Review – Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn – Bookalicious Babes Blog

“Show me the most damaged parts of your soul, and I will show you how it shines like gold.” ~Nikita Gill

You don’t look for love; it looks for you. Love often surfaces when you least expect it, throwing a curveball your way. It sneaks up on you and steals your heart and soul, where you can’t help but surrender to the serendipity of something spectacular you find when you weren’t even searching. Like love, books brandish you to them with a power you never predicted. Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn struck me hard to the heart with a force I did not see coming where my soul surrendered to the feels that flowed from this spellbinding story.

I dove into this pool of heat, humor, and heart, and barely came up for air as Stroked Long struck me hard, seducing my soul from the very first page. I was utterly immersed and intoxicated as this intense read rapidly captured and claimed every part of me. I expected a typical Meghan Quinn comedy—maybe with lighter laughs than Stroked—but still a comical masterpiece. Stroked Long was nothing like I expected; it was SO MUCH MORE.

It took only a few pages to realize that this Meghan Quinn book dared to be different. Dared to be serious. Dared to be heartbreaking. Dared to be hypnotizing. Damn if Stroked Long didn’t dare to destroy yet mend me. OH DID I FALL IN INSTA-LOVE AS STROKED LONG STROKED ME SO HARD.

Bodi Banks is an Olympic God in spandex: golden-sparked hair, blue eyes, a sensual six-pack, that perfect ‘V,’ and a tall and muscular body that melts panties. Bodi is a swimmer with a body made of sin and a soul that has been through hell.

“There’s a dispute between who’s hotter: Bodi or Reese King. Yes, Reese has the dark smoldering look going for him, but Bodi? There is something about his light brown hair, dark blue eyes, and damaged soul that calls out to me. There’s no contest where I’m concerned.”

Ruby Hearts, a beautiful blonde and brown-eyed with luscious curves, is the best friend of Bodi’s sister, Eva Banks. She is funny, fierce, flirty, frank, and so free…totally uncensored. I LOVE HER!!!

“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.”

Ruby is a trip where I wanted to laugh at her and hug her hard at the same time! Tasked with working with Bodi for their newly-formed art foundation, Ruby is instantly captivated by her crush—her fantasy—who is now very real. Though Bodi, as Ruby soon discovers, appears like a beacon of force in the water as one sensational gold-medal swimmer, but is broken inside.

“I choose not to expose others to my demons and insecurities. Who would want that anyway?”

Bodi suffered a horrible tragedy as a child that impacts him every day. His days are performed with precision, planned out with regular routines. This beautiful and broken man has quickly captured my heart, shattering it to pieces as it broke for Bodi.

“I f**king hate everything about me.”

My heart that broke now bled, this man now shattering my soul. This Olympian is closed off to the world, only letting his family inside to see the real Bodi, though Ruby seems to be cracking the surface. Ruby Hearts with her huge heart tries to get Bodi to open up to her—let her inside—so she can share some of that pain that has held him captive to those dastardly demons for so long.

“Why does my heart hurt so much? There is something about Bodi that runs deep in my bones, that causes me to feel the pain he’s feeling, or the panic, or his awkwardness. It’s as if our bodies are spiritually connected.”

Ruby is the light to Bodi’s dark. The color and vibrancy to his grey and dull life. The outgoing to his reserved persona. The warmth to his cool demeanor. The calm to his storm. She is perfect for him if only he would let her inside those walls he’s plastered around himself.

Bodi grants Ruby one sensual, toe-curling kiss, perhaps the kiss ever.

“I have no ability to speak, not with Bodi gripping me so tenderly, mere moments away from caressing my lips with his. It’s too much. His presence is strong, commanding, dominant. Flat-out intoxicating…Light explodes around me, my stomach bottoms out, and my grip tightens on his shirt as he kisses me.”

That kiss?!? I felt the passion pouring off the pages straight to my soul. Oh did my soul soar to the stars and make me fall even harder for Bodi!

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

Ruby wants more than friends with Bodi, a chance to show him he could be with someone who cares about him. While Ruby sees and adores the real Bodi, she is determined to make Bodi see the light; make Bodi see her.

“I feel lucky then. Because I’m one of the few who gets to see the real you.”

I did not expect this book to be so broken. I did not expect this book to be so beautiful. I did not expect this book to blow my mind. I did not expect to swoon more than snort-laugh in this story. I did not expect for my soul to soar so high. I did not expect my emotions to explode. I did not expect for my heart to be hit so hard, struck by this story. Stroked Long exceeded my expectations, hijacked and hit my heart, and sent my soul soaring where I WAS BLOWN AWAY in Meghan Quinn’s BEST BOOK EVER!!!

Intoxicating and incredible, Stroked is a phenomenal page-turner that penetrated me from beginning to end. I smiled, sweated, shed tears, and swooned through Stroked Long. A roller coaster of a riveting romance filled with feels, anchored in angst and amusement, and laced with love, Stroked Long blew me out of the water! This devastatingly beautiful and brilliant book stole my soul and every other piece of me. I was Stroked Long and I loved every mesmerizing minute where ALL OF THE FEELS WERE FELT BY ALL OF ME. I can’t wait for the final Stroke.

5 soul-stroking stars

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From his dirty-blond hair and breathtaking smile, to the abs from heaven and the irresistible V in his waistline, everything about Bodi Olympic-gold-medalist Banks screams hot piece of @$$.

Yet there’s more.

Dark shadows lurk behind his soulful, serious eyes.

I’m enamored. He’s captured me.

How can running an art foundation with Bodi Banks turns into a slow-burning, epic romance, even though he tries to push me away at every chance? How can I stay away from a broken, routine-driven man whose soul cries to be forgiven for a crime only he believes he committed? Or is that a lie?