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fast-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Somehow, even with all the body shaming, this managed to be the least worst book in the series. Ending on a high note I guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I appreciate how consumable Elle Kennedy's series are. Even if I'm reading it for the first time, there's some inherent comfort in that.
What threw me with The Deal was the heroine, Taylor's, very clear disordered eating habits that were never addressed. Please be mindful of that if you decide to read this book. I debated rating this book lower than a three because of it but ultimately rounded up because there were still enjoyable components elsewhere in the novel. However, I think this is potentially the weakest of the Briar U series.
So easy to read but kind of a meh 3-star rating.
What threw me with The Deal was the heroine, Taylor's, very clear disordered eating habits that were never addressed. Please be mindful of that if you decide to read this book. I debated rating this book lower than a three because of it but ultimately rounded up because there were still enjoyable components elsewhere in the novel. However, I think this is potentially the weakest of the Briar U series.
So easy to read but kind of a meh 3-star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria
Moderate: Misogyny, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Out of all of Elle Kennedy's books, I think this is the one I've most related to. Even though I wouldn't call either Conor or Taylor new favorite characters, I saw pieces of myself in them, and that's not something I can often say about romance novels. In a way, this book almost felt like wish fulfillment. I loved how adamantly and often Conor reaffirmed his interest in Taylor, and how she was understanding of his past mistakes. Together, they had a really cute back-and-forth. But the story also had its flaws (super catty sorority sisters and not one, but TWO breakups?! ) and as much as I saw myself in this story, I'm not sure it ever really had a moment where it truly jumped off the page, despite being compulsively readable. It's still a solid read that I'll happily revisit in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Taylor is a shy sorority girl who’s self conscious about the fact that her body doesn’t fit the traditional standard of beauty. Conor is a fuckboy hockey star who doesn't hesitate to help Taylor out after she’s dared to seduce him. They spend the night together getting to know each other while pretending to bang (for the benefit of Taylor’s nosy sorority sisters). Conor develops real feelings for Taylor but Taylor can’t quite believe that someone who looks like Conor could possibly be attracted to her.
The banter in this story was really cute :)
The banter in this story was really cute :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TWO third act breakups and the utter miscommunication/non-communication between the two MC’s made me want to tear my hair out and not in a good way. Taylor annoyed me in more ways than one, same with Conor but they both had their redeeming qualities.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Classism
Minor: Eating disorder
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to read this book because my goal last year was to discover new authors. Elle Kennedy was on this list, and I have been loving hockey romances in the past year. I have been waiting for another book as good as The Mistake and having a lad as good as John Logan and damn Conor Edwards is such a golden retriever and I want him and John.
This book has two points of view. The first is Taylor Marsh, she was hoping that college was her chance to get over her ugly-duckling complex and to spread her wings. Instead, she ended up in a sorority full of means and she has a rough time fitting in, so when her sorority sister issue her a dare, she can’t say no. The dare is to seduce the hottest new hockey player in her junior class: Conor Edwards. The second point of view is Conor Edwards, he is a regular at Greek Row parties and in Greek Row sorority beds. He's the one you fall for before you learn that guys like him don’t give girls like Taylor a second glance. But Mr Popular throws in a loop, rather than laughing in Taylor’s face, he does a solid by letting her take him upstairs to pretend they are getting busy and spend the night talking and having a laugh. Taylor doesn’t expect to hear from Conor again, but he wants to keep pretending. Turns out Conor loves games, and he thinks it’s fun to pull the wool over her sorority sisters’ eyes. But resisting his easy charm and surfer-boy hotness is damn near impossible. Though Taylor is realizing there’s much more to Conor’s story than his fan club can see. And the longer the ruse goes on, the greater the danger of it blows up in Taylor’s face.
I don’t know what it is about hockey romances, but they are so addictive. The writing isn’t brilliant, but the storyline and the character are adorable. I wanted to hug Taylor so damn hard throughout this book. I also wanted to smack Conor like dude – you are hot and yes you have trauma but dude help is there and let them help you. I also wanted to smack Taylor – yes you have trauma but don’t push people away and let them help you. These characters had personality, and both had a storyline with issues of their own but also were all about each other – they wanted to help each other with their traumas. Conor with his issues with his stepdad and his struggles with how he got to Briar U and then his ex-best friend being a dick, I just wanted to hug him. Taylor was so broken, and I just wanted to fix her – she is one of the only girls in both series that I relate to especially with the body issues that Taylor had. I love that she confronted Conor and was like you are a grown man, you don’t dip so why are you dipping now. I love Coach Jensen and that he was dating Taylor’s mum, it was just making everything so much funnier. I loved how Conor and Taylor kept growing and that it ended with a bigger issue of revenge porn and that the hockey lads wanted to kill Abigail’s ex-boyfriend and the girls wanted to kill Jules.
I don’t think this book had any weaknesses whatsoever. I wanted it to be longer. I would have loved to see Coach Jensen and Taylor’s mum in the epilogue, and I love that Brenna is now Taylor’s sister and would have loved to see them more together.
These series overall has been very up and down but I'm glad it ended on this high note.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder, Lesbophobia
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have been going back and forth about how to rate this book for about 30 minutes since I finished it. One one hand, I really loved Conor and Taylor’s relationship and how they slowly built their trust over time.
On the other hand, there were almost too many other plots happening simultaneously.For example, Kai (and the subplot of him needing money) was a lot. And then the released “sex tape” and subsequent lawsuit was really upsetting and led to a SECOND 3rd act breakup, which is my least favorite thing in a rom com.
So, I think, in the end, I liked some aspects of it, but the sum of its parts is greater than the whole and I’m sad to end my Elle Kennedy read-a-thon in this way. I just think we could have found a way to edit some of the extra and made it more about their relationship? I’m on the fence on how I want to fix it, but I want it to be better.
On the other hand, there were almost too many other plots happening simultaneously.
So, I think, in the end, I liked some aspects of it, but the sum of its parts is greater than the whole and I’m sad to end my Elle Kennedy read-a-thon in this way. I just think we could have found a way to edit some of the extra and made it more about their relationship? I’m on the fence on how I want to fix it, but I want it to be better.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Sexual harassment
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Fatphobia