NOT sweet. She loves cheesecake, strawberry limeade's from Sonic and her favorite color is purple. In her books, she loves an HEA, but she never minds if the road is rough to get there, as long as the reward is worth the struggle.
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| Overall: | 5 |
