What a great story! The whole cast of characters was fun to read about. I loved Reese and Paisley. I did not love Bellini. Talk about a nut job! Even though I didn't like Bellini, everyone's reaction to her was hilarious. I loved that she gave horrible nicknames to everyone. That just made me laugh. I loved that Paisleys roommate walked around naked every morning. I loved that Reese's friend Hollis wanted a bromance with jimmy Fallon. I especially loved how alpha Reese got with Paisley and that he never gave up pursuing her when Paisley was trying to resist him. Don't worry, she didn't resist him for long. And there was no cheating. You learn right away that Reese and Bellini are not actually together. I especially love that Meghan Quinn has plans to write two more standalone books in this series. I really hope Bodi Banks will be one of those books. He sounded just as hot as Reese.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

EDITED TO ADD: It’s five years later and I’m reading this story again after watching the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which were held over till 2021 with the world pandemic. Seeing those guys swimming on tv had me yearning to go round two with Reese, Bodi and Hollis. It’s just as fabulous as it was back then but I added audio for this one to listen to as I read along. There are three narrators who bring to life Paisley, Reese and the wicked Bellini. Each did a great job hitting key emotions and depicting the characters really well. Hearing Bellini go on and on with audio makes her character even worse but also shows how awesome Reese and Paisley were. I wish the other books got their own audio edition as this series is fabulous.

Stroked is a must read for all Meghan Quinn fans, and all fans of Rom-Coms. She just has a way of creating characters with substance but also with enough flaws to make it real. I feel this book is another winner for her.

We have three main characters for Stroked, but it is not your typical love triangle. Firstly is the loveable Paisley, or Mauve if you feel like it. She is a dark haired beauty who after "the incident" is now the assistant to a reality couple. Enter Reese King, the swimming olympic medalist that is on his last chance for gold and his "girlfriend" Bellini Chambers, the reality star diva that you are going to love to hate. She did grate on my nerves, but I feel that was very intentional, so job well done.

Paisley is destined to prove to her superiors and family that she can handle this job and won't make any more mistakes, especially falling for the hot swimmer. Bellini is not an easy person to work with, and causes all sorts of problems for her, calling her by a different name being the least. Reese has other things on his mind, his last bid at the Rio olympics and maybe a certain dark haired girl!
You can tell that this isn't going to end well for one of them.

There are some funny parts to this book that I was giggling with, and some where I was shaking my head at. As I said, Bellini is one character! I also didn't really get the whole relationship thing with Reese and Bellini, I didn't quite see how it benefitted him but I certainly did see how he was good for her. All in all, this is a great book to read. You'll get to appreciate the lengths an athlete goes through to achieve a medal. There are some hot sex scenes between the couple that will keep you warm on winters night! Maybe even a few tears like me but always lots of humor to keep us happy.

GAAAH Reese.. OMG! I need one for my own. To say I was drawn to this novel that Quinn wrote is an understatement because I may or may not had a thing for one hottie swimmer in 1996 watching the Atlanta games that swam for Team USA… anyway.. That’s beside the point…. BUT THIS BOOK! Totally on point. The giggles, the scorching passion and WTF is Bellini?? I am still trying to wrap my head around this character that Quinn wrote!
Paisley is trying to work her way back into the industry and low and behold she is now working for this wondrous character named Bellini who we will get to later. By default, she also works for Reese too. Right off the bat you can feel the heat that Paisley and Reese create. What I really enjoy about these two together is that they make sense. In their world of chaos, these two gel and mesh and just are perfect together. There were some utterly crazy moments these two were put in but they also are so stunning and hot. I really enjoy getting the depth of each of them as they open up to each other and explore things. Utterly sizzling.
Now let us take a brief paragraph on the one called Bellini Chambers. How in the heck did Quinn come up with this crazy girl?? Tic Tacs. Pope Francis aka the dog who is in touch with God. The attitude, the… EVERYTHING!! She makes certain reality stars look like June Cleaver compared to her! She was an utterly epic side character and I was honestly hoping for maybe one itty bitty PoV from Pope Francis the dog! LOL I need to know what he things of his owner!!
Overall, out of all of Quinn’s books, I have to say this one is tops for me. I love all of her writing but this one just takes the cake. I hadn’t giggled that hard since reading The Randy Romance Novelist. She is definitely a go to for RomCom novels. I highly recommend this bad boy!

⭐️⭐️1/2
Reese & Paisley. Book 1. Standalone. Told from 3 POV’s. This has a HEA and an epilogue.

The first few sentences really grabbed me and I thought, wow, who is This character. I was really hoping it ended up being the character I was supposed to hate, and boy did I.

Bellini...hated her. I’ve never read such a despicable character. Granted, the author did a great job in coming up with some outrageous thoughts and sayings for her and some were pretty funny, but she ended up being too annoying and obnoxious. In the beginning I read what she had to say because her thoughts and sayings were just so crazy. But, as the story went on I got tired of her ugliness and ended up skipping most of the chapters that were in her POV. And yes, I did say “her” POV. This was a book where the secondary character actually received her own chapters and I felt that it really detracted from the main characters and didn’t really add anything important to the story. I mean, do I really care about her desire to create a clothing line for dogs so they can wear religious clothing? It was just so over the top. Bellini was so awful and I was really hoping she would have some type of big epiphany and get put in her place but sadly that didn’t happen and I was disappointed. And, if I’m writing this much about a secondary character, that should give you a clue about how much she really wasn’t a secondary character. She stole the show, and not in a way that enhanced the story.

I thought Paisley had a bit of sass to her, but the sass seemed to fade away after she made a comment. For example, someone would say something, she would have a sassy or snarky comment, they would say something back and she would zip her lip and cower and not be sassy. I was happy to see Paisley’s best friend be a guy that had her back and was a big support to her. A really solid, platonic M/F relationship. Good for them. But, the whole switcheroo with his “true” feelings at the end of a book was out of left field and really made me disklike her best friend. And, now I feel like everything else I read in the earlier parts of the book were fake.

Reese...I’m still clueless how his publicist convinced him that a relationship (real to the world, but really fake) with a horrible, despicable reality star would benefit him in anyway. Time to fire your publicist if this is the advice you get. I didn’t feel there was a lot of depth to his character. He’s a champion swimmer who has lost the mental game at his last three olympics. No insight as to why.

Insta attraction for the main characters. The relationship had sparks and Reese is a dirty talker, which Paisley likes. The two main characters don’t keep secrets from each other, but they do keep their relationship a secret from almost everyone else. I was irritated with the way they would try to tease each other and then it would backfire and someone would get upset. This was the case for both of them and it seemed completely immature when they couldn’t handle the teasing. They could dish it out, but couldn’t take it.

I felt the story was slower in the beginning and without much of a plot except how they had to keep their relationship a secret and he was preparing for the Olympics. Then when we get to the Olympics, I felt the book rushed along. With so much of the story revolving around Bellini, I just felt like I didn’t really get enough time with our two main characters. And, in the end, it was a huge let down that Paisley didn’t even get to stay in Rio to watch Reese swim for his medals. Overall, I’m a bit disappointed in this book.

***FULL REVIEW - RELEASES JULY 20***

4.5 OLYMPIC GOLD CROWNS

Stroked is another solid hit by Meghan Quinn. It is sweet, romantic, hot, and hilarious. All the attributes of a fantastic book, and what I have come to expect from this fabulous author!

Stroked follows Paisley as she is required to work for the completely crazy reality star Bellini Chambers and Olympic silver medalist swimmer Reese King. Bellini and Reese have a “relationship” for show only, as it will be mutually beneficial for both of their careers, but once Reese encounters Paisley he pursues her with the same dedication and focus he does in the pool, leaving the reader with an incredibly sweet story filled with passion and heat and, of course, some hilarious moments.

As in all of the stories I have read by Meghan Quinn her characters are crazy in the best way. Paisley Macarro is the heroine of Stroked, and she is fantastic! She is bold and is one of the few people who are willing to put Bellini in her place. I also love that she is willing to go after what she wants, whether that is a job or Reese. She is a fantastic friend, and I enjoy her humor throughout the book. The hero, Reese King, is an Olympic swimmer, really known for never being able to achieve gold. When we meet him, he is preparing for life after the Olympics while trying to train for his final shot at gold. So, of course, this is a bad time for him to fall for someone. What makes me love Reese is that he, just like Paisley, goes after what he wants. He isn’t willing to wait until the show is over or after the Olympics; he wants what he wants. His dedication to winning over Paisley is the same as his dedication to win. Chasing Paisley are some of the sweetest dirtiest moments in the book, as Meghan Quinn is really able to showcase how great of a hero he is. He is sex on a stick, sweet, kind, and hilarious. He is completely aware of Paisley’s emotional reactions and makes her secure as best he can in the situation they are in for most of the story. The third point-of-view that the reader gets in the story is Belinni Chambers, and she is absolutely bat-sh** crazy! Literarlly, the words and ideas that came out of this girl’s mouth are unreal. Some of the funniest scenes in the book come from her crazy antcis and the reactions of the other characters. You really have to meet her to understand her full crazy. Truly, Meghan Quinn has created a whole cast of secondary characters I am excited to read about…Melon, Litter Box, Ruby, Hollis, Bondi, and Jonathan. I just can’t wait to get more of these characters!

Just like the characters, I really love the story of watching Reese and Paisley fall in love. Meghan Quinn is able to move the characters from lust to love expertly. The reader gets to see the progression as we see them interact with one another through dinners, breakfast, truth or dare sessions, and traveling to meets. Sometimes sex becomes the main focus in the romance genre and relationship development is lost, but Meghan Quinn gives the reader both. We get to see these two grow and develop as a couple as well as some hot and steamy scenes. The synopsis of the plot is pretty straightforward, so there aren’t any surprise twists or conflicts that develop throughout the story. This completely works for this story, because I love Reese and Paisley and didn’t want any plot developments to ruin them for me!

Meghan Quinn has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I absolutely can count on a well-written sweet, hilarious, and dirty romance with her books and am never disappointed. Stroked isn’t any different. So if you are looking for a romantic comedy with low angst but sweet and dirty words, this book should absolutely be sitting on your e-reader.
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ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

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Holy guacamole I loved this book! I had so much fun reading it. I'm a newish fan and when I saw this was coming out, I preordered it asapy. I really didn't know what it was about and I didn't care. The cover alone was good enough for me!

Besides being funny and g dang hot, Reese and Paisley were awesome , but Bellini killed me. Killed. Me. She was atrocious, self-centered, selfish and horrible, but I loved that girl. Not like be her friend or anything but the shit that came out of her mouth, jaw dropping.

I am so stoked that there's going to be 2 more books in this series. I need all 3 for my bookshelf!!

Meghan Quinn wrote a quirky romance about an Olympic swimmer and a production assistant who are trying to find each other while dealing with a crazed reality star. Reese King is nicknamed the silver stroke as he can't seem to win the elusive gold medal at the Olympics. In his 4th and last chance for his gold medal he is working for he agrees to a fake Hollywood romance with Bellini Chambers aka Satan's mistress due to her behavior. Paisley is hired to be a personal assistant to Reese and Bellini and this is her last chance to make in tv production. Reese and Paisley as a couple were great, nice drama and a great peek into the life of an Olympian. Could Bellini be any crazier, I don't think so.

Can't wait for more in this series

Laugh out loud, tears and stomach funny HEA book. I love every character, even Bellini, maybe not Pocket (we need to know more about her). I'm hoping for way more Paisley and Reese though, seems there is way more to their story.

3.5 stars.

Stroked is the first book in the Stroked series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Reese King is an Olympic swimmer, and he’s trying to get a gold medal because he’s never gotten one before, and this is his last time competing. He’s dating a reality star, Bellini Chambers, who is Paisley’s boss.

Paisley just wants to save her career in the media industry after she lost her previous job. So she’s currently Bellini’s personal assistant, which puts her in close proximity to Reese as well.

This is told in three POVs, so we get Reese, Paisley, and Bellini.

Ugh, I absolutely hated Bellini. This was a fake dating story, but the fake dating was not between the main characters, which was different. But seriously, Bellini was so horrible. She was stuck up, self-absorbed, and really just a POS.

Reese was obsessed from day one. And ah, it was so cute how hard he tried to get Paisley. He was relentless, and they had serious chemistry. I did find some parts, mostly from Paisley, a little cringey, but for the most part, I enjoyed this.

If you're like me, you follow a lot of authors and book groups on social media. So as you scroll your feed, you tend to see many different people mentioning similar books and you can't help but be curious what they're all about.

It's been a few months since Stroked was one of those such books in my feed. The author has since released two more books in this series, so it's been some time since the buzz was going around about this book. The cover made me curious, the blurb had me intrigued, but something kept me from taking the plunge and actually reading it. Not sure what it was... the ever-growing TBR, the new shiny book on the block was released, no time to actually get through the books you need to read...

I don't know. Whatever it was, this book got pushed back again and again.

Then one day, as I was scrolling through my feed, I stopped on a fellow reader's post in a book lending group and Stroked was available in her list of books to loan. Not sure what urged me to ask to borrow it, but I did... and here I am... writing my review.

Although, this isn't much a review because I haven't really said much of anything about the book yet. Are you even still reading anymore?

You are? Good! Then you'll be delighted to read that I slapped myself in the forehead once I finished and chastised myself for waiting so dang long to read this book. It far exceeded anything I ever imagined it was going to be. I had zero idea that there would be so many humorous moments. This author writes an over-the-top character like Bellini with too much authenticity. I really need to know who her inspiration is for the ridiculousness that is that character.

Honestly, I mentioned nothing about the plot. You can read the blurb for that, right?

If you want H-O-T sexy scenes, a yummy hero and a witty, stands-her-ground totally bad-ass heroine, then stop right here and one click. I devoured this book so fast and kicked myself for not reading it sooner. Shame on me. Meghan Quinn writes Rom-Com GOLD!