The Deal by Elle Kennedy

The Deal (Off-Campus, #1)

by Elle Kennedy

New York Times bestseller Elle Kennedy brings you the first in the sexy Off-Campus series that everyone is talking about.

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.

Reviewed by Angie on

4 of 5 stars

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The Deal was so good! It has probably one of my favorite fake dating plots and of course my beloved fake relationship turned real trope. Hannah just aced her Philosophy midterm while the rest of the class failed. Garrett needs to pass this class in order to stay on the hockey team, so he turns on the charm to get Hannah to tutor him for the make-up exam. He certainly does not expect her to say no, but Garrett is not one to give up. He eventually finds out what he can trade her for her time: a fake date with him to catch her crush's attention.

I have to start with what I think was my favorite part of The Deal. It shows that you can be okay after a rape. Too often, NA goes into this really dark territory where the heroine is super damaged and pushes everyone away and then she gets saved by the power of love. Well, that doesn't happen here. Hannah is already done with therapy and going on with her life. Yes, she is more cautious in social situations and doesn't drink outside of her home. But she's dated, she's had sex, she wants to continue to do those things. And that is amazing! I think that is so important! She's not 100%, as there's one issue that she's struggling with, which Garrett does help her with. But it's just so different from how the subject is usually handled.

My next favorite thing about The Deal, was that Hannah and Garrett actually have a conversation about their relationship status. Instead of just jumping straight to the "I love you" portion and assuming that they're together, these two start out slower. They get to know each other during tutoring, an awesome friendship develops, then comes the attraction and lust, and then they actually talk to each other about whether they should be exclusive and call each other boy/girlfriend. This felt so much more natural and realistic to me!

The Deal does a lot of things right and I loved that! It was so refreshing! It was nice to see two people get to know each other instead of just declaring everlasting love. I absolutely loved the friendship portion, although the sexy time portion was great too! There is a bit of silly drama near the end, but I liked how it was resolved.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 January, 2016: Finished reading
  • 9 January, 2016: Reviewed