The Deal by Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: February 24, 2015
Plot: 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.
☆ Rating: 5/5 stars
The Mistake by Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: May 6, 2015
Plot: 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.
☆ Rating: 4.5/5 stars
The Score by Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: January 11, 2016
Plot: 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.
☆ Rating: 4.75/5 stars
The Goal by Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: September 26, 2016
Plot: 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.
☆ Rating: 4/5 stars
The Legacy by Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: September 21, 2021
Plot: 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.
☆ Rating: 4.5/5 stars
MY THOUGHTS:
It's so incredibly hard to sum up this series in a way to do it justice. But let's start with two words—GARRETT. GRAHAM. The book boyfriend to end all book boyfriends, the blueprint, the ideal fictional man. Elle Kennedy gave us a gift by telling Garrett & Hannah's story in the first book of this series, and I've been hooked ever since. This series is a hefty one, but I adored it so incredibly much that I know it's going to be one of those that I read time and time again.
Being from the south, I know very little about hockey. I don't even know all the rules or how the game works exactly, but these books made me want to be a hockey fan 🤣 (Specifically the Bruins, iykyk 😉) Personally, this is the first hockey romance series I ever read, and it abso-freakin-lutely won't be the last. Welcome to my hockey romance era! Okay, let break it down by book:
THE DEAL - This was definitely my favorite book in the series. It not only had Garrett Graham as the lead, but it also had one of my favorite tropes—fake dating. Hannah & Garrett's banter was what hooked me on this story, but it was Garrett & his precious, caring approach to Hannah and the things she had been through that made me fall in love with their story. I don't think I've ever found a fictional character as swoon-worthy as Garrett Graham.
I’m also a bit mad at myself for reading this book so fast because now Garrett Graham is the love of my life, and I miss him already. The way he would call Hannah by her nickname Wellsy (😩🫠) The chemistry was off the charts! The slow burn was INSANE. I loved how Garrett made Hannah more confident, and he really took the time to learn how to help her through her trauma. He is actually pretty much perfect.
I loved the banter, playfulness, spice, and vulnerability of this entire book. The characters were portrayed so perfectly and everything came full circle so beautifully.
**While most of this book is lighthearted and fun, it does deal with serious issues so be sure to check out any trigger warnings before diving in.
THE MISTAKE - Elle Kennedy DID 👏🏻 IT 👏🏻 AGAIN 👏🏻 with The Mistake! Honestly, this series is totally unmatched. I flew through The Deal in less than 24 hours, and The Mistake was no different. Both Logan & Grace fully stole my heart in this book, and I am completely rooting for them and their story.
Logan is viewed as a sex-obsessed player, but for Grace, he was so incredibly much more than that. He was endearing and adoring her with everything that he is. One minute I wanted to slap Logan, but the next I wanted to hug him. 🤣 Grace is an absolute GEM that didn't bat her eyelashes when the hot hockey player gave her some attention. She didn't put up with his typical bullshit, and I loved that she demanded only the best from him. Shoot, she even came up with a list of embarrassing tasks for Logan to do, and he freaking did them… the power this woman holds!
I also LOVE how all of the characters' stories are intertwined, and we still get to see plenty of Hannah & Garrett as well as getting introduced to more characters that we will get to know better throughout the series.
THE SCORE - CHEFS FREAKIN KISS. I would have NEVER expected to love Dean's story this much but OMG. Garrett Graham is still my #1 but this story was a VERY close second!
The character development in this book was SO stinkin good! Once again, the banter!!! I love that Allie & Dean's story had so many funny moments, but there were also heavy, emotional moments as well that really made it feel more real.
Dean and Allie are everything! Let's just take a moment to appreciate the man that is Dean Di Laurentis. Thank you to Elle Kennedy for giving us some of the best fictional men ever written. I will honestly read anything she writes. I also loved Allie as Hannah’s BFF so it made the story even more exciting.
I was so happy Allie finally broke up with Sean and found her way to Dean, I think she needed someone who really cared for her and supported her acting dreams. And Dean deciding not to go to law school so he could coach kids hockey?!?!?!?! Come ON....he is literally perfect. Once the emotional moment hits toward the end of the book, that really sealed the deal for me. They were really there for each other in the face of tragedy, and that was a beautiful thing to see.
THE GOAL - Um, hello John Tucker! A sweet, southern mama's boy that's judgment-free, patient, kind, and incredibly good at some dirty talking. I would have fallen in love with him too, just like Sabrina.
Then you have Sabrina. She wasn't portrayed in the best light at the beginning of the book, but then you get to know her and understand what she has been through to cause her to have so many walls. She becomes a strong and resilient FMC really going after her dreams despite the background she comes from. She really is such a superwoman. Her tough exterior made it that much sweeter when she finally let herself be vulnerable with Tucker and their baby.
I'm not a big fan of pregnancy tropes at all (which is probably why this was my least favorite of the books) BUT I really did love seeing Tucker & Sabrina's story unfold and watch their love for each other grow. It was really sweet.
THE LEGACY - The perfect way to say goodbye to the Off-Campus series! This was basically just 4 little short stories later in the future wrapping up our favorite Off-Campus couples' stories. It's really just a "where are they now" book of epilogues, and it was such a fun way to say goodbye to these characters.
It was wonderful to get closure. I can’t wait to check out the Briar U series that follows more of these characters' friends!! (And I've heard we get the occasional) cameo from these characters as well, which would be amazing.)
