Review: The Deal by Elle Kennedy

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

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.

I have seen this book shelved multiple times in my GR friends’ TBR list a year ago. When it was released, almost all of them have read this. A year later, I’ve heard that there had been three other books in the series and that the last one, The Goal is going to be the final frontier. I read my friends’ reviews again, and my girls from #NALitLoversPH had convinced me to read The Deal, because it’s really an amazing read. Well, I think, this had been the best decision I’ve ever made. Yes, I’ve finally read The Deal and damn, it was so fuckingly beautiful and absolutely AMAHZING!

Hannah Wells got her eyes on Justin, a football player and her classmate in Ethics. She definitely wanted to hook up with him, until a juicy proposition came from her another classmate, Garrett Graham. After Hannah aced her midterm exams, Garrett asked her to tutor him so he could pass the rest of the semester and still continue playing for the hockey team. And that deal involved a pretend date with the ice hockey team captain nonetheless.

You’d think Garrett was a pompous guy who thought he could easily persuade Hannah. Truth is, Garrett could use some solace for the hurdle he had with his father. Everyone thought having a superstar hockey dad was all bliss and pride. Nope. If only people knew what a fine specimen his father was.. (insert sarcasm and snickers here). But Hannah’s also got a secret of her own, a past that led her out of Indiana and prevented her from seeing her parents again. My heart crushed at Hannah’s rape, the thought that her rapist used his influence and wealth to turn the tables and accuse her of being a harlot. Thus affecting her notion and feelings about sex and relationships.

I enjoyed the story as a whole. Garrett was actually sweet and charming despite the notorious reputation he’d been known of. A hockey player, a ladies man, a bed warmer,  a real playboy in the dating game. But when he’s with Hannah, all those attributes were mere lies. Because there was more than meets the eye when it came to Garrett. He was actually admirable. The banter between these two were to watch out for. I liked their camaraderie and chemistry, whenever they’re together, you just can’t help but root for them. I liked that their relationship was hard earned, they started as friends and cultivated that friendship into something precious.

I also liked Hannah because even if she was a blundering mess to begin with, she stayed true to her character and was also passionate about her music. And she was really cool with Garrett and the rest of the team. A real cowgirl and a winner in my book! Elle Kennedy is the bomb! I am definitely now one of her million followers slash readers slash fangirls!

Sorry it took me long to finish this review. I was so absorbed at work lately and had to pause to give way to other books that required my immediate attention. But I have promised that October is going to be an Elle Kennedy bookfest, because I intend to read the rest of the books in the Off-Campus series. I would love to meet and know more about Logan, Dean and Tucker and I can’t wait to devour them real soon!