The Deal by: Elle Kennedy

The Deal (Off-Campus #1)
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: Bloom Books
Published: February 2015
Format: Paperback
Pages: 390
Rating: 4/5
Summary:

She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy... Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns her on. But while she might be confident in every other area of her life, she's carting around a full set of baggage when it comes to sex and seduction. If she wants to get her crush's attention, she'll have to step out of her comfort zone and make him take notice...even if it means tutoring the annoying, childish, cocky captain of the hockey team in exchange for a pretend date. ...and it's going to be oh so good All Garrett Graham has ever wanted is to play professional hockey after graduation, but his plummeting GPA is threatening everything he's worked so hard for. If helping a sarcastic brunette make another guy jealous will help him secure his position on the team, he's all for it. But when one unexpected kiss leads to the wildest sex of both their lives, it doesn't take long for Garrett to realize that pretend isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him.

Review:

Clearly I've been waiting what seems like FOREVER but I've finally managed to start this series! I've stared at the original covers probably since 2015, and now here we are...

So I actually did a buddy read with a friend since she's already read the series, I knew it was time to finally get to them! I do have to say that I feel while this was a really good story, it fell a little bit for me in some areas, but that didn't stop me from devouring this book!

From the beginning, you can really see how Hannah feels about Garrett, yet at the same time her walls slowly start to come down the more time they spend together. While some aspects of her past are brought to light and she's struggling with it, I do feel that she was in her head at times a bit too much. With that being said, she does grow towards the end of the book and while she does work on herself, Garrett also plays a role into helping her overcome her past and you can see her have that light back inside of her that she lost years ago. The way he actually cares for her was *swoony* and I'll admit it has me grinning.

Speaking of Garrett, although I wasn't a huge fan of him at the beginning, he does turn a leaf and tries everything he can to prove he's more than just hockey and his father's legacy. He opens up about his own life, and doesn't come off as the playboy jock everyone assumes he is. And his father? That man is a real POS and really deserves everything that was taken from or left him at the end of this.

There was definitely some steam happening, but also mixed with that was a lot of trust between Hannah and Garrett on many levels, which had me wanting to read more and know what would happen next. There were quite a few raw and really emotional scenes and my heart sank for Hannah, I couldn't stop reading to see what would happen next.

There's not much else I can say without spoiling, but overall this was an entertaining story. I really did enjoy the growth of the characters, the way Garrett shows he can be more than what people assume of him. Hannah's personal growth and just getting out of her own shell. I do wish there was just a bit more in the story, whether it was steam, or some more entertaining aspects outside of school. I definitely enjoyed the hockey parts woven into the story of course. It was entertaining, with some laugh out loud moments, a bit of spice and a great quick read!

That's all for my review, I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to check out this series if you're a fan of college hockey romance!

So until the next time, keep reading!

Your Graduated Bookworm! :)