Thank you to Lauren Blakley and her team for the advance reader copy of The Good Guy Challenge.
My favourite kind of Lauren Blakley is the super sex-positive main characters, Lauren Blakley.
I am a Lauren Blakley review team member, but I remain honest and genuine in my reviews.
Fake real dating the one who got away? Sign me up…
There’s just something about bad boys. Tattoos and leather jackets, am I right?
Trouble is, my last boyfriend was a teensy bit too bad and now he’s in prison. Yikes.
When my friends challenge me to take a dip in the good guy side of the dating pool, I see their dating bet and I raise it, looking up the guy I crushed on growing up.
With a winning grin and heart of gold, Gabe Clements is now the star receiver for a pro football team.
Except, the supposed good guy turns out to be nothing like I imagined. He’s better. He’s growly, possessive, smoldering.
And he’s determined too. At the end of the night, he asks me to be his fake real girlfriend for the rest of the week.
Sounds like my kind of dating challenge since he’s a good guy by day, and a very dirty man after dark.
I’ll cure my bad boy blues in no time.
Well, as long as I don’t fall for Gabe’s big heart too.
Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
- Characters: This is Gabe and Ellie’s story. Ellie has recently moved to LA and is an actress/writer/producer. While Gabe plays in the NFL. When we met Ellie she is struggling in the dating realm, something that is bound to be relatable to lots of readers. She was always running after bad boys, so she decides to embark on a good guy challenge. Enter Gabe, who Ellie has always seen as her off-limits older babysitter. I really loved that Ellie thought Gabe was this classic good guy archetype and that he would not be a perfect match.
- Setting: This story is set in Los Angeles. I must admit I am getting a little tired of Lauren repeatedly setting her books here. I am ready for a bit of a change. But I don’t want that to cloud this specific review. As Lauren does a great job of using the city to her advantage, with outdoor dates and dynamics between all the sports teams.
- Pacing: This book was paced decently well. I find almost all Lauren books easy to fly through and quick to read.
- Romance: My favourite part of this romance was just how sex-positive Lauren Blakely wrote these characters. I loved how this couple bonded in the bedroom, in a way neither of them have before. It was adorable to see Gabe think Ellie was a nice girl and be proven very wrong. I loved how Gabe was a good guy in the streets but a bad guy in the sheets. I have one little thing, I would have loved to see more of how they navigated their age gap and their previous dynamic. Gabe babysat her and Ellie fantasized about him which was apparent but was there no one who was warry about that?
The Good Guy Challenge receives four out of five stars.
You can pick up the story here.
Follow Lauren on all her social channels…
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter | Goodreads
Thank you again to Lauren and her team for the review opportunity. Thank you for reading and supporting my blog!
