Review: The Deal (Off-Campus, #1) by Elle Kennedy

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: February 24th 2015
Publisher: Indie
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 16+
Genres &  Themes: New Adult, Contemporary, Erotica, College, Romance, Sports, Hockey

BLURB:

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:

Hey there, Book. Where have you been all my life?

Badass intelligent and strong heroine? …. Check!

Sexy jock with lickable abs and flawless humour? …. Check!

Frat parties, fake dates, laugh-out-loud scenes and a quirky relationship?

…. Check! Check! Check! Check!

Elle Kennedy is my new ‘‘coup de coeur’’ New Adult author. Everything she writes is of such a good quality that you could make jewelleries out of her works. She ‘‘believes’’ in what she writes—as if she lived the scenes she depicts.

But let’s go back to this book. All eyes on it. I may be late to join the Garrett and Hannah party, but now that I’m in it, I never want to leave it. I’m going to be a fan of this couple for a very long time. From chapter one, readers are assured an unconventional love story, and what we get is even better than what we predict.

This is a huge case of love/hate relationship. Just the way I like them.

All Garrett wants to do is play Hockey. It’s all he swears about. That and… girls. But he’s failing Ethics, like half of the class! If he doesn’t improve his grades, he’s not going to be able to keep doing what he loves.

This is where Hannah comes into play. She’s brilliant. She gets the best grades even when half of the class is flunking. It’s no surprise that she’s at Briar University on a scholarship. Garrett wants her to tutor him and, in exchange, he’ll get her a date with Justin, her crush.

This is a guilty pleasure book. It’s not exquisitely written or rich in world-bending themes, but it’s fun, fun, fun and sexy, sexy, sexy. Damn straight! To my surprise, the romance wasn’t even cheesy. A few clichéd dialogs here and there and that’s it.

I’m used to New Adult characters sharing (at least) a kiss before the 5th chapter of a book. But not in this case. It’s a slow burn. Exactly what I wanted and needed. It made me respect the characters and believe in their relationship a thousand times more.

Reading this book put me in such a good mood, that maybe I should give it a five-star rating for that alone. Hélas, my ubiquitous critical side doesn’t approve.

My qualm? About the secondary characters. It feels like they mainly live for the main ones. Nothing of much importance happens with them. They’re mostly there to support the heroes and/or serve the plot, depending. Like mini minions.

Despite that, The Deal has everything you could ask for in a New Adult book.

So, what are you waiting for? *wink*

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