An Off-Campus Experience

I recently finished reading The Deal by Elle Kennedy. This is book #1 in the Off-Campus series.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 4/5 stars

"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 pretending isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Hannah that the man she wants looks a lot like him."

The Deal is the perfect choice when you’re looking for something engaging, sexy, and light—with a lil' dose of depth to trigger your emotions. YES, those who claim this book contains cliches aren’t kidding. There are certainly plenty of cliched one-liners to go around, but for some reason, I was able to glide right past them. And… okay …so maybe just about everyone in this book is totally hot, and the storyline was often predictable…

I laughed… I swooned… I wanted to be friends with the majority of the characters and drop-kick the rest! I'd put the book down and couldn't wait to pick it back up again. This story hooked me without the presence of a highly original plot, and I think there’s something major to be said about that.

It's simple, and doesn't try too hard or bombard us with a dozen over-the-top scenarios—and I really enjoyed that. The characters are incredibly entertaining and allow you to warm up to them immediately. Their flaws are intense without feeling forced, and quickly become endearing.

This is one of those books that invites you to just sit back and enjoy the ride. And even though it’s not completely smooth sailing, the tension-filled angst wasn't overdone, and it added much excitement.

A pinch of the plot, since the blurb in this case does its job well: Music major, Hannah, has been through a traumatic event—one that has basically crippled her love life, and for good reason. But she forges ahead, and soon her sights are set on the school’s star football player, Justin. Only, there’s no way Justin would ever notice someone with her lowly social status...

So when the very “popular”, very sexy, and very flirty lady’s man, Garret, offers to help Hannah gain the attention of her crush in exchange for some Ethics tutoring, “The Deal” is born…

The sexy trail of events that take place after are nothing short of awesome, and the perspectives alternating between hero and heroine are implemented with distinguishability, as well as believability.

In sum, I would 100% recommend this book to anyone who longs for a little fun in their romantic fiction. And for all you book-boyfriend collectors—this hero DOES NOT disappoint!

Check out The Deal, and discover what happens when you make a deal with a hockey player.

I recently finished reading The Mistake by Elle Kennedy. This is book #2 in the Off-Campus series.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 4/5 stars

"He's a player in more ways than one… College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants. For this hockey star, life is a parade of parties and hook-ups, but behind his killer grins and easygoing charm, he hides growing despair about the dead-end road he'll be forced to walk after graduation. A sexy encounter with freshman Grace Ivers is just the distraction he needs, but when a thoughtless mistake pushes her away, Logan plans to spend his final year proving to her that he's worth a second chance. Now he's going to need to up his game… After a less than stellar freshman year, Grace is back at Briar University, older, wiser, and so over the arrogant hockey player she nearly handed her V-card to. She's not a charity case, and she's not the quiet butterfly she was when they first hooked up. If Logan expects her to roll over and beg like all his other puck bunnies, he can think again. He wants her back? He'll have to work for it. This time around, she'll be the one in the driver's seat…and she plans on driving him wild."

John Logan is the hot, handsome, and popular college jock who is pining for his best friend's girl. Since she's off limits, he turns his amorous attentions elsewhere. Yes, John Logan is a bit of a dog. Then he met Grace Ivers. Grace is a freshman and a virgin. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Ugh, not another virgin. But there's a perfectly good reason why she is, so I personally didn't mind. Besides, this is New Adult, virgin heroines and manwhore heroes are staples, but that's where the similarities with other NA books end.

Logan is a fantastic hero, and although Garrett would forever be my number one, I gotta admit that Logan managed to make me laugh so hard with his crazy abbreviations and all-around hotness. Grace is another likable and relatable heroine. I like the fact that the heroines in this series are more than just placeholders. They are actually as well developed as the heroes, which in NA isn't usually the case.

Much like The Deal, The Mistake's biggest strengths are its likable and relatable characters. John Logan and Grace Ivers may be your typical college-age kids, but they both have goals, ambitions, and lives outside "finding the one". I liked that they act like college kids, and their struggles and issues fit within that age range. These characters worry about school, they worry about their prospects after college, they worry about their future, etc.

Logan, despite his carefree persona, faces a very uncertain future after college, putting his dreams of playing professional hockey in jeopardy. Grace is trying to find her place in college away from her best friend's negative influence and under the watchful eye of her father. Logan and Grace had quite a rough start with regards to their relationship, with Logan still stuck in his own misconceptions about his own feelings, hence the title. But once Logan wised up and realized the huge blunder he had made, he immediately set out to win Grace, which was the best part of the book!

There's nothing quite better than reading about Logan putting in a Herculean effort of wooing his girl. Nothing. It was cute, romantic, and hilarious at the same time. So many laugh-out-loud moments in this book, especially with the boys getting a bit more page time this time around. I simply love the banter not only between Grace and Logan but also between Logan, Garrett, Tucker, and Dean. In romance, it's mostly the heroine with her girlfriends who would gab and talk about the finer points of the hero's physique. This time, we get a lot of the guys bantering and egging each other on, but mostly just being there for one another.

Another winner from Elle Kennedy for me! She definitely knows how to deliver a well-written, sexy, and sweet new adult romance that's low on the angst and high on the humor with a dash of touching moments. Yes, definitely recommended if you're looking for a light, easy read.

Check out The Mistake, and discover what happens when you lock your eyes on the hockey star.

I recently finished reading The Score by Elle Kennedy. This is book #3 in the Off-Campus series.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 4/5 stars

"He knows how to score, on and off the ice...

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she's going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over...

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies' man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love."

Thinking Dean Di-Laurentis was just a fuckboy was so wrong and that is why side characters like him deserve their own story because you do not know how much more you will love them, for Dean it was the best thing that Elle could have done because behind his smiling idgaf flirty demeanor there was a man who wanted to love someone and was afraid to do it and a man who cared so much but was always misunderstood and I was so touched by his story. He fucked up at times, but the groveling was just so insane.

Allie Hayes brought out the best version of Dean Di-Laurentis the world had ever seen, and I praise her so much for that. What I loved the most about Allie was her relationship with her dad because she was willing to give up her dream to take care of him, and it takes so much to do that. To be willing to leave something that you have given everything for over your family, and I loved the way Elle highlighted it. Besides that, Allie was such a fun character to read about.

The romance was easily my favorite part...there were two scenes in particular that I loved so much, 1 when Dean comforted Allie after the whole incident with Sean happened. I love this scene because he first hugged her, made sure she was okay, and then left to beat his ass, and 2, would be when Allie thinks Dean bought two tickets for her and him to move to Las Vegas, but it was really for her and her dad. These two scenes were just amazing and oh my god, the smut in this book was so fucking hot that I had to fan myself.

Check out The Score, and discover what happens when you score the it player.

I recently finished reading The Goal by Elle Kennedy. This is book #4 in the Off-Campus series.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 3.75/5 stars

"She’s good at achieving her goals…

College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick butt in law school, and land a high-paying job at a cutthroat firm. Her path to escaping her shameful past certainly doesn’t include a gorgeous hockey player who believes in love at first sight. One night of sizzling heat and surprising tenderness is all she’s willing to give John Tucker, but sometimes, one night is all it takes for your entire life to change.

But the game just got a whole lot more complicated

Tucker believes being a team player is as important as being the star. On the ice, he’s fine staying out of the spotlight, but when it comes to becoming a daddy at the age of twenty-two, he refuses to be a bench warmer. It doesn’t hurt that the soon-to-be mother of his child is beautiful, whip-smart, and keeps him on his toes. The problem is, Sabrina’s heart is locked up tight, and the fiery brunette is too stubborn to accept his help. If he wants a life with the woman of his dreams, he’ll have to convince her that some goals can only be made with an assist."

First off, I had some issues with the pacing, especially during the first half. The first half kind of lagged a little bit. The second half, though, was much tighter plot-wise and character-wise.

The Goal was unexpected in many ways. If you’ve read The Score, then you know that Tucker had gotten Sabrina pregnant. We didn’t know how that happened since Sabrina and Tuck didn’t really interact that much in the other books in the series. This book gives us the story that we were unaware of until Tucker dropped that bomb at the end of The Score.

Since the first part of The Goal runs parallel to Dean and Ally’s story in The Score, a lot of the events in this book were kind of a rehash of what happened in the previous book. We see them unfold again through Tucker’s eyes as he and Sabrina navigate their growing connection to each other, which is probably why it felt like the first half lagged for me. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed reading how Tucker and Sabrina got together, but the other stuff, like Beau's death and Dean’s reaction to it, affected the pacing, in my opinion. I understood the intention of putting those events back there, but as I said, I’ve read this before, so I just wanted it over with and move on to the other stuff.

I would say that if you haven’t read The Score, then the pacing might not bother you as much as it bothered me because everything would be new and not a rehash of the events of the previous book.

Sabrina James grew up dirt poor, but that didn’t stop her from aiming high. She has a plan: graduate from college, then go to Harvard and become a successful lawyer. She hadn’t planned on falling for a gorgeous hockey player and being a mother.

I think Elle did a great job of showing readers Sabrina’s motivation in this book. Her family is the worst, literally, and all she has going for her is her brain and her drive to succeed. She is single-minded in escaping her past. She is perceived as a cold-hearted bitch, especially when she had the gall to get mad at Dean for getting a grade he didn’t deserve.

But to her friends, Sabrina is anything but a loving and loyal friend who works really hard for her dreams. She is beyond stubborn, and she has a lot of misplaced pride. It can be frustrating to read when a character who desperately needs help is reluctant to even consider asking for one. But that’s part of her character, and it was consistent with how she was raised. She grew up being told and shown by her own family that they were doing her a favor for raising her, somehow. That really marked Sabrina. And yes, it’s one of her flaws, and it made her an interesting character to me. I was rooting for her not only to get Tucker but for her to prove the naysayers wrong.

John Tucker was a revelation in this book. Oh my gosh, what a dirty, dirty boy he is. I mean, this series so far has given an abundant supply of dreamy heroes, and Tucker is his own brand of dreamy. Like Sabrina, his childhood was less than ideal. But he had his mother’s love and support. I just love Tucker’s loyalty. Even before this book, I was struck by how mature he is compared to his other roommates. He’s the kind of guy you want on your side. He’s loyal and protective. But most of all, he’s the perfect foil for Sabrina.

I don’t want to spill anymore for fear of spoiling everything, but The Goal is in a lot of ways different from the other books in the series. The characters are graduating, and all of them are embarking on a different kind of journey. It’s bittersweet to see these characters move on from Briar onto the “real world,” so to speak.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It’s not a perfect book by any means, but its characters are just so darn enjoyable and compelling that I just can’t help but care about them.

Check out The Goal, and discover what happens when one choice changes your life.

I recently finished reading The Legacy by Elle Kennedy. This is book #5 in the Off-Campus series.

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT**

  Rating: 3.5/5 stars

"Four stories. Four couples. Three years of real life after graduation…

A wedding.

A proposal.

An elopement.

And a surprise pregnancy.

Can you guess which couple is which?

Come for the drama, stay for the laughs! Catch up with your favorite Off-Campus characters as they navigate the changes that come with growing up and discover that big decisions can have big consequences…and big rewards."

The Legacy is not what I have in mind when I think of an epilogue novel(las). If you decide to write an additional novella for each couple, then I expect a lot of domestic fluff and not fights about important milestones like marriage, pregnancy, kids, etc. These kinds of conflicts can be handled in each couple's full-length novel. I really expected more happy scenes between each couple, and instead we got some heavy stuff and unnecessary fights & drama.

But despite all these issues that I have with this book, I still had a good time (mostly) reading this, and I'm feeling generous right now to round up the 3.5 stars. Maybe tomorrow morning I'll wake up and choose violence and round down, we'll see.

It's just one of those books, when I was reading it, I enjoyed it, but the more I think about it, the more issues I have with it. Was The Legacy great? No, far from it. I'd even go so far as to call it pretty trash, but I went into this book with the lowest expectations (and so should you), so it turned out to be more entertaining than expected. It's nice to get some glimpses into where all of the Off-Campus couples are now, but that's it.

Logan & Grace

Grace and Logan's part of the book is probably the most chill out of all four couples. Their 'conflict' wasn't as bad as the others, and Logan and Grace had the most couple time where they were happy in each other's company imo.

Dean & Allie

I forgot how funny Dean can be, cause I had a blast being in his head again. It started out amazing with Dean practicing his proposal in front of Garrett and Logan. These guys together are the comedian trio I didn't know I needed. And the guys planning Tucker's bachelor party, I love it. Brilliant idea to invite all their former teammates to play hockey together. The friendship between Dean, Garrett, Logan, and Tucker was hands down the best part of this whole book.

I have a newfound respect for Tucker after that psycho monologue of telling Dean that he would commit suicide on his deathbed just to steal his thunder as a warning that Dean is not allowed to propose at his wedding. Man, I didn't think Tucker had it in him.

And then we have the conflict of Allie not wanting to get married anytime soon and stopping Dean before he could propose, which was stupid. Even tho it was cute when Allie realized her mistake and proposed to Dean instead.

Tucker & Sabrina

Elle Kennedy did Tucker and Sabrina so dirty. Once again. Their book was already not the best, and this novella was a great opportunity to give some cute couple time together, but no? The first chapter was good with Tucker and Jamie, and then with each chapter, it just got worse and worse.

Sabrina and Tucker literally went to their honeymoon in hell. Anything that could go wrong went wrong. Plane crash. Check. Stung by a jellyfish. Check. Sunburn. Check. A coconut falling on your head. Check.

The plot with the doll that the guys were gifting to each other was hilarious. It was always interesting to see where Alexander would appear next, only to see the couple's reaction to it.

Garrett & Hannah

Hannah and Garrett's part was the one I was looking forward to the most, because they are my babies. So I was bummed to see how sad they were (Hannah with never finding the right moment to tell Garrett about the pregnancy and Garrett with having to deal with his abusive father all the time).

When Elle Kennedy said "The Legacy," what she really meant is Garrett protecting his father's "legacy," and I'm feeling like the biggest clown on earth. I thought that this book might pave the way for future Off-Campus generation, but so much of the Hannah/Garrett novella was just Garrett being in a shitty mood, because no one knows what his father is really like, because Garrett is too embarrassed by his past to tell anyone.

But the other domestic Hannah/Garrett moment we got, I ate them up. Garrett is such a dumbass, and I love him for it. When he thought that Hannah would be moving out and run to the studio to make his declaration, lmao, or when he found out that they are expecting twins. Goal of the year, they say, but I say comedian of the year.

And the bromance between Logan and Garrett? If I didn't ship Garrett and Hannah together, I'd consider Logan x Garrett as a good pairing.

P.s. As much as I like Jake Connelly, but him being the top scorer of the league above Garrett? No, that's just not right and unacceptable. When it comes to all things hockey, Garrett is always going to be #1 in everything.

Check out The Legacy, and discover what you leave behind.

Happy Reading :)