The Deal by Elle Kennedy
Series: Off-Campus, #1
Published February 24, 2015 by Elle Kennedy Inc.
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, New Adult
342 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Find on Goodreads
Get it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ld156J

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

I’ve been hearing a lot of positive reviews of this book, The Deal by Elle Kennedy which is the first book of the Off-Campus series and since I enjoyed the second book, The Mistake, without second thoughts, I decided to get a copy.  And it’s definitely worth it!

I am actually having a rough week so far, I’ve been sick on and off and been busy at work because our big boss is visiting us here in Cebu to do some training. So yep, I haven’t been active lately and because I’m/was sick, I’m currently out of my blogging funk and so is my reading vibe, huhu.

Even with that mood, I managed to slip this book into my schedule and it took me 2 days to finish it. What a shame eh? It’s not because I didn’t enjoy the story but I’m just really juggling with my busy schedule and with my annoying fever. It keeps on coming back! Actually, I’m still having a cough while writing this review, so please bear with me.

I finished this one last night but just managed to write my review today. I usually write a draft of my review after finishing the book but I was so tired last night, so, tadah. After reading some positive reviews of this book, I was really certain that I will love this one so much. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy and love this one but not love like to the highest level. Maybe it’s because of my current mood or maybe because I expected too much? Well, I dunno.

But hey! 4 stars is a pretty good rating, so don’t get disappointed there *wink.  I certainly love how Hannah and Garrett’s story started. I always love c*cky, over confident and oh-so hot hero and reading about how he is chasing Hannah was quite entertaining, haha. I guess I was already on the third chapter when I realized that Garrett is one of my favorite characters in this series by reading the second book and I was also girl crushing Hannah. I really do have a bad memory lol. 

I’m not very much a fan of pretend relationships but sometimes, I do enjoy reading some, and this one sure is one of them. Ofcourse it’s obvious that their pretend relationship will turn out real in the end but I was still surprised to find out how that happened. No annoying situations were introduced until I reached the part about Garrett’s father blackmailing Hannah. Yep, sorry for the spoiler there hehe. That one was a well-known cliché conflict so I was kind of disappointed. Ofcourse I understand why Hannah did what she did but having to read and watched so many romance stories before, it’s still better to be open about your partner and tell them everything even if you think it will hurt them. But nah, who knows eh?

I think the consolation I got was Garrett’s reaction about it. My! I was really not wrong in loving this guy. Even if he didn’t know what’s up with Hannah, even if he’s hurting, he still didn’t give up on her. And my! I was really laughing at what he did lol. And the confrontation at the male locker was really really funny and sexy at the same time haha. While I’m thinking about that scene, I can’t help but grin like an idiot lol.

Even if it’s not my favorite book in the series so far, I have to say that I can see why many readers love this one. The introduction with the characters and the setting was absolutely better than the second book but it still wouldn’t hinder you to enjoy the other books in this series even if you failed to read this one. Hey, did you forget I read the second book first? Haha. And take note, it received a 4.5 rating from me *wink.

Just like the second book, this one has some family issues both with the main characters and I really love that part. I love that even with the almost perfect characters you can be able to relate with them because of what they experienced and endured. But unlike the second book, it’s kind of a bummer that Garrett wasn’t able to have a proper closure with his j*rk of a dad. Reading how his dad did to him, I was really mad, but the last scene was quite..I dunno, sad? Well, I feel kind of sorry for him actually. But well, who would have known? Maybe he finally realized what he did and enrolled himself in rehab eh?

But even with the lack of proper closure on Garrett’s part, I’m still happy with how everything turned out between him and Hannah. Aww, they truly belong to each other. They’re actually one of my favorite couples so far.

For the characters, I adore Hannah even just by reading the second book, and reading this one totally intensified my fascination for her. I love that even after what happened to her, she’s still as pure as ever, it’s just, is she for real?! I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I was raped. Yep, sorry for dropping another bummer there, I just have to. She’s amazing, now I understand why Logan is crushing on him in the first place lol. I really love her character, the only thing I hated was about the blackmailing thing lol. But so far, she’s good.

For Garrett baby? What could I say, I love this guy. Reading the second book, I always think he’s really nice. But when I was acquainted more with his character, my, it’s starting to fade haha. It’s really not a bad thing, he’s still a good guy, but I was kind of….I dunno…I wasn’t anticipating his pervy side, haha. Aside from the perfect physical appearance and amusing c*ckiness,it was just nice to finally find out about his not-so pleasant past and what he’s been dealing with. I’m just happy how Hannah is changing his life especially about his wrong perception on having a girlfriend.

As usual, this one is a very easy to read story from Elle Kennedy because the words and terms used were very reader friendly especially to someone like me whose English is not a native language. I guess the only thing that was quite a challenge to me was the abundance of sexy scenes haha. I’m a young at heart that’s why I always love YA, but ofcourse there were times that I think I love NA more haha.

If you love romantic sports stories, then you’ll absolutely enjoy this one.

P.S. You can read it standalone.

Special mention: Dean, you’ll next in line  so get ready haha *wink

Challenges

• 2017 eBooks Reading
• 2017 You Read How Many Books?
• 2017 Review Writing

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