Book Review - Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn

Emotional Romantic Comedy. Standalone in a Series.

OMG how I freaking loved Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn! It was so sweet, so much fun, so addictive and had so much heart! I completely fell in love with Ruby; and Bodi, well I just want to ….. actually, I just want to see him with Ruby (not me) strangely enough, because watching what she brought out in the brooding, reticent Bodi was pure magic.

Ruby may be one of my favorite characters I’ve ever read. Seriously, she just pees out sunshine, rainbows and glitter. There couldn’t be a more perfect person to bring Bodi out of the dark and into the light.

“Sometimes the beauty in the art piece isn’t about the strokes, Bodi. Sometimes it’s about the colors and how you mold them together. It’s really about taking a dark, mysterious color and mixing it with something bright and cheery. It’s the contrast that makes them so beautiful together.”

Oh Bodi…he is so, so broken. I was crying in the prologue. My heart broke for the boy/man the entire book. After a horrible tragedy as a boy, Bodi blames himself. The only thing in his life besides swimming is his sister Eva and her girlfriend. He gets through his days by thriving on a rigid routine. He has severe OCD and honestly has no social skills at all. Besides Eva and Lauren, he has never had anyone in his adult life. In fact, At first I thought he might be a virgin (he isn’t, and he’s HOT in bed).

When Eva enlists Ruby’s help to plan a fundraising gala with Bodi, the two meet. She teaches art at the Boys & Girls Club so when she meets him she is covered in glue and glitter.

“It’s just so…sparkly. Everyone needs a little sparkle in their life.”

That’s pure Ruby. She dresses in super bright colors, chatters non-stop, and always finds the good in a situation. She is the exact opposite of Bodi.

“Not much of a talker, this one. That’s okay, I do plenty of talking for everyone.”

To get to know him better, Ruby takes one of his swim classes. Holy crap she had me giggling.

“So I gave myself a camel toe in front of one of the most decorated Olympic swimmers, that doesn’t mean you had to point it out to him.”

Bodi is so stern and serious. But Ruby starts to break down his walls. You can’t not laugh at some of the things that come out of her mouth. And when he started to laugh, and banter right back, my heart practically burst.

“And then that laugh. Holy goat nipples, it sounded like some erotic melody coming from his mouth.”

Ruby’s inner thoughts are even funnier than some of the things she says. Like when she is forced to spend a night with him (as friends).

“Jeez, it’s not like once I take my pants off dragons are going to pop out of my vagina and start biting at his ankles. Oh God, what if he’s afraid my moose knuckle is going to whack him in the middle of the night?”

As fun as she is, Bodi has some major hurdles to get past.

“I want to spend more time with her and that terrifies because more time means more exposure to the true monster I am.”

My absolute favorite though, are their texts and phone calls. Holy penis-on-a-bench, I was completely laughing out loud so much! And it wasn’t over the top, like Bellini in the first book, it was just Ruby’s silly, sweet, hysterical conversation starters. How could Bodi not fall for her? I did! Aaargh! It’s KILLING me not to put some more quotes from them but you need to read them and crack up yourself. They are just too freaking funny.

Speaking of Bellini and Stroked, she plays a minor part in this book, as do Reese and Paisley. Stroked Long and Stroked cover the same time period, so some events repeat a bit, just from another couple (like the Olympics). But the two books are so crazy different. It is not necessary to read Stroked first at all, in fact, I think you can even switch them. If you like Bellini (some love to hate her, some just hate her), you can go ahead and read Stroked after.

You would think that Bodi being so awkward might be a turn-off , but let me tell you, the guy is still a multi-gold medal Olympic champion, with Olympic muscles and an amazing tongue. He can still command and dirty talk, and there was no shortage of hot sex. But the sex or the humor never overwhelmed the depth of the story. And in Stroked Long, we do have a deep, highly emotional story.

Likes:

Ruby was one of my favorite heroines ever, in any book.
Bodi was so beautifully broken, and Ruby was just so patient, like she knew just how to calm him.
It was a hugely emotional story, and it was also hysterically funny at the same time.
Penis on a bench. You NEED to know.
Some of the things that come out of Ruby’s mouth are just like the best thing ever.
Bodi was real. How often do you see a hero with a mental condition besides PTSD (though his OCD is from PTSD). His panic attacks were so real that I found myself having them with him!
The tie-ins with Stroked. It was cool seeing Bodi from another side.
I literally burst out laughing several times, but I also cried.
I read 90% of the book with a huge smile on my face.
I wanted to turn around and re-read it the second I finished.
That he wasn’t magically cured in the end.
A little more about Hollis’s book, which I think will be completely different as well, because Hollis is just one of those fun and playful guys, and I love them for a change.

Dislikes:

My cravings for double stuff Oreos (teehee)

The Down & Dirty:

I literally can not gush over Stroked Long enough, and there is no question that it is a 2016 favorite. I cracked up laughing, I swooned, I giggled, I panicked, I cried happy tears, super sad tears and laughing tears. I didn’t expect the magnitude of Stoked Long. While Stroked was fun, light, and a bit over-the-top, Stroked Long had depth and character growth. It covered OCD in a way that it felt like the author had personal experience with it or someone who has it. Ruby is one of my favorite female characters ever in a book, and her colorful humor couldn’t have been a better balance for the awkward and broken Bodi. Don’t get me wrong, this book is very much a comedy, one I laughed out loud during more than almost any other romcom. Stroked Long is a rare book that loved so much, I want to re-read right away.